The Basset- Hound. 523 



lovely as that the otter-hound can produce. He 

 is slow on scent, and, of course, his long body and 

 short crooked legs quite put him out of court as 

 likely to be of use in a stone wall country. 



A pack can kill a hare well enough, but after 

 the fox such hounds would not be of the slightest 

 use ; and even after the hare the Bassets require to 

 be on an easy country, where the fences are few and 

 the hills neither too steep nor too rough. On the 

 Continent the various strains of the Basset-hound 

 are used for beating and working the coverts, being 

 utilised exactly in the same way as we in this country 

 work spaniels, and, in a few cases, beagles. 



There is a Basset Hound Club in England, 

 which was established in 1883, an< ^> by providing 

 special prizes at various exhibitions, in many cases 

 classes are placed in the schedule which, under 

 ordinary conditions, would not be found there. 

 Personally I have never owned a Basset. I have 

 admired them, and recollect how favourably I was 

 struck with the appearance of a team that Mr. 

 Everett Millais showed at Wolverhampton about 

 thirteen years ago, and alluded to earlier in this 

 chapter. They were little known then, but certainly 

 on that occasion formed one of the features of an 

 interesting provincial show. Since that time (and 

 before) Mr. Millais has perhaps taken more interest 



