working hounds and was careful to retain the female 

 lines on which the reputation of the pack had been built, 

 he could not go far wrong, but the " new broom " is 

 usually imbued with the desire to improve the appear- 

 ance of the hounds he has taken over and sacrifices their 

 good quaUties on the altar of good looks. Generally 

 the less a man knows about breeding and the results 

 accruing therefrom, the more confident he will be in 

 arranging his mating. By mating the best-looking sire 

 to the best-looking bitch he will expect their produce to 

 equal if not excel, but he forgets the quahties that both 

 inherit from their ancestors. 



A country may thus purchase at a big price the pack 

 which has showed them good sport, and at the end of 

 six seasons may find it practically worthless. For this 

 reason we consider it a mistake for hounds to belong to 

 the country, or if they do they should be taken over at 

 a valuation by the new master and the same process 

 gone through when he retires. Kennel management 

 will also add or detract very materially to the value of a 

 pack and however good it might otherwise be, no one 

 would want a scratching and mangy lot. Although it 

 might take six years to undo the effects of previous 

 breeding, one year of slack and careless methods in the 

 kennel would be sufficient to convert a healthy pack into 

 a body of lepers. 



People are apt to forget that hounds are Hvhig 

 animals with a comparatively short life, and that with 

 each succeeding year their value must become less. 



The strength of a pack must, if it is wished to 

 retain its origiaal value, be continually augmented by 

 breeding and the inclusion of an annual entry. It will 

 be seen therefore that very much is dependant on the 

 man who controls the breeding if the standard is to be 



