The Bloodhound. 13 



Under fair conditions any bloodhound will, in a few 

 lessons, run the trail of a man a mile or two, or more, 

 whose start may vary from ten minutes or a quarter 

 of an hour, or longer. Some of the more practised 

 hounds can hunt the scent even though it be an hour 

 old, and we know that a couple of Mr. Brough's 

 bloodhounds, early one summer's morning, hunted 

 for a considerable distance the footsteps of a man 

 who had gone along the road eight hours before. 



This is, of course, exceptional, but, with a proper 

 course of training during three or four generations, 

 there is no reason to doubt that bloodhounds would 

 .be able to reliably make out the trail of a man who 

 had gone three or four hours previously so long, of 

 course, as his footsteps have not been crossed and 

 recrossed by others, or foiled in any other way. 



That hounds will ever be got to track a criminal, 

 or anyone else, on the cold, damp flags continually 

 passed over by pedestrians, as in the streets of 

 London and other large towns, no one who under- 

 stands them will believe. Such work they never have 

 done, and never will do ; nor do the owners them- 

 selves aspire to such excellence for their favourites 

 In country districts they may be of aid, but in towns, 

 so far as appearances are at present, the apprehension 

 of criminals must be left to the mental sagacity of 

 the official biped. 



