THE TRAIL HOUND 



down and strongly muscled behind. As he is 

 used solely for racing, he should possess plenty 

 of stamina and courage, and as much pace as 

 possible. His nose is not called upon to any very 

 great extent, for the drag, consisting of aniseed, 

 turpentine, and paraffin is strong, and generally 

 lies breast high so that hounds can run with 

 heads up, and sterns down. 



The speed at which trail hounds run is re- 

 markable, when one considers the rough country 

 and the steep gradients over which the average 

 trail is laid. Hounds have been timed to do 

 151 miles an hour, on a course which rose to 

 1,250 feet in the first mile and a half, after which 

 came a steep descent, and then another rise of 

 400 feet, followed by the long run downhill to 

 the winning point. A fox-hound bitch drafted 

 from a Midland pack as being too fast, could not 

 come within three minutes of the trail hounds 

 over a distance of six and a half miles. 



Except for puppies, no trail shall be less than 

 eight miles, the trail being laid as near as can be 

 estimated of half an hour. Should the trail be 

 under 25 minutes or over 40 minutes, the prize 

 money may be withheld according to the decision 

 of the Committee. The sport is held under 

 the auspices of the ' * Hound Trailing Association." 

 All hounds are registered in the books of the 

 Association, while the men who lay the trails 

 are licensed annually by the Committee. Where 

 practicable, all trails are required to have a 

 straight run in of not less than a quarter of a mile 

 for the finish. All sorts of out-crosses have been 

 tried in an attempt to improve trail hounds. 

 Pointer blood was at one time resorted to, in order 

 to make hounds carry their heads higher. Grey- 

 hound, blood-hound, and even Russian re- 



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