FARMERS. 337 



supplies of all the farmers of his district, so that the members 

 of the Quorn hunt might be able to obtain their hay, corn, 

 straw, etc., direct from the local producer. In those days, 

 almost all the stud grooms continued to patronise the 

 Melton corn dealer, who, besides being a good business 

 man, was also a farmer, and was on Lord Lonsdale's list 

 A better plan than the advertisement one, is the appoint- 

 ment of a resident gentleman to put hunting people in com- 

 munication with farmers who will supply them with forage. 

 Such a man should of course be absolutely above the sus- 

 picion of taking commission on his own account. In con- 

 sidering this question of buying forage, we must remember 

 that many fashionable hunting men require credit, which is 

 an article not usually supplied by agriculturists. Neglect to 

 deal with farmers is certainly one of the most fruitful causes 

 of wire, and is a crime against hunting which a good 

 sportsman would not knowingly commit. 



The members of a hunt should not only do their best to 

 get on well with the farmers, but should also try to make 

 themselves popular in their district by subscribing to local 

 institutions, such as agricultural societies, and should be 

 always ready to suitably reward, or at least courteously 

 acknowledge, acts of civility from the labouring classes, as 

 for instance, catching a loose horse, or opening a difficult 

 gate. We must not forget that working men in the country 

 usually do not get more than fourteen shillings a week, and 

 that kindness shown to them has a good effect towards 

 securing the respect of the farmers, with whom they are more 

 or less closely in touch. 



It has often been proposed that hunts should pay to 

 farmers a certain sum per acre for land over which the 

 members ride. Such an arrangement would be unworkable, 

 on account of the impossibility of making it equitable. 

 The natural features of a country, its distance from head- 



22 



