Sixty-five couple of hounds in full work will consume the carcases of three horses in one week, or five in a fortnight. The annual consumption of meal will be somewhat more than two tons per month. In feeding, the light eaters should be let in first, and a little extra flesh distributed on the surface of the food, in order to coax those that are most shy. Some hounds cannot be kept to their work unless fed two or three times a day; while others must not be allowed more than six or seven laps, or they would get too much. In summer an extra cow or two will be of advantage in the dairy; for the milk, after it has been skimmed, may be used instead of flesh. There must always be a little flesh in hand for the sick, for bitches with their whelps, and for the entry of young hounds.[23] About Christmas is the time to arrange the breeding establishment. The number of puppies produced is usually from five to eight or nine; but, in one strange case, eighteen of them made their appearance. The constitution and other appearances in the dam, will decide the number to be preserved. When the whelps are sufficiently grown to run about, they should be placed in a warm situation, with plenty of fresh grass, and a sufficient quantity of clean, but not too stimulating, food. They should then be marked according to their respective letters, that they may be always recognised. When the time comes, the ears of the dog should be rounded; the size of the ear and of the head guiding the rounding-iron. This being passed, the master of the pack takes care that his treatment shall be joyous and playful; encouragement is always with him the word. The dog should be taught the nature of the fault before he is corrected: no animal is more grateful for kindness than a hound; the peculiarities of his temper will soon be learned, and when he begins to love his master, he will mind, from his natural and acquired affection, a word or a frown from him more than the blows of all the whips that were ever put into the hands of the keepers.