384 ALL ABOUT DOGS 



"It is difficult to form a pack for this sport which 

 shall be perfect in all respects. Sometimes a splendid 

 hound in character may be more like a butcher's dog in 

 appearance, but the pack cannot afford to part with him 

 if he has really proved his value in work. The casual- 

 ties from Leopards, Wild Boars, Elks and lost dogs 

 are so great that the pack is with extreme difficulty 

 kept up by breeding. 



" It must be borne in mind that the place of a lost 

 dog cannot be easily supplied in Ceylon! Newera 

 Ellia is one of the few places in the island where 

 the climate is suited to the constitution of a dog. 

 In the low and hot climates they lead a short and 

 miserable life, which is soon ended by the inevit- 

 able liver complaint; thus, if a supply for the pack 

 cannot be kept up by breeding, hounds must be pro- 

 cured from England from time to time, and this, it is 

 needless to say, is attended with much risk and great 

 expense. ,, 



On one of the last occasions I exhibited my dogs 

 at Maidstone show, in Kent, I was rather amused 

 by a conversation I had with the secretary there. He 

 said, " whenever I see you, sir, I think of your Dog." 

 I asked what dog he referred to? He said, " one of 

 your Dandies, I think he was a champion, (I forget 

 whether it was Champion Rob Roy, or Champion 

 Laird, but think it must have been the former) . You 

 had to leave before the end of the show, which was 

 very unusual with you, sir, and you asked me to see 

 your dogs packed ; I was out in the building where all 

 the boxes and baskets were, when I heard a crackling 



