Peterboro', or elsewhere. Such figures are not required by a hound judge, many of whom actually detest numerals when they are supposed to have any bearing upon that animal which they deem to be excellence itself, and far removed from any other variety of the dog known to the civilised world. The points are merely inserted here to give uniformity to the volume, and not that the author believes points" are of use in judging a hound-or any other dog.

CHAPTER III.

THE STAGHOUND.

As this hound is neither more nor less than a foxhound under another name and used for a different purpose I would rather he followed the latter than preceded him, though older associations and modern customs might entitle the staghound, or buckhound, to the premier position.

He has been used, or at any rate a somewhat similar animal to him has long been used, for staghunting, and we are told by historians, that, in the times of the Normans, villages were depopulated, and places for divine worship overthrown, in order that the nobles might have their parks in which to keep their deer. Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, was one of these, and according to Stowe, the first of its kind in England. So great a hold had hunting on those whose position allowed them to enjoy the pastime, that Edward III., when at war with France, took with his army a pack of sixty couple of staghounds; and in the reign of Elizabeth a pack was

kept at Simonsbath, Somersetshire, which hunted the red deer on the moor by the Exe, just as it is hunted to-day. But it is not my province here to enter into the history of each variety of dog in its place, and, so far as the staghound is concerned, I must be contented with thus briefly drawing attention to his ancient lineage.

Although some hundred years or so ago, there was every appearance of a speedy decline of stag hunting, owing to enclosures, high fencing, and similar sport to be obtained by other means, the retrograde movement was retarded. At the present time there are twelve packs of staghounds in England and four in Ireland, and with them many good runs are enjoyed, for the most part with the carted deer. Sport with the latter is pretty certain, as when one deer will not run as he or she ought to do, another is speedily provided, which it is hoped will take a straighter line, affording the hounds an opportunity for hunting; and, what in modern times is unfortunately considered of more importance, give horses a chance to gallop and exhibit their jumping powers at the fences, or their amiability in the lanes or on the roads.

As a loyal subject, I ought to make some mention here of Her Majesty's Staghounds or Buckhounds, kept by the State, which, kennelled at Ascot, hunt the country round about, where the overworked city

man seeks to regain his failing health by a gallop over a highly cultivated country. The royal pack, of forty couple, as at present constituted, may be said to date back to 1812, when the Prince Regent purchased the Goodwood foxhounds, as they were faster than the old-fashioned Southern hounds or talbots, the original constitution of the pack.

The older and slower hounds could with difficulty get away from the hard-riding cockney, who even at that time would be in amongst them with his hack, rather than in his proper position in their rear. The present hounds are well matched and most uniform, the dogs standing about 24 inches, and the "ladies" 22 inches at the shoulder.

This may be taken as about the standard height of the staghound, though the Devon and Somerset, which hunt the wild deer on Exmoor and on the Quantock Hills, are much larger. The rough country of coombes and thick gorse necessitates as big a hound as can be obtained, so 25 to 26 inches is the standard, Mr. C. H. Bassett, the present Master, seeks to acquire, and he uses entirely dog hounds, drafts from various foxhound kennels. Not more than one bitch has been in this pack for a dozen years or so, and no puppies are bred by the hunt.

There is no doubt that the chase of the wild red

deer is most glorious sport, and the genuine lover of hunting, one who likes to see hounds work, and the cleverness of the horse, cannot do better than run down to Dulverton in the season, and see how the Devon and Somerset hounds can go. Long stern chases are common with them, and the forty minutes bursts in the Midlands after the fox, give place to three hours here behind a more noble quarry.

The pack consists of about thirty-four couples of hounds, a certain number of which are tufters. These are mostly old hounds, whose duty it is to find the deer, work out his line, and get him separated from the remainder of the herd; the full pack is then laid on, and so the hunt goes. The number of

these tufters taken out depends mostly on the size and nature of the covert to be drawn, four couple of them being the usual complement. They are selected from the pack on duty for the day, because of their staunchness and eagerness in drawing, but especially for their voices or aptitude for giving tongue. A mute tufter is of course worse than useless, and, as a fact, "stag hounds" have a great tendency to run mute.

In autumn, say from the 12th of August to through October, the stag is hunted, and at the end of the latter month, hind hunting commences and