THE MODERN FOXHOUND 



it that the hare foot is still universal amongst the 

 fell and moorland hounds in the North ? Sidney 

 Tucker, for so long huntsman to the Devon and 

 Somerset Staghounds, averred that the club-like 

 foot of the modern hound was useless to him in his 

 country, and that the more open and natural foot 

 stood the work far better. Few people were in a 

 better position to express an opinion than Tucker, 

 for he had in his kennels drafts from Hunts in all 

 parts of the country, and was thus able to 

 thoroughly test the wearing qualities of all sorts 

 of hounds' feet. Again, there are certain harrier 

 packs, such as the Cotley and the Axe Vale, 

 composed of light coloured hounds of the old- 

 fashioned breed, with hare feet. These harriers 

 hunt fox as well as hare, and when in pursuit of the 

 former, there are probably few foxhound packs 

 in the country which show better sport, or account 

 for their foxes more handsomely. Here again, 

 if the hare foot does not stand wear and tear, how 

 is it that these old fashioned harrier packs have 

 stuck to it in preference to the more fashionable 

 round foot ? In our own experience we have 

 seen hounds of standard type hunting on the fells 

 with the fell packs, and their round, contracted 

 feet were absolutely unfitted to cope with the 

 exigences of the rough going. Again, puppies 

 out of a fell bitch, sired by a hound of standard 

 t5rpe, seldom possess feet of hard wearing qualities, 

 the hounds so bred standing far too much on their 

 toes. 



With regard to bone, we find the foxhound of 

 standard type possessed of an enormous quantity 

 of it, carried right down to his toes. In the 

 desire to get more bone below the knee, the 

 pasterns have gradually become shorter and more 

 straight, until there is no spring whatever in the 



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