CHAPTER XX 

 THE HARRIER 



THE Harrier is an unsatisfactory breed about which to write, for 

 it has no real title to be called a " breed " ; and yet we read of 

 the Harrier ages before many now well established were even 

 thought of. Some authors have been of opinion that the word 

 " harrier " was the Norman equivalent to our word i{ hound," 

 and that this accounts for the name being found in the works 

 of very early writers. However this may be, as we shall see later, 

 Caius gives a description of the Harrier, but it does not bear much 

 resemblance to the modern hound. 



The fact is that the Harrier of one part of the country always 

 seems to have differed considerably from the Harrier of another 

 part ; and at the present time, if any uniformity can be said to 

 exist, it is in favour of the Harrier being simply a Foxhound bred 

 from Foxhounds. There is a "Harrier Stud Book," kept by 

 the " Associated Masters of Harriers and Beagles " ; but as pure- 

 bred Foxhounds find ready admittance, its value as a preservative 

 of Harrier blood is not very clear. Quite recently an American 

 author bringing out a standard work upon the dog made application 

 to the Master of an English pack well and favourably known in 

 the field and at Peterborough (where only Stud-Book hounds 

 can be exhibited) for an authentic account and photograph of 

 his Harriers. He has published the following reply : " I do not 

 send you a photograph of my Harriers, for mine are all dwarf 

 Foxhounds entered in the Harrier Stud Book. They are, however, 

 the type that win at Peterborough Hound Show, and are my idea 

 of Harriers." This is honest and straightforward, but does not help 

 us in considering the Harrier as a breed. 



Probably most Masters study their country and the wishes of 

 their best supporters, forming their packs accordingly. The majority 

 like a fast twenty-five minutes and a kill, consequently medium-sized 

 Foxhounds are in general use ; but a few consider that the very 

 essence of hare-hunting consists in giving the quarry time to display 

 all her consummate skill in throwing hounds off her line they like 



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