THE SMOOTH ENGLISH GREYHOUND. 21 



Gradually coursing has become more and more general and 

 popular, and, in the present day, wherever there is an area of 

 tolerably level country suited to the preservation and coursing of 

 hares, meetings are instituted, either for the use of the public in 

 general, or for clubs, who almost in all cases are open to all classes 

 of good sportsmen. As a consequence, fully five thousand grey- 

 hounds are now kept in the United Kingdom, independently of 

 the rising generation of saplings, which is almost as numerous. 

 This increase of the popularity of coursing is due — (1) to the small 

 cost of keeping the greyhound in comparison with that of the 

 racehorse ; (2) to the love of competition which is inherent in 

 the " Britisher ; " (3) to the modern style of farming, which, by 

 throwing numberless small fields into large ones, and abolishing 

 high " ridge and furrows," has facilitated the pursuit of the hare 

 in proportion to the retrogression in the elements necessary for 

 partridge shooting. The result is, that in almost all districts even 

 those tenant farmers who are forbidden to shoot are allowed to 

 course, but generally they avail themselves of this permission not 

 to kill the hares for direct " currant jelly " objects, but to afford 

 practice in private for the greyhounds, which require it before 

 being submitted to the eye of the public coursing judge. No one 

 who enters keenly into the rivalry existing at Newmarket, Altcar, 

 or Ashdown will condescend to attend a " private day," but will 

 gladly kill a few hares when he is getting his dogs ready for 

 either of these meetings or their less fashionable rivals; and hence, 

 though there is some little difference between the public and the 

 private greyhound, I shall mainly confine my description to the 

 former. 



The Public Greyhound, then, should combine a frame capable of 

 giving the highest degree of speed which is consistent with the 

 form to " stay a course," and with the capability of stopping 



