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CHAPTER II. 



DOMESTICATED DOGS, HUNTING CHIEFLY BY THE EYE, AND KILLING 

 THEIE GAME FOE THE USE OF THEIR MASTERS. 



I. The Smooth English Greyhound — 2. The Deerhound and Rough Grey- 

 hound — 3. The Irish Greyhound or Wolf-Dog — 4. The Gazehound — 

 5. The French Matin — 6. The Hare-Indian Dog— j. The Albanian 

 Greyhound — 8. The Grecian Greyhound — 9. The Russian Greyhound 

 — 10. The Turkish Greyhound — 11. The Persian Greyhound — 12. The 

 Italian Greyhound. 



I.— THE SMOOTH ENGLISH GREYHOUND. 



This beautiful animal is by many considered to be the original of 

 all our domestic breeds, dividing that honour with the bulldog and 

 mastiff. The authorities for these theories are chiefly founded on 

 ancient statues and paintings, aided by written descriptions. At all 

 events, the greyhound of these islands can be traced to the time of 

 King Canute, who confined his use to the nobility by statute. 

 Buffon considers him to be identical with the French matin, and 

 very probably there was little difference between the two breeds ; 

 but we possess no reliable painting or statue of either -of a very 

 early date, and a written description will seldom serve to identify 

 a species, while a definition of the variety is generally wholly beyond 

 its powers. For these reasons, therefore, I shall not attempt to 

 go into the history of the greyhound, nor shall I claim for it any 

 greater antiquity than justly belongs to the bulldog, the mastiff, 

 the terrier, or the turnspit. 



Until the passing of the present game-laws, the use of the 



