The Irish Wolfhound. 35 



Cabinet," a very valuable old book on dogs, published in 1803, which is 

 illustrated with,very good engravings after drawings from life by Eenaigle, 

 E.A.,says, " The dogs of Greece, Denmark, Tartary, and Ireland, are the 

 largest and strongest of their species. The Irish greyhound is of very 

 ancient race, and still to be found in some few remote parts of the king- 

 dom, but they are said to be much reduced in size even in their original 

 climate ; they are much larger than the mastiff, and exceedingly ferocious 

 when engaged." A very good and spirited drawing of this dog is given, 

 which almost entirely coincides with the writer's conclusion as to what 

 the Irish wolfhound was and should be, though a rougher coat and some- 

 what more lengthy frame are desirable. The dogs described in ' ' Ossian ' ' 

 are evidently identical with the Irish wolfhound, being of much greater 

 stature and power than the present deerhound. From these descriptions, 

 and those given elsewhere, we may conclude that, in addition to the dog's 

 being of great stature, strength, and speed, he was also clothed in rough 

 hair. In support of this, we find that in the present day all the larger 

 breeds of greyhound are invariably rough or long as to coat. 



Many writers have incorrectly confounded the Irish wolfhound with the 

 Great Dane, though the two dogs vary entirely in appearance, if not so 

 much in build. It seems more than probable, however, that the two 

 breeds were frequently crossed, which may account for these statements. 

 The late Marquis of Sligo possessed some of this breed, which he was in 

 the habit (erroneously) of considering Irish wolfhounds. 



Eichardson was at very great trouble to get every information as to the 

 probable height of this dog, but the conclusions arrived at by him 

 (chiefly based on the lengths of the skulls measured by him) would seem 

 to be decidedly wrong, for the following reasons : He states ' ' the skull is 

 llin. in the bone ; " to that he adds Sin. for nose, skin, and hair, thus 

 getting 14in. as the length of the living animal's head. The head of a 

 living deerhound, measured by him, is lOin., the dog standing 29in. ; he 

 then calculates that the height of the Irish wolfhound would have been 

 40in., taking for his guide the fact that the 29in. dog's head was lOin. 

 This would appear to be correct enough, but the allowance of Sin. for 

 extras is absurd. IJin. are an ample allowance for the extras, and if the 

 head is taken at 12in. the height of the dog will be reduced to 36in. 

 Moreover, the measurement of lOin. for the head of a 29in. deerhound' s 

 head is manifestly insufficient, as the writer can testifiy from ample 



