2 8 DOMESTICATED DOGS. 



Cob" and "Bedlamite," notably the latter, and most of their 

 descendants ; while " Figaro," son of " King Cob," and " Jacobite," 

 son of " Bedlamite," in whom the stifles were not so widely set, 

 both displayed even greater speed, but their working powers were 

 so limited that they ran out many yards at every turn. After 

 insisting on the length of the thighs, both upper (or true) and lower, 

 the next thing is to see that they are well clothed with muscle, 

 but in the upper thigh-bone, the mass covering the bone, and 

 called the quarter or buttock, is often too bulky, leading to a dull, 

 heavy style of gallop, and as a consequence to low comparative 

 speed. This mass should naturally be wiry and firm rather than 

 soft and spongy, though even this quality may be exaggerated by 

 over-training ; for a very hard, unyielding quarter is often an in- 

 dication of the trained dog being " overworked." But the lower 

 thigh can scarcely be too muscular, and this point should be care- 

 fully examined by the connoisseur. The hocks, again, should be 

 long and strong. They should be set and move in the same plane 

 as the elbows, and should be nearly but not quite upright. Great 

 length of hock is by no means conducive to a very high speed, 

 but it enables its possessor to maintain a high rate for a longer 

 time than a short hock will allow. The leg or part between the 

 hock and foot, sometimes called the pastern, should be large in 

 bone and sinew, and following the line of the back very slightly 

 out of the perpendicular. I need scarcely remark that the hind- 

 quarter is the chief propelling power, but it is greatly assisted by 

 the loin in the stroke which it gives, the two together being really 

 almost equally engaged in the thrust of the body forward, which 

 is the essential feature in propulsion. 



The feet are all equally important to propulsion, for if there are 

 any of them defective, so as to give pain to their possessors, 

 slight though it may be during the gallop, the muscular powers are 



