The Hound. 121 



conformation, size, and some of the better qual- 

 ities. 



The general average of excellence is much 

 greater than it was even a decade ago. Within 

 the past twenty years I have judged hound classes 

 on the bench at such cities as Chicago, Cincinnati, 

 St. Louis, and New York. It has not been many 

 years since I sent every hound from the ring 

 in American hound classes, withholding all 

 awards. I hardly think this could occur in the 

 present day. 



The improvement in the class of hounds in 

 the field trials is no less marked. 



A comparison of types, as advocated by that 

 of Beckford, written over one hundred years ago, 

 and the National Fox-hunters' Association, will 

 prove interesting. The latter standard was for- 

 mulated by the following committee: W. S. 

 Walker, W. C. Goodman, A. C. Heffinger, 

 Francis J. Hagan, William Wade, Colonel H. C. 

 Trigg, and myself as chairman. It has been 

 adopted by all the foxhound field trial associa- 

 tions and bench shows as the standard for judg- 

 ing American hounds. 



Beckford's description is: 



"There are necessary points in the shape of a 

 hound which ought always to be attended to by 

 a sportsman, for if he be not of perfect symmetry 

 he will neither run fast nor bear much work. He 

 has much to undergo and should have strength 



