There is an Art in knowing Hounds 



PEOPLE have often said to me : " How do you know 

 one hound from the other; or how do you remember 

 their names ? " In my particular instance both questions 

 are easily answered. Being the possessor of only a 

 small handful of foxhounds, the task of knowing each 

 hound and remembering each name demands no great 

 mental effort. With a big pack, however, it is quite a 

 different matter. 



When from twenty to fifty couples, and in some 

 instances as many as eighty couples, are housed in the 

 same establishment, it is truly remarkable how the 

 kennel staff can know every individual hound. Nowadays, 

 when the most popular type of hound is that seen at 

 Peterborough Foxhound Show, differentiation is rather 

 more difficult, as there is an almost universal similarity 

 in their colour markings. If one looks at photographs 

 in the newspapers of hounds clustered at an opening 

 meet, one cannot fail to notice this. The ordinary 

 observer, if asked to describe the colourings of the 

 majority, would be fairly accurate if he compared them 

 to white horses with rugs on. If he enlarged slightly 

 on this theme, adding dark tail bandages and blinker- 

 hoods to his steeds, he would convey a passably good 

 generalization. 



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