42 DOMESTICATED DOGS. 



with a brace of dogs by Glengarry and Cluny Macpherson, both of gigantic 

 size. He calls them "wolfhounds," and says, "There is no occupation lor 

 them, as there is only one wolf near, and that is confined in a menagerie.'' 

 He was offered a fine Irish greyhound by Miss Edgeworth, who owned some of 

 this breed, but declined, having the others. Richardson says, "Though I 

 have separated the Irish wolf dog from the Highland deerhound and the 

 Scottish greyhound, I have only done so partly in conformity with general 

 opinion, that I have yet to correct, and partly because these dogs, though 

 originally identical, are now unquestionably distinct in many particulars." 



As the rough Scotch greyhound is to the present deerhound, so is the deer- 

 hound to what the Irish wolfhound was ! 



It may be of interest to mention here that the last wolf is said to have been 

 killed in 1710, but there is no accurate information as to the date. The height 

 of the European wolf varies from 28 in. to 30 in., and he is, though of compara- 

 tively slight form, an animal of very great power and activity. 



Richardson, being an enthusiast on the subject, and not content with simply 

 writing, took measures to recover the breed. With much patience and trouble, 

 he hunted up all the strains he could hear of, and bred dogs of gigantic size 

 to which the strains now in existence can be distinctly traced. A gentleman 

 of position and means in Ireland, deceased some six or eight years, possessed a 

 kennel of these dogs, on the breeding of which he expended both time and 

 fortune freely. They were, though not equal to the original dog, very fine 

 animals. It has been ascertained beyond all question that there are a few 

 specimens of the breed still in Ireland and England that have well-founded . 

 pretensions to be considered Irish wolfhounds, though falling far short of the 

 requisite dimensions ; and, in. concluding this paper, the writer would again 

 earnestly urge that come decided action may be taken by gentlemen possessing 

 both leisure and means to restore to us that most noble of the canine race— the 

 Irish wolfhound. 



Kednock, Ddeslet. 



IV.- THE GAZEHOUND. 



The gazehound of old -writers is now extinct, and most probably 

 has merged in the greyhound, if it ever differed from that breed 

 of dogs. At all events, the accounts, both ancient and modern, of 

 the gazehound are so indefinite as to be of little interest to any 

 one. For myself, I confess that I am wholly ignorant of the 

 subject. 



