694 MANUAL OF MODERN FARRIERY 



countries of Europe, they quickly degenerate, and lose all 

 the admirable qualities for which they are remarkable in this 

 country. 



" In thee alone, fair land of liberty, 



Is bred the perfect hound, in scent and speed 

 As yet unrivall'd ; while in other climes 

 Then* virtue fails — a weak, degenerate race.*' 



SOMERVILLE. 



The chief excellence cf a pack of foxhounds is the head 

 they carry, taken collectively ; and on this and the fineness of 

 their noses depend their speed. Mr. Beckford says, " that 

 hounds should go, like the horses of the sun, all abreast/' Five 

 and twenty couple are a sufficient force at any time to be 

 taken into the field ; they are a match for any fox, supposing 

 them steady and their speed nearly equal ; too heavy dogs 

 always do more mischief than service. Hounds that are 

 meant to run well together should never have too many old 

 ones amongst them. Five or six seasons are sufficient to 

 destroy the speed of most dogs. 



Fox-hunting at the present day is not carried to that 

 extreme which was the custom twenty years ago, as it then 

 killed many of the finest horses. When George IV. was 

 Prince of AVales, he hunted with a pack of hounds which 

 were silent in the chase. 



THE HARRIER. 



The harrier is considerably less than the foxhound, and 

 Avas originally generated in a double cross, between the 

 beagle and the southern hound and the beagle. Sports- 

 aien, however, have difi"erent sizes of harriers, adapted for 

 the kind of country in which they hunt, as well as the fancy 

 of the owner of the pack. The colour and markings are 

 similar to those of the foxhound, but frequently the dark 



