VARIETIES OF THE DOG. 75 



The pupping being accomplished, the mother should be carefully attended 

 to. She should be liberally fed, and particularly should have her share of 

 animal food, and an increased quantity of milk. 



The bitch should not have whelps until she has hunted two seasons ; for, 

 before that time it will be scarcely possible to ascertain her excellences or 

 defects. If there are any considerable faults, she should be immediately 

 rejected. 



When the time approaches for her to produce her puppies, she should be 

 allowed a certain degree of liberty, and should choose her couch and run 

 about a little more than usual ; but, when the young ones are born, the less 

 they are handled the better. The constitution and appearance of the 

 mother will indicate how many should be kept. If two litters are born 

 at or about the same time, or within two or three days of each other, we 

 may interchange one or two of the whelps of each of them, and perhaps 

 increase the value of both. 



When the whelps are able to crawl to a certain distance, it will be time 

 to mark them, according to their respective litters, some on the ear and 

 others on the lip. The dew-claws should be removed, and, usually, a small 

 tip from the tail. Their names also should be recorded. 



The whelps will begin to lap very soon after they can look about them, 

 and should remain with the mother until they are fully able to take care of 

 themselves. They may then be prepared to go to quarters. 



Two or three doses of physic should be given to the mother, with in- 

 tervals of four or five days between each : this will prepare her to return 

 to the kennel. 



There is often considerable difficulty in disposing of the whelps until 

 they get old and stout enough to be brought into the kennel. They are 

 mostly sent to some of the neighbouring cottages, in order to be taken 

 care of; but they are often neglected and half starved there. In conse- 

 quence of this, distemper soon appears, and many of them are lost. 



Whelps walked, or taken care of at butchers' houses, soon grow to a con- 

 siderable size ; but they are apt to be heavy-shouldered and throaty, and 

 perhaps otherwise deformed. There is some doubt whether it might not 

 be better for the sportsman to take the management of them himself, and 

 to have a kennel built purposely for them. It may, perhaps, be feared 

 that the distemper will get among them : they would, however, be well 

 fed, and far more comfortable than they now are ; and, as to the distemper, 

 it is a disease that they must have some time or other. 



From twenty to thirty couples are quite as many as can be easily 

 managed ; and the principal consideration is, whether they are steady, and 

 as nearly as possible possessing equal speed. When the packs are very 

 large, the hounds are seldom sufficiently hunted to be good. Few persons 

 choose to hunt every day, or, if they did, it is not likely that the weather 

 would permit them. The sportsman would, therefore, be compelled to take 

 an inconvenient number into the field, and too many must be left behind. 

 In the first place, too many hounds in the field would frequently spoil the 

 sport ; and, on the other hand, the hounds that remained would get out of 

 wind, or become riotous, or both. Hounds, to be useful and good, should 

 be constantly hunted ; but a great fault in many packs is their having too 

 many old dogs among them. 



Young hounds, when first taken to the kennel, should be kept separate 

 from the rest of the pack, otherwise there will be frequent and dangerous 



