218 



V ERTEBRATA, 







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FOX-CHASE IN ENGLAND. 



by plunging into some lake or river that happens to lie in his way, and when, at last, ever) 

 attempt to escape proves abortive, he boldly faces his pursuers, and attacks the first dog or man 

 who approaches him. 



The performances of the stag-hound are remarkable. A deer, in the spring of 1822, was turned 

 <>ut before the Earl of Derby's hounds at Hayes Common. The chase was continued nearly four 

 hours without a dink, when, being almost run down, the animal took refuge in some outhouses near 

 Speldhurst, in Kent, more than forty miles across the country, and having actually run more than 

 fifty miles. Nearly twenty horses died in the field, or in consequence of the severity of the chase. 



A Btag was turned out at Wingfield Park, in Northumberland. The whole pack, with the ex- 

 ception of two hounds, was, after a long run, thrown out. The stag returned to his accustomed 

 haunt, and, as his last effort, leaped the wall of the park, and lay down and died. One of the 

 hound- at his heels, unable to clear the wall, fell and expired, and the other was found dead at 

 a little distance. They had run aboul forty miles. 



The English Blood-Hound. — A true blood-hound — and the pure blood is rare — stands about 

 twenty-eighl inches in height, muscular, compact, and strong; the forehead is broad, and the face 

 narrow toward the muzzle; the nostrils are wide and well developed; the ears are large, pendu- 

 lous, and broad at the base; the as] I is serene and sagacious; the tail is long, with an upward 



curve when iii pursuit, at which time the hound opens with a voice deep and sonorous, that may 

 be heard down the wind for a very long distance. The color of the true breed is almost invaria- 

 bly a reddish tan, darkening gradually toward the upper parts till it becomes mixed with black 

 on the back; the lower parts, limbs, and tail being of a lighter shade, and the muzzle tawny. 



