The Hound 159 



not a single desirable quality to be imagined in a dog that 

 he does not possess ; not a single attribute of an ideal 

 hound for hunting hares, foxes, or deer that he has not had 

 bred into him. Yet, wonderful as it is to find so many 

 qualifications in a single animal, they are but the founda- 

 tion of what an English breeder is satisfied with for his 

 pack. A first-class pack of hounds consists, on an average, 

 of fifty couples. Any man who has had experience in 

 breeding pointers or setters knows what it means to grow 

 a single pair of dogs that work properly together after 

 birds ; what, then, must it mean to produce a hundred 

 hounds " with but a single thought " ? 



For a description of an ideal English foxhound we can- 

 not do better than call on Somerville as follows : 



His glossy skin, or yellow-pied, or blue, 



In lights or shades by nature's pencil drawn. 



Reflects the various tints; his ears and legs, 



Fleckt here and there, in gay enamell'd pride. 



Rivals the speckled pard; his rush-grown tail 



O'er his broad back bends in an ample arch; 



On shoulders clean, upright and firm he stands; 



His round cat-foot, straight hams, and wide-spread thighs, 



And his low-dropping chest, confess his speed, 



His strength, his wind, or on the steepy hill, 



Or far-extended plain. 



The following imperfections would draft a young hound, 

 no matter what his other qualities might be : a coarse head; 

 a head lacking in character; a short neck; a throaty neck; a 

 slackness behind the shoulders; a weak loin; a stern set on too 

 low or not properly carried ; a narrow chest ; legs lacking bone ; 

 crooked legs; weak joints; large flat feet and long toes; de- 

 fects of colour or markings ; a lack of general robustness. 



