Beagles and Beagling 
50 
name later) ever got to be twenty-six inches tall. 
Will you tell me something about the breed and the 
best kind to get for real rabbit work?” 
The experienced beaglers, those who have been 
breeding or hunting with the little hounds all their 
lives, are advised to pass this, and probably two 
or three other chapters by, for they are designed 
and written for just such young aspirants as the 
writer of the foregoing letter. In the first place, 
to those who would enjoy the best side of beagling 
and obtain to the fullest all the pleasure that is 
to be had out of owning and hunting these little 
hounds, I would say obtain all the knowledge about 
them that you can possibly absorb; written, verbal 
and otherwise. Subscribe to sportsmen’s journals 
catering to this class of out door pastime and buy 
some good books that will enlighten you on the 
standard and show illustrations of various types. 
Go to a few field trials ; it will be time well spent, 
not only in the knowledge that may be gained from 
watching the dogs work, but in the enjoyment that 
will be found in the recreation. "Listen in" when 
you hear the old-timers talk about the various 
strains, their characteristics and what their pedigrees 
represent. Make copious notes of what you see 
and hear. Then go home, read the reports of the 
trials that you saw and compare them with your 
notes. That is the way you may examine yourself 
in order to ascertain whether or not your own 
deductions are correct or false. Note carefully the 
strains of dogs that are winning. Note the sizes, 
whether they are fifteen inch beagles or under thir¬ 
teen inches and do not lose sight of the fact that 
