The parent stock it is now impossible to trace; but the wild dog, wherever found on the continent of Asia, or Northern Europe, has nearly the same character, and bears no inconsiderable resemblance to the British fox-dog, while many of those from the Southern Ocean can scarcely be distinguished from the English lurcher. There is, however, no more difficulty in this respect with regard to the dog, than any other of our domesticated animals. Climate, or chance, produced a change in certain individuals, and the sagacity of man, or, perhaps, mere chance, founded on these accidental varieties numerous breeds possessed of certain distinct characteristic properties. The degeneracy of the dog, also, in different countries, cannot for a moment be disputed. The most natural arrangement of all the varieties of the dog is according to the development of the frontal sinus and the cerebral cavity, or, in other words, the power of scent, and the degree of intelligence. This classification originated with M.F. Cuvier, and has been adopted by most naturalists. He reckoned three divisions of the dog: I. Those having the head more or less elongated, and the parietal bones of the skull widest at the base, and gradually approaching towards each other as they ascend, the condyls of the lower jaw being on the same line with the upper molar teeth. The _Greyhound_ and all its varieties belong to this class. II. The head moderately elongated, and the parietals diverging from each other for a certain space as they rise upon the side of the head, enlarging the cerebral cavity and the frontal sinus. To this class belong our most valuable dogs,--the _Spaniel_, _Setter_, _Pointer_, _Hound_, and the _Sheep-dog_. III. The muzzle more or less shortened, the frontal sinus enlarged, and the cranium elevated, and diminished in capacity. To this class belong some of the _Terriers_, and a great many dogs that might very well be spared. This division of the different species of the dog is adopted here as being the most simple, intelligible, and satisfactory. [Footnote 1: Gen. iv. 2.] [Footnote 2: Deut. xxiii. 18.] [Footnote 3: In some of Belzoni's beautiful sketches of the frieze-work of the old Egyptian temples, the dog appears, with his long ears and broad muzzle, not unlike the old Talbot hound.] [Footnote 4: Herodotus, lib. ii. c. 66.] [Footnote 5: No dog was suffered to come within the precincts of the Temple at Jerusalem. [Greek: Ex_o kunes] was a prevalent expression among the Jews. Byrant's 'Mythology', vol. ii. p. 42.] [Footnote 6: Phil. iii. 2.] [Footnote 7: Rev. xxii. 15.] [Footnote 8: Job xxx. 1. See also Isaiah lvi, 10, 11.] [Footnote 9: Psalm lix. 6.]