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A History of British Quadrupeds by Thomas Bell

p. 2

Expansion of skins for soaring through the air, in the Colugo (a galeopithecus a genus

properly referred to its Quadrumana – in Pteromys or flying squirrel, Petaurista or flying opossum amongst the marsupials. Flying fish – flying lizard – Draco  

p. 82

in France the hedgehogs vary so much in size. That the common people believe them

another species.

p. 90

it is now known there is a second species of mole in the south of Europe the eyelids of

which are totally closed.

p. 91

Henri le Court's discoveries on the habits of the mole have been described by M. et Cadet de Vaux in a work published in 1803 & more briefly by Geoffroy St. Hilaire in his "Cours d'Histoire Naturelle des Mammifères."

p. 99

The mole will cross a broad river, if it wishes to change its hunting ground. (& therefore narrow arm of sea) for them such animals will not tell the difference.

p.100

"As The males are much more numerous than the females (a)" (2) they fight much & even fatal battles & the victorious (& therefore most adapted), remain in undisturbed possession.

p. 105

The mole has not been found in Ireland, attempted to be accounted for by kind of soil. Not sufficient because Mr B says mole found in every kind of soil &c on the Continent. Fauna of Ireland peculiar.)

p. 106

There are several remarkable varieties of mole supposed to be connected with soil but Mr. B thinks erroneously so.

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(a)

(a) Wyara says same of Guanaco

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p. 122 last bear in Great Britain 1073.

p. 130

Mr B says "From this conformation it is evident that every facility, consistent with the preservation of its structural relations to the rest of the group, is given to the Otter for the pursuit and capture of its proper food."

p. 138

Reasons given for Mr Ogilby for supposing Irish Otter colour. size of ears & general  size. Mr Bell thinks only variety.

p. 151 & 153

seems clearly known that white colour of stoat & lemming in effect of cold & produce suddenly, & therefore not produced by effect of general surrounding colour.

p. 158

Mustela putorius or common fitchet.

"This figure is intended to perpetuate a curious fact, of an individual of this species having been observed repeatedly to resort to the bank of a river in search of those fish, of which no less than eleven were found in its retreat. A no less curious example of aberrant appetite in this animal is related in Loudon's Magazine, *(a) of a female Polecat which was pursued to her nest, where we found five young ones "comfortably embedded in dry withered grass; and where there were lodged, all things were tight and++

p. 168

The Marten (Martes foina) often descend to the ground to feed on mice &c whilst the weasels ascend trees for in pursuit of smaller birds.

p. 174

Pine Martens & common martes [illeg] difficulty in knowing whether species or varieties (slight difference of colour, & habits size & proportion). We get far from satisfactory evidence.

p. 178

says all animals are adapted to their situation, "but some stand out as thus

Omitted

p. 179 wild cat found in Ireland. Germany Russia & Northern Asia

p. 184

The domestic cat "frequently exhibits markings so similar to those of the wild cat as to afford a strong presumption of the admixture of the two races, if not of their absolute specific identity (there is no wild species of genus which bear smallest resemblance to marking of the colour observed.

p. 185

this is against my view of law of variation. But in them not in the kind of colour though not in the markings?

[between lines: the Intermedial must be [illeg] like grey eyes & [illeg]

Yet this only appear in female for a male Intermedial is so rare that [illeg] have been [illeg] found

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++ snug to a wonder; but, "says the narrator, "in a side hole I picked out and counted most carefully forty large frogs and two toads. There were all alive, but merely so; capable of sprawling a little and that was all: for the mother had contrived to strike them all with palsy. There were merely capable of sprawling, and not of moving away; and on examination I found that a whole number, toads and all, were bitten through the brain."

*(a) Vol. VI. p. 206

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p. 190

The dread of the water & their fondness for fish incongruous in Jaguar on banks of river & Lions on desert. – from the cat either propensities might possibly be derived.

p. 191

The domestic is said to have come from Spain

The Tailless from the Isle of Man Cornwall & in a village in Dorsetshire. (in latter all sprung from one stock)

p. 195

"It is well-known and a remarkable fact, that all the researches of travellers, aided by the strongest lights of zoological science, have hitherto failed to discover or to ascertain the true original of most of our domesticated animals."

p. 196

in many species, the successive intermixture of intermediate varieties will always produce at length a return to one or other of the radical forms from which they were descended: that thus, if a pouter pigeon and a fantail be matched and have young, the descendants will, after a few generations resume the character of either of the pouter or the fantail*; and hence, that even varieties cannot be multiplied beyond a certain extent, and certain definite forms."

p. 204 "but, like many other animals, the father of the first litter often produces an impression which is scarcely lost in all the subsequent ones."

p. 205

Dogs returned as Domestic animals in the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt.

p. 207

Blood Hound

"The different subvarieties of the Hounds, including all the Dogs employed in the chase, which hunt by scent, and have large pendulous ears, would appear, from their near relation to each other in form, and in a susceptibility for an education to particular habits to have originated in one type."

p. 215

If it could be proved that the Beagle were antecedent, as a distinct breed, to the present race, it would be scarcely doubtful that the Harrier has been produced by a cross between one of the larger Hounds and that diminutive race. Probably, however, it is nothing more than a diminutive race of Stag or Fox Hound."

p. 217 & 218

Pointer probably Spanish origin. – "good tempered staunch & patient of fatigue" - Barking curious part of Point thought by some that the stand & crouching of setter, is an attention of the nature start of surprise made by animal coming with prey or set. Pig having been made to stand [illeg] to this. [illeg] hand action of terrier supposes it

Dogs have been known to stand on hind another

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*(a) For this fact I am indebted to my friend Mr. Sabine

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p. 208

The intelligence, acuteness, & determined purpose," which the blood-hounds evinced are most wonderful

p. 219

The setter.

"In figure, it partakes of the characters of the Pointer and Spaniel, from which it has most probably descended, but it is not unlikely that the original Setting Dogs, which were trained to set to the nets, were large Spaniels. The first person, says Wood,* who broke a Setting Dog to the net, was Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, about the year 1535.

*Ath. Oxon II. 27

p. 222

"Of all the races of Dogs, the Spaniel is perhaps the most timid, fond, and affectionate – the most grateful for kindness, the most patient under ill treatment"

p. 227

"The unerring accuracy with which this Dog can be taught to search for and bring back to his master, articles which have either been lost or purposely left for the exercise of his powers, forms one of the most surprising instances of sagacity and intelligence to be found in the history of the species."

p. 229

"This acute, bold and clever little Dog, bears in its form but a very remote relation to any of the other varieties, and appears to have existed from a very remote period as a distant race, which in the present day is preserved in its purity with the greatest care. There are two distinct varieties of the Terrier."

p. 230 & 231

The Terrier is applied to several purposes in which its diminutive size, its strength, courage, activity, and perseverance are all called into action; and it takes the earth with much eagerness, from which it has received its name."

"The clever manner in which it deals with the largest and boldest of these savage creatures*, and the rapidity with which it kills them, can surely be described."

*(?) Badger, Polecat &c.

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p. 232

Coach dog – "Has neither the fine scent nor the sagacity to render it really useful in any of the ordinary offices of the dog. It has indeed been long known in different parts of Europe, and no one ever heard of its being employed in hunting, for which in fact, it is wholly incapacitated by the deficiencies just mentioned."

p. 234

In temper and disposition of the Sheep-Dog is calm, serene, and quiet: but under a thoughtful and almost heavy aspect, there sparkles an expression of readiness and enquiry in his eyes, as it pours out from under his shaggy brow, which betokens a spirit always on the alert, and prepared for instant obedience to the commands or wishes of his master. He has not, it is true, the noble port of the Newfoundland-Dog, the affectionate fondling of the Spaniel nor the fierce attachment which renders the Mastiff so efficient a guard; but he exceeds them all in readiness and extent of intelligence, combined with a degree of docility  unequalled, perhaps, by any other animal in existence. Without showing any of that fierce enmity to strangers which renders many other Dogs so formidable, he does not ++

p. 238

The Greyhound – "It is probable that this elegant variety is one of the oldest breeds which can now be traced as having been sed in the course. The account given by Arrian (An. Dom. cir. CL.) of the mode pursued in his time of coursing the Hare could only have been available with this Dog."

p. 243

Newfoundland dog "Possessed of such limited powers of scent as unfit it for the exercise of the usual duties of the Hound or the Pointer, and, on the other hand, devoid of the fleetness of the Greyhound, its sagacity and faithful attachment, combined with great strength, hardihood, and patience, have yet rendered it one of the most extremely useful, as well as companionable, of the whole race. In the earlier works in which Dogs are treated of, it is not mentioned, and was therefore most probably unknown here, until imported from the island from which it takes it name."

p. 244

care given of Newfoundland dog knowing time. – carrying basket every morning except Sundays to the Bakers.

p. 248 & 249

The Bull-Dog. The peculiar obstinacy and ferocity of this Dog were well adapted to the conquest of the noble animal destined to be exposed to its attacks: for it is a singular property of the Bull-Dog, that it will submit to torture and mutilation, rather than let go of its hold it has once taken. Its savage pertinacity in the attack is so great, that an instance is on record of a wretch having laid a wager that his Dog would return to the attack of the Bull after each of his feet was severally cut off; and he actually won it; for after the last foot was struck from the body, the animal still attempted to

(E)+

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++ appear solicitous to become familiar with them; but rather shuns all society but that of its master, to whom he is steadily, devotedly, and almost exclusively attached."

(E)+ spring on the Bull.

p. 249

The Pug, which has somewhat the aspect of the Bull-Dog, is a small variety, with the same projection of the lower jaws, the same short close hair, and similar conformation of the body. It is, however the very reverse of that savage race in its disposition, being remark[ably] timid, and, though possessing little sagacity, tolerably good-tempered.

It is useless in the field, and kept only as a pet, for which purpose however, it is greatly inferior to most other Dogs."

Analogue Kind

Pug & Bull=dog

Analogue variation

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p. 249

p. 250 251

The mastiff. "From the period of the Roman sway in this country till the present time, the English mastiff has been considered one of the most courageous, powerful, and intelligent of the race. In the amphitheatre of Rome it was often brought into close combat with other animal; and so great was the superiority of the English breed, that an officer was appointed in this country to breed and transmit them to the capital of the empire."

"Unlike the Bull-Dog, it is susceptible of great attachment to all who attend to it, and seldom, except when closely chained, offers any molestation without repeated aggression. It barks, too, before it bites. The Bull-Dog, on the other hand, attacks with a savage and insidious silence."

p. 283

Grey Seal (Halichærus Gryphus)

It is impossible not to be forcibly struck with the contrast between the cerebral development in this genus, and that of the true Phocæ, and the relation between this difference of structure and their susceptibility of domestication. It is exactly analogous to the distinction between the crania of baboons, and those of the higher group of quadrumarious animals. The predominance of the face over the cranium in Halichærus, and the extreme narrowness of the later part, exhibit, when taken in reference to the intellectual faculties, a striking corroboration of the law which assigns to the relative proportions of these two parts of the head a corresponding relation between the mental powers and animal propensities. Hence, as Mr Ball testifies, the present species is not susceptible of domestication; whilst the Common Seal, as is well known, is docile to an extraordinary degree.

p. 286 The Walrus like the seals, principally frequent the northern seas. (are there any tropical seals confined to the Tropics?

The [Long-tailed] mouse & Harvest known found in Europe

p. 310

The Albino variety of the mouse is perpetuated [by breeding] tame

Another  variety which is said to be common in India is the pied mouse.

p. 351

The Rabbit when tame ceases to pair; it also loses in some degree its instinct of burrowing: but id several be kept together in a convenient place, they show a disposition to scratch up the earth, and their progeny, after a few generations, resume in some degree their fossorial habits; a fact which ++

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++ I can attest from my own experience when a boy.

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p. 358

(was it an aboriginal of Great Britain. (Common Stag)

The origin of all our varieties of this useful animal is undoubtedly the Wild Boar, which still infests many parts of Europe, and was formally a not unfrequent inhabitant of the woods and forests of our own country. It is, indeed, very generally diffused throughout the temperate and warmer parts of Europe and Asia: it is a favourite object of the chase in India, and is said to be found in Syria, and the northern parts of Africa.

p. 361 Consult "Low's Fauna Oicadensis"

The Irish Hog is a long, thin, rank, and haggard animal, and is not considered as a very profitable beast, at least in England; but when crossed with the Berkshire or some similar breed, it is susceptible of great improvement, both in the quality of its flesh, and the facility with which it is fattened. There is in Hebrides a very small breed, which is considered by Walker to be original there: they are of a uniform grey colour, rather shaggy, the hair and bristles being unusually long. 

p. 363

The female, namely, must not have had any previous litter by a boar of a different breed from that which it is intended to produce; for, as in the Dog – and, as we shall see hereafter, in the Horse also – so in the present case, the subsequent progeny of the mother will always partake more or less of the character of the father of the first offspring. A short account of an occurrence of this kind is given by Mr. Giles in the Philosophical Transactions for 1821.

p. 381

The importance of the influence of the sire in breeding horses is in no point more closely proved them by the fact that the progeny of the most celebrated Horses have generally sustained the reputation of his sires. Thus the descents of Eclipse numbered no less than three hundred and sixty-four winners; and those of Matcher, Highflyer and their celebrated Horses, have partaken of the same inherited excellence.

p. 385 & 386

The wild ass is larger than the Domestic

it has also rather shorter ears, the grey colour is softened by a tint of yellowish brown, and the dorsal and humeral fascia are brownish black. The character of the animal too, in all the wild freedom of its native habits, is very different from the stolid indifference which belongs o the Domestic race. It is excessively swift, untameably savage, and has all the activity and quick instinct of the Wild Horse. It is remarkable notwithstanding the length of time that has now elapsed since the original domestication of the Ass, it has altered less from its pristine form and colour, and is less liable o variation in those respects, than any other domestic animal. Ot still, in all climates and under all circumstances,

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++ retains the general true of colour which belongs to the native race as well as the black line down the back, and the transverse fascia across the shoulders".

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p. 388

In the Horse's coat there is an obvious disposition to the formation of small round      spots of a different shade or hue from that of the ground, - and this is the case      whether the general colour be black, chestnut, or grey: in the genus Asinus, on the          contrary, the markings are invariably disposed in stripes. The Zebra, the Quagga, and the Mountain Zebra are examples too familiar to require more than this allusion; and in the Common Ass, not only is the same tendency evinced by the cross mark on the shoulders, but in the young Ass there are frequently observed some obscure       darkish++

p. 395

(Red deer) That the horns of these animals are intimately connected with sex, is proved by every circumstance of these growth and economy. With the exception of the Rein Deer, the female does not possess horns.

p. 401.

Red deer – The Calf is generally spotted with white, or menilled as it is termed, on     the back and sides.

p. 405

There are two varieties of the Fallow Deer commonly met with in this country; though, from their having long intermixed, the characters do not now remain so generally distinct as was

formally the case. The common or original colour is a reddish brown, spotted with white, as represented in the engraving; the other is a dark brown, approaching sometimes to a blackish brown, and almost uniform over the whole body. The latter variety was imported from Norway by James the First, on account of its greater hardiness and indurance [sic] of cold.

p. 423

(Speaking of the ears of the Chillingham Cattle)

I mean that, although the whole of the body is of a pure creamy white, the ears and muzzle are always coloured; the former first being red, and the latter black. I have been in the habit, ever since I was a boy, of examining every white specimen of cattle that have come within my observation, and I have never yet seen one that had not same colour about the ears, either red or black, according to the breed. I remember that my attention was first of all attracted to this peculiarity by having, when a schoolboy, seen a beautiful pure white Calf, belonging to the parent of one of my schoolfellows; and finding that about half of the (E)+

p. 434

Dict. des Science Naturelle VIII p. 512 gives an account of cross between goat & sheep.

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++ bands on the legs. These tendencies to a peculiar character coloration and markings are well worthy of especial native in the Mammalia, among which will be found numerous instances bearing upon the distinction of approximating forms."

(E) + ears was red, it struck me that such might possibly be an invariable character, and so I have found it.

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p. 439

There are few more difficult and less satisfactory inquiries then those which relate to the specific characters of our hollow-horned ruminants. Whether we consider the Bovidæ or the Cupridæ, - the Oxen or the Gruts and Sheep, - we are almost equally unable to decide on the limits of species and varieties; and it would appear that this tendency to variation in the wild types is in direct relation to their proneness towards domestication. Even to the present day, there appears to be some doubt whether the argali of Asia may not be a geographical variety of the Musmon, and whether, therefore, different stocks of Domestic Sheep may not have originated from the two forms.

p 450. Southdown Sheep

It would perhaps be difficult to select a more remarkable instance of the advantages of a careful selection of stock for breeding then is exhibited in this breed of Sheep; the great improvement of which during the last few years has arisen, not from crossing with other breeds but from the system of sorting the flocks. From this source is to be traced a marked amelioration in the figure and size of the animal, as well as in the quality and quantity of the wool.

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Cwl