INTRODUCTION 



the best results from their hounds they have been forced to rely, not on the 

 imported draft-hound, but on the home-bred product ; bred from imported 

 pure-blooded stock, which is not like the imported hound sent away for 

 some fault. Suppose, gentlemen, Masters of American packs, an English- 

 man comes over and buys your culls, and then takes them to England and tries 

 them out against the Quorn and the Pytchley and the Bel voir ? Is that 

 fair ? No, — give Englishmen their due. At some things we excell them 

 — they'll admit it — but not at hound breeding. They have a long start. 



We have been led into a much fuller discussion of the hound question 

 than we had intended, but must ask the forbearance of our readers for tak- 

 ing this opportunity to make certain statements which will be, perhaps, of 

 some interest to lovers of the Foxhound, both English and American. 



During the last thirty years, there has been a tremendous growth of 

 hunting. Organizations have sprung up all through the United States and 

 Canada, and already the western states are beginning to show an interest in 

 the sport. To such Englishmen as may read this book, the scale on which 

 hunting is carried on here as compared with England will seem very small. 

 To them we would say that they must remember that hunting in America, 

 while not in its infancy, is, as it is practised in England, at least in its 

 adolescence. Many an old fox hunter in America has hunted from the 

 road in his buggy, as was the case with Messrs. Skinner and Donahue of 

 Hackensack ; and many of the farmers who do not usually rent their land, 

 but own it, are at a loss to understand why a lot of men in scarlet coats 

 should find amusement in riding over it, or why they, the owners, should 

 allow it. We know one member of Concord society, the son of a distin- 

 guished poet and himself a graduate of Harvard University, who considers 

 hunting a "Godless custom," and will not have hounds on his land at any 

 price. 



Another thing that will astonish our brothers over the water is the great 

 number of drag-packs which are kept up. The reason for this is two-fold. 

 First, there are many countries where a good drag can be laid, but in which 

 it is pretty difficult to hunt foxes, owing to the size of the coverts and the 

 superabundance of wire. Second, there are many men who are often able 



