214 KENNELS AND KENNEL MANAGEMENT. 



The regular daily kennel discipline is as follows : With the four 

 Jodging-rooms doscribed there should always be two dry and clean 

 in the early morning, having been washed the day before. Into 

 these the general pack should be turned, as soon as the doors are 

 opened, or, if the morning is not wet, directly after a short airing 

 in the paddock. The feeder then sweeps out the room in which 

 they have slept, and afterwards mops it clean, drying the floor as 

 much as possible, so that by ten or eleven o'clock it is fit for the 

 hounds to re-enter. The men then get their breakfast, and directly 

 afterwards the hounds are taken out to exercise, or the hunting 

 hounds to their regular day's work. If the form:r, they are 

 brought back to kennel at eleven o'clock, fed, and returned to 

 their regular lodging-room, or in some kennels they are still kept 

 (n a separate room during the day and night, always taking care 

 that they are not turned into a room while the floor is damp, and 

 that strict cleanliness is practised nevertheless. The hour of 

 feeding is generally fixed for eleven o'clock, but for the day before 

 hunting it should be an hour or two later, varying with the dis- 

 tance they have to travel. Water should be constantly provided, 

 taking care that the troughs are raised above the hight at which 

 dogs can pass their urine into it, which they will otherwise be 

 constantly doing. As before remarked, iron troughs are the best. 

 After feeding, the hounds should remain quiet for the rest of the 

 day. Only stir them in removing them from their day-room to 

 their night-room, if two are allowed, which, I think, is an excellent 

 practice. 



The food of hounds is composed of meal flavored with broth, to 

 which more or less flesh is added, or with scraps as a substitute 

 when flesh cannot be obtained. The relative value of the various 

 meals is described at page 201, but I may here remark that old 

 oatmeal is the recognized food of hounds, though corn meal is 

 an excellent substitute. After boiling the flesh until the meat 

 readily leaves the bones, take all out with a pitchfork, and put it 

 to cool, skim all the fat off the broth, and fill up with water to the 

 proper quantity; next mix the meal carefully with cold water, 

 and then pour this into the hot broth, keeping it constantly stirred 



