CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



some white on the breast and belly, and a light 

 tip to the long bushy tail. Foxes go to clicket in 

 winter, and cubs are produced in the latter end 

 of March ; they breed but once a year, and have 

 from three to eight young ones at a time. 



Fox-hunting on a proper scale requires to be 

 conducted with the class of active horses termed 

 hunters, a pack of foxhounds to scent and run 

 down the prey, and terriers to turn the animal 

 from his hole, should he take to earth. A pack of 

 hounds varies from twenty to thirty couples ; but 

 besides these, some hounds are always left un- 

 drafted into the field. The cost of a well-bred 

 pack is reckoned at from ^ioco to ^1200, and 

 the annual expense of its keep and management 

 about as much. The huntsman, as the grand 

 leader of the chase, is a functionary of no small 

 importance ; he is assisted by two whippers-in, 

 who bring up and take charge of the hounds. 



The fox being an early riser, and his scent lying 

 best on the damp grass, he is hunted in early 

 morning; and the first business on taking the 

 field is to ride to and draw cover that is, bring 

 out the fox from his retreat. At the first sight, 

 the view halloo is given by the huntsman, and all 

 follow the sweeping track of the hounds. The 

 run is considered the exhilarating part of the 

 sport, and consists of a rapid chase through a 

 broken or rough country, with the hounds in full 

 cry. Then is the ardour of the chase shewn ; and 

 it continues till the fox, by some clever manoeuvre 

 such as tracking up a brook throws the 

 hounds off the scent, and the party is brought to 

 check. The scent and track of the animal being 

 again found, off all go once more in pursuit. When 

 the fox is caught, his brush or tail is cut off as 

 a trophy by the huntsman, and his unfortunate 

 carcase is thrown to the hounds. 



HARE-HUNTING COURSING. 



Hares are hunted in much the same manner as 

 foxes, the chief difference being, that harriers 

 are employed instead of hounds : both hunt by 

 the scent. 



Hares are hunted with packs of generally 

 twenty couples of harriers ; but whatever number 

 is employed, it is the established rule not to run 

 in upon the hares as soon as discovered in their 

 forms, but to allow them a little space before the 

 dogs are set on. This space is termed 'law.' 

 The hares also must not be pressed upon in the 

 chase by the company ; neither are the dogs, in 

 losing scent, to be called on the right path; for 

 this leads them to depend on the sight of the 

 huntsman instead of their own noses. 



Coursing is the chasing and taking of the hare 

 by means of greyhounds, which hunt by the sight 

 only. Among fox-hunters it is considered an 

 inferior kind of sport, but many country gentle- 

 men find in it an exhilarating recreation, and it is 

 patronised by numerous coursing clubs. 



The greyhound, whose form so eminently 

 adapts him for competing with the hare in a race, 

 requires to be well trained in the art of turning 

 suddenly, and determinedly pursuing his game on 

 a new line of pursuit. A single pair of dogs is 

 generally sufficient for the sport; and betting 

 often ensues as to the points in the course. There 

 are numerous rules of ancient and modern date 

 on the subject of coursing. 



696 



SHOOTING GROUSE PARTRIDGES, ETC. 



The leading sports with dog and gun are the 

 shooting of grouse, partridges, and pheasants. In 

 all kinds of shooting a good gun is the first requisite, 

 and the second is to know how to use and clean it. 

 Next, the sportsman must be provided with dogs 

 trained to point the kind of game for which they 

 are taken to the field : to take a dog accustomed to 

 point partridges on a grouse-shooting excursion 

 would be foolish. The gunpowder should be 

 kept very dry in a metal flask, and be of proper 

 strength and purity. Patent shot is now com- 

 monly used; it is of eight sorts, each num- 

 bered, and rises from 83 pellets to 620 pellets in 

 the ounce. Much variety of opinion exists as to 

 the proper size of shot ; No. 6 is often used on 

 the moors at the commencement of the season, 

 and as the grouse become wilder, No. 4 or 3 is 

 substituted. The more tender the birds, the 

 smaller may be the pellets or drops. 



The following hints to a beginner in shooting 

 are worth taking : ' In raising the gun, let him 

 remember that the moment it is brought up to the 

 centre of the object, the trigger should be pulled, 

 as the first sight is always unquestionably the 

 best. Then send him out to practise at a card 

 with powder till he has got steady ; and after- 

 wards load his gun occasionally with shot, but 

 never let the time of your making this addition be 

 known to him ; and the idea of it being perhaps 

 impossible to strike his object will remove all 

 anxiety, and he will soon become perfectly firm 

 and collected. 



'Beware of the muzzle of the gun being kept 

 hanging downwards ; when so carried, the shot is 

 apt to force its way from the powder, especially in 

 clean barrels. If it happens that a space of six- 

 teen or eighteen inches is thus obtained, and the 

 gun fired with its point below the horizon, it is ten 

 to one but the barrel bursts.' Again, men, horses, 

 and dogs are in perpetual danger of being shot 

 when a gun is carried in this manner. 



Grouse-shooting. This favourite field-sport, as 

 is well known, commences annually on the I2th 

 of August, when thousands of persons adjourn to 

 remote parts of the country to follow it, with all its 

 toils and privations. Among the varieties of this 

 game are numbered the cock of the wood or caper- 

 cailzie ; the black-cock, heath-cock, black game, 

 or black grouse ; the red grouse, moorfowl, or gor- 

 cock ; and the white grouse or ptarmigan. Moor- 

 fowl are the most common, and seem to be peculiar 

 to Britain. They are very plentiful in the High- 

 lands of Scotland, and by no means scarce in any 

 of the wild, heathy, and mountainous tracts in the 

 northern counties of England and Wales. Red 

 grouse pair early in spring, and lay from six to ten 

 eggs ; the young brood follow the hen during the 

 whole summer ; and in winter they unite in flocks 

 of forty or fifty. They are seldom seen in the 

 valleys, preferring to keep the summits and sides 

 of the hills, where they feed on mountain-berries 

 and the like. Being generally hatched in April, if 

 the summer has been dry, the young birds will be 

 pretty strong on the wing and ready for the sports- 

 man by the I2th of August. 



The best weather for shooting is that which is 

 dry, clear, and warm ; wet makes them lie still on 

 the ground. No one need attempt grouse-shooting 



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