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 



