American Variations 3 



men established and have maintained as filling 

 their conceptions of utility and good looks. 



Reduced to the simplest terms, the change 

 wrought over here comes to this: The dry cli- 

 mate of extreme temperatures, the nature of the 

 grounds and game, and the methods of hunting 

 the fox and shooting game birds cause the sur- 

 vival of the fittest to proceed in the direction of 

 a faster, lighter, more enduring animal ; perhaps 

 not more sensitive of nose, but quicker in the 

 reflexes of judgment and action which are the 

 sequences of scent. 



An American will pardon every defect but one. 

 That one is inability to stand the pace. Conse- 

 quently, the dog which has more beef and timber 

 than his nerve and power can carry drops, as the 

 same American sportsman would say, into the 

 discard and is replaced by another which can go 

 the route at the pace. 



For speed and endurance are built upon the 

 factors of strong muscle on a light bony struc- 

 ture, a heart action beyond the ordinary, and a 

 nervous energy which cannot be physically meas- 

 ured, but is even more necessary in a dog than in 

 a racehorse, because whip and spur cannot force 

 unwilling or failing powers. 



Conformation counts for much with theorists. 

 It has an importance. Utterly bad shape is in- 

 compatible with easy speed. But the small varia- 



