SCENT, &C. 147 



farther removed, is unable to distinguish the hunted or blown 

 fox, when another fox happens to come in the way during the 

 chase. 



I have frequently thought, that the size of the ears is a cri- 

 terion, in some degree, of the sense of smell. The talbot has 

 amazing large ears ; the stag- hound's are smaller ; the fox- 

 hound's, the smallest of the three. 



The pointer is remarkable for a broad, capacious head, as well 

 as for large pendant ears ; and those setters distinguished for the 

 goodness of their olfactory powers, will be found to possess a 



Th' audacious felon ; foot by foot he marks 

 His winding way, while all the listening crowd 

 Applaud his reas'nings. O'er the watry ford, 

 Dry sandy heaths, and stony barren hills, 

 O'er beaten paths, with men and beasts distain'd, 

 Unerring be pursues ; till at the cot 

 Arrived, and seizing by his guilty throat 

 The caitiff vile, redeems the captive prey : 

 So exquisitely delicate his sense ! 



The above description is faithful and highly picturesque, presenting 

 a curious picture of the blood-hound's use in ancient times, when the 

 word police was almost unknown. 



In speaking of the pursuit of Robert Bruce by Edward I. an old 

 manuscript says : 



" The king Edward, with horn and hounds him sought, 

 With men on foot, thro' marshes, moss, and mire, 

 Thro* woods also, and mountains where they fought." 



In 1803, the Thrapston Association for the prosecution of felons in 

 Northamptonshire, procured and trained a blood-hound, for the detec- 

 tion of sheep stealers. To prove the utility of the dog, a man was 

 dispatched from a spot where a great concourse of people were assem- 

 bled, at ten o'clock in the forenoon, and at eleven the hound was laid 

 on the scent ; after a chase of an hour and a half, the hound found 

 him secreted in a tree, many miles distant from the place of starting. 



N2 



