60 MR. cross's opinion 



Good wholesome flesh well boiled down, and mixed 

 with the pudding, is indispensible, and when I say 

 good wholesome flesh, I mean not those poor devils 

 that are more than half putrid before they are killed. 

 The circumstance of hounds going suddenly off in 

 their condition during the hunting season may be 

 attributed, in nine cases out of ten, to their having 

 been fed with improper flesh. I know it is the prac- 

 tice to boil down every thing that comes to some 

 kennels (particularly such as are served by contract) 

 in the shape of flesh, good or bad, and some huntsmen 

 even put those hounds into the copper which have 

 been destroyed, and declare that it is a certain cure 

 for the distemper ; but that is no reason why bad and 

 tainted flesh should be used, when a good fresh killed 

 horse can be obtained. I know one master of fox- 

 hounds who boasts that he has become quite callous 

 to all that can be said about bad flesh, &c., and told 

 me he once had a porpoise sent him by a neighbouring 

 farmer, which he boiled up blubber and all together, 

 and that the hounds were not injured in any way 

 during the time they were enjoying this most exquisite 

 supply of turtle. I had a long conversation some 

 months since with Mr. Cross, the great wild-beast 

 proprietor, upon the different kinds of food used for 

 the support of animals in confinement ; and amongst 

 much useful and rational information imparted to me 

 upon the subject, was that putrid or tainted flesh was 

 one of the first, if not the chief, thing to be guarded 

 against in feeding anwials, the next was to avoid 

 feeding them to repletion. A less quantity of ftesh is 

 sufficient in summer, and although some theoretical 



