THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 



5S 



breed, may be recStified from another; and if 

 this be properly attended to, I fee no reafon why 

 the 'breeding of hounds may not improve, till 

 improvement can go no further. If you find a 

 crofs hit, purfue it.* Never put an old dog to 

 an old bitcii. Be careful that they be healthy 

 which you breed from, or you are not likely to 

 have a healthy offspring. Should a favourite 

 dog Ikirt a little, put liim to a thorough line- 

 hunting bitch, and fuch a crols may fucceed. 

 My objeclion to the breeding from fuch a hound 

 is, that as Hcirting is what moil fox-hounds ac- 

 quire from pradticCi it had better not be made 

 natural to them. A very famous fportfman has. 

 told me, that he frequently breeds from brothers 

 and liflers. As I fliould be very unv/illing to 

 urge any thing in oppofition to fuch authority, 

 you had better try it; and if it fucceed in hounds, 

 it is more I believe than it ufually does in other 

 animals. A famous cocker afTurcd a friend of 

 mine, that the third generation (which he called 



land bitch and a fox-hound dog : they are iTiOnflrouny ugly- 

 are faid to give their tongues fparingly, and to tii^e foon. The 

 experiment has not fucceeded ; tlie crofs moft likely to be of fer- 

 vice to a fox- hound is the beagle. I am well convinced that a 

 handfome, bony, tender-nofed, ftout beagle would, occafion- 

 ally, be no improper crofs for a high-bred pack of fox-hounds. 



* After the firH feafon, I breed from all my young dog- 

 hounds who have beauty and goodnefs to recommend them, 

 to fee what whelps they get. 



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