The Irish Wolfhound. 37 



When Sir Walter Scott lost his celebrated dog Maida (which, by the 

 way, was by a Pyrenean dog out of a Glengarry deerhound bitch) he was 

 presented with a brace of dogs by Glengarry and Cluny Macpherson, 

 both of gigantic size. He calls them " wolfhounds," and says, " There 

 is no occupation for them, as there is only one wolf near, and that is con- 

 fined in a menagerie. ' ' He was offered a fine Irish greyhound by Miss 

 Edgeworth, who owned some of this breed, but declined, having the 

 others. Eichardson says, " Though I have separated the Irish wolf dog 

 from the Highland deerhound and the Scottish greyhound, I have only 

 done so partly in conformity with general opinion, that I have yet to cor- 

 rect, and partly because these dogs, though originally identical, are now 

 unquestionably distinct in many particulars." 



As the rough Scotch greyhound is to the present deerhound, so is the 

 deerhound to what the Irish wolfhound was ! 



It may be of interest to mention here that the last wolf is said to have 

 been killed in 1710, but there is no accurate information as to the date. 

 The height of the European wolf varies from 2 Sin. to 30in., and he is, 

 though of comparatively slight form, an animal of very great power and 

 activity. 



Eichardson, being an enthusiast on the subject, and not content with 

 simply writing, took measures to recover the breed. With much patience 

 and trouble he hunted up all the strains he could hear of, and bred dogs 

 of gigantic size, to which the strains now in existence can be distinctly 

 traced. A gentleman of position and means in Ireland, deceased some 

 six or eight years, possessed a kennel of these dogs, on the breeding of 

 which he expended both time and fortune freely. They were, though not 

 equal to the original dog, very fine animals. It has been ascertained be- 

 yond all question that there are a few specimens of the breed still in 

 Ireland and England that have well-founded pretensions to be considered 

 Irish wolfhounds, though falling far short of the requisite dimensions. 



In conclusion, the writer would again earnestly urge that some 

 decided action may be taken by gentlemen possessing both leisure and 



