272 THE BOOK OF THE DOG. 



His strength, his wind, or on the sleepy hill, 

 Or far extended plain ; in every part 

 So well proportioned, that the nicer skill 

 Of Phidias himself can't blame thy choice. 

 Of such compose thy pack.' 



"The colour I think the least material of all; and I think with our friend Foote, that 

 a good dog, like a good candidate, cannot be of a bad colour. 



" A good feeder is an essential part of your establishment. Let him be young and 

 active, and have the reputation, at least, of not disliking work ; he should be good-tempered, 

 for the sake of the animals entrusted to his care, and who, however they may be treated 

 by him, cannot complain. He should be one who will strictly obey any orders you may give, 

 as well with regard to the management as to the breeding of the hounds, and should not 

 be solely under the direction of your huntsman. It is true I have seen it otherwise : I have 

 known a pack of hounds belong, as it were, entirely to the huntsman, a stable of horses 

 belong to the groom, whilst the master had little more power in the direction of cither than 

 a perfect stranger. This you will not suffer. 



"I shall now take notice of that part of the management of hounds in the kennel 

 which concerns the huntsman as well as the feeder. Your huntsman must always attend 

 the feeding of the hounds, which should be drafted according to the condition they are in. 

 In all packs some hounds will feed better than others ; some there are that will do with 

 less meat, and it requires a nice eye and great attention to keep them all in good flesh 

 it is what distinguishes a good kennel-huntsman, and has its merit. It is seldom, I think, 

 that huntsmen give this particular all the attention it deserves ; they feed their hounds in 

 too great a hurry, and not often, I believe, take the trouble of casting their eye over them 

 before they begin ; and yet to distinguish, with any nicety, the order a pack of hounds are 

 in, and the different degrees of it, is surely no easy task, and to be done well requires no 

 small degree of circumspection. You had better not expect your huntsman to be very 

 exact ; where precision is required he will most probably fail. 



"When I am present myself, I make several drafts. When my huntsman feeds them 

 he calls them all over by their names, letting in each hound as he is called ; it has its 

 use it uses them to their names, and teaches them to be obedient. Were it not for this, 

 I should disapprove of it entirely, since it certainly requires more coolness and deliberation 

 to distinguish with precision which are best entitled to precedence, than this method of 

 feeding will admit of, and, unless flesh is in great plenty, those that are called in last 

 may not have a taste of it. To prevent this inconvenience, such as are low in flesh had 

 better, I think, be all drafted off into a separate kennel ; by this means, the hounds that 

 require flesh will have an equal share of it. If any are much poorer than the rest, they 

 should be fed again such hounds cannot be fed too often. If any in the pack are too 

 fat, they should be drafted off, and not suffered to fill themselves ; the others should eat 

 what they will of the meat. The days my hounds have greens or sulphur, they generally 

 are let in all together, and such as require flesh have it given to them afterwards. Having 

 a good kennel-huntsman, it is not often I take this trouble ; yet I seldom go into my 

 kennel but I give myself the pleasure of seeing such hounds fed as appear to me to be 

 in want of it. I have been told that in one kennel in particular the hounds are under 

 such excellent management that they constantly are fed with the door of the feeding-yard 

 open, and the rough nature of the Foxhound is changed into so much politeness that he 



