CHAPTEE VIII 



THE FAKMERS BOOK 



Loook 'o\v quoloty smoiles when they seeas me a passin' boy, 

 Say to thessen naw doubt " what a man a bea sewer-loy ! " 



Tennyson's Northern Farmer. 



HE management of a pack of hounds 

 is a complicated business requiring 

 knowledge of a character both ex- 

 tensive and peculiar, the co-ordina- 

 tion of many details, and an infinite 

 capacity for taking pains ; and 

 there are two indispensable factors 

 — hounds and a country in which 

 to hunt them. Hounds must be 

 housed and fed, and as they get old 

 and are " put down " others must 

 be bred to fill their place. Housing 

 means kennels and the land on 

 which they are built, and this means law-rates, taxes, etc. Feeding, 

 and aU the odd items of upkeep, means a kennelman and constant 

 care and supervision if money is not to be wasted, and knowledge of 

 the care of hounds if they are to be kept fit for their work. 



As all this costs money, be your economy never so ingenious, 

 there are therefore subscribers to be attracted and shown sport. 

 They nmst be given proper notice of the meets, and in T.F.B. their 

 conveyance thereto provided. They also expect tea to be ordered for 

 them when the sport is over. 



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