324 HUNTING PRELIMINARIES. 



ally chase fallow deer, which variety of deer is hardly ever 

 kept in confinement for hunting purposes. The New Forest 

 occasionally hunt wild red deer, of which there are very few 

 in that district ; because Government, about fifty years ago, 

 ordered all the New Forest deer, red as well as fallow, to be 

 exterminated. A small number of fallow deer survived, and, 

 since then, their increase has been encouraged. The New 

 Forest hunt call their pack deer-hounds. 



The hunting of hinds and does is resorted to, only when the 

 males are out of season, namely, after the middle of October. 

 It is said that there are too many hinds on Exmoor, and 

 not too many deer of any kind in the New Forest. 



4. Harriers as a rule are pure harriers, dwarf fox-hounds, 

 or cross-breds ; and are from 15^ (Colchester) to 24 inches 

 (Stannington) high. A good height would be : bitches, 18 

 inches ; dogs, 19 inches. Although their legitimate quarry is 

 hare, they sometimes hunt fox in Ireland ; but should of 

 course be called off, if they got on to one in a fox-hunting 

 country. In bygone times in England, they used occasion- 

 ally to hunt fox after Christmas, but that form of chase is 

 now strictly reserved for fox-hounds. Most Masters of 

 harriers would consider out-lying red or fallow deer to be 

 fair game. The Ripley and Knap Hill harriers, when Mr. 

 Seymour Dubourg was Master and Huntsman, had some 

 excellent sport with wild roe in the rough country round 

 Sandhurst. That gentleman is now Master and Huntsman 

 of the South Berks, and there is no better sportsman in 

 field or kennel. 



5. Drag-hounds are always fox-hounds. The usual drag is 

 the droppings and the bed of a tame fox, flavoured with 

 aniseed, of which only a little should be employed ; because it 

 becomes blown about, and hounds are apt to run wild at it. 

 Many hounds hate aniseed and will not run it. A red-herring 

 in a hare-skin with a little aniseed is sometimes used. One of 



