84 BRITISH DOGS 



Fox-terrier and Mastiff men, who want their favourites with well- 

 ribbed back, deep loin, and flanks well filled, to make a form as 

 square as a prize Shorthorn, may object ; but we must remember 

 that beauty largely consists in fitness and aptitude for the uses 

 designed, and the position to be filled. 



This being so, in estimating the Greyhound's claim to be the 

 handsomest of the canine race we must remember for what his 

 various excellencies, resulting in a whole which is so strikingly 

 elegant, are designed. Speed is the first and greatest quality a dog 

 of this breed can possess. To make a perfect dog, there are other 

 attributes he must not be deficient in ; but wanting in pace, he can 

 never hope to excel. The most superficial knowledge of coursing 

 or coursing literature will show this, and it is a quality which, 

 although developed to its present high pitch, has always been 

 recognised as most important. Chaucer says : 



Greihounds he hadde as swift as fowl of flight ; 



and again, Sir Walter Scott, in his Introduction to " Marmion," 

 thus eulogises the speed of the Greyhound : 



> Remember'st thou my Greyhounds true ? 



O'er holt or hill there never flew, 

 From leash or slip there never sprang, 

 More fleet of foot, more sure of fang. 



Well does he deserve the encomium of Markham, who declares 

 he is, " of all dogs whatsoever, the most princely, strong, nimble, 

 swift, and valient." 



In addition to speed, the dog must have strength to last out 

 a severe course, nimbleness in turning, the capacity to catch and 

 bear the hare in his stride, good killing powers, and vital force to 

 give him dash, staunchness, and endurance. What a dog possessing 

 these qualities should be like an endeavour will be made to show. 



Without going deeply into the subject of coursing, it will be 

 necessary to briefly glance at what a dog is required to do in a 

 course, and that for two reasons : first, because practical writers 

 are agreed that all dogs should be judged in the show-ring by their 

 apparent suitability for their special work ; and secondly, because 

 this book may fall into the hands of many who are real lovers of 

 the dog, and genuine sportsmen at heart, but who, from various 

 circumstances, have never had an opportunity of seeing a course, 

 or that so rarely as to be practically unacquainted with its merits. 



The remarks of the inexperienced on a course are often amusing. 

 The commonest mistake made by the tyro is, that the dog which 

 kills the hare always wins, irrespective of other considerations a 

 most excusable error on the part of the novice, as in most or all 

 other descriptions of racing the first at the post or object is the 



