TRAINING AND HUNTING 51 



make a strike and his usefulness will be much 

 impaired. When alone he soon develops con- 

 fidence in his own ability that will later stand 

 him in good stead. 



Hunting with inferior hounds teaches him 

 to go ahead, forge for the front, pick up a 

 loss, and to depend upon his own efforts. Hunt- 

 ing with better hounds teaches him through ob- 

 servation how to accomplish these ends with 

 accuracy and more ease to himself. If covert 

 is close, swampy, infested with briars, or im- 

 penetrable, never hunt him alone, but with a 

 slow, painstaking older hound which will in- 

 duce him to enter and remain in the face of 

 adverse conditions; if inclined to babble or run 

 riot, he should be given five or six miles of 

 brisk road work behind a horse or vehicle be- 

 fore throwing him in. This will take off the 

 keen edge and subdue his spirits enough to get 

 him down to business. One thus inclined 

 should never be broken with a noisy hound, 

 but a steady, reliable one, that knows just 

 when to give tongue and how much of it. 



Punishment for babbling and running riot 

 should be administered promptly and deci- 

 sively. Spare your voice with young hounds. 

 Remember silence is a necessary qualification 

 of a successful trainer and that hounds soon 



