CHAPTER XIX 



SOME BENCH SHOW DATA 



ONE of the abuses in the past concerned the 

 measui'ing of a beagle accurately, and in 

 many cases, particularly at bench shows, 

 the hounds were not measui^d at all, but the word 

 of the entrant owner taken as true. Since the 

 growth of field trials and bench shows accompany- 

 ing them, in the past decade, more attention has 

 been paid to measurements; and it can safely be 

 said that now it is almost impossible for a kennel 

 to "get away" with an oversized hound. However, 

 a hound shown in derby year has recently been 

 known to go oversize after a win at a prominent 

 show. 



While in latter years the winter bench shows of 

 beagles have shown a decreasing number of entries, 

 those given in connection with field trials have 

 shown a corresponding increase in numbers, while 

 those entries at the winter shows are generally ab- 

 sent. There are varying reasons given for this, 

 which will not be gone into, or discussed any more 

 than in the author's opinion, with whom many bea- 



267 



