THOUGHTS ON HUNTERS 



exercise of his calling have been found deficient 

 in wind, through weakness of heart, and there is 

 no doubt that respiratory defects are frequently 

 attributable to cardiac incompetency ; at any rate, 

 it is a suggestion worthy of thought, without 

 being of dogmatic enunciation. The breast or 

 brisket of medium width, is one that may be 

 regarded as of the best conformation. If the ribs 

 are broad and slightly flat, these features with 

 that of length, will give the chest amplitude, with- 

 out undue increase in its transverse diameter. 

 Reverting to the quarters, these should possess 

 a graceful slope, be free from angularity, and 

 pass into heavily muscled first and second thighs. 

 It gives a hunter a very ugly appearance when 

 the croup slopes too much, and has another 

 additional disadvantage, namely, that of bring- 

 ing the hind limbs too much under the body. 

 The first and second thighs are included within 

 the regions extending from the hip joint to the 

 stifle, and from the latter to the hock. Although 

 the hinder portions of the body have a greater 

 mass of muscle attached to them, they are less 

 subject to trouble or disease than the fore- 

 quarters. This is partly explicable on the 



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