214 7'HE BOOK OF THE DOG. 



general opinion, that I have yet to correct, and partly because these dogs, though originally 

 identical, are now unquestionably distinct in many particulars." 



The former Earls of Caledon at one time 'owned a breed of Irish Wolfhounds, regarding 

 which the present peer has obligingly collected the following particulars : " The dog was 

 in appearance between a Mastiff and Deerhound ; slighter and more active than the one, 

 more massive and stronger than the other ; as tall or taller than the tallest Deerhound ; 

 rough but not long-coated ; fawn, grizzly, and dun in colour : some old men on the property 

 have mentioned a mixture of white." 



A breed was also owned by the Lords O'Neil, also by Lord Castletown ; but no in- 

 formation regarding them has been obtained, although a friend of the writer was presented, 

 many years ago, with a bitch of the former breed which answered very much to the descrip- 

 tion given above of Lord Caledon's dogs. 



In a very interesting letter from America, written to a gentleman residing in England- 

 published in the Live Stock Journal some time ago, the writer says : " I have felt an 

 interest in the subject for over fifty years. My father often spoke of Lord Sligo's (Altamont's) 

 breed of dogs, and doubted their being the genuine Irish VVolfdog. He had every opportunity of 

 observing them himself, being much at Westport House during his youth." After making other 

 observations, he goes on to say : " The bone of the fore-leg is, I should say, the point that 

 best distinguishes dogs of this class from all of the Greyhound class, whom in actual build 

 they so much resemble. The massiveness of that bone is out of proportion altogether, and it 

 certainly was not made for speed so much as for power and endurance. I think all the Scotch 

 dogs that I have seen are deficient in this respect, and I attribute it to crossing with lighter- 

 built breeds in order to obtain swiftness for deer-hunting. The epithet 'hairy-footed' in old 

 Irish poems leaves no doubt as to the comparatively rough coat of the Irish Wolfdog." 



That it is beyond reason that any dog should have stood 36 inches is not the case, as 

 Lord Mount Edgcumbe has a picture of a dog taken life-size which measures 36 inches to 

 the shoulder. The skeleton of this dog (apparently a Great Dane), which is also preserved, 

 would corroborate this measurement. A picture was also painted for the Marquis of Hastings 

 in 1803 by Clifford de Tomsan, which represents a dog standing 36 inches at shoulder also 

 apparently a Great Dane, of a buff-and-white colour. The picture measures "J\ feet by $i feet, 

 so it will be seen the dog must of necessity have been gigantic. We have also had some 

 enormous dogs "in the life" of late years. The great American dog exhibited to Her Majesty 

 some eighteen years ago was said to stand 36 inches. Sir Roger Palmer's Sam was 34. Both 

 were Boarhounds. Several of our Mastiffs have stood 33 and even 34 inches. The great dog 

 brought from America by Mr. Butler, of New York, about four or five years ago, stood about 

 the same height. He was a descendant of the dog shown to the Queen also owned by 

 Mr. Butler. On the Continent it is not uncommon to find dogs standing 33 and 34 inches, 

 and a Boarhound has been brought to the writer's notice, belonging to a gentleman residing 

 at Cologne, that was reported to stand 37 inches by a gentleman well accustomed to large 

 dogs. The tallest dog the writer has actually measured stood 34^ inches on the shoulder- 

 blade a giant indeed. With all these examples before us, and some of them within our 

 reach, there is no reason why the Irish Wolthound should not be restored to its original 

 height of from 33 to 35 inches. 



It is worthy of remark that whilst some people scout the very idea that the Deerhound 

 fs the descendant of the Irish Wolfhound, McNeill is proud to claim such descent for his 

 favourite breed. 



