62 HUNTING 



" head," i.e. the horns, is cut off, and the " slots," i.e. 

 the feet or pads of a fox. The carcass is severed from 

 the venison, cleaned, and given to the hounds. We have 

 only to add that the venison is distributed amongst 

 the supporters of the hunt according to the directions of 

 the Master. 



2. Difference hetween finding a stag and draiving 

 for a fox. — The duties of an earth- stopper in fox- 

 hunting are child's play in comparison with those 

 of an " harbourer," i.e. the man whose duty it is to 

 " harbour " the stag or to discover what covert he has 

 chosen for his temporary home. After the earth- 

 stopper has discovered what earths exist upcm his 

 "stop," his duties are merely mechanical, though, of 

 course, he may perform those duties either carefully or 

 carelessly. But to " harbour " a stag is far more 

 difficult than to hunt him. Experts declare that it 

 requires more skill to harbour a wild red deer on 

 Exmoor than to stalk a deer in the Highlands, 

 even if the conditions were equal. But " harbouring " 

 has to be done in the grey dawn, and the nose of the 

 red wild deer of Exmoor is more sensitive than that of 

 his northern cousin. Besides, it can hardly be called 

 pleasant work to sit in a tree for two or three hours 

 in a drenching rain on a cold September morning, 

 waiting for the appearance of a " warrantable " stag, or 

 to examine the ground for the marks of his "slots." 

 Some harbourers are so shrewd that they can tell the 

 age of a stag from his slots. Even when his patience 

 is rewarded, he can never be sure that the covert won't 

 be disturbed before the "tuRers" are put in. 



Unlike fox-hunting, the whole of the pack is not 

 put into covert, but only a few experienced old 

 hounds, which are called "tufters." The number 



