216 BRITISH DOGS 



Dalziel, " can be defined ; even a male creature, without being a 

 milliner, can define and describe the difference between the type 

 of ladies' head-gear that used to be called a ' cosy,' and that 

 irreverently named the { coal-scuttle,' up the long cavern of which 

 those who would osculate had to venture as into a railway tunnel." 

 Mr. Millais says: "Type is as changeable as fashion; were it not 

 so, the Foxhound of to-day would be a very similar animal to what 

 it was 100 years ago, which it is not." On the question of what 

 constitutes type there is a great diversity of opinion. Mr. Millais 

 preferred a Basset tricoloured, with tan head and black-and-white 

 body ; but that is not type : the type that is to say, the generic 

 characters of the Basset, as of the Greyhound, was accurately, and 

 with very considerable detail, described nearly 2,000 years ago, 

 and remains essentially the same. As to our English hounds, the 

 type has not been altered, but special developments, amounting 

 merely to variations to meet altered methods of using the hounds, 

 and the difference in the enjoyment sought to be derived from them, 

 have been cultivated. Our Foxhounds of to-day were formed by 

 selection 100 years ago, to meet new requirements, but the modifi- 

 cations made did not interfere with the essential character of them 

 as hounds. Those only who set up imaginary types to suit their 

 taste as fanciers, of whatever breed, imitate, and may, therefore, 

 be compared to the rulers of fashion in dress and other trivialities. 



Mr. Millais was, however, good enough to contribute to an earlier 

 edition of this work his views of the three divisions of Bassets 

 existing in England namely, the Couteulx, or Fino de Paris ; the 

 Masson, or Termino ; and the Lane holding the term Couteulx 

 Hound, as applied to all our Bassets, to be a most erroneous 

 nomenclature. It is right, therefore, to present his views here, 

 especially as they supply the great want in his essay, and should 

 always be read, in conjunction with his remarks on breeding, by 

 those interested in Bassets. Mr. Millais wrote : 



" When asked, some seven years ago, to write a small article on 

 the Basset for ' British Dogs,' this hound could scarcely be called 

 a British dog, the breed having only just begun to have a footing 

 in England. Since then it has largely increased, and may now 

 safely be classed as a British production. 



Bassets may be classed in three divisions : 



1. Couteulx Hounds 



2. Lane Hounds 



3. Griffons Rough-coated. 



"" VSmooth-coated. 

 2. Lane Hounds ... ... ... J 



Of the first two varieties we have many examples at present ; 

 of the third, only one, to my knowledge, has been exhibited in 

 England namely, Ramoneau though the type is common enough 



