92 HUNTING THE FOX 



upon, but because a certain physical structure 

 enables a Hound to do his work for the longest 

 possible time in the quickest and easiest manner. 

 Other things being equal, the good-looking Fox- 

 hound on the flags should certainly, in the long 

 run, beat the ugly one in the field. This is the 

 value of symmetry, and nothing else is. Im- 

 mediately that a fashionable standard of looks 

 becomes an arbitrary affair, presented, like one 

 of M. Poiret's creations, to satisfy caprice with no 

 reference to utility, then the show-ring becomes 

 dangerous. 



Now the tendency of live-stock shows is to 

 create an advantage in favour of bulk, particu- 

 larly when its exhibition is enhanced by generous 

 feeding. How often does one hear that " a good 

 big one is better than a good little one." This 

 standard of judgement may or may not be all very 

 well when applied to shire horses, bullocks, or pigs. 

 But it is all very bad when applied to Foxhounds. 

 And there can be no doubt whatever that bulk is, 

 unfortunately, an advantage in a Foxhound Show. 

 Nowadays a dog of twenty-four inches, an inch 

 higher than the Brocklesby Rallywood, the Belvoir 

 Gambler, and the Warwickshire Harper, when 

 exhibited against modern Peterborough winners 

 is apt to be described as " a smart little dog, but 

 not big enough," unless, indeed, his structure is 

 so ultra-perfect that nothing can deny it. This 



