84 



THE GAME BREEDER 



a wire, stake, or something that will hold turtles as these animals do not climb inta 

 it. Steel traps are used for the snapping the box traps as readily as other varities. 



A TRIP TO OLD KENTUCKY. 



By Wm. J. Laurence. 



Mr. Stanley Blake, very favorably 

 known as a sportsman throughout this 

 and many foreign lands, very kindly 

 tendered me a special invitation to visit 

 the Blue Grass Farm Kennels, of Berry, 

 Ky., of which he is manager. The spe- 

 cial invitation came to me by reason of 

 the fact that a warm friendship had 

 sprung up between us because of my 

 having purchased several dogs from him 

 which gave perfect and complete satis- 

 faction. Having always had a very 

 earnest desire to visit the southland 

 and especially far-famed Kentucky, I 

 promptly accepted the invitation of Mr. 

 Blake and within a few days thereafter 

 arrived in the beautiful and attractive 

 little village of Berry. Upon my arrival 

 at the station I was met and greeted by 

 Mr. Blake, himself, who conducted me 

 through the town and out to his farm, 

 where I was hospitably received by the 

 other members of his family, his office 

 force, the overseer of the farm, kennel 

 attendants, etc. Magnificent quarters 

 were placed at my disposal and I was 

 made to feel comfortable and perfectly 

 "at home." Boys, Kentucky hospitality 

 is no myth, as Mr. Blake and his friends 

 certainly entertained me like a prince 

 while there. The friendship that ex- 

 isted between us through our corre- 

 spondence gained volume when I met 

 and talked with Mr. Blake. He is a 

 man of fine intellectual powers and bril- 

 liant personality. 



Very briefly I shall endeavor to de- 

 scribe the quality of the dogs, the ken- 

 nels and the surrounding country. Too 

 much cannot be said of the dogs and 

 their superb quality. But it is only nat- 

 ural that dogs of extraordinary quality 

 should be raised with such environments 

 as these dogs have. Being farm-raised 

 they are naturally sturdy and hardy 



physically and being of thoroughbred 

 stock is another decided advantage they 

 possess over the dogs of many other 

 kennels of more or less mixed blood 

 lines. Early in life they are vaccinated 

 and made immune from distemper and 

 other contagious diseases. Disease is 

 practically unknown at the Blue Grass 

 Farm Kennels; Mr. Blake tells me, only 

 one real bad case of distemper having 

 developed since the first of the year. 

 The kennels are daily sterilized, fresh 

 beds of straw placed in them, the ken- 

 nels themselves being frequently white- 

 washed as a preventive to germs getting 

 a foot-hold on the premises and every 

 precaution known to medical science and 

 that years of experience . has developed 

 is used to keep down disease. Complete 

 success has attended Mr. Blake's efforts 

 along this line. 



The kennels are located on a beauti- 

 ful blue grass farm comprising eighty- 

 odd acres, every rod of which is mod- 

 ernly equipped and improved. The main 

 kennel is located on the southern side 

 of a hill, protecting the dogs from the 

 cold and severe blasts of winter winds 

 and affording them the warm balmy air 

 that comes from the south. The ken- 

 nels are so located on the slopes of the 

 hill that the sun can shine directly into 

 them even in winter when "old glory" 

 rises in the extreme southeast and sets 

 in the extreme southwest. It is a well 

 known fact that the rays of the sun are 

 most deadly to the germs of disease. 

 The kennels are supported by concrete 

 foundations, which prevent their over- 

 flow in rainy weather. Setters, pointers, 

 fox and cathounds, bear and lionhounds, 

 coonhounds, bloodhounds, etc., too nu- 

 merous to mention, all have separate 

 apartments. Females and males are also 

 kept separate. These dogs are farm- 



