THE OTTERHOUND. 237 



the Lurcher, and is sure to shoot the poor animal at the earliest opportunity. For this con- 

 duct there is some pretext, as the creature is so admirably adapted for the pursuit and capture 

 of game that a single poacher is enabled, by the aid of his four-legged assistant, to secure at 

 least twice as much game as could be taken by any two men without the help of the Dog. 



That punishment generally falls on the wrong shoulders is proverbially true, and holds 

 good in the present instance. For the poor Dog is only doing Ms duty when he is engaged in 

 marking or capturing game, and ought not to be subjected to the penalty of wounds or death 

 for obeying the order which he has received. If any one is to be punished, the penalty ought 

 to fall on the master, and not on his Dog, which is only acting under his orders, and carrying 

 out his intentions. 



The sagacity of this Dog is really wonderful. It learns to comprehend the unspoken com- 

 mands of its master, and appreciates quite as fully as himself the necessity for lying concealed 

 when foes are near, and, in every case, of moving as stealthily as possible. It is even trained 

 to pioneer the way for its owner, and to give Mm timely warning of hidden enemies. Destruc- 

 tive to all game, whether winged or furred, the Lurcher is especially so in the rabbit warren, 

 or in any locality where hares abound. Its delicate sense of smell permits it to perceive its 

 prey at a distance, and its very great speed enables it to pounce upon the hare or rabbit before 

 it can shelter itself in the accustomed place of refuge. As soon as the Lurcher has caught its 

 prey it brings it to its master, deposits it in his hands, and silently renews its search after 

 another victim. Even pheasants and partridges are often caught by tliis crafty and agile animal. 



Sometimes the game-destroying instincts of the Lurcher take a wrong trim, and lead the 

 animal to hunt sheep, instead of conhning itself to ordinary game. When it becomes thus 

 perverted it is a most dangerous foe to the flocks, and commits sad havoc among them. One 

 farmer, living in Cornwall, lost no less than fifteen sheep in one month, all of which were 

 killed by Lurchers. 



There are many breeds of the Lurcher, on account of the various Dogs of which the 

 parentage is formed. The greyhound and sheep-dog are the original progenitors, but their 

 "offspring is crossed with various other Dogs, in order to obtain the desired qualifications. 

 Thus, the greyhound is used on account of its speedy foot and silent tongue, and the sheep-dog 

 on account of its hardiness, its sagacity, and its readiness in obeying its master. The spaniel 

 is often made to take part in the pedigree, in order to give its well-known predilection for 

 questing game, and the hound is employed for a similar purpose. But in all these crossings 

 the greyhound must morally predominate, although its form is barely to be traced under the 

 rough lineaments of the Lurcher. 



As the Lurcher causes such suspicion in the minds of the gamekeeper or the landlord, the 

 owners of these Dogs were accustomed to cut off their tails, in order to make them look like 

 honorable sheep-dogs, and so to escape the tax wMch presses upon sporting Dogs, and to elude 

 the suspicious glance of the game-preserving landlord and his emissaries. So swift is this 

 animal that it has been frequently used for the pxirpose of coursing the hare, and is said to 

 perform tlois task to the satisfaction of its owner. It can also be entrusted with the guardian- 

 ship of the house, and watches over the property committed to its charge with vigilance and 

 fidelity. Or it can take upon itself that character in reality which its cropped tail too often 

 falsely indicates, and can watch a fold, keep the sheep in order, or conduct them from one 

 place to another, nearly if not quite as well as the true sheep-dog from wMch it sprang. 



The Ottekhound is now almost exclusively employed for the chase of the animal from 

 which it derives its name. Formerly it was largely used for the purpose of hunting the hare, 

 and from that pursuit has derived the name of " Welsh Harrier." 



It is a bold, hardy, and active animal, as is needful for any Dog wMch engages in the 

 chase of so fierce and hard-biting a creature as the otter. As it is forced to take to the water 

 in search or in chase of its prey, it is necessarily endowed with great powers of swimming, or 

 it could never match that most amphibious of quadrupeds. Those who have seen an otter 

 when disporting itself in its congenial element must have been struck with the exceeding 

 rapidity and consummate ease of its movements, and can appreciate the great aquatic powers 



