RREEDIXG OF FOX-HOUNDS. 32,9 



runner and a good hunter, and steady on tlie line 

 which " a good hunter" implies, constitutes a per- 

 fect hound, when combined with good form. 



The faults of hounds, too often innate, can only 

 be cured by education. The greatest of all are, 

 skirting, or not being true on the line ; throwing 

 the tongue without a scent, which is known by the 

 term babbling ; not throwing it at all, or running- 

 mute ; and, lastly, on a wrong scent, which is called 

 " running riot." The last, however, is the least 

 vice, because generally curable by the lash ; but 

 the fault of skirting is too often innate ; at all 

 events, too often incurable. Thus has the breeder 

 of the hound to guard against propensities as well 

 as faults ; and a late accredited writer on the sub- 

 ject says, " In modern times, the system of hunt- 

 ing is so much improved, so much more attention 

 is paid to the condition of hounds and their style 

 of work, that in this enlightened age a master of 

 hounds thinks it a reflection on his judgment if one 

 hound in his pack is detected in a fault."* 



Symmetry. — The selection of dog and bitch to 

 breed from, is a nice point for a master of hounds, 

 or his huntsman, to decide upon ; but, if he aim at 

 excellence, he must keep his eye on perfection. In 

 no animal is perfect symmetry so desirable as in a 

 fox-hound, for without it there is no dependence on 

 his services, however good may be his nature. We 

 will first describe him in the words of a very old 



* Colonel Cook's Observations on Fox-Hunting^ &e. 



2e 



