33 HUNTING PRELIMINARIES. 



answering a correspondent who asks what is the best way to 

 prevent gorse coverts from getting open at the bottom, replies 

 as follows : " The only way to keep gorse from growing tall 

 and becoming naked at the bottom is to keep it topped when 

 young. You might chop down your covert in sections, leaving 

 the stumps a foot or so in height. If this is done in Spring, 

 say February or March, it will soon break out again. Some 

 old coverts we had to deal with were burned in alternate 

 sections, and the ground chopped over and fresh seed 

 sown." 



The fact that a covert is dry and faces to the south will 

 greatly conduce to the comfort of foxes residing in it. George 

 Carter, the famous huntsman of the Fitzwilliam, was a strong 

 advocate of having, when practicable, a ditch guarded by 

 posts and rails round every covert, so as to drain the ground, 

 and give the foxes a feeling of security in their abode. Sand 

 will of course be much drier than clay. 



The smaller a covert is, the less likely is it to hold foxes, 

 especially after Christmas. 



HUNTING THINGS. 



There are three forms of hunting coats usually worn. In 

 1865 or 1866, General, then Captain, Owen Williams, of the 

 Blues, introduced into modern use the swallow-tail coat, which 

 is similar in shape to the orthodox coat of evening wear. It 

 is, however, kept buttoned in front, and shows a few inches of 

 the hunting waistcoat, which in all cases is particularly long, 

 for purposes of warmth. This coat looks smart, but offers no 

 protection to the legs in case of rain. It and the long-vvaisted 

 cutaway, which is thoroughly workmanlike, are held in equal 

 favour by Conservative Meltonians, who are apt to regard the 

 single breasted frock coat as provincial. The frock is increas- 

 ing in favour, at least among wearers of black ; probably 

 because it will generally keep the knees dry, during wet 



