The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 217 



Obolensky on the subject. His Royal Highness, 

 who has a famous strain of Borzoi of his own, 

 and may be taken as a leading authority on the 

 breed, says : 



The dogs that have been catalogued at various shows in England 

 for the last three years are pure Borzois, and have come originally 

 from the best kennels in Russia. For instance, Krilutt, Pagooba, 

 Sobol, Zloeem, and others were not ordinary working hounds, but 

 dogs that were admired in their native country, both on the show 

 bench and in the field. Pdgooba, for example, who is of excep- 

 tional size for a bitch, has several times pinned wolves single- 

 handed. 



The English traveller mentions the size viz., 32in. of the 

 dogs he saw as tremendous. There are exceptional cases where 

 the Borzoi has stood very near that height. At the dog show in 

 Moscow this year a dog called Pilai measured 31 Jin., or 80 

 centimetres; but the average height is from 28in. to 2^'m. It 

 often proves to be the case, however, that, for working purposes, 

 the smaller dog shows itself to excel in speed, pluck, and tenacity. 



For wolf hunting I personally prefer the English greyhound, 

 acclimatised here (i.e., born in Russia from English parents); but 

 I am also a great admirer of the Russian rough-coated Borzoi. I 

 may claim to know something about the latter, because for many 

 years I have bred and hunted them, and my dogs are the lineal 

 descendants of those bred by my grandfather, General Bibikoff, 

 who was himself renowned for his sporting proclivities, and for the 

 excellence of his breed of dogs. So valued is that strain now, 

 that it can be found in most of the best kennels in Russia. 



In addition to sport with Borzois obtained in the 

 above manner, occasional meetings are held where 

 hares are coursed ; and "bagged " or rather "caged" 



