Another variety is the Rough, or Wire-haired, Beagle. The absolute purity of his descent is doubtful, a cross more or less remote of the Terrier or the Otterhound being generally alleged. He is, however, a quaint, hard little hound found useful in a very rough country, and should in all respects be a copy of the ordinary Beagle, excepting for a stiff, dense, wiry coat. He is now seldom seen at shows or in the hare-hunting packs. A revival is urgently needed if the variety is to be rescued from oblivion, and it is well worth the attention of breeders.

The Kerry Beagle is in reality not a Beagle at all, usually a black-and-tan hound the size of a Foxhound, and with much of the appearance and many of the characteristics of the old Southern Hound. The breed is seldom seen in England, and only occasionally met with in Ireland. These hounds are reputed to be very musical and most persistent workers.

To start a pack of Beagles is an easy matter, but to form one typical Of the breed in appearance and manner of work, requires skill, knowledge, and time. Apparently a favourite method is to buy a hound here and another there; this usually results in an interesting collection of all the field faults to which Beagles are liable, and a process of weeding out has to be commenced during the very first season. The writer has known a pack formed in this way with some success; but the Master was a man of considerable resolution and long hunting experience. He knew exactly what he wanted, bought cheaply, and discarded at once every hound having bad faults in the field, however good-looking or suitable for show. Let the future Master (having made up his mind what it is he wants) attach himself to one of the leading packs of the height he has selected; let him mark a few bitches which take his fancy for both work and appearance, ascertain that the pedigree includes hounds of about the same size, and at the end of the season let him try and induce the Master, by the offer of a stiff price, if necessary, to let him have them with which to start his pack. He, of course, will not get them all, and is unlikely to get the best, but will probably be able to secure something worth having.

The next step will be to obtain a dog hound of different blood, and too much care cannot be taken about his selection, for he can make or mar your future pack. If your bitches are of a rather larger strain than you intend to keep, see that the dog comes from a smaller, and it is, as a rule, better policy to breed from the large ones of a small-strain litter than from the small ones of a large strain, although there are exceptions to this, as to most rules. Should you have the good fortune to be offered a dog hound absolutely typical of the breed, perfect in the field and a proved sire, do not grudge any necessary expense in order to secure him, for it will be money well spent; and when spring comes, set to work and breed your future pack, strong in the confidence which the possession of the best Beagle blood will give you. In the autumn the entering of the puppies of your own breeding will be a great and an additional pleasure.

Although far more satisfactory to use your own stud hound, "services" from well-known sires can often be obtained for a moderate fee or in exchange for a puppy, but great care must be exercised in the selection. The pedigree should in all cases be asked for and carefully examined, not as a mere string of names, but with regard to the peculiarities, strong points, or failures of immediate ancestors. If possible, you should be acquainted with his work in the field and observe what sort of stock he has already generated. To have been a "prize winner" speaks for his appearance, if you know the show to have been a good Beagle show with real, not sham, competition; but it tells you nothing of his constitution, his ancestors, or his work, all of which may, or rather will, affect his progeny. A weak sire with a tendency to a delicacy of heart, lungs, or eyes should be avoided. Let him be a strong, bold, firm, upstanding little hound full of typical points. There is no greater test of the beagler's proficiency than the power to breed really good hounds; yet every novice thinks it quite easy. His idea is, buy a real good bitch, pay a proper stud fee for the service of a prize dog, and there you are. Yes, and there you remain, in nine cases out of ten. When a little more advanced, he grasps the useful but elementary idea that if his bitch is deficient in some point, he should select a mate specially strong in that direction. The best of us have much to learn about the mystery of breeding; experience will prove that some strains invariably amalgamate well, and others, in every way suitable to the eye, almost invariably fail. Very second-class-looking bitches often breed the best puppies, and the best you have sometimes never produce a puppy at all equal to themselves. It may be taken, however, that the key to success in breeding is knowledge of the strains from which you are breeding.

Sometimes a whole pack may be purchased in one deal. This saves a lot of time, and, if you have seen them at work and know them to be a good average lot, some drafting and the careful introduction of a few new hounds quickly enable a reliable pack to take the field. But supposing, as sometimes happens, the would-be Master has not had an opportunity of becoming a capable judge of Beagles, and yet, being offered a country over which to hunt, is anxious to begin, then he will be wise to place himself entirely in the hands of some known authority and, telling him exactly how he is situated, be guided by his judgment. Masters of Beagles, if properly approached, are as a rule very ready to assist new-comers, and one of the greatest uses of the Beagle Club is to bring together beaglers experienced and otherwise.