Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/348

330 330 DOG perfect unless used to one scent and one style of hunting.&quot; A still smaller hound is the Beagle, from 12 to 14 inches high, the most diminutive of the hunting dogs. It was formerly a great favourite, being used in hunting the hare, but in this it has been almost wholly superseded by the harrier. It is much slower than the foxhound or harrier, but in spite of this its exquisite scent and its perseverance seldom fail to secure for it the object of its chase, although it may be after a leisurely hunt of 3 or 4 hours. The voice of the beagle is highly musical, and on this account a certain number of them were formerly added to each pack of hounds as a baud now is to a regiment of soldiers. Diminutive packs, from 9 to 10 inches high, have been kept, and O Connell used to beguile his winter leisure with a dozen of these tiny favourites. The Pointer is related to the hounds, and is supposed to be derived from an old Spanish breed. It is a beautiful, smooth-haired dog, coloured somewhat like a foxhound, active in its move ment, and patient of fatigue. It owes its name to its habit of standing fixed at the scent of game, and this, like the crouching of the setter, whether due to long-continued training alone, or to the modification and exaggeration by man of the instinctive start of surprise common to all dogs, when first aware of their prey, is now inherited, the puppy pointing before his training has begun. The strength of this pointing propensity was never more signally shown than in the case, told by Daniel, of two pointers which stood immovable as statues during the hour and a quarter occupied in sketching them. The Dalmatian Dog is a remarkably handsome breed, apparently intermediate between hound and pointer It is of a white colour, thickly FIG. 9. Dalmatian Dog. marked with rounded black spots, but it is not sufficiently keen scented or sagacious to be of use in hunting. It has accordingly been relegated to the stables, where it receives the training necessary to a coach-dog. It is known in France as the Brague de Bengale, and ia supposed to be an Indian variety. V. MASTIFFS. The Mastiff race of dogs is characterized by extreme shortness and breadth of muzzle, enormous strength of jaws, and general robustness of form. It in cludes the Mastiff, the Bull-dog, and the Pug. The Mastiff equals in courage, while in strength, in telligence, and mildness of disposition it excels, its near ally the bull-dog. It is commonly supposed to have been the breed of large dogs abundant in &quot;Britain during Eoman times, which were exported in large numbers to Home for the purpose of fighting in the Amphitheatre, although Colonel Smith believes that these early British dogs were only bull-dogs of a larger size than the present breed, and that the mastiff was introduced into Britain from the cold regions of Central Asia. It is a large dog, standing 30 inches high at the shoulders, with thick muzzle, pendulous lips, and heavy expression, its ears small and drooping, and the tail well developed. It is usually of a buff colour, with ears and muzzle darker. Although fierce in combat, FIG. 10. Mastiff. it does not attack without considerable provocation, and it bears the teasings of children with the greatest good nature. When in former times it entered into combat with wild animals, it has been known to engage a bear, a leopard, and a lion, and pull each of them down in succes sion. At the present time the breed is rarely met with pure, and is chiefly useful as a watch-dog, its sagacity and fidelity in this capacity being well known. While he shows great attachment to man when made his companion, the temper of the mastiff becomes soured by confinement, and he is then dangerous to strangers. The Thibet Mastiff is larger than the English breed, and its countenance is still heavier. It is the watch-dog of the tribes inhabiting Thibet and the Central Asian table-land, to whom it is strongly attached, although exceedingly savage towards strangers. There is a huge mastiff figured on an Assyrian sculpture, G40 B.C., and Sir H. Kawlinson states that similar dogs are still imported into that country. The Bull-dog is the least sagacious, as well as the most ferocious and obstinate, of the dog tribe. It is smaller than the mastiff, but is strongly built. Its broad, thick head, the projection of the lower jaw beyond the upper disclosing the incisor teeth, the sudden rise of the head from the face, and the scowling expression of the eyes, combine to make the countenance of the bull-dog terrible. Bell points out, in his History of British Qua drupeds, the resemblance in the deep chest, the narrow loins, muscular limbs, and stiff tapering tail of the bull-dog to the elegant form of the greyhound. The chief difference appears in the muzzle, a variation which may have suddenly arisen in a single individual, and been perpetuated in its progeny. The ears of the bull-dog are short and semi-erect, and the nostrils distended ; the colour varies, being brindled in some, and black and white in others. It is essentially a fighting-dog, and was formerly bred for the brutal sport of bull-baiting, in which its terrible obstinacy usually gained for it the victory. It differs from other dogs in giving no warning of its attack by preliminary barking, and when once it has fixed its teeth into the object of attack, no amount of torture will cause it to relax its hold. Colonel Smith states that he has seen one &quot; pinning down an American bison and holding his nose down till the animal gradually brought forward its hind feet, and, crushing the dog to death, tore his muzzle out of the fangs, most dreadfully mangled ;&quot; and there is an instance on record of its returning to the attack on a bull,