THE LURCHER. 299 



One principal reason of this distinction is, that a thorough-going sheep dog is 

 accustomed only to one line of action, and fails to comprehend anything that has no 

 connection with sheep, while the Cur has been constantly employed in all kinds of vari- 

 ous tasks, and is, therefore, very quick at learning a new accomplishment. When the 

 laborers are at their daily work they are often accustomed to take their dinners with 

 them, in order to save themselves the trouble of returning home in the middle of the 

 day. As, however, there are often lawless characters among the laborers, especially 

 if many of them come from a distance, and are only hired for the work in hand, the 

 services of the Cur Dog are brought into requisition. Mounting guard on his master's 

 coat, and defending with the utmost honesty his master's little stock of provisions, he 

 snarls defiance at every one who approaches the spot where he acts as sentinel, and 

 refuses to deliver his charge into the hands of any but its owner. He then sits 

 down, happy and proud of the caresses that await him, and perfectly contented to eat 

 the fragments of that very meal which he might have consumed entirely had he not 

 been restrained by his sense of honor. 



Mr. Hogg, the " Ettrick Shepherd," says that he has known one of these Dogs to 

 mount guard night and day over a dairy full of milk and cream, and never so much 

 as break the cream with the tip of its tongue, nor permit a cat, or rat, or any other 

 creature, to touch the milk pans. 



The Cur Dog has as all animals have its little defects. It is sadly given to 

 poaching on its own account, and is very destructive to the young game. It is too 

 fond of provoking a combat with any strange Dog, and if its antagonist should move 

 away, as is generally the case with high-bred Dogs, when they feel themselves intrud- 

 ing upon territories not their own, takes advantage of the supposed pusillanimity of the 

 stranger, and annoys him to the best of its power ; but if the stranger should not feel 

 inclined to brook such treatment, and should turn upon its persecutor, the Cur is 

 rather apt to invoke discretion instead of valor, and to seek the shelter of its own 

 home, from whence it launches its angry yelpings, as if it would tear its throat in 

 pieces. 



POSSESSING many of the elements of the sheep-dog, but employed for different pur- 

 poses, the LURCHER has fallen into great disrepute, being seldom seen as the com- 

 panion of respectable persons. It is bred from the greyhound and sheep-dog, and is 

 supposed to be most valuable when its parents are the rough Scotch greyhound and 

 the Scotch colley. 



It is a matter of some regret that the Dog should bear so bad a character, as it is a 

 remarkably handsome animal, combining the best attributes of both parents, and being 

 equally eminent in speed, scent, and intelligence. As, however, it is usually the com- 

 panion of poachers and other disreputable characters, the gamekeeper bears a 

 deadly hatred towards the Lurcher, and is sure to shoot the poor animal at the earliest 

 opportunity. For this conduct there is some pretext, as the creature is so admirably 

 adapted for the pursuit and capture of game that a single poacher is enabled, by the 

 aid of his four-legged assistant, to secure at least twice as much game as could be 

 taken by any two men without the help of the Dog. 



That punishment generally falls on the wrong shoulders is proverbially true, and 

 holds good in the present instance. For the poor Dog is only doing his duty when he 

 is engaged in marking or capturing game, and ought not to be subjected to the penalty 

 of wounds or death for obeying the order which he has received. If any one is to be 

 punished, the penalty ought to fall on the master, and not on his Dog, which is only 

 acting under his orders, and carrying out his intentions. 



The sagacity of this Dog is really wonderful. It learns to comprehend the unspoken 

 commands of its master, and appreciates quite as fully as himself the necessity for ly- 

 ing concealed when foes are near, and, in every case, of moving as stealthily as possi- 

 ble. It is even trained to pioneer the way for its owner, and to give him timely warn- 

 ing of hidden enemies. Destructive to all game, whether winged or furred, the Lurcher 

 is especially so in the rabbit warren, or in any locality where hares abound. Its deli- 

 cate sense of smell permits it to perceive its prey at a distance, and its very great 



