2S4 EMPLOYMENT OF THE DOG IN HUNTING, ETC. 



if he never runs afterwards respectabl3^ Hence, unlike the dog 

 which we have been just considering, everything is sacrificed to 

 this point, and it has at last come to pass that the animal has 

 been bred to such a degree of cleverness combined with speed 

 that he very soon runs cunning, and is then no longer useful, 

 because he will not exert his powers. Tlie consequence is, that a 

 great many dogs begin by running with extraordinary pace and 

 working powers, but after winning one or two stakes they are not 

 to be depended on. This is so common, that, as a rule, most 

 coursers do not think it worth their while to keep their dogs for 

 more than one season, and bring up a succession of pujjpies one 

 year after another, reserving only one or two old ones to their 

 second season. It must be remembered that this animal is kept 

 for a specific purpose, namely, to compete with his fello\ts in 

 MUng the hare under certain conditions, which are defined hy general 

 consent and laid down in certain specified rules. Hence it is not 

 the greyhound which will most certainly pidl down his hare 

 that is always to be prized, but he that will comply with these 

 rules most full}^ in the act of running her, and will, in other 

 words, score most points ; and, in effecting this, four cardinal vir- 

 tues must be combined as far as possible, consisting in sjoeed, work- 

 ing power, bottom, and courage. It is almost impossible to obtain 

 the fullest development of these several qualities in one individual, 

 and therefore all that can be done is to sacrifice those which are 

 of the least importance. Thus, excessive speed, as shown from 

 the slips, is hardly consistent with a high degree of working 

 power, or with a capability of lasting throughout a long course ; 



