182 THE AMERICAN HUNTING DOG 



run at a speed not great enough to pop a cotton- 

 tail riglit in his hole, but what is considered me- 

 dium speed ; be able to run 75 per cent to the gun 

 or hole or patch, not over-running like the stand- 

 ard American hounds do, and being a good homer 

 and not too easy to take up with strangers. I 

 would prefer a bawler or long clear cry or a deep 

 bay or a coarse chopper, but no yap, yap. I 

 thought since you can find these qualities in some 

 dogs, having one or two of them there might be 

 among such dogs as the Buckfields or such of those 

 strains that are up in New England that would 

 be like the foregoing. I have a dandy cocker span- 

 iel who seems bright and as nice coated as the 

 dogs I see in the magazines, who has hunt in him, 

 but I can't get him to look for rabbits when with 

 me. I would like to get him to retrieve them, but 

 can't. Will probably discontinue using the span- 

 iel as a brush dog and take one-half Irish and 

 one-half beagle again, as I know they will work 

 better, and are easier to teach retrieving. 



I broke an old-time hound in this way so that 

 whenever he caught a rabbit he would bring it 

 back in his mouth, and the method I used was by 

 rolling a ball when the pup was four months old. 



Gus Whitmeb. 



