Chapter III: The Varieties of the Dog (3)

"A hare," he says, "is a timorous little animal that we cannot help
feeling some compassion for at the time that we are pursuing her
destruction. We should give scope to all her little tricks, nor kill
her foully nor overmatched. Instinct instructs her to make a good
defence when not unfairly treated, and I will venture to say that, as
far as her own safety is concerned, she has more cunning than the fox,
and makes shifts to save her life far beyond all his artifice." [13]

THE FOX HOUND

is of a middle size, between the harrier and the stag-hound; it is the old English hound, sufficiently crossed with the greyhound to give him lightness and speed without impairing his scent; and he has now been bred to a degree of speed sufficient to satisfy the man who holds his neck at the least possible price, and with which few, except thorough-bred horses, and not all of them, can live to the end of the chase. The fox-hound is lighter, or as it is now called, more highly bred, or he retains a greater portion of his original size and heaviness, according to the nature of the country and the fancy of the master of the pack: therefore it is difficult to give an accurate description of the best variety of this dog; but there are guiding points which can never be forgotten without serious injury.

He derives from the greyhound a head somewhat smaller and longer in proportion to his size than either the stag-hound or the harrier. But considerable caution is requisite here. The beauty of the head and face, although usually accompanied by speed, must never be sacrificed to stoutness and power of scent. The object of the sportsman is to amalgamate them, or rather to possess them all in the greatest possible degree. This will generally be brought to a great degree of perfection if the sportsman regards the general excellence of the dog rather than the perfection of any particular point. The ears should not, comparatively speaking, be so large as those of the stag-hound or the harrier; but the neck should be longer and lighter, the chest deep and capacious, the fore legs straight as arrows, and the hind ones well bent at the hock.

Some extraordinary accounts have been given of the speed of the fox-hound. A match that was run over the Beacon Course at Newmarket is the best illustration of his fleetness. The distance is 4 miles 1 furlong and 132 yards. The winning dog performed it in 8 minutes and a few seconds; but of the sixty horses that started with the hounds, only twelve were able to run in with them. Flying Childers had run the same course in 7 minutes and 30 seconds.

"The size, or, as we should rather say, the height of a fox-hound, is
a point on which there has been much difference of opinion. Mr.
Chule's pack was three inches below the standard of Mr. Villebois',
and four inches below that of Mr. Warde's. The advocates of the former
assert, that they get better across a deep and strongly fenced
country, while the admirers of the latter insist on their being better
climbers of hills and more active in cover. As to uniformity in size,
it is by no means essential to the well-doing of hounds in the field,
and has been disregarded by some of our best sportsmen: Mr. Meynell
never drafted a good hound on account of his being over or under
sized. The proper standard of height in fox-hounds is from 21 to 22
inches for bitches, and from 23 to 24 for dog-hounds. Mr. Warde's
bitches, the best of the kind that our country contained, were rather
more than 23 inches. A few of his dogs were 25 inches high. The amount
of hounds annually bred will depend upon the strength of the kennel.
From sixty to eighty couples is the complement for a four days a-week
pack, which will require the breeding of a hundred couples of puppies
every year, allowing for accidents and distemper." [14]

Nimrod very properly observes, that

"Mr. Beckford has omitted a point much thought of by the modern
sportsmen, namely, 'the back-ribs', which should also be deep, as in a
strong-bodied horse, of which we say, when so formed, that he has a
good 'spur place;' a point highly esteemed in him. Nor is he
sufficiently descriptive of the hinder legs of the hound; for there is
a length of thigh discernible in first-rate hounds which, like the
well-let-down hock of the horse, gives them much superiority of speed,
and is also a great security against their laming themselves in
leaping fences, which they are more apt to do when they become blown
and consequently weak. The fore legs, 'straight as arrows,' is an
admirable illustration of perfection in those parts by Beckford; for,
as in a bow or bandy legged man, nothing is so disfiguring to a hound
as having his elbows projecting, and which is likewise a great check
to speed." [15]

Mr. Daniel gives a curious account of the prejudices of sportsmen on the subject of colour. The white dogs were curious hunters, and had a capital scent; the black, with some white spots, were obedient, good hunters, and with good constitutions; the gray-coloured had no very acute scent, but were obstinate, and indefatigable in their quest; the yellow dogs were impatient and obstinate, and taught with difficulty. [16]

The dog exhibits no criteria of age after the first two years. That period having elapsed, the whiteness and evenness of the teeth soon pass away, and the 'old' dog can scarcely be mistaken. Nimrod scarcely speaks too positively when he says that an old hound cannot be mistaken, if only looked in the face. At all events, few are found in a kennel after the eighth year, and very few after the ninth.

Mr. Beckford advises the sportsman carefully to consider the size, shape, colour, constitution, and natural disposition of the dog from which he breeds, and also the fineness of the nose, the evident strength of the limb, and the good temper and devotion to his master which he displays. The faults or imperfections in one breed may be rectified in another; and, if this is properly attended to, there is no reason why improvements may not continually be made.

The separation of the sexes in the kennel and in the field is one of the latest innovations in the hunting world, and generally considered to be a good one. The eye is pleased to see a pack of hounds, nearly or quite of a size. The character of the animal is more uniformly displayed when confined to one sex. In consequence of the separation of the two, the dogs are less inclined to quarrel; and the bitches are more at their ease than when undergoing the importunate solicitations of the male. As to their performances in the field, opinions vary, and each sex has its advocates. The bitch, with a good fox before her, is decidedly more off-hand at her work; but she is less patient, and sometimes overruns the scent. Sir Bellingharn Graham has been frequently heard to say, that if his kennels would have afforded it, he would never have taken a dog-hound into the field. That in the canine race the female has more of elegance and symmetry of form, consequently more of speed, than the male, is evident to a common observer; but there is nothing to lead to the conclusion that, in the natural endowments of the senses, any superiority exists. [17]

The bitch should not be allowed to engage in any long and severe chase after she has been lined. She should be kept as quiet as may be practicable, and well but not too abundantly fed; each having a kennel or place of retreat for herself. She should be carefully watched, and especially when the ninth week approaches. The huntsman and the keeper without any apparent or unnecessary intrusion, should be on the alert.

The time of pupping having arrived, as little noise or disturbance should be made as possible; but a keeper should be always at hand in case of abortion or difficult parturition. Should there be a probability of either of these occurring, he should not be in a hurry; for, as much should be left to nature as can, without evident danger, be done, and the keeper should rarely intrude unless his assistance is indispensable.

The pupping being accomplished, the mother should be carefully attended to. She should be liberally fed, and particularly should have her share of animal food, and an increased quantity of milk.

The bitch should not have whelps until she has hunted two seasons; for, before that time it will be scarcely possible to ascertain her excellences or defects. If there are any considerable faults, she should be immediately rejected.

When the time approaches for her to produce her puppies, she should be allowed a certain degree of liberty, and should choose her couch and run about a little more than usual; but, when the young ones are born, the less they are handled the better. The constitution and appearance of the mother will indicate how many should be kept. If two litters are born at or about the same time, or within two or three days of each other, we may interchange one or two of the whelps of each of them, and perhaps increase the value of both.

When the whelps are able to crawl to a certain distance, it will be time to mark them, according to their respective litters, some on the ear and others on the lip. The dew-claws should be removed, and, usually, a small tip from the tail. Their names also should be recorded.

The whelps will begin to lap very soon after they can look about them, and should remain with the mother until they are fully able to take care of themselves. They may then be prepared to go to quarters.

Two or three doses of physic should be given to the mother, with intervals of four or five days between each: this will prepare her to return to the kennel.

There is often considerable difficulty in disposing of the whelps until they get old and stout enough to be brought into the kennel. They are mostly sent to some of the neighbouring cottages, in order to be taken care of; but they are often neglected and half starved there. In consequence of this, distemper soon appears, and many of them are lost.

Whelps 'walked', or taken care of at butchers' houses, soon grow to a considerable size; but they are apt to be heavy-shouldered and throaty, and perhaps otherwise deformed. There is some doubt whether it might not be better for the sportsman to take the management of them himself, and to have a kennel built purposely for them. It may, perhaps, be feared that the distemper will get among them: they would, however, be well fed, and far more comfortable than they now are; and, as to the distemper, it is a disease that they must have some time or other.

From twenty to thirty couples are quite as many as can be easily managed; and the principal consideration is, whether they are steady, and as nearly as possible equal of speed. When the packs are very large, the hounds are seldom sufficiently hunted to be good. Few persons choose to hunt every day, or, if they did, it is not likely that the weather would permit them. The sportsman would, therefore, be compelled to take an inconvenient number into the field, and too many must be left behind. In the first place, too many hounds in the field would frequently spoil the sport; and, on the other hand, the hounds that remained would get out of wind, or become riotous, or both. Hounds, to be useful and good, should be constantly hunted; but a great fault in many packs is their having too many old dogs among them.

Young hounds, when first taken to the kennel, should be kept separate from the rest of the pack, otherwise there will be frequent and dangerous quarrels. When these do occur, the feeder hears, and sometimes, but not so frequently as he ought, endeavours to discover the cause of the disturbance, and visits the culprits with deserved punishment; too often, however, he does not give himself time for this, but rushes among them, and flogs every hound that he can get at, guilty or not guilty. This is a shameful method of procedure. It is the cause of much undeserved punishment: it spoils the temper of the dog, and makes him careless and indifferent as long as he lives.

Mr. Beckford very properly remarks, that

"Young hounds are, and must be awkward at first, and should be taken
out, a few at a time, with couples not too loose. They are thus
accustomed to the usual occurrences of the road, and this is most
easily accomplished when a young and an old dog are coupled together."

A sheep-field is the next object, and the young hound, properly watched, soon becomes reconciled, and goes quietly along with the companion of the preceding day. A few days afterwards the dogs are uncoupled in the field, and perhaps, at first, are not a little disposed to attack the sheep; but the cry of "Ware sheep!" in a stern tone of voice, arrests them, and often, without the aid of the whip; it being taken as a principle that this instrument should be used as seldom as possible. If, indeed, the dog is self-willed, the whip must be had recourse to, and perhaps with some severity; for, if he is once suffered to taste the blood of the sheep, it may be difficult to restrain him afterwards. A nobleman was told that it was possible to break his dogs of the habit of attacking his sheep, by introducing a large and fearless ram among them; one was accordingly procured and turned into the kennel. The men with their whips and voices, and the ram with his horns, soon threw the whole kennel into confusion. The hounds and the ram were left together. Meeting a friend soon afterwards, "Come," said he, "to the kennel, and see what rare sport the ram is making among the hounds." His friend asked whether he was not afraid that some of them might be spoiled. "No," said he; "they deserve it, and let them suffer." They proceeded to the kennel; all was quiet. The kennel-door was thrown open, and the remains of the ram were found scattered about: the hounds, having filled their bellies, had retired to rest.

The time of entering young hounds must vary in different countries. In a corn country, it should not be until the wheat is carried; in grass countries, somewhat sooner; and, in woodlands, as soon as we please. Frequent hallooing may be of use with young hounds; it makes them more eager; but, generally speaking, there is a time when it may be of use, a time when it does harm, and a time when it is perfectly indifferent.

The following remarks of Mr. Beckford are worthy of their author:

"Hounds at their first entering cannot be encouraged too much. When
they begin to know what is right, it will be soon enough to chastise
them for doing wrong, and, in such case, one rather severe beating
will save a great deal of trouble. The voice should be used as well as
the whip; and the smack of the whip will often be of as much avail as
the lash to him who has felt it."

Flogging hounds in the kennel, the frequent practice of too many huntsmen, should be held in utter abhorrence, and, if carried to a considerable excess, is a disgrace to humanity. Generally speaking, none but the sportsman can form an adequate conception of the perfect obedience of the hound both in the kennel and the field. At feeding-time, each dog, although hungry enough, will go through the gate in the precise order in which he is called by the feeder; and, in a well-broken pack, to chop at, or to follow a hare, or to give tongue on a false scent, or even to break cover alone, although the fox is in view, are faults that are rarely witnessed.

Let not this obedience, however, be purchased by the infliction of a degree of cruelty that disgraces both the master and the menial. A young fox-hound may, possibly, mistake the scent of a hare for that of a fox, and give tongue. In too many hunts he will be unmercifully flogged for this, and some have almost died under the lash. Mercy is a word totally unknown to a great proportion of whippers-in, and even to many who call themselves gentlemen. There can be no occasion or excuse for barbarity: a little trouble, and moderate punishment, and the example of his fellows, will gradually teach the wildest hound his duty.

That the huntsman, and not the hound, may occasionally be in fault, the following anecdote will furnish sufficient proof. In drawing a strong cover, a young bitch gave tongue very freely, while none of the other hounds challenged. The whipper-in railed to no purpose; the huntsman insisted that she was wrong, and the whip was applied with great severity. In doing this, the lash accidentally struck one of her eyes out of its socket.

Notwithstanding the dreadful pain that must have ensued, she again took up the scent, and proved herself right; for the fox had stolen away, and she had broken cover after him, unheeded and alone. After much delay and cold hunting, the pack hit off the same scent.

At some distance a farmer informed the sportsmen, that they were a long way behind the fox, for he had seen a single hound, very bloody about the head, running breast-high, so that there was but little chance of their getting up with her. The pack, from her coming to a check, did at last overtake her.

The same bitch once more hit off the scent, and the fox was killed, after a long and severe run. The eye of the poor animal, that had hung pendent through the chase, was then taken off with a pair of scissors.

THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE SEASON.

During the beginning of autumn, the hounds should be daily exercised when the weather will permit. They should often be called over in the kennel to habituate them to their names, and walked out among the sheep and deer, in order that they may he accustomed perfectly to disregard them.

A few stout hounds being added to the young ones, some young foxes may occasionally be turned out. If they hunt improper game, they must be sternly checked. Implicit obedience is required until they have been sufficiently taught as to the game which they are to pursue. No obstinate deviation from it must ever be pardoned. The hounds should be, as much as possible, taken out into the country which they are afterwards to hunt, and some young foxes are probably turned out for them to pursue. At length they are suffered to hunt their game in thorough earnest, and to taste of its blood.

After this they are sent to more distant covers, and more old hounds are added, and so they continue until they are taken into the pack, which usually happens in September. The young hounds continue to be added, two or three couple at a time, until all have hunted. They are then divided into two packs, to be taken out alternate days. Properly speaking, the sport cannot be said to begin until October, but the two preceding months are important and busy ones. [18]

"It would appear, then," says Nimrod, "that the breeding of a pack of
fox-hounds, bordering on perfection, is a task of no ordinary
difficulty. The best proof of it is to be found in the few sportsmen
that have succeeded in it. Not only is every good quality obtained if
possible, but every imperfection or fault is avoided. The highest
virtue in a fox-hound is his being true to the line his game has gone,
and a stout runner at the end of the chase. He must also be a patient
hunter when there is a cold scent and the pack is at fault."

While there is no country in the world that can produce a breed of horses to equal the English thorough-bred in his present improved state, there are no dogs like the English fox-hound for speed, scent, and continuance. It would seem as if there were something in the climate favourable and necessary to the perfection of the hound. Packs of them have been sent to other countries, neighbouring and remote; but they have usually become more or less valueless.

As regards the employment of the voice and the horn when out with hounds, too much caution cannot be used. A hound should never be cheered unless we are perfectly convinced that he is right, nor rated unless we are sure that he is wrong. When we are not sure of what is going on we should sit still and be silent. A few moments will possibly put us in possession of all that we wish to know. [19]

The horn should only be used on particular occasions, and a huntsman should speak by his horn as much as by his voice. Particular notes should mean certain things, and the hounds and the field should understand the language. We have heard some persons blowing the horn all the day long, and the hounds have become so careless as to render it of no use. When a hound first speaks in cover to a fox, you may, if you think it necessary, use 'one single' and prolonged note to get the pack together. The same note will do at any time to call up a lost or loitering hound; but, when the fox breaks cover, then let your horn be marked in its notes: let it sound as if you said through it, "Gone away! gone away! gone away! away! away! away!" dwelling with full emphasis on the last syllable. Every hound will fly from the cover the moment he hears this, and the sportsmen and the field will know that the fox is away.

It is the perfection of the horse, and the perfection of the hound, and the disregard of trifling expense, that has given to Englishmen a partiality for field-sports, unequalled in any other country. Mr. Ware's pack of fox-hounds cost 2000 guineas, and the late Lord Middleton gave the same to Mr. Osbaldeston for ten couples of his hounds.

HUNTING-KENNELS.

It is time, however, to speak of the kennel, whether we regard the sporting architecture of Mr.G. Tattersall, or the scientific inquiries of Mr. Vyner, or a sketch of the noble buildings at Goodwood.

The lodging-rooms should be ceiled, but not plastered, with ventilators above and a large airy window on either side. The floors should be laid with flags or paved with bricks. Cement may be used instead of mortar, and the kennels will then be found wholesome and dry. The doorways of the lodging-houses will generally be four feet and a half wide, in the clear. The posts are rounded, to prevent the hounds from being injured when they rush out. The benches may be made of cast-iron or wood; those composed of iron being most durable, but the hounds are more frequently lamed in getting to them. The wooden benches must be bound with iron, or the hounds will gnaw or destroy them. A question has arisen, whether the benches should be placed round the kennel, or be in the centre of it, allowing a free passage by the side. There is least danger of the latter being affected by the damp. The walls should be wainscoted to the height of three feet at least. This will tend very considerably to their comfort.

The floors of all the courts should be arranged in nearly the same way; the partition walls being closed at the bottom, but with some iron work above. The doorways should also be so contrived, that the huntsman may be able to enter whenever he pleases. The boiling-house should be at as great a distance from the hunting-kennel as can be managed, continuing to give warmth to the infirmary for distempered puppies, and at the same time being out of the way of the other courts.

Mr. Vyner gives an interesting account of the young hounds' kennel:

"This building," he says, "should be as far from the other
lodging-rooms as the arrangements of the structure will allow. There
is also an additional court, or grass-yard, an indispensable requisite
in the puppies' kennel. The size must be regulated according to the
waste land at the end of the building; but the longer it is, the
better. At the farther end of the grass-court is a hospital for such
young hounds as are distempered, so contrived as to be remote from the
other kennels, and, at the same time, within an easy distance of the
boiling-house, whence it is apparently approached by an outside door,
through which the feeder can constantly pass to attend to the sick
hounds without disturbing the healthy lots. Although this lodging room
is warmed by the chimney of the boiling-house, it must be well
ventilated by two windows, to which shutters must be attached;
ventilation and good air being quite as necessary to the cure of
distemper as warmth."

KENNEL LAMENESS.

We now proceed to a most important and ill-understood subject--the nature and treatment of 'kennel lameness'. It is a subject that nearly concerns the sportsman, and on which there are several and the most contrary opinions.

This is a kind of lameness connected with, or attributable to, the kennel. According to the early opinion of Mr. Asheton Smith, who is a good authority, it was referable to some peculiarity in the breed or management of the hounds; but, agreeably to a later opinion, it is dependent on situation and subsoil, and may be aggravated or increased by circumstances over which we have no control. Some kennels are in low and damp situations, yet the hounds are free from all complaint: and others, with the stanchest dogs and under the best management, are continually sinking under kennel lameness.

Mr. R. T. Vyner was one of the first who scientifically treated on this point, and taught us that 'clay is not by any means an objectionable soil to build a kennel upon', although so many pseudo-sportsmen are frightened by the very name of it.

He enters at once into his subject.

"I am thoroughly convinced," says he, "from my own experience, and, I
may add, my own suffering, that the disease of kennel lameness arises
only from one cause, and that is an injudicious and unfortunate
selection of the spot for building. The kennel is generally built on a
sand-bed, or on a sandstone rock, while the healthiest grounds in
England are on a stiff clay, and they are the healthiest because they
are the least porous. Although this may be contrary to the opinion and
prejudice of the majority of sportsmen, it is a fact that cannot be
contradicted.

"Through a light and friable soil, such as sand and sandstone, a
vapour, more or less dense, is continually exhaling and causing a
perpetual damp, which produces that fearful rheumatism which goes by
the name of kennel lameness, while the kennels that are built on a
clay soil, a soil of an impervious nature, are invariably healthy.

"I could," he adds, "enumerate twenty kennels to prove the effect--the
invariable effect--of the existence of the disease on the one part,
and of the healthiness of the situation on the other. I turn
particularly to her Majesty's kennel at Ascot, the arches of which
were laid under the very foundation strain, and yet little at no
amendment has ever taken place in the healthiness and comfort of the
dogs. It is necessary to select a sound and healthy situation when
about to erect a kennel, and that sound and healthy situation can be
met with alone on a strong impervious clay soil. We must have no fluid
oozing through the walls or the floor of the kennel, and producing
damp and unhealthy vapours, such as we find in the sandbed."

With regard to this there can be no error.

Nimrod, in his excellent treatise on 'Kennel Lameness', asks, whether it does not appear that this disease is on the increase. He asks,

"How is it that neither Beckford nor Somerville says one word that
clearly applies to the disease; and no one, however learned he might
be in canine pathology, has been able clearly to define the disease,
much less to discover a remedy for it?"

All that Mr. Blaine says on the matter amounts only to this:

"The healthiness of the situation on which any kennel is to be built,
is an important consideration. It is essential that it should be both
dry and airy, and it should also be warm. A damp kennel produces
rheumatism in dogs, which shows itself sometimes by weakness in the
loins, but more frequently by lameness in the shoulders, known under
the name of kennel lameness."

Mr. Blaine illustrates this by reference to his own experience.

"There is no disease, with the exception of distemper and mange, to
which dogs are so liable as to a rheumatic affection of some part of
the body. It presents almost as many varieties in the dog as it does
in man; and it has some peculiarities observable in the dog only.
Rheumatism never exists in a dog without affecting the bowels. There
will be inflammation or painful torpor through the whole of the
intestinal canal. It is only in some peculiar districts that this
occurs; it pervades certain kennels only; and but until lately there
has been little or almost no explanation of the cause of the evil."
[20]

Nimrod took a most important view of the matter, and to him the sporting world is much indebted.

"How is it," he asks, "that, in our younger days, we never heard of
kennel lameness, or, indeed, of hounds being lame at all, unless from
accident, or becoming shaken and infirm from not having been composed
of that iron-bound material which the labours of a greyhound or a
hound require? How is it, that, in our younger days, masters of hounds
began the season with 50 or 60 couples, and, bating the casualties,
left off at the end of it equally strong in their kennels, and able,
perhaps, to make a valuable draft; whereas we now hear of one-half of
the dogs in certain localities being disabled by disease, and some
masters of hounds compelled to be stopped in their work until their
kennels are replenished."

Washing hounds when they come home after work must be injurious to them, although it has almost become the fashion of modern times. If they are not washed at all, and we believe it to be unnecessary, yet the kennels in which lameness has appeared should be strictly avoided. It should be on the day following and not in the evening of a hunting-day that washing should take place.

Mr. Hodgson told Nimrod, that the Quorn Pack never had a case of kennel lameness until his late huntsman took to washing his hounds after hunting, and then he often had four or five couples ill from this cause. He deprecated even their access to water in the evening after hunting, and we believe that he was quite right in so doing.

The tongue of the dog, with the aid of clean straw, is his best and safest instrument in cleansing his person; and, if he can be brought to his kennel with tolerably clean feet, as Mr. Foljambe enables him to be brought, he will never be long before he is comfortable in his bed, after his belly is filled.

There is another mode, as a preventive of kennel lameness, which we have the best authority for saying deserves particular attention, and that is, the frequently turning hounds off their benches during the day, even if it were to the extent of every two hours throughout the entire day. We do not mean to deny the existence of a disease, which, being produced in the kennel, is properly termed kennel lameness. Some kennels are, no doubt, more unhealthy and prone to engender rheumatic affections than others; but, by proper management, and avoiding as much as possible all exciting causes, their effects may, at least, be very much lessened, if not entirely obviated.

LORD FITZHARDINGE'S MANAGEMENT.

Lord Fitzhardinge's opinion of the situation of the kennel and the management of the hounds, as given in the 'New Sporting Magazine', is somewhat different from that which has been just given. The following is the substance of it: [21]

He states that the kennel should be built on a dry and warm situation. Of this there can be no doubt: the comfort and almost the existence of the dog depend upon it. To this he adds that it must not be placed on a gravelly or porous soil, over which vapours more or less dense are frequently or continually travelling, and thus causing a destructive exhalation over the whole of the building. There must be no fluid oozing through the walls or the floor of the kennel, and producing damp and unhealthy vapours. When we have not a deep supersoil of clay, one or two layers of bricks or of stone may line the floor, and then, not even the most subtile vapour can penetrate through the floor. A clean bed of straw should be allowed every second day, or oftener when the weather is wet. The lodging-houses should be ceiled, and there should be shutters to the windows. A thatched roof is preferable to tiles, being warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

Stoves in the kennels are not necessary: probably they are best avoided; for, if dogs are accustomed to any considerable degree of artificial heat, they are more easily chilled by a long exposure to cold. Their teeth and the setting-up of their backs will confirm this.

Hounds, when they feel cold, naturally seek each other for warmth, and they may be seen lying upon the straw and licking each other; and that is by far the most wholesome way of procuring comfort and warmth.

On returning from hunting, their feet should be washed with some warm fluid, and especially the eyes should be examined, and their food got ready for them as soon as possible. The feeding in the morning should be an hour, or an hour and a half, before they start for the field.

It is truly observed by the noble writer to whom we have referred, that there is no part of an establishment of this kind that merits more attention than the boiling and feeding house. The hounds cannot perform their work well unless judiciously fed. Each hound requires particular and constitutional care. No more than five of them should be let in to feed together, and often not more than one or two. The feeder should have each hound under his immediate observation, or they may get too much or too little of the food.

Some hounds cannot run if they carry much flesh; others are all the better for having plenty about them. The boilers should be of iron, two in number,--one for meal and the smaller one for flesh. The large boiler should render it necessary to be used not more than once in four days or a week. The food should be stirred for two hours, then transferred to flat coolers, until sufficiently gelatinous to be cut with a kind of spade. By the admixture of some portion of soups it may be brought to any thickness requisite. The flesh to be mixed with it should be cut very small, that the greedy hounds may not be able to obtain more than their share. Four bushels and a half of genuine old oatmeal should be boiled with a hundred gallons of water. The flesh should he boiled every second or third day. Too great a proportion of soup would render the mixture of a heating nature.

Mr. Delmé Radcliffe very truly observes that the feeding of hounds, as regards their condition, is one of the most essential proofs of a huntsman's skill in the management of the kennel. To preserve that even state of condition throughout the pack which is so desirable, he must be well acquainted with the appetite of every hound; for some will feed with a voracity scarcely credible, and others will require every kind of enticement to induce them to feed.

Mr. Meynell found that the use of dry unboiled oatmeal succeeded better than any other thing he had tried with delicate hounds. When once induced to take it, they would eat it greedily, and it seemed to be far more heartening than most kinds of aliment. Other hounds of delicate constitution might be tempted with a little additional flesh, and with the thickest and best of the trough, but they required to be watched, and often to be coaxed to eat.

The dog possesses the power of struggling against want of food for an almost incredible period. One of these animals, six years old, was missing three-and-twenty days; at length some children wandering in a distant wood thought that they frequently heard the baying of a dog. The master was told of it, and at the bottom of an old quarry, sixty feet deep, and the mouth of which he had almost closed by his vain attempts to escape, the voice of the poor fellow was recognised. With much difficulty he was extricated, and found in a state of emaciation; his body cold as ice and his thirst inextinguishable, and he scarcely able to move. They gave him at intervals small portions of bread soaked in milk and water. Two days afterwards he was able to follow his master a short distance.

This occurrence is mentioned by M. Pinguin as a proof that neither hunger nor thirst could produce rabies. Messrs. Majendie and F. Cousins have carried their observations to the extent of forty days--a disgraceful period. [22]

MANAGEMENT OF THE PACK.

Sixty-five couple of hounds in full work will consume the carcases of three horses in one week, or five in a fortnight. The annual consumption of meal will be somewhat more than two tons per month.

In feeding, the light eaters should be let in first, and a little extra flesh distributed on the surface of the food, in order to coax those that are most shy. Some hounds cannot be kept to their work unless fed two or three times a day; while others must not be allowed more than six or seven laps, or they would get too much.

In summer an extra cow or two will be of advantage in the dairy; for the milk, after it has been skimmed, may be used instead of flesh. There must always be a little flesh in hand for the sick, for bitches with their whelps, and for the entry of young hounds.[23] About Christmas is the time to arrange the breeding establishment. The number of puppies produced is usually from five to eight or nine; but, in one strange case, eighteen of them made their appearance. The constitution and other appearances in the dam, will decide the number to be preserved. When the whelps are sufficiently grown to run about, they should be placed in a warm situation, with plenty of fresh grass, and a sufficient quantity of clean, but not too stimulating, food. They should then be marked according to their respective letters, that they may be always recognised. When the time comes, the ears of the dog should be rounded; the size of the ear and of the head guiding the rounding-iron.

This being passed, the master of the pack takes care that his treatment shall be joyous and playful; encouragement is always with him the word. The dog should be taught the nature of the fault before he is corrected: no animal is more grateful for kindness than a hound; the peculiarities of his temper will soon be learned, and when he begins to love his master, he will mind, from his natural and acquired affection, a word or a frown from him more than the blows of all the whips that were ever put into the hands of the keepers.

The distemper having passed, and the young hounds being in good health, they should be walked out every day, and taught to follow the horse, with a keeper who is selected as a kind and quiet person, and will bear their occasionally entangling themselves in their couples. They are then taken to the public roads, and there exercised, and checked from riot, but with as little severity as possible; a frequent and free use of the whip never being allowed. No animals take their character from their master so much as the hounds do from theirs. If he is wild, or noisy, or nervous, so will his hounds be; if he is steady and quick, the pack will be the same. The whip should never be applied but for some immediate and decided fault. A rate given at an improper time does more harm than good: it disgusts the honest hound, it shies and prevents from hunting the timid one, and it is treated with contempt by those of another character who may at some future time deserve it. It formerly was the custom, and still is too much so, when a hound 'has hung on a hare', to catch him when he comes up, and flog him. The consequence of this is, that he takes good care the next time he indulges in a fault not to come out of cover at all.

We will conclude this part of our subject by a short account of the splendid kennel at Goodwood, for which we are indebted to Lord W. Lennox, with the kind permission of the Duke of Richmond. It is described as one of the most complete establishments of the kind in England. The original establishment of this building, although a little faulty, possesses considerable interest from its errors being corrected by the third Duke of Richmond, a man who is acknowledged to have been one of the most popular public characters of the day, and who in more private life extended his patronage to all that was truly honourable. It was to the Duke's support of native talent that we may trace the origin of the present Royal Academy. In 1758, the Duke of Richmond displayed, at his residence in Whitehall, a large collection of original plaster casts, taken from the finest statues and busts of the ancient sculptors. Every artist was freely admitted to this exhibition and, for the further encouragement of talent, he bestowed two medals annually on such as had exhibited the best models.

We have thus digressed in order to give a slight sketch of the nobleman by whom this kennel was built, and we do not think that we can do better than lay before our readers the original account of it.

Early in life the Duke built what was not then common, a tennis-court, and what was more uncommon, a dog-kennel, which cost him above £6000. The Duke was his own architect, assisted by, and under the guidance of, Mr. Wyatt; he dug his own flints, burnt his own lime, and conducted the wood-work in his own shops. The result of his labours was the noble building of which a plan is here given.

The dog-kennel is a grand object when viewed from Goodwood. The front is handsome, the ground well raised about it, and the general effect good; the open court in the centre adds materially to the noble appearance of the building.

The entrance to the kennel is delineated in the centre with a flight of stairs leading above. The huntsman's rooms, four in number first present themselves, and are marked in the plan before us by the letter C; each of them is fifteen feet four inches, by fourteen feet six inches.

At each end of the side towards the court is one of the feeding-rooms, twenty-nine feet by fourteen feet four inches, and nobly constructed rooms they are; they are designated by the letters B. At the back of the feeding-rooms, are one set of the lodging-rooms, from thirty-five feet six inches, to fourteen feet four inches, and marked by the letters A, and at either extremity is another lodging-room, thirty-two feet six inches in length, and fourteen feet six inches in width: this is also marked by the letter A.

Coming into the court we find the store-room twenty-four feet by fourteen and a half, marked by the letter D, and the stable, of the same dimensions, by the letter E.

At the top of the buildings are openings for the admission of cold air, and stoves to warm the air when too cold. There are plentiful supplies of water from tanks holding 10,000 gallons; so that there is no inconvenience from the smell, and the whole can at any time be drained, and not be rendered altogether useless.

Round the whole building is a pavement five feet wide; airy yards and places for breeding, &c., making part of each wing. For the huntsman and whipper-in there are sleeping-rooms, and a neat parlour or kitchen.

Soon after the kennel was erected, it would contain two packs of hounds.

THE STAG-HOUND.

The largest of the English hounds that has been lately used, is devoted, as his name implies, to the chase of the deer. He is taller than the fox-hound, and with far more delicate scent, but he is not so speedy. He answers better than any other to the description given of the old English hound, so much valued when the country, less enclosed, and the forests, numerous and extensive, were the harbours of the wild deer. The deer-hound and the harrier were for many centuries the only hunting-dogs. The fox-hound has been much more recently bred.

The most tyrannic and cruel laws were enforced for the preservation of this species of game, and the life of the deer, except when sacrificed in the chase, and by those who were privileged to join in it, was guarded with even more strictness than the life of the human being. When, however, the country became more generally cultivated, and the stag was confined to enclosed parks, and was seldom sought in his lair, but brought into the field, and turned out before the dogs, so much interest was taken from the affair, that this species of hunting grew out of fashion, and was confined to the neighbourhood of the scattered forests that remained, and enjoyed only by royalty and a few noblemen, of whose establishment a kennel of deer-hounds had, from time immemorial, formed a part.

Since the death of George III, who was much attached to this sport, stag-hunting has rapidly declined, and the principal pleasure seems now to consist in the concourse of people brought together to an appointed place and hour, to witness the turning out of the deer. There is still maintained a royal establishment for the continuance of this noble sport, but, unless better supported than it has of late years been, it will gradually decline.

The stag-hounds are now a part of the regular Crown establishment. The royal kennel is situated upon Ascot Heath, about six miles from Windsor. At the distance of a mile from the kennel is Swinley Lodge, the official residence of the Master of the Stag-hounds.

The stag-hound is a beautiful animal. He is distinguished from the fox-hound by the apparent broadness and shortness of his head, his longer cheek, his straighter hock, his wider thigh and deeper chest, and better feathered and more beautifully arched tail. His appearance indicates strength and stoutness, in which indeed he is unequalled, and he has sufficient speed to render it difficult for the best horses long to keep pace with him; while, as is necessary, when the distance between the footmarks of the deer is considered, his scent is most exquisite. He is far seldomer at fault than any other hound except the blood-hound, and rarely fails of running down his game.

Of the stoutness of this dog, the following anecdotes will be a sufficient illustration. A deer, in the spring of 1822, was turned out before the Earl of Derby's hounds in Hayes Common. The chase was continued nearly four hours without a check, when, being almost run down, the animal took refuge in some outhouses near Speldhurst in Kent, more than forty miles across the country, and having actually run more than fifty miles. Nearly twenty horses died in the field, or in consequence of the severity of the chase.

A stag was turned out at Wingfield Park, in Northumberland. The whole pack, with the exception of two hounds, was, after a long run, thrown out. The stag returned to his accustomed haunt, and, as his last effort, leaped the wall of the park, and lay down and died. One of the hounds, unable to clear the wall, fell and expired, and the other was found dead at a little distance. They had run about forty miles.

"When the stag first hears the cry of the hounds, he runs with the
swiftness of the wind, and continues to run as long as any sound of
his pursuers can be distinguished. That having ceased, he pauses and
looks carefully around him; but before he can determine what course to
pursue, the cry of the pack again forces itself upon his attention.
Once more he darts away, and after a while again pauses. His strength
perhaps begins to fail, and he has recourse to stratagem in order to
escape. He practises the doubling and the crossing of the fox or the
hare. This being useless, he attempts to escape by plunging into some
lake or river that happens to lie in his way, and when, at last, every
attempt to escape proves abortive, he boldly faces his pursuers, and
attacks the first dog or man who approaches him." [24]

SOUTHERN HOUND.

There used to be in the south of Devon a pack or cry of the genuine old English or southern hounds. There is some reason to believe that this was the original stock of the island, or of this part of the island, and that this hound was used by the ancient Britons in the chase of the larger kinds of game with which the country formerly abounded. Its distinguishing characters are its size and general heavy appearance; its great length of body, deep chest, and ears remarkably large and pendulous. The tones of its voice were peculiarly deep. It answered the description of Shakspeare:

"So flewed, so sanded; and their heads are hung
With ears that sweep away the morning dew;
Crook-knee'd, and dew-lapp'd, like Thessalian bulls;
Slow in pursuit, but match'd in mouth like bells,
Each under each."

It was the slowness of the breed which occasioned its disuse. Several of them, however, remained not long ago at a village called Aveton Gifford, in Devonshire, in the neighbourhood of which some of the most opulent of the farmers used to keep two or three dogs each. When fox-hunting had assumed somewhat of its modern form, the chase was followed by a slow heavy hound, whose excellent olfactory organs enabled him to carry on the scent a considerable time after the fox-hound passed, and also over grassy fallows, and hard roads, and other places, where the modern high-bred fox-hound would not be able to recognise it. Hence the chase continued for double the duration which it does at present, and hence may be seen the reason why the old English hunter, so celebrated in former days and so great a favourite among sportsmen of the old school, was enabled to perform those feats which were exultingly bruited in his praise. The fact is, that the hounds and the horse were well matched. If the latter possessed not the speed of the Meltonian hunter, the hounds were equally slow and stanch.

THE BLOOD-HOUND.

This dog does not materially differ in appearance from the old deer-hound of a larger size, trained to hunt the human being instead of the quadruped. If once put on the track of a supposed robber, he would unerringly follow him to his retreat, although at the distance of many a mile. Such a breed was necessary when neither the private individual nor the government had other means to detect the offender. Generally speaking, however, the blood-hound of former days would not injure the culprit that did not attempt to escape, but would lie down quietly and give notice by a loud and peculiar howl what kind of prey he had found. Some, however, of a savage disposition, or trained to unnatural ferocity, would tear to pieces the hunted wretch, if timely rescue did not arrive.

Hounds of every kind, both great and small, may be broken in to follow any particular scent, and especially when they are feelingly convinced that they are not to hunt any other. This is the case with the blood-hound. He is destined to one particular object of pursuit, and a total stranger with regard to every other.