Buffon's Natural History. Volume 05 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &cBuffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de
History
Buffon's Natural History. Volume 05 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &c
Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de
Natural history
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_
[Illustration: FIG. 46. _K. Charles's Dog_]
[Illustration: FIG. 47. _Bull Dog_]
[Illustration: FIG. 48. _Pug_]
[Illustration: FIG. 49. _Mastiff_]
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.
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