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Show 48 ON WOLVES, JACKALS, DOGS, AND FOXES. [Feb. 4, between a fox and a dog, notwithstanding numerous specimens of supposed hybrids of this sort which from time to time have been brought to m y notice. The habits of wolves and jackals are so much alike that I am unable to point out any marked differences between them. Domestic dogs exhibit many of the habits of wolves and jackals, such as the scratching up of earth with the front feet, and the pushing back of it with the hind feet, in order to cover up the droppings. Again, when about to rest, the turning round two or three times with the object of forming a hole in which to rest may be noticed in pet dogs about to lie down upon the hearth-rug, a habit evidently acquired by inheritance from their wild ancestors. The whining, growling, and howling of wolves, jackals, and dogs are so much alike as to be indistinguishable ; but the barking of dogs is undoubtedly an acquired habit, and doubtless due to domestication. Wolves and jackals in a wild state never bark, nor do Esquimaux dogs nor Dingos, but if kept associated with barking dogs, these and other wild dogs in many instances acquire the habit of barking. A well-known instance of this occurred under m y notice. A wild Antarctic Wolf, after a few months, hearing the barking of dogs in the immediate neighbourhood, began to bark, and succeeded admirably. The same thing has happened to m y knowledge in the case of purebred Esquimaux dogs and Dingos. This reminds me of a similar instance of the development of the voice by domestication. There can be no doubt that the origin of our domestic fowls must be attributed to the wild Jungle-fowls of Asia, but none of the known wild species are ever heard to utter the fine loud crow of our domestic cock. The different breeds of dogs do not present greater difficulties in accounting for them than are offered by the different breeds of domestic pigeons and the extraordinary varieties of domestic poultry. Individual differences are observable in all living animals. The members of a family, the produce of the same parents, reared, treated, and fed on the same spot with the same surroundings, are frequently found to differ to such an extent in appearance, temper, and disposition, as to lead observers to doubt their uniform origin. It is probable that in this way varieties spring up and form distinct races. In conclusion I may call attention to the fact that wolves, jackals, and wild dogs have a great aversion to go into the water. I have been informed upon good authority that the Eskimos, at times that they do not require to use their dogs, in order to prevent their being troublesome by entering the huts, convey them to an island, and there land and keep them, and that in such cases, although the dogs are sometimes half-starved, they never venture into the water. It therefore appears to me that during the domestication of the dog, by careful selection, breeding, and training, certain breeds have developed an aquatic habit that may be regarded as entirely foreign to its original wild ancestors. In fact the dog appears to me°the most perfectly domesticated of all animals. |