176 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



to, but the less the better, as the Deerhound 

 is a self-coloured dog. A white blaze on the 

 head or a white collar should entirely disqualify. 

 In other cases, though passable, yet an attempt 

 should be made to get rid of white markings. 

 The less white the better, but a slight white tip 

 to the stem occurs in the best strains. 



10. Height of Dogs. — From :!8 inches to 30 

 inches, or even more if there be symmetry 

 without coarseness, which, however, is rare. 



11. Height of Bitches. — From 26 inches up- 

 wards. There can be no objection to a bitch 

 being large, unless she is too coarse, as e\'en at her 

 greatest height she does not approach that of 

 the dog, and, therefore, could not well be 

 too big for work, as over-big dogs are. Besides. 

 a big bitch is good for breeding and keeping up 

 the size. 



12. Weight. — From 85 pounds to 105 pounds 

 in dogs : from 65 pounds to 80 pounds in bitches. 



Among the more prominent owners of 

 Deerhounds at the present time are Mrs. 

 H. Armstrong, of Jesmond, near Newcastle ; 

 Mrs. W. C. Grew, of Knowle. Warwicksliire ; 

 Mrs. Janvrin Dickson, of Bushey Heath ; 

 Mr. Harry Rawson, of Joppa ; and Mr. H. 

 McLauchhn, of DubHn. ]\Irs. Armstrong 

 is tlie breeder of a beautiful dog hound in 

 Ch. Talisman, and of two typically good 

 bitches in Fair Maid of Perth and Bride of 

 Lammermoor. Mrs. Grew counts as her 

 " friends " many admirable specimens, among 

 them being Ch. Blair Athol, Ayrshire. 

 Kenilworth, and Ferraline. Ayrshire is con- 

 sidered by some judges to be the most 

 perfect Deerhound of his se.x exhibited for 

 some time past. He is somewliat large. 

 perhaps, but he is throughout a hound of 

 excellent quality and character, having a 

 most typical head, with lovely eves and 

 expression, perfect front feet and hind- 

 quarters. Other judges would give the 

 palm to Mr. Harry Rawson 's Ch. St. Ronan's 

 Ranger, who is certainly difficult to excel 

 in all the characteristics most desirable in 

 the breed. 



Mr. Harry Rawson inherits an active 

 interest in the Deerhound. From his boy- 

 hood lie has been associated with one of 

 the most successful kennels of the breed in 

 the kingdom ; and the St. Ronan's j)refix 

 is to be found in the pedigrees of many of 

 the best Deerhounds in the Stud Book. 

 To him belongs the honour of having bred 



what is acknowledged to be not only the- 

 least assailable of her distinguished breed now 

 living, but possibly the most flawless Deer- 

 hound of any time in Ch. St. Ronan's Rhyme. 

 In the attempt to accord to this remarkable 

 bitch the position which is her due, one can 

 only refer to her achievements. One assumes 

 that, if anywhere, the best dogs in the king- 

 dom are to be seen at the show held annually 

 by the Kennel Club at the Crystal Palace, 

 and that the chosen judges on these occa- 

 sions are unbiassed and unimpeachable. 

 A customary event at this show is that of 

 the general competition among dogs having 

 full championship honours in their respective 

 breeds, and the winning dog thus becomes 

 veritably a champion of champions. It is 

 the severest test of merit and breeding to 

 which a dog is ever submitted. St. Ronan's 

 Rhyme went through the ordeal in Octo- 

 ber, 1906, and she met with conspicuous 

 success. 



This triumph of St. Ronan's Rhyme 

 was repeated a few days afterwards at the 

 Edinburgh show of the Scottish Kennel 

 Club, under different judges, when again 

 she was awarded the laurel bestowed upon 

 the best dog in the show. 



Some forty or fifty years ago the Deer- 

 hound seems to have been in danger of 

 degeneration, and to have declined in size 

 and stamina, and there is no doubt that the 

 \-arious out-crosses which were tried at that 

 time have been of permanent profit to the 

 breed. Sir Walter Scott's Maida was, as 

 we have seen, the offspring of a Glengarry 

 dam and a Pyrenean sire, who was probably 

 responsible for tlie admixture of white in 

 Maida's coat, and for the white markings 

 which e\-en to this day are occasionally 

 revealed. But the sturdy dog of the 

 Pyrenees contributed materially to the 

 strength of the Deerhound, and all other 

 traces of his different type and character- 

 istics disappeared in three generations. So, 

 too, the cross from the Russian Borzoi, 

 which was judiciously used half a century 

 ago, imparted to the Deerhound a degree of 

 quality, and a certain bloodlike look, with 

 regained symmetry of shape and grace of 

 action, which the breed was fast losing. 



