1 62 Cross Country with Horse and Hound 



quite as rigid as in the first and second degrees. The 

 hound must prove himself to be: 



Neither quarrelsome nor timid. 



Neither slovenly nor too fastidious. 



Neither a glutton nor a poor feeder. 



Neither sulky nor quick-tempered. 



Neither too meek nor disobedient. 



Having passed this critical test under the watchful eye of 

 the kennel huntsman, who has little indulgence or in- 

 clination to excuse, and being thus duly and truly prepared, 

 the dog is permitted by the master to pass into the inner 

 court, the holy of holies, as master workman, with the 

 enviable distinction of being thereafter styled a thoroughly 

 qualified foxhound. 



We have gone in some detail into this question of 

 standard and of drafting for two reasons: first, to show the 

 novice the almost priceless value of a hound ; and, second, 

 to set an example that may elevate the standard of hound- 

 breeding in America to the position it holds in England. 



In the States the rule is *' Handsome is that handsome goes " ; 

 and everything goes. Generally speaking, the hound is looked 

 upon as a dog. To speak of a hound in England as a dog 

 would offend quite as much as it would in America to call a 

 well-bred dog a cur. Americans are very clever, as a rule, 

 in " catching on" to any new enterprise; but the art or sci- 

 ence of breeding domestic animals for improvement is not, 

 as a rule, one of their accomplishments. There are, how- 

 ever, a few masters of hounds in Canada and the United 

 States who have caught the spirit, the fascination, the great 

 pleasure, there is in the art and science of breeding. Let 



