HOUNDS. 345 



deer ; because, at that height they could not, bar accidents, 

 kill their quarry, which can beat off, or keep at out-fighting, 

 a whole pack, so long as he remains on his feet. Big 

 hounds can knock him off his legs, but small ones cannot. 

 Both sizes will be able to kill him, if he gets down in a 

 ditch. 



Stag-hounds hunt red-deer, both stag and hind ; and wild 

 as well as carted. Wild hinds are hunted during winter ; and 

 carted stags or hinds, any time which convenience may 

 dictate. 



3. Buck-hounds hunt wild fallow deer, both bucks and 

 does. The application of the term " buck-hounds " is 

 wrong when the quarry of that pack is the carted stag. 

 The New Forest appear to be the only hounds that habitu- 

 ally chase fallow deer, which variety of deer is hardly ever 

 kept in confinement for hunting purposes. The New Forest 

 occasionally hunt wild red deer, of which there are very few 

 in that district ; because Government, about fifty years ago, 

 ordered all the New Forest deer, red as well as fallow, to be 

 exterminated. A small number of fallow deer survived, and 

 since then, their increase has been encouraged. The New 

 Forest hunt call their pack deer-hounds, which is incorrect. 



The hunting of hinds and does is resorted to, only when the 

 males are out of season, namely, after the middle of October. 

 It is said that there are too many hinds on Exmoor, and 

 not too many deer of any kind in the New Forest. 



4. Harriers as a rule are pure harriers, dwarf fox-hounds, 

 or cross-breds ; and are from 15^ (Colchester) to 24 inches 

 (Stannington) high. A good height would be : bitches, 18 

 inches ; dogs, 19 inches. Although their legitimate quarry is 

 hare, they sometimes hunt fox in Ireland ; but should of 

 course be stopped, if they got on to one in a fox-hunting 

 country. In bygone times in England, they used occasion- 

 ally to hunt fox after Christmas, but that form of chase is 



