112 DOGS AND ALL ABOUT THEM muscular development that are to be seen in the judging ring. Mr. George Raper's Roasting Hot is one of the most prominent

winners of the day ; he is a fawn and white, as handsome as a peacock and, moreover, is a good dog in the field. On one occasion after competing successfully at the Kennel Club Show at the Crystal Palace, he was taken to a coursing meeting where he won the stake in which he was entered. A brace of very beautiful bitches are Mr. F. Eyer's Dorset Girl and Miss W. Easton's Okeford Queen.

Although, as a rule, the most consistent winners in the leash have not been noted for their good looks, there have been exceptions in which the opposite has been the case. Fullerton was a good-looking dog, if not quite up to the form required in the show ring. Mr. Harding Cox has had several specimens that could run well and win prizes as show dogs, and the same may be said of Miss Maud May's fine kennel of Greyhounds in the North of England. In the South of England Mrs. A. Dewe keeps a number of longtails that when not winning prizes at the Crystal Palace and elsewhere are running at Plumpton and other meetings in Sussex.

The following is the standard by which Greyhounds should be judged.

Head-Long and narrow, slightly wider in skull, allowing for plenty of brain room ; lips tight, without any flew, and eyes bright and intelligent and dark in colour. Ears-Small and fine in texture, and semi

pricked. Teeth-Very strong and level, and not decayed or cankered. Neck-Lengthy, without any throatiness, but muscular. ShouldersPlaced well back in the body, and fairly muscular, without being loaded. Fore-legs-Perfectly straight, set well into the shoulders, with strong pasterns and toes set well up and close together. Body-Chest very deep, with fairly well-sprung ribs ; muscular back and loins, and well cut up in the flanks. Hind-quarters-Wide and well let down, with hocks well bent and close to the ground, with very muscular haunches, showing great propelling power, and tail long and fine and tapering with a slight upward curve. Qoat-Fairly fine in texture. Weight-The ideal weight of a dog is from 60 pounds to 65 pounds, of a bitch from 55pounds to 60 pounds.

CHAPTER XIX THE WHIPPET

FOR elegance of style, cleanliness of habit, and graceful movement, few dogs can equal the Whippet, for which reason his popularity as a companion has increased very greatly within the past decade. No more affectionate creature is to be found, yet he possesses considerable determination and pluck, and on occasion will defend himself in his own way.

Too fragile in his anatomy for fighting, in the ordinary sense of the word, when molested, he will " snap " at his opponent with such celerity as to take even the most watchful by surprise ; while his strength of jaw, combined with its comparatively great length, enables him to inflict severe punishment at the first grab. It was probably owing to this habit, which is common to all Whippets, that they were orginally known as Snap-Dogs.

The Whippet existed as a separate breed long before dog shows were thought of, and at a time when records of pedigrees were not officially preserved ; but it is very certain that the Greyhound had a share in his genealogical history, for not only should his appearance be precisely that of a Greyhound in miniature, but the purpose for which he was bred is very similar to that for which his larger prototype is still used, the only difference being that rabbits were coursed by Whippets, and hares by Greyhounds.

This sport has been mainly confined to the working classes, the colliers of Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland being particularly devoted to it. As a rule the contests are handicaps, the starting point of each competitor

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