338 



CHAP. XIII. 



A DESCRIPTION OF THE HIGHLAND DEERHOUND, WITH 

 AN ACCOUNT OF A DAY'S DEER-COURSING IN THE 

 ISLAND OF JURA. 



[Communicated by ARCHIBALD MA.CNEILL, Esq., of Colonsay.] 



" Canis venaticus, celerrimus, audacissimusque non solum in feras 

 sed in hostes etiani latronesque prassertim, si dominum ductoremve 

 injuria offici cernat, aut in eos concitetur." BOECE. 



IT is not a little remarkable that tlie species of dog which 

 has been longest in use in this country for the purposes of 

 the chase, should be that which is least known to the 

 present generation of naturalists and sportsmen. While 

 we are presented with delineations and descriptions of 

 every race of dog, from the mastiff down to the pug, we 

 find no writer of the present day who speaks with any 

 degree of certainty as to the size, colour, or appearance of 

 the deerhound, once so highly prized, and, for a great 

 period of the history of this country, the only dog fitted for 

 the sports of the field. One would naturally have thought 

 that the gigantic, picturesque, and graceful form of this 

 animal (the constant attendant of nobility), would have 

 insured for the present generation a faithful description 

 of its appearance and habits ; but it is to be feared that 

 none such has been transmitted to us, and that to the 



