The Hound 161 



(x) Neither too slow nor too fast ; 



Not too free in giving tongue. 



(x) He must not give too little ; a hound that runs mute 

 is killed without further delay, and so is a confirmed 

 babbler. 



He must not be a line hunter one that insists on follow- 

 ing with his nose the very track of the fox. 



(x) He must not be a skirter, or one that runs too wide 

 and is content to let the other hounds do the hunting ; he 

 must be a worker in every respect and not a hanger-on. 



He must have a melodious voice, neither too high nor 

 too low ; of such a pitch, that is, as makes no discord in the 

 melody of the pack. 



(x) He must never tell a lie by giving tongue to a line 

 until he is absolutely certain. 



(x) He must not take to running the scent or line of any 

 other animal. A hound that is at all given to running riot 

 has the death-warrant read to him, with little chance of 

 a reprieve. 



A cross (x) in the above enumeration means that for a 

 defect in that particular the sentence is death. Hounds that 

 fail in this second test go out in what is called the second 

 draft, and are usually sold for a nominal sum to form the 

 nucleus of some foreign pack, or to some neighbouring pack 

 which wishes to obtain good blood for a little money. 



By the time the second draft is completed, fifty per cent, 

 of the year's crop of puppies have been weeded out. This 

 does not take into account the distemper, a malady to 

 which, of course, all are subject and of which many die. 



Next comes the third degree. The requirements are 



