THE SENSE OF SMELL IN DOGS. 



67 



self. The bitch, who was now howling to follow me, was led to 

 the back door by another servant. Quickly finding the trail of 

 the gamekeeper, she tracked it for a few yards ; but, finding that 

 I had not been with him, she left his trail, and hunted about in 

 all directions for mine, which, of course, was nowhere to be 

 found. 



4. — I collected all the men about the place, and directed them 

 to walk close behind one another in Indian file, each man taking 

 care to place his feet in the footprints of his predecessor. 

 In this procession, numbering twelve in all, I took the lead, 

 while the gamekeeper brought up the rear. When we had walked 

 two hundred yards, I turned to the right, followed by five of 

 the men ; and at the point where I had turned to the right, the 

 seventh man turned to the left, followed by all the reaiainder. 

 The two parties thus formed, after having walked in opposite 

 directions for a considerable distance, concealed themselves, and 

 the bitch was put upon the common track of the whole party 

 before the point of divergence. Following this common track 

 with rapidity, she at first overshot the point of divergence ; but, 

 quickly recovering it, without any hesitation chose the track 

 which turned to the right. Yet in this case my footprints in 

 the common track were overlaid by eleven others, and in the 

 track to the right by five others. Moreover, as it was the 

 gamekeeper who brought up the rear, and as in the absence 

 of my trail she would always follow his, the fact of his scent 

 being, so to speak, uppermost in the series, was shown in no 

 way to disconcert the animal when following another familiar 

 scent lowermost in the series. 



5. — I requested the stranger before-mentioned to wear my 

 shooting-boots, and in them to walk the park to leeward of the 

 kennel. When the bitch was led to this trail she followed 

 it with the eagerness wherewith she always followed mine. 



6. — I wore this stranger's boots, and walked the park as he 

 had done. On being taken to this trail, the bitch could not be 

 induced to follow it. 



7. — The stranger walked the park in bare feet ; the bitch would 

 not follow the trail. 



8. — I walked the park in bare feet : the bitch followed my 

 trail; but in quite a different manner from that which she 

 displayed when foUowinc^ the trail of my sliooting-boots. She 

 was so much less eager, and therefore so much less rapid, that 



