284 THE AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DOG. 



white on him, when he starts out to hunt, and, no matter 

 how dirty and soiled his coat maybe, it requires but a short 

 hunt to make his coat look as neat and clean as though he 

 had had a thorough washing. 



When hunting, I have often practically convinced my 

 friends of the same, using* as an illustration a certain 

 Hound. This dog, which has a good deal of white on 

 him, keeps his coat always dirty. After hunting some lit- 

 tle time he will have the appearance of having just been 

 washed. 



I recently received a letter from a gentleman, a stranger, 

 who had a short time previously become interested in Bea- 

 gles. He informed me that he had theories of his own in 

 regard to breeding, whereby he thought he could breed a 

 Beagle for practical use and at the same time have it show 

 more beauty points than the Beagle bred to the standard of 

 the American Beagle Club as given herein.. He wanted 

 a short, fine, silky coat, and asked for my views in the 

 matter. Regarding coat, I gave them practically as above 

 stated. A short time afterward I received another letter 

 from him, from which I quote verbatim, for the benefit of 

 any such as may be inclined as he was: 



DEAR SIR: I thank you very much for your extended reply to my sug- 

 gestion about breeding Beagles a little finer. My notion was that they could 

 be bred to look more stylish without detracting from their field qualities; but 

 I have no more to say. A hunt I had yesterday demonstrated the absolute 

 correctness of the present standard. I think I shall have to tell you of it. An 

 old hunting friend of mine here (in Maryland) has a strain of Beagles he is 

 very proud of, and we had a pair of them, one rough-coated fellow, and a pair 

 of year-old youngsters, hardly broken. He says his are Scotch Beagles, what- 

 ever that may be. They are very small, say six pounds each, and have fine, 

 short hair, and their skin little beauties to look at. In an open country they 

 do very well. Yesterday we were on one of my father's farms near the river, 

 which is full of brier-patches and briery thickets. The rahbits are plentiful, 

 but the little Scotchmen were literally worthless. In an hour they were cut 

 up and came to heel, absolutely refusing to work. 



The one with a dense coat and a brush on his tail, followed by the brace 

 of puppies, had to do all our hunting the rest of the day. He dodged in and out 

 of the briers without getting a mark, while the blood from the rat-tailed brace 

 made them look as if their throats had been cut. Hereafter I stand by the 

 American Beagle Club's standaid. My friend's faith was shaken, and he 

 wants a brush- tailed pedigreed dog to try on his bitches as an experiment. 



