I50 HUNTING. 



to recognise the whipper-in in his new capacity. It stands to 

 reason that the man who has been for weeks or months driving 

 hounds from him will not find them come to him very freely when 

 he wants them to do so. Then the kennel huntsman comes in. 

 It is a great advantage to a man who has to feed hounds to 

 see them in the field, and he should always have two or three 

 horses at his disposal, to be able to hunt at times, twice or 

 thrice a week say. He then sees how his conditioning answers, 

 and whether some want rather more, others rather less, food. 

 The third sort is, I think, objectionable. It is the kennel hunts- 

 man to whom the hounds look for protection in the kennel, who 

 whips-in to his master, and is obliged to drive and rate, and 

 perhaps strike a hound in the field. A good man as kennel 

 huntsman is a very valuable addition to a kennel establishment. 

 If he has studied veterinary books a little and knows the proper- 

 ties and effects of different medicines, it is a great advantage. 

 Kennel servants are often terribly ignorant on this point, and 

 might as well give known poisons as the medicines they ad- 

 minister in certain circumstances. 



I am very fond of listening to hounds singing in kennel. 

 It is delightful to hear as it rises and falls, and seems as if each 

 hound had studied his notes ; it is also a beautiful sight to see 

 them sitting up with heads in air enjoying their chorus. At 

 Badminton, ever since I can recollect it has been the practice 

 not to interfere wnth them and to let them have their song out. 

 Charles Hamblin has a theory that they are apt to fight ; 

 but that is all nonsense ; they are much more apt to fight if 

 they are stopped. I never knew a case of their fighting after 

 singing. They seem satisfied and quiet. They sing much 

 more in the summer time and when they are fresh than during 

 the hunting season ; still they will do it at all times, but more 

 or less according to how fresh they are, and with regard to the 

 state of the weather. Fine weather induces them to sing. I 

 am sure it is much better for them to enjoy their music. To 

 my mind a huntsman will do well to allow this without any 

 interference, and to avoid a much more likely source of fights, 



