6£ THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. 



in opposition to such authority, you had better try it ; and^ 

 if it succeed in hounds, it is more, I believe, than it usually 

 does in other animals. A famous cocker assured a friend of 

 mine, that the third generation, which he called a nick, 

 he had found to succeed very well, but no nearer. As I 

 have neither tried one nor the other, I cannot speak with 

 any certainty about them. 



Give particular orders to your feeder to watch over the 

 bitches with a cautious eye, and separate such as are going 

 to be proud, before it be too late. The advances they make, 

 frequently portend mischief as well as love, and, if not pre- 

 vented in tim6, will not fail to set the whole kennel together 

 by the ears, and may occasion the death of your best dogs : 

 care only can prevent it*. 



. *' Mark w«ll the wanton females of thy pack. 

 That curl their taper tails, and frisking court 

 Their pyebald mates enamour'd : their red eyes 

 Flash fires impure ; nor rest nor food they take. 

 Goaded by furious love. In sep'rate cells 

 Confine them now, lest bloody civil wars 

 Annoy thy peaceful state." Somerville. 



* When the bitches are off their heat, they should be suffered to run 

 about the house a day or two, before they are taken out to hunt. 



