94 THOUGHTS ON HUNTING 



plenty of clean straw, and are fed oftener and better 

 than at other times : so long as they continue to eat 

 the kennel meat, they are kept together ; as soon as 

 any of them refuse to feed, they are removed into 

 another kennel ; the door of the lodging-room is left 

 open in the day, and they are only shut up at night : 

 being out in the air, is of great service to them. To 

 such as are very bad, I give N orris's drops ; to others, 

 emetics ; while some only require to be better fed 

 than ordinary, and need no other remedy. 1 They 

 should be fed from the kitchen, when they refuse the 

 kennel meat. Sometimes they will lose the use of 

 their hinder parts : bleeding them, by cutting off the 

 last joint of the tail, may perhaps be of service to 

 them. I cannot speak of it with any certainty ; yet I 

 have reason to think that I once saved a favourite 

 dog by this operation. In short, by one method or 

 another, I think they may sometimes be recovered. 



The likeliest preservative for those that are well, 

 is keeping them warm at night, and feeding them 

 high. This disorder being probably infectious, it is 

 better to provide an hospital for such as are seized 

 with it, which should be in the back part of the 

 kennel. There is no doubt that some kennels are 

 healthier than others, and consequently less liable to 

 it. I apprehend mine to be one of those ; for, in a 

 dozen years, I do not believe that I have lost half 

 that number of old hounds, although I lose so great 

 a number of whelps at their walks. Neighbouring 



1 Hounds that have the distemper upon them have but little appetite. 

 By feeding two or three together, they eat more greedily. 



