52 British Dogs. 



were most esteemed. White, spotted with black or dun, were not so- 

 much valued. The best of the fallow were held to be those with their 

 hair lively red, with white spots on the forehead, or a white ring round 

 the neck ; and of those it is said " those which are well joynted and dew- 

 clawed are best to make bloodhounds," clearly showing, as passages from 

 all the old writers could be quoted to do, that the term bloodhound was 

 applied to the dog because of the work set him, and that, in fact, where 

 hounds are spoken of the bloodhound is included. Black hounds, called 

 St. Hubert's, are described as mighty of body, with legs low and short, 

 not swift in work, but of good scent. The following couplet shows that 

 the St. Hubert hounds were highly thought of : 



My name came first from holy Hubert's race, 

 Soygllard my sire, a hound of singular grace. 



Turberville says " the bloodhounds of this colour prove good, especially 

 such as are ' cole ' black." The dun hounds are much nearer in colour 

 to our modern dog ; these were dun on the back, having their legs and 

 fore-quarters red or tanned, and it is added the light tanned dogs were not 

 so strong. 



Gervase Markham, who was a very copious writer, follows Turberville 

 pretty closely. His description of a Talbot-like hound would, in many 

 respects, stand for a modern bloodhound, although certainly not in head,, 

 on which point I fancy he has not expressed his meaning very clearly. He 

 says, " a round, thick head, with a short nose uprising, and large open 

 nostrils ; ears exceedingly large and thin, and down hanging much lower 

 than his chaps, and the flews of his upper lips almost two inches lower 

 than his nether chaps ; back, strong and straight ; fillets, thick and 

 great ; huckle bones, round and hidden ; thighs, round ; hams, straight ; 

 tail, long and rush-grown, that is, big at the setting on, and small down- 

 wards ; legs, large and lean ; foot, high knuckled and well clawed, with a 

 dry, hard sole. 



From all this, and much more that might be quoted, I gather that 

 whilst the dun and tan, that is, the black saddle back and tan legged 

 dogs, most nearly agree in colour with our bloodhound, it is a mere 

 accident of selection, although that may have been influenced by that 

 coloured dog showing more aptitude for the special work he was put to> 



