26 Varieties of the Dog. 
purpose of the fore-quarter is to enable the animal to take 
advantage of the propulsion given by the vigorous con- 
traction of the hind one, and thus to carry the animal on 
in the intervals of the strokes. If, therefore, the fore- 
quarter is dull, heavy, and incapable of extension, the 
stroke is broken and suspended,.and the pace is reduced 
accordingly. But besides this purpose, in which the fore- 
quarter of the race horse bears a similar part, that of the 
greyhound is also used in stopping the speed, and turning 
the body to the right or left, when the hare makes one of 
those turns which she delights in. Here the shoulder 
requires to be pliable yet strong, and there must be con- 
siderable play in all its parts, or it will give way in the 
violent effort made to change the direction of the speed. 
The outward formation for these purposes is well known 
and recognized by all in its general principles, though there 
may be a difference of opinion as to its details. Every 
one is agreed that the line through the shoulder-blade 
should be oblique, because that gives, in the first place, 
greater absolute length of blade; and, in the second, it 
gives greater power over the arm, so that it may be pro- 
truded further and with greater force than is the case 
with a short and upright blade. It is acknowledged as 
a fact, that such oblique shoulders cqnduce to that 
conjunction of speed and working power which is de- 
sired. At the same time, I think I have seen so many 
cases of upright shoulders united with great pace and 
cleverness, that the rule is by no means an absolute 
one. But one rule is, I think, of that nature—viz., that 
where there are confined shoulders not acting with any 
liberty, but glued in their places, then the speed is not 
good, and the working power is absolutely null. With 
good sloping shoulder-blades there is almost always com- 
bined a formation which is of the greatest consequence, 
and that is a long upper arm—that is to say, a long bone 
intervening between the shoulder-blade and the elbow. 
This length of arm generally coincides with good length 
from the hip to the hock ; and when that quarter is bent 
as I have already described, the oblique shouldeyr-blade, 
long upper arm, and low elbow, usually accompany it ; 
