These dogs were formerly much employed to assist in the roasting of meat. For this purpose they were placed in a broad kind of wheel connected with the spit, which they turned round by running in it as a squirrel does in his cage. They are still used in this capacity in most of the countries of the Continent; but being now in little request in England, the breed is nearly extinct with us.
41. _The WOLF_ (Canis lupus) _is a ferocious animal of the dog tribe, of brownish colour, with pointed nose, erect and sharp ears, and bushy tail bent inward._
_This animal is found wild in most of the countries of the Continent, and was formerly common in England._
The wolf affords to us nothing valuable but his _skin_, which makes a warm and durable fur.
In North Carolina there is a kind of wolf the _skin_ of which, when properly dressed, makes good parchment; and, when tanned, is convertible into excellent summer shoes. The Indians frequently use these skins for beds, under an impression that they drive away bugs and fleas; and they imagine that nearly all parts of this animal are useful as remedies for different bodily disorders.
In the ancient periods of our history wolves were so numerous and so destructive in England, that we are informed of places having been built in different parts of the island to defend passengers from their attacks. In the reign of Edward the First, a royal mandate was issued to a person whose name was Corbet, to superintend and assist in the destruction of wolves, in the several counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, Salop, and Stafford; and numerous individuals held lands of the crown, by the duty of hunting and destroying wolves. The latest account that has occurred respecting the existence of wolves in England is under the date of 1281. The last wolf known to have been killed in Scotland was in the year 1680; and the date of the complete extinction of these animals in Ireland is 1710.
42. _The COMMON FOX_ (Canis vulpes, Fig. 24) _is an animal of the dog tribe, of brown colour, with sharp muzzle, erect and pointed ears, and straight and bushy tail tipped with white._
_This animal is found in almost every country of the world._
Although foxes occasionally commit great depredation in poultry-yards, and among game, they are serviceable to mankind by destroying many kinds of noxious animals. Their _skin_ also constitutes a soft and warm fur, which, in many parts of Europe, is used for muffs and tippets, for the linings of winter garments, and for robes of state. So great is the demand for these skins, that, at Lausanne, there are furriers, who in a single winter, have received betwixt two and three thousand of them from different parts of the adjacent country. The _flesh_ of the fox is eaten by the inhabitants of some countries of the Continent.