162 THE TEINITY FOOT BEAGLES 



their feet, and work the fat into muscle. Careful feeding is very 

 necessary, so as to keep back the greedy ones and give the shy feeders 

 a chance, but Bob Floate I considered a very good feeder and a 

 capital kennelman. Everything hounds get to eat, no matter 

 whether they be foxhounds, harriers, or beagles, should be of the best, 

 the best oatmeal, best dog-biscuits, good horse-flesh properly cooked, 

 plenty of green stuff mixed in their food, and some sulphur, 

 plenty good bedding on their benches, plenty of water used to clean 

 out their sleeping chamber and the outside yards, and a plentiful 

 supply of good (running if possible) water for them to drink. 



Now as to entering young hounds, if it is possible they should be 

 entered and know something of what is expected of them before they 

 hunt with the pack at Cambridge, which, of course, means their 

 being entered by the Master or one of his Whips in vacation time. 

 They should be taken out with a small pack of staunch, steady old 

 hounds, no babblers or skirters, and taken to where there are no 

 rabbits, if possible. Puppies are light-hearted, and a rabbit jumping 

 up in front is certain to have a following of them, and sometimes 

 of old hounds too, especially at the beginning of a season. Another 

 thing to my mind in favour of entering puppies before term time is, 

 that if they know their work, they are not so apt to be frightened by 

 the number of people following them, and the noise of whips cracking. 

 In my time I am sure we made far too much noise, too much shout- 

 ing, too much horn-blowing, and too much whip-cracking. I found 

 the whistle a very good thing, and my whips and two or three others 

 I could depend on carried them. It saved confusion, and besides it 

 is difficult to holloa melodiously when you have run over a mile or 

 more of Cambridgeshire ploughs. 



[The practice of starting with hounds fat (moderately fat, of 

 course) is in thorough accord with the principles of physiology. 

 Thick fat is essentially a reserve on which to work. — F. C. K.] 



The last paragraph shows the importance of some training 

 analogous to "cubbing" as a preliminary to the regular hunting 

 season. This is now done regularly at Eeaveley, and notes on this 

 subject are reserved till further on. Here follow some further 



