COATS OF HOUNDS 103 



devolves on the feeder, and should not be neglected ; 

 but on the morning of hunting, the pack selected over- 

 night for that day's work should be taken out by the 

 huntsman for a quarter of an hour's walk, who will thus 

 be better able to judge whether any hound is lame or 

 unfit for hunting. Not approving of the warm bath, 

 we had recourse to stif^brushes to clean the hounds from 

 dirt the morning after hunting ; this process, by keeping 

 up the circulation of the pores of the skin, and cleansing 

 it from the accumulation of dust and scurf, is a great 

 promoter of health, and tends also to keep the hounds' 

 coats in blooming condition. There is, however, as much 

 distinction between the glossy appearance of some hounds, 

 and the roughness of others, as in their different constitu- 

 tions ; some will always look well, however neglected, 

 whilst no brilliancy can ever be imparted to others ; and 

 this arises from the difference of blood, some being of 

 the smooth, and others of the rough-coated species of 

 original fox-hounds. All huntsmen are ambitious, and 

 justly so, of turning their pack out in blooming condition, 

 some succeeding with little trouble, whilst others labour 

 in vain to produce this great desideratum ; but to a 

 genuine experienced fox-hunter there are other indications 

 besides a silky coat which show the proof of the pudding. 

 Taking it altogether, the rough time with the smooth, 

 a huntsman's life is replete with as much happiness as 

 falls to the lot of the greater portion of mankind. He 

 is well paid for doing that which others are obliged to 

 pay heavily to obtain. His work is his amusement — at 

 least so it ought to be, and is no doubt, in the great 

 majority of cases ; although I have known two instances 

 to the contrary, in a huntsman and whipper-in, who, 

 being brought up in the profession, followed it afterwards, 



