FEEDING A PACK " TO GO TOGETHER." 65 



fox-hunters, is not much considered, whereas half the 

 secret in making a pack run together consists in a 

 thorouo'h knowledoe of that branch of the science. I 

 have heard many men, who were good judges too in 

 these matters, declare, that no man can hunt a pack of 

 hounds properly without feeding them; and, more- 

 over, that no man can feed a pack to run together with- 

 out hunting them, so that he may be thoroughly 

 acquainted with their constitutions, and the effect that 

 high or low feeding may have upon their pace and 

 stoutness. No doubt there is a great deal of truth in 

 this, as I know, by my own experience, that if a 

 huntsman knows anything of feeding, he can generally 

 perform that duty to better effect than a man who 

 stays at home, and is consequently in ignorance of 

 the way in which the work is performed in the field ; 

 besides, nothing makes hounds fonder of their hunts- 

 man, or handier in casting or lifting them, than the 

 constantly being with them, ministering to their wants, 

 and caressing them, and by never, on any account, 

 striking or scolding them. No gentleman, who is his 

 own huntsman, should ever think of entering his 

 kennel without first putting on a large frock, made of 

 jean or brown holland, to protect his clothes, that he 

 may allow his pack to come round him without the 

 fear of their being ill-naturedly beaten or repulsed. 

 Dogs are animals not to be trifled with, and a blow 

 given to a faultless hound, for no other crime than 

 soiling the coat of a dandy, may create a shyness and 

 antipathy in the animal, which can never again be 

 eradicated. There are many first-rate amateur per- 

 formers as huntsmen, who do not attend to the feeding 



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