PREFACE 



Considering the large number of works in con- 

 nection with horses, and the important position 

 occupied by the hunter, it is somewhat surprising 

 that up to the present time, so far as the author 

 is aware, no writer has specially devoted his 

 attention, excluding other varieties, to a descrip- 

 tion of the hunter, unless that of old-time litera- 

 ture, of which a great deal appeared on hunting 

 matters, probably much more than at the present 

 time. Other varieties of live-stock, from cattle 

 down to poultry, have received recognition in 

 monograph form, some pretentious, others less 

 so, but none of them can claim a greater right 

 to individual recognition than the subject of this 

 treatise. As a commercial asset, the hunter 

 ranks high, for the simple reason that its sphere 

 of utility is linked with the most manly, as well 

 as the most costly, form of field sports, namely, 

 that of hunting the fox. 



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