i6o FOOD FOR HARRIERS 



to lie on, and I believe this catalogue contains all that 

 a young Master will find requisite for the kennel. 



In feeding all hounds, I believe the best food generally 

 proves the cheapest in the end, and this, for dogs of every 

 kind, is oatmeal ; although, on the score of economy, 

 harriers are often fed on the vilest refuse of grain — 

 sometimes on raw flesh, mangold wurzel, or boiled 

 potatoes, mixed with greaves and pot liquor. Such 

 substitutes may suit those who are utterly indifferent 

 about the appearance of their hounds in the field, but 

 to a young Master of harriers, desirous of doing things 

 weU, I would suggest an entire rejection of unwholesome 

 food, and the adoption of a more generous diet. At the 

 present price of com, good oatmeal ought to be purchased 

 for about sixteen shillings per hundred-weight, which, 

 allowing half-a-pound of dry meal to each hound (suffi- 

 cient for one of small size), would amount to about a 

 penny a head daily. 



Unless a pack of harriers can be purchased, the difficulty 

 of forming one from drafts will be great ; and if discarded 

 fox-hounds are worth little, even from very large kennels, 

 draft harriers are worth nothing beyond the value of 

 their skins. In my day, fifty pounds was considered a 

 large sum for a good pack, consisting of twenty couples ; 

 and the price of the article fluctuates, like that of other 

 purchasable commodities, according to the supply in 

 the market, sometimes descending to a very low figure 

 indeed. A friend of mine told me he bought a lot of 

 harriers not many years ago, at a public sale, for five 

 shillings a couple ; and I heard of another gentleman, 

 who being obliged to give up hare-hunting, on account 

 of a large game preserver having purchased the adjoining 

 manor, and forbidding him his usual beat over the groimd, 



