THE IMPROVED ART OF FARRIERY. 455 



being of the hounds : when there is but one, it is sel- 

 dom sweet ; and when cleaned out, the hounds, par- 

 ticularly in winter, suffer both while it is cleaninij ana 

 as long as it remains wet afterwards. To be mori 

 clearly understood, I shall call one of these the hunu 

 ing-kennel, by which I mean that kennel into which 

 the hounds are draughted which are to hunt the next 

 day. Used always to the same kennel, they will be 

 draughted with little trouble ; they will answer to 

 their names more readily, and you may count your 

 hounds into the kennel with as much ease as a shep- 

 herd counts his sheep out of the fold. 



" When the feeder first comes to the kennel in the 

 morning, he should let out the hounds into the outer 

 court, at the same time opening the door of the 

 hunting kennel, lest want of rest or bad weather should 

 incline them to go into it. The lodging-room should 

 then be cleaned out, the doors and windows of it 

 opened, the litter shaken up, and the whole kennel 

 made sweet and clean before the hounds return to it 

 again. The great court and the other kennels are not 

 less to be attended to, nor should any omission that is 

 hurtful to the hounds be passed over in silence. 



" The floor of each lodging-room should be bricked 

 and sloped on both sides to run to the centre, with a 

 gutter left to carry off the water, that when they are 

 washed they may soon be dry. 



" If water should stand through any fault in the 

 floor, it should be carefully mopped up, for as warmth 

 is in the greatest degree necessary to hounds after 

 work, so damps are equally prejudicial. 



" It is necessary that a vigilant and attentive person 

 should superintend all this, and who so fit as the mas- 

 ter? for if he is inattentive or careless, it cannot be won- 

 dered that the servant should practice a similar system. 



