HORSES AITD HOUNDS. 105 



cellent recipe, and will draw to a head as well as heal : a spoon- 

 ful of honey, one of flour, one of sweet oil, one of weak wliite 

 wine, and an egg, yolk and white. Put these all together in a 

 saucepan over the fire, and keep stirring it one ivay all the time 

 till it is thick. Use it as a poultice loarm twice a day till the 

 swelling breaks, dress \\ith it in the same manner till the wound 

 is perfectly cleansed ; then spread the same cold as a salve on 

 white leather, and use it as a plaster till the wound is healed. 

 This is a most excellent recipe for boils or swellings in man and 

 beast, which require to be brought to a head and healed. For 

 bad cuts or bites, fomenting first with some warm liquor from 

 the flesh copper, and a small quantity of salt dissolved in it,_ is 

 the safest and surest way to ensure a cure ; and this alone, with 

 the dog's tongue, will be sufficient in many cases. In others 

 Fryar's balsam, with an equal proportion of brandy, may be 

 applied. 



In flinty countries, where hounds' feet are much bniised, 

 I have known huntsmen adopt the barbarous practice of cutting 

 the ball of the foot, by which means the hound is totally inca- 

 pacitated from working for some days, at least. Foment first 

 with warm water or liquor until the inflammation subsides, and 

 then apply some spermaceti or elder ointment ; on the following 

 day alum or salt water to harden the foot. 



For sprains or rheumatism the following is a good recipe : — 

 3oz, of spirits of wine, 4oz. of spirits of white lavender, 4oz. of 

 oil of origanum, and ^oz. of camphor. 



The best food for hounds is unquestionably good old oatmeal, 

 a stock of which should be kept in hand. The best time to lay 

 it in for the ensuing season is about Christmas, when_ it is 

 generally cheapest. The Irish and Scotch are considered 

 superior to the English. If pressed down in casks, or placed in 

 good binns, it will keep well for a twelvemonth or two years. I 

 have tried wheat meal, Indian corn, and barley. These may do 

 in the summer months, but hounds cannot work upon them in 

 the hunting season as upon oatmeal. No race of men are more 

 hardy, or can do more work than the Scotch labourers, who live 

 chiefly upon this food ; and it has been ascertained that oats 

 contain more muscular matter than wheat. The coarser the 

 oatmeal is, the better ; it should be well boiled for an hour, 

 stirring the while, to prevent its catching at the bottom of the 

 copper. I had once a lazy feeder, who used to let the meal boil 

 sometimes without stirring it, and the consequence was nearly 

 fatal to himself, as from this neglect the copper burst, and 

 scalded him severely. Other feeders I have known who con- 

 tinued pouring in oatmeal, until it became so thick that they 



