330 HUNTING PRELIMINARIES. 



chooses, though of course not into the lodging room. He will 

 be a hound to breed from, as he possesses indomitable resolu- 

 tion, which is the first quality of a fox hound. The great 

 advantage of hounds drawing a fox, is that it increases their 

 confidence, and gives them the idea that Reynard's entrench- 

 ments are not impregnable, and that they themselves are 

 invincible. They will then almost always mark their fox to 

 ground, if they cannot catch him. I have seen hounds who, 

 from bad management, would not do this, and who conse- 

 quently accounted for their fox by habitually losing him. I 

 am always sorry for the fox; but, as Jorrocks says, 'It's not 

 that I loves the fox less, but the 'ound more.' " 



We should remember that too many foxes spoil sport, and 

 are a calamity to farmers and other persons who keep poultry. 

 We consequently find that in several hunts, a day every now 

 and then, and especially during cubbing time, has to be 

 devoted to obtaining blood and bustling foxes about in woods, 

 dingles, and other places where it would be impossible to get a 

 good gallop. If this were not done, the country people would 

 have to keep down the number of foxes by less legitimate 

 means. The best way to make foxes quit big woods at short 

 notice, is for hounds, when they kill, to break up their fox in 

 the thickest part of the covert. 



A form of blood-giving which I do not like to see, even if it 

 be necessary, is that of surrounding a covert, when cub-hunt- 

 ing, and attempting to drive back cubs which try to break 

 out and escape. The strict hunting theory is to let all 

 but one cub go ; but sometimes he goes too ! The fear 

 that a change of law would injuriously affect hunting, has 

 undoubtedly been the cause of the Act against cruelty 

 to animals being confined to those which are kept under 

 domestic conditions. In Ireland, the necessity for blood is 

 more often overlooked in favour of giving a fair chance of 

 escape to the fox, than in England. 



