The Greyhound. 247 



it and the Massereene Park (Ireland) gathering 

 are the most important of the survivors. They 

 are, however, not encouraged by the older class 

 of coursing men, who consider them too much like 

 the rabbit coursing with terriers and whippets, so 

 popular in the North of England, and affording 

 more a test of pace than of the actual all-round 

 merits of a greyhound. 



The pedigree of the greyhound has for many 

 years had considerable attention. The National 

 Coursing Club, established in 1858, rules all matters 

 appertaining thereto ; and no dog can win a prize 

 at any coursing meeting that has not been duly 

 registered in the " Greyhound Stud Book," which 

 costs a few shillings only, and those of '' unknown 

 pedigree " cannot compete at all. 



The Council of the National Coursing Club is 

 decided by election, those minor clubs with over 

 twenty members each having the privilege of being 

 represented in what may be called the coursing par- 

 liament. In 1895-6 there were forty-one members 

 of the council. 



Although a well-known coursing authority, named 

 Thacker, started a coursing calendar about 1 840-1, 

 the present calendar was not commenced until 1857, 

 '' Stonehenge" being its first editor, and succeeding 

 him, and until 1891, "Robin Hood" (Mr. C. M. 



