APPENDAGES TO THE KENNEL 21 



sleep in a cot in the kennel adjoining ; and, if they 

 be well chastised at the first quarrel, his voice will be 

 sufficient to settle all their differences afterwards. 1 

 Close to the door of the kennel, let there be always 

 a quantity of little switches ; which three narrow 

 boards, nailed to one of the posts, will easily contain. 2 



My kennel is close to the road-side, but it was 

 unavoidable. This is the reason why my front pale is 

 close, and only the side ones open : it is a great fault : 

 avoid it if you can, and your hounds will be the 

 quieter. 



Upon looking over my Letter, I find that I begin 

 by recommending, with Mr. Somerville, a high situa- 

 tion for the kennel, and afterwards talk of a brook 

 running through the middle of it : I am afraid that 

 you will not be able to unite these two advantages ; 

 in which case, without doubt, water should be pre- 

 ferred. The mount that I have mentioned will 

 answer all the purposes of an eminence : besides, 

 there should be moveable stages on wheels, for the 

 hounds to lie upon ; at any rate, however, let your 

 soil be a dry one. 3 



1 In a kennel in Oxfordshire, the feeder pulls a bell, which the hounds 

 understand the meaning of: it silences them immediately, and saves him 

 the trouble of getting out of his bed. 



2 When hounds are perfectly obedient, whips are no longer necessary ; 

 switches, in my opinion, are preferable. The whips I use are coach- 

 whips, three feet long, the thong half the length of the crop: they are 

 more handy than horse-whips, correct the hounds as well, and hurt them 

 less. 



[ 3 The hill is to be preferred to the running water, and the soil should 

 be a stiff clay. Kennels should never be built on gravel. Clay certainly 

 holds moisture, but at the same time it prevents any moisture rising 

 from below. There is always water beneath gravel, and the heat of the 



