THE STAG HOUND 141 



December evening to throw his hounds into a big woodbind on 

 their way home after a long day's hunting. The hounds which 

 drew well were the hounds he bred from, for drawing under 

 these circumstances was his great criterion of stoutness. But 

 although the Queen's Hounds have not to draw, they must 

 be stout and tireless, for they are never vanned, and on the 

 ]3uckinghamshire sides, hounds go twenty miles to some of 

 the meets by road, and then have to hunt all day in hills 

 and flints and get home again. 



In conclusion then : speed, dash, stoutness, and nose are 

 the four things to go for and insist upon in the modern 

 staghound. I know that I have not assigned the same im- 

 portance to nose in what I have said as to the other qualities 

 — perhaps I have not attached enough. But still, for 

 the ' sweet ' scented deer give me stoutness and speed first. 

 Since I wrote the earlier portion of this chapter, I have 

 come across some observations of Mr. Smith's, which are so 

 wise that they shall finish it up for me. After laying stress 

 upon the supreme importance of nose and stoutness, he 

 says : ' The two qualities often go together ; for it is the 

 stoutness which makes a hound willing to try to hunt and 

 make use of his nose, which a slack hound would not try 

 to do.' 



