"The Afghan Hound appears strange in its untidy coat, more especially when the silky hair on the top of its head is well developed. It is a member of the familv of Greyhounds, a close relation to the Saluki or Gazelle Hound, and, indeed, a heavier variety of the same breed.

It has been suggested to me by Mr. Croxton Smith, whose opinion on dogs is second to none, that probably the Syrians took the Saluki to Afghanistan, and that the colder conditions of the winters on the moumtams brought about the heavier type, with the heavy coat.

In Afghanistan the dog is kept in considerable numbers, and used for the hunting of the small mountain deer, aided in this hunting by a tramed hawk. The natives have no knowledge of the breed's origin, being entirely of the opinion that it has been in Afghanistan for ever, claiming that at the great flood, in which the Ark played a part, the Afghan Hound was taken into the Ark by Noah !

The dogs are greatly valued by the natives. The women take charge of the bitches when they are bred, keeping them in seclusion. Indeed, it is claimed that this treatment accounts for the marked shyness so character- istic of the breed. It is, however, more probable that this shyness may be due to the dog not understanding the civilisation in which we live.

As far as we are concerned, their history is a very short one. As far as I have been able to discover, they were first mentioned in I8I5 by the Hon. Mountstuart Elphinstone, who describes excellent Greyhounds that were bred in great numbers amongst the pastoral people, much interested in hunting. I think that the first Afghan Hound was seen at Cruft's Show a year or two before I9IO, the exact date I do not know."