The Hound, 135 



competition with them on the bench. (See por- 

 trait.) 



I am not alone in my opinion of the relative 

 merits of the English and American hounds. Mr. 

 Harry W. Smith, master of the Grafton Hunt, 

 who, like myself, has hunted both the American 

 and English hounds in America, and the Eng- 

 lish hounds in England, considers the English 

 hound useless when it comes to individual work 

 picking up cold scent, giving tongue to bring the 

 other hounds to the trail, and running the trail 

 five or six hours, under American conditions. 



Colonel H. C. Trigg, the "Nestor of the 

 Hunt," one of the most thoroughly practical 

 breeders and hunters of foxhounds in America; 

 Mr. W. S. Walker, the present owner of the 

 Walker hounds ; Thomas Hitchcock, of the Aiken 

 hounds, and many others who gave the English 

 hounds a thorough test of several years' dura- 

 tion, have all abandoned them for the American. 

 This, however, merely proves that American 

 hounds are superior to English hounds hunted 

 in America. What an American pack could do 

 in England remains to be seen. 



I have seen hounds in France (probably 

 hounds of Gascogne or Normandie) which I am 

 satisfied would cross well upon our smaller Amer- 

 ican hounds. They were from 24 to 28 inches 

 tall, of a tri-color, with very long, lean head, 



