The Hunting World and the Use 



of Dogs 



IT IS to the Normans that the English-speaking races of the earth today owe their 

 hunting hounds and in all their varieties. The Talbot hound was introduced into 



England at the time of the conquest by William the First. 



All are not agreed as to the color of these Talbot hounds. Spmervile, the great 

 sporting poet, describes them as "white as Alpine snows," There is, however, reason 

 to believe that they are invariably of a reddish tan and often with a black saddle. In 

 form, color and shape they are very much like the English bloodhound of today; in- 

 deed, that noble animal is supposed to be the bedrock of all the breeds of hunting 

 hounds that are now in use the world over; and this because of that sentiment and 

 recognition of the variety as the chief pillar or the stay of several of the most valued 

 breeds, that the bloodhound is placed first in the stud books of England and America, 

 and the breed is number one in the catalogues of the all-round dog shows everywhere. 



English Foxhounds in Full Cry 



It was and is desirable that the head of a hunting hound should be of the above 

 description that is, if a close-diunting, unerring hound is required to hunt singly, 

 rather than in a pack. The formation of the head above described, is one that is 

 "made" for the purposes of hunting; and in such a head are to be found the highly 

 developed olfactory nerves which communicate with the brain and actually inform 

 the hound when he strikes the scent of an animal and whether the effluvium is recent 

 or old. 



It is the gloriousness and health-giving surroundings that have made the chase 

 so popular with nearly all peoples, and that is the reason hounds are bred with such 

 care and may generally be found in the ownership of the well-to-do and the high per- 

 sonages of the world. 



In the early days the English pursued the chase on foot, and their objects of pur- 

 suit appear to have been principally the wild boar and the wolf. The Anglo-Normans 

 might be considered as the more polished, more noble, and more scientific hunters, 

 and they introduced that powerful and pleasant assistant in the chase the horse as 

 well as a great variety of objects of pursuit. They chased the stag, the roebuck, the fox, 

 the hare, etc., and hunting the less dangerous animals seems to have constituted their 

 principal amusements; though the wolf and the boar occasionally occupied their 

 attention, and in all these branches of the hunt dogs of varying degree were used. 



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