Never under any circumstances take a pack into the field before you are sure that their discipline is perfect. Till the hounds know you thoroughly you should drill them whenever you go into the kennel. Let them greet you while you make much of them, for it is thus that you will win their hearts, but, this over, it is a good thing to make them "lie up," and not to let them venture to leave the bench till they are called by name. Then you will call first one and then the other, making much of the obedience and readiness shown, and rewarding the hounds with biscuit. If you mean to hunt the hounds yourself, you must go to the kennels daily, and in any case it is always well to see that the servants are sufficiently careful in preserving perfect cleanliness and sweetness, both with the hounds themselves and in the kennels. It cannot be too much insisted on that cleanliness rigorous, absolute and complete, must always prevail. This is quite practicable, and no excuse should be accepted as to its failure in any one particular. A good disinfectant such as Jeyes' Fluid, and constant vigilance on the part of the kennel-man, are all that are required. [Illustration: _WOODBINE, WELLFIELD, BUXOM, BENTLEY HARRIERS._ (_W. West_, K.H., _with Three Champion Winners_.)] If you have a good kennel-man, it is not necessary for you to feed hounds yourself, but you should frequently inspect the food, as even the best servants are apt to be careless in this matter. If, however, you study economy and only have a lad in the kennels, then you or some member of your family should always see to the feeding of the hounds. The food may consist of horseflesh and old oatmeal, with a few biscuits and some bone-dust, and this diet I should say would be found the best and cheapest in the end. This, however, is a matter in which each hound owner will use her own judgment. There are of course various ways of cheapening the diet, but I cannot honestly recommend any of them. On the care in the kennel depends the sport in the field, and without health and condition in the hounds you can hope for no good days. Far better to have a less well-bred pack, or an inferior country, than hounds which are out of sorts and condition. This reminds me that whenever you go into the kennel you should have a watchful eye for the slightest symptoms of a dull or heavy look in any hound, and order such to be separated at once. A healthy hound should be clear of eye and bright of coat, as well as bright and cheery in manner. If you are in doubt about the health of one of your pack, remember that the pink of the mouth is a great sign of health, while paleness and yellowness about the gums is the reverse.