268 SYSTEM OF KENNEL AND 



baths immediately on their return to kennel, and 

 when emerging reeking from their bath, they should 

 be immediately fed, then turned out for a short 

 time into their airing-yard, and then into their 

 dormitory for the night. Now this course is mani- 

 festly inconsistent. To subject any animal, biped 

 or quadruped, when reeking-hot from a warm bath, 

 to a cold wintry atmosphere, can be productive 

 only of the worst results, by throwing a sudden 

 chill upon its body, and entirely neutralizing the 

 good effects supposed to accrue from warm water. 

 The wooden boxes in general use for this purpose 

 were of oblong shape, and of sufficient length to 

 admit two hounds back to back, and deep enough 

 to immerse the whole body, except the head, under 

 water. In these baths the houuds were placed for 

 a few seconds, whilst their attendants were rubbing 

 the dirt off with scrubbing-brushes, and then after 

 being fed they were allowed to lick themselves dry, 

 without being dried by hand. This was one of our 

 chief objections to the process, for we could not see 

 any benefit likely to follow from hounds licking off 

 dirty broth from each other, and dirty to a certain 

 extent it always would be, unless they were taken 

 out of one bath and placed into another of cleaner 

 water ; and the time thus occupied in doing the 

 thing properly and efficiently, washing clean eigh- 

 teen couples of hounds, may be imagined as an- 

 tagonistic to the working out of the system, with 

 their huntsman ravenous for his own dinner. Under 

 such circumstances the benefit derived was very 

 questionable. Our plan differed from this. We 



