The Irish Wolfhound. 39 



" the wolfhounds I allude to are not to be confounded with these mongrels, 

 but are more or less identical with the dog known as the Irish grey- 

 hound or wolfhound." 



Feeling strongly interested in the recovery or resuscitation of the Irish 

 wolfhound, this controversy led us to make further enquiries respecting 

 the breed, but there are few indeed who appear to know much of it or 

 take any practical interest in it ; and for the following notes referring to 

 the last known pure strains we are indebted to the writer of the foregoing 

 article, who possesses a more thorough knowledge of the breed and all 

 concerning it, who has had more practical experience in breeding up to 

 standard of the true Irish wolfhound than any man living, and who has 

 in his dogs various combinations of, as far as we know, the only strains 

 that possess authentic claims of descent from the original stock. 



Captain Graham writes us: "With regard to the Caledon breed of 

 Irish wolfhounds, the present lord tells me that his father kept them, 

 and that he can just remember them in his extreme youth. He very 

 kindly made strict inquiries when on his Irish estates last year, and from 

 the older keepers and tenants he has gathered the following particulars, 

 which he filled in on a form containing a series of questions which I sent 

 him. The Irish wolfhounds kept by the late Earl of Caledon were as 

 tall as the largest deerhound now seen if not taller of a stouter make 

 throughout, broader and more massive ; the ears were similar to a deer- 

 hound's ; rough, but not long coated ; fawn, grizzly, and dun in colour ; 

 some old men have mentioned a mixture of white. 



" The late Earl of Derby had a similar breed, I am assured positively 

 by a gentleman (a clergyman) who had one given him many years ago 

 over fifteen, probably twenty ; but from Knowsley direct I have not got 

 any information, though I wrote ; probably the old keepers who had 

 charge of the menagerie have disappeared and knowledge of the dogs 

 has died out. A clergyman to whom one of my dogs was given some 

 nine or ten years ago told me that the present Lord Derby had seen this 

 dog, and considered him a finer dog than any he had formerly had. I 

 understand he grew to be very high thirty-two inches and massive in 

 proportion ; his sire was only thirty and a half inches, but his grandsire 

 was thirty-two, or considered to be so. 



" Richardson, in his essay on this breed, says Sir Richard Betham, 

 Ulster King at Arms, has stated it as his conviction that the Irish wolf 



