188 THE TKINITY FOOT BEAGLES 



Free began driving the hounds out when the fir-st covered van 

 was built in 1880. I can well remember old Free. He had a per- 

 fectly round face, a bright red complexion framed in snow-white 

 whiskers, and beady eyes. He looked like the typical ferocious 

 Anglo-Indian Colonel Sahib of the comic papers, with the ferocity 

 left out. He is still alive and well though considerably aged, and 

 his son now drives out in his stead. 



In March 1895 the Beagle Hound Van was given a coat of paint, 

 and a tarpaulin nailed on the roof, which was very much "wanted. — 

 K. W. 



This I can well believe from recollections of my own time, as also 

 the need of paint. The top of a hound van is very like a deck, and 

 it is a sure sign of old age when planking ceases to be watertight 

 and needs covering with canvas or Linoleum. The soundest and 

 neatest job in such cases is to stick stout caUco down on to the roof 

 with marine glue and copper tacks, using plenty of glue and pressing 

 the cahco down on to it with a flat-iron. A beading can be tacked 

 down on the margins, and the rao-oed edo-es trimmed off to make a 

 neat job. Paint three coats. It would be better to use flexible paint, 

 as this will not crack when dry. It can be prepared as follows : 

 Boil 2 oz. hard yellow soap in a little water. While boiling add 

 two pints best boiled linseed oil, hot. On cooling, add turpentine, 

 I pint, and oil of vitriol, half a wine-glass. This can be applied 

 alone or mixed half and half with ordinary paint of any desired 

 colour. 



Canvas or very stout cahco might answer, tacked down with 

 copper tacks, without the glue, and painted as above. It would be 

 more easily renewed. — F. C. K. 



A new Beagle cart would be a tremendous boon to the T.F.B. If 

 any Master had the money to spare, or felt that he could raise 

 a subscription to buy one, he should not hesitate to do so. — 

 H. S. Gladstone. 



Next year the thing was done, and it is a great credit to the 

 Shropshire carpenter that the old van had held out so long (twenty 

 years). — F. C. K. 



A new hound van was built for the T.F.B. in December 1900 



