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CHAPTER XXXV. 



THE STAGHOUND. 



WHATEVER differences may have originally existed between the Staghound and the Fox- 

 hound which will be described in the succeeding chapter have been swept away by the 

 progress of time. At the moment of writing there is no dissimilarity of shape or form, the 

 only difference being one of size and weight. Though doubtless nearly related in days gone 

 by, the two varieties are now bred entirely separate, as the proportions of a large-sized Stag- 

 hound would render him unsuitable for foxhunting. 



Though it is more than probable that foxhunting men of the day may laugh at the idea 

 of the Staghound being the ancestor of the modern Foxhound, it is nevertheless a fact that in 

 the earlier part of the century this was a common opinion. For instance, the author of the 

 " Field Book," which was published by Effingham Wilson, Royal Exchange, London, in 1833, 

 writes as follows of the Staghound : 



" It seems extremely probable that this large, strong, and bony hound was the primeval 

 stock from which all the collateral branches of this race have descended, and that all deviations 

 from the original stem have been the result of crosses and improvements during many cen- 

 turies by those skilled in rearing and breeding dogs of the chase, and varied in strength and 

 size according to the particular sport for which they are intended. At the present day 

 \i.e., 1833] there cannot be a doubt but that the practical breeder, by judicious crosses, can 

 either enlarge or diminish the stature and strength of his pack in the course of three or four 

 generations." The writer next proceeds to say that " the Staghounds exclusively devoted 

 to that sport in the royal establishment of this country, it is well known, have been an im- 

 proved cross between the old English Southern hound and the fleeter Foxhound grafted upon 

 the Bloodhound." 



Owing to the scarcity of deer in this country the sport of stag-hunting has almost 

 ceased to exist, though there are several packs of Staghounds still left. The most prominent 

 of these are Her Majesty's, Baron Rothschild's, and the Surrey, all of which, from the close 

 proximity of their meets to the metropolis, are well supported. It is most customary to 

 hunt a carted deer, as, with rare exceptions, none of the modern packs hunt countries where 

 wild deer are to be found, and therefore ingenuity has to be resorted to to produce the 

 means of sport. In such cases the deer is vanned on to the ground, and after it has been 

 allowed a certain amount of law the hounds are laid on, and the sport, such as it is, is com- 

 menced. The deer, which, by the way, is generally denuded of its horns, as a rule runs little 

 risk of losing its life, for when brought to bay it is protected by the huntsman and whips 

 from the hounds, and is reserved for another run on some subsequent occasion. 



A decided advantage which hunting a carted deer possesses over most other branche. c 

 of sport is the certainty of finding some sort of sport unless the weather renders it 

 impossible. The date and place of the meet being previously arranged, and the deer being 

 always in confinement, there can be no chance of a blank day, as both the deer and hounds 



