80 DOG, Class I. 



the Mastiff or Ban dog ; a species of great size 

 and strength, and a very loud barker. Man- 

 wood says* it derives its name from most thefese, 

 being supposed to frighten away robbers by its 

 tremendous voice. Caius tells us that three of 

 these were reckoned a match for a bear ; and 

 four for a lion : but from an experiment made 

 in the Tower by James I. that noble quad- 

 ruped was found an unequal match to only 

 three; two of the dogs were disabled in the 

 combat, but the third forced the lion to seek for 

 safety by flight, f The English bull dog seems 

 to belong to this species, and probably is the 

 dog our author mentions under the title of 

 Laniarius. Great Britain was so noted for 

 its mastiffs, that the Roman Emperors appoint- 

 ed an officer in this island with the title of Pro- 

 curator Cynegii,% whose sole business was to 

 breed, and transmit from hence to the Amphi- 

 theatre, such as would prove equal to the com- 

 bats of the place, 



Magnaque taurorum fracturi colla Britanni [|. 

 And British dogs subdue the stoutest bulls. 



Gratius speaks in high terms of the excellency 

 of the British dogs, 



* Manwoods Forest Law. f Stow's Annals, 1427. 



\ Camd. Brit, in Hampshire. 



J] Claudian de laude Stilichonis. Lib. ill. Lin. 301. 



