THE FOXHOUND . 
221 
There are various breeds of Dogs which are remarkable for the very great development of 
some peculiar faculty, such as speed in the greyhound, courage in the bull-dog, delicacy of 
scent in the bloodhound, sagacity in the poodle, and so on. So that, when a breed of Dogs 
begins to fail in any of these characteristics, the fault is amended by the introduction of a 
Dog belonging to the breed which exhibits the needful quality in greatest perfection. It is 
remarkable that the mental character is transmitted through a longer series of descendants 
than the outward form. Even in the case of such widely different Dogs as the bull-dog and 
the greyhound, all vestige of the bull-dog form is lost in the fourth cross, while the deter- 
minate courage of the animal is persistent, and serves to invigorate the character of unnum- 
bered successive progeny. 
By using these means with the greatest care and judgment, the modern sportsmen have 
succeeded in obtaining an animal which is so accurate of scent, that it might almost challenge 
the bloodhound himself in its power of discovering it, and of adhering to it when found ; so 
determined in character, that it has many a time been known to persevere in its chase 
until it has fallen dead on the track ; and so swift of foot that few horses can keep pace with 
it in the hunting-field, if the scent be good and ground easy. It is averred by competent 
authority, that no man can undertake to remain in the same field with the hounds while they 
are running. 
The speed which can be attained by Foxhounds may be estimated from the well-known 
match which took place upon the Beacon course at Newmarket. The length of the course is 
4 miles 1 furlong and 132 yards, and this distance was run by the winning Dog, “Blue-cap,” 
in eight minutes and a few seconds. The famous racehorse, “Flying Childers,” in running 
over the same ground, was little more than half a minute ahead of the hounds. Now, if we 
compare the dimensions of the horse and the hound, we shall form a tolerably accurate con- 
ception of the extraordinary swiftness to which the latter animal can attain. In that match, 
no less than sixty horses started together with the competitors, but of the sixty only twelve 
were with the Dogs at the end of this short run. 
It must be remembered that, in addition to the severe and unceasing labor of the chase, 
in which the Dogs are always busily at work, either in searching for a lost scent, or following 
it up when found, the hounds are forced to undergo no small exertion in walking from their 
kennel to the “meet,” which is frequently at some distance from their home; and then in 
walking back again when the chase is over. 
That the animal should be enabled to perform these severe tasks, which often occur 
several times weekly, it is necessary that it should not be too large, lest it should fatigue 
itself with its own bulk, and go through considerable needless exertion in forcing its way 
through thickets where a lesser Dog would pass without difficulty ; and it is equally necessary 
that it should not be too small, lest it should be unequal to the various impediments which 
cross its path, and by reason of its shorter limbs be unable to keep up properly with the rest 
of the pack. 
According to the latest authorities, the best average height for Foxhounds is from twenty- 
one to twenty -five inches, the female being generally smaller than the male. However, the 
size of the Dog does not matter so much ; but it is expected to match the rest of the pack in 
height as well as in general appearance. 
It has been well remarked, by a writer to whom allusion has already been made, that a 
hound ought not to be looked upon as an individual, but as a component part of a pack, and, 
therefore, that a Dog which will be almost invaluable in one pack will be quite inadmissible 
into another. It is a great fault. in a Dog to be slower than its companions, but it is a fault of 
hardly less magnitude to be too fast for them, and to run away at such a pace that it seems to 
be getting all the hunting to itself. To use an expressive, but conventional term, “ suitiness ” 
is one of the principal points in a pack of hounds, which ought to appear as if they all 
belonged to one family. 
In its natural state, the head of the Foxhound has a different aspect from that which is 
presented by the trained dog. This change of appearance is caused by the custom of crop- 
ping, or rather of trimming, the ears, so as to dock them of their full proportions, and to 
