DOGS. (BLOOD-HOUND, SAINT BEENAED.) 



259 



illustrations of Basset-hounds are given by Du 

 Foutlloux, in his " La Veuerie." Du Fouilloux 

 divides them into two varieties : the Artesian, 

 "with full -crooked fore -legs, smooth coats, 

 brave, and having double rows of teeth, like 

 wolves " ; the Flemish, " straight-legged, rough- 

 coated, black, and stern curled like a horn." 

 It is more nearly the Artesian variety that has 

 been preserved. There are few more useful 

 all-round dogs to the sportsman than the Bas- 

 set-hound. In France they are fully appre- 

 ciated and much in use, deer and roebuck driv- 

 ing being their particular work. Where the 

 full-crooked legged are found to be a little 

 slow, the demi-torse always have speed enough 

 and to spare. They are capital to shoot any 

 kind of far to, especially hare and rabbits, and 

 are also employed to put up birds. Basset- 

 hounds are not quick breeders, and from in- 

 breeding require much care in rearing. 



The head is most perfect when it closest resembles 

 that of the blood-hound. It is long and narrow, with 

 heavy flews, occiput prominent, and forehead wrin- 

 kled, to the eyes, which should be kind and show the 

 haw. The general appearance of the head must be 

 one of reposeful dignity. The teeth are small, and 

 the upper jaw sometimes protrudes, which is not a 

 fault, but is called the " bee de lievre." The ears 

 are very long, long enough to fold well over the nose 

 when drawn forward ; so long that, in hunting, the 

 dog often actually treads upon his own ears. They 

 are set on low, and hang loose, like folds of drapery ; 

 in texture thin and velvety. The neck is powerful, 

 with heavy dewlaps. Elbows must not turn out. The 

 chest is deep, full, and well framed. Body long and 

 low. Fore-legs short about four inches, and close- 

 fitting to the chest to the crooked knee, from where 

 the wrinkled ankle ends in a massive paw, each toe 

 standing out distinctly. The stifles are bent, and the 

 quarters full of muscle, which stands out so that, 

 when one looks at the dog from behind, he is given 

 a round, barrel-like effect. This, with their peculiar 

 waddling gait, goes a long way toward Basset charac- 

 ter, a quality easily recognized by the judge, and as 

 desirable as terrier character in a terrier. The stern 

 is coarse underneath, and carried in hound-fashion. 

 The coat is short, smooth, and fine, and has a gloss 

 on it like that of a race-horse. To get this appearance 

 they should be hound-gloved, never brushed. The skin 

 is loose and elastic. The color should be black, white, 

 and tan; the head, shoulders, and quarter a rich tan, 

 and black patches on the back. They are also some- 

 times hare-pied. 



Blood-Hound, The head is the peculiar feature 

 of this breed ; and I have accordingly estimated 

 it at a very high rate. In the male it is large 

 in all its dimensions but width, in which there 

 is a remarkable deficiency. The minor points 

 are as follow : 



The upper surface is domed, ending in a blunt point 

 at the occiput ; but the brain-case is not developed to 

 the same extent as the jaws, which are very long and 

 wide at the nostrils, hollow and very lean in the cheeks 

 and notably under the eyes. The brows are moderate- 

 ly prominent, and the general expression of the whole 

 head is grand and majestic. The skin covering the fore- 

 head and cheeks is wrinkled in a remarkable manner, 

 wholly unlike that of any other dog. These points are 

 not nearly so fully developed in the bitch; but still they 

 are to be demanded in the same proportionate degree. 

 The ears are loner enough to overlap one another con- 

 siderably when drawn together in front of the nose ; 

 the leather should be very thin, and should hang for- 



ward and close to the cheeks, never showing the 

 slightest tendency to "prick" ; they should be cov- 

 ered with very short, silky hair. The eyes are gener- 

 ally hazel, rather small and deeply sunk, showing the 

 third eyelid or "haw," which is frequently, but not 

 always, a deep red ; this redness of the haw is, as a 

 rule, an indication of blood-hound cross. The flews 

 are remarkably long and pendent, sometimes falling 

 fully two inches below the angle of the mouth. The 

 neck is long, so as to enable this hound to drop his 

 nose to the ground without altering his pace. In 

 front of the throat there is a considerable dewlap. 

 The chest is rather wide than deep, but in all cases 

 there should be a good girth ; shoulders sloping and 

 muscular. The 1 back and back ribs should be wide 

 and deep, the size of the dog necessitating great power 

 in this department. The hips, or "couples," snould 

 be especially attended to, and they should be wide, or 

 almost ragged. The legs must be straight and muscular, 

 and the ankles of full size ; but it is not to be expected 

 that the upright and powerful pasterns so dear to the 

 M. F. H. should be found in the blood-hound. The feet 

 also are often flat, but they should be, if possible, 

 round and cat-like. In color the blood-hound is either 

 black-and-tan or tan only, as is the case with all black- 

 and-tan breeds. The absence of black is a great de- 

 fect, but many well-bred litters contain one or two tan 

 puppies without it. The black should extend to the 

 back, the sides, top of the neck, and top of the head. 

 It is seldom a pure black, but more or less mixed 

 with the tan, which should be a deep, rich red. There 

 should be little or no white. The coat should be short 

 and hard on the body, but silky on the ears and top 

 of the head. The stern, like that of all hounds, is 

 carried gayly in a gentle curve, but should not be 

 raised beyond a right angle with the back. The low- 

 er side is fringed with hair about two inches long, end- 

 ing in a point. The symmetry of the blood-hounds, as 

 regarded from an artistic point of view, should be ex- 

 amined carefully. 



Saint Bernard. The head of the Saint Ber- 

 nard is large and massive, but is without the 

 width of the mastiff's. The dimensions are 

 extended chiefly in height and length, the oc- 

 cipital protuberance being specially marked, 

 and, coupled with the height of brow, serving 

 also to distinguish it from the Newfoundland. 

 The other points are these : 



The face is long, and cut off square at the nose, 

 which is intermediate in width between those of the 

 Newfoundland and the mastiff. Lips pendulous, ap- 

 proaching the blood-hound type, but much smaller. 

 Ears of medium size, carried close to the cheeks, and 

 covered with silky hair. Eyes full in size, but deeply 

 sunk, and showing the haw, which is often as red as 

 that of the blood-hound. Great stress is laid by the 

 monks on the line of poll, which is supposed to re- 

 semble the white lace bands round the neck and waist 

 of the gown worn by the Benedictine monks, the two 

 being connected by a strip carried up the back. A 

 dog marked with white in the same manner is sup- 

 posed to be peculiarly consecrated to his work, and is 

 kept most carefully to it. Hence it is in this country 

 also regarded as a characteristic of the breed, but it is 

 seldom met with in anything like a perfect state of 

 development ; Monarque being more perfect in this 

 respect than any dog ever exhibited. There is noth- 

 ing remarkable about the neck, except that there is 

 generally a certain amount of throatiness, to which 

 there is no objection. The body ought to be well pro- 

 portioned, with a full chest, the girth of which should 

 be double that of the head, and half the length of the 

 body from nose to tip of tail ; the loin should be full, 

 and the hips wide. In size and symmetry this breed 

 should be up to a full standard, that is to say, equal to 

 the English mastiff. Indeed, excepting in color, in 

 the dew-claws, and in the shape of head, the smooth 



