in the Seventies and Eighties. '5 



the walls were more than once whitewashed with quicklime, 

 which was allowed to remain on them a few weeks. The 

 benches, feeding troughs, and all utensils were taken out 

 and replaced by new ones. Lastly, all the wood paling and 

 doors had a thick coating of hot gas tar, mixed with quick- 

 Hme, which formed a perfect japan. Every portion of the 

 premises used by the hounds was treated in this manner ; 

 and though the disease has been rife* in the district, I am 

 happy to say no case of dumb-madness or rabies has made 

 its appearance in the new pack. 



The hounds contributed by the hberality of fully forty 

 masters of hounds were, by Dowdeswell's unremitting atten- 

 tion soon got under command. We took the field with the 

 dog pack on New Year's Day, and killed a leash of foxes; 

 since then they have been constantly at work, and though, 

 as was naturally to be expected, there was a good deal of 

 jealousy among them, with the exception of some that would 

 not run up, and a little want of steadiness, they have done 

 very fairly. Luck has not favoured them much, as several 

 times after very good runs, when they were fairly entitled 

 to blood, their fox has escaped by the narrowest hairs-breadth, 

 but on the whole, they have shown much better sport than 

 could possibly have been expected. A perfect pack of fox- 

 hounds, however, is not to be got together in two or three 

 months; but, looking at the bitch pack, which is as even 

 and good-looking as is seen in most old establishments, it is 

 evident, with a little judicious drafting and a few more en- 

 tries— some of the best blood in the kingdom furnishing the 

 nucleus— there ought to be little difficulty, in a few years, 



• Two terriers, belonging to a member of the Author's family, died on the same day of dumb- 

 madness, about this time. They succumbed in a few hours to the attack and were per- 

 fectly harmless throughout. 



