THE ENGLISH BLOODHOUND. 251 



ble. Such detectives would be incapable of accepting a bribe, and would often 

 discover criminals when other means could only end in failure. Edwin 



Brough in ' ' The Century. " 



The Bloodhound stands alone among all the canine race 

 in his fondness for hunting the footsteps of entire stran- 

 gers. Almost any dog will follow the footsteps of his master 

 or of one whom he knows, but a Bloodhound will follow 

 those of a stranger with all the eagerness of an old, trained 

 Foxhound in close pursuit. If he is first trained on man, 

 he will follow the trail of any animal, for the trail left by 

 man is less than that of any other. Bloodhounds kept for 

 trailing man should be kept by themselves, and great care 

 should be exercised in keeping their quarters clean. They 

 should have their daily runs; their feed should be always 

 sweet and fresh. A small piece of decayed meat will render 

 a Hound almost useless for hours; and in training puppies 

 it is best that the attendant should be a stranger to them. 

 Mr. Edwin Brough describes the method by which he has 

 trained his so successfully, for the last twenty years, in 

 the following words. Nothing more could be added, only 

 that if you wish them to show great proficiency you must 

 give them abundant practice: 



One method of training advocated is to rub the boots of the man who runs 

 for the Hounds with blood, and to discontinue this gradually as the Hounds 

 become more expert. This is a bad plan. It is quite easy to enter Blood- 

 hounds without any artificial aid of this kind, and it is much more difficult to 

 get them to run man after they have become accustomed to a stronger scent. I 

 consider that Hounds work better when entered to one particular scent, and 

 kept to that only; and I never allow my Hounds to hunt anything but the 

 clean boot. You can scarcely commence too early to teach puppies to hunt 

 the clean boot. I often give mine their first lessons when three or four months 

 old. For the first few times I find it best to let them run someone they know; 

 afterward it does not matter how often the runner is changed. He should 

 caress and make much of the puppies, and then let them see him start away, 

 but should get out of their sight as quickly as possible, and run say two hun- 

 dred yards up-wind, on grass land, in a straight line, and then hide himself. 



The man who hunts the puppies should know the exact line taken, and 

 take the puppies over it, trying to encourage them to hunt until they get to 

 their man, who should always reward them with a bit of meat. This may 

 have to be repeated several times before they really get their heads down; but 

 when they have once begun to hunt, they improve rapidly, and take great 

 delight in the quest. Everything should be made as easy as possible at first, 



