522 Modern Dogs. 



Melbourne dog shows these Bassets have proved a 

 .great attraction. The usual mode of following 

 Basset hounds is on foot, and by so doing some 

 excellent hunting is seen. It seems really wonderful 

 how quickly the heavily-bodied, short-legged hounds 

 get over the ground. 



There are some earnest sportsmen who prefer 

 hunting the hare with the Basset rather than with 

 the Beagle or Harrier With the former, those on 

 foot are certainly likely to see more of the run, and 

 have, if their lungs be sound and their legs strong, 

 a very good chance of being in at the death, though 

 the chase may last a couple of hours or more. 

 Harriers would kill a similar " jack hare" in less 

 than half an hour. Small beagles might perform 

 the same feat in an hour or so. The latter are 

 certainly the brighter and merrier hunters, and 

 possess a greater amount of dash anH go than 

 the short-legged, heavily-bodied hounds ; the latter, 

 perhaps, excelling in voice. I do not think the 

 Basset more painstaking and careful on a cold line 

 than the Beagle. 



The Field from time to time gives accounts of 

 runs with Basset-hounds, and some of those with 

 the Sussex pack appear to have been particu- 

 larly satisfactory. The Basset has a particularly 

 fine voice, the tone of some of them almost as 



