The School of Recreation | Page 3

West Country, of both Kinds, approved to be not given to lie off, or look for Advantages, but staunch, fair, even running, and of perfect fine Scent. These will make a Horse gallop fast, and not run; being middle-siz'd, not too swift as to out-run, or too slow as to lose the Scent; are the best for the true Art and Use of Hunting.
If for Sweetness of Cry; compound your Kennel of some large Dogs, of deep solemn Mouths, and swift in spending, as the Base in the Consort; then twice so many roaring, loud ringing Mouths, as the Counter-Tenor: And lastly, some hollow plain sweet Mouths, as the Mean: So shall your Cry be perfect. Observe that this Composition be of the swiftest and largest deep Mouth'd Dog, the slowest and middle-siz'd, and the shortest Legged slender Dog. For these run even together.
If for Loudness of Mouth, choose the Loud clanging (redoubling as it were) Mouth, and to this put the roaring, spending, and Whining Mouth, which will be loud, smart, and pleasant: Such are for the most part your Shropshire, and Worcestershire Dogs.
If (lastly) for deepness of cry, the largest dogs having the greatest Mouths, and deepest flews, are the best; such are your West-Country, Cheshire, and Lancashire Dogs.
But if you have your Kennel for Training Horses only; then compound your Kennel of the lightest, nimblest, and swiftest Dogs, such as your Northern Hounds are. For the strong and violent Exercises of their Horses, through the Natural Velocity of their Hounds, in the North parts, have render'd them famous for Truth and Swiftness above all other parts of England.
Lastly, If for the Maintenance of your Health, by preventing Infirmities and Grossness of Humours, you compose your Kennel; consult first your own Ability for this Exercise; and if you think you are able to foot it away, then the Biggest and slowest Dogs you can get are best. But if you would pad it away through an Unability of footing it, than choose the slowest or middle-siz'd Hounds, of good Mouths and Noses, for loud Cry, and ready Scent.
Thus far for the Composing a Kennel: I come now to the Kennel it self, of which I need say little, as indeed unnecessary, leaving that to the Discretion of the Huntsman; only I would have him observe, that it be built some pretty way distant from the Dwelling-House, in a warm dry Place, free from Vermine, and near some Pond or River of fresh Water; and so placed, that the Morning Sun may shine upon it. Be sure to keep it clean, and let them not want fresh Straw every day. Feed them early in the Morning at Sun-rising, and at Sun-set in the Evening. As for the Meat, I leave to the ingenious Huntsman to get when they come from Hunting; after you have fed them well, let them to their Kennel, and wash their Feet with Beer and Butter, or some such thing, and pick and search their Cleys, for Thorns, Stubs, or the like: If it is in Winter, let a Fire be made, and let them beak and stretch themselves for an hour or so at the fire, and suffer them to lick, pick, and trim themselves; hereby to prevent the Diseases incident to them, upon sudden Cooling, as the Mange, Itch, Fevers, &c.
But before I treat of the keeping your Hounds in Health by curing their Diseases, I must speak a Word or two of the way to Breed good Whelps, viz. Having a Hound and a Bratch of that general Goodness in Size, Voice, Speed, Scent, and Proportion you like, put them together to ingender in January, February, or March, as the properest Months for Hounds, Bitches, and Bratches to be Limed in; because of not _losing time_ to enter them. When you put them together, observe, as near as you can, if the Moon be in Aquarius or Gemini; because the Whelps will then never run Mad, and the Litter will be double as many Dogs, as Bitch-Whelps. When your Bitch is near her Whelping, separate her from the other Hounds, and make her a Kennel particularly by her self; and see her Kennell'd every Night, that she might be acquainted and delighted with it, and so not seek out unwholsom Places; for if you remove the Whelps after they are Whelp'd, the Bitch will carry them up and down till she come to their first Place of Littering; and that's very dangerous. Suffer not your Whelps to Suck above two Months, and then Wean them.
When your Whelps are brought up, enter them not into Hunting till they are at least a Year and half old: That is, if whelpt in March, enter them September come Twelve Month; if in April, in October