AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL 53 



been written on the subject, and powers of thinking 

 and of observation are said to be fostered by education. 

 His position should inspire more confidence in himself 

 and give a sense of authority that the professional 

 sometimes lacks, while I think the feeling that noblesse 

 oblige will prevent his developing a certain slackness 

 and anxiety to put in an easy day that becomes 

 noticeable in some paid officials after a time." 



Perhaps there was a good deal of truth in the above, 

 and something like it is heard very often nowadays, 

 for one pretty often hears the subject debated and 

 many arguments brought forward on both sides. It 

 has been said, for instance, that many ignorant young 

 men, after hunting for a few seasons, without 

 bestowing much thought or study on the subject, 

 straightway imagine that they are capable of hunting a 

 pack of foxhounds. They take the first vacant country 

 that will have them — and a pretty mess they make 

 of it ! There is truth in this, also, no doubt ; but 

 such amateurs are not usually the men who remain 

 long on the active lists of Masters of Hounds or 

 gain for themselves the reputation that certain 

 gentlemen huntsmen of the present day have 

 deservedly acquired. Of one thing, however, there 

 is no doubt, and that is that the number of amateur 

 huntsmen has vastly increased in recent years. Out 

 of 179 packs of foxhounds in England, 77 are hunted 

 by amateurs. In Ireland there are 24 packs of fox- 

 hounds and only 3 professional huntsmen are em- 

 ployed; while Scotland, with 11 packs of hounds, 

 possesses 4 gentlemen huntsmen. 



These statistics are somewhat striking, and show 



