The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-03-10
Middlesex Hunt Hounds
Mr.. Hgginson's Fine Pack of English Dogs.
Some Good Sport in Virginia

out America. are infinitely larger than
they are In England, and this particularly
suits the American hounds. as they spread
out and work individually In cover On
be other hand. the English hounds work
-OSetHer and are under much better con-
troll. 81 that though they were not so
quick pick up the scent iu Virginia,
they made fewer mistakes and had as
many kills 10 their credit as the pack II
he Loudouu Hunt.
The custom has been in the South 10
hunt with -trencheTfed' packs-that Is.
half dozen men throw their small packs
Of two or three couples together for d
lunt and let them 60 as they please. This
encourages individuality in the American
H3und. but hurts his pack training and
reliability. While the Middiesex Hunt
was in the Piedmont Valley the LoudOUu
Hunt Used a pack composed Of eight or
ten couples, while Mr.. HiggiusOn never
aad less than sixteen couples In his pack.
Second Generation Better.
The master Of the 3liddlesex Hunt Is Of
opinion that the English foxhound
should be of the second genera
ton, born in this county. 20 be at his
best in America. Environment counts
for more with a hound than it
does with a man, so that a hound with
all the Inherited qualities Of The English,
but trained TO work under conditions on
This continent, appeals to Mr.. Higginson
as the best that could be wished for.
Il is for this reason that he has turned
lis attention to breeding them from Eng
ish stock for be win then have a pack
that viii combine the good clements Of
both the English and American hound. 4
part Of the pack he uses is composed, in
tact. Of hounds that he has bred in this
country. and, though they are young
they have done such excellent work. in
spite OF the lack of training, that he looks
for great things from the MiddleseX pack
within a couple OF seasons. Though OF
English strain, they viii be accustomed
only 70 big American covers, so that they
VIII have no early training % UnIeaTn.
Some noted sires have been imported
from England for breeding purposes by
Mr.. Biggiuson. Among them are dogs
from the kennels of the Duke Of Beau
fort. one of the foremost Of English
sportsnen. and Mr.. Fitzwilliam. brother
of Lord FitZwilliam. Robert COtesw0rth,
huntsman for the AIiddlesex. shows 10 the
kennels at Mr.. HiggiusOu's country place
at Lincoln more than fifty couples, in
Guiding all the imported hounds and those
that have beer bred in America. 1t is
worthy Of note that Mr.. Higgins0n's pack
is probably larsyf than the majority Of
the packs in either America or England.
for he rarely hunts with less than eight
cen or twenty couples.
OF the Beaver Strain.
They're nearly all Of tbs Beaver
strain" observed the admiring Co-es-
worth recently, as the hounds were re-
leased into the yard. And the two best
strains in England are Beaver Weather
gauge and Milton Solomon Some OF
these have both. There is Champion
Vanguard. one of the best hounds ever in
this country; but the peer Of them all is
over there in the c0rner-Champion
Nemesis. Isn't she a beauty"
She assuredly was as she stood with
her head cooked 10 one side watching
the movements of COJeswOrta's hand in
his pocket, one could understand how
she had scored wins at New York and
elsewhere over hounds that had been con-
sidered invincible.
COtesworth is 70 retire on April ] from
Mr.. HigginsOn's service. A man Well Up
in years, he has been riding since the age
of fifteen. He belongs 10 a family famous
as professional hUntsmen in England. Mr..
HigEiusOn regards him as one of the best
huntsmen OF the day. His son follows
the same calling. Tom C0teswOrth IS
huntsman for the Montreal Hunt. and
was formerly BhipDer-in for the Middle
sex Hunt.
I shall hunt the pack myself next
season., says Mr.. Higginson. 1T was not
a particular so0d season for foxes, this
last. around Lincoln and Waltham, but
think that there are foxes here, and that
this season should be an excellent one.
I also expect TO take the pack 10 Virginia
next winter, if conditions are favorable"