The Bloodhound 133 



Bloodhound, at any rate during youth, is not of the 

 most robust order, especially in those strains where 

 prolonged in-breeding has been carried on. At the 

 present time the Bloodhound is not in any particular 

 demand in Great Britain, though in the States and 

 certain continental cities these hounds are extensively 

 employed by the poHce for tracking criminals, as the 

 Bloodhound is essentially a man-tracker, and its 

 special avocation is to hunt after a stranger much in 

 the same manner as any other dog will hunt after 

 its master. For practical purposes they have not 

 been found of much use in Great Britain ; neverthe- 

 less it is necessary to train a hound to hunt along a 

 cold line of scent, say one of three or four hours' 

 duration, otherwise the utility of these dogs becomes 

 reduced to a minimum. It must be borne in mind 

 that scent varies with the state of the weather, the 

 locaUty, and many other conditions, all of which 

 have to be considered when Bloodhounds are em- 

 ployed in tracking man. The Bloodhound has a 

 low scenting power, but is extremely patient and 

 persevering in working out a cold hne of scent, 

 though, of course, these hounds are able to work best 

 on a line of scent that has been undisturbed, and this 

 is one of the reasons why they are of so little practical 

 utiHty in town. 



Admirers of the breed principally use these hounds 

 for companionship, but for this purpose there are many 



