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THE LURCHER. 



while the Cur has been constantly employed in all kinds of various 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 

 o-uard 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 

 o-uard nio-ht and day over a dairy full of milk and cream, and never so much as break the 



LURCHER.— Canis familiaris. 



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 intruding 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 purposes, 

 the Ltjecher has fallen into great disrepute, being seldom seen as the companion of respect- 

 able 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 companion of 

 poachers and other disreputable characters, the gamekeeper bears a deadly hatred towards 



