Chapter II: Of Domestic Animals (7)

At the same time I had three young foxes, two males and a female, which had been taken with snares and kept in separate places. I had one of these fastened with a long light chain, and had an hut built to shelter him. I kept him in this manner several months, and though he seemed pensive and had his eyes constantly fixed on the country, which he could see from his hut, yet he had constantly good health and appetite. A bitch in season was put to him, but as she would not remain near the fox, she was chained in the same place and plenty of food was given them. The fox neither bit nor used her ill, and during the ten days they remained together, there was not the smallest quarrel between them, neither night or day, nor when they fed; he even approached her familiarly, but as soon as he scented his companion, the signs of desire disappeared, he returned in a melancholy manner to his hut, and no intercourse took place. When the ardour of this bitch was gone, another and even a third and fourth were put to him in the same manner; he treated them all with the same gentleness and with the same indifference; to ascertain whether it was natural repugnance, or the state of restraint he was kept in, prevented his coupling, I had a female of his own species brought to him, which he covered more than once the same day, and upon dissecting her a few weeks afterwards we found she was impregnated, and would have produced four young ones. The other male fox was successively presented with several bitches in season; who were shut up with him in a close courtyard, but he discovered neither hatred nor love to them; they had neither combats nor caresses, and he died a few months after either of disgust or melancholy.

These experiments prove at least that the wolf and fox are very different in their natures from the dog; and that their species are so distinct as to prevent their intermixture, at least in our climates; that consequently the dog does not derive his origin from the wolf or fox, and that the nomenclators who look on these two animals as nothing more than wild dogs, or who imagine the dog to be a wolf, or a fox, become tame, and give to all three in common the name of Dog, have deceived themselves by not having sufficiently consulted nature.

In climates which are warmer than ours, there is a ferocious animal which is less different from the dog than either the fox or wolf: this animal, which is called the jackall, has been taken notice of and tolerably well described by many travellers. They are found, we are told, in great numbers in Africa and Asia; about Trebisond and Mount Caucasus; in Mingrelia, Natolia, Hyrcania, Persia, India, Goa, Guzarat, Bengal, Congo, Guinea, and many other places; and though this animal is considered by the natives, where he is found, as a wild dog, yet as it is very doubtful whether they intermix, we shall treat of him as a separate species, as well as the fox and wolf, and keep their histories apart from each other as well as from the dog. Not that I pretend absolutely to affirm, that the jackall, or even the wolf and fox, have never in any age or country coupled with dogs. The ancients have so positively asserted the contrary, that there still remain some doubts, notwithstanding the proofs I have adduced. Aristotle says that although it is very rare for animals of different species to intermingle, yet it certainly happens among foxes, dogs, and wolves; and that the Indian dogs proceed from another wild beast like themselves and a dog; and we may suppose that this wild beast, to which he gives no name, is the jackall. But he says in another place that the Indian dogs come from the tiger and the bitch which appears to me more improbable, because the tiger is of a disposition and form more different from the dog than either the fox, wolf, or jackall. It must be allowed that Aristotle himself seems to invalidate his own argument, for after having said that the Indian dogs proceeded from a wild beast resembling the wolf or the fox, he afterwards says they come from the tiger. If they are from a tiger and a bitch, or from a dog and a tigress, he only adds, that it does not succeed until the third trial; that the first litter is solely tigers; that if dogs be tied up in deserts, unless the tigers are in season, they are often devoured; that the frequent production of monsters and prodigies in Africa is occasioned by the great heat and scarcity of water making a number of different animals assemble together to drink where they grow familiar, and often couple together. All this seems too conjectural, uncertain, and suspicious to deserve any credit; for the more we observe the nature of animals, the more we perceive that the indication of instinct is the more certain way to judge of them. By the most attentive examination of the interior parts we only discover slight differences. The horse and ass, though they have a most perfect resemblance in the internal parts, are, nevertheless, animals of very different natures. The bull, ram, and goat, differ but little in their internal formation, though they form three species more distant than the horse and the ass; and the same observation holds with respect to the dog, the fox, and the wolf. The inspection of the external form shews this more clearly; but as in many species, especially in those the least distant, there is even in the exterior much more resemblance than difference, this inspection is not sufficient to determine whether they are of the same or different species; and when the shades are still less we can only combine them with the agreements they have with instinct. It is from the disposition of animals that we should judge of their natures; if we suppose two animals quite the same in their forms, yet different in their dispositions, they would not copulate nor breed together, and however much alike they would therefore be two distinct species.

_Engraved for Barr's Buffon_

The same means to which we are obliged to have recourse to judge of the difference of neighbouring species, is what we ought still more to employ when we would distinguish the numerous varieties which take place in the same species. We know of thirty varieties in the dog, and yet it is certain that we are not acquainted with them all. Of these thirty there are seventeen which may be said to be owing to the influence of climate, namely, the shepherd's dog, the wolf dog, the Siberian dog, the Iceland dog, the Lapland dog, the mastiff, the common greyhound, the great Dane, the Irish hound, the hound, the harrier, the terrier, the spaniel, the water-dog, the small Dane, the Turkish dog, and the bull-dog. The thirteen others, which are the mongrel Turkish dog, the greyhound with hair like a wolf, the shock dog, (_fig. 44_) or lap dog, the pug dog, the bastard pug dog, the Calabrian, Burgos, and Alicant dogs, the lion dog, (_fig. 45._) the small water dog, the Artois dog, and the King Charles's dog, (_fig. 46._) are nothing but mongrels which proceed from the first seventeen races; and by tracing these mongrels back to the two races from which they issue their natures will be easily known but with respect to the first seventeen races, if we would know what relation there is among them we must attend to their instincts, forms, and many other circumstances. I have put together the shepherd's dog, the wolf dog, the Siberian, the Lapland, and the Iceland dogs, because there is a more striking resemblance between them than any others, in their forms and coats, and because they have all pointed noses somewhat like the fox, erect ears, and their instincts lead them to watch and follow the flocks. The mastiff, the greyhound, the large Dane, and the Irish hound, have, besides the resemblance of form and long snout, the same dispositions; they love to course and to follow horses; they have but indifferent noses, and hunt rather from their sight than their scent. The real hunting dogs are the hounds, harriers, terriers, spaniels, and water-dogs, and notwithstanding they differ in figure yet they have all thick muzzles, the same instincts, and therefore ought to be classed together; the only difference between the water-dog and the spaniel is, that those with long bushy hair take to the water with more facility than those whose hair is short and straight. The small Dane and Turkish dog must be ranked together, since they are in fact the same; the latter having only lost his hair by the effects of heat. Lastly, the bull dog, (_fig. 47._) seems to form a particular variety, and even to belong to a particular climate; he is a native of England, and it is difficult to preserve the breed even in France. The pug-dog, (_fig. 48._) and mastiff, (_fig. 49._) are mongrels from him and they succeed much better; they all have short muzzles and but little scent. The acuteness of the scent, however, seems in general to depend more on the largeness than the length of the muzzle, for the greyhound, large Dane, and the Irish greyhound, have their scent very inferior to the hound, hairier, terrier, spaniel, and water-dog, although their muzzles are more than proportionally longer.

_Engraved for Barr's Buffon_

These animals have all a greater or less perfection of the senses, and these differences, which in man occasion not any eminent or remarkable quality, give to animals all their merit, and produce as a cause all the talents of which their natures are susceptible. I shall not here take upon myself to enumerate all the qualities of the sporting dogs; it is well known how much the excellence of their sense of smelling, together with their education, gives them the superiority over other animals; but these details belong only to a distant part of Natural History. Besides the tricks and dexterity, though proceeding from nature alone, made use of by wild animals to elude the researches, or to avoid the pursuit of the dogs, are perhaps more wonderful than the most refined methods practised in the art of hunting.

The dog, as well as all animals which produce more than one or two at a time, is not perfectly formed at the time of its birth. Dogs are commonly whelped with their eyes shut; the two eyelids are not only closed together, but adhere by a membrane which breaks away as soon as the muscles of the upper eye-lid acquire sufficient strength to raise it and overcome this obstacle, which commonly happens about the tenth or twelfth day. At this time the bones of the skull are not finished, the body and snout swelled, and the whole form incomplete; but in less than two months they learn to make use of all their senses, begin to have strength, and their growth is very rapid. In the fourth month they lose some of their teeth, which, as in other animals, are soon replaced by others that do not fall out. They have in all 42 teeth, namely six incisive, and two canine at top and at bottom, fourteen grinders in the upper, and twelve in the under-jaw; but these latter are not always the same, as some dogs have more grinders than others. When very young, males and females bend down to void their water; about the ninth or tenth month, the males and some females begin to lift up their legs for that purpose, and at which time they begin to be capable of engendering. The male can couple at all times, but the females only at stated seasons, which are usually twice a year, and more frequently in winter than in summer; this inclination lasts ten, twelve, and sometimes fifteen days and shews itself by exterior signs; the male is apprized of her situation by his smell, although she seldom consents to his approaching her for the first six or seven days. Once coupling is sometimes sufficient for her to produce a great number of young, but if left at liberty she will admit many times a day almost every dog that presents himself. It has been observed that when allowed to choose for herself, she generally prefers the largest, without attending either to his form or beauty; and it frequently happens that small bitches who have received large mastiffs die in bringing forth their young. It is well known that these animals, from a singular conformation, cannot separate after consummation, but are obliged to remain united as long as the swelling subsists. The dog, like several other animals, has not only a bone in its member, but also a hollow ring, which is very apparent, and swells considerably during the time of copulation. The females have perhaps the largest clitoris of any animal, and while compressed, a swelling arises which probably lasts longer than that of the male, and forces him to remain; for when the act is finished he changes his position, to rest on his four legs; he has also a melancholy air, and the efforts for separation are never made on the female side. Bitches go nine weeks with young, that is 63 days, but never less than 60. Those of the largest and strongest make are the most prolific, and those will sometimes produce ten or twelve puppies at a litter; while those of a small kind do not bring forth more than four or five, and frequently but one or two; especially the first time, which is always the least numerous in all animals.

Though dogs are very ardent in their amours, it does not prevent their duration, for they continue to propagate during life, which is usually limited to fourteen or fifteen years, though some have been known to live till twenty. Length of life in dogs is, like that of other animals, proportioned to the time of his growth: for as they are about two years in coming to maturity, so they live to twice seven. The dog's age may be known by his teeth, which, when he is young, are white, sharp, and pointed; and which, in proportion as he advances in age, become black, blunt, and unequal; it is also to be known by the hair, for it turns grey about the nose, forehead, and round the eyes. These animals, though naturally vigilant, active, and formed for exercise, become, by being over-fed in our houses, so heavy and idle, that they pass their lives in sleeping and eating. This sleep, which is almost continual, is accompanied by dreams, which is perhaps a mild manner of existing; and notwithstanding they are naturally voracious, yet they can subsist without eating a considerable time. In the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences, there is an account of a bitch, who having been accidentally left in a country-house, subsisted 40 days without any other nourishment than the stuff on the wool of a mattress, which she had torn to pieces. Water seems to be more necessary for them than food, for they drink frequently and very abundantly; and it is even a vulgar opinion that if they want water for a length of time they become mad. It is a circumstance peculiar to them that they seem to make great efforts, and suffer pain in voiding their excrements. This is not occasioned, as Aristotle alleges, from their intestines becoming narrower in approaching the anus; for, on the contrary, it is certain, that in the dog, as in other animals, the great intestines grow bigger as they proceed downwards, and that the rectum is larger than the colon: the dryness of the temperament of this animal is sufficient of itself to produce this effect.

To give a clearer idea of the different kinds of dogs, of their propagation in different climates, and of the mixture of their breeds, I subjoin a kind of genealogical tree, in which all the different varieties may easily be distinguished. The shepherd's dog is the stock or body of the tree. This dog, when transported into the rigorous climates of the north, such as to Lapland, becomes ugly and small, but in Russia, Iceland, and Siberia, where the climate is rather less rigorous, and the people more civilized, he is not only preserved, but even brought to greater perfection. These changes are occasioned solely by the influence of those climates, which produces no great alteration in his form, for in each of them he has erect ears, long and thick hair, and a wild look; he barks also less frequently, and in a different manner from those that in more favourable regions have been brought to greater perfection. The Iceland dog is the only one that has not his ears entirely erect, but which bend or fold a little at their extremities; and Iceland is, of all the northern countries, that which has been most anciently inhabited by half-civilized men.

The same shepherd's dog, transported into temperate climates, and among people perfectly civilized, as those of England, France, or Germany, loses its savage air, erect ears, its long, thick, and rough hair, and takes the form of the hound, bull-dog, and mastiff. Of the two latter the ears are still partly erect, or only half-pendent; and in their manners and sanguinary dispositions very much resemble the dog, from which they draw their origin. The hound is the most distant of the three; his ears are long and pendent, and the gentleness, docility, and, we may say, the timidity of this dog, are so many proofs of the great degeneration, or, more properly, the great perfection he has acquired by a long state of domesticity, and a careful education bestowed on him by man.

The hound, the harrier, and the terrier, are only one race, for it has been remarked that in the same litter there have been harriers, terriers, and hounds, though the female hound had been only covered by one of the three dogs. I have coupled the Bengal harrier with a common harrier, because they differ only by the number of spots upon their coats. I have also coupled the turnspit, or terrier with crooked legs, with the common terrier, because the defects in the legs of this dog only proceed from a disease somewhat like the rickets, with which some individuals have been attacked, and transmitted the effects to their descendants.

The hound, if transported into Spain and Barbary, where all animals have the hair fine, long, and thick, would become the spaniel and water-dog. The great and small spaniel, which differ only in size, when brought into England change their colour from white to black, and, by the influence of the climate, have become the large and small King Charles's dog, and the beagle, which is, in fact, the same as the others, but with liver-coloured marks on the fore feet, over the eyes, and on the nose.

The mastiff, transported to the north, is become the large Dane, and to the south changes into a common greyhound. The large greyhounds come from the Levant, those of a middling size from Italy, and the latter being taken into England have become still smaller. The large Dane, transported into Ireland, the Ukraine, Tartary, Epirus, and Albania, have become the large Irish dogs, which in size surpass all the rest of the species. The bull-dog, transported from England into Denmark, is become the small Dane, and this small Dane taken into warm climates changed into the Turkish dog. All these races, with their varieties, have been produced solely by the influence of climate, joined to the effects of food and education; the other dogs are not pure races, but proceed from a mixture of those above.

The greyhound and mastiff have produced the mongrel greyhound, which is called the _greyhound with wolf's hair_. The nose of this mongrel is not so thin as that of the Turkish greyhound, which is very rare in France. The large Dane and the large spaniel have produced the dog of Calabria, which is a handsome dog, with long thick hair, and higher in stature than the largest mastiff. The spaniel and terrier produce what is called the Burgundy spaniel; and from the spaniel and small Dane has come the lion-dog, which is now very scarce. The dogs with long fine curled hair, which are called the Bouffe dogs, and which are bigger than the water dogs, come from the water dog and large spaniel. The little water dog comes from the small spaniel and the water dog. The bull-dog and the mastiff produce a mongrel, which is larger than the bull-dog, yet approaches him more than the other; and the pug comes from the bull-dog and the small Dane.

All these races are simple mongrels, and come from the mixture of two pure races; but there are other dogs which may be called double mongrels, because they proceed from a pure race and one already mixed. The bastard pug is a double mongrel, and comes from a mixture of the pug with the small Dane. The Alicant dog is also a double mongrel; he proceeds from the pug and the small spaniel. The Maltese, or lap-dog, is a double mongrel, and comes from the small spaniel and little water-dog. In fine, there are dogs which may be called triple mongrels, because they proceed from the mixture of two races which have already been mixed; as the Artois dogs and what is called the _street dogs_, which resemble all dogs in general, but no one in particular, since they proceed from races which have several times been mixed.

SUPPLEMENT.

The following curious fact I had from M. de Mailly, of the Academy of Dijon: "The curate of Norges, near Dijon, has a bitch, which has had all the symptoms of pregnancy, and having puppies without having been in either state. She was proud, but was not suffered to go with a dog, yet at the end of her usual term her paps were filled with milk, and she brought up some young puppies that were taken to her, with as much care and tenderness as if they had really been her own; and what is more singular, this same bitch, about three years since, suckled two young kittens, one of which has imbibed so much of the nature of her nurse, that her cries infinitely more resemble the tones of a dog than those of a cat." This is certainly a rare phenomenon, and were this production of milk without impregnation more frequent, it would render female animals more analogous to female birds who produce eggs without connection with the male.

The Russians have brought several dogs to Paris, as Siberians, a very different race from those which we have described; one in particular, both male and female, were about the size of a common greyhound, with pointed noses, ears half erect, and long tails; they were entirely black, excepting a spot of white which the female had upon the top of the head, and one which the male had upon his tail; they were very fond, but exceedingly dirty and voracious, and it was almost impossible to satisfy them with food; upon the whole, they were evidently of the same race as we have treated of under the denomination of Iceland dogs.

Mr. Collinson, who had made various researches concerning the Siberian dogs, informed me that their noses were pointed, and their ears long, that some of them carried their tails like the wolf, others in the same manner as the fox, and that they certainly engendered with both those animals; that he had himself seen dogs and wolves couple in England, and although he knew of no one who could say the same with regard to dogs and foxes, from the kind well known there by the name of the fox-dogs, he did not think there could be any doubt of the fact.

The Greenland dogs are mostly white, though some few are black, and have very thick coats; they employ them for drawing their sledges, by putting four or six of them together; they also eat their flesh, and make clothes of their skins. The Kamtschatka dogs are also either black or white, and are used for drawing sledges; they are suffered to run at large during the summer, and in winter they are fed with a sort of paste made with fish. These dogs of Greenland and Kamtschatka, as well as the Russian dogs just mentioned, have a strong resemblance to the Iceland dogs, and are most probably of the same race.

Notwithstanding the varieties I have described, there are still others remaining, which I have not been able to procure; I have myself seen two individuals of a wild race, but could not get a sufficient opportunity even to describe them. M. Aubry, curate of St. Louis, informed us that a few years since he saw a dog about the size of a spaniel, with long hair and a very large beard on his chin. Louis XIV. had some of these dogs sent to him by M. le Comte de Toulouse; and Comte de Lassai had some of the same breed, but there is not any of them to be found at present.

I have little to add with respect to the wild dogs, of which there are different races, to what is contained in my original work; and the following account of the wild dog found near the Cape of Good Hope, I had from M. le Vicomte de Querhoënt; he says, there are a great number of packs of wild dogs at the Cape; their skins are spotted with various colours, and some of them are very large; their ears are erect, they run extremely fast, and have no constant place of abode. They kill the deer in great numbers, are seldom destroyed themselves, and are very difficult to be caught in snares, from carefully avoiding every thing that has been touched by man. Several of their young have been taken in the woods, and some of those it has been attempted to render domestic, but they grow up so large and so ferocious that the attempt has been given up as in vain.

_END OF THE FIFTH VOLUME._

T. Gillet, Printer, Wild-Court.

Transcriber Note

All obvious typographical errors were corrected. Where variant spellings were used, they were standardized to the most prevalent usage. All paragraphs split by illustrations were rejoined. The caption "_Engraved for Barr's Buffon_" were standardized and moved to the beginning of each group of images.