Scent. 97 



fined to chasing the fox, for a number of years 

 spent in the wilds of the Rocky Mountains hunt- 

 ing bear, deer, wolves, and mountain lions with 

 hounds gave me abundant opportunity to work 

 out and familiarize myself with the many puz- 

 zling features of scent problems. 



I have imported, owned, and bred blood- 

 hounds for probably fifteen years, and have at 

 present at least a score of these magnificent trail- 

 ers, and have, in connection with them, as well 

 as with foxhounds, made many and varied expe- 

 riments in scent and trailing, and yet I must con- 

 fess that I have much yet to learn, knowing only 

 the rudiments of the science, never having been 

 able to discover to my ow^n satisfaction the laws 

 upon which scent is constructed. 



Time and again have I worked out theories 

 of scent to my own satisfaction, only to have 

 them completely upset the very first time I at- 

 tempted to apply them in practice, convincing me 

 among other things that "scent is as variable as 

 the weather." I therefore give my theory and 

 opinion of scent for what they are worth, and 

 leave the reader to form his own conclusions. 



It is a well-known fact that people bereft of 

 one or more of the senses appear to have the 

 others intensified. On this subject, however, my 

 very good friend, Mr. William Wade, president 

 of the National Fox-hunters' Association, says: 

 "There is no higher development of the sense of 



