Mr. Meynell's famous foxhounds have been adduced, as showing that no ill effects follow from close interbreeding; and Sir J. Sebright ascertained from him that he frequently bred from father and daughter, mother and son, and sometimes even from brothers and sisters. With greyhounds also there has been much close interbreeding, but the best breeders agree that it may be carried too far. (17/17. Stonehenge 'The Dog' 1867 pages 175-188.) But Sir J. Sebright declares (17/18. 'The Art of Improving the Breed' etc. page 13. With respect to Scotch deerhounds see Scrope 'Art of Deer Stalking' pages 350-353.), that by breeding in-and-in, by which he means matching brothers and sisters, he has actually seen the offspring of strong spaniels degenerate into weak and diminutive lapdogs. The Rev. W.D. Fox has communicated to me the case of a small lot of bloodhounds, long kept in the same family, which had become very bad breeders, and nearly all had a bony enlargement in the tail. A single cross with a distinct strain of bloodhounds restored their fertility, and drove away the tendency to malformation in the tail. I have heard the particulars of another case with bloodhounds, in which the female had to be held to the male. Considering how rapid is the natural increase of the dog, it is difficult to understand the large price of all highly improved breeds, which almost implies long-continued close interbreeding, except on the belief that this process lessens fertility and increases liability to distemper and other diseases. A high authority, Mr. Scrope, attributes the rarity and deterioration in size of the Scotch deerhound (the few individuals formerly existing throughout the country being all related) in large part to close interbreeding.