34 HUNTING 



dealer might prove himself to be an unspeakable 

 nuisance. The difficulty, therefore, is to collect the 

 tax in such a manner that it may benefit fox-hunting, 

 and, a fortiori, agriculture, since fox - hunting is one 

 of the- bulwarks of agricultural prosperity. 



It would be well if all M.F.H.'s were to follow Mr 

 Fernie's plan and lay down a fixed rule as to subscrip- 

 tions. A man going into a strange country may not 

 wish to be mean, and, on the other hand, may not wish 

 to parade his wealth by subscribing more than his 

 neighbours. What would be considered a generous 

 subscription in one country would be considered a 

 paltry one in another. Thus in some countries in the 

 provinces £10 is considered an adequate subscription 

 for a man who only hunts one day a week, and £20 is 

 deemed a liberal subscription for a three-days-a-week 

 man. In the shires such subscriptions would be thought 

 paltry to the extent of meanness. Of course the 

 experienced hunting man can tell at a glance what his 

 subscription ought to be. He has only to go out one 

 day with a pack to note how the hunt servants are 

 mounted and turned out, and to judge whether the 

 kennel menage is smart or slovenly. The late Major 

 White Melville used to declare that he could tell a 

 Leicestershire man by the way he put on his breeches, 

 and in the same way it is easy to distinguish a crack 

 hunt from a scratch hunt by the appearance of the 

 huntsmen and whips. Naturally, the smarter the turn- 

 out of the hunt servants, the greater must be the 

 expenses attaching to the masters. Every self-respect- 

 ing M.F.H. wishes to see his servants turned out as 

 smartly as money will work the oracle, and he spares 

 no reasonable expense in their liveries and mounts. 

 The Frostyfaces and Watchorns about whom Surtees 



