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Show CHAP. I. 4.0 DOGS. . loodhounds ; ho found tho with the feet of some barners and b d loped in the otter . · 11 but more eve skin variaLle m extent m a ' . · als whieh belong d '" As aquatic amm than in the other houn s. £ t there can be no doubt to quite different orders have wcbb~d ebel ' t doas that frequent that this structure wou ld be- scrv. iCea e o o d 1 t roan ever selecte fir} tl mfer t 1a no the water. We may con en y hi h the skin was developed his water-dogs by the extent to wb c d cs is to preserve and between t l lel.r t· oes'. but what. . eh ho 't best in t ll e '''a t er, · d' 'd ls whlC un breed from those m tvr ua d thus he unconsciously or best retrieve wounded game, an bb d Man thus closely 1. 1 tl better we e · selects dogs with feet s 1g 1 Y h n excellent illustra- s 1 f We ave a . imitates Natural e ec IOn: N -th A.merica, where, accordmg tion of this same process m 01 1 .roxes and aboriginal . d ,, 11 the wo ves, 1' ' to Sir J. Rrcbar son, . a b. d . than in the correspond-domestic clogs have therr fce]t rocla "er ell calculated for running ing speC·i es of t b c 011c .W orlc. ' aAn. t' '" . gions the life or death ,, N w m these rc tc re ' . on the snow. . 1 ·on ' d .t success in huntmg over ft n depen on 1 s of every amma wr 0 e 1 . .11 ·11 part depend on the f d . and t us w1 1 c • the snow when so tone ' t be so broad as to mtcr- . b d . yet they must no . . l feet bemg roa ' . 1 1. 011 . 't f tho amma wu the ground 1s st1c ~y, foro with the actrvr Y 0 . b 1 or with other habits of or with its power of burrowmg o es, lifo. . b d which take place so slowly As changes in domcstrc ree s .· d whether due to the t' d t any one peno , . us not to be n0 100 a . . . of differences resultmg . f' · d' 'dual var1atwns or .. selectiOn o m rvr t< • t . ndcr·standino· the ongm of 1mportan m u o from crosses.' are mos . cl likewise in throwing indirect our domestic productrons, ~n d r nature, I will give in detail light on the changes effectoc ubnl et collect Lawronce/8 who h I have been a e 0 • · · sue cases as . histor of the foxhound, wntmg paid particular attentiOn to the y . before ,, an in 1829 says that between eighty and mnety :ea~ ·' -t" the entirely' new foxhound \.vas raised thr?ugh tdhe rdcetheer s :~n~ and ll th l ound bemg re uce , cars of the o c sou e~n : . b and the stature bulk lightened, the wmst mcreased m lengt ' 76 See 1\1r. C. 0. Groom-Napier on tho webbing of tho hind feet of Otterhounds, in' Land and Water,' Oct. 13th, 1866, p. 270. 77 'Fauna Dorcali-Amcricuna,' 1829, p. 62. . V . fes' 78 ' The Horse in all lns ane l ' &c., 1828, pp. 230, 234. CHAP. 1. MEANS OF MODIFICATION. 41 somewhat added to. It is believed that this was effected by a cross with the greyhound. With respect to this latter dog, Youatt,19 who is generally cautious in his statements, says that the greyhound within the last fifty years, that is before the commencement of the present century, " assumed a somewhat <.lifferent. character from that which he once possessed. He is now distinguished by a beautiful symmetry of form, of which he could not once boast, and he has even superior speed to that which he former~y exhibited. He is no longer used to struggle with deer, but contends with his fellows over a shorter and speedier course." An able writer 80 believes that our English greyhounds are the descendants, p1·ogressively improved, of the large rough greyhounds which existed in Scotland so early as the third century. A cross at some former period with the Italian greyhound bas been suspected; but this seems hardly probable, considering the feebleness of this latter breed. Lord Orford, as is well known, crossed his famous grey hounds, which failed in courage, with a bulldog-this breed being chosen from being deficient in the power of scent; " after the sixth or seventh generation," says Youatt, "there was not ~ vestige left of the form of the bulldog, but his courage and indomitable p rseverance remained:" Youatt infers, fi·om a comparison of an old picture of Ring Charles's spaniels with the living clog, that " the breed of the present clay is materially altered for the worse:" the muzzle has become shorter, the forehead more prominent, and the eyes larger: the changes in this case have probably been clue to simple selection. The setter, as this author remarks in another place, "is evidently the large spaniel improved to his present peculiar size and beauty, and taught another way of marking his game. If the form of the clog were not sufficiently satisfactory on this point, we might have recourse to history :" he then refers to a document dated 1685 bearing on this subject, and adds that the pure Irish setter shows no signs of a cross with the pointer, which some authors suspect has been the case with the English setter. Another writer 81 remarks ;g 'The Dog,' 1845, pp. 31, 35; with re ·pect to King Charles's spaniel, p. 45; for the setter, p. 90. 80 In the 'Encyclop. of Rural Sports,' p. 557. Bl ' Tho Farrier,' 1828, vol. i. p. 337. |