1 84 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS 



and it is one of the peculiar duties of a good huntsman 

 to see that each hound gets a fair and square meal. 

 About a pound of the stirabout and from a quarter 

 to half a pound of flesh are recommended as being 

 a fair day's allowance for a single foxhound during 

 the hunting season. A harrier can do with a trifle, 

 but not much, less. Once a week it is advisable to 

 boil with the soup some kind of vegetable, greens, 

 turnips, &c., as before mentioned. In summer the 

 feeding is, of course, lighter ; little flesh is given, and 

 more Indian meal, which is cheaper than old Scotch 

 oatmeal, may be provided. The paunch of a cow, 

 containing grass half digested, is recommended by 

 Stonehenge as a good and cooling food. On inter- 

 mediate days thin porridge, instead of the stiff stir- 

 about, may form the dietary. Plenty of vegetables may 

 at this time be used, boiled in the broth, and given 

 towards evening, in addition to the morning meal. 



The time of feeding varies a good deal. Some packs 

 feed as early as seven or eight o'clock in the morning. 

 Eleven o'clock is a favourite time. I know one or 

 two packs which make their meal at two. With 

 harriers, where the establishment is usually on a 

 modest scale, the time of feeding must depend a little 

 more than is the case with a pack of foxhounds on the 

 convenience of the kennel huntsman. On the day 

 of hunting, hounds are, of course, not fed until they 

 come in from their work. Some Masters prefer that 

 they should then wait an hour before being fed. In 

 the meantime they may be sluiced with warm water 

 and sprinkled with broth, the latter practice inducing 

 them to lick one another clean. In cold weather, 

 however, too much washing is not good for hounds. 

 The late Earl of Suffolk, who kept harriers for some 

 years, preferred, in summer, that his hounds should 



