Introduction 
7 
are ten breeders of beagles today where there might 
have been hut one a score of years ago. And while 
prices for dogs are in keeping with the general trend 
of the times, the demand seems to be met very well. 
No doubt the tremendous growth of beagle trials 
in practically every state in the Union is the most 
remarkable feature in connection with this breed. 
Begun as an experiment less than thirty years ago, 
their development and popularity spurted up with 
mushroom-like rapidity. Beagle trials, however, 
may be participated in at a much lower cost than 
bird dog trials; no doubt that, in a great measure, 
accounts for their rapid rise. The sport is not the 
pastime of the idle rich alone, but may be indulged 
in by all who are imbued with the spirit of sports¬ 
manship regardless of the size of their purses. 
Clean, wholesome sports are the heritage of the 
American nation and in this particular class of 
recreation its votaries may be great or small; they 
meet on the field of these competitive tests on equal 
terms. The workman, the artizan, the professor, 
the lawyer, the doctor, the financier, rub shoulder 
to shoulder and in beagle trials this spirit is exem¬ 
plified to a greater degree than anywhere else. The 
man of means may pay large sums to have his 
hounds trained, but the workman or the artizan, 
devoting but a few hours a day to his dogs, brings 
them to the trials as well prepared as the financier, 
and he has the same chance to win. Dogs, like 
men, meet on equal terms and that constitutes the 
esprit de corps of the entire system. 
The fancy or business of beagle breeding has 
become a fixed industry. Pedigrees are as carefully 
