106 BRITISH DOGS 



considerably greater stature than any known race existing at present, 

 and, apparently, more than equal to the destruction of the wolf. 



It is an incontestable fact that the Domestic dog, when used 

 for the pursuit of ferocious animals, should be invariably larger, 

 and apparently more powerful, than his quarry, as the fierce 

 nature, roving habits, and food of the wild animal, render him 

 usually more than a match for his domesticated enemy if only of 

 equal size and stature. We know that the Russian Wolfhound, 

 the equal in stature to the wolf, will attack him single-handed ; but 

 he ought not to be allowed to do so, as he wpuld almost invariably 

 be worsted in the combat. 



The Irish Wolfhound, being used for both the capture and 

 despatch of the wolf, would necessarily have been of Greyhound 

 conformation, besides being of enormous power. A heavy dog, 

 such as a Mastiff, would be equal to the destruction of a wolf 

 when caught ; but to obtain a dog with Greyhound speed and the 

 strength of the Mastiff, it would stand to reason that his stature 

 should considerably exceed that of the Mastiff one of our tallest 

 as well as most powerful breeds. The usual height of the Mastiff 

 does not exceed 3oin. ; and, arguing as above, we may reasonably 

 conclude that, to obtain the requisite combination of speed and 

 power, a height of at least 33in. would have to be reached. Many 

 writers, however, put the stature of the Irish Wolfhound down as 

 far exceeding that." 



Mr. G. W. Hickman, who has equally devoted time and ability 

 to an examination of the subject, suggests that 



"There is not a particle of direct evidence to identify the 

 Irish Wolfhound with the Deerhound, and such evidence as we 

 have goes in the opposite direction. Until some time in the 

 ' thirties ' of the past century all the naturalists who described 

 or depicted the Irish Wolfhound concurred in representing it as 

 an animal of a certain kind, both in their descriptions and their 

 pictures. But about the time mentioned, a Mr. Haffield, who 

 appears to have been prompted by that desire for starting new 

 theories and demolishing old-standing beliefs which actuates men 

 of science, read a paper before one of the Dublin philosophical 

 societies, in which he departed from all existing ideas, and 

 enunciated views which suggested as it seems to Richardson 

 his enlarged Deerhound theory. Richardson, who admits that 

 he had previously entertained the orthodox views, in accordance 

 with the existing evidence, appears to have had an accommodating 

 mind, and to have considered that evidence equally applicable 

 to 'the new departure,' which he hastened to advocate. The 

 theory of Richardson and his followers is merely one of conjecture 

 and inference. The practice of these writers has been to start 

 with a theory, and to adapt their evidence to it, instead of deducing 



