112 A HUNTING CATECHISM 



change of fashion is the desire of winning prizes 

 on the show bench, and hence a good-looking 

 hound is not only kept on account of the im- 

 pression he makes on the flags, but for the same 

 reason he is actually bred from to the detriment 

 of the pack, when formerly he would have been 

 speedily drafted ruthlessly out of the kennel. 

 Handsome is that handsome does, however, and 

 when it comes to close hunting our handsome 

 friend has frequently to take a back seat at the 

 performance, while some plain, unpretentious 

 hound usurps his place, and reaps a rich reward 

 in the estimation of his huntsman. 



Q. What may be considered a useful height 

 for hare-hunting hounds ? 



A. This depends very much upon the country, 

 and what is required of them, but they should be 

 fast enough to run a hare down in reasonable 

 time, and able to get quickly over such obstacles 

 as they may meet. A pack that is to be hunted 

 on foot should hardly be so fast as when hunted 

 from horseback ; but if they will meet with 

 high stone walls, or broad ditches, the hounds 

 should be altogether on a larger scale than in 

 an open down country. About eighteen inches 

 used to be considered the height to aim at for 

 harriers, and fifteen inches for foot-beagles, and 

 with a little give and take on either side of 

 these dimensions an extremely useful pack can 

 be formed. Some harrier packs contain hounds 

 that would be no discredit, in the matter of 

 height, to a pack of staghounds, but a hare seems 

 sadly over-matched when pursued by such giants 

 as these ! 



Though it is needful to keep in mind that it is 



