78 HUNTING. 



inkling of their business, and enter without further trouble at 

 the beginning of the following season. 



If possible, never take out less than ten couples ; 12^ or 13 

 is perhaps the best number, and never more than 15 couples, 

 anything in excess of that complement looks ridiculous, and 

 when unravelling an entangled skein of work, a lot of hounds 

 only tumble over one another and get in each other's way. 



It is well, however, to keep 15 or 16 couples of working 

 hounds ; bitches have an inconvenient knack of going to heat 

 at the same time, accidents occur in the field, and deadly fights 

 are not uncommon in the kennels. No more quarrelsome 

 fiend exists than your harrier in private life, and there is often 

 a Mephistopheles in the pack, who, having started a wrangle, 

 sneaks quietly out of the fray, and with grim contentment 

 watches his brethren rolling over in a compact mass, and worry- 

 ing to the death. To avoid this internecine strife, the hounds 

 should, where there is accommodation for the purpose, be 

 separated into small batches, especially at night, except after 

 hunting, when they will sleep together quietly enough and lie 

 warmer. Feeding is conducted on much the same lines as with 

 foxhounds ; the diet consisting of flesh and meal, and the 

 kitchen refuse is often thus utilised. In kennels where 

 economy is studied, Indian meal, though not so nutritious, may 

 safely be substituted for oatmeal. Harriers do not generally 

 travel such long distances to covert, or make such long days 

 as the fox-hunting packs, and can therefore do with less 

 stimulating food. In some few establishments Spratt's biscuits 

 are exclusively used, steeped for twenty-four hours in cold water, 

 but the mess should be warmed before it goes into the troughs. 

 Slaughtering and all the regular dirty work is of course avoided 

 by this system, which nevertheless is not popular amongst 

 kennel huntsmen. Bones and hides, where allowed, are 

 valuable perquisites. 



The staff need not necessarily consist of more than two 

 servants ; one man can easily double the parts of kennel and 

 field huntsman, or he can whip-in if the master, as he usually 



