186 Forty Years Beagling 



exerted an influence on our present-day stock. 

 From one paii- — Rattler and Ladybird — was bred 

 Victor, one of the greatest sires of field stock ever 

 seen in this country. From another imported pair 

 — Blue Cap and Blue Bell — the Captain bred the 

 Blue Cap that came to Canada, and as the Blue 

 Caps are still noted as a hunting strain I will de- 

 scribe him. He lacked the finely chiseled head of 

 the Rowetts, and his ears were short and thick ; and 

 as he carried them a little up when in action, he 

 appeared broader, flatter in skull. He was longer 

 in body than the Rowetts, and not straight in front. 

 The short ears re-appeared in a great many of his 

 descendants ; the long body less frequently and the 

 crooked legs very rarely. In eye and expression 

 he was more like the foxhound, but lacked the 

 heavy muzzle of that type. 



"After coming to Canada, his services were con- 

 fined to his owner's kennel, so his descendants are 

 not so numerous as Victor's. He sired a few bench 

 winners, but hare-hunting was his owner's hobby 

 and it is mostly through hunters that his stock is 

 known. In a thirty-five year's experience with rab- 

 bit hounds I never met another dog possessing that 

 indefinable quality which, for want of a better name 

 we define hunting sense, nor did I ever see his equal 

 for scent. For voice, courage and endurance he 



