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Thus (Every master knows that he may)

every master knows that he may not dig a fox which has found a sanctuary in an earth or drain in a neighbouring country; he may use a terrier, or employ almost any other means which ingenuity can suggest, but the soil must not be broken. It is greatly to the credit of all concerned that foxhunting disputes in regard to rights, limitation of country, or otherwise, so seldom arise; when they do, they are referred to the Master of Foxhounds Committee, which formerly held its sittings at Boodle's Club, but which now meets at Tattersall's once a year to hear appeals and administer justice. Nearly every master is jealous of any encroachment on his country, and huntsmen, who are generally anxious to conform to etiquette, will never allow their hounds to enter a neighbour's covert, unless they can carry and speak to a line into it. The ultimate decision of any vexed question must rest with the landowners and occupiers of land, but in case they are not unanimous it is found necessary to refer the dispute to arbitration, as indicated above.

Although an owner of coverts may prevent hounds from drawing them if he chooses to do so, he cannot transfer this privilege to any neighbouring pack, unless with the consent and sanction of the master of the country in which they are situated.

It is difficult to lay down any rule, or, indeed, even to provide an estimate of the expenses which will probably be incurred in hunting a country; these will depend very much upon good management. Circumstances vary, and no two years will be found alike, for the price of oatmeal, oats, beans, hay, and straw, is constantly changing, and this variation will often make a considerable difference in the cost. Mr. Delmé Radcliffe, writing in the year 1838, put his expenses for hunting three days a week, or seven days a fortnight, in Herts (exclusive, of course, of his own personal expenses) at £1,885 per annum; and he lays it down that a provincial country, such as Hertfordshire, may be well hunted for the sum of £2,000 per annum. To hunt four days a week it will be necessary to keep fifty couple of hounds, and for two days twenty-five couples will be found a sufficient number.

Three days will require as many hounds to be kept as would suffice for four days.

Foxhunting is deserving of support and encouragement, because it not only provides employment for large numbers, but also gives a valuable impetus to our noble breed of horses; while the manly nature of the sport undoubtedly has a marked influence upon our national character. "No higher testimony to its practical utility," says Mr.

Delmé Radcliffe, "in a national point of view can be required than that of as brave a hero as ever drew a sword. The gallant Lord Lynedoch, he whom Napoleon characterised as 'that daring old man,' has often affirmed that he should not have been the soldier he is had he not been bred a foxhunter." Colonel Cook remarks that what chiefly contributes to make foxhunting so very far superior to other sports " is the wildness of the animal you hunt, and the difficulty in catching him."

Cubhunting usually commences about the first week in September, though the date will vary in accordance with the state of harvest and condition of the ground. In plough countries it is better to wait until the great bulk of the corn is carried, but in grass countries and in woodlands there is nothing to hinder the master from beginning as soon as weather permits. It is undertaken for the purpose of blooding and entering the young hounds, and may be regarded as the rehearsal of the more serious business in November. This schooling of the young hounds in the woodlands is a necessary performance, which is very interesting work for the establishment, whose care it will be to get the pack steady before the regular season comes round. The meets are fixed at an early hour, because in the first place the fewer there are out, the better will the work be performed. Noise of any kind, viz., hallooing, cracking of whips, and viewing over the rides is not wanted, and the huntsman's cheer is the only voice which should be heard. Nothing should be allowed to distract the attention of the young hounds from the work on hand into which they are being initiated, and every sportsman should remember this, and repress any inclination to halloo, for in so doing he will support the wishes of the will be that the young hounds will be left behind, or ridden over, and, moreover, they will pick up all sorts of bad habits, which will cling to them through their career. As the autumn advances, however, and when October comes in, and it is necessary to visit and disturb the litters of cubs in the smaller coverts, the entry will in all probability be handy enough, from the drilling they will have received in the woodland, to justify the master in letting them go.

An occasional gallop in the open after a cub will not only be an enjoyable relaxation after all the hard work endured in covert, THE MEET. a but it will also afford an opportunity to the huntsman of seeing how they run together.

Great care should be taken to avoid killing in a small covert; if this unfortunately happens, it will not hold again until after Christmas, and, indeed, it is often a moot point whether or not the pet places, which are very small, but yet favourite resorts, should be drawn at all during the cubhunting season. If a fox should be unluckily killed in one, the chances are there will be no find in it for three or four months afterhuntsman and assist him in his endeavour to maintain silence. It will be well to select a good scenting covert, where there is known to be a strong litter of cubs, for the first morning; it should be a fair-sized wood, say of 80 or 100 acres, and, if there is no ride in it, so much the better. The hounds should not be allowed to go away, and if, after a good morning's work, a cub or a brace of cubs can be brought to hand, the young entry will go home victorious, and they will not easily forget their first impressions. During the month of Sep-wards; and yet, if a strong litter of cubs tember, at least, the scene of operations should be confined to the big woods, and young hounds should never be allowed to run over the open country until they have learned how to use their noses. If this precaution is not rigidly adhered to, and if the young master is not sufficiently strongminded to resist the temptation of following a fox over a nice line of country, the result should have made it their headquarters, it is a pity they should not be roused and taught to fly. 1 These observations were confirmed by the experience of many years at the time they were written; but, as the numbers of foxes in different countries have increased enormously of late years, it would seem that their habits have changed, and that foxes are not so wild by nature as they used to be.

B 2 To the master who is fond of hounds, cubhunting is the most enjoyable part of the season. In the fresh morning air he revels in the glorious crash of melody when hounds run for the first ten minutes, as they GOING TO DRAW. only can run at this time of year; he watches the entry with the keenest interest, and sees bewilderment gradually giving place to the dash and drive which are the conspicuous attributes of a foxhound.

The writer has always preferred a dry cubhunting season to a wet one, when the coverts are dank and soaked by heavy rain, for in such conditions there is seldom much scent. Dry seasons are an indication of settled weather, which is usually favourable for scent in covert and outside. It is an unsatisfactory thing to break off cubhunting for a spell, which huntsmen often think they are compelled to do, when the ground becomes hard from continued drought; it is better to keep steadily on, confining hounds as much as possible to covert, or the entry will forget what they have learned.

Colonel Cook, writing in 1826, says that he always considered the cubhunting season the time when a master of hounds never ought to be absent, whether he hunts them himself or not; and to a real sportsman it is a great pleasure to see his young hounds enter. "At all events," he says, in addressing a young master, "you should never leave your hounds from the first day of cubhunting until the end of the season. ...

Cubhunting is very necessary for many reasons; you will gain by it a thorough knowledge of your pack; and they will know you, obey you, and, when you want them, will also carry you through many difficulties they otherwise would not." This is excellent doctrine, which will commend itself to all those who have been privileged to fill the post of master of foxhounds.

The Master. The master of foxhounds should be chosen, if possible, from the residents in the country in which the pack is established, for obvious reasons. Owners and occupiers of land will give their support more readily to one who lives in their midst than to a stranger; and as we know that hunting depends on the sufferance of these great men, and entirely upon their goodwill for its maintenance, it is necessary to conform to their wishes. "To hunt a country and make the most of it, so as to give general satisfaction, requires some consideration. Supposing you have thorough knowledge of it, use your own judgment and never be led by others, for you will find they most commonly have some selfish motives, and will often mislead you." These words of Colonel Cook will be generally endorsed. a The master should make himself thoroughly acquainted with the country he is taking over, and he should endeavour to obtain accurate information with regard to old customs and hunting rights-where these exist. Perhaps there are coverts which are neutral with another hunt, and in that case great care should be exercised in ascertaining the correct usage of them.

DRAWING THE COVERT.

For the summer months it will be a congenial task to ride about the country with the hounds at exercise in the morning, and obtain local knowledge. In this way the master will be enabled to make friends with the farmers and keepers, and discover any little details which may be useful when the regular season begins. He will find out where there are litters of cubs, and keep a record of any matter of importance which may strike him during his rides. When the time arrives for sending out the fixtures, these should be made judiciously and without favour or affection. The good and bad parts of the country should be hunted fairly and in their turn, and it will be found that this arrangement will also be the most conducive to sport. If you are continually callfarmers, and in this endeavour he will be loyally assisted by all true sportsmen.

The Huntsman.There is no better class of servant to be found in England than the huntsman to a pack of foxhounds; and the explanation of this assertion, with which it is not improbable that we shall most of us agree, is not very difficult to find. He has undoubtedly been selected for the post because he possesses qualities which would adorn the character of a man in almost any station of life. He should be well-conducted, sober, of strict integrity and even TAKING HOUNDS TO THE LINE. ing upon small coverts in the best part of the country, foxes will be difficult to find, and they will lie at earth. The master will keep a diary, which will contain a record of each day's sport, meet, coverts drawn, finds, and any incident likely to prove of interest. In most countries keepers receive a remuneration of Ios. for each find, and as they regard this gift as a perquisite, it is very necessary that a strict account should be kept. Colonel Cook dwells upon the advantage which is often taken of a master's good nature by followers of his pack to persuade him to draw some particular covert which may happen to suit their convenience, and recommends him to rely upon his own judgment in such cases.

The master will find plenty of work, in undertaking the management of a four days a week country, to occupy his attention both in the summer and winter months. If he should hunt his own pack, it will be found necessary to appoint a field master, who will maintain the discipline which is essential to success, and who will restrain the unruly spirits, a few of whom are to be found in every hunt, from spoiling their own sport and that of others by heading foxes and pressing upon hounds in their work. He will do his best to prevent injury to the temper, and, it is needless to say, a good rider to hounds; moreover, as he is placed in a position of responsibility and trust, and is often obliged to act upon emergencies and to take upon himself to decide matters the consideration of which would more properly devolve upon his master, were he present, he should be possessed of intelligence and sagacity above the common order of mankind. Beckford, in describing the characteristics of an ideal huntsman, says: "He should have an eye so quick as to perceive which of his hounds carries the scent when all are running, and should have so excellent an ear as to always be able to distinguish the foremost hounds when he does not see them; he should be quiet, patient, and without conceit." It may be added to this description of essential qualifications that he should be impervious to criticism, doing his duty and handling his hounds in the way which seems best to himself and his master, to whom alone he is responsible.

The writer lays stress upon the fact that he must be impervious to criticism, because the veriest tiro who comes out hunting thinks himself capable of passing judgment on a cast.

In the words of Mr. Jorrocks, “a fishfag's ware isn't more perishable than a huntsman's fame; his skill is within the judgment of every one-cleverest fellow alive-biggest fool going." And again, "a huntsman's fame rises and falls with the sport he shows." Tom Smith, a late master of the Craven Hounds, thus hits off the character of an ideal huntsman: "To be perfect a huntsman should possess the following qualifications: health, memory, decision, temper and patience, voice and sight, courage and spirits, perseverance, activity, and with these he will soon make a bad pack a good one. If quick, he will make a slow pack quick; if slow, he will make a quick pack slow."

All this is very sensible doctrine which must commend itself to every one, and, if a master can obtain the services of one who has all these gifts of excellence, he is a fortunate man. To my mind the conclusion to a minimum. To keep hounds healthy, it is necessary that they should have the best food of its kind which it is possible to procure, and authorities agree that oatmeal of good quality is not only the best food for a foxhound, but also the most suitable for sustaining him in the long days and hard work he has to perform in all sorts of weathers and in all sorts of countries.

Barley meal is heating, and meat or fish biscuits, in the opinion of experts, are generally considered unwholesome, for no one can say what they are composed of. When biscuits are used for a change in the summer season, ship biscuits are decidedly the best and most wholesome. Exercise, and plenty of it, is essential to the good health of a pack of hounds, and there is no greater mistake than to allow hounds in the summer to put on too much flesh.

HOUNDS IN FULL CRY. of the whole matter, and the keynote of success in the field, is well summed up by Beckford thus: "He should let his hounds alone whilst they can hunt, and he should have genius to assist them when they cannot." The management of the kennel is perhaps the most important duty the huntsman has to perform; for if hounds are not brought out thoroughly fit to go, in good condition and steady, the chances of sport and a successful season are indeed reduced Of the huntsman's duties in the field a more categorical description will be given later, and it will only be necessary at this point to state that in choosing a huntsman it will be well to ascertain if he has been brought up in a good school, and if he has been learning his business under a capable mentor. He should be a reliable servant who is willing to allow his hounds to do their share of the work without obtruding himself upon every opportunity. Nothing can be more distressing to a sportsman than to find himself associated with a huntsman who is always interfering with his hounds, who rides in front instead of behind them, and who, in short, wants to do all the work himself. Such a one will soon ruin any hounds, and convert them into a slack, disheartened, and unenterprising pack. "It is side; more especially was he beloved by the Oxford undergraduates, to many of whom he supplied lessons, inculcated by the observation of his practice in the field, which have never been forgotten. He was a good man to hounds in his particular way, going through rather than over a country, but he had a great aversion to jumping water, HOUNDS WORKING OUT THE LINE. always great impertinence of a huntsman," says Beckford, "to pretend to make a cast himself before the hounds have made theirs." There is a depth of wisdom in this doctrine, which all sportsmen will at once acknowledge; and this good piece of advice is worthy of being printed, framed, and hung up in every boiling-house. The writer's first impressions of a huntsman were derived from observation of the methods and practice of two remarkable men in their line, who inspired the veneration conceived by youth for those who have distinguished themselves in the world of sport. Jem Hills and Harry Ayris, then in their prime, carried the horn in the Heythrop and Berkeley countries, and each of these well-known men had acquired a reputation for showing sport, handling hounds, and accounting for a fox, which was not confined alone to the country in which his operations were conducted. Jem Hills was huntsman of the Heythrop hounds, but he was a native of Surrey, and came of a family well known in the foxhunting world, since it has turned out many capable huntsmen in days gone by. He was above the middle height, with a fine intelligent countenance and pleasant manner, and he possessed a fund of anecdotes which made him a favourite with all the country which often caused him to make some divergence from the line, though he always turned up as if by magic when it was supposed by the thrusters that they had left him far behind. His knowledge of the country and the run of the foxes stood him in good stead, and enabled him to take liberties with his hounds by lifting them in a failing scent. The art of doing this successfully seemed peculiar to him, though the writer has often seen others attempt to carry out the system, but nearly always with unsatisfactory results. When the fox appeared to have run us out of scent altogether, when there was no friendly holloa to guide and no beacon to steer for, and when it really seemed that there was nothing for it but to go home in the dumps, old Jem would catch hold of his hounds with his cheery "here-a-way, here-a-way," gallop off for a mile or so, when he would suddenly stop. Yere-lert," down would go their noses; as if by magic they would hit the line, with a thrill of delight at the pleasure of once more getting on terms. Jem had the rare gift of being able to do all this without exciting hounds or getting their heads up. On the contrary, when he stopped, they would drop their noses once, and settle to the line as if nothing out of the ordinary course had happened. 66 at But then it must be borne in mind that he always went with his hounds; he didn't gallop, screeching or blowing his horn half a field ahead, with the whippers-in rating and putting them on to him, but he kept his head, and so the hounds kept theirs.

Harry Ayris, who was huntsman to Lord Fitzhardinge, was an excellent servant, a capital rider, and one who was always ready to seize upon any advantage during the chase.

Both of these celebrities hunted in a partly stone wall country, which certainly gives a huntsman a splendid opportunity of estimating the value of his hounds. In the first place he has an uninterrupted view of their work; whilst the chance of detecting skirters, mute hounds, babblers, unsteady ones given to riot, and those which cannot a foxhound dislikes nothing so much as to be left behind; and if the huntsman has not the full confidence of his hounds, they will become uneasy and shirk their work in covert. Some huntsmen will occasionally touch the horn whilst drawing, with the view, I suppose, of rousing the fox; but I cannot think this at all a necessary practice, for in my opinion the horn should be used as little as possible, and then only on occasions when it is really needed. But hark! old "Traveller" challenges. "Have at him, Traveller!" Every hound strains his very best to reach the veteran; the fox is unkennelled-we know that a fox well found is half killed the glorious crash of music which follows fills the huntsman with ecstatic delight; he keeps as near to his TAKING HOUNDS TO A VIEW. run up, becomes a certainty in the open country. Some of the faults enumerated in the above list may, and very often will, escape notice in a woodland country for a considerable time.

Let us follow a huntsman who knows his business into the field on a hunting morning. Let us suppose that he has received orders to draw first a wood of some sixty or eighty acres with a thick undergrowth of blackthorn. He will first consider from which quarter he may best approach this covert so as to give his hounds the wind. When he is about a hundred yards off, he will give his hounds a signal, and they will spread out like a fan, seeking meuses through the wood hedge; he will then himself proceed down the nearest ride, encouraging his hounds to draw with his voice. He will do this in leisurely fashion, taking care to keep behind rather than in front of his hounds whilst they are drawing.

If he were to hurry them at all now, they would certainly slip out into the rides, for hounds as the rides will permit, whilst they force the fox through the cover in such such a determined fashion as will make him 66 fly or die." They are nearing the outside fence, in another second they pour over it like a cataract, and forcing his horse through a blind gap, our huntsman is behind them in the twinkling of an eye. A peculiar note of his horn, well known to "Dick" and "Joe," one screech, and, sitting down in his saddle, he runs his eye over the pack and gets a count. They are all there; and with a mind at ease he has time to look about him, and speculate on the probable point for which the fox is making. Hounds are meanwhile running over old pasture land, carrying a great head in the mute ecstasy of pace, and the huntsman riding behind them-a place of distinction which the master and he alone of all the field are privileged to hold. After twenty minutes, hounds check for the first time; and the huntsman, pulling up short, sits motionless like a statue, following them with rapt attention as they swing round and make their own cast, as it turns out unsuccessfully.

Then, having done all they could without avail, they come back cheerfully to the huntsman to seek his aid. The cause of the trouble is easily perceived. Hounds have been revelling in the glorious scent peculiar to old grazing grounds, and they have now to work their way over the arable in the shape of a field of roots recently fed off by sheep. Naturally enough they cannot understand the difference in the scent, and they are disinclined to trouble themselves to work it out. The huntsman quietly holds them over the field, encouraging them to try; an old hound drops his nose; he shows a line; his companions follow his lead; soon they understand and settle to changed conditions, and, though they cannot trust themselves to race, they gradually surmount the difficulty, clustering like bees round old 66 Traveller," with their noses glued to the ground. Soon they come to grass again, and heads up and sterns down is once more the order of the day. A big woodland appears in view, and this is the point for which the fox has been making. He has entered it; but, to the intense joy of the huntsman, soon slips out into a ride, for, distressed as he is, he cannot make headway through the thick blackthorn covert. So the fox runs the rides, which is a certain indication that he has had enough, and the only fear is that a fresh one, disturbed from his kennel, should cross the line. There is but little chance of such a catastrophe, for there is no cry except a whimper or so as the leading hound snatches for the scent at the corners, and the huntsman knows better than to make any noise himself. By many signs he is well aware that the fox is close in front: the jays are blackguarding him, and show the way he goes. Now he slips out of cover and runs up the hedge side. Hounds catch a view, and, straining their hardest, bowl him over with a snap and a worry. Fifty minutes, and every hound up. Finis coronat opus. - Whipper - in.

The first whipper-in should be a light-weight, must be a good horseman, and, if he is to be a success, must make up his mind from the beginning to support the huntsman constantly and loyally. He must stop hounds and turn them to the huntsman's horn, even when he feels convinced they are right. In short, he must never attempt to take a leading part unless exceptional circumstances such as an accident to the huntsman-should arise. Too much value should not be attached to the viewing of foxes in the early part of the chase; on the contrary, the whipper-in should rather be in attendance an on the huntsman, ready to assist him as occasion requires; but when a fox has been on foot for forty minutes, and is beginning to run short, then is the time for the whipper-in to exercise his genius by getting forward for a view, stopping the fox from running his foil in cover, and taking care that no fresh fox should allure hounds from the line. He should count his hounds upon every opportunity. The second BREAKING UP THE FOx. whipper-in must also be a light-weight, and it is his duty to bring on any tail hounds, and to stop such as may have divided from the pack. He also should count hounds on every opportunity. In going to covert, the place of the first whipper-in is in front of the hounds, and that of the second some distance behind the huntsman; and he should take care to give hounds plenty of room to pick their way through muddy lanes and bridle-roads. When hounds are running riot, the whipper-in should get to the head of hounds before rating or attempting to stop them. Then the stinging lash should be applied to the ringleader, and he should be rated by name. In the case of hardened offenders, they may be taken up and flogged; but if it is found necessary to inflict this punishment it should be done at the time, and not, as is sometimes the case, on the return of the hounds IO to the pack after a considerable interval of time has elapsed. 66 After all, hounds can only be made steady by constantly exercising them amidst din and riot of all kinds, and by judicious handling on the part of the huntsman. In windy weather hounds are often wild, and Vyner tells a story of a pack which one day broke away and commenced running the crows, which often skim along close to the ground in windy weather; and the old kennelman gave it as his opinion that they never would have been stopped at all if, by the blessing of God, they had not changed to a jackass." Beckford thus recapitulates the qualifications of a whipperin: "If your whipper-in be bold and active, be a good and careful horseman, have a good ear and a clear voice-if, as I said, he be a very Mungo, here, there, and everywhere, having at the same time judgment to distinguish where he can be of most use; if, joined to these, he be above the foolish conceit of killing a fox without the huntsman, but, on the contrary, be disposed to assist him all he can, he then is a perfect whipper-in."

The necessity of counting hounds whenever it is possible to do so has been insisted on, and as an illustration of the value of the practice, the following anecdote may be related. The writer, when he hunted the Croome country, found a fox in a large covert called Tiddesley Wood, and hounds were not long in getting away. As they left I was able to count the pack, and discovered we were short of a hound. After a capital run the fox was killed the other side of Spetchley in the Worcestershire country, and, on running them over, it appeared they still wanted a hound, and that hound was "Rambler." "Rambler" was never away before, and the writer, remembering that a hound was wanting when they left Tiddesley Wood, told Fred, the second whipper-in, to ride back to that covert, many miles off, and see if he could hear anything of him. Fred accordingly rode through the boggy rides in the wood calling the hound's name, and just as he was coming out in despair and giving it up as a bad job he heard a whimper. So getting off his horse and fighting his way through the blackthorn, he found poor old "Rambler" fast in a wire, set no doubt by some poacher for a fox, since it was almost strong enough to hold a man. If the master had not been able to count the hounds away from Tiddesley, old "Rambler" would undoubtedly have perished miserably.

The Earth Stopper. - In old times the a con- "earth stopper" used to be part and parcel of a hunting establishment, and, mounted on a rough pony, with a spade over his shoulder, and carrying a lantern, it was his duty to proceed to the earths situated in the country which was to be drawn the following day, and carefully to stop them with earth or faggots about the hour of midnight. The fox, who feeds at night, upon returning at dawn, finds the access to his quarters barred, and so makes kennel for himself in some snug place in the neighbouring covert. Now, however, it is generally left to the gamekeepers to undertake this duty in their respective beats, and it is questionable if they all of them perform this part of their work scientiously and at the proper hour of night; many will content themselves by "putting to" the earths in the morning; but, where a country is frequently disturbed, foxes are shy and repair to their earths to lie with the first dawn of day, and so a blank draw is often the consequence of a piece of laziness on the part of the keeper. At the end of the season it is customary for the master to give an "earth stoppers'" feast, which is much looked forward to by those who are entitled to an invitation, and are accustomed to draw the pay which they are to receive. At this entertainment the tables are usually presided over by the huntsman, and a jolly evening is spent. These gatherings do much to encourage goodwill and promote the popularity of foxhunting.

Kennels. All who have studied the questions involved in selecting the site of kennels, and who may therefore be regarded as authorities, agree that their position should be high and dry,- Its courts, wide opening to receive The sun's all-cheering beams when mild he shines And gilds the mountain tops, Upon some little eminence erect, And fronting to the ruddy dawn.

And when we reflect that our sport depends in so great a measure upon the health and condition of the hounds, it is not surprising that the construction and convenience of kennels is considered as a matter of the very first importance. The most essential qualification of a kennel is that it should be dry; for, if it is damp or insufficiently drained, or cold, you will always have lame hounds.

Beckford's observations upon these points are so excellent that they should be followed in every particular; and, while he recommends economy, and condemns in sensible language the useless extravagance one sometimes finds in the architecture or building of kennels, he strongly advises that they should be of sufficient dimensions in the first place, for the simple reason that it is always difficult to make alterations when once the building has been completed.1 The floors of the lodging-rooms should be bricked and sloped on both sides, so as to carry off the water from the centre, and the yards which are attached to the lodgingrooms should be similarly constructed. The posts of the doors through which the hounds pass should always be rounded, otherwise these will be constantly causing injury to tions, it is hardly necessary when the building is on sound and high ground and not overshadowed by trees. Warm lodging, however, is absolutely indispensable for the comfort and well-doing of the pack, and must be secured at any cost, and, where dampness is found to exist, the floor should be taken up and a layer of ashes and finelybroken stones put underneath. But, even with all these precautions, there will be occasional cases of rheumatic lameness in WHOO-HOOP! their stifles. The sleeping benches should be made of deal, and these should be open -that is, there should be a space of at least an inch between them, for reasons which are obvious whilst they should be attached to the wall of the lodging-room by hinges, so that they may be folded up when the kennel is cleaned out. The benches should be low, in order that hounds may be prevented from creeping underneath, and also to enable them to jump upon them easily when they have come in tired from a long day's hunting. In some kennels the walls are heated by flues, and though this may be desirable enough in low and damp situa- 1 It is said that the construction of the kennels at Goodwood cost £19,000. most kennels. Kennel lameness is, indeed, a dreadful calamity, which causes more uneasiness in the minds of huntsmen than any other affliction, because it is the most difficult to treat successfully. The only cure, as far as my experience goes, is to be found in a change of quarters. When a hound belonging to the writer was struck down with this scourge he was accustomed to send him to the kennels of a good friend who lived at some distance off, and he was invariably sent back sound in the course of a few weeks. Still, hounds which have once been troubled with it are, as a rule, always liable to a return of the malady, and are never to be depended upon. An old friend of mine, who was a master of fox- I2 hounds of considerable standing, used to say laughingly that in his belief the real origin of kennel lameness proceeded from bad shoulders, and it is certainly true that the disease is more frequently to be found kennel there should be attached a large walled-in yard, some three or four acres in extent, in which the young hounds just brought in from quarters should be allowed to exercise themselves during the greater RETURNING HOME. in hounds with this defect than with those of perfect conformation.

The boiling-house is usually placed at the back of the building, with well-seasoned elm boards fastened to the wall to receive the pudding when it is taken out of the boiler.

There should be two boilers made of cast iron, one for cooking flesh and the other for meal. The water-tanks in the yard should be made of slate, which is more readily kept clean than iron or wooden troughs, and care should be taken to enforce the regular cleaning and filling of them. It is unnecessary to add that there should always be an unfailing supply of pure water, since a very large quantity of this fluid is required for washing down the courts and dormitories. Nothing can equal good old Irish or Scotch oatmeal as food for foxhounds, and it is better always to have at least six months' supply in hand, for not only does it improve with age, but it also goes further by keeping. Great care should be taken to secure good meal, for in this, as in other food, there is often a considerable amount of adulteration. The flesh-house should be at some distance, since the smell which proceeds from it is neither pleasant nor conducive to health. To every part of the day. The number of hounds to be kept will regulate the size of the kennel, which need not be a very expensive structure.

Distemper is a disease which almost invariably attacks young hounds on coming into kennel, and which carries off a large proportion of the sufferers. It often appears in a variety of forms, which are all difficult to treat; but, when the yellows, or jaundice, accompanies distemper, the combination in ninety-nine cases out of hundred proves fatal. a Distemper, for the most part, affects hounds in the same way as the visitation of influenza in human beings; for it generally attacks the head and is accompanied by a virulent discharge from the eyes and nostrils. The disease is felt in the brain and back, and it often happens that, when young hounds appear to have recovered, a twitching of the limbs remains behind; and when they are afflicted in this way, it is better to knock them on the head at once, for they will never prove capable of service in the field. When hounds come in from quarters where they have been well done and are full of flesh, the disease will generally attack the lungs and liver, and calomel is the best remedy which can be employed.

Every huntsman has a nostrum of his own, which he thinks a specific cure for the malady; but, in spite of all this knowledge, the disease carries off large numbers of young hounds every year, and, of course, the weather has great influence in retarding the cure if it be wet or cold. Warm and dry quarters, with generous living, when the virulence of the disease is passing away, are the best remedies which can be employed. Some use Turkish baths, and this treatment is discussed in the paragraph which deals with jaundice.

Yellows, a disease corresponding with jaundice in the human frame, is often produced by excessively good feeding, and, at the same time, insufficient exercise. The sufferer must be kept in a warm place; but the complaint is very seldom successfully treated, and never when it is allied with distemper. A friend of the writer attached great value to the curative properties of the Turkish bath in cases of yellows; and he was accustomed to put his sick hounds in the bath, at the same time giving sonal experience of the application of the remedy.

The Rounding of young hounds, which should not be performed till they are well over the distemper, is a painful operation, but one which it is supposed will save hounds from suffering from the wounds and laceration inflicted by drawing strong blackthorn coverts, if the ears are allowed to retain their long tips. A butcher's block with a smooth surface must be obtained, and upon this the ear is stretched, then a half-moon iron, laid on the tip, is struck with a mallet, and the operation is completed. A little oil will soon heal the sores, and in a very few days hounds will be able to go out. In several kennels the operation of rounding has been abolished.

Great stress should be laid upon the order that rounding should not be performed until young hounds are over distemper and have quite recovered their strength and spirits, for, if they are at all lower in condition, the loss of blood consequent upon the operation will pull them back and perhaps cause them TRENCHERING. them as much water as they would lap, which he declared expelled the bile from the system; but, as I have never seen this treatment employed, I cannot speak of it with the confidence engendered by perto miss a part of the early education of cub- Drafts of old and young hounds are made annually from every kennel, and the reasons for which the old ones are drafted are unsoundness in limb or constitution; for being rogues, that is wide runners, or skirters; for running mute; or for being noisy, that is babbling or speaking where no fox has been; for throwing their tongue when going to cry, or hanging on the line: because all of these vicious propensities would be likely to contaminate by their evil example the rest of the pack; then young hounds are got rid of because they are not THE TERRIER MAN. 66 دو sorty "that is, that they will not match the others in size or colour, or because they do not appear to have robust constitutions. Drafts were formerly considered to be the perquisite of the huntsman, but of late years gentlemen have found it desirable to take the management in this direction entirely in their own hands. The price for the old and young draft is usually fixed at three guineas a couple; but for the second draft of young hounds, which is often not made until just before the season for cubhunting commences, five guineas a couple is not uncommonly demanded.

Coverts. The biggest woods will always hold the best foxes; big woods are the real preserves for good foxes; those found in gorse and stick coverts are often short runners. Foxes prefer natural coverts, which lie high; if these are warm and thick at the bottom, with plenty of shelter from the different quarters of the wind, they will seldom be drawn blank. The large woods and blackthorn brakes will prove a favourite resort, and, if the foxes are let alone, will always hold. We must, however, occasionally make artificial coverts; but these, like artificial earths, are seldom satisfactory, and if great care is not taken to make the latter in a dry situation, it is not at all improbable that they will be the means of introducing mange into the country. However, it is often desirable to plant coverts in certain portions of a country where none exist, and also to establish a connecting link between woodlands and the more open portions of the country. The subject of making these coverts must be carefully considered, and only those planted which are likely to flourish, and suit the soil in which they are found. Thus in a strong, heavy, clay district gorse will never really succeed; and it will be much better to plant blackthorn, than which nothing in this description of land is more likely to grow kindly. Moreover, it is no joke to attempt to force your way through a strong blackthorn covert; and for this reason alone it may be cultivated, for it will be more likely to lie quiet. After all, the great secret of attraction to foxes is complete tranquillity. But in certain countries gorse is indigenous to the soil, and then there can be no better covert.

If it is decided to plant a gorse, a piece of sound ground should be chosen and drained if necessary, and the land should be summer fallowed, well cleaned, and manured as if for swedes. About three pounds of seed to the acre should be drilled in the month of April, and this should be treated in every respect the same as a crop of swedes, and well hoed until the gorse has outgrown the weeds. Rabbits are very fond of gorse, and they must be kept down in the earlier stages of its growth. Every fifth year a patch of the gorse, which by this time will probably have become hollow and weak, should be cut or burnt, and perhaps the latter plan is the better of the two. Privet, rhododendrons, and laurels are sometimes planted, but they can never make such satisfactory covers as gorse or blackthorn, but the writer has known Jerusalem artichokes a certain find. Osier beds are a favourite resort for foxes, partly because they are grown on land which has been thrown up, and which is, in consequence of this treatment, high and dry, and partly because they are usually grown near brooks or rivers, where the water-rats are a great attraction.

The writer recollects a small covert belonging to staunch sportsman, which was drawn by hounds on an average once every three weeks during the season. It was not more than three or four acres in extent, and yet it never failed to produce a fox, and even if one was killed from it after a run, another one took his place and was always forthcoming when the hounds came.

Some supposed that the old sportsman had a some method of attracting the foxes, and the neighbours used to say that he was accustomed to trail a rat as a drag from several points to the copse, in which he always took care there should be a plentiful supply of dead rats. When you want to make some coverts which will hold at once, stick covers and faggot covers are often found to produce the desired result. A quantity of long ash poles should be felled, and should rest upon some forks stuck firmly in the ground, about two feet high.

These should be roofed as it were with the loppings of young fir-trees, and hedge trimmings thrown all over, and if these small places, which need not be more than couple of acres in extent, are securely fenced round and in quiet, foxes will soon lie in them; or you can fence a certain quantity of land and set up ordinary faggots not very far apart, and in the course of a summer's growth brambles, thorns, and long grass will twine themselves over the interstices, and make an impenetrable covert. a Scent. That no uncertainty in the world is greater than that of scent is the conclusion I have arrived at after close observation extending over more than forty years; and I should be sorry to take upon myself to lay down any rule with regard to it, knowing, as I do, that it has always been a puzzle to the best recognised authorities in many generations. Mr. Jorrocks remarks that scent is a "weary, incomprehensible, incontrollable phenomenon, constant only in its inconstancy"; and he adds that "nothing is so queer as scent except a woman."

Somervile believed scent to depend upon the air alone.

Then on the air Depend the hunter's hopes.

But in this conjecture we know he was wrong, since we are all aware that some varieties of soil carry scent better than others; that when the land picks up, as it will do when a white frost yields to the influence of the sun, hounds can scarcely carry on the line over the sticky fallows; and, when the leaf falls in October, we know there will be no scent in cover until it is rotted by the heavy rains of November.

These reasons are sufficient, in my opinion, to dispel the accuracy of Somervile's theory that scent is in the air only. Beckford says that scent depends chiefly on two things, "the condition the ground is in, and the temperature of the air," and I am inclined to think a better definition cannot be found, and that when this happy combination occurs the prospects of sport are almost reduced to a certainty. "Scrutator." believed that there were two kinds of scent, one proceeding or exuding from the body and breath of the animal when in motion, and the other that left by the foot or pad.

There are certain mystical signs or symbols indicative of the probabilities of a good scent or otherwise which must not be despised. Thus when hounds roll upon the A Fox CUB DUG OUT. grass, when they eat grass going to the meet, when they lash their sterns in drawing so as to stain them with blood, when gossamer floats, and cobwebs lie on the grass, when hurtling storms sweep over, and when the barometer falls and rainbows are seen in the sky 1 -all these may be taken as indications of a bad scent; yet, as no one can possibly affirm it will be so, a sportsman will never give way to despair nor relax his efforts to show sport even in such untoward circumstances. Most huntsmen have their own ideas on the prospects of the day. Jem Hills could never "abear them nasty blue mists"; Harry Ayris held "a cold wind from the south" in equal abhorrence; whilst of Will Todd it is said that he was accustomed to remark on a propitious morning, "He must fly or die to-day, gentlemen."

When hounds exhibit unusual keenness on their road to the meet, when they smell strong coming out of kennel, when paving- 1. When the dew hangs on the thorn, The huntsman may put up his horn. stones sweat, when the barometer rises, when the atmosphere is so clear that you can almost count the thorns upon the hedges -all these are favourable signs which are often found to denote a scent. Wind is always regarded as being most antagonistic to sport, and Beckford says, "Never take out your hounds on a windy day." There, are, however, exceptions to every rule, and I can well remember a capital run in very windy weather. In February, 1867, the North Cotswold Hounds, of which the writer was then master, met at the Fish Inn.

It blew a gale when we started, which increased in force until it was a regular hurricane when we left the meet. We drew Armley Bank, and it was dangerous work to ride in covert, for the wind snapped off some of the larch trees half-way up, and they were falling about in all directions.

We found a fox, however, and killed him after a good run at Stanway, a capital point, and it is worthy of remark that the fox ran up-wind all the way. In healthy countries in certain conditions there is a good scent; on a large tract of common land, known as Defford Common, in the Croome country, hounds will run hard even if a fox is half an hour or more ahead of them, because the fox brushes against the ant-hills, &c., with which it is covered.

When hounds, getting well away with their fox, drive him up the wind at a rattling pace for fifteen or twenty minutes, if he turns down the wind, as he is almost certain to do, he is not unfrequently lost, for the reason that the hounds, all aglow with dash and fire after revelling in a burning scent, are most unwilling to stoop and hunt a colder line. It is at this critical juncture that the science and skill of a clever huntsman are called forth. Sitting like a statue on his horse, and motioning the field to do the same, he will encourage his hounds to drop their noses; he knows full well that any movement of his may upset their mercurial temperament and make them still more unwilling to descend to the drudgery of working out the line after the splendid fling in which they have been indulged; and his patience is indeed well and amply rewarded when old "Prudence," pushing her way through the pack, which with heads up are standing around uncertain and unsettled after the excitement of the burst, shows the line at a canter down the furrow, and, with a note sweeter to the ear of the huntsman than the most entrancing music, rings the knell of the doomed fox. Getting together and clustering round her, hounds settle like bees upon the line, which they will now never leave until the varmint is accounted for. When a fox runs the road it is often a long time before hounds will drop their noses and work out the line; but in every pack there is always one old roadhunter to be depended on, which comes to the rescue on these occasions, and when once he shows the way others take up the line with a determination and a pace which leads one to wonder why on earth there ever should have been the slightest difficulty in hitting it off at once. A huntsman cannot give hounds too much time in reason upon a road, and he must be careful also to give them plenty of room and see that his followers do the same. When a frost is in the air and coming on at night, hounds will almost always run with a burning scent.

When sheep cross the line of the fox during chase, a check invariably ensues, but no description of stock foils the scent so badly as colts. On these occasions the judgment and patience of the huntsman are called into requisition, and the services of a line hunter to guide the pack through their temporary difficulties are of inestimable value; for, when hounds have been running hard and are settled to the line, it is a great mistake, in my opinion, to take them off their noses and rely upon lifting, unless there is no help for such a proceeding. In these circumstances patience is needed and a huntsman who knows his hounds will make them hunt the line, however indisposed they may have been in the first instance to work it out. In making a cast a huntsman should always have at least three-fourths of the pack in front of his horse.

Hounds. A hundred and fifty years ago there were two tribes of hounds, namely, the Southern and Northern. The former variety was chiefly used by those who were accustomed to follow the chase on foot; but the Northern breed possessed pace, and dash, and drive, so that their pursuers were obliged to ride to keep up with them.

Gradually, however, these distinctive breeds disappeared, and, early in the last century, it would seem that a fixed type of merit was settled, and speed, beauty, stoutness, and nose became the ruling characteristics of the more modern breed. A foxhound should be 23/½ inches high; his legs should be straight, his bone well carried down, his feet round, his neck clean, his shoulders well placed, and sufficiently strong and deep; his back broad, his stern not coarse, but set on so that he carries it well; his thighs muscular, his head rather large than small, and his conformation symmetrical throughout. When hounds stand over at the knee and are out of elbows, their shoulders will not always bear a strict scrutiny, and when they are light below the knee, and back at the knees, it sometimes happens that they are flat-sided, and generally wanting in muscle. To form and establish a pack of hounds is a serious consideration indeed, and one who achieves success in an undertaking of the kind must be possessed of knowledge, energy, and judgment. A young master will do well if he can see his way to buy a pack which has been together for some kept, and the puppies should be named before they are sent out to walk, and also branded on the side with a letter, denoting the name of the owner or country.

A great many sportsmen are prejudiced in regard to the colour of their hounds, and the Belvoir tan is generally admired and preferred to any other. No doubt uniformity in this respect makes the pack much more sorty, and adds to the beauty of their appearance. No sensible breeder will, however, use a stallion hound only because he excels in beauty of colour and conforma- GONE TO GROUND. years; otherwise the task of formation must be accomplished by purchasing drafts from the best kennels. Having these, he will be unlucky if he cannot add supplementary assistance in the shape of some few couple of reliable working hounds, which he may have been able to beg or buy in the course of the summer. It will be advisable to put on a strong lot of young hounds in the first season, and with care and attention, in three or four years' time he should be able to get together a respectable pack of hounds.

In breeding, the best kennels should be resorted to, and the best stallion hounds used. If good walks are plentiful, advantage should be taken of this piece of good fortune to breed as largely as possible, which is the certain road to obtain a good pack.

The bitches should litter in the spring; that is to say, in the months of February, March, and April. Late puppies seldom thrive.

The pedigrees will, of course, be strictly VOL. III tion, and he will, in the first place, require to know from some trustworthy source whether the hound bears a good character in his work before he decides to avail himself of his services. It is the dash and high courage of a foxhound which is his chief distinguishing merit, and, if his eagerness should lead him to overrun the line with a twisting fox, yet this impetuosity is atoned for by the brilliant way in which he will do his work when scent serves.

The speed of hounds appears to have been a matter which excited great interest among sportsmen of the past, and we read that Mr. Meynell and Mr. Smith-Barry made a match for 500 guineas to run each a couple of hounds over the Beacon Course at Newmarket-4 miles I furlong and 177 yards. Mr. Barry's hounds were Bluecap, four years, and Wanton, three years; and Will Crane commenced training them on August 1st, teaching them to run keenly on a drag, and feeding them on oatmeal and milk and sheep's trotters. It is stated that Mr. Meynell's hounds were fed during the time of training with legs of mutton. The match was run on September 30th, 1762, and the drag from the Rubbing House on the Old Cambridgeshire Course, Newmarket