TREATMENT OF SAPLINGS 93 



employment of fools for any purpose save that of making wise 

 men laugh. The idea is that an intelligent dog is prone to 

 run cunning, which may in some instances occur ; but, on the 

 other hand, a real fool of a dog does not possess the spirit of 

 emulation that prompts him to ' cut out ' his opponent, nor 

 does he show the fire, devil and dash that enable him to 

 dust his hare in the style so taking to the eyes of experienced 

 coursers. 



In exercising on downs, in parks, or paddocks, a smaller 

 number of greyhounds must be taken out at a time. Dogs 

 that have trotted quietly enough at the horse's heels will now 

 rush about and play, and these romps are sure to degenerate 

 into bickerings and quarrels, sometimes indeed ending in blood- 

 shed. Nor must old dogs be exercised with young ones under 

 these circumstances ; for, instead of leading them in a gallop, 

 they will content themselves with hanging back and nipping 

 the youngsters in the haunches; in fact, one of the most difficult 

 tasks of a trainer is to keep his charges skin-whole and free 

 from scars. 



Having a due regard to the difficulties and dangers attending 

 horse exercise, perhaps the safest plan is to lead the grey- 

 hounds for two or three hours' exercise on the roads, and give 

 them an hour's galloping and play on the grass alternate days. 

 Three months of this treatment (the saplings now being about 

 a year old) will find most of them fit to be tried, and this 

 point should be absolutely assured before they are allowed 

 to see a hare. If on passing the hand from the point of the 

 shoulder down the back to the stern, and then over the thighs, 

 the muscles appear firm and wiry, if the coat is smooth and 

 glossy, the eye bright, the nose cold and wet, and the pads of 

 the feet hard and strong, there need be no hesitation, and it 

 only remains to find a suitable place for the trial to take place, 

 a difficulty that is very often hard to solve. The ideal trial- 

 ground for young greyhounds is a fair-sized, flat water- 

 meadow or a soundly turfed park if the space in the latter 

 is not too great, an objection that would apply to marsh-land, 



