40 DOMESTICATED DOGS. 



strength, and all agree in stating that, whilst his power was that of the mastiff, 

 his form was that of the greyhound. The " Sportsman's Cabinet," a very- 

 valuable old book on dogs, published in 1803, which is illustrated with very 

 good engravings after drawings from life by Renaigle, R. A., says, " The dogs 

 of Greece, Denmark, Tartary, and Ireland are the largest and strongest of 

 their species. The Irish greyhound is of very ancient race, and still to be 

 found in some few remote parts of the kingdom, but they are said to be much 

 reduced in size even in their original climate ; they .are much larger than the 

 mastiff, and exceedingly ferocious when engaged." A very good and spirited 

 drawing of this dog is given, which almost entirely coincides with the writer's 

 conclusion as to what the Irish wolfhound was and should be, though a rougher 

 coat and somewhat more lengthy frame are desirable. The dogs described in 

 "Ossian" are evidently identical with the Irish wolfhound, being of much 

 greater stature and power than the present deerhound. From these descrip- 

 tions, and those given elsewhere, we may conclude that, in addition to the dog's 

 being of great stature, strength, and speed, he was also clothed in rough hair. 

 In support of this we find that in the present day all the larger breeds of grey- 

 hound are invariably rough or long as to coat. 



Many writers have incorrectly confounded the Irish wolfhound with the 

 great Dane, though the two dogs vary entirely in appearance, if not so much 

 in build. It seems more than probable, however, that the two breeds were 

 frequently crossed, which may account for these statements. The late 

 Marquis of Sligo possessed some of this breed, which he was in the habit 

 (erroneously) of considering Irish wolfhounds. 



Richardson was at very great trouble to get every information as to the pro- 

 bable height of this dog, but the conclusions arrived at by him (chiefly based 

 on the lengths of the skulls measured by him) would seem to be decidedly 

 wrong, for the following reasons : — He states " the skull is 1 1 inches in the 

 bone ; " to that he adds 3 inches for nose, skin, and hair, thus getting 14 

 inches as the length of the living animal's head. The head of a living deer- 

 hound, measured by him, is 10 inches, the dog standing 29 inches ; he then 

 calculates that the height of the Irish wolfhound would have been 40 inches, 

 taking for his guide the fact that the 29 inches dog's head was 10 inches. 

 This would appear to be correct enough, but the allowance of 3 inches for 

 extras is absurd ; i£ inches are an ample allowance for the extras, and if the 

 head is taken at i2| inches the height of the dog will be redriced to 36 inches. 

 Moreover, the measurement of 10 inches for the head of a 29 inches deerhound's 

 head is manifestly insufficient, as the writer can testify from ample experience 

 and frequent measurements. A deerhound of that height would have a head 

 at least 1 1 inches ; so, calculating on the same principles, the Irish skulls 

 would have been from dogs that only stood 33^ inches. Richardson says that 



