THE HARRIER 205 



them as he can. If there is no such pack available, he 

 may be advised to buy drafts from the best-known 

 packs ; and it is a good line to go upon to buy from 

 packs which are either under or over the standard of 

 size he wishes to keep, as then he will get hounds 

 which are being merely drafted for size, and for no 

 fault, either physical or mental. After the pack has 

 been formed, the next thing to consider is how to 

 keep it up. By far the most interesting and satisfac- 

 tory way is breeding a certain number of puppies 

 every year, to fill up the inevitable gaps caused by 

 old age and accidents : and the youngest master w-ill 

 hardly need to be told that he should not breed 

 from any bitches which have such radical defects as 

 being noisy, mute, or having skirting propensities, all 

 of which faults are beyond question hereditary. Next, 

 let him exercise great care in the choice of his sires. 

 The above remarks as to hereditary faults apply 

 equally to them, and if he does not use really good- 

 shaped hounds as sires, he can never expect to- breed 

 a satisfactory pack. If he has not any really first- 

 class dog hounds of his own, let him not grudge the 

 small expense of sending his bitches to the best- 

 known kennels ; almost all masters are pleased to 

 give the services of their stud dogs to anyone owning 

 an established pack, and the results will be iar more 



