394 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[June 5, 1890. 



ENGLISH VS. AMERICAN BEAGLES. 



WHEN Gen. Rowett visited England to select beagles 

 there were no bench shows of importance held in 

 America, and consequently he selected the best that he con- 

 sidered adapted for the work of rabbit hunting in this 

 country. Until within the past twenty-four months little, 

 if any, interest has been taken in bench show beagles in the 

 mother country, but the demand from the United States 

 for good specimens has awakened interest in the breed, and 

 the beagle classes over there have filled up wonderfully. I 

 have not seen any recent importations of beagles. Judg- 

 ing from the portrait of the "only English champion of his 

 race" published in the Stock- 

 Keeper of Sept. 27, our English 

 cousins are breeding on different 

 lines from the ideal standard we 

 have set up. 



I quote what the Stock-Keeper 

 says of this world-beater: "Con- 

 sidering the marked revival of 

 the interest taken in this famous, 

 but of late years much neglected, 

 breed, as demonstrated by the 

 extraordinary classes at Brigh- 

 ton and Southampton, we may 

 say that in bringing before our 

 readers the portrait of the only 

 champion of his race we are sat- 

 isfying a public demand. With- 

 out going extensively into the 

 subject of the different strains 

 and their origin, which is one 

 of the most intricate tasks of 

 doggy lore, we limit ourselves 

 to-day to meutioning that, mak- 

 ing a broad distinction, there 

 are two kinds of beagles, viz., 

 the north country beagle, of 

 whom the 'County Squire,' in 

 his observations on hunting says: 

 'He is nimble and vigorous; he 

 pursues the hare with impetu- 

 osity, gives her no time to 

 double, and if the scent lies 

 high, will eaeily run down two 

 brace before dinner;' and the 

 southern beagle, a diminutive 

 type of the old southern hound, 

 and of this variety the subject 

 of our illustration is a splendid 

 specimen. These hounds are 

 slower, but very sure, and if 

 bred within a certain size— say 

 not exceeding 14in. — they are the 

 most suitable kind to be fol- 

 lowed on foot by people with 

 ordinary stamina. It is a char- 

 acteristic confirmation of our 

 remark respecting the neglect 

 which this breed has suffered at 

 the hands of several generations, 

 that so splendid a specimen, who 

 has not only been eminently suc- 

 cessful on the bench, but has 

 also amply proved his worth at 

 stud, should be entered in the K. 

 C.S.B., with pedigree, date of 

 birth and breeder unknown. 



Among his best known descendants are Mrs. Mayhew's Blue 

 Belle II., Mr. E. B. Joachim's Primrose Countess, both win- 

 ners of many first prizes at leading shows, and Mr. C. H. 

 Beck's Atalanta, second, Birmingham. "We understand 

 that several good ones of his stock are coming on. Since 

 Bingwood has come into the hands of his present owner he 

 seems to have taken out a fresh lease of life, and he. has 

 lately been shown in splendid form. We notice from our 

 advertisement columns that he 

 is still at the service of the 

 public. Bingwood is a first-class 

 worker, and on the bench the 

 following are his chief victories: 

 First prize at Warwick, Brus- 

 sels, Barn Elms, Birmingham 

 (twice), Brighton, Darlington, 

 and prize in the challenge class 

 at Olympia and Southampton." 



Now compare the two types 

 shown by the. illustrations ac- 

 companying this article. One is 

 a reproduction taken from the 

 English Stock-Keeper, and is a 

 portrait of champion Ringwood, 

 the other represents that typical 

 American-bred beagle champion 

 Little Duke. The American- 

 bred r eagle, it seems to me, is 

 about the nearest approach to a 

 miniatureEnglish foxhound that 

 has yet been reached. The Eng- 

 lish champion Ringwood, judg- 

 ing from the illustration, is 

 simply a caricature of a blood- 

 hound or a bad representation of 

 one of our own old-style South- 

 ern foxhounds. If this type is 

 correct then champion Banner- 

 man is the nearest approach to 

 it that has ever been brought to 

 this country. Bnt I want to say 

 right here that I do not think 

 the type is correct, and that if 

 champion Ringwood was shown 

 here a "c" would be about the 

 highest mention he would get. 



I do not believe that in a breed 

 which has been so much neglect- 

 ed in the country where it origin- 

 ated as the beagle, modern Eng- 

 lish fanciers are as capable of 

 sitting in judgment in regard 

 to the correct type as a native 

 born Englishman (a fancier of 

 cattle, foxhounds and beagles all 

 his life), who went over from 

 this country some fifteen years 

 ago purposely to select the best 

 of the breed he could find. Ac- 

 cording to one of the best English authorities, there are 

 at present but two practical working packs of beagles in 

 all England. Here we can number them by hundreds" 



Our English cousins take the bassets from France and 

 dachshunde from -Germany, fix a type and make so-called 

 improvements on the breed, why cannot we be permitted to 

 do the same? Instead of importing beagles from England, 

 we should send back some to improve the few remaining 

 specimens of the grand little hound now left there. There 

 is no game in England as suitable for the beagle as our so- 

 called rabbits. For this kind of sport the little hound is 

 exactly suited. The beagles which General Rowett brought 

 over are the foundation stones upon which our winning 

 strain are built. There has a cry gone up lately that 

 these beagles are gunshy. I have owned them for years and 

 H ever bred but very few that were afflicted that way, provid- 



ing they were placed under gunfire at an early age. It is all 

 nonsense to suppose that a beagle or any other hunting dog 

 can be kept as a house pet until two or three years old and 

 then put in the field with the expectation that he will stand 

 the noise of a gun and have a good nose for game. Few 

 setters or pointers are of any use for field purposes after they 

 reach two years of age untrained, and why should beagles 

 be an exceptio n ? Hibeknia. 



TREATMENT OF DOGS AND THEIR BAD HABITS 



IBy a Lady Contributor.] 



THERE is so much said and done in this nineteenth 

 century civilization to protect all animals from cruelty, 



CHAMPION RINGWOOD. 



that some persons may think it superfluous for me to enter 

 upon a discussion of it— it would be if I intended to preach 

 it in a broad sense. In this country it is comparatively 

 recently that dogs have had pedigrees, have, been fine bred, 

 and brought fancy prices — with this aristocratic lineage the 

 dogs' nerves and feelings become very sensitive, just as 

 high-bred horses or human beings do. He also becomes a 

 piece of valuable property to his owner, who, as in every- 



CHAMPIOJT LITTLE PUKE, 



thing else he owns, does not want it destroyed, which is 

 done if his character is ruined, or perverted by iil-usage. I 

 knew two valuable bird dogs that were bought from two 

 different kennels, both of which were well-known for their 

 fine stock; each of these young dogs went to their separate 

 masters, where they received the usual amount of attention, 

 and were making creditable progress in their education as 

 bird dogs, when one day Ginger slipped into the cellar and 

 carried off a raw beefsteak from the safe, the door of which 

 the cook had left open. The demon of the kitchen, seeing 

 Ginger running along with the meat in his mouth, she, 

 with the usual illogical reasoning of that class, did not 

 blame herself, but seized a stick and so beat poor Ginger 

 that he was hurt, and had to be nursed: after that he be- 

 came so nervous that he was useless as a bird dog. 

 The other one's fate was similar, he had become all that 



a young pointer should be, when, one luckless day, he got 

 into the kitchen where he excited the cook's displeasure, 

 and she threw scalding water on him. He fled from the 

 house, and could not be induced to return to it save in 

 cowering alarm; later he was sent to a trainer, who was 

 never able to overcome his extreme nervousness. Each dog 

 represented a large sum of money, and was a great loss to 

 his owner. 



If these servants had defaced a carpet by throwing ink 

 upon it in a bad temper, they probably would have been made 

 to pay for it; still, the carpet would have served the pur- 

 pose of covering the floor, is inanimate and insusceptible of 

 being hurt, but the poor dog was made suspicious, broken- 

 spirited and naturally vindictive 

 • by violent treatment. 



Ginger was given to a family 

 who petted him, but for years he 

 always remembered his experi- 

 ence with the cook, and until he 

 died always growled and barked 

 at all servants in white aprons. 

 Dogs know very quickly when 

 they are disliked. There is an 

 hotel that announces upon all 

 its advertisements "Dogs not 

 taken. " Theproprietor has some 

 reason for his aversion to them, 

 and has the hall boys drive any 

 stray ones from his doors. It is 

 amusing when sitting on the 

 piazza of that house to see the 

 dogs come along, they will cross 

 the street, run ou the other side, 

 and recross, so as not to pass 

 where they are not welcome. 



In these days, even without 

 the protection of a license, dogs 

 are beifig considered personal 

 property just as much as horses 

 and cows are — to have them con- 

 sidered such rests with the owner 

 —and he should enforce what- 

 ever laws there are in his neigh- 

 borhood. There is a certain vil- 

 lage not 100 miles from New 

 York, laid out without fences 

 between the houses and the road. 

 In the spring when flowers begin 

 to peer above the ground and the 

 beds are all nicely raked, dogs 

 run in and out, destroying the 

 appearance of things. Some per- 

 son took the law in their own 

 hands and various dogs were 

 poisoned. They are neither sheep 

 nor cows, only pets— as such it 

 was impolite for the neighbors 

 to make a fuss about it. It was 

 all wrong, but the wrong would 

 never have been righted if the 

 village had not become a rpsort 

 for city people, some of whom 

 brought valuable dogs; when 

 one or two of these were poison- 

 ed the matter was investigated. 

 Now all this lawlessness comes 

 under the head of cruelty to 

 animals, and any one who con- 

 dones it is only a little less 

 culpable than the perpetrator. 



I have been asked how to prevent certain bad habits. In 

 the beginning, if you are to buy a dog, it is necessary to see 

 where he comes from, and how he has been treated. It is 

 not pedigree alone that is necessary. A dog who has been 

 kept tied or closely confined in a small yard with others for 

 months is worth less than one who is not so fine bred, but 

 who has had a wider range. The worst habit a dog can 

 have is killing chickens, or kit- 

 tens, and if the habit is an old 

 one, cure is almost impossible. 

 It may be stopped for a while to 

 begin again. 



The farmer's plan of tying a 

 dead fowl around a dog's neck, 

 and making him wear it for 

 several days, has more disgust 

 in it than wisdom. If you whip 

 him he will kill it all the same 

 but not bring it and show it to 

 you. Usually it is not their own 

 poultry yard that is invaded, but 

 some other one; your own cats 

 are safe while the little pussies 

 in the barn are shook to death, 

 and your neighbor's fine Angora 

 comes to an untimely end. The 

 habit should never have been 

 begun. The very first time a cat 

 is ''treed" by a young dog, and 

 his sharp bark is heard under it, 

 he should be called off and repri- 

 manded, dragged away if he will 

 not come, and led along by the 

 collar. The same when going 

 through poultry when meeting 

 them on the road, make him 

 walk quietly past thenij saying 

 "no, no," if he shows an inclina- 

 tion to flutter them; along whip 

 or a stick may be taken, driving 

 him before you with it, touching 

 him on the sides so that he turns 

 neither right nor left, saying "go 

 on," until the barnyard and the 

 chickens are left behind. 



Trained bird dogs will not go 

 after chickens, also their train- 

 ing to let "fur" alone when in 

 the field assists in restraining 

 them from chasing cats. 



Running away is another bad 

 habit — difficult to overcome 

 when it is a habit. I do not 

 mean by running away alone for 

 a quiet walk, or to some near by 

 piece of water for a swim. I 

 allude to the practice of going 

 out for hours at night, or for a 

 whole day, returning tired and shabby-looking, or running 

 into the road and sneaking off at every possible chance. 

 Whipping never breaks this up. I have seen it tried again 

 and again on all sorts of dogs, have protested against it, 

 and when persisted in have heard the dog was incurable. 

 Why? because he is afraid to come home. They remember 

 the sting of the whip much longer than what it was for. 

 Bird dogs often go off hunting, usually with some com- 

 panion. We had one who was sometimes coaxed off with a 

 congenial spirit, usually disappearing early in the morning 

 when the scent lay on the damp grass; before 2 o'clock he 

 would be home, because he wanted his dinner. We used to 

 say he carried a watch, so punctual was he. He came in 

 looking ashamed, knowing it was wrong, but be got his 

 dinner, was reprimanded, and then tied up a while. 

 The other dpg got no dinner, bu t a punishment on his re- 



