PHYSIC 41 



I am not fond of bleeding hounds, unless they want 

 it ; though it has long been a custom in my kennel to 

 physic them twice a year; after they leave off hunting, 

 and before they begin : it is given in hot weather, and 

 at an idle time : it cools their bodies, and, without 

 doubt, is of service to them. If a hound be in want 

 of physic, I prefer giving it in balls. 1 It is more easy 

 to give in this manner the quantity that he may want, 

 and you are more certain that he takes it. In many 

 kennels they also bleed them twice a year ; and some 

 people think that it prevents madness. The anointing 

 of hounds, or dressing them, as huntsmen call it, 

 makes them fine in their coats : it may be done twice 

 a year, or oftener, if you find it necessary. As I 

 shall hereafter have occasion to write on the diseases 

 of hounds, and their cures, I will send you at the 

 same time a receipt for this purpose. During the 

 summer months, when my hounds do not hunt, they 

 have seldom any flesh allowed them, and are kept 

 low, contrary, I believe, to the usual practice of most 

 kennels, where mangey hounds, in summer, are but 

 too often seen. Huntsmen sometimes content them- 

 selves with checking this disorder, when with less 

 trouble, perhaps, they might prevent it. A regular 

 course of whey and vegetables, during the hot 

 months, must certainly be wholesome, and is, without 

 doubt, the cause that a mangey hound is an unusual 

 sight in my kennel. Every Monday and Friday my 



1 One pound of antimony, four ounces of sulphur, and syrup of buck- 

 thorn q. s. to give it the consistency of a ball. Each ball weighs about 

 seven drachms. 



