136 Forty Years Beagling 



if we can find a dog that is a good typical specimen, 

 with lots of courage and hunt in him, that should 

 be the dog we should use in preference to any 

 other, unless, for some very good reason. 



''Personally, I am inclined to the belief that 

 nearly all beagles will hunt to a great degree if only 

 given the chance, but the trouble is that many of 

 om- puppies never get a show until they are past 

 the time when they ought to be doing good work, 

 and have got in the lazy habit of hanging around. 

 Then again, so many puppies are subject to all the 

 ills that dogs are heir to that they are fully grown 

 up before they ever 'get a smell' at any game. The 

 growing demand for puppies and the scarcity of 

 good ones tempt a breeder to try and raise some 

 during the winter months, and unless he is partic- 

 ularly well favored with climate, and has the best 

 of accommodations, he does more harm than good, 

 for if the bitch is young she loses the season's hunt- 

 ing and perhaps all the puppies as well. 



"I think your correspondent is on the right track; 

 let us have type by all means, in fact a beagle, and 

 I would make a suggestion that in measuring dogs, 

 when drawing for the trials, that aU dogs be thrown 

 out of competition whose length, from tip of nose 

 to root of tail is more than double their height at 

 shoulder, or those whose front legs are very crooked 



