Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/347

329 DOG 329 became the terror of deer-stealers, and for this purpose were kept by the earls of Buccleuch so late as the 18th century, and even at the present time their remarkable power of scent is occasionally employed with success in the detection of murder. The Cuban Bloodhound is of Spanish descent, and differs considerably in form from the English variety, having small, though pendulous ears, with the nose more pointed, and with a more ferocious appearance. Its employment in the capture of runaway slaves, and in the cruelties connected with the suppression of negro insurrec tions, has brought tho animal into the evil repute which more properly belongs to the inhuman masters, who thus prostituted the courage, sagacity, and pertinacity of this noble dog to such revolting purposes. . The Staghound has been generally regarded as the result of a cross between tho slow-paced old southern hound Fid. 5. Staghound. and the fleeter foxhound ; but it has been objected that the breed was known in England long before the foxhound was made use of, and indeed before there was an animal at all resembling the one which is now known by that term, and those who maintain this view regard the Staghound as a bloodhound crossed with some lighter dog, as a grey hound or a lurcher. However produced, it is a majestic FIG. 6. Foxhound. dog, of great strength and considerable swiftness, besides possessing in common with tha bloodhound, and with it alone, the property of unerringly tracing the scent it is first laid upon among a hundred others. In the reign of George III., who was himself ardently attached to the sport of stag-hunting, packs of these dogs were maintained in several parts of the country, but since the death of that monarch this form of hunting has declined, and the total extinction of these dogs at no distant date seems probable. The Foxhound is the hunting-dog upon which the breeder has bestowed the greatest pains, and, according to Bell (British Quadrupeds), his efforts have been rewarded &quot; by the attainment of the highest possible degree of excellence in the union of fine scent, fleetness, strength, perseverance, and temper.&quot; It stands usually from 20 to 22 inches high at the shoulders, and is of a white colour, marked with large clouds of black and tan. Its speed is such that a fox hound has been known to get over 4 miles in 7 minutes, while its endurance has been shown in such cases as the 10 hours continuous run performed by the duke of Richmond s hounds in 1738 before killing the fox, during which many of the sportsmen tired three horses, and several of the latter died during the chase. The Harrier is smaller Fid. 7. Harrier. than the foxhound, not exceeding 18 inches in height at the shoulders, and is exclusively used, as the name shows, in hunting the hare. Of late years it has been greatly im proved, so as to be almost literally a foxhound in rniriia- Fio. 8. Beagle. ture. According to Beckford, to whom much of tha improvement in the breed is owing, &quot; harriers, to be good, like all other hounds, must be kept to their own game. If you run fox with them you spoil them ; hounds cannot be VII. 4.2