HUNTING TOURS. 291 



due of being the primogenitor of the fox- 

 hound. I think all masters of hounds and 

 huntsmen of the present day will agree with 

 me that such an assumption is a poetical 

 phantasy. Nevertheless, there must have been 

 some animal of the canine race to commence 

 the order with, and it is quite as reasonable to 

 apply the characteristic of the bloodhound or 

 the mastiff, and, indeed, very much more so 

 than to anything bearing resemblance to the 

 sheep dog of modern days. Marvellous as it 

 appears that the gigantic mastiff should be of 

 the same species as the diminutive terrier, yet 

 so it is ; and this proclaims most unequivocally 

 to what an extraordinary degree the canine 

 race is regulated by treatment and climate 

 when under the influences of domestication. 

 This property of subserviency to certain causes 

 exemplifies moreover to what a vast extent the 

 perfection of foxhounds may be promoted, by 

 judiciously selecting parents gifted with valu- 

 able properties and qualifications. Without 

 presuming to establish my argument as a fact, 

 I think it highly probable that the error into 

 which naturalists have been led, as regards 

 the distinction of primogeniture being derived 

 from the sheep dog, most probably arose from 



O 2 



