It is well known that the formation of a fair pack of Foxhounds is the work of very many years, even with the great number of drafts to choose from. With Bassets, the number a buyer can select from is very limited - they vary greatly in size and build, and, of course, in speed; yet some people, having got together half a dozen hounds of all sizes and shapes, never hunted before, and probably bred from parents which for generations have not done a day's hunting, are disgusted because they do not show good sport. Surely this is unreasonable. A certain amount of time and patience are required before a pack can be formed of, say, eight couple, well matched in speed, and hunting nicely together; but with such a pack splendid results are obtained, and I have heard old Beagle men most enthusiastic in their praise. On a smaller scale very good amusement and exercise may be obtained with two couple or so, run on a plain rabbit-skin drag, or even merely letting them track their kennelman across country.

Let me advise any one trying Bassets for hunting not to attempt to teach them with the whip and harsh words, as they are very sensitive, and easily frightened, and in some cases never forget a thrashing. Headstrong they certainly are, and fond of their own way - but this failing must be put up with ; to those who know the breed they are not hard to manage, with a little tact.

I consider that, in making use of Bassets to run as Beagles, we are taking them rather out of their element, and, consequently, it will take time before they can be expected to be perfect at this work. For shooting where the coverts are too dense for beaters, Bassets in France take the place of our Spaniels, driving everything before them, and making such a noise that neither boar nor rabbit is likely to remain in cover. This was, I think, their original use in France; but in this country game is generally too plentiful and highly preserved for them to be much used.

I hope that, in breeding Bassets for hunting purposes, owners will not neglect the heavy and somewhat ungainly appearance that they should have, and gradually get them higher on the leg and lighter in bone and body; by so doing they may increase the speed, but they will lose the endurance, and they will in time be nothing better than deformed Beagles. I have already noticed a tendency in this direction in packs. If Bassets are not fast enough for a man, let him by all means keep Beagles instead. You cannot expect a Clydesdale to go as fast as a thoroughbred, nor would you think of breeding them to do so. Keep each to his real work: both are good, but their style may suit different tastes."

Lieutenant Munro was also the Master of a pack, which he regularly hunted, about the same period; but from a note of that gentleman, quoted by Mr. Millais, he appears rather to have used them to beat rabbits to the gun than as hare-hounds. Lieutenant Munro says: "Two years ago I had a very good pack of eight couple working hounds, all good hunting, and staunch. If one of my hounds gave tongue, I was certain that there was a rabbit. I used to shoot over my Bassets, and have often killed fifty couple rabbits a day over them. I believe, when bred carefully for this object, they are the best sort of dogs for rabbiting."

Speaking of the same hounds, Mr. Northcote, another well-known admirer of Bassets, says: "He [Mr. Munro] used them for rabbiting. I was delighted with them. Their lovely music, like a Foxhound; first-rate nose; and, after finding, keeping together in a pack after one rabbit, however many there were about - to me was enchanting, adding considerably to the sport."

Mr. T. Pick, who had the care and management of the Earl of Onslow's Bassets, and who continued to breed these hounds, writing at the time when the Earl of Onslow had just given up the breed, and made a present of most of his dogs to Mr. Pick, said: -

"They are the most intelligent dogs in the world. They are very keen hunters, and I have hunted a hare with them, with two inches of snow on the ground, for over two miles. I have also hunted a hare with them for a mile, over a dust-blown field, with a warm sun and a dry east wind, at four o'clock in the afternoon. Once, when out with a pup a few days under four months old, named Proctor, a rabbit crossed the gravel path, and when the pup came on the scent he immediately gave tongue, and followed up the scent for about 400 yards, when the rabbit got into his hole. That pup had never seen a rabbit, or any other game, in his life before. I once left a pup named Hector (now belonging to Mr. Ramsay, of Bray) hunting a hare or something, and, as I was in a hurry, I did not wait for him, but went on to Gomshall, a distance of four miles from home, thinking the pup would go home when he had lost me. But when I had just got to Gomshall, which was about one hour after, I heard him following full-cry; so, after he had missed me, he got on my scent, and hunted me down, though I had crossed over ploughed fields, through very large woods, and through lanes, and on a track that I had never been before. The pup was only eight months old at the time. The same pup was out with Lord Burleigh's hounds on January 1st, 1881, when only seven months old, and I had the chance of putting him on the scent of a fox, to see if he would hunt him; and he went off full-cry at once, although he had never seen a fox in his life. I have hunted deer with them ; but the proper game for them is the hare. They seem to hunt more offhand than the Foxhound and Harrier, and they give more music, and are keener than any English hound; and although they have short legs, they get over the ground very fast - they take the scent so very easily, and don't seem to lose time in putting their heads up and down. I was once out with twelve of these hounds in a strange country to them, and they were hunting a rabbit or something ; but as I had no whipper-in, and as it was late in the afternoon, I wanted to get home, so I ran away from them, thinking that when they could not see me, and found that I had gone, they would leave off hunting rabbits. I ran about a mile across fields, towards home, and after the hounds had their hunt out, and could not find me, being in a part of the country they did not know, they immediately got on my track full cry. When I found what they were doing, I ran as fast as possible to have a good start, but they soon ran me down."