The Bloodhound 135 



hocks," it ought not to stand in the prize Hst, in spite 

 of the fact that competition in Bloodhound classes 

 is, at the present time, usually very poor. The 

 head and its carriage are most decidedly the leading 

 features in a Bloodhound, and judges are particularly 

 keen on quality — and by quality we mean facial 

 expression and anatomical conformation — in this 

 region. In these hounds it is impossible for the 

 head to be too heavily wrinkled, the skin falling in 

 folds over the forehead and sides of the face, more 

 especially when the dog has his head to ground. The 

 occipital dome is particularly high, narrow and long, 

 but free from wrinkle; the foreface is extensive and 

 heavily wrinkled, more especially above the eyes 

 and at the sides of the face. The deeply-set eyes and 

 the heavily-wrinkled eyebrows, together with the 

 large amount of haw visible, form a very striking 

 appearance, at once expressive of wisdom, benevolence 

 and dignity — a trio of features observed in no other 

 breed. The " flews " or cheeks must be deep; the 

 lips square in front; the nostrils broad and black in 

 colour; the nose long; whilst the ears must be very 

 long, set on low down, and hanging in graceful folds 

 at the sides of the head. The tips of the ears ap- 

 proach each other owing to their length and pose of 

 the ear; fineness of texture not only as regards the 

 hair, but also of the skin covering the ears, constitutes 

 a point of beauty. Beneath the neck the skin is 



