64 FOX-HUNTING 



they will be content to lie quiet when in kennel. 

 It is not always possible to choose a clay founda- 

 tion, and in that case beneath the floor of the 

 lodging-rooms the ground must be excavated, 

 and two feet of good stiff clay rammed in. 

 Then on top of this must come a layer of con- 

 crete, and over that a floor of blue brick, carefully 

 cemented at the joints. By observing these pre- 

 cautions you will not be troubled with that 

 dreadful scourge kennel-lameness, which is in 

 reality only rheumatism. The popular fallacy 

 about a clay soil being damp is, I think, exploded 

 now. Clay certainly retains moisture, but at the 

 same time it prevents damp from rising. There 

 has been no brick or cement yet invented that 

 is not in a certain degree porous. What happens 

 when you build your kennels on a gravel or sandy 

 soil is this. The heat from the hounds' bodies 

 draws the moisture up from below, and it does 

 not matter if the water is sixty feet down, unless 

 there is a bed of clay above it, the damp is 

 sure to rise in response to the warmth which 

 attracts it. 



There is no cure for kennel-lameness except 

 turning the invalid out to run loose, and then, 



