OBSERVATIONS ON FOX-HUNTING 5 



Hunt. ^Vhy, Bclman is as good as he, my Lord ; 

 He cried upon it at the merest loss, 

 And twice to-day pick'd out the dullest scent : 

 Trust me, I take him for the better dog." 



The sum of twenty pounds for a single Hound 

 in Shakespeare's time (and that not the best in 

 the Pack either), was no inconsiderable price. I 

 am not alluding to " a lot of Curs ; " but surely 

 a well-bred, established Pack of Fox-hounds, in- 

 cluding Brood-bitches and Pvippies at walk, must 

 be cheap at a thousand or twelve hundred 

 pounds. 



I shall first treat on the breeding of Hovmds. — 

 One of the most essential things to keep a Pack 

 of Fox-hounds effective, is to breed largely, if you 

 are fortunate in commanding good walks for your 

 Whelps ; but, without them, you will meet with 

 nothing but disappointment : I have often had 

 fifty couples sent out to inferior walks, and not 

 three couples came in again that I could enter. 

 From experience I know it is impossible to bring 

 up young Hounds to any size or shape in a 

 kennel, even if they have the good luck to escape 

 the distemper. Every Sportsman must know how 

 necessary it is to have a clever entry ; and if 

 he cannot command good walks himself, he had 

 better engage the unentered draughts from some 

 well-known pack, whose master is enabled to 



