FOX-HUNTING 49 



lifetime, for puppies are like all children, inasmuch as 

 it is impossible to tell whether they will inherit the 

 good qualities of their parents. To recruit a pack of 

 hounds is an annual labour. A hound begins to hunt 

 at eighteen months, and his average life in the hunting- 

 field is five seasons; therefore at least twenty per 

 cent, of the full strength of the pack must be entered 

 annually to fox, i.e. taught to hunt fox only, for 

 it is the nature of the hound to hunt any animal 

 which carries a scent. It is not our province to 

 teach an M.F.H. how to breed hounds ; but it is 

 our experience, that however careful an M.F.H. 

 may be in breeding hounds, only half of the 

 whelps will eventually be of any use in the hunting- 

 field. It must also be remembered that the finest 

 judges in the world cannot tell whether a whelp will 

 develop into a good hound. The breeding of hounds 

 is a lottery, but it is a lottery which subscribers to 

 hounds should take into consideration when they are 

 thinking about increasing or decreasing their subscrip- 

 tions. We will now give a brief summary of the life 

 of a good hound. 



A good hound should be born in February or the end 

 of January, and be suckled by his mother as long as her 

 milk lasts, which will be for about six weeks, unless 

 she is allowed to rear a large litter, which is undesir- 

 able. We believe that no bitch should be allowed to 

 bring up more than four puppies. By May it will be 

 time for him to go to his " walk," where he will remain 

 for the year of his puppyhood. "Will you walk a 

 puppy?" is the constant request of the M.F.H. to 

 farmers and landowners towards the end of the hunt- 

 ing season, which means, "Will you take care of a 

 puppy for twelve months ? " Most people are only too 



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