124 A HUNTING CATECHISM 



Q. What standard of height do you recom- 

 mend for dogs and bitches ? 

 A. " For dogs, 23 J inches. 



For bitches, 22^ inches." 



Q. What are the chief points to be looked for ? 



A. " Good necks and shoulders are most 

 necessary, with good arched ribs, straight legs, 

 good feet, loins, and quarters." 



Q. Is the idea correct that throaty hounds are 

 very low-scented ? 



A. " No, and the appearance is not good. 

 Throaty hounds are usually slow." 



Q. Are hare-footed hounds generally good 

 travellers ; and keep their toes up better than 

 round-footed ones ? Or is the reverse the case ? 



A. " The reverse is the case. It is also 

 against their appearance on the flags." 



Q. Are you in favour of now unusual colours, 

 such as pure white ; lemon-pie ; hare-pie ; 

 badger-pie ; all black ; or black and white 

 hounds ? 



A. " No. Bad-coloured hounds are quite out 

 of date. Nothing is so fashionable at present as 

 the Belvoir tan. 



" I don't condemn bad-coloured hounds on any 

 other grounds except for appearance. I have 

 known some most excellent hounds in work, and 

 clever-shaped as well, of various colours, but you 

 must go with the fashion, and nowadays people 

 will not breed from bad-coloured hounds, and 

 scarcely look at them. The Duke of Beaufort's 

 used to be nearly all badger-pied, but now they 

 are chiefly marked with black, tan, and white. 

 Where you have the advantage of breeding a lot 

 of puppies, of course all the bad-coloured ones 



