82 COURSING 



the choice of victims is easy enough ; but otherwise there is 

 always the thought present that you may be destroying an 

 embryo Waterloo Cup winner. Experienced greyhound breeders 

 have various methods of selecting choice whelps, and they are 

 guided by general appearance ; but the tiro may easily be 

 deceived. ' Stonehenge ' gives a hint which is certainly worth 

 attention. Let the puppies remain with their dam for a week, 

 then hold each up by the tail ; the best ones will bring their legs 

 well over their head, and you can see which possess length, and 

 the promise of good ribs. And here we would impress on the 

 reader that a well-chosen pup of this age, even if he subse- 

 quently deteriorates, will eventually assert his superiority ; and 

 however much a grand-looking puppy goes off, he should 

 never be despaired of until he has arrived at full maturity, 

 unless, of course, he has been disabled by accident, or has 

 become ' chink-backed ' — an axiom that applies not only to 

 greyhounds, but to foxhounds, and, indeed, to all members of 

 the canine race. 



With regard to early whelps (January and February), it will 

 be necessary to keep them in their compartment until they are 

 well over their weaning ; but if the place of their birth is 

 small and cramped, or not sufficiently lighted, they must be 

 placed in the warm bay of a barn or an old loft for an hour or 

 two daily, where they will exercise themselves. Great attention 

 must be paid to cleanliness ; during the suckling period the 

 bitch will see to these sanitary measures if she is allowed 

 sufficient liberty, but after weaning the room or box must be 

 regularly cleansed. In the case of a loose box, it should be 

 washed out, but must on no account be allowed to remain wet, 

 or even damp ; a good supply of Sanitas sawdust should overlie 

 the bricks or tiles, and on this should be spread short clean 

 oat straw. The tin containing the food should be placed on a 

 slab, or, at any rate, the straw and sawdust should be cleared 

 from around it, as the whelps persistently pull their food out 

 of the vessel and would devour a considerable quantity of saw- 

 dust, which is very irritating to the intestines. 



