140 BRITISH DOGS 



are very shy. They usually hunt in couples, bitch and dog. The 

 bitch attacks the hinder parts, and while the quarry is thus distracted, 

 the dog, which has great power of jaw and neck, seizes and tears 

 the throat. Their scent, speed, and endurance are remarkable ; they 

 track or run to sight equally well. Their long toes, being carefully 

 protected by tufts of hair, are serviceable on both sand and rock. 

 Their height varies from 24i'n. to 3oin. ; their weight from 45lb. to 

 yolb. Usually they are of fawn or of bluish-mouse colour, but 

 always of a darker shade on the back, which is smooth and velvety. 

 The Shah owned a well-known dog of this variety, named Muckmul, 

 meaning "velvet." 



Some authorities are inclined to regard this hound as but a 

 sub-variety of the Persian Greyhound a dog that varies much as 

 to coat character. Specimens of this graceful variety are com- 

 paratively rare in England. The Persian Greyhound is of similar 

 type to our Greyhound, but more slimly built, and wanting the 

 great muscular development that the latter possesses. These dogs 

 differ from our Greyhounds also in having the ears larger, drooping, 

 and heavily feathered. The fore-legs, thighs, and tail are also well 

 fringed. The coat is somewhat silky in texture, and not so abundant 

 upon the back and at the sides. 



These hounds are employed in hunting the gazelle, an interesting 

 account of which sport appeared in the Field some years ago. For 

 this purpose they are used in relays, a custom that at one time 

 obtained in this country in deer-hunting. 



The Rampur Hound, a hairless dog, built on general Greyhound 

 lines, but heavier, and with large, close drop, filbert-shaped ears, 

 does not often occur at shows in this country. Those who have 

 studied most carefully the dogs of India think that the Rampur 

 Hound is but a modification of the Persian Greyhound. Anyhow, 

 so far as India is concerned, it is one of the most useful dogs 

 known, especially when crossed, as it frequently is, with our Grey- 

 hound. The produce is a dog capable of withstanding the heat 

 without going to pieces on the hard ground. 



The Rampur Hound is not so fast as its English relative the 

 Greyhound, and, like all the members of the family indigenous to 

 the East, it is inclined to " run cunning." It is a pity that the dog- 

 loving public is not often familiarised with these Eastern hounds 

 the Persian Greyhound and the Barukhzy Hound especially as 

 they are built on far more graceful lines than the coarser Rampur 

 Hound. 



