102 WASHING THE LODGING-ROOMS 



common way, without imposing additional and unneces- 

 sary burthens upon his time and patience, and it is in 

 most cases a good maxim to " let well alone." Fox- 

 hounds have done very well without the luxury of a warm 

 bath for many years ; and in this age of indolence, when 

 every substitute is used to lessen labour of every descrip- 

 tion, it is not likely to find much favour with kennel 

 officials. There are other matters of more importance 

 to be attended to, which are often carelessly passed over 

 and left to the feeder, but unquestionably belong to the 

 huntsman's department ; and one of these is, allowing 

 the hounds to stand shivering on a cold or wet wintry 

 morning in the yards while the lodging-rooms are being 

 washed down. 



Although I do not consider any range of kennels 

 complete for fox-hounds without sufficient lodging-rooms 

 to admit of every division of the pack having a dry floor 

 to enter upon every morning, over which no water has 

 passed since the previous day, yet, as the great majority 

 of kennels are thus incomplete, and the hounds occupy 

 day after day the same benches, with no change of floors, 

 these, of course, require the use of the bucket and besom 

 every morning, to cleanse them from their impurities ; 

 and it is the huntsman's business to walk the hounds 

 about, in paddock, field, or anywhere else, whilst the 

 lodging-room doors are thrown open, and the floor washed 

 and mopped dry before their return to them again. 



It was our invariable practice to walk the hounds out 

 several times during the day into a large paddock 

 adjoining the kennels, which conduced not a little to 

 their cleanliness ; but the same purpose would not be 

 answered by letting them out into the green-yard only. 

 When the huntsman is engaged in the field, this duty 



