There is an Art in knowing Hounds 



To the ordinary observer all hounds appear as the 

 products of the same mould and coloured with the 

 same brand : but to the experienced eye of the hunts- 

 man every little fleck of white, shade of tan, daub of 

 black ; the cock of a head, the set of an ear, the carriage 

 of a tail and individual deportment are as a wide open 

 book displaying plainly the difference between every 

 one of his charges. Were a competent judge, when 

 visiting kennels, to voice the casual observer's opinion 

 that hounds were apparently born in the same mould, 

 he could confer no greater compliment on the huntsman : 

 for in addition to having a trustworthy, competent pack 

 of fox-catchers, most huntsmen strive to have their 

 hounds level. 



With a pack of foxhounds of the Scarteen Black-and- 

 Tan type, the difficulty of knowing each inhabitant of 

 the kennels is increased enormously. The huntsman, 

 having only two colours from which to choose, needs 

 to retain something akin to a mental photograph of each 

 of his charges. Visiting the kennels of the Naas Harriers 

 on the Curragh recently, I noticed that Scarteen Black- 

 and-Tan blood has been introduced very extensively, 

 and in a very short time, white will be non-existent. 



With lighter coloured hounds the task of identification 

 is easier. In the Fell districts of England, where hounds 

 are hunted on foot owing to the rugged nature of the 

 country, white is the predominating colour. In rough, 

 mountainous districts where a pack are liable to run 

 their fox a dizzy distance above, below, or in front of 

 their followers, dark-coloured hounds would be altogether 

 unsuitable against a background of grey haziness. Dark 



163 



