THE GREYHOUND 89 



strikingly bright. The best look fiery, and flash like lightning, 

 resembling those of leopards, lions, or lynxes." The clear, bright, 

 and fiery eye is always a necessity, although, of course, the condition 

 of the dog and the circumstances under which he is seen must 

 be considered in judging of it. A medium-sized eye, however, is 

 better than a large one. The colour usually varies with that of the 

 coat, as in all breeds, though light eyes are met with in dark dogs, 

 and are objectionable. 



Of the ears Arrian writes: "They should be large and soft, 

 so as to appear broken ; but it is no bad indication if they appear 

 erect, provided they are not small and stiff." This description 

 would not be accepted as satisfactory now, as ears are preferred 

 small, and free from all coarseness. Neither does Markham's 

 " a sharp ear, short, and close-falling," quite convey the modern 

 idea of a Greyhound's ear; it should be soft, fine in leather, and 

 folded, with the shoulder of the ear strong enough to carry the 

 whole up when the dog is excited or his attention fixed. 



The neck is the next point, and it is one of very great import- 

 ance. It must be long, strong, well clothed with muscle, yet withal 

 gracefully set on, well balanced, and wonderfully flexible and supple. 

 A long, supple neck is necessary to enable the dog to strike the 

 hare without stopping. 



Continuing from the neck we have the beam-like back that is, 

 of good breadth and strength ; without this the dog could not endure 

 the exhaustive process of the " pumpers " he is submitted to. 



The cjiest, too, must be deep and fairly wide. Arrian says : 

 " Broad chests are better than narrow ; shoulders wide apart, not 

 tied together, but as loose and free as possible ; legs round, straight, 

 and well jointed ; sides strong ; loins broad, firm, not fleshy, but 

 sinewy ; upper flanks loose and supple ; hips wide asunder ; lower 

 flanks hollow ; tail long, fine, and supple ; haunches sweeping, and 

 fine to the touch." In respect to the chest, it is needless to say 

 how all-important it is that it should be capacious ; but we must 

 get capacity from the depth and squareness, not from the bulged- 

 out, barrel form, which would produce slow movement and a 

 heavy-fronted dog that would soon tire. 



The shoulders should be set on as obliquely as possible, to 

 enable the dog to throw his fore legs well forward in his gallop, 

 the shoulder-blades sloping in towards each other as they rise ; 

 they should be well clothed with muscle, but not fleshy and coarse 

 so as to look loaded; the shoulders should not be tied together, 

 but have plenty of freedom this, with the strong muscles of the 

 loin, enables the dog to turn fast and cleverly; the elbows must 

 be neither turned out nor in ; the bone of the leg must be strong ; 

 there must be good length of arm ; and the leg below the knee 

 must be short and very strong, and the foot roundish (but not of 



