HUNTING THE FOX 91 



1851 in the time of the no less celebrated Will 

 Goodall, and is said to have made the Belvoir 

 Pack. Goodall fell deeply in love with him, and 

 bred from him freely. His own opinion of Rally- 

 wood is quoted by Mr. Collins in his very interesting 

 History of the Brockleshy Hounds, and is worth 

 repeating here : " This is a most beautiful little 

 short-legged dog, exceedingly light of bone, but with 

 beautiful legs and feet." From the same book we 

 learn that " Druid " in Silk and Scarlet wrote of 

 Rally wood that " although good twenty- three, he 

 was mean to those who like a big hound." This 

 dog hunted hard for nine seasons, and was certainly 

 one of the most famous, if not the most famous, 

 sire of the last century. Yet, from the con- 

 temporary descriptions of his lack of calibre, he 

 would not be among the fashionable sires of to-day, 

 and would look like a harrier if he were brought 

 to the covert-side with some of our modern dog 

 packs. So there is good ground for the assertion 

 that during the last fifty years the size of Fox- 

 hounds has increased. Why ? The explanation 

 may possibly be found in the growing popularity 

 of Hound Shows. 



There is much to be said for and against a 

 Hound Show. The most valid argument in favour 

 of a Hound Show is that it gives prominence to 

 the value of symmetry. Symmetry in Foxhounds 

 should be aimed at not because it is good to look 



