148 THE BEE, OR LITERARY WEEKLY INTELLIGNGER, FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25. 17931 THOUGHTS ON WHAT IS CALLED VARIETIES, OR DIFFERENT BREEDS OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS, SUGGESTED BY READING DR PALLAS'S ACCOUNT of russIAN SHEEP-BY THE EDITOR. THE HE only rule that has hitherto been adopted by naturalists to mark the distinction between a species. and a variety is, that though different species of animals of the same genus may be brought to breed together, as the horse and the afs, yet the animals thus produced, are not prolific; whereas the progeny arising from an intermixture of different varieties of the same species, are themselves equally prolific as the parents from which they sprang. Adhering to this rule Dr Pallas, very properly, calls all the kinds of sheep yet known, only varieties of the same species of animal, because he has found that the mixed progeny of the whole are prolific. 4 "Naturalists however have not stopped here. Ia their desire for simplification they have gone a step VOL. Xvii. ተ Sept. 25. farther, and are now in general disposed to maintain that all the varieties, properly so called, have been produced by accidental deviations only from one parent animal, which they believe has originally constituted the whole of each indivual species; they of course endeavour, in most cases, to condescend upon some one of these varieties as having been the original from which all the others have sprung. In both these last afsumptions however, they seem to go farther than facts hitherto well authenticated can authorise them: they reason here at best only from probabilities; from which no inferences can be admited as certain and as there are probabilities, perhaps equally strong against the opinion they have adopted, as for it, the safest course in this case would seem to be, at least, to suspend our opinion for the present, and to decline drawing any certain conclusion, till the facts necefsary for giving authenticity to any opinion shall have been fully ascertained. : Buffon, who is the least scrupulous of all modern naturalists, has been the most forward to decide in this, as in many other cases. He does not so much as condescend to admit that there can be a doubt in this case; but on all occasions afsumes it as a certainty, that all the varieties of one species have been derived from one parent; and boldly raises upon that 'supposition many practical inferences, which if his theory fhould prove to be unfounded, might lead to very important errors; so that it is not a matter of idle curiosity to investigate this question. Among the varieties of the same species of animals, we find very great and striking diversities in res spect of size, qualities, appearence, natural instincts and faculties. Between the largest sized mastiff dog for example, and the smallest lap dog, when both are well fed, and at full growth, the difference is not, Ishould suppose, lefs than as ten to one of absolute weight. The bound, properly so called, pufsefses the sense of smelling in the highest perfection, so that he pursues his game invariably by the scent. The gaze bound on the other hand, is perfectly destitute of that sense in regard to the discrimination of game, * and pursues it invariably by the eye only; whence his name. The pointer and the spaniel though both pofsefsing the sense of smelling in great perfection, as well as the hound, are endowed with instincts very different; and exercise the sense of smell each in a way peculiar to its kind. The pointer and the fhepherd's dog can be each taught their lefson in their own stile with equal facility; but the one can never be brought farther than to act by a sort of mechani cal impulse, steadily to one point, while the other can be taught to act in some measure like a reasoning animal, who is authorised to vary his conduct as circumstances require; and does so accordingly in some cases with a cautious discretion, that exceeds *Here a distinction takes place, somewhat analogous to what is observed to take place among men, with respect to the discrimination of musical sounds. A man may have the sense of hearing sufficiently acute, yet be totally destitute of an ear for music. The grehound too pofsefes, I believe, the sense of smelling in some cases sufficiently strong, yet is not able by that means to trace his game. even some of the human race*. Some varieties of dogs take to the water easily, while others avoid it with much care: Some only houl like the hound, others bark almost incefsantly, as the lap dog; others like the grehound seldom let their voice be heard; and others, are entirely mute. To enumerate all the diversities would be tiresome; but this slight fketch ought to be sufficient to make one hesitate in admitting, without proof, that such prodigious diversities fhould all have been the progeny of one common pa rent. Were these diversities only casual and apt to vary, it might be more easy for us to give faith to the hypotheses; but this is not the case. Experience hath fully proved, that any one breed may be kept perfectly uncontaminated for any length of time, with all its distinctive peculiarities entire, merely by pre * Of the sagacity of dogs many instances might be adduced; but none that I have ever met with can equal the following instances of the sagacity of a fhepherd's dog; the owner himself having been hange ed some years ago for sheep stealing, the following facts, among others respecting the dog, were authenticated by evidence on his trial. When the man intended to steal any sheep, he did not do it himself, but detached his dog to perform the business. With this view, under pretext of looking at the fheep, with an intention to purchase them, he went through the flock with his dog at his foot, to whom he secretly gave a signal so as to let him know the individuals he wanted, to the number of perhaps ten or twelve, out of a flock of some hundreds; he then went away, and from distance of several miles sent back the dog by himself in the night time, who picked out the individual sheep that had been pointed out to him,-separated them from the flock, and drove them before him by himself, for the distance of ten or twelve miles till he came up with his master, to whom he delivered up his charge. : venting an intermixture by copulation. Nor is this all it is also known that if such intermixture be permitted, the descendants will undoubtedly be a mixed breed, evidently participating of the qualities and appearences of both its parents. Between a hound and a grehound, a mongrel breed is obtained which possefses the sense of smelling, though in a lefs degree than the one, and the faculty of fleetnefs in a lefs degree than the other, of its parents; and its whole external appearance evidently indicates at first sight, the compound of the stock from whence it has descended. The same thing is observable in every other mongrel breed: and after the distinctive qualities have been thus blended together, it does not seem possible ever to separate them, so as to obtain once more a breed from that progeny, which fhall possess the original qualities of either of the parents pure. This may be indeed nearly effected, by crossing repeatedly with a pure individual, of the unmixed breed through many generations; by which means the qualities which were once equally blended, will become so unequally mixed, as that one of them fhall not be discernible; just as an equal mixture of milk and water might, by frequent additions of pure water, have the milk so much diluted as to be totally imperceptible. Now, in this last case, whether is it more natural for me to suppose, when i see the two fluids, milk and water, perfectly distinct, that these fluids were originally separate and distinct things, or to believe that both the milk and the water had been the same thing originally, and by some wonderful procefs, of which |