the rug or under the table cannot fail to be struck with the comparatively little room that he then occupies.

For following a trap, if the pace be not too great or the distance too long, the Irish Wolfhound is admirably suited; while he is one of the very few breeds that may be taken by a lady cyclist on a lonely road. In fact, we can conceive no better dog for a lady's companion than a really well-trained, good-tempered specimen. Our only wonder is that a dog having so many good qualities has not found a more numerous following. Doubtless some of this

lack of appreciation of the breed is due to the fact that, so far as outward appearances go, the Irish Wolfhound, as judged by the "man in the street," has none of the personal attractions that go such a long way towards "making" a breed; nor has he been "boomed to anything like the extent that some breeds have. Where good qualities lie hidden under a somewhat rugged exterior it is always a difficult and uphill task to get the merits of a variety properly recognised. It is this undoubtedly that in a great measure has helped to keep the Irish Wolfhound in the background. The more's the pity. His day will, however, assuredly come. Forty years of patient work in connection with the evolution of the breed

have been absorbed, and with little monetary reward for those who have laboured so long. Still, breeders have manfully stuck to their recreated or regenerated animal, and at the present day are even more enthusiastic over the noble hound than they were in the early "sixties." Fig. 36 is an excellent type of present-day Irish Wolfhound, and a great winner upon the show-bench.

It has already been suggested that the Irish Wolfhound makes an excellent companion and guard. The variety, however, is not one to be confined to a lonely backyard, chained to an apology for a kennel. With this and similar breeds the chain should be practically unknown, save that the hound, like any other, should be acquainted with both collar and chain. No young puppy should ever be chained if straight limbs and decent body-conformation are sought. Plenty of exercise is required for all the members of the Greyhound family, and road-walking exercise is especially beneficial for hardening the pads. If, in addition to this, young dogs can have access to a meadow, preferably with a hill, this will soon develop them to the full.

The kennels should be well positioned, roomy, light, and well ventilated. If a range of kennels be not required and a nice loose box is vacant, this will make a capital home for the average Wolfhound when it is necessary to restrict him in any way. The more, however, that such a dog, when required as a companion and guard, is allowed to associate with the owner and his family, the more useful is it likely to become. Seclusion and chaining, when carried to excess, either mean a savage or a broken-spirited animal-the one a nuisance and a source of danger, and the other a canine fool.

Although with all large breeds it is most desirable to start with a puppy, yet the novice would do well not to purchase one that is too young. As a matter of fact, the Irish Wolfhound up to the age of four or five months is more than ordinarily delicate or susceptible to certain ailments incidental to that period of a young dog's life. Distemper, and the complications that follow, claim a good many victims. It will, therefore, be politic to look out for a puppy that is some six months old. Breeders of repute always have in their kennels puppies which, while they just miss being show specimens, nevertheless make first-class companions and guards. The Irish Wolfhound is not mature until two years old.

The Irish Wolfhound is another of the varieties of British dog that vary much in colour as puppies. They may not show such a marked difference as do the Airedale or the Yorkshire, but it is sufficiently so to be worth recording. We have it on no less an authority than Mr. Hood Wright that the really blues are born black, while the slates are born that colour. There is always a tendency, he says, for them to get lighter. In support of this he instances the case of his old bitch Champion Selwood Callach.

She was as black as her brother Champion Selwood Dhouran at birth; at the age of six months she was a medium shade of fawn grizzle, while her brother remained black. Mr. Hood Wright also states that he has known of a case of a red-fawn dog (but one with a blue skin) that after he had attained the age of two years became a blue. The dog was sold as a fawn, but the next time that the late owner met the animal he was an undoubtedly natural blue.

In selecting a puppy, the head-points, as noted below, should be carefully considered, especially as to length, position, and size of ears. The head as a whole must not promise to be too Deerhoundy on the one hand, or Great Dane-like on the other. Other points that should be looked for are a deep chest, straight legs, large, rounded feet, a long neck, and of course a well-arched loin.

Of late Irish Wolfhound type has been freely criticised in the Press, and the more practical fanciers have advocated a readjustment of points, as it were, with a view to strengthening those characteristics that appear weak. With that end in view a most commonsense letter appeared in Our Dogs over the simple nom de guerre of " Breeder." In it the writer not only suggests a suitable scale of point-values for the breed, but also gives an idea of how an ideal hound should be made up. The description therein given so closely accords with our own that we give it for the benefit of those that are beginning :

Height, 34in.; weight, 140lb.; girth, 38in.; head, 14in., avoiding the broad forehead, and with strong muzzle. Eyes small and dark. Ears neatly tucked and cocked. Body long, deep, and supple. Tail long and lashing. Neck clean and arched. Hocks well let down, and without a suspicion of "cow." Legs like parallel rulers. Coat rough and wiry. Beard and eyebrows plentiful. Colour, any met with in the Deerhound. Muscular all over, of course.

The Irish Wolfhound boasts an excellent club to watch over its interests, and the following is the description of the breed as drawn up by that body :

General Appearance.-The Irish Wolfhound should not be quite so heavy or massive as the Great Dane, but more so than the Deerhound, which in general type he should otherwise resemble. Of great size and commanding appearance, very muscular, strongly though gracefully built, movements easy and active; head and neck carried high; the tail carried with an upward sweep with a slight curve towards the extremity.

The Minimum Height and Weight of dogs should be 31in. and 120lb.; of bitches 28in. and 90lb. Anything below this should be debarred from competition. Great size, including height at shoulder and proportionate length of body, is the desideratum to be aimed at, and it is desired to firmly establish a race that shall average from 32in. to 34in. in dogs, showing the requisite power, activity, courage, and symmetry.

Head.--Long, the frontal bones of the forehead very slightly raised, and very little indentation between the eyes. Skull not too broad. Muzzle long and moderately pointed. Ears small and Greyhound-like in carriage.

Neck.-Rather long, very strong and muscular, well arched, without dewlap, or loose skin about the throat.

Back.-Rather long than short. Loins arched.

Tail.-Long and slightly curved, of moderate thickness, and well covered with hair.

Belly-Well drawn up.

Forequarters.-Shoulders muscular, giving breadth of chest, set sloping. Elbows well under, neither turned inwards nor outwards.

Leg.-Fore-arm muscular, and the whole leg strong and quite straight. Hindquarters.-Muscular thighs and second thigh long and strong as in the Greyhound, and hocks well let down and turning neither in nor out.

Feet.-Moderately large and round, neither turned inwards nor outwards. Toes well arched and closed. Nails very strong and curved.

Hair.-Rough and hard on body, legs, and head; especially wiry and long over eyes and under jaw.

Colour and Markings.-The recognised colours are grey, brindle, red, black, pure white, fawn, or any colour that appears in the Deerhound. [Captain Graham states that he has seen several perfectly black-and-tan Deerhounds.]

Faults. Too light or heavy a head, too highly arched frontal bone, large ears and hanging flat to the face; short neck; full dewlap; too narrow or too broad a chest; sunken or hollow or quite straight back; bent fore legs; overbent fetlocks; twisted feet; spreading toes; too curly a tail; weak hindquarters and a general want of muscle; too short in body.

The following scale of point-values have been suggested by "Breeder" in the paper above named :

9852

25

25

12

Height at Shoulder

Substance and Girth

Length and Symmetry of Body

Limbs

276

180

CHAPTER XI

THE SCOTCH DEERHOUND

FROM his superior size and rough coat the Deerhound has a more imposing appearance than his refined brother the Greyhound, and many would place him at the head of the family. He is frequently referred to as the Staghound. It is well to note this, to prevent confusion, as in England the Staghound is a totally different dog, hunting by scent alone, and often simply a large Foxhound. He is also named the Rough Greyhound, and the Northern, or Fleethound.

Blome, writing of the various hounds of his time, after describing the deep-mouthed hound, says: "For the Northern, or Fleet-hound, his head and nose ought to be slenderer and longer, his back broad, his belly gaunt, his joynts long, and his ears thicker and shorterin a word, he is in all parts slighter made, and framed after the mould of a Greyhound." It is, however, uncertain whether Blome here meant to describe the Deerhound, or the light-built and swift Foxhound of the North, which, by comparison with the slow, deeptongued, Southern hound, approached to the Greyhound form.

In that much-valued work the "Sportsman's Cabinet" no mention is made of the Scotch Deerhound, and the Staghound described and illustrated by Reinagle is a pure modern Foxhound.

Richardson, a well-known authority on dogs, writing nearly sixty years ago, gave it as his opinion that the Irish Wolfhound was the ancestor of the Highland Deerhound, an opinion not by any means well supported; this question, however, is discussed at some length in the chapter on the Irish Wolfhound. Equally open to doubt are the crosses suggested by some as having been resorted to in order to prevent the Deerhound from dying out-and particularly those of the Foxhound and Bloodhound.

In treating of the Deerhound, "Stonehenge," who is usually careful and accurate, says: "On carefully examining the description given by Arrian, no one can doubt that the dog of his day was rough in his coat, and in all respects like the present Scotch dog." On the contrary, Arrian is very clear on this point, showing he was