THE BADGER, AND HOW HE IS HUNTED. 67 



reverse is the case, and I doubt if at any London 

 show one dog in ten could be found to go underground 

 at all. The reason is not far to seek. In Germany 

 all the dachshunds are in the hands of sportsmen or 

 foresters, and those which are useless for sporting 

 purposes are very likely to be knocked on the head 

 in early youth. Among Englishmen the dachshund 

 is treated as a fancy dog. All we ask him to do is 

 to attain a certain standard of looks. He may be, 

 and often is, as soft as a lap-dog. In Germany, 

 besides the standard of appearance, there are practical 

 tests at shows with fox and badger in artificial earths. 

 But above all there is the great fact that the dachshund 

 is as much kept for sport there as the foxhound and 

 pointer are among us. The result is that, if we buy 

 a dachshund in Germany, it may not be a perfectly 

 shaped animal, but the odds are ten to one that it 

 will go into any earth, and if it is a female the odds 

 are twenty to one. 



My object, however, is not to write a treatise on 

 the dachshund, but to speak particularly of his uses, 

 and principally of his hereditary employment, that is, 

 work underground. To show what good dogs will 

 do I subjoin an account of a morning's sport in 

 Germany. 



"The day appointed for the badger hunt turned 

 out a lovely autumn morning. The grass and bushes 

 were covered with myriads of glistening cobwebs. 

 Apart from the sport it was a pleasure to be out on 

 such a morning. The old forester was waiting for 

 us, attended by two sturdy woodcutters, and with his 



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