THE OTTEKHOUND. 67 



man, and Tyrant, are also all of them beautiful models. We give 

 tlie measurement of Damper: Mglit,9 in. ; round the chest, 16 in. 

 across the ears, 12 in. ; extreme length, 2 ft. 4 in. ; eye to nose, 2i in. 



THE OTTERHOUND. 



No hcnnd which is novr kept in Great Britain resembles the 

 southern hound so much as this, the difference being only in the 

 rough, wiry coat, which ha^i been t^btained by careful breeding, to 

 enable them to resist the ill p.ffe^^a of the rough weather which the 

 breed have to encounter, whether in the chase of the hare, for 

 which they were origmally employed in Wales, or for that of the 

 otter, to which they are now almost exclusively restricted. If, 

 therefore, the reader ty/us to the description of the southern 

 hound, and adds to it a rough, wiry coat, with a profusion of 

 rough whisker, he will at once understand the form and nature of 

 the otterhound, alias the Welsh harrier. It is a disputed poini 

 whether this roughness is obtained by crossing, or whether it is 

 attributable to careful selection only. We are inclined to think 

 that as the fall melodious note of the hound is retained, there is 

 no cross of the terrier or of tlie dcer]\onnfl, which two breeds 

 divide between them the credit of bestowing their coats upon the 

 otterhound. An3diow, it is a distinct breed in the present day; 

 and, with the shape I have described, it unites all the characteris- 

 tics of the old southern hound, in dwelling on the scent, in deli- 

 cacy of nose, and in want of dash. Whether the power of 

 swimming has been obtained by any cross with the water-spaniel, 

 Is also a disputed point; but as I do not believe in any pec .liar 

 swimming power inherent in that breed, I nm not inclined to 

 attribute that of the ottcrhonnd to a cross with it, especially as the 

 foxhound swims oqnnlly w"ll. 



As these hounds have to compete with a very savage and hard- 

 biting animal, t'ney must of necessity be fearless anfl hardy; and 

 as, for their specific purpo.sL's, th;js3 which are not so, have been re* 



