HUNT SERVANTS— THEIR DUTIES 211 



are inside drinking, the hounds, already weary and 

 exhausted, are becoming chilled. 



Like the huntsman, the whip will cultivate civility, 

 which costs nothing and tends greatly to the popu- 

 larity of a pack of hounds. Smart, pleasant, well- 

 spoken Hunt servants, who know their duties and their 

 places, and are popular in the district in which they 

 hunt, add not a little to the prospects of goodwill 

 from farmers and labourers and the chances of finding 

 a hare. Many a shepherd, who knows the seats and 

 runs of hares usually better than any man on the land, 

 is to be conciliated by a pleasant word from the Hunt 

 servants, a piece of silver occasionally from the Master, 

 or a pint of ale from a supporter of the Hunt. 



The feeder, who, with many harrier packs, usually 

 doubles the part of kennel huntsman, is, of course, 

 an important personage in the hunting establishment. 

 Upon him depends practically the welfare of the pack, 

 and thereby the prospect of sport. A good feeder, 

 who knows his business and has the wit to consider 

 the idiosyncrasies and weaknesses of his charges, to 

 note their constitutions, and look after their appetites, 

 is a treasure indeed. Many a delicate hound or poor 

 eater is kept fit for work and has its constitution gradu- 

 ally built up by a careful and painstaking feeder. A 

 careless man lets his hounds rip ; the stronger hounds 

 get more than their share, and the weak and delicate 

 hounds suffer. There is much even in the very cooking 

 of the hound food. 



The loss of a good and successful feeder is often a 

 serious inconvenience to a pack of hounds, which will 

 lose condition and run down astonishingly in the hands 

 of a successor who is careless or does not understand 

 his business. 



In the_case of small harrier packs, therefore, which 



