i66 ROYAL ROCK BEAGLE HUNT. 



His winding wa^-, and with tliy voice applaud 

 His patience and his care ; soon shalt thou view 

 The hopeful pupil leader of his tribe, 

 And all the list'ning pack attend his call. 



Somcrvilc. 



At tliis lime the jNIister will make his final selection of those puppies 

 he means to keep in his pack, and will give them their names, it not 

 already named, as is the usual custom. The piincii)lcs of drafting old or 

 young hounds are, to secure a i)ack level in size and speed, and one that 

 "carries a good head" — that is, in which most of the hounds work on 

 tk.e line of scent, and do not tail. Hounds too large or too small for the 

 height aimed at, too speedy or too slow for the average speed of the pack ; 

 hounds failing through age or weakness, hounds too mute or too noisy, 

 skirters, rioters, lingerers, or inveterate rabbit hunters, should be got rid of 

 ruthlessly. .Mute hounds are generally a nuisance, as they often pick up the 

 line at a fault, and give no notice of their success to the other hounds, so 

 causing a delay which might prove fatal to sport, and also soiling the line. 

 It may often be noticed when one of these mute hounds runs a line by 

 himself, that one or more of the old and knowing hounds will catch sight of 

 him and run to him, giving tongue directly they get on the line he has taken. 

 They seem to know when other hounds are hunting true, better than the 

 most experienced sportsman. 



" If I cry out thus upon no trail, never trust nie when I open aa.iin." 



illeriy U'/vcs of Windsor, act iv, scene -2. 



Experience has shown that "hounds with the best noses are freest with 

 " their tongues.'' Hounds too noisy are those termed " Babblers,'" of which 

 their old and trusty comrades take no notice when they give tongue. AMien 

 hounds are working at a check, and the line is picked up by one or more of 

 them, who go off at full cry, the babbler may be seen striving to join them, 

 giving tongue in the rear or even wide of the scent, before he gets on the 

 line. This is a grave fault, as, if the leading hounds " throw up " at this 

 juncture, they are liable to be misled by the babbler, and run back to him 

 instead of making their own cast. Beagles should he trained to hunt with 

 dash, lingerers should be pressed up, and the body of the pack should be 

 encouraged to go quickly to the note of a trusty hound. 



Hark ! To Behnan ! is the huntsman's cheering cry. 



The music of a pack of beagles is a great ch.arm, and also of great 

 assistance to all runners on a good scenting day, and to slow runners on any 

 day. They would soon get away from the field if most of the pack were 

 mute. It has been noticed that when beagles get away with a fo.x, they run 

 mute, and very soon get out of sight. The reason for this may be that the 

 scent is so strong, they can run the line at their top speed, and have no wind 



