The French matin is not a very distinct dog, comprehending an immense variety of animals, which in England would be called lurchers, or sheep dogs, according to the uses to which they are put. The head has the elongated form of this division of the dog, with a flat forehead; the ears stand up, but are pendulous towards the tip, and the color varies from red to fawn. He is about 34 inches high, has strong muscular action, and is very courageous, being employed in hunting the wild boar and wolf. This dog is said, by F. Cuvier, to be the progenitor of the greyhound and deerhound; but Pennant, on the contrary, considers him to be de-scended from the Irish wolf-dog.