96 THE DIARY OF A HUNTSMAN 



those he intended to draft. After seeing those 

 which were to be sent away, and inquiring why 

 they were fixed on, he was told because they were 

 so throaty. The reply was, " As you are going 

 to hunt a strange country, if you wish to show 

 sport, and kill your foxes, keep those hounds, for, 

 depend upon it, they were originally kept for their 

 blood, not for their beauty." These hounds were 

 kept, and during the next season the gentleman 

 wrote to say that he had great sport, but that 

 if he had parted with those throaty hounds, he 

 should not have killed one fox in ten that he had 

 done, for they were the only hounds that could 

 hunt a cold scent. Of course the plan is to breed 

 for both beauty and goodness ; and it is much 

 to be regretted that a cross so seldom nicks, as 

 one could wish, without faults of generations back 

 coming out, one side or the other— probably not 

 half a dozen times in a man's lifetime — owing to 

 the age of the hound being past before it can be 

 well known enough to repeat it ; for even if it nicks 

 the first time, the produce will be three years 

 old before they can be depended on ; even if they 

 then show their qualities, the sire must be five or 

 six years old, as he must have been most likely 

 three when the bitch was put to him, as no man 

 likes to breed from an untried dog in general, 

 particularly with a valuable bitch. In addition to 



