288 REARING, ETC. 



a little flour the last thing, to thicken it. Of course the smell 

 precludes the boiling of this unsavoury mess in any inhabited 

 house ; but if a boiler can be obtained in an open outhouse, it 

 may be used for this purpose. Dogs reared at a butcher's are 

 almost sure to be infested with worms, so that it is useless to 

 take any precaution against them. 



There is one other point upon which I have known old hands 

 to disagree, viz. as to the propriety of giving dogs raw meat at 

 any time. Many experienced persons keep their horseflesh in a 

 tree or other airy place till it is dry and as tender as possible, and 

 then they allow their puppies to gnaw at it, and tear it from the 

 bones without any kind of dressing. I am bound to admit that I 

 have known good dogs result from this mode of treatment ; but I 

 never tried it, arid therefore I cannot speak from personal ex- 

 perience. I am, however, very averse to the use of raw flesh 

 without being kept till tender, as I have myself experienced the 

 ill effect in my own kennel in former years.* With regard to the 

 kind of oatmeal and wheat flour which I should recommend, I 

 have no doubt whatever that the coarse Scotch oatmeal is the best, 

 and also the most free from adulteration. It is to be bought now 

 almost throughout England, and will go nearly twice as far as the 

 ordinary English meal. Whether this difference is due to the 

 grain only, or to adulteration with cheaper meal, I cannot say, 



* Mr. Ilandall lost his celebrated bitch ' Riot/ from eating the flesh of a 

 horse which had been just killed, and to which she had gained access by 

 accident. There was no reason to suppose that the animal was poisoned, and 

 the death of the bitch, as well as 'Blackcloud,' who also died from eating the 

 same flesh, must be attributed to the fact that it was only just killed. J. H. W. 



