The Descent of Man

thrice produced puppies, and on each occasion
shewed a marked preference for one of the largest
and handsomest, but not the most eager, of
four deerhounds living with her, all in the prime
of life. Mr. Cupples has observed that the
female generally favours a dog whom she has
associated with and knows; her shyness and
timidity at first incline her against a strange
dog. The male, on the contrary, seems rather
inclined towards strange females. It appears to
be rare when the male refuses any particular
female, but Mr. Wright, of Yeldersley House, a
great breeder of dogs, informs me that he has
known some instances; he cites the case of one
of his own deerhounds, who would not take
any notice of a particular female mastiff, so that
another deerhound had to be employed. It
would be superfluous to give, as I could, other
instances, and I will only add that Mr. Barr,
who has carefully bred many bloodhounds,
states that in almost every instance particular
individuals of opposite sexes shew a decided