yS Hounds 



to ground to summon *' every man who possessed 

 a pickaxe, a gun, or a terrier to hasten to the spot 

 and lend a hand in destroying the noxious animal." * 



Of course with the greater status of the fox in 

 venery at once came the real science of hound breed- 

 ing. That is not to say there were not Foxhounds 

 prior to this, nor would it be correct to say there 

 were not hounds solely with fox as their quarry. 

 The sporting world had left behind them the epoch 

 when " the ordinary kennel of rimning hounds, 

 uncoupled at every chase, was master of none." 



The character and manner of hunting, however, 

 had called for no very distinct type of hound for 

 the chase of the fox. He was found pretty much 

 as the stag is now, by " old, staunch hounds," and 

 when on foot the remainder of the pack were " laid 

 on." The whole sporting process was a slow one. 

 Hounds were slow, horses were slow, and so the fox, 

 never much distressed at the outset, stood up before 

 hounds for incredible periods. Mr Meynell never 

 presumed to come to the aid of his pack and cast 

 them so long as they could hunt. The Duke of 

 Beaufort, in the Badminton volume on Hunting, asks 

 a pertinent question on comparing sport of to-day 

 and that just prior to the great evolution which 

 brought about and necessitated the change in the 

 type of hound employed. His Grace says: 



* Memoir of the Rev. John Russell, 



