VARIETIES OF THE DOG. 83 



Mr. Meynell found that the use of dry unboiled oatmeal succeeded better 

 than any other thing he had tried with delicate hounds. When once 

 induced to take it, they would eat it greedily, and it seemed to be far more 

 heartening than most kinds of aliment. Other hounds of delicate con- 

 stitution might be tempted with a little additional flesh, and with the 

 thickest and best of the trough, but they required to be watched, and often 

 to be coaxed to eat. 



The dog possesses the power of struggling against want of food for an 

 almost incredible period. One of these animals, six years old, was miss- 

 ing three-and-twenty days ; at length some children wandering in a distant 

 wood thought that they frequently heard the baying of a dog. The master 

 was told of it, and at the bottom of an old quarry, sixty feet deep, and the 

 mouth of which he had almost closed by his vain attempts to escape, the 

 voice of the poor fellow was recognised. With much difficulty he was 

 extricated, and found in a state of emaciation ; his body cold as ice and his 

 thirst inextinguishable, and he scarcely able to move. They gave him at 

 intervals small portions of bread soaked in milk and water. Two days 

 afterwards he was able to follow his master a short distance. 



This occurrence is mentioned by M. Pinguin as a proof that neither 

 hunger nor thirst could produce rabies. Messrs. Majendie and F. Cousins 

 have carried their observations to the extent of forty days, a disgraceful 

 period. a 



MANAGEMENT OF THE PACK. 



Sixty-five couples of hounds in full work will consume the carcases of 

 three horses in one week, or five in a fortnight. The annual consumption 

 of meal will be somewhat more than two tons per month. 



In feeding, the light eaters should be let in first, and a little extra flesh 

 distributed on the surface of the food, in order to coax those that are most 

 shy. Some hounds cannot be kept to their work unless fed two or three 

 times a day; while others must not be allowed more than six or seven laps, 

 or they would get too much. 



In summer an extra cow or two will be of advantage in the dairy ; for 

 the milk, after it has been skimmed, may be used instead of flesh. 

 There must always be a little flesh in hand for the sick, for bitches with 

 their whelps, and for the entry of young hounds. b About Christmas is the 

 time to arrange the breeding establishment. The number of puppies 

 produced is usually from five to eight or nine ; but, in one strange case, 

 eighteen of them made their appearance. The constitution and other ap- 

 pearances in the dam, will decide the number to be preserved. When the 

 whelps are sufficiently grown to run about, they should be placed in a 

 warm situation, with plenty of fresh grass, and a sufficient quantity of 

 clean, but not too stimulating, food. They should then be marked accord- 

 ing to their "respective letters, that they may be always recognised. When 

 the time comes, the ears of the dog should be rounded ; the size of the ear 

 and of the head guiding the rounding-iron. 



This being passed, the master of the pack takes care that his treatment 

 shall be joyous and playful ; encouragement is always with him the word. 

 The dog should be taught the nature of the fault before he is corrected : 



a Traite de la Folie des Animaux, torn. ii. 39. b Mr. D. Radcliffe. 



G 2 



