22 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Coursing dogs. These dogs are employed 

 for venery, that is to say, for hunting with a 

 weH-trained pack of large, strong, agile dogs, 

 bred and kept c.\clusi\'ely for this purpose in 

 France and England, and in some parts of the 



King Charles 



United States and Canada. English foxhounds 

 are known the world over, if only by the nu- 

 merous engravings representing huntsmen in 

 scarlet coats surrounded by their dogs, spotted 

 white and brown and black, or flying over the 

 hillsides through bushes 

 and bracken. Hunt 

 ing of this kind 

 was fre 

 quent. 



packs are very celebrated, and several belong 

 to more than one person. A master of the 

 hounds, aided by a huntsman and several 

 " whippers-in," or, in other words, servants or 

 trainers, has the supervision of them. The cost 

 of this amusement is enormous, averaging not 

 less than from seventeen to twenty thousand 

 dollars a year. 



As the chief qualities of the foxhound should 

 be speed and perse\'erance, his paws must be 

 strong, his back solid, his loins broad and mus- 

 cular, his chest ample for the lungs, and the 

 soles of his feet hard. The legs should be per- 

 fectly straight, the neck slim, and the shoulders 

 held close to the body. The nostrils will nat- 

 urally be large, because these dogs guide them- 

 selves by scent as well as by sight. When the 

 wind is favorable and they have scented the fox 

 they run forward, barking violently, but when 

 they approach the game they increase their 

 speed, bark no longer, rush against and over 

 each other and o\'er all obstacles with such 

 eagerness that their mad course can be followed 

 only by the best horsemen. 



In France the various 



species of hunting 



doefs are \'ery 



n u m e r- 



o u s, 



even m 

 the Middle 

 Ages, but then 

 they liunted with gre) 

 hounds and terriers, [prop- 

 erly so called ; little b)' 

 little, however, the agile 



English Fdxiiduxds liicFoRi; tiif.ik KENNr;L 



Pliuto J. T. Newman, liL-ikliampstead 



of France paid much 

 attention to the breed- 

 ing of hounds and kept 

 a great number of packs. 



foxhound, the pride of more than one master. The descendants of these dogs still remain 

 took their ]:)lace. Dogs i)f this class are formed in certain provinces, and among them may be 

 into packs of from ten to sixty couple. Some found the products of various crossings. 



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