to 27, or even to 28 inches; and in weight from 50 to 70, or even 80
pounds. (38. See also Richardson s Manual on the Dog, p. 59. Much
valuable information on the Scottish deer-hound is given by Mr.
McNeill, who first called attention to the inequality in size between
the sexes, in Scrope s Art of Deer-Stalking. I hope that Mr. Cupples
will keep to his intention of publishing a full account and history of
this famous breed.) Mr. Cupples concludes that from 95 to 100 pounds
for the male, and 70 for the female, would be a safe average; but there
is reason to believe that formerly both sexes attained a greater
weight. Mr. Cupples has weighed puppies when a fortnight old; in one
litter the average weight of four males exceeded that of two females by
six and a half ounces; in another litter the average weight of four
males exceeded that of one female by less than one ounce; the same
males when three weeks old, exceeded the female by seven and a half
ounces, and at the age of six weeks by nearly fourteen ounces. Mr.
Wright of Yeldersley House, in a letter to Mr. Cupples, says: I have
taken notes on the sizes and weights of puppies of many litters, and as
far as my experience goes, dog-puppies as a rule differ very little
from bitches till they arrive at about five or six months old; and then
the dogs begin to increase, gaining upon the bitches both in weight and
size. At birth, and for several weeks afterwards, a bitch-puppy will
occasionally be larger than any of the dogs, but they are invariably
beaten by them later. Mr. McNeill, of Colonsay, concludes that the
males do not attain their full growth till over two years old, though
the females attain it sooner. According to Mr. Cupples experience,
male dogs go on growing in stature till they are from twelve to
eighteen months old, and in weight till from eighteen to twenty-four
months old; whilst the females cease increasing in stature at the age
of from nine to fourteen or fifteen months, and in weight at the age of
from twelve to fifteen months. From these various statements it is
clear that the full difference in size between the male and female
Scotch deer-hound is not acquired until rather late in life. The males
almost exclusively are used for coursing, for, as Mr. McNeill informs
me, the females have not sufficient strength and weight to pull down a
full-grown deer. From the names used in old legends, it appears, as I
hear from Mr. Cupples, that, at a very ancient period, the males were
the most celebrated, the females being mentioned only as the mothers of
famous dogs. Hence, during many generations, it is the male which has
been chiefly tested for strength, size, speed, and courage, and the
best will have been bred from. As, however, the males do not attain
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