Sabtu, 07 Maret 2009

Reference to Three Sizes of "Greyhound" 1816

Most of the books that I have come across, written prior to the 1860s, do not differentiate sighthounds as distinct breeds. Rather they reference of the sighthounds as greyhounds. On top of that they may make some distinctions. regarding types of greyhound. i.e. Scotch Greyhound, Irish Greyhound, Persian Greyhound, etc. In this text, the author refers to several varieties of sighthound with references to coat, "The coarse rough haired greyhound," and size, small, medium and large. With specific mentions of size and coarse haired (wirehaired) dogs all identified as "greyhounds," with the "medium size" greyhound as a preference, it seems that the small greyhounds could very well be whippets or whippet type dogs.

This quote is attributed to Sir H. B. Dudley, owner of a greyhound named Millar (or Miller), 1799:

I may, perhaps, in the opinion of some sportsmen, entertain an erroneous idea, but I cannot subscribe to that of the small greyhound being equal to one of a larger size. The medium is, in fact, the height to be desired, and I consider the superiority to be decided on mathematical principles :—A given length must cover a given space of ground, and the short small greyhound must necessarily make more strokes than a larger one to cover the same space of ground, and consequently must be sooner fatigued. The great overgrown dog I equally exclude. The bulk there counteracts itself, and the extreme length cannot recover itself to repeat the stroke, so that the ground covered by the length is then lost by a failure in the repetition of the stroke. On these principles I have seen small greyhounds, that I received out of Yorkshire, regularly beaten by my own.

Sir Richard Clayton, Bart. 1816. A TREATISE ON GREYHOUNDS, WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE TREATMENT AND DISORDERS OF THEM. LONDON. NO. XVII. Pam. VOL. IX. D

from the collection of pamphlets:

Abraham John Valpy, ed. 1817. The Pamphleteer; RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO BOTH HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. London: Printed By A. J. Valpy Tooke's Court, Chancery Lane. vol. IX. no. XVII.

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