MODERN HARRIERS 8i 



a good deal of trouble is saved. On the whole, it is no 

 bad thing to begin with a scratch pack, got together, 

 as one can best manage it, by drafts and purchases 

 from different kennels. It is a good education, and 

 the Master, who is probably his own huntsman, 

 begins in time to breed a pack that meets his own 

 fancy. 



I have shown, then, by this list that the foxhound 

 has by no means yet ousted the pure harrier from 

 the scene of his triumphs. Nor, now that real harrier 

 blood is again beginning to be appreciated at some- 

 thing like its real worth, is this ever likely to be the 

 case. The fact is, there is in these islands plenty of 

 room for the supporters of all three modes of hunting — 

 i.e., with pure harrier, Stud-book harrier, and dwarf 

 foxhound. 



Personally, I do not believe in hunting hare with 

 foxhound pure and simple, not even if the hound be 

 reduced in size to twenty or twenty-one inches. The 

 foxhound is, in my view, too fast for hare-hunting, 

 and has too much fling and fire and too little patience 

 for this form of chase. He has, too, been trained for 

 generations to the pursuit of the fox, and there is a 

 great deal to be said for long usage and hereditary 

 instinct in hunting. A hare hunted with foxhounds 

 has, in my humble opinion, not a fair chance for her 

 life, as she has when hunted by harriers ; she is over- 

 matched, driven to trust to speed alone, too often 

 outpaced altogether, and is run down usually in far 

 less time than ought to be the case. She has no oppor- 

 tunity of displaying all those wonderful tricks and 

 expedients which render a hare-hunt, to the man 

 who really enjoys this form of sport, so interesting 

 and delightful a pastime. After all, if a sharp gallop 

 is the great desideratum sought for, the horseman can 



F 



