VARIETIES OF THE DOG. 33 



On another occasion a hare was chased by a brace of greyhounds : she 

 was killed at the distance of seven miles from the place at which they 

 started. Both of the dogs were so exhausted, that, every possible assistance 

 being given, they were with difficulty recovered. 



The English greyhound hunts by sight alone ; not because he is alto- 

 gether devoid of scent, but because he has been taught to depend upon 

 his speed, and that degree of speed which is utterly incompatible with the 

 searching out of the scent. It is like a pack of hounds, running breast 

 high, with the game in view. They are then running by sight, and not by 

 scent, almost doubling their usual pace, and sometimes, from an unex- 

 pected turning of the fox or hare, thrown out for a little while. The hound 

 soon recovers the track by his exquisite sense of smell. The English 

 greyhound is never taught to scent his game, but, on the contrary, is called 

 off the moment he has lost sight of the hare, the re-starting of which is left 

 to the spaniel. 



The English greyhound is distinguished by its peculiarly long and 

 attenuated head and face, terminating in a singular sharpness of the nose, 

 and length of the muzzle or mouth. There are two results from this : 

 the length of the mouth gives a longer grasp and secures the prey, but, 

 as the nasal cavities and the cavity of the skull are proportionately 

 diminished, there is not so much room for the expansion of the membrane 

 of the nose, there is less power of scent, and less space for the develop- 

 ment of the brain. 



There is little want of extraordinary acute hearing, and the ears of the 

 greyhound are small compared with his bulk. Markham recommends the 

 ears to be close, sharp, and drooping, neither protruding by their bulk, 

 nor tiring by their weight. 



The power of the eye is but of little consequence, for the game is rarely 

 distant from the dog, and, therefore, easily seen. 



The neck is an important portion of the frame. It should be long, in 

 order to correspond with the length of the legs, and thus enable the dog 

 to seize and lift the game, as he rapidly pursues his course, without 

 throwing any undue or dangerous weight on the fore extremities. In the 

 act of seizing the hare the short-necked dog may lose the centre of gravity 

 and fall. 



The chest is a very important part of the greyhound, as well as of every 

 other animal of speed. It must be capacious : this capacity must be ob- 

 tained by depth rather than by width, in order that the shoulders may not 

 be thrown so far apart as to impede progression. 



The form and situation of the shoulders are of material consequence ; 

 for on them depends the extent of the action which the animal is capable 

 of exerting. The shoulders should be broad and deep, and obliquely placed. 

 They are so in the horse, and the action of the dog depends entirely on 

 this conformation. 



The fore legs should be set on square at the shoulder : bulging out at 

 the elbow not only gives a clumsy appearance, but makes the dog slow. 

 The legs should have plenty of bone, and be straight, and well set on the 

 feet, and the toes neither turned out nor in. The fore arm, or that por- 

 tion of the leg which is between the elbow and the knee, should be long, 

 straight, and muscular. These are circumstances that cannot be dispensed 

 with. The length of the fore arm, and the low placing of the pastern, are 

 of essential importance. 



