38 HUNTING 



opening day, which is generally the first Monday 

 in ]N'ovember. In some hunting countries it is not 

 " good form " to ride in pink unless the rider subscribes 

 a certain sum ; but the novice need not trouble about 

 this etiquette, since no man should ride in pink unless 

 he is a first-rate man to hounds, or an old member of 

 the hunt. We have already given an old estimate 

 of the cost of maintaining a pack of hounds — 

 £620 per annum for each day of the week on which 

 they hunt, e.g. a pack which hunted three days a 

 week would cost £1860 per annum. We have not the 

 figures before us upon which this estimate is formed, 

 but we have credible information that the actual cost 

 in many packs is no less than £1000 per annum for 

 each day of the week on which they hunt. It is not 

 advisable for us to state here the various items which 

 render this expense necessary. We need only call the 

 attention of the novice to one item, namely, " Compensa- 

 tion for damages done by Itor semen" for that is the 

 item which it is in his power to decrease or increase, 

 according as to whether he rides judiciously or thought- 

 lessly. 



We have felt it to be our duty to mention the sub- 

 ject of subscriptions again, because of the numerous 

 complaints which we have received of the diminution 

 of subscription lists. We must now revert to the 

 choice of a pack. 



If a man does not live in a hunting country, he 

 should choose a hunt where he has friends, good men 

 and true, who will give him a welcome. It is what 

 Charles Kingsley termed " the wholesome feeling of 

 being at home amongst friends," which constitutes one 

 of the chief pleasures of hunting. The Duke of 

 Beaufort declares that " the true pleasures of hunting 



