116 EEMIXISCEXCES OF A SPORTSMAN. 



bench for the dogs to lie on and Lask themselves in the 

 sun when the weather is not too hot or sultry. To carry 

 off the urine, outside of the courtyard a gutter should 

 be made, and a small drain to receive it: a door must 

 be made on one side of the courtyard for the feeder, 

 or any person wishing to see the dogs. The feeding 

 troughs should be on the opposite side to where the bench 

 is placed. A pump or a well near the kennel is very 

 handy for washing out its courtyard, which should 

 be frequently done, or, what is much better, it should 

 be done every day, more especially in the summer ; 

 the dormitory I would have whitewashed, to prevent 

 ticks and other insects harbouring about the place. No 

 lunghill or heap of rubbish should be too near the 

 kennel productive of a bad smell, as this might prove 

 injurious to the scent of the dogs ; and for the same 

 reason the greatest care and attention should be paid 

 in keeping the kennel perfectly clear ; by doing which 

 all bad odours will be avoided. The place where the 

 dogs' victuals are cooked should not be too near the 

 kennel, as the smell of it often makes the dogs uneasy 

 from their being anxious to get at it : the boiler should 

 be of cast iron, and in size proportioned to the number of 

 dogs you have to feed. There should be a large box to 

 contain the oats or barley meal, or ship biscuit which 

 has been a little damaged. The coppers should be 

 daily cleansed : feeding troughs, ladles, knives, forks, 

 &c., should have the same operation performed upon 

 them ; and as I have already said, the gamekeeper should 

 see that all this is done by the man w^ho feeds the dogs. 

 During the spring and summer, I gave my dogs little or 

 no flesh. Barley meal, milk, vegetables, and now and 

 then some cracklings, to make the food more palatable, 



