14 THE BELVOIR HUNT. 



domestication. The different classes are 

 established, and their respective qualities 

 pass from generation to generation, pro- 

 vided purity of breed Is scrupulously ob- 

 served. This property of subserviency to 

 certain causes exemplifies, moreover, to 

 what a vast extent the perfection of fox- 

 hounds has been promoted, by judiciously 

 selecting parents gifted with valuable pro- 

 perties and qualifications. Without presum- 

 ing to establish my argument as a fact, I 

 think it highly probable that the error Into 

 which naturalists have been led, as regards 

 the distinction of primogeniture being de- 

 rived from the sheep-dog, most probably 

 arose from the use of dogs when they were 

 first domesticated, In collectlnor and drivlnof 

 their sheep and cattle, without reference 

 to any peculiar characteristics, or in any 

 degree identifying a particular variety. 



From whatever source they may have 

 sprung, the dogs of Great Britain have 



