34 KEMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN. 



the county, the master should give positive orders to his 

 gamekeeper not to destroy the foxes, for a gentleman who 

 is supposed guilty of this serious crime is set down by 

 most of his neighbours as a selfish and odious character ; 

 and for the gratification of your own amusement you 

 deprive, to a certain extent, the foxhunters of the county 

 of theirs, which is the case when the hounds draw the 

 cover and don't find ; and then all the field come to this 

 conclusion, that there must have been some foul play 

 with the poor foxes ; besides, it has been fully ascer- 

 tained that you may have abundance of game, and a 

 sufiicient number of foxes to prevent the master of the 

 hounds from having a blank day. 



If the proprietor of an estate should have the folly 

 and imprudence, which I regret to state is too often the 

 case, to have the farms of his tenants swarming with 

 gaiue, more especially with hares and rabbits (perhaps 

 in his lease he is not allowed to destroy the latter), to 

 the serious injury of their crops, they have an undoubted 

 right to demand fair compensation ; but, in cases of re- 

 fusal, to prevent their ruin, the tenants have no alter- 

 native but to give up their farms under severe losses. 

 But I believe there are few gentlemen who, in the un- 

 wise indulgence of this hobby-horse of having so large 

 a stock of game, are so unreasonable as not to 

 comply with the just demands of the tenant. On these 

 occasions an intelligent and skilful farmer is appointed 

 to set a value on the damage done to the crops, which 

 rarely turns out to the satisfaction of both parties, the 

 discontent arising usually with the landlord ; but some 

 gentlemen, to obviate the unpleasant affair, let their 

 farms at a lower rent to the tenants as a payment for 

 the injuries done to the crops by the game. But of this 



