BEST TIME OF YEAR FOR BREEDING. 261 



particularly as far as dog-puppies are concerned. Of course a dog- 

 puppy whelped in January or February has a great advantage 

 over another produced in July, or even in May or June ; but this is 

 not equally applicable to bitches, for they are amenable to other 

 laws besides those connected with their powers of endurance. It is 

 frequently the case that the bitch-puppy, if whelped early in the 

 year, is ( at heat ' about July or August in the following year, 

 which materially interferes with her running in the early part of 

 the season ; whilst the May or June puppy is very likely to go on 

 till a much later period without that disheartening result. It is 

 well, therefore, to be more careful of early dog-puppies than of 

 the bitches, and vice versa with the later litters. As the bitch 

 goes with young about sixty-three days, it is not safe to put her 

 to the dog earlier than the end of the first week in November ; but 

 it is not often that a favourite will be so accommodating to her 

 master as to select that particular week ; on the contrary, it more 

 frequently happens that she fixes upon October and April as the 

 months for displaying her sexual propensities. The former of 

 these is of course out of the question if in breeding for puppy 

 stakes, and the latter will produce a litter in June. All things 

 considered, I should prefer breeding in March or April to an 

 earlier period, because the whelps born in those months are not so 

 likely to be chilled and stopped in their growth, which is a worse 

 defect even than want of age. 



