306 
claws digs with such energy and skill as 
rapidly to bury himself, and the Dachshund 
needs to be provided with such apparatus 
as will permit him to clear his way and keep 
in touch with his formidable quarry. The 
badger is also hunted by Dachshunds above 
ground, usually in the mountainous parts 
of Germany, and in the growing crops of 
maize, on the lower slopes, where the vermin 
work terrible havoc in the evening. In this 
case the badger is rounded up and driven 
by the dogs up to the guns which are posted 
between the game and their earths. For 
MR. JOHN F. SAYER'S SPOTTED DOG 
BY RACKER VON DER ECKE——LIBETTE. 
this sport the dog used is heavier, coarser, 
and of larger build, higher on the leg, and 
more generally houndy in appearance. 
Dachshunds are frequently used for deer 
driving, in which operation they are especi- 
ally valuable, as they work slowly, and do 
not frighten or overrun their quarry, and 
can penetrate the densest undergrowth. 
Packs of Dachshunds may sometimes be 
engaged on wild boar, and, as they are web- 
footed and excellent swimmers, there is no 
doubt that their terrier qualities would make 
them useful assistants to the Otterhound. 
Apropos of their capabilities in the water it 
is the case that a yearor two ago at Offenbach- 
on-Main, at some trials arranged for life- 
saving by dogs, a Dachshund carried off the 
first prize against all comers. 
As a companion in the house the Dachs- 
hund has perhaps no compeer. He is a 
perfect gentleman; cleanly in his habits, 
obedient, unobtrusive, incapable of small- 
ness, affectionate, very sensitive to rebuke 
THE NEW BOOK 
OF THE DOG, 
or to unkindness, and amusingly jealous. 
As a watch he is excellent, quick to detect 
a strange footstep, valiant to defend the 
threshold, and to challenge with deep voice 
any intruder, yet sensibly discerning his 
master’s friends, and not annoying them 
with prolonged growling and grumbling as 
many terriers do when a stranger is ad- 
mitted. Properly brought up, he is a 
perfectly safe and amusing companion for 
children, full of animal spirits, and ever 
ready to share in a romp, even though it be 
accompanied by rough and tumble play. 
In Germany, where he is the most popular 
of all dogs, large or small, he is to be found 
in every home, from the Emperor’s palace 
downwards, and his quaint appearance, 
coupled with his entertaining personality, 
is daily seized upon by the comic papers to 
illustrate countless jokes at his expense. 
He is, in truth, a humorist, as George Mere- 
dith pointed out when he wrote that 
“Our Islet out of Helgoland, dismissed 
From his quaint tenement, quits hates and 
loves. 
There lived with us a wagging humorist 
In that hound’s arch dwarf-legged on 
boxing-gloves.”’ 
The origin of the Dachshund is not very 
clear. Some writers have professed to trace 
the breed or representations of it on the 
monuments of the Egyptians. Some aver 
that it is a direct descendant of the French 
Basset-hound, and others that he is related 
to the old Turnspits—the dogs so excellent 
in kitchen service, of whom Dr. Caius wrote 
that ‘when any meat is to be roasted they 
go into a wheel, where they, turning about 
with the weight of their bodies, so dili- 
gently look to their business that no drudge 
nor scullion can do the feat more cunningly, 
whom the popular sort hereupon term Turn- 
spits.” Certainly the dog commonly used 
in this occupation was long of body and 
short of leg, very much resembling the 
Dachshund. It was distinct enough in 
type to claim the breed-name of Turnspit, 
and many years ago this name was applied 
to the Dachshund. 
In all probability the Dachshund is 
a manufactured breed—a breed evolved 
