“I must observe, that I am by no means about to recommend the disuse of broth in the kennel; but I wish to point out the propriety of giving it in moderate quantities, and of depending upon the flesh which is given for containing the bulk of nourishment, and giving it in that state when it contains the greatest quantity. It is an impression with some huntsmen, that by boiling the flesh to an excessive degree, the bad qualities are extracted—that is to say, if the horse had any disease about him, that the humours would be extracted from the flesh; but then it must be remembered that they would be contained in the broth, in which state they would be quite as injurious, or perhaps more so.
“At the time when an animal is performing great exertion, it is essentially requisite that his stomach should contain but a small quantity of food, but that food should be of a nutritious character and easy of digestion. The practice that I would recommend, and it is one borne out by the reasons already assigned, as well as by experiment, is, not to give hounds any broth at all in their food on the day before hunting.
“The pudding must be reduced with pure water which has been boiled, and the usual allowance, or perhaps, on some occasions, a trifling addition to the accustomed portion of flesh must of course be given; by this method of feeding, hounds will most assuredly do their work far better than when a quantity of broth with very little or no flesh is given; a custom adopted in some kennels with very bad results. From such treatment, hounds will be observed light of muscle, big in their bodies, and incapable of running up at the conclusion of a severe day. By adopting the recommendation of substituting water which has been boiled, for broth, on the day before hunting, it will be found that hounds will not evince an equal degree of thirst by constantly lapping on their road to cover, nor will they be so soon blown in chase.”
“There,” ejaculated Trimbush, upon the completion of his task, “that’s what I call giving the ‘why’s’ for all the ‘wherefores.’”
Clever and philosophical as I deemed this delivery to be, I had become somewhat wearied with it, and in order to divert my companion from steeping his senses in forgetfulness, which his blinking eyelids bore evidence was fast approaching, I asked him if he had ever turned his attention to the poetry as well as to the practical details of hunting.
“What do you mean?” inquired Trimbush, with a sleepy stare of surprise.
“Simply, whether you have made the attempt of earning for yourself that fame,” replied I, “which I intend gaining for myself?”
“I’m quite in the dark,” rejoined my companion, testily.
“Well, then,” returned I, “to be more explicit, I mean to let my tongue appear in print.”
“In print!” exclaimed Trimbush, husky with surprise. “How?”