THE BOARHOUND. 239 



but as it retains the full melodious note of the hound, which is always injured or destroyed 

 by an admixture with the sharp-voiced terrier, it appears to owe more of its parentage to that 

 animal. Be this as it may, it is now treated as a separate breed, and may claim the honors of 

 a pure lineage. In all probability it is a variety of the old southern hound, which was selected 

 carefully for the work which it is intended to perform, and which in course of time lias so 

 settled down to its vocation as to have undergone that curious variation in form and aspect 

 that is always found in animals or men which have long been employed in the same kind 

 of work. 



Any one of moderate experience among Dogs and their habits can, on seeing the animal, 

 determine its avocation, just as any one who is conversant with men and their manners can, 

 on seeing a man, at once announce his calling. There is something in the little peculiarities 

 of the formation which tells its tale to the observing eye. There is a kind of moral and intel- 

 lectual, as well as physical, atmosphere, that seems to surround every creature, an'd to tell of 

 its essential nature, its education, and its habits. Animals appear to be peculiarly sensitive 

 to this surrounding emanation, and to be attracted or repelled by an influence as powerful, 

 though as invisible, as that which attracts or repels the different poles of a magnet. We feel 

 it ourselves in the instinctive cordiality or repugnance which we perceive when brought in 

 contact with a fresh acquaintance, and which very seldom misleads those who are' content to 

 follow their instincts. The nature of each being seems to pervade its every particle, as it were — 

 to overflow and shed its influence, consciously or otherwise, on every object with which it 

 enters into communion. There are some men whose very presence warms and enlivens all 

 whom they approach, and that not from any suavity of manner, for such men are often most 

 abrupt and truth-telling in their demeanor ; and there are others who, however urbane may be 

 their deportment, seem to cast from them a cold and freezing atmosphere that congeals all 

 those around them, like the icebergs of the northern seas. 



Although, on examining the form of the Otterhound, we should not be able to point out 

 the description of game which it is accustomed to pursue, we should at once pronounce it to 

 be a strong and hardy animal, a good swimmer, possessed of a delicate nose, and of stout 

 courage. In each of these accomplishments the Otterhound excels, and needs them all when 

 it ventures to cope with the fierce prey which it is taught to pursue. 



The Otterhound is a tolerably large Dog, measuring nearly two feet in height at the 

 shoulder. This is the height of the male ; that of the female is an inch or two less. 



The fine animal which is represented in the accompanying engraving can hardly be con- 

 sidered as belonging to a separate breed, but rather as a mixture between several families of 

 domesticated Dogs. 



According to competent judges, the Boarhound is derived from a mingling of the mastiff 

 with the greyhound, crossed afterwards with the terrier. The reader will see why these three 

 animals are employed for the purpose of obtaining a Dog which is capable of successful attack 

 on so dangerous and powerful a brute as the boar. The greyhound element is required in order 

 to give the Dog sufficient speed for overtaking the boar, which is a much swifter animal than 

 would be supposed from his apparently unwieldy and heavy frame. The admixture of the 

 mastiff is needed to give it the requisite muscular power and dimensions of body, and the 

 terrier element is introduced for the sake of obtaining a sensitive nose, and a quick, spirited 

 action. 



As might be imagined would be the case with an animal which derives its origin from 

 these sources, the Boarhound varies very considerably in form and habits, according to the 

 element which may preponderate in the individual. A Dog in which the greyhound nature is 

 dominant will be remarkably long of limb and swift of foot ; one in whose parentage the 

 mastiff takes the greatest share will be proportionately large and powerful ; while the Dog in 

 whose blood is the strongest infusion of the terrier will not be so swift or so large as the other 

 two, but will excel them in its power of scent and its brisk activity of movement. 



To train the Dog rightly to his work is a matter of some difficulty, because a mistake is 

 generally fatal, and puts an end to further instruction by the death of the pupil. It is com- 



