BREEDING AND HUNTING OF FOXHOUNDS. 09 



a scent, getting- by a solitary whim a long way 

 ahead of his companions, and between them and 

 the fox, it is impossible for them to catch him, 

 unless, from some inability to carry on, he comes 

 back to them, for he serves as a foil to the fox's line. 

 A silent fast homid of this descrij)tion, if he gets 

 away, has much the same effect as that of a shep- 

 herd's dog or a greyhound chasing the fox. In 

 some mysterious way his preceding foot, 'twixt 

 pack and fox, utterly ruins the line of scent, and 

 occasions enormous trouble to the honest, pains- 

 taking, truthful pack to recover and hold on the 

 line before them. 



A silent hound of this sort should bo drafted 

 directly the fault is apparent, for in cover and out 

 of cover he often gives the pack the slip, when, as 

 he cannot catch the fox by himself, and will not, by 

 flinging his tongue, call on the others to help him, 

 the sooner he is got rid of the better. 



There is another faulty hound that does infinite 

 mischief if not drafted, and that is a confirmed 

 ''skirter.-' The silent hound and the skirting hound 

 adopt their dishonest proceedings from the same 

 source — that of jealousy. They have an over- 

 weening wish always to be at the head of affairs, 



