Dartmoor and in the Forest of Dean. In the New Forest they were hunted in the twelfth century. It would seem that the last English Wolf was slain some time during the reign of Henry VII. In Scotland, however, they persisted very much longer. So recently as 1743 was the last killed. But before this period they had begun to get exceedingly scarce, for the price of a skin in 1620 is quoted at £6:13:4. In Ireland Wolves lingered yet longer; about 1770 is believed to be the date of their final extinction in that island. The Wolf nowadays is distributed over the greater part of Europe, Northern Asia, and North America, the American form not being considered to be distinct from its European ally. Much legend has collected round this fierce Carnivore. Aristotle, usually accurate in the main, still "states more of wolves than experience warranted." Pliny, unable to sift truth from falsehood, was in this matter "an eager listener to all old women's tales." Aelian added to his marvels and asserted that the Wolf cannot bend its head back; if it should happen to tread on the flower of the squill it at once becomes torpid. So the wily fox, fearing his more powerful enemy, takes care to strew his path with squills! The conversion of men into Wolves was a well-known superstition, dating from Grecian and Roman times; it formed the basis of much of the witchcraft persecutions of the Middle Ages and onwards, and has left its mark in folklore, e.g. the Wolf in "Red Riding Hood."
The Indian Wolves, C. pallipes, C. chanco, and C. laniger, are hardly, if at all, different from C. lupus. Professor Huxley has remarked upon the likeness of C. pallipes to a Jackal, thus bridging over the very inconsiderable gap that may be held to divide Jackals and Wolves.
The Dingo, Canis dingo, is an interesting and somewhat mysterious species of Dog or Wolf. As is well known, it is an Australian species; but it does not seem to be certain whether it was tamed and brought over to Australia by the native races, or is a true and indigenous Australian species.
The colour of this species varies, but is usually of a reddish brown; it is, however, often grey and indeed almost black. Whether indigenous or introduced, the Dingo is a plague to Australian settlers, devouring Sheep, which it generally destroys by tearing out the paunch. It does not as a rule hunt in packs. The Dingo is stated to feign death with so much persistence that
