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QUESTION What is the oldest dog breed?
THE Saluki, an elegant, slim hunting dog, is considered to be the oldest pure breed dog in the world. DNA evidence has identified it as a distinct breed and type as long ago as 329 BC when Alexander the Great invaded India.
However, these swift and graceful runners, which were used to hunt gazelle, fox, jackal and hare, are probably much older. Excavations of tombs in the Upper Nile region and the Sumerian empire unearthed carvings of dogs similar to the Saluki that date back to 7,000 BC.
Mummified Salukis have been found alongside the Pharaohs in the pyramids, and their likeness appears in Egyptian tombs dating from 2100 BC.
The Saluki’s silky haired cousin, the Afghan hound, is also an ancient breed. It is called the Noah’s Ark dog by tribal hunters in Afghanistan.
A rival claimant to the title of oldest breed of dog is the Basenji of Africa. They are similar to a pointed eared hound depicted in Libyan cave paintings dating back to 6,000 BC.
This breed rarely barks and so is prized for its hunting skills. Basenjis are curious, energetic and require a lot of exercise otherwise they can be destructive.
Another ancient breed is the Alaskan Malamute, an Arctic sled dog breed. They were bred by the Mahlemut tribe 3,000 years ago. Malamutes are very powerful and are used to hunt big game and pull sledges loaded with gear.
Adrienne Ingraham, Great Milton, Oxon.
QUESTION Was there a real Mary who had a little lamb?
THIS is surprisingly contentious. The nursery rhyme is attributed to Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879), published as Mary’s Lamb in 1830 in the book Poems For Our Children. Hale was an author, editor and campaigner for Thanksgiving to be declared a U.S. national holiday.
The first four lines are familiar: ‘Mary had a little lamb Its fleece was white as snow And everywhere that Mary went The lamb was sure to go.’ The next three verses less so: ‘It followed her to school one day Which was against the rule It made the children laugh and play To see a lamb at school. ‘And so the teacher turned it out But still it lingered near And waited patiently about Till Mary did appear. ‘Why does the lamb love Mary so? The eager children cry Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know The teacher did reply.’
In 1876, a woman called Mary Sawyer claimed she was the Mary of the rhyme, and as a child she had taken her lamb to school in Sterling, Massachusetts, in 1815. She said John Roulstone, a young seminarian who was visiting the school on the morning of the lamb’s appearance, was inspired to jot down the first four lines — the insinuation being that Hale had ‘borrowed’ the opening verse of her poem.
Sawyer made her claim when she was taking part in a fundraising effort to save the Old South Meetinghouse, which had been damaged in the Great Boston Fire of 1872.
To support the renovation, Sawyer sold autographed cards tied with a piece of old yarn that had supposedly come from a pair of socks knitted in 1815 from the wool of Mary’s lamb.
Despite the fact there is no surviving record of Roulstone’s poem, Sawyer’s claim led to doubts about Hale’s authorship. Critics pointed out style differences between the first verse and the subsequent three.
However, it is unlikely that Hale would have copied anyone’s work. She was a highly moral character who deplored plagiarism. It seems more likely that Sawyer saw the chance to use the poem to raise money for a good cause.
Helen Forde, Shrewsbury, Shropshire.
QUESTION What are the worst lines of poetry written by a great poet?
FURTHER to the earlier examples, Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s narrative poem, The Lady Of Shalott, contains what must be the worst lines by any great poet. In part three of the poem, we have: ‘Tirra lirra, tirra lirra: Sang Sir Lancelot.’ I wince every time I read them. Sue Cooke, Warwick.
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