204 THOUGHTS ON HUNTING 



off unseen. I have known them lie in sheep's scrapes, 

 on the sides of hills, and in small bushes, where hunts- 

 men never think of looking for them ; yet, when they 

 hear a hound, they generally shift their quarters, and 

 make for closer covers. Gentlemen should take this 

 necessary part of fox-hunting on themselves ; for the 

 whipper-in has other business to attend to. * 



I approve not of long drags in large covers : they 

 give too great an advantage to the fox ; they give 

 him a hint to make the best of his way ; and he fre- 

 quently will set off a long while before you. This 

 may be prevented, by throwing your hounds into that 

 part of the cover in which he is most likely to kennel: 

 for want of this precaution, a fox sometimes gets so 

 far the start of hounds, that they are not able to do 

 anything with him afterwards. Also, when hounds 

 first touch on a drag, some huntsmen are so careless, 

 that, while they are going on with it the wrong way 

 themselves, a single hound finds the fox, and is not 

 caught any more by the pack, till he has lost him 

 again. 



Foxes are said to go down the wind to their 

 kennel ; but I believe they do not always observe 

 that rule. 



Huntsmen, while their hounds are drawing, or are 

 at a fault, frequently make so much noise themselves, 

 that they can hear nothing else : they should always 

 have an ear to a halloo. I once saw an extraordinary 



1 Upon these occasions, when you see two gentlemen together, you 

 may reasonably conclude, that one of them, at least, knows nothing of 

 the matter. 



