does not matter how often the runner is changed. He should caress and make much of the pups and then let them see him start, but get out of their sight as quickly as possible and run in a straight line, say two hundred yards up wind on grass-land, and then hide. himself. The man who hunts the pups should know the exact line taken, and take the pups over it, trying to encourage them to hunt until they get to their man, who should reward them with a bit of meat. This may have to be repeated several times before they really get their heads down; but when they have once begun to hunt they improve rapidly and take great delight in the quest. Everything should be made as easy as possible at first and the difficulties increased very gradually. This may be done by having the line crossed by others, by increasing the time before the pups are laid on, or by crossing roads, &c. When the pups get old enough they should be taught to jump boldly and to swim brooks where necessary. When young hounds have begun to run fairly well it will be found very useful to let the runner carry a bundle of sticks two feet or two feet six inches long, pointed at one end and with a piece of white paper in a cleft at the other end. When he makes a turn or crosses a fence he should put one of these sticks down and incline it in the direction he is going to take next. This will give the person hunting the hounds some idea of the correctness of their work, though the best hounds do not always run the nearest to the line. On a good scenting day I have seen hounds running hard fifty yards or more to leeward of the line taken. These sticks should be taken up when done with, or they may be found misleading on some other occasion. The hounds will soon learn to cast themselves or try back if they overrun the line, and should never receive any assistance so long as they continue working on their own account. It is most important that they should become self-reliant. The line should be varied as much as possible. It is not well to run hounds over exactly the same course they have been hunted on some previous occasion. If some hounds are much slower than the rest it is best to hunt them by themselves, or they may get to score to cry," as

the old writers say, instead of patiently working out the line for themselves.

It is a great advantage to get hounds accustomed to strange sights and noises. If a hound is intended to be brought to a pitch of excellence that shall enable him to be used in thoroughfares, he should be brought up in a town and see as much bustle as possible. If he is only intended to be used in open country, with occasional bits of road work, this is not necessary. Bloodhounds give tongue freely when hunting any wild animal, but many hounds run perfectly mute when hunting man. This is, however, very much a matter of breeding. Some strains run man without giving tongue at all; others are very musical.

The points of the bloodhound are numerically as follows:

1. The head (value 20) is the peculiar feature of this breed; and thus it is estimated at a very high rate. In the male it is large in all its dimensions but width, in which there is a remarkable deficiency. The upper surface is domed, ending in a blunt point at the occiput; but the brain case is not developed to the same extent as the jaws, which are very long

and wide at the nostrils, hollow and very lean in the cheeks and notably under the eyes. The brows are moderately prominent, and the general expression of the whole head is grand and majestic. The skin covering the forehead and cheeks is wrinkled in a remarkable manner, wholly unlike any other dog. These points are not nearly so fully developed in the bitch; but still they are to be demanded in the same proportionate degree.

2. Ears and eyes (value 15).—The ears are long enough to overlap one another considerably when drawn together in front of the nose; the "leather" should be very thin, and should hang very forward and close to the cheeks; never showing the slightest tendency to "prick," they should be covered with very short, soft, and silky hair. The eyes are generally hazel, not small, though seeming so because deeply sunk, showing the third eyelid or "haw," which ought to be of a deep red colour. This redness of the haw is, as a rule, an indication of bloodhound cross wherever it is observed in other breeds, whether in the mastiff, Gordon setter, or St. Bernard, though occasionally it is met with in varieties in which no trace of the bloodhound can be traced.

3. The flews (value 5) are remarkably long and pendant, sometimes falling fully two inches below the angle of the mouth.

4. The neck (value 5) is long, so as to enable this hound to drop his nose to the ground without altering his pace. In front of the throat there is a considerable dewlap.

5. Chest and shoulders (value 10).-The chest wide and deep, forming a sort of keel between the fore legs; shoulders sloping and muscular.

6. The back and back ribs (value 10) should be wide and deep, the size of the dog necessitating great power in this department. The hips, or couples," should be specially attended to, and they should be wide, or almost ragged.

7. Legs and feet (value 15).-Many bloodhounds are deficient in these important parts, owing to breeding from bad-constitutioned and sickly hounds, and, no doubt, from lack of exercise. The legs must be straight and muscular, and the ankles of full size. The feet also are often flat, but they should be, if possible, round and catlike.

8. Colour and coat (value 71).—The colour most general is black and tan, the legs, feet, and all or part of the face being a tan colour, and the back and sides and the upper part of neck and stern black. There is sometimes a white star on the chest, and a little white on the feet is admissible. Some fifteen years since it was not at all uncommon to see white flecks on the black and a white tip to

stern. The former peculiarity seems unfortunately to be quite lost, but the white tip to stern is still sometimes met with. A brown red with tan markings is common now, much more so than it was once. The most beautiful colour of all is a tawny shade more or less mixed with black on the back. This is, however, rare.

9. The stern (value 5) carried less gaily than in most hounds; it should not be raised beyond a right angle with the back, and usually when the hound is not working, it is carried rather low in a somewhat slovenly fashion. The lower side is fringed with hair about two inches long, ending in a point.

10. The symmetry (value 71) of the bloodhound as regarded from an artistic point of view should be examined carefully, and valued in proportion to the degree in which it is developed.

The average height of a bloodhound is about 26 inches at the shoulders for a dog, and from one to two inches less for a bitch, and 85lb. to 90lb. is a fair weight for a well grown specimen in good condition, though some few hounds have been bigger. Mr. Brough's Bono, one of the best all round hounds I ever saw, is 881b.; he stands 253 inches at the shoulders, and girths round the chest 321 inches. Bono on several occasions, after winning premier honours in his own division, has been