112 The Sporting Dog 



twenty Americans to go into coursing with some 

 enthusiasm and find themselves, after expending 

 a year or so of time and considerable money, 

 facing an important stake without a single dog in 

 condition to compete. Enthusiasm does not last 

 long under such misfortunes. 



Coursing has its infinite variety of technical 

 learning, the outgrowth of the intense British 

 interest and many years of experience, but its 

 general rules are simple. Two dogs are put into 

 slips, and as soon as the hare is sighted are allowed 

 to run, tugging in the slips until the hare has had 

 sufficient " law " and the slipper is certain that he 

 can throw them off on equal terms. Off they 

 dash. The dog first reaching the hare gets credit 

 for speed according to the distance by which he 

 beats his competitor — one, two, or three points. 

 Then the scoring begins on the " turns " and 

 " wrenches " and the " kill." The turn is when 

 the hare is forced around at more than a right 

 angle ; the wrench is where it swerves at a less 

 angle from its course on account of being pressed 

 by the dog. Ability to closely work the hare is, 

 therefore, as important as speed. A dog is " cun- 

 ning " or " wise " when he learns to cut corners 

 and head off the prey. Any considerable amount 

 of this over-education disqualifies the dog. An 

 honest dog is one which runs true to the hare. 

 In a stake the dogs which win in the first series 



