THE IRISH WOLFHOUND. 



163 



hound, more than one theory is advanced. 

 Bv some authorities it is suggested that it 

 was the dog which we now know as the 

 Great Dane. Others hold that as there 

 were rough-coated Gre\-hounds in Ireland, 

 it is this dog, under another name, which 

 is now accepted. But probably Captain 

 Graham is nearer the truth when he gives 

 the opinion that the Irish hound that was 

 kept to hunt wolves has never become 

 extinct at all, but is now represented in 



and they appeared to have very much 

 deteriorated in bone and substance. Sir 

 J. Power, of Kilfane, was responsible for 

 one line. :\Ir. Baker, of Ballytobin, for 

 another, and Mr. Mahoney, of Dromore, for 

 the remaining strain. From bitches ob- 

 tained from two of these kennels, Captain 

 Graham, by crossing them with the Great 

 Dane and Scottish Deerhound, achieved 

 the first step towards producing the animal 

 that he desired. Later on the Russian 



MR. I. W. EVERETT'S BLACK AND TAN WOLFHOUND FELIXSTOWE YIRRA 

 BY KILCULLEN KITTY ASTORE. 



the Scottish Deerhound, only altered a 

 httle in size and strength to suit the easier 

 work required of it — that of hunting the 

 deer. This is the more probable, as the 

 fact remains that the chief factor in the 

 resuscitation of the Irish Wolfliound has 

 been the Scottish Deerhound. 



The result of Captain Graham's investiga- 

 tions when seeking for animals bearing some 

 relationship to the original Irish Wolfe 

 Dogge was that three strains were to be 

 found in Ireland, but none of the repre- 

 sentatives at that time were anything like 

 so large as those mentioned in early writings, 



^^'olfllound Koratai, better known as the 

 Borzoi, who was an exceedingly large hound, 

 was introduced, as also were one or two 

 other large breeds of dogs. 



The intermixture of these canine giants, 

 however, was not at first very satisfactory, 

 as although plenty of bone was obtained, 

 many were most ungainly in appearance 

 and ill-shaped animals that had very little 

 about them to attract attention. Captain 

 Graham, however, stuck to his work, and 

 very soon the specimens that he brought 

 forward began to show a fixity of type 

 both in head and in general outline. Brian 



