PKEVENTIQN OF FLEAS AND TICKS. 129 



shaken out of the old htter. But as this is a pro- 

 cess to which kennel-men and feeders manifest 

 great objections on account of the manual labour 

 to be employed thereon, the work is generally per- 

 formed in a slovenly manner, or a little fresh straw 

 only thrown on the benches, which, in consequence 

 of this neglect, become a hotbed for the production 

 of these vermin. Whitewashing the walls with 

 hot lime is also another preventive, which requires 

 to be done twice, if not three times, in the year, — 

 spring, summer, and autumn, — and with these ap- 

 plications and precautions, hounds ought to be as 

 free from fleas and ticks as a lady's lap-dog. 



To dressing hounds periodically with those 

 noxious compounds used by many huntsmen, I 

 have ever manifested the greatest antipathy and 

 aversion ; and having entirely failed to elicit from 

 some of the cleverest men of this class one single 

 tenable argument in favour of this practice, I am 

 constrained to draw conclusions from their per- 

 severance in a course so obsolete and indefensible 

 anything but complimentary to men who in other 

 respects (field practice, forsooth) are gifted with a 

 large share of intellect, and who, in making a 

 scientific cast in one direction, whilst the fox is 

 gone in another, can give a very plausible, if not 

 satisfactory, explanation why the fox ought to ha^ e 



