258 SYSTEM OF KENNEL AND . 



keeping a stud of bad ones. It is an established fact 

 that the better the condition by training and exer- 

 cise, the better fitted for hard work are men, horses, 

 and hounds, and less hable to suffer from blows and 

 injuries. A man accustomed to walk or ride so 

 many hours in the day can undergo almost any 

 amount of toil with comparative ease, his muscles 

 and body being in a healthy state, and we know by 

 experience how soon the whole corporeal frame gets 

 out of order by inactivity. There was a remark 

 in the old posting days, ^^What becomes of post- 

 boys and donkeys ? '^ from never hearing of the one 

 or the other paying the debt of nature. Huntsmen 

 also and whippers-in generally live to a green old 

 age. The two celebrated masters of hounds, 

 Assheton Smith and Osbaldeston, attained each 

 their eightieth year ; and no two men ever worked 

 so hard in the saddle for the greater part of their 

 lives. And we find as no uncommon case, that the 

 larger the country hunted by one master, the less 

 the sport, simply because foxes are not routed about 

 sufficiently, and, being out of condition, fall an easy 

 prey to their pursuers. The subdivision of over- 

 grown countries has always, as far as sport is 

 concerned, been attended with beneficial results ; 

 and we can name several which within our re- 

 collection formerly occupied by one pack of hounds, 

 find plenty of room for two now. 



The Warwickshire, divided a few years since into 

 North and South ; the Craven, a large slice of which 

 was handed over to the late Squire of Tedworth 

 some thirty years ago ; and, more recently, Mr. 



