CHAPTER TWO. 



THE FOXHOUND. 



THERE are and always will be certain people 

 of the old school who insist that nothing has 

 improved and everything was better in days 

 gone by. From sportsmen of this class it is only 

 natual to hear the verdict that hounds have not 

 the hunting quahties they formerly possessed, and 

 that most present day packs are unable to follow a 

 cold scent. Without in the least agreeing to this 

 sweeping assertion, I think the moment has arrived 

 when it is up to hound breeders of the present day 

 to find out if there is even a grain of truth in the 

 indictment. The hound with his exceptional hunt- 

 ing powers is a legacy we have inherited, and it 

 behoves us to bequeath to posterity an animal every 

 bit as good, or perhaps better, than the one handed 

 down to us. The emulation amongst hound breeders 

 to achieve success at Peterborough may have in some 

 cases led individuals to depart from the time 

 honoured rule of only breeding from hounds of excep- 

 tional merit in the field. Of course, we all know 



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