The general form and character of the head is here pretty fairly sketched, and we see a very close agreement between these old authorities. It appears to me that the "Mayster of Game" was the most happy in his illustration, " made in the manner of a luce," that is, a full-grown pike, as the head of the greyhound and pike will bear a fair comparison without straining; and who can say it was not the exigencies of rhyme that compelled our sporting Abbess to set up for us that stumbling block, the head of the snake. No doubt she thought of the excellent illustration the neck of the drake offered her, and had to find a rhyme to it, but she might with as great propriety have written:

The grehound should be headed like a luce And neckyd like a goose.

The force of illustration lost in the second line is more than compensated by the strength of the first. Markham is right in desiring a "long lean head," but even that may be carried to a fault; but we do not want the "part beneath the forehead protuberant of muscle;" and the "heavy headed, with thick nostrils and a blunt nose," I must, with Arrian, discard altogether as thoroughly bad, too slow, and certain to be "too clever by half." Looking at the whole head, we see, by the sloping-in of the side walls of the skull how the brain capacity is diminished, and how the elongation and narrowing of head and jaws have almost obliterated the olfactory organs, the internal cavities becoming contracted and presenting so much less surfare that the scenting powers are necessarily limited, although it is a mistake to suppose that they are entirely lost. This is just what we want in the greyhound; he must run by sight, never using his nose; he must have the brain developed where it shows courage, not intelligence.

When a retriever has to puzzle out a lost bird, his nose and his intelligence are both put to the test, and the higher the development, the better the dog, and as we find the intellectual faculties highest in those dogs with most brain before the ears, so we select our retrievers thus formed; but as this would be a disadvantage in the greyhound, which we want to run honest and fair, such as Justice Shallow, in the "Merry Wives of Windsor," describes -

He is a good dog and a fair dog;

Can there be more said - he is good and fair we select them without this intellectual development, by use of which they would soon study the wiles and shifts of "poor Wat," and, to save their wind and legs, "run cunning" - that is, do a "waiting race," the cunning dog allowing his fellow to do the work, whilst he hangs back for the hare to be turned into his mouth. A greyhound should measure well round the head, across and at back of ears, which is a sure indication of the courage that gives dash and persistence to their efforts.

By "hooked nose," I presume Arrian to mean that the upper jaw protrudes; but that would decidedly be a fault, as a dog so formed would be at a disadvantage in holding and killing his hare. This formation, called overshot, or pig-jawed, is often met with in various breeds of dogs, but if at all excessive it is most objectionable. The opposite to that is sometimes seen, and we have them undershot; but such cases are. comparatively rare, and owe their origin to the cross with the bulldog, which has been resorted to to give stamina, courage, and staunchness to the greyhound; but the form to be desired is the level mouth with the "good sessours one again the other."

The teeth themselves are important; they should be large, strong, and white, the fangs sharp and powerful; this is not only necessary for their work, but it is always a sign of health.

"The eye," Arrian says, "should be large, upraised, clear, and strikingly bright. The best look fiery and flash like lightning, resembling those of leopards, lions, or lynxes." Markham says, "a full clear eye, with long eyelids." The latter pecularity I have never observed, probably from want of a close attention to the point; but the clear, bright, and fiery eye is always a necessity, although, of course, the condition of the dog and the circumstances under which he is seen must be considered in judging of it; the colour varies with that of the coat, as in all breeds.

Of the ears Arrian writes, "they should be large and soft, so as to appear broken; but it is no bad indication if they appear erect, provided they are not small and stiff." This description would not be accepted as satisfactory now; ears are preferred small, and free from all coarseness; neither does Markham's "a sharp ear, short, and close-falling," quite convey the modern idea of a greyhound's ear; it should be soft, fine in leather, and folded with the shoulder of the ear, strong enough to carry the whole up when the dog is excited or his attention fixed.

The neck is the next point, and it is one of very great importance; it must belong, strong, well clothed with muscle; yet withal light, airy, and possessing wonderful flexibility and suppleness. Arrian says, "The neck should be long, round, and flexible, so that if you forcibly draw the dogs backwards by their collars it may seem to be broken, from its flexibility and softness." The neck is certainly wonderfully pliant, and readily bent to either side at will. Our royal writer says, "The neck should be grete and longe, and bowed as a swann6's neck;" Markham, "a long neck, a little bending, with a loose hanging wezand." The last point is not correct, and might convey the idea that there was a looseness of skin underneath; the windpipe, although easily felt, does not hang loose, the whole neck being neat, round, clean made, and elegantly carried. A long neck, as well as long head, are necessary to enable the dog to pick up, carry, or bear the hare without stopping, which he will do, throwing his head up with the hare in his mouth; but a dog with a short neck would have to stoop so in catching his hare that there would be every chance of his coming a "cropper," the force at which he was going throwing him heels over head.