HARE-HUNTING 235 



In all hunting there should be slight odds in 

 favour of the animal pursued that is taking an 

 average of the season and not any particular good 

 or bad scenting-day. I should put the odds at 

 three to one on the fox in an ordinary country 

 with a good pack of hounds and a fair huntsman. 

 This is a standard which I should like to see hare- 

 hunters carry in their minds when they are making 

 preparations for the pursuit of puss. A fox-hunter 

 having the odds against him feels he has a right 

 to take every advantage he can of the fox within 

 certain bounds, but beyond these he will not pass 

 if he is a good sportsman at heart. 



With a smart pack of harriers of twenty inches 

 that have nose as well as pace, I should put the 

 odds at five to one against the hare. To balance 

 things more evenly, you should not give hounds a 

 view at the start, hardly any assistance at a check, 

 and never lift them to a halloa. 



You will have gathered from the foregoing 

 remarks that hunting the hare with harriers bred 

 from foxhounds is not a sport which I admire, 

 and you will therefore forgive me not dwelling 

 long on the subject. My argument is that if 

 twelve-inch beagles can kill a hare in reasonable 



