30 INTRODUCTION. 



^eat Boar Hound of Germany was probably the first 

 fruits of successful cultivation practised on the Dane. 

 The Northerns, having obtained such an accession 

 of power by the assistance of the Danish dog, be- 

 came, at length, the aggressors, and in their turn hunted 

 the wild beasts, as bears, wolves, &c. from their fast- 

 nesses. Effectually to do this, it was necessary to cul- 

 tivate a breed, that, with the size and strength of the 

 Dane, should have the hardihood of the rough-coated 

 Alpine dog, and a degree of speed beyond either, that 

 he might thereby be enabled to overtake the swift re- 

 treat of the wolf, boar, and fox^". By the adoption of 

 slender specimens to breed from ; by subjecting these 

 to extraordinary care ; and by continually selecting as 

 parents such as shewed the greatest tendency to light- 



*° Specimens of the Boar Hound are still preserved in Germany j 

 and I have met with a few in Ireland and Scotland also. In Ireland 

 they are called Irish Greyhounds (can. grains Hibernicus, Ray). 

 Those I saw were majestically large, and symmetrically proportioned 

 for strength and speed. Their coats were rough, wiry, and of a light 

 gray colour, rather inclining to yellow. The few Scottish specimens 

 I have seen were rather a strong, coarse, long-haired greyhound, 

 than the real wolf-dog ; but it is probable that in the northern parts 

 of the highlands more perfect specimens exist than those 1 saw. 

 The German boar-hound is commonly described as being of a cin- 

 namon or fawn colour, and as remarkably mild, generous, and Ikith- 

 ful, although most formidable to his enemies. The original breeds 

 were not all of them long-coated : on the contrary, I believe that 

 the greater number were sleek and smooth ; but the hair, tliough 

 short, was strong and thick.— It may be remarked here, that it is not 

 easy to conjecture what dog Buffon means by Le Matin. Many 

 naturalists, who follow the synopsis of this author, consider it as the 

 Dane ; others })lace the boar-hound under this term. His own ac- 

 count is, however, at variance with both these : " Le matin trans- 

 " |)orte au nord est devenu grand Danois, et transporte au midi est 

 " devenu levrier: les grands levrier.s vienncnt dn Levant." — 

 Jil'FFON; Hiii. iS'ni. torn, v, '."2?. 



