ENTERING HOUNDS 39 



turns out a badger, first taking "care to break his teeth : he takes out about 

 two couple of old hounds along with the young ones, to hold them on. He 

 never enters his young hounds but at vermin ; for he says, ' train up a 

 child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.' 



Summer hunting, though useful to young hounds, is prejudicial to 

 old ones ; I think, therefore, you. will do well to reserve some of the best 

 of your draft-hounds to enter your young hounds with, selecting such as 

 are most likely to set them a good example. It is needless to tell you 

 they should not be skirters, but, on the contrary, should be fair-hunting 

 hounds ; such as love a scent, and that hunt closest on the line of it : it 

 will be necessary that some of them should be good finders, and all must 

 be steady. Thus you procure for your young hounds the best instructors, 

 and at the same time prevent two evils which would necessarily ensue, 

 were they taught by the whole pack one, that of corrupting, and getting 

 into scrapes, such as are not much wiser than themselves ; and the other, 

 that of occasioning much flogging and rating, which always shies and 

 interrupts the hunting of an old hound. An old hound is a sagacious 

 animal, and is not fond of trusting himself in the way of an enraged whipper- 

 in, who, as experience has taught him, can flog severely, and can flog 

 unjustly. By attending to this advice, you will improve one part of your 

 pack, without prejudice to the other ; while such as never separate their 

 young hounds from the old, are not likely to have any of them steady. 



You ask, at what time you should begin to enter your young hounds ? 

 that question is easily answered ; for you certainly should begin with 

 them as soon as you can. The time must vary in different countries : 

 in corn countries, it may not be possible to hunt till after the corn is cut ; 

 in grass countries, you may begin sooner ; and, in woodlands, you may 

 hunt as soon as you please. If you have plenty of foxes, and can afford 

 to make a sacrifice of some of them, for the sake of making your young 

 hounds steady, take them first where you have least riot, putting some 

 of the steadiest of your old hounds amongst them. If in such a place you 

 are fortunate enough to find a litter of foxes, you may assure yourself you 

 will have but little trouble with your young hounds afterwards. 



Such young hounds as are most riotous at first, generally speaking, 

 I think, are best in the end. A gentleman in my neighbourhood was so 

 thoroughly convinced of this, that he complained bitterly of a young 

 pointer to the person who gave it him, because he had done no mischief. 

 However, meeting the same person some time after, he told him the dog r 

 he believed, would prove a good one at last. ' How so ? ' demanded his. 

 friend ; ' it was but the other day that you said he was good for nothing.' 

 ' True ; but he has killed me nineteen turkeys since that.' 



If, owing to a scarcity of foxes, you should stoop your hounds at 

 hare, let them by no means have the blood of her ; nor, for the sake of 



