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in the field, is possessed of " drive " and exceptional 

 tenderness of nose, should be allowed to reproduce 

 his good qualities, even though neither make, shape 

 nor colour are up to the ideals we have previously 

 conceived. The symmetry of outline and the perfect 

 balance, which latter can only be judged in move- 

 ment, are points that anyone with an eye for a hound 

 can easily appreciate, but we are apt to allow 

 fashion to sway our judgment over details that are 

 immaterial to the animal's free use of limbs. This 

 is a subject over which the last word will never be 

 written, but there is a growing tendency lately 

 amongst masters and huntsmen to put field qualities 

 before the attractions that please on the " flags." For 

 thirty years previous to the war, exceptional hunting 

 qualities had been rather neglected in the desire to 

 attain the stamp that Peterborough had pronounced 

 torrect. The idea was that if a hound's breeding was 

 all right, he was as likely to reproduce his far-off 

 ancestors' good qualities as one that had inherited 

 them. The fallacy of the argument has been proved 

 by results, and in the wail of huntsmen about want of 

 scent, which, in other words, means want of scenting 

 powers in the hounds. 



There is not space here to pursue the matter further, 

 and I will propose to discuss the arrival of whelps. 

 Of course, it is not possible to arrange so that births 

 should come at the exact time required, and the 

 greatest authorities are not in agreement as to the best 

 month for the pups to be dropped. The majority 

 appear to think that the first week in January is not 

 too early, but, personally, I consider March quite 

 soon enough. For the first three or four weeks before 

 the mother's milk begins to go off, and with warm 



