Turbervile says that the slowest greyhound that ever ran 

 would overtake a fox, but owing to Reynard's propensity for 

 showing fight it was desirable only to use old and crafty hounds. 

 When a veteran caught a fox you would see him " thrust his fore- 

 legges backwardes and fall upon him with his chest : and so save 

 his legges from bytyng when he taketh the Fox." 



The three centuries or more that have elapsed since these 

 words were written have probably witnessed few changes in the 

 conformation of the greyhound, the hare still adopts the same 

 subterfuges when chased, but, of course, the rudimentary rules 

 which then regulated the sport have been developed into an 

 elaborate code. Such modifications as have been introduced into 

 the structure of the dog in the course of the ages have been due 

 to the changes in the nature of the quarry he was designed to 

 hunt. The earliest dogs, though possessing similar outlines, were 

 no doubt stronger and somewhat more coarsely built, and as the 

 hare became the sole object of the chase the tendency would be to 

 breed for greater refinement, and consequently more pace. It is 

 almost impossible to imagine a more gracefully built animal than 

 the greyhound of the present time. 



