Galway
East.
Island.
Kildare.
Kilkenny.
Kilkenny, East.
King's County.
Limerick.
Louth.
Meath.
Muskerry.
Queen's County.
South Union.
Tipperary.
United Hunt Club.
Waterford.
Warwickshire, North Westmeath.
Western.
Wexford. none in Scotland, and 41 in Ireland, making a total of 141 for the United Kingdom. In 1895 there were 119 packs in England, 2 in Scotland, and 28 in Ireland, while in 1880 there were 99 packs in England, none in Scotland, and 44 in Ireland. Thus the number of harrier packs to-day has practically receded to the point reached in 1880, there being one more in England, and three less in Ireland, Scotland remaining a blank.
On the other hand, the number of beagle packs has increased from 20 in 1880 and 48 in 1895 to over 100 in 1910, with a few packs of foot-harriers and basset-hounds in addition, and many of these are hunting countries formerly in the possession of harrier packs.
Sir W. Harcourt's Act "For the better protection of occupiers of land against injury to their crops from ground game," or, 1 to give the well-known short title, "The Hares and Rabbits Bill," was passed in 1880; and everybody knows the enormous destruction of hares which took place as soon as that Act came into operation; in many places, indeed, they became practically extinct, and it would naturally be inferred that the effect of such destruction would have been to diminish the number of packs of harriers. It is indeed a fact that several packs were given up during the eighties on account of the number of blank days they experienced; but as there are practically as over two or three feet of ground is considered of vital importance by the whole pack. They literally lay their heads together over it, coming back to this particular spot time after time, as their one reliable point of departure, and it is easy to see that on such occasions the less jostling there is the better.
To say that ten or twelve couple should be taken out, of course means that a larger number must be kept. Harriers are almost always worked in mixed packs, and as bitches go to heat usually at the most incon- GOING TO THE MEET. many harrier establishments now as there were in 1880, we must conclude that the disappearance of the hare in some places was counterbalanced by his diminution in others to such reasonable quantity that it became possible to hunt where before it was out of the question on account of the constant changing, which is a greater annoyance to the huntsman and does far more injury to his pack than an occasional blank day.
Formation of Pack. The number of hounds wherewith to take the field must needs vary according to the fancy or pocket of the Master. There is no reason why five or six couple of real good-nosed ones should not kill a hare, but they would take a long time about it, not being enough to cover sufficient ground in their casts. On the other hand, more than eighteen couple at the very outside get in each other's way, and tumble over and distract each other, for there frequently occur moments in every chase when the problem of a hare's passage venient periods of the season, allowance must be made for their seclusion as well as for absence on sick leave from accidents and other causes. But if a man has twentyfive couple of good working hounds in his kennel and he ought to keep no other— he need never fear being unable to bring to the meet a sufficient pack for all purposes of true sport. How to get together that number of trustworthy harriers is a matter which will occupy his most serious attention, unless he is one of those to whom money is of no object. In that case, the best thing he can do is to wait till some real good pack comes into the market; it is seldom that a year passes by without such being the case, and the prospective Master may well occupy some months in going about studying the manners and customs of hare hunters in various parts of the country.
He will learn something everywhere, and be all the better equipped with knowledge by the time he makes his own start. If he can tempt the owner of any pack which specially pleases him to part with it privately, he had better not haggle overmuch about terms it is impossible to lay down any rule as to what the cost should be, but, speaking very broadly, about £100 will often buy the lot if he takes them old and young en bloc. Many and many a rightdown good old established pack has been thus sold for £25. In the case of the aspirant preferring to buy at auction, he must of course take his chance in that notoriously uncertain market.
But five or six guineas a couple is a very high price, though instances do occur where they run into really large figures, e.g., Major Wickham, who sold a celebrated and beautiful pack in the spring of 1897, realised in several instances as much as thirty-five guineas a couple, and a total of 500 guineas.
Though a Master of Harriers must lay his foundation on purchased hounds, whether he buys a ready-made pack, or goes through the misery of making one for himself out of drafts picked up at random all over the country, the sooner he begins to breed for himself the better-no small part of the amusement of keeping hounds consists in watching the development of the young ones born and reared at home, and noting how far they emulate the virtues and vices of their parents; the latter will probably predominate, since it is far easier to reproduce evil than good; all the greater on that account is the pleasure when, as is not infrequently the case, the offspring is even straighter, truer, and stauncher than sire or dam. And once the Master has started breeding on his own account, let him, except in case of dire necessity, such as an outbreak of hydrophobia in the kennel, or his pack being over-ridden by a railway train, at once and for ever abjure having anything to do with drafts, beyond selling his own if his good luck or repute should bring him a customer. It is a true saying that the only certainty about a draft is that it consists of animals of which the owner, doubtless for some good reason, is anxious to be rid, and as the only reason which at all commends itself to the buyer is that of size, it is always because they are too big or too small that they are weeded. With puppies this may be a valid excuse, and puppies are the safest to buy, if buy you must. A present of a hound should never be even considered. Why should a man give away what is good? Or why should another accept what is bad? Even in the case of stallion hounds it is better to decline a gift. If an owner breeds, as nowadays most people do, from pure foxhounds, there is no difficulty in getting a choice of small doghounds, and the fee, if anything is charged beyond a tip to the kennel huntsman, is but trifling. As the less is, or can be, contained in the greater, a brief sketch of an establishment where things are really done in first-class style, without unnecessary display or profusion, may be useful to those whose ambition soars somewhat higher than the possession of a scratch pack-a mere agglomeration of dogs such as one often sees working under the name of harriers. Be it remembered too that in many respects it is quite as cheap to have things smartly as slovenly done, for instance in the matter of cleanliness. If a man is kept to sweep and wash the kennel and prepare the food, he will require just as much pay for being careless, dirty, and unpunctual, as he will for having everything in apple-pie order and ready to the minute. See, therefore, that he earns his wages.
Accommodation. - Let us suppose, then, that our Master has got a pack together strong enough to hunt three days a week, and that, having obtained a roving commission to pursue the hare over a wide tract of country, he must lay his account to have now and then long distances to come home, besides an occasional 15 miles to covert.
For this purpose he will have provided at least 25 couple, standing as nearly as possible 21 inches; that is, if he hunts a mixed pack, as most likely will be his choice. If, however, he chooses to divide the dogs and bitches, he will take the latter at 19 to 20 inches average, and run anything over that standard with the dog pack. For the accommodation of this number of hounds, he will require two yards with sleeping rooms attached, each yard to be about 22 by 18 feet, paved according to the fancy of the proprietor. (We are supposing always that our M.H. is starting everything ab ovo, and can have what he wants in the way of building.) There is nothing better than asphalte, scored and slightly inclined so as to facilitate washing; it wears far better than flag-stones, which are sometimes very difficult to procure, is cheaper than brick, and is easy to patch and mend when chipped. The lodging-houses should be thatched with straw inside, by far the best way of keeping a good mean temperature in summer and winter; and, if the sides are tiled half-way up, the rooms not only look more cheerful, but are easier to clean.
The beds should be raised a foot or so from the floor, and there is no need for much space per hound; they like to lie close and keep each other warm in cold weather; when it is very hot, the door may be left open and they can go outside. It is well also to have a third smaller yard where sick hounds and bitches at heat can be left, but it is evident that the farther the latter are removed from their comrades the better.
Where there is no lack of elbow-room, it may be a good plan to have in addition a good-sized gravel yard, where occasionally the whole pack can run together, but when forces are thus joined, it is highly advisable for the feeder or someone whom they know to be within hearing, as a quarrel may arise at any moment amongst hounds. In fact, work, and how much pleasure they apparently find in the employment. The water supply will have to depend on the possibilities of the place. Anyhow, fresh water must be kept in troughs both in the yards and lodging-houses; the ideal plan, of course, is to have a stream constantly running through them, that being the only way of preventing hounds fouling the water; it makes, moreover, the sluicing down of the kennels a matter of ease and therefore of tolerable certainty; but there 0 THE MEET. it takes very few to get up a wrangle, which, if not promptly suppressed, nearly always results in serious mischief, when the best hounds are usually the victims, perhaps because the real good ones are often a little bit queer in their tempers. One of the best ways of preventing these outbreaks is absolutely to forbid the presence of terriers within the kennel walls on any pretext whatever; they are the very dragon's teeth of discord.
A boiler house for cooking the food will be required, and as this will open into its own small yard, there is no necessity for a feeding-room unless such be the whim of the paymaster.
The whole of these buildings should be surrounded with a high wall with coping stones projecting on the inside. Iron railed doors and gates are best; if wood is used, they must be covered with iron or zinc as far as hounds can reach. It is astonishing how soon they can gnaw through woodis not always a water company or a reservoir within reach, so the best must be made of the existing situation-always insisting that drinking water shall be accessible, and the place kept scrupulously clean.
Feeding. The food for such a pack will be the same as if they were engaged in their birthright pursuit of the fox. The best oatmeal and clean horseflesh must be their portion, with greenstuff boiled up occasionally, especially in the spring months. It is true that up to a certain point harriers will work well on Indian meal, which costs far less than oatmeal, and is indeed as cheap a feeding stuff as can be found; but the certain point means that they must be given neither long days nor long distances. You could hardly get a maize-fed pack home at all if they had an 18 mile trot at the end of the day's work, whereas those nourished on oatmeal would jog along round the huntsman's horse with their sterns over their backs.
Spratt's fish biscuits make a capital change from flesh during the non-hunting season, and are perhaps to be preferred in hot weather, but a pack of harriers which summer, after horse exercise, they should never be fed till evening, no matter how long they have to wait; they sleep better after the late meal.
DRAWING A FALLOw. کروز -not being dependent on the casual attentions of servants with other occupationsis properly exercised in and out of season, can stand a very liberal diet. As to time of feeding, the system may slightly vary in different kennels, but it may be laid down as a good general rule never to feed till one hour after returning from the chase.
Hounds eat better then than if given their food at once, and the interval may be occu- The hounds that have hunted should always lodge together, those that have not been out are restless, jealous, quarrelsome, and apt in consequence to disturb the rest of their tired companions. There is no reason why dogs and bitches should not sleep together, if care is taken that none of the latter are at heat or near it.
Staff. - Presuming always that the Master hunts his own hounds, or at any HOUNDS TAKING THE LINE ACROSS THE PLOUGH pied by having them sluiced over with warm water, and then sprinkled with good broth; as is well known, hounds soon lick each other clean when this has been done. In rate that there is a gentleman-huntsman, the staff for such a pack need consist only of two men a whipper-in and kennelman.
The latter will never go hunting; he will find plenty to do looking after the hounds left at home, and having all ready for the return of the day's workers. The whipperin will take the pack to covert, assisted by and dependent. "Where are your hounds?" said a fond Master to his colleague-huntsman whom he met in company with but a few couples. "Those that are not eating Icrodil deont bus tod MAKING A CAST. the groom, who takes on the Master's hunter, and who can remain out with hack or cart to help on the home journey should the M.H. be disinclined for the job. It takes a very short time to make hounds acquiesce in being thus handed over to the servants by the beloved provider of sport; indeed, I am not sure that they do not go home all the more steadily for such a signal that the business of the day is concluded. 1979 d oriboond Intorno sausages are looking for the van," was the reply, the moral of which is that to do real work a pack should never be petted or spoilt like children.
Cost of Establishment. The following is a rough estimate of what such an establishment as has been here described would cost. The figures are supplied by a gentleman who has quite lately given up the cares of Mastership, and may therefore be taken HOUNDS THROW UP AND SPREAD OUT.
With a pack of this standard, in good condition, there will never be any necessity for vanning, always an expensive and inconvenient process which makes hounds lazy as up-to-date. He puts whipper-in's book at £250. This included the man's wages, those of the feeder and flesh. Meal and biscuit bill, £140; rent of house for head man £16; keep of horse and a half £80 at least; liveries £20; dinner to farmers who walked puppies £20; in fact he arrives at a total of between £600 and £700 a year, and does not think that anyone could keep twenty-five couples of hounds properly for less-an estimate which would surely frighten away the majority of aspirants, unless they bear in mind that the establish ment above described is one conducted on the best and most liberal style consistent with absence of pomp or swagger, and that it is quite possible to have an immense deal of sport two days a week (three is an unusual number for harriers), at a third or even less of this outlay. Otherwise there would be very little hare-hunting in England in these days of general retrenchment in the agricultural counties.
A man may get together a cry of dogs for a comparatively moderate sum, more especially if he goes in for that most doubt fully bred animal called the genuine harrier.
He will get some queer-shaped and some very rough-coated ones-two defects which even by careful breeding he may never be able to eliminate, the mixed ancestry being wont to reassert itself; but with perseverance he will get plenty of nose, plenty of music, and quite pace enough for the sort of horse best suited for his purpose. Great jumping power rather than speed in his mount is the hare-hunter's requisite; he will kill a lot of hares by steady hunting, and show much sport to his field in the process.
Fifteen or sixteen couples will suffice for this modest turn-out, and of these, with fair luck, an average of twelve couples should be able to show at the meet. Nineteen inches is, in the opinion of many good judges, a sufficient maximum height, and they are content with bitches on a smaller scale. It is certain that in countries where foxhounds are kept, harriers of this standard are much less likely to kill an outlying fox even on a good scenting day -and friction between the red and green coats is thus avoided. A small pack again naturally eats less than a large one, and though, as already stated, harriers cannot do hard work and long distances without oatmeal, yet the Indian meal may well be used where six or eight miles is an outside distance to covert, and the day's hunting does not last more than four or five hours.
It is better to have two servants for the kennel, but the work can be, and often is, done by one man, for whom, however, some assistant must be found to help take the pack to covert; otherwise they soon find out their attendant's helplessness, are all over the place, and perhaps have had a run and a kill before arriving at the fixture. A smart boy can easily be drilled into performing this service on foot if the master rides his hunter on.
The combined whipper-in and feeder will have the evening meal prepared before starting, and will only have to warm up on his return. The hounds left at home must look after themselves, which, as they will be but few, they can do very well. The M.H. must either come home with hounds himself, or get one of his field to do so.
One horse will be quite sufficient for the whipper-in if he rides quietly; if he does not, he should be dismissed. Harriers will stand very little rating and less whippingin. Some further economy may be practised in the kennel. It is evident from the figures quoted that in our ideal establishment the hides and bones were the perquisite of the servants; the former at least the Master may well claim as his own. He will give about f1 for each horse that comes for slaughter, and the skin will fetch nearly that sum. No dead animal should ever be accepted at the kennel unless it has died from the effect of some accident, and the history of the death is satisfactory and well authenticated; otherwise poisonous carrion will find its way to the larder-dangerous to the hounds that eat it, and still more so to the men who have to cut up and handle it. Servants are terribly careless in such matters, and unless there is absolute prohibition of foul flesh they will run insane risks of blood-poisoning.
The whipper-in's wages will be f1 to 25s. a week-clothes when necessary-not a regular allowance of livery, which often leads to a more or less dishonest arrangement between the man and the tailor, and his cottage must be given, unless there happen to be spare rooms at the stables which he can occupy.
For the summer horse exercise, which is most important, he can have the assistance of a groom, while, if his hounds are fond of him, as they certainly will be if he is worth keeping, he should be able to walk them about by himself in some paddock where they can roll and eat grass-the oftener he does this the better. By doing things in this comparatively humble style, it will be seen that great saving may be effected on the previous estimate.
For most of the many years during which I kept harriers their food cost me about a penny a day per hound, but their solitary attendant was a curious old-fashioned retainer with unusual notions of thrift. A second horseman whipped in, and a horse had to be reserved for this express purpose.
For the sake of illustration I have taken the accounts for 1888, 1889, 1890, when 15½ couples cost £114 IOs. per annum.
This sum was made up as follows: Keep of hounds, kennelman's wages, medicine, and other incidental expenses, £83. The keep of horse for 21 weeks (he was only debited to the pack during the hunting season) at one guinea per week, £22 IS.
The allocated portion of groom's wages for same time at 9s. per week, £9 9s. This was the lad who whipped in. things if properly handled, and though he who pays the piper has every right to call the tune, and each M.H. may hunt hares after his own fashion, yet there is a right and a wrong way of doing everything. A few remarks, therefore, as to field management may be of use to beginners. The system of our forefathers of rising at cockcrow and hunting up to the hare in her form has been long and wisely abandoned; it must have been a slow process, and they were as likely to spend an hour in MY OLD-FASHIONED HARRIERS IN FULL CRY.
Things were roughly, perhaps very roughly, done, but we had capital fun for all that.
Sending puppies out to walk is just as necessary with harriers as with foxhounds, and I have here made no allowance for expense on that score. The farmers on my estate, or on that of my colleague, Colonel Estcourt, were most obliging in the matter, as indeed they are in all countries, and rarely, if ever, sent in a bill for damages.
Sometimes, when puppies become intolerable to the farmer's wife, they are returned to kennel rather sooner than wanted, in which case the only thing to be done is to give them as much liberty as possible at home.
Field Management. - Harriers housed, fed, and exercised, on the lines above laid down, should be capable of doing great puzzling out the line of a fox as of their proper quarry. Half-past eleven or midday is now the favourite hour for the greencoats to assemble; even in the short days they have thus plenty of time for their purpose, and if hares are not too scarce and adopt their usual circular tactics, the farmers of the locality may have had rather more than enough of trespass on their land.
Their permission will, as a matter of course, have been first obtained, and their convenience consulted as to the day of fixture. The immense majority of them are most goodnatured and liberal in this respect, and very many are exceedingly fond of a day with the hare dogs, but all are annoyed and disgusted if a heedless Master announces his meet on the day of a neighbouring market.
He must never forget, too, that as every farmer has the right of shooting hares on his own holding, leave to hunt them is a very material concession.
Harriers should be allowed to spread about at will in drawing. Hares are often very difficult to move, and a hound who will take trouble in looking for his game is of much value. Their usual indifference to this part of the business may be attributable to the fact that they appear unable either to wind or see a squatting hare.
Hares are well aware of this, and when beaten will let hounds run over them. It often requires a prod from a stick or the flick of a whip to stir them up. If the boys of the village school are about, they will start a hare if there is one in the country -but their ceaseless yelling, as long as the "LET THEM ALONE.' pack is within sight or hearing, more than counteracts the advantage of a quick find.
It is impossible to say where a hare may not be lying; they are not particularly fond of hedgerows when the leaf is falling, but it is hardly safe to assume they may not be sitting there. They like dry ground beneath them, but are very indifferent as to shelter; it is a common thing to see a hare squatting on the side of a hill with the wind blowing into her fur. In this respect she is far less luxurious than the fox. If she jumps up in view of the pack, they must and will race after her, but when she is moved out of their sight the less said the better.
It is idle to hope that the viewer will hold up his hat and hold his tongue, but in the rare cases when he does so, and the huntsman is allowed to draw his hounds quietly across the line, a much better beginning will be made than with a view. Hounds will have their noses down at once, and keep them there unless interfered with.
Harriers soon get to look out for holloas; there is so much of it, as somebody is always seeing a hare and shrieking as if. he had never seenone before. It is invariably the hunted hare, too, even though the fresh form is steaming under their eyes.
It is far easier to get harriers' heads up than to get them down again-indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that were it possible to collect a field exclusively composed of the dumb, hardly a single hare would escape a decent pack on days when there was an atom of scent.
T The huntsman must of course carry a horn, and so must the Master where one man does not double the parts; it is the best and quietest means of signalling to each other and to the pack, who, moreover, are not so excited by its sound as by the voice, and become perfectly indifferent to it when blown with the unnecessary frequency of a beginner. On the whole there is not much harm done with the horn. The same cannot be said of the whip, which is a most potent instrument of evil in bad hands. To most whippers-in the word "Put 'em to me," is the signal for a frantic charge, cutting and slashing at every poor animal within reach. The Master will do well to forbid his servant ever to strike a hound at all, the whirling and crack of the lash is quite sufficient; even pure-bred foxhounds will sometimes sulk under punishment, but the so-called true harrier, i.e., one descended from several generations of ancestors exclusively employed in hare hunting, is likely enough to fly to the heels of the huntsman's horse for protection, and there remain for the rest of the day. Sometimes he may go home, which is neither seemly nor conducive to sport. It is therefore obvious that volunteer whipping-in should be as much as possible discouraged, though, as it is often well and kindly meant, it is not easy or wise too sharply to rebuke the offenders.
Any usurpation of the huntsman's authority, however, must at all risk be put down with the high hand at once. an" Let 'em alone" is the maxim by which, with a good many exceptions, the huntsman will be guided, and on all occasions he must leave the pack to make their own casts on coming to a check before he takes them in hand, when he must trust to luck, which he may call good guidance, in the event of hitting off the line. It is impossible to say what a hare may or may not have done, so manifold are her wiles, and to the true hare-hunter the chief pleasure of the game is to watch his hounds unravel a knotty problem and then dash off in the delight of a well-substantiated scent, or in view of their prey at last aroused from her lurking place.
Old hounds often get very cunning knowledge of whether a hare has squatted or "clapt" as it is often called. They have an indescribable way about them which says as plainly as possible to an expert "In our opinion she is down." Then, as in cases where a fox is supposed to have gone to ground, the huntsman may make his allround cast at once, and return if it fails, to search for the recumbent one-but he should leave someone to watch lest she should sneak away unseen, as she will probably try to do when she thinks all backs are turned.
On account of the hare's many twists and doublings, it is even worse to press on harriers than on foxhounds. Moreover, what is called the true harrier will not stand being ridden over. He can easily be driven two or three fields beyond the line, and when "harked back" is apt to be wild and unsteady, and will not settle down to work again till too late. For this, amongst other reasons, it is important that, if the Master is huntsman, he should have an accredited deputy to keep his field in order, not only when hounds are running, but also when drawing or casting for he must do his utmost to prevent unnecessary damage to the land; otherwise, as the same ground may be traversed a dozen times in the course of the day, the nuisance will become more than the most sporting farmers can bear, and those who merely tolerate the amusement will be apt to send curt requests that they may be troubled no more with the hare dogs.
Unless the pack is a subscription one, there is no need to advertise. Cards can be sent to those who ought to know-plenty of those whose room is preferable to their company will be sure to find out but a good deal may be done with care to limit the number of followers.
Of all the devices adopted by the hare to baffle her pursuers, running the roads is perhaps the most effective. She will go a couple of miles along the macadam if she meets nothing. There is seldom any scent, and hounds get flashy and jealous, trying to pick it up in the straight conducting line.
The huntsman is then at his wits' end to know what to do; and, unless he possesses that pearl of great price, a hound with a road nose, he more often than not loses his hare. The only thing he can do is to trot very slowly along, and try every gateway and likely-looking spot where she may have turned off or lain down, but it is a mere matter of luck unless he has the real road hunter.
Not on the hard high road, but on the old fosse way which runs as straight as an THE TATE LIBRARY, BRIXTON, S.W 3 arrow for miles through part of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire I was once witness of an absurd spectacle.
A hare which we had hunted for some time jumped up in full view and at once betook herself to the fosse, along which she went as hard as tired legs would let her.
In a very short time there was a long tail; the leading hounds were never far from her, but she took advantage of a dip in the ground to jump on one side and squat in the ditch. On went the leaders full of confidence and dash, but some slow old hounds, toiling along in the rear, poked her up, and she actually overtook and raced past the foremost pursuers, who, once more seeing her, were very much confirmed in their good opinion of themselves, though, of course, they deserved to lose her.
Provided always that the walls are fairly negotiable, a stone-wall country is first-rate harrier ground, until it gets dry in the early spring. In those large open fields one would suppose that a hare might fall a readier prey than elsewhere, but she is fully equal to the occasion, and, to the manner born, baffles her enemies quite as often here as in the fenced enclosures. It is said, and I quite believe it, that she will run the tops of the walls for considerable distances and squat on them, but I have never actually seen her do this, though I have often lost her in a mysterious manner that suggested some such method of escape.
It is a great, though not uncommon, mistake to suppose that hares have a dislike to water. Those at any rate who have been bred near the banks of a river take to it like otters, nor do they care how often they cross and recross, and the advantage of pure foxhound blood is very apparent on such occasions. The hounds dash across while the more plebeian harrier is thinking about it; indeed, it is not uncommon for some of the latter to stay lamenting their hard fate on the hither bank with unseemly outcries; when this happens, the hangers back should be kicked or thrown into the stream without loss of time. I can only remember two instances of hares drowning, and in each case they were dead beat.
Harriers require blood, now and again, at least; it is difficult to imagine how Sir Roger de Coverley's pack could have continued to take any interest in what to them must have been a most insipid occupation; anyhow, the modern hound would become slack were he never allowed to kill, but, though huntsmen do not like to be beaten and at times become very bloodthirsty, the impartial observer must fain confess that the kill is the worst part of the performance. 1S One cannot help feeling that "poor is the triumph o'er the timid hare "-so pitiful her appearance in her last moments. Nevertheless, it is fair to remember that even the shyest of birds and beasts, which are always on the alert and ready to fly in apparently abject terror on the most ground less alarm, cannot possibly suffer the agonies of fear with which we are wont to credit them; or, instead of waxing fat and hearty, enjoying life as they obviously do, they would be shrunken abject creatures destitute alike of health and beauty. 66 When the who-whoop" has sounded, the paunch will be sufficient reward for the pack, except on very great occasions after an unusually severe run. They will moreover often enough secure for themselves the whole carcase by tearing it before it can be rescued. The disembowelling process has, of course, to be performed by the whipper-in, and a very disagreeable duty it is; the quicker he is about it the better: hounds should never be kept baying and waiting; give them what they have earned and be off, whether it be for home or a fresh draw. The ears of the hare must be retained for a trophy to nail up in kennel or stable, and the body should be the perquisite of the farmer on whose ground it was originally found.
If it be decided to draw again, try to get on to "pastures new" for the farmer's sake as well as for the greater chance of sport on unfoiled land. It is, however, nonsense دو to suppose that a hare can be prevented from running in the direction she pleases. "Start her with her head towards the good country is often the request of the ignorant when she is seen sitting. You might as well place before her a chart of the line she is required to take. She will have her own way in the most literal sense of the term, and it is but rarely that she is so bustled up that she loses her head, and gets out of her knowledge. When this does happen the run that sometimes ensues would do credit to a dog-fox.
One of these red-letter days may also occur now and then in pursuit of an old Jack in March, when hares are scarce, with the difference that he knows what he is about and is returning to the home he quitted when on pleasure bent, and he will very likely get there with a whole skin, especially if he can bring a fallow or two into his line.
Save for the chance of a good point, March is certainly the worst of the harehunting months, and February is generally reckoned the best. Some people prefer November and December, but hares then are usually weaker than they are later on in the season.
Those who care to play at cubhunting do so by going out early in September and October, though it is difficult to see the advantage of the proceeding; they can hardly want to kill leverets, and the puppies, if they have been properly exercised during the summer, will know their comrades and pack readily enough when business begins in November, though of course only a portion of the new entry will go out each day; the presence of a few neophytes is goodnaturedly tolerated by the old hounds, who yet are amazed and disgusted by the vagaries of too many of the rising generation.
As to the manner in which a man shall ride to his own harriers, purposely but little has been said. He must please himself, and there is certainly as much scope for individual taste in that respect as in the more arduous pursuit of the fox. For him who likes being perpetually in the air, unrivalled opportunities are afforded by a hare-hunt in any enclosed country. He may be led into more queer corners and find himself negotiating more lonely places in the course of a couple of hours after a stout cunning old hare, than might come in his way during the greater part of a season of the " Nobler Science"; he will also in all probability have the advantage of testing the feasibility of these fences from either side. The most perfectly trained hunter that can be found is the mount on which to follow a sharp pack of harriers, though it does not in the least signify if he is somewhat deficient in speed. On the other hand, should a man restrict himself entirely to gates as a means of access from field to field, he will unquestionably be able to see a very large proportion of the sport. He will even see an immense deal if he chooses to sit still and "wait till they come round again."
At the same time, though the "let 'em alone" system cannot be too highly commended, there is no doubt that the huntsman, whether on foot or horseback (for this remark applies quite as much to beagles as to harriers), ought to be in a position to see exactly when and where his hounds throw up, unless he has a trusty companion on the accuracy of whose observation he can implicitly rely. When obliged to make a cast it is as well to have some data on which to act.
Whether a man ride hard or little, or not at all, if he is really fond of hunting for hunting's sake-and no other should encumber himself with the cares of an M.H. he will find the chase of the hare a most fascinating sport, and in these days of enormous fields with foxhounds, when it is impossible without doing mischief to obtain much insight into their or their huntsman's work and tactics, there are no better lessons in the science of Venery than those afforded by the "Merry Harriers."
SUFFOLK AND BERKSHIRE.
Old English harriers, ranging from 19 to 22 inches in height as with the Stannington; or they are merely a small variety of the Stud Book harrier of from 17 to 20 inches high. In both cases they are selected for the reason that they are slow enough to be hunted and followed on foot, while possessing qualities of nose and patience en- A KILL WITH THE BADLESMERE HARRIERS.
FOOT HARRIERS, BEAGLES, AND BASSET-HOUNDS. - Foot Harriers.- Several packs are still maintained in various parts of England to pursue the hare with harriers hunted and followed on foot. The hounds employed for this purpose are of a very different type from the fast and flashy modern harrier or dwarf fox-hound used with the harrier packs hunted to be ridden to. Either they are large, old-fashioned Southern hounds ranging from 23 to 27 inches in height as with the Badlesmere and the Hailsham-or what are known as Aldenham.
Amory's, Sir John.
Anglesey.
Ashford Valley.
Aspull.
Axe Vale Badlesmere.
Bath and County.
Bexhill.
Biggleswade.
Boddington.
Brighton and Brookside.
Bucks, North.
Cambs.
Carpenter's, Mr. E. O.
Clifton Foot.
Colne Valley.
Cotley.
Craven.
Crickhowell. abling them to account for their hares in a thoroughly sportsmanlike manner. They are usually deep-voiced, nearly as much so as the bloodhound and otter-hound; and in colour often blue-mottled, black and tan, or other old-fashioned combination. Their place in the scheme of hare-hunting existence is that of being used to hunt the hare in countries where, owing to high walls, wide dykes, or other topographical features, beagles would be beaten; while, of course, they can be kept for less than ordinary harriers, though not so cheaply as beagles.
LIST OF PACKS.
HARRIERS-ENGLAND.
High Peak.
Cumberland Brampton. Holcombe.
Cury.
Darlington.
Dart Vale.
Dove Valley.
Downham, Dunston.
Eamont.
Epping Forest.
Fordcombe.
Fowey.