ghtly
arched, and strength of hind-quarters, with well-bent stifles, and
the hocks well let down. Straight stifles are objectionable, giving
a stilty appearance. Thick shoulders are equally a blemish to be
avoided, as also a too great heaviness of bone. The following is the
accepted standard of merit.

* * * * *

HEAD--The head should be broadest at the ears, tapering slightly to
the eyes, with the muzzle tapering more decidedly to the nose. The
muzzle should be pointed, but the teeth and lips level. The head
should be long, the skull flat rather than round, with a very slight
rise over the eyes, but with nothing approaching a stop. The skull
should be coated with moderately long hair which is softer than the
rest of the coat. The nose should be black (though in some blue-fawns
the colour is blue) and slightly aquiline. In the lighter-coloured
dogs a black muzzle is preferred. There should be a good moustache
of rather silky hair, and a fair beard. EARS--The ears should be set
on high, and, in repose, folded back like the Greyhound's, though
raised above the head in excitement without losing the fold, and even,
in some cases, semi-erect. A prick ear is bad. A big, thick ear,
hanging flat to the head, or heavily coated with long hair, is the
worst of faults. The ear should be soft, glossy, and like a mouse's
coat to the touch, and the smaller it is the better. It should have
no long coat or long fringe, but there is often a silky, silvery coat
on the body of the ear and the tip. Whatever the general colour, the
ears should be black or dark-coloured. NECK AND SHOULDERS--The neck
should be long--that is, of the length that befits the Greyhound
character of the dog. An over-long neck is not necessary, nor
desirable, for the dog is not required to stoop in his work like a
Greyhound, and it must be remembered that the mane, which every good
specimen should have, detracts from the apparent length of neck.
Moreover, a Deerhound requires a very strong neck to hold a stag.
The nape of the neck should be very prominent where the head is set
on, and the throat should be clean-cut at the angle and prominent.
The shoulders should be well sloped, the blades well back, with not
too much width between them. Loaded and straight shoulders are very
bad faults. STERN--Stern should be tolerably long, tapering, and
reaching to within 1-1/2 inches of the ground, and about 1-1/2 inches
below the hocks. When the