90 The Irish Nahtralisf. September, 



measures from 40° to 45 '^ the skull belongs to a Wolf. If it 

 exceeds 45° the skull is that of a dog. Reynolds-^ contends 

 that even this useful distinction cannot be absolutely 

 relied upon in all cases. He remains, therefore, in the 

 position of those who acknowledge that there are no con- 

 stant distinguishing characters between Wolf and dog. 

 When examining the remains of undoubted Wolves from 

 Irish caves, I found that the skulls and hmb-bones were 

 not as powerful as those of the Wolfhound. The latter, 

 therefore, probably exceeded the Irish Wolf in strength and 

 swiftness, but the teeth of the Wolves, particularly the first 

 upper molars, were decidedly larger than those of the 

 Wolfhound.-^ 



Richardson held that we are indebted to Greece for the 

 ancient race of Greyhounds. How and when it reached 

 Ireland he does not suggest. But he maintained that the 

 original Irish Greyhound was unquestionably a long-haired 

 dog, and that it attained a height of 36 to 40 inches. The 

 view that the Irish Greyhound or Wolfhound as it is now 

 called, had any relationship with the Great Da.ne he holds 

 to be entirely mistaken, for those dogs are lethargic and 

 sluggish in their movements, which rather fits them for the 

 purpose of the boar-hunt. The desideratum of the Wolf- 

 hound on the other hand was a combination of extreme 

 swiftness to enable him to overtake his rapid and formidable 

 quarry as well as vast strength to seize, secure and slay him 

 when overtaken.'?^ 



The Irish Terrier. 



Vero Shaw, who wrote in 1886, declared that a decade 

 previously the Irish Terrier was practically^ unknown. 

 And yet he claims that its origin is lost in antiquity. He 

 alludes to ancient manuscripts in which this breed is men- 



21 Reynolds, S. H. : The Pleistocene Canidae. Palaeontographical 

 Society, vol. ii., part 3, IQ09. 



22 Scharff, Seymour, and Newton : The Exploration of Castlepook 

 Cave. Proc. R. Irish Acad., vol. xxxiv. (Section B), 191 8. 



23 Richardson, H. D. : The Dog, its origin, natural history and varieties. 

 London (new edition), 1857. 



