Disqualifications.—A short, close, and nappy coat.
Height.—The meaning of the term "Beagle" (a word of Celtic origin, and in Old English, "Begele") is small, little. The dog was so named from his diminutive size. Your Committee, therefore, for the sake of consistency, and that the Beagle shall be in fact what his name implies, strongly recommend that the height line shall be sharply drawn at 15 inches, and that all dogs exceeding that height shall be disqualified as overgrown and outside the pale of recognition.
Colour.—All Hound colours are admissible. Perhaps the most popular is black, white and tan. Next in order is the lemon and white, the blue and lemon mottles; then follow the solid colours, such as black-and-tan, tan, lemon, fawn, etc. This arrangement is of course arbitrary, the question being one governed entirely by fancy. The colours first named form the most lively contrast, and blend better in the pack, the solid colours being sombre and monotonous to the eye. It is not intended to give a point value to colour in the scale for judging, as beforesaid all true Hound colours being correct. The following remarks on the subject are therefore simply suggestive.
General Appearance.—A miniature Foxhound, solid and big for his inches, with the wear-and-tear look of the dog that can last in the chase and follow his quarry to the death.
Note.—Dogs possessing such serious faults as are enumerated under the heading of "Disqualifications" are under the grave suspicion of being of impure blood. Under the heading of "Defects," objectionable features are indicated, such departures from the standard not, however, impugning the purity of the breeding.
CHAPTER XI
The Dachshund
