Four superlative Bloodhounds of the past stand out in unmistakable eminence as the founders of recognised strains.  They are Mr. Jenning’s Old Druid, Colonel Cowen’s Druid, Mr. Reynold Ray’s Roswell, and Captain Clayton’s Luath XI.; and the owner of a Bloodhound which can be traced back in direct line of descent to any one of these four patriarchs may pride himself upon possessing a dog of unimpeachable pedigree.

Among breeders within recent years Mr. Edwin Brough, of Scarborough, is to be regarded as the most experienced and successful.  No record of the breed would be complete without some acknowledgment of the great services he has rendered to it.  Bloodhounds of the correct type would to-day have been very few and far between if it had not been for his enthusiasm and patient breeding.  Mr. Brough bred and produced many hounds, which all bore the stamp of his ideal, and there is no doubt that for all-round quality his kennel stands first in the history of the Bloodhound.  His most successful cross was, perhaps, Beckford and Bianca, and one has only to mention such hounds as Burgundy, Babbo, Benedicta, and Bardolph to recall the finest team of Bloodhounds that has ever been benched.

Mrs. G. A. Oliphant, of Shrewton, Wilts, whose kennels include Chatley Blazer and Chatley Beaufort, has of late years been a keen supporter of the breed.  Mrs. Oliphant, who is the president of the ladies’ branch of the Kennel Club, is a great believer in hounds being workers first and show hounds second, and her large kennels have produced many hounds of a robust type and of good size and quality.  There is no doubt that as far as hunting is concerned at the present moment this kennel stands easily first.  But admirable Bloodhounds have also given distinction to the kennels of Mr. S. H. Mangin, Dr. Sidney Turner, Mr. Mark Beaufoy, Mr. F. W. Cousens, Mr. A. O. Mudie, Lord Decies, Mr. Hood Wright, Mr. A. Croxton Smith, Dr. C. C. Garfit, Dr. Semmence, and Mrs. C. Ashton Cross, to mention only a few owners and breeders who have given attention to this noble race of dog.

The description of a perfect type of dog, as defined by the Association of Bloodhound breeders, is as follows:—­

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GENERAL CHARACTER—­The Bloodhound possesses, in a most marked degree, every point and characteristic of those dogs which hunt together by scent (Sagaces).  He is very powerful and stands over more ground than is usual with hounds of other breeds.  The skin is thin to the touch and extremely loose, this being more especially noticeable about the head and neck, where it hangs in deep folds.  HEIGHT—­The mean average height of adult dogs is 26 inches and of adult bitches 24 inches.  Dogs usually vary from 25 inches to 27 inches and bitches from 23 inches to 25 inches; but in either case the greater height is to be preferred, provided that character and quality are also combined.  WEIGHT—­The mean