Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS.

In every variety the dog is more or less endowed with a keen sight, strong powers of smell, sagacity almost amounting to reason, and considerable speed, so that he is admirably adapted for all purposes connected with the pursuit of game. He is also furnished with strong teeth, and courage enough to use them in defence of his master, and with muscular power sufficient to enable him to draw moderate weights, as we see in Kamtschatka and Newfoundland. Hence, among the old writers, dogs were divided into Pugnaces, Sagaces, and Celeres; but this arrangement is now superseded, various other systems having been adopted in modern times, though none perhaps much more satisfactory. Belonging to the division Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Fera, family Felidæ, and subfamily Canina, the species is known as Canis familiaris, the subfamily being distinguished by having two tubercular teeth behind the canines on the upper jaw, with non-retractile claws, while the dog itself differs from the fox with which he is grouped, in having a round pupil in the eye instead of a perpendicular slit, as is seen in that animal.

The attempt made by Linnæus to distinguish the dog as having a tail curved to the left, is evidently without any reliable foundation, as though there are far more with the tail on that side than on the right, yet many exceptions are to be met with, and among the pugs almost all the bitches wear their tails curled to the left.

The definition, therefore, of Canis familiaris caudâ (sinistrorsum) recurvata, will not serve to separate the species from the others of the genus Canis, as proposed by the Swedish naturalist.

НАВІТАТ.

In almost every climate the dog is to be met with, from Kamtschatka to Cape Horn, the chief exception being some of the islands in the Pacific Ocean; but it is only in the temperate zone that he is to be found in perfection, the courage of the bulldog and the speed of the greyhound soon degenerating in tropical countries. In China and the Society Islands dogs are eaten, being considered great delicacies, and by the ancients the flesh of a young fat dog was highly prized, Hippocrates even describing that of an adult as wholesome and nourishing. In a state of nature the dog is compelled to live on flesh which he obtains by hunting, and hence he is classed among the Carnivora; but when domesticated he will live upon vegetable substances alone, such as oatmeal porridge, or bread made from any of the cereals, but thrives best upon a mixed diet of vegetable and animal substances; and, indeed, the formation of his teeth is such as to lead us to suppose that by nature he is intended for it, as we shall hereafter find in discussing his anatomical structure.

VARIETIES OF THE DOG.

The varieties of the dog are extremely numerous, and, indeed, as they are apparently produced by crossing, which is still had recourse to, there is scarcely any limit to the numbers which may be described. It is a curious fact that large bitches frequently take a fancy to dogs so small as to be incapable of breeding with them; and in any case, if left to themselves, the chances are very great against their selecting mates of the same breed as themselves. The result is, that innumerable nondescripts are yearly born, but as a certain number of breeds are described by writers on the dog, or defined by "dog-fanciers," these "mongrels," as they are called from not belonging to them, are generally despised, and, however useful they may be, the breed is not continued. This, however, is not literally true, exceptions being made in favour of certain sorts which have been improved by admixture with others, such as the cross of the bulldog with the greyhound; the foxhound with the Spanish pointer; the bulldog with the terrier, &c., &c., all of which are now recognised and admitted into the list of valuable breeds, and not only are not considered mongrels, but, on the contrary, are prized above the original strains from which they are descended. An attempt has been made by M. F. Cuvier to arrange these varieties under three primary divisions, which are founded upon the shape of the head, and the length of the jaws; these being supposed by him to vary in accordance with the degree of cunning and scenting powers, which the animal possessing them displays. The following

is his classification, which in the main is correct, and I shall adhere to it with trifling alterations in the pages of this book.

F. Cuvier's Divisional Arrangement.

I. MATINS.

Characterised by head more or less elongated; parietal bones insensibly approaching each other; condyles of the lower jaw placed in a horizontal line with the upper molar teeth, exemplified by

[graphic][merged small]

SECT. 1. Half-reclaimed dogs, hunting in packs; such as the Dingo, the Dhole, the Pariah, &c.

SECT. 2. Domesticated dogs, hunting in packs, or singly, but using the eye in preference to the nose; as, for instance, the Albanian dog, Deerhound, &c.

SECT. 3. Domesticated dogs, which hunt singly, and almost entirely by the eye. Example: the Greyhound.

II. SPANIELS.

Characteristics. Head moderately elongated; parietal bones do not approach each other above the temples, but diverge and swell out, so as to enlarge the forehead and cavity of the brain.

[graphic][merged small]

SECT. 4. Pastoral dogs, or such as are employed for domestic purposes. Example: Shepherd's Dog.

SECT. 5. Water dogs, which delight in swimming. Examples: Newfoundland Dog, Water-Spaniel, &c.

SECT. 6. Fowlers, or such as have an inclination to chase or point birds by scenting only, and not killing.

Examples:

the Setter, the Pointer, the Field-Spaniel, &c.

SECT. 7. Hounds, which hunt in packs by scent, and kill their game. Examples: the Foxhound, the Harrier, &c.

SECT. 8. Crossed breeds, for sporting purposes. Example: the

Retriever.

« AnteriorContinuar »