1. The Head (Value 10)

" I have already said that in my opinion, the head should be large between the ears, and in a dog from 25in. to 26in. high, should measure at least 14 1/2in. in circumference midway between the eyes and ears. This point is one which is not usually insisted on, many coursers preferring the narrow and elegant head, which will easily allow the neck-strap to slip over it. My own conviction is so strong that I do not hesitate to advise the selection of the head with a wider neck to it, and as narrow and low as it can be obtained between the eyes. Very little intelligence is required in the greyhound; and if it were possible to obtain the full development of the appetite for his game (the seat of which is no doubt in the back of the brain) without any corresponding increase of intellectual faculties, it would be desirable to do so. But, unfortunately, this is not attainable without some slight drawback; for, though it may be possible to select heads in which there is very great increase in volume in the back of the head, in proportion to the enlargement of the forehead, still the latter part is more or less developed, and in these animals greater care is necessary in the rearing to prevent them from self-hunting, or from assisting the sheepdog of the farm in finding and killing what rabbits and hares are in the neighbourhood.

But when that care has been taken, this greyhound is really valuable; his courage is immense; no amount of injury or work seems to cow him (though he is not necessarily stout, for this quality, I believe, resides in the whole nervous system, and not in any part of it), and even the whip only subdues for a time his appetite for blood. The jaw can hardly be too lean, but the muscle should be full, and there should be little or no development of the nasal sinuses. I am not fond of long-nosed greyhounds; but I have seen good ones possessing that appendage in almost every variety of shape. The eye should be full and bright, giving the idea of high spirits and animation. As to the ears, there is a very great variety in the different breeds, from the large upstanding ones of the Heatherjock variety to the small and elegantly-falling ear of most of our modern greyhounds. The bitch has always a neater and more compact head than her brothers, and there is generally a livelier look about the eye; but, though the head is smaller, it is still in the same relative proportion to the whole body, which is more neat and elegant also.

No courser should omit to examine the teeth, which require to be strong and long enough to hold the hare when taken".

2. The Neck (Value 10)

2. The neck (value 10) of the greyhound, in the old rhyme, was compared to that of a drake, and of all the comparisons therein contained this is the nearest to the truth. It certainly is not so long or so round as a drake's, but sometimes approaches very nearly to it. This form will enable the greyhound to seize his game while in full stride without losing his balance; but I have known many good killers with short necks, almost like that of a bull; still, as a rule, a long neck is of great importance, and should be well considered in selecting a cross. Too often the thick compact form has also the bull neck; but in some breeds, as in the Curler and Vraye Foy family, which are very muscular, the neck is proportionally long.

"The points I have been considering are not immediately connected with speed; but now I have to describe the framework by which locomotion is effected. It must be apparent to anyone who watches the gallop, that its perfection depends upon the power of extending the shoulders and fore legs as far as possible, as well as of bringing the hind legs rapidly forward to give the propulsive stroke. Upon the due relation between these two parts of the action everything depends; and if the one part is more perfect than the other - that is to say, if the hind quarters are well brought into action, while the shoulders do not thrust the forelegs well forward - the action is laboured and slow; whilst, on the contrary, if the shoulders do their duty, but the hind legs are not brought well forward, or do not thrust the body onwards with sufficient force, the action may be elegant, but it is not powerful and rapid. For these various purposes, therefore, we require good shoulders, good thighs, a good back, and good legs, and, lastly, for lodging the lungs and heart, whose actions are essential to the maintenance of speed, a well-formed and capacious chest".

3. Chest And Fore Quarters (Value 20)

"With regard to the chest, there are two things to be considered - namely, capacity for the lodgment of the lungs and heart, and the attainment of that form most conducive to speed and working. It must not be too deep, or the animal is constantly striking it against obstacles; it must not be too wide, or the shoulders are unable to play smoothly upon it, as they must do in the action of this quarter; but it must be of sufficient capacity to lodge the heart and lungs. A just relation between these three counterbalancing essentials is therefore the best form - neither too small for good wind, nor too wide for speed, nor too deep to keep free from the irregularities of the ground, but that happy medium which we see in our best specimens, and which the portraits of most of our best dogs will exhibit to the eye of the courser. The shoulders must be so formed as to thrust the forelegs well forward, and to do this the shoulder-blade must be as oblique as possible. The reason for this is, that its muscles may be able to exert their full power upon the true arm, in bringing it into a straight line with the axis of the shoulder-blade. This alone is a great advantage; but, by the greater angle which it forms with the arm, it also enables the greyhound to bear the shock of a fall upon his legs in coming down from a leap without injury, which is another most important feature.

An oblique shoulder is likewise usually accompanied by a longer true arm, because the point of the shoulder must be raised higher from the elbow to allow of the obliquity, and in proportion to the increased length will the fore foot be extended forward; thus this form gives longer levers with greater power of leverage, and more space for the lodgment of. muscles. If then, we have this form, combined with good length from the elbow down to the knee, compared with that from the knee to the ground, and with a good development of bone and muscle in addition, perfection in this essential part of the frame is insured. In this last point (from the elbow to the knee) there is a very great difference in greyhounds; but, by a careful measurement of various well-formed legs, I am inclined to think that from the elbow to the knee ought to be at least twice the length from the same point to the ground. In this measurement the dog would be standing on a level surface with his weight bearing upon both legs, and I think the measure should be taken in this way, and not from the base of the two middle nails, because in the stride the action is from the ball of the foot, and not from the end of the toes.

In variously-formed feet there is a difference of nearly an inch in length of toes, and many a dog with short toes would measure from the ground nearly an inch less than another with long toes; which latter would nevertheless measure, from his toenails to his knee, nearly an inch more than the former.

"Such are the general points of importance in the fore-quarter; the minor ones are, good bony and well-developed shoulder points, elbows neither turned in nor out, muscular arms, good bony knees, not too much bent back, and large strong pasterns, the bones composing which are of full size".

4. Loin And Back Ribs (Value 15)

"In order to unite the hind and fore quarters, and to assist in fixing the pelvis, from which the muscles composing the haunch take their fulcrum, a good back is required, and when of a good form it has been compared to a beam. Now the back is composed of a series of vertebrae, having the ribs attached to the sides of the first thirteen, but in those of the loins depending alone upon the hip bones and lateral processes for the lodgment and attachment of muscles. It must be self-evident that every additional inch in length of back increases the stride by that amount exactly, and therefore if prolonged indefinitely it would be advantageous till counter-balanced by the disadvantages inseparably connected with this form, in consequence of the diminished strength. The length of back should therefore be looked for between the neck and the last rib, rather than between the last rib and the hip bone, and this is a very important consideration too often neglected. The back ribs should be well spread and deep; for, unless they are in this form, a sufficient attachment cannot be afforded to the muscles of the loins, which constitute the chief moving power in drawing the hind legs forward, and in fixing the pelvis.

The loins must therefore be broad, strong, and deep, and the measure of their strength must be a circular one. Breadth alone will not do, since the lower muscles require to be well developed as well as the upper, but a good measurement round the loin is a good test of power in that quarter. It was the fashion from 1840 to 1850 to select flat and straight backs, and these certainly are handsomer than the high-arched backs previously so much in vogue. Either form may be qualified to do its duty, if there is only the power of straightening the line in the arched back; but if permanently arched it becomes what is called the 'wheel back,' and the power of extension in the gallop is very much limited. Since the time of Bedlamite, who was very drooping in his quarters, and possibly partly in consequence of the attention which he drew to this point, the very level back is not so much in fashion, and the arched loin, coupled with the Bedlamite quarters, is much sought after".