124 HUNTING. 



young things thrive in the early spring as they do at no other 

 time of year, and experience shows that puppies so born grow 

 into the best hounds. 



When the mother is about to whelp, she is taken at Badmin- 

 ton to the bitch and puppy houses, of which drawings are 

 given. The kennel at the back of each little run closes with 

 a door divided into two parts, over the bottom half of which 

 the mother can easily pass to and from her puppies. Gates, as 

 will be seen in the elevation, shut in each run, so that the little 

 creatures cannot stray, and the roof comes right over so as to 

 afford shelter. The divisions between the half-dozen little 

 yards are movable, and thus the puppies can have a fair-sized 

 run if the divisions are taken away. The mother, it will be ob- 

 served, can be shut in if necessary, ventilation being provided 

 over every door. That a good bed and an abundant supply of 

 food must be given to the mother is too obvious to need 

 explanation. 



About May, when three or four months old the period 

 must be judged by the growth and condition of the animals- 

 puppies are ready to be sent to their walks, where they remain to 

 be tended at the discretion of their temporary masters till the 

 following spring. Those that find quarters at a dairy farm are 

 well placed, but during this year of their lives the puppies are 

 usually well cared for. Often, indeed, they return to their 

 kennels as fat as pigs going to market, and this is bad ; a few 

 are perhaps on the other hand thin and poor, owing to the 

 ignorance or carelessness of those with whom they have been 

 living, and such puppies are generally very shy and wild. 



Their childhood is now over, and the serious business of 

 life begins. They must be brought by degrees to be as other 

 hounds are ; but as different puppies have been differently treated 

 during the past year at their various homes,, some are much 

 longer than others before they accept the food and discipline of 

 the kennel. Puppies often take to kennel food at once, others 

 are some days, occasionally some weeks, before they eat with 

 relish. The food supplied to them is much the same as that 



