and Mr. E. Buckley, at Newtown, Montgomeryshire, both appreciate this variety, and to these two gentlemen I am very much indebted for being able to produce the illustration which precedes this chapter. Here are two types of the Welsh hound, the one the Hon. H. C. Wynn's bitch Lively, an unmistakable harrier; the other Mr. Buckley's Landmark, quite the foxhound in character. The latter is undoubtedly one of the finest hounds I ever saw, straight in front, with beautiful shoulders, lovely neck, perfect feet, and as sound now as when in his prime, although he must be six years old, and has done a big share of hard work during his time. With loins and hind quarters equally perfect, he is as level and as symmetrically made as any dog I ever saw. In colour he is red-grizzle and white, and his coat is hard, crisp, and as thoroughly water and weather resisting as that found on any hound; his height is 24 inches at the shoulder, and he scales 84lb. when in nice working condition. It will be seen that his ears are rounded. He, with a similar hound, came from Mr. Reginald Herbert, master of the Monmouthshire; they had no pedigree, but were said to be pure Welsh foxhounds-a description which is, doubtless, thoroughly correct. Lively is much the same colour as Landmark, but perhaps the grizzle red is rather more tawny than that of the

dog; she measures 20 inches in height at the shoulders, is 54lb. in weight, and is likewise an old hound without pedigree. Mr. Wynn bought her with a similar hound in Ireland, whither she had been sent from Glamorganshire; her kennel companion was killed in the kennels at Rûg. Lively is an excellent hound in work, and as a brood bitch has proved most successful. Unfortunately, she has always been mated with a smooth-coated English harrier, the puppies being very often all wire coated, some of them possessing more coat than their dam, who is a pretty bitch, with considerable character about her.

These hounds are excellent types of their family, and Mr. Wardle's drawing conveys better than words can, what an old-fashioned, wire-haired, Welsh hound is like. Mr. Buckley says he finds his couple or so "useful for otter hunting, as they take the water well, and do not seem to feel the cold so much as otter hounds, because their coats dry sooner than the longer ones of the latter when coming out of the water. They show extreme delicacy of nose in picking up and working out a cold drag; but their voices are very poor and their note quite commonplace as compared with the melodious otter hound."

The Hon. H. C. Wynn speaks in similarly eulogistic terms of the Welsh breed, and of his good bitch Lively in particular. She has produced him

the very best hounds he has in his pack-a workmanlike lot, who can hunt hare and fox and otter, as occasion requires, and do this three or four days a week and turn out fresh and frisky at the end. One of the stud hounds in the pack is Curfew, a son of Lively's, who, although sired by an English hound, has as much, or more, coat than his dam. He is a fine fellow, about 21 inches in height, and can drive hare or otter as well as any hound. Of the Welsh hounds, Mr. Wynn says "they excel in working without assistance, and are seldom at a loss, even when the huntsman is not with them, when they overrun the line. When such is the case, they will spread out like a fan, individually try here, there, and everywhere, with the inevitable result that some hound or another hits the missing line, speaks to it, and other hounds, galloping up, do likewise. Then they are away as brisk as ever; there is no sitting down and waiting about for assistance." of fairness, I must state that all owners of Welsh hounds do not speak in a similar strain. A well known master, who owns a few couples, says that where "there is one good hound there are fifty bad ones-noisy, riotous, ugly, ill-conditioned brutes," and this he ascribes to in-breeding. Most of the finest hounds have, he says, degenerated in the matter of bone and substance, and after three seasons' work

As a matter

they are inclined to hang on the line of a fox and become noisy. The latter fault he finds not only with the pure Welsh hound, but with the foxhound cross.

Some time ago a hunting correspondent in the Field took exception to some Welsh or half bred Welsh hounds he saw, accusing them of "babbling" and other heinous offences. They were not, however, long without having their cause thoroughly championed by those who knew a great deal more about hounds than did the fault finding writer in the first instance. I do not think I can do better than reproduce the letters of, at any rate, the two writers who first came to the rescue of the strangely vilified hounds.

"Linehunter" wrote: "I venture to think that your correspondent is not in possession of sufficient data regarding the Welsh foxhound to warrant the conclusion he appears, judging from his letter, to have arrived at. He speaks of the Welsh hound as being so shy' as to require to be coaxed over a road if horses are standing in it.' He also describes him as being so free with his tongue as to throw it continually when casting for the line.' Further he asserts that he will not 'stand the whip.'

With regard to shyness, it is quite possible to find some trencher-fed packs, many of whose members would trot off home if they had a severe

cut with a thong, the reason really being that such packs have next to no kennel discipline; and, when collected together for a day's sport, extremely resent chastisement for hare or rabbit hunting, and accordingly go home to Molly the milkmaid, or whoever has been the best friend of their infancy, for comfort to their wounded feelings. I have occasionally seen a hound go home in this way, but very seldom. In all my experience of Welsh and Welsh crossed hounds, I have never seen such an occurrence as coaxing hounds across a road' because they were in abject fear of horses standing in it. Occasionally a puppy or two may not relish a crowd of horses, but, given a decent scent,' as the venerable master of the Llangibby observed to me, 'they would go through a regiment of soldiers.'

"Such shyness as I have noticed in Welsh or crossed Welsh hounds has been due rather to defect of discipline than to defect of character. If a hound be kept at a farm and only brought to kennel for hunting he will not stand the amount of whip and rating that a kennelled hound will readily endure. The master of the Llangibby, Mr. John Lawrence, whose unrivalled experience of Welsh hounds entitles his opinion to the greatest consideration, assures me that he considers the charge of shyness as against the Welsh hounds devoid of all foundation.