From the humane point of view this is a distinct merit, for the Dachshund is powerfully mawed, and makes no great fuss of cleanly killing a wounded hare and bringing it to bag. Of course we could find very little occasion for employing this breed for similar purposes in this country; but in connection with that form of sport known as hedge-popping, Dachshunds would serve wonderfully well if properly trained to the work, and would probably furnish better sport than many of the Terriers and Spaniels usually brought into this style of work, frequently to their detriment for that of a more legitimate description.

Naturally chief interest in the Dachshund and its work must centre upon what dogs of the breed can do in connection with the badger. To rightly appreciate the working of any dog on badgers, it must be borne in mind that it must be specially entered for tackling or driving out these vermin. None of our British breeds is in itself specially constituted for this work; but individual members, possessing the natural ability and disposition, figure prominently for the purpose. In just the same way, many Dachshunds are specially entered and worked upon badgers. These animals are very plentiful in many districts of Germany, but are wonderfully so upon some of the Hungarian slopes of the Carpathian Mountains. Properly trained Dachshunds are employed to hunt them to their lairs, as well as to go to earth, and either hold them in their burrows or drive them from them, when they are taken alive or shot, as the case may be.

Without going into details of the badger's merits or failings as an object of sport, or enlarging upon the details of the subject, it must, however, be pointed out that the habits of the brock are mainly nocturnal; consequently the services of Dachshunds in this respect must be attuned to the nature of the work required. The badger, seemingly a clumsy animal, can, however, go at a comparatively speaking great rate; it follows, therefore, that any dog capable of dealing with it in the open must not only possess a certain turn of speed, but be able to cope with the varmint if it comes up with it, or if the latter should turn upon its pursuer. These conditions the Dachshund is freely capable of fulfilling, and to far better advantage than the more speedy Terriers, whilst being at the same time better provided for tackling them, if it come to such necessity.

In those particular parts of the Carpathians to which reference has been made, the lower fringe of forest-land abuts right on to the higher slopes of cultivated land, where maize is largely grown. The badgers, which are remarkably numerous in these woods, are also bad enemies of the growing maize-crop, and will commit very serious depredations amongst it just before the time of harvest. The badgers will find their way down from their haunts at dusk, and, getting amongst the maize, pursue quite a devastating course. The expanses of growing corn are at times very considerable, and to deal successfully with the vermin - for such they are - many Dachshunds are employed. The routine is to put the dogs in upon them, and the men with the guns - proprietors, foresters, or watchers, as the case may be - take up positions between the growing crops and the woodland; and as the dogs drive the badgers out, and the latter seek to reach their proper haunts, some are shot, and some are collared and killed by the Dachshunds.

It is found that no variety of dog is nearly so successful in this work as the Dachshund. His manner of working upon the badgers - chiefly by scent and sound - amongst the strong stalks of the maize is exactly that which seems most effective in getting them out and bringing them into the open ground, where they can be satisfactorily dealt with. There is a considerable element of sport and excitement about the whole business; and although it is not unusual for an occasional dog to get severely mauled, still, as a general rule the dogs have the best of it, and the procedure indicated is found to be the most effective to employ in dealing with the circumstances described. It is obvious that the counterpart of this form of work for the Dachshund exists to only very small extent in Great Britain; but there are certain districts where badgers are still fairly plentiful, and where a certain recognised form of sport is obtained in hunting them upon similar lines at night-time. As a rule, however, the badgers are either taken alive, or simply hunted back to their earths.

I believe I am correct in stating that a few years back a small pack of Dachshunds were successfully worked in connection with badger-hunting of this description; and it is perfectly certain that some of the small hounds, properly entered and trained to this work, would show more extended and better sport than would Terriers employed for the same purpose. At the same time, if required to go to ground, the Dachshund is far superior for the work to Terriers of either large or small breed : the former are too heavy and upstanding for work on badgers below ground, and the smaller ones, be the individual members never so plucky or hard, not by nature suited for dealing with such a foe. The badger is in many ways a naturally inoffensive creature, and from the humane standpoint, if it be necessary to draw or kill it, it is surely preferable to adopt the speediest and least cruel manner of so doing.

Those who know the Dachshund best would never seek to place its work upon rabbits in front of that of either Terriers or Spaniels, except as a mere set-off against or as a comparison with the work of these breeds. It is true enough that under certain conditions the Dachshund would prove superior; but these conditions are exceptional, and the colour of the breed is against it when working upon fur in close cover.

As furnishing an insight to the extreme possibilities of these little dogs, it may be mentioned that a well-known sportsman of my acquaintance, very keen on deer and ibex shooting in high grounds, has a couple of Dachshunds that he employs upon his stalks for tracking wounded quarry. He has found them to work with the greatest sureness upon comparatively cold scent, and save him many a head which otherwise might never have been brought to bag.

In conclusion, it may be remarked that the proper entering and training of Dachshunds to any of the work of which they are capable is a quite easy proceeding. They are extremely intelligent, and probably the least nervous, as a breed, of any dogs employed for similar purposes. The main point is to observe that they are not Terriers ; that the course of entering them to any quarry must be upon nearly the same lines as are adapted to the entering of Beagles or other small hounds ; that it is only sure and steady, but not necessarily slow, work of which they are capable. With these reservations, there is no reason why great numbers of the Dachshunds now existing in this country should not become as useful members of our kennels as are their congeners in Continental countries.