126 HUNTING. 



valuable to farmers, which is taken from the lodging rooms, and ib 

 otherwise useless. It is these considerations which make a farmer 

 think it worth his while to supply straw for the manure. 



It is also desirable that the hospital for sick hounds should be 

 near the feeding room, or they are not attended to as they should 

 be, but be kept out of sight. Here the man has only to open the 

 top part of the door, and look in, and if a hound is in want he has 

 him in at once. This lodging room is divided into three parts in 

 case of any doubtful hound, by putting which aside in time, the 

 whole pack may often be saved from illness, or, a worse evil still, 

 from madness. 



The door out of the young hounds' kennel into the grass yard 

 is intended to be open all day long, as it is most desirable that they 

 should have room to exercise themselves, when first brought home 

 from their walks, before they are under command, while by con- 

 stantly taking them to be fed they soon come to. The time they 

 are brought home is generally during the season when the men 

 have not time to take them out, even if under command, which 

 makes it so necessary for them to have a grass '^\o\.^ inclosed^ to run 

 over : and often prevents distemper going through the whole lot, 

 as is often the case when they are confined close together. 



There are pipes to convey water to every kennel, with a tap 

 in each. 



Artificial heat of any sort is to be entirely condemned The 

 system of warming kennels by hot- water pipes is wholly mis- 

 chievous and wrong. Plenty of straw or fern should be spread 

 on the benches, and the warmth of the hounds' bodies as they 

 lie huddled together close to each other will give out sufficient 

 heat. At no time should the top half of the kennel door be 

 quite closed. 



It will be found very useful to have the benches made with 

 hinges, as Beckford advises, and hooks in the wall, that they may 

 be folded up while cleaning is going on. The necessity for the 

 most scrupulous cleanness in every part cannot be too often or 

 too strongly insisted on. This cannot be really preserved 

 without two lodging rooms. It is bad for the hounds to stand 

 shivering outside in the cold, while their one room is being swept 

 and washed ; and worse still for them to be kept in the room 

 which is being washed. 



