THE ART ITSELF 195 



any one's guidance in hunting, as one cannot fore- 

 see the circumstances that will arise or the events 

 that have led up to a particular point ; but there 

 are certain general principles to work upon, and 

 beyond these the beginner must use his own 

 judgment. In making a cast, the huntsman, 

 if there is no master, should first of all beg his 

 field to stand still, and he should then proceed 

 at a pace justified by the scent before the check. 

 He should not go so fast that hounds cannot try 

 as they go, and when one or two stop to feather, 

 he should not allow his whip to drive them on. 

 You may gallop hounds across a scent without 

 them ever knowing it was there, and unless 

 as a last resource you are casting to a point some 

 distance away, it is a good rule never to take 

 hounds off their noses. Always let the pack 

 make their own cast first, unless they are doing it 

 among the horses or where the people have been 

 riding about, and then get them on clean ground 

 at once. It is better not to cast too wide at first, as 

 the greater the radius of your semi-circle, the longer 

 it will take for you to make it. A forward cast is 

 desirable, because if the fox has turned aside to 

 avoid a man, or for some other reason, and he is 



