198 THE AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DOG. 



than a foot high, and weighs not above twelve pounds in 

 good running order. The largest bone in his skeleton does 

 not exceed the diameter of a goose-quill. The whole 

 osseous frame weighs scarcely a pound. It is quality, not 

 " substance," which lands Reynard a winner. 



It is the firm opinion of the writer that the best red 

 fox dogs are not above medium in size and weight. The 

 dog should not exceed twenty-three inches in height nor 

 fifty -five pounds in weight; the bitch less by about ten 

 per cent. 



Hounds of this size will be fleeter and more enduring, 

 as a rule, than larger and heavier animals, and their shoul- 

 ders and feet will suffer less from the tremendous concus- 

 sion which they must bear in a protracted chase at such a 

 pitch of speed as will be necessary; for to kill a fox he 

 must be put to his best from start to finish. 



The head of the Hound is rather small in proportion to 

 his weight, and the muzzle rather finer in the modern Hound 

 than in the older type; the nose is large and the nostril 

 thin; the eyes large, bright, and expressive, placed rather 

 close together and directed forward; the stop is not as 

 sharply defined as in some breeds. A very important 

 point, and one much overlooked, is that the jaws should 

 be well spread at the angle, so as to give ample room for 

 the thrapple, and to secure that easy amplitude of motion 

 between the head and neck so essential to carrying the 

 scent at the tremendous speed of the chase. 



The ears are longish, but shorter and narrower than in 

 old-time packs; they are placed on the skull low down, and 

 are decidedly pendulous; the leather is neither fine and 

 papery to the feel nor by any means coarse, harsh, and 

 inelastic. The neck must be long, and wholly free from 

 any coarse, loose flaps of thick skin or useless cellular tissue 

 and fat. 



The shoulders ought to be not only sloping, but pos- 

 sessed of very free motion, and yet powerfully mus- 

 cled and strong. The elbow ought to be well developed, 

 and well away from the body, but placed perfectly true 



