254 THE RED DEER OF EXMOOR. 



and very keen, questing and trying with gaiety and 

 diligence, with good noses and clever at a fault, 

 not afraid of too much heat, but very susceptible 

 to cold. 



The latter is a striking peculiarity, since we know 

 that the old staghounds stopped hunting during the 

 winter months on account of the cold water. 



The great fault of the modern Vendeen hound is 

 his want of staying power: " Tres vites pendant la 

 premiere heure, ils s'etouffent assez facilement." 

 This may be modern degeneracy ; it certainly was 

 not characteristic of the old staghounds. 



Though we may well believe that the descendants 

 of Souillard were the main stem from which the 

 staghounds were derived, there cannot be the least 

 doubt that they had been frequently crossed with 

 other breeds — in fact, we know such to have been 

 the case. 



In 1800 the necessitv for fresh blood was realised, 

 and a draft of large foxhounds from various kennels 

 was added to the pack. 



According to Lord Graves, who had the pack for 

 one year in 1812, the method of breeding the then 

 existing pack was both curious and painstaking. 

 As the method took some years to produce a working 

 hound, the recipe he handed on to his successor 

 (Lord Fortescue) was presumably based on the 

 tradition handed down to him by his predecessors. 



It is set out in Lord Ebrington's able article in the 

 " Fur and Feather " series : — 



