36 HUNTING THE FOX 



Kennels the thick oatmeal and flesh that is, or 

 ought to be, served during the hunting season is 

 watered down. This must surely be a mistake. 

 Sohds are the natural sustenance of dogs. They 

 will no doubt swallow gallons of slush if they cannot 

 get anything else, but as it does not stay by them, it 

 is doubtful if it does them any good, and it is really 

 wasted. It is true that when they are not working 

 under high pressure they will require less food ; 

 but it is good policy in the summer to let the con- 

 sistency remain thick as in the winter, and to give 

 them less of it, with the addition of some boiled 

 greens or nettles. Hounds should also be halted 

 at summer exercise where the young grass is long 

 and they will soon obey the dictates of nature 

 and clean their digestive organs by eating it. By 

 giving them thick food in a greater or a less amount 

 all the year round, the sound quality of their tissues 

 will be maintained. After a fortnight of slush a 

 Hound will become flabby ; his coat, that true 

 index of health, will lack lustre ; he will lose his 

 vitality, and his whole system will take weeks to 

 recuperate at the very season of the year when 

 he ought to be fit for long exercise. A Hound's 

 condition should never be let down below a certain 

 level. It is so much easier to let down than to 

 build up. 



The proper feeding of the Hounds has been given 

 the first place in the summer duties of the Hunts- 



