22 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Coursing dogs. These dogs are employed 

 for venery, that is to say, for hunting with a 

 well-trained pack of large, strong, agile dogs, 

 bred and kept exclusively for this purpose in 

 France and England, and in some parts of the 



kr 



I II \i; 1 l-.s 



United States and Canada. English foxhounds 

 are known the world o\'er, if only b\- the nu- 

 merous engravings representing huntsmen in 

 scarlet coats surrounded by their dogs, spotted 

 white and brown and black, or flying over the 

 hillsides through bushes 

 and bracken. Hunt 

 ing of this kind 

 was fre 

 quent. 



packs are very celebrated, and several belong 

 to more than one person. A master of the 

 hounds, aided by a huntsman and several 

 " whippers-in," or, in other words, servants or 

 trainers, has the supervision of them. The cost 

 of this amusement is enormous, averaging not 

 less than from seventeen to twenty thousand 

 dollars a year. 



As the chief qualities of the fo.xhound should 

 be speed and perseverance, his paws must be 

 strong, his back solid, his loins broad and mus- 

 cular, his chest ample for the lungs, and the 

 soles of his feet hard. The legs should be per- 

 fectly straight, the neck slim, and the shoulders 

 held close to the body. The nostrils will nat- 

 urally be large, because these dogs guide them- 

 selves by scent as well as by sight. When the 

 wind is favorable and they have scented the fox 

 they run forward, barking violently, but when 

 they approach the game they increase their 

 speed, bark no longer, rush against and over 

 each other and over all obstacles with such 

 eagerness that their mad course can be followed 

 only by the best horsemen. 



In France the various 



species of hunting 



dogs are very 



n u m e r- 



I u s, 



even 



the Middle 

 Ages, but then 

 they hunted with grey- 

 hounds and terriers, prop- 

 erly so called ; little by 

 little, however, the agile 



Enc;lish Foxhounds before theu< Kennel 



Photo J. T. Newman, Berkliampstead 



ano troni 

 very early 

 limes the kings 

 of France paid much 

 attention to the breed- 

 ing of hounds and kept 

 a great number of packs. 



foxhound, the pride of more than one master. The descendants of these dogs still remam 

 took their place. Dogs of this class are formed in certain [provinces, and among them may be 

 into packs of from ten to sixty couple. Some found the products of various crossings. 



