With a sport-loving nation such as ours it is not surprising to find dogs used extensively in all branches of field sport, although since driving, with a desire for heavy bags, became general, we find much less shooting over dogs than was general twenty or thirty years ago. It is only natural, I suppose, that there should be a certain amount of antagonism between the showman and the sportsman, in spite of the fact that many of the former are to be found in the ranks of the latter. In some varieties, no doubt, the tendency of shows has been to bring about an exaggeration of certain points that is not desirable or needed in the working dog, and discussions are frequently arising in the press of a more or less animated, if not acrimonious nature. In defence of showing it may be claimed at any rate that some varieties would in all probability have become extinct if it were not for the stimulus supplied by competition. This remark would have been unnecessary if as much devotion to breeding on correct lines had been brought to bear upon all sporting breeds as has been shown in the case of the foxhound, a hound that has been propagated with the greatest care and intelligence for well over a century, with the result that we have about as perfect and breedy looking an animal as can be wished. You have but to look at a foxhound to know that he has been bred with scrupulous care for many generations, while, on the other hand, many so-called working dogs of other breeds show signs of deterioration and degeneracy. It is a common thing to hear men say they are going to judge a certain breed upon "hound lines," apparently oblivious of the distinguishing characteristics of the variety. It is quite true that there are points common to all kinds of hounds, if we would have them at their best: legs and feet, shoulders and quarters must be beyond reproach if a hound is to stand a hard day's work, but surely one cannot reasonably contend that a foxhound or beagle, or a bloodhound or harrier can be judged in the same manner. Anyhow, the man who tries to do so will come a howler. You might as well try to judge a hackney as if he were a thoroughbred, or a shorthorn as a Jersey.

Pride of place in any chapter devoted to workers must of necessity be given to the foxhound, who deserves all the flattering things that have been said about him. The glories of the chase have been sung times without number, not by our most renowned bards perhaps, for it is not easy to imagine a hunting Wordsworth or Milton, although there is every reason to believe that Shakespeare was a true sportsman, understanding well the noble art of venerie. Many writers of lesser degree, however, have succeeded in giving us verse that is more than passably good, and no sporting library can be deemed complete that has not upon its shelves Somerville's The Chase and Field Sports. The former, written in blank verse in the early eighteenth century, contains many shrewd reflections on hounds and hound management, considered sound enough for frequent quotation by Peter Beckford in his classic Thoughts on Hunting. Beckford himself writes with an amount of literary distinction that is a constant delight. Whyte-Melville, too, has left us some poems that ring true. Who can read "The Place where the old Horse died "without a gulp in the throat? And in "The King of the Pack" he has given us a vivid picture of what a good hound should be like.

So much has been written upon the sport of kings that it would be mere redundancy for me to say more here, but perhaps a few words upon the economic aspect may not be out of place. The upkeep of a pack is a costly affair when we take into consideration the staff of hunt servants, the large stud of horses necessary, the provision of compensation to farmers, stopping earths, etc., in addition to the actual maintenance of the hounds themselves. You will read of Masters being guaranteed a minimum of £2000 a year, and it is doubtful if this would meet all the outlay. "Nimrod," in The Chace, which first appeared in 1832, quotes a contemporary writer as estimating the annual cost of a pack at £2235, and he declares that in the best establishments at that period very little was left out of £4000 per year. Then we have to remember the expenses of the followers of the hunt, computing the cost of a stud of hunters and the money spent on railway fares, hotel bills, hunting boxes, etc., and we can arrive at a pretty considerable sum being paid each year by the votaries of the sport. In the United Kingdom there are no less than 200 odd packs of foxhounds and 20 packs of stag-hounds.

The original outlay on a pack is also a decent sum. Mr. Foljambe's pack was sold by public auction for £3600 in 1845, and Lord Middleton paid as much as 2000 guineas for ten couples. One could go on enumerating the large sums handed over at different periods of the last century for good-looking hounds of fashionable blood did it serve any useful purpose, but enough has been said to show that a Master needs a long purse or a big subscription if he is to show good sport.

Next to fox hunting comes the chase of the hare, which may be indulged in on a much humbler scale. The majority of harrier packs of the present day are composed of under-sized foxhounds, but we have still some showing traces of the old slowhunting, tender-nosed Southern hound, and there is at Bexhill a pack of black-and-tan hounds. Beckford, who had no great liking for hare hunting, used a cross of the large slow-hunting harrier and what he called the little fox beagle, the latter imparting the desired dash and spirit. Most enthusiasts, however, aver that to get the most enjoyment out of the sport you must hunt on foot, for which purpose, of course, you must have recourse to the beagle, those between 12 inches and 15 1/2 inches being most favoured. The man who cannot afford to ride to hounds and yet loves hound work naturally turns to beagling, and he will be rewarded by many a good day. A still smaller variety, but none the less a true beagle, is the under 10 inches or "pocket" beagle. You may use a pack for rabbit hunting, for hunting a drag, or for driving rabbits to the gun, and to whichever work you put them you may rely upon being more than satisfied.