HUNTING THE FOX. 53 



they must hunt him down. Lf you intend to tire him ov.t, you 

 must expect to be tired also yourself ; I never wish a chase to be 

 less than one hour, or to exceed two : it is sufficiently long if 

 properly followed ; it will seldom be longer, unless there be a 

 fault somewhere : either in the day, the huntsman, or the hounds. 

 Changing from the hunted fox to a fresh one, is as bad an acci- 

 dent as can happen to a pack of fox-hounds, and requires all the 

 ingenuity and observation that man is capable of, to guard against 

 it. Could a fox hound distinguish a hunted fox, as the deer 

 hound does a deer that is blown, fox hunting would then be 

 perfect. 



A huntsman should always listen to his hounds while they are 

 running in cover ; he should be particularly attentive to the head- 

 most hounds, and he should be constantly on his guard against a 

 skirter ; for if there be two scents, he must be wrong. Generally 

 speaking, the best scent is least likely to be that of the hunted 

 fox ; and as a fox seldom suffers hounds to run up to him as long 

 as he is able to prevent it ; so, nine times out of ten, when foxes 

 are hallooed early in the day, they are all fresh foxes. The 

 hounds most likely to be right are the hard-running line-hunting 

 ones ; or such as the huntsman knows had the lead before there 

 arose any doubt of changing. 



With regard to the fox,- if he break over and open country, it 

 is no sign that he is hard run ; for they seldom at any time will 

 do that unless they are a great way before the hounds. Also if 

 he run up the wind ; they seldom or never do that when they 

 have been long hunted and grow weak ; and when they run their 

 soil, that also may direct him. All this requires a good ear and 

 nice observation ; and indeed in that consists the chief excellence 

 f a huntsman. 



When the hounds divide in two parts, the whipper-in, in stop- 

 ping, must attend to the huntsman, and wait for his halloo, before 

 he attempts to stop either ; for want of proper management in 

 this, I have known.the hounds stopped aj both places, and both 

 foxes lost. If they have many scents, and it is uncertain which 

 vs the hunted foi let him stop those that are farthest down the 



