VALUE OF BLOODHOUND CROSS 89 



No climatic influence seems to affect the bloodhound, 

 especially when on a wounded deer or a hard-hunted 

 fox, for these hounds can work on a scent which has 

 been stale for many hours, and far better even than the 

 cross between the Scotch deerhound and the colley, 

 which latter can pick up the track of a deer after the 

 scent is a day old ; and I pin my faith, therefore, on the 

 bloodhound cross as being the most useful where scent 

 is bad or stale. Judges at shows are far too fond of 

 what may be termed 'fashionable' points. Such may 

 look all very well in a picture, and are, perhaps, very 

 admirable in theory, but for my own part I prefer 

 hounds which possess the best nose, and which are 

 produced by crossing with those strains which are the 

 best suited to overcome the difficulties, which other 

 strains are incapable of doing. At the same time, 

 although I recommend the acquisition of ' nose power,' 

 I should advise breeders to reduce the strain to a third 

 cross, or even less, according to the nature of the 

 country they wish to hunt, whether cold-scenting or 

 not. In cold-scenting countries scent seldom lies long 

 enough for over-bred and mute-running hounds to 

 acknowledge. The more music the better ; otherwise, 

 in such countries, but little sport can be expected and 

 few foxes brought to hand. We killed more foxes in 

 Meath in the old days with a somewhat slow and 

 musical pack than I have ever seen worked up to by 

 any other pack since then. Many a fox escapes a 

 flash, flying, mute pack, which our old-fashioned 

 hounds, which were left alone, would account for. 

 If I ever accuse a brother master of hounds of breed- 

 ing too exclusively for pace, the reply I get is either 

 'We must get away from the riding demons,' or ' It's 



