52 ON WASHING HOUNDS. 



of freestone and not of sandstone ; this is a particularly 

 healthy place for hounds ; Mr. Hall, who occupied it 

 when I saw it, declared it was equally so with his other 

 kennel, which was far superior both in size and con- 

 venience. The kennels at Butler's Marston, occupied 

 for many years by the Warwickshire hounds, were 

 built upon a white clay, the country near them after 

 rain was always knee deep in mud, yet no lameness was 

 ever visible. The Holderness kennels at Bishop Burton 

 may also be mentioned as another instance of sound- 

 ness on apparently wet land, — so much for situations. 

 From these few instances of many, then, it may be 

 fairly presumed, that the best place to build a kennel 

 upon is a clay or strong sound ground devoid of sand 

 veins, sandstone rocks, or springs ; let the spouting 

 and ventilating be particularly attended to, and if 

 shoulder lameness or any other disease breaks out, the 

 owner may come to a fair conclusion that there is some 

 hidden cause for the malady, of which the writer of 

 these pages is at present unable to give an account. 

 It is the custom with many huntsmen to wash their 

 hounds in warm water every day after hunting, previous 

 to shutting them up, and I have known this practice 

 pursued by some men for a very great length of time 

 without any ill consequences arising from it; while 

 other persons will tell you that it is a certain plan to 

 produce lameness and disease. And that they prefer 

 a little natural dirt to bad condition as some of the old 

 school term it. Nevertheless I cannot consider that 

 the removal of dirt by a little clean water can be 

 attended by bad results if the hounds are afterwards 

 attended to as they ought to be. When Jack Wood 



