Till; GKKVMOUNI). 21 



tlie wild deer yet wander over extensive hilly ranges, this clog is still found, if uot in such perfection 

 as formerly, still greatly superior to the common greyhound in strength, size, and courage. Its lull- 

 is rough and wiry ; its chest is remarkable for volume, and its limbs are long and 

 muscular. 



A similar breed existed, and still continues to exist, in Albania. It was celebrated by the 

 ancients for its powers. No breed of dogs is more distinct than that of the greyhound, including the 

 common race and the Highland, Irish, and Albanian. They are remarkable for following the game, 

 not by the scent, but by the eye ; the sense of smell, indeed, appears to be less acute in them than in 

 most other dogs, but in quickness of eye and speed they excel all. 



The right to possess hawk and greyhound were, in former times, proofs of true gentility. There 

 were some church services wherein beneficed clergymen claimed the privilege of appearing with hawk 

 on fist and hound in leash. In the feudal hall, a space behind the left hand of the chief was often 

 assigned for his dogs to sit, and wait for a portion of food from his hand ; and at the feet of monu- 

 mental figures of knights in armour, may still be seen the effigies of their dogs. In the barbarous 

 laws of past times a man was of less value than a greyhound, and, even after the signing of Magna 

 Charta, to kill one, or rob a hawk's nest, was an act of felony, punishable, like murder, with 

 death. 



When Queen Elizabeth visited Cowdray, in Sussex, the seat of Lord Montaoute, she saw from 

 her stand no less than sixteen deer, allowed the start in advance to a certain distance, torn down and 

 mangled by fierce hounds for her amusement. 



In the greyhound, the plane of the nose is greatly prolonged, and, with little elevation, passed up 

 the forehead to the occiput. The whole head is narrow and sharp ; the ears light and semi- 

 pendulous ; the neck long ; the lumbar parts of the back very considerably arched ; the abdomen 

 drawn up, and the chest deep ; the limbs are slender, and greatly lengthened ; the buttocks much 

 elevated the whole structure evincing the greatest elegance, and giving to the animal more swiftness 

 than any other carnivorous quadruped possesses. Destined to be a hunter on open plains, the eyes are 

 prominent and clear, but the olfactory powers not being wanted where so much velocity is gained, 

 they give way for the purpose of allowing greater and prolonged freedom to the respiratory organs. 

 English greyhounds have been known to run eight miles in twelve minutes in pursuit of a hare that 

 then dropped dead, and not including a variety of turns and doublings, which necessarily checked the 

 velocity and increased the exertion. 



The Newmarket Greyhound stands at the head of the list or modern varieties, as the probable 

 root of all recent subdivisions. From the celebrated dogs, the property of Lord Stradbroke, Captain 

 Daintree, and other gentlemen, most of our present fast greyhounds in the south are descended, and 

 many also in the north. They are used in Essex, Surrey, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedford- 

 shire, Huntingdonshire, and Lancashire. 



The Lancashire Greyhound is large and strong, and possessed of considerable tact and cleverness 

 qualities rendered necessary from the flats of the country being used for coursing, and ditches inter- 

 secting the fields for the purpose of draining them. The Yorkshire Greyhound, having a different 

 soil, requires speed as his first quality, and cleverness as of next importance, while stoutness is less 

 necessary than when the courses are more severe. 



While these circumstances call for different qualities in dogs, or qualities in different degrees, 

 others are demanded by peculiarities in game. Thus the pure old Wiltshire Greyhound was formerly 

 bred exclusively for the extraordinary hares which are generally met with at Amesbury, on Salisbury 

 Plain, and the Marlborough Downs. "These hares are generally fast, but they also have the powor 

 of throwing out even the best worker," says the celebrated " Stonehenge," "in a style quite 

 different to the Lancashire and Yorkshire variety. Hence, the Wiltshire dog has been bred especially 

 strong and stouthearted to cope with them, and with as much speed in addition as could be 

 obtained." 



A smaller brood than the preceding forms a third group. The muzzle is deep and strong; the 

 ears are moderately large and pendant; the hair is long, sometimes wiry ; the form is robust; and 

 the aspect grave and intelligent. 



