HUNTSMAN 5 



thereby he will always anticipate a check, and 

 cast his hounds the way he should have gone had 

 he been the fox, — which, it may generally be ob- 

 served, will be a line of country where he would 

 avoid being seen, unless there is some local cause 

 for it. By attending to this, he will be prepared 

 for a check in many instances a mile before he gets 

 to it, if he knows the country, and keeps his eyes 

 open ; he must, to do this, have only half an eye 

 for the pack, and the other eye and half beyond 

 it ; and he will also soon discover whether the 

 fox is one he has hunted before by the line he 

 takes, and other peculiarities, — even the ring he 

 takes in cover, the rack he uses in fences, — which 

 observations are of great assistance a second time, 

 but more particularly so later in the season, for a 

 whole litter of young foxes have been known to run 

 the same line of country. 



Other observations in chase are worthy of 

 notice. He will find it no uncommon thing for 

 a fox in chase to pass over several earths which 

 are not stopped, and go on straight for several 

 miles beyond them ; but when he finds that he 

 cannot shake off the pack, and is a little distressed, 

 he will head back to the nearest earth he has 

 come over which was open, and go to ground, 

 unless the whipper-in is desired to clap back 

 quickly and get there first and stop it, or stand 



