BLOOD. 351 



draw the fox themselves, after marking him in. In such a 

 case, he should not be taken from them, and they should be 

 allowed to worry him their own way, which action on their 

 part will leave neither a brush for a lady, nor a pad for a 

 schoolboy. The hound who, after the meUe, secures the fox's 

 mask, should be allowed to keep it and carry it home if he 

 chooses, though of course not into the lodging room. He will 

 be a hound to breed from, as he possesses indomitable resolu- 

 tion, which is the first quality of a fox hound. The great 

 advantage of hounds drawing a fox, is that it increases their 

 confidence, and gives them the idea that Reynard's entrench- 

 ments are not impregnable, and that they themselves are 

 invincible. They will then almost always mark their fox to 

 ground, if they cannot catch him. I have seen hounds who, 

 from bad management, would not do this, and who conse- 

 quently accounted for their fox by habitually losing him. I 

 am always sorry for the fox ; but, as Jorrocks says, ' It's not 

 that I loves the fox less, but the 'ound more.' " On this 

 subject Beckford reminds us " though I am so great an 

 advocate of blood, as to judge it necessary to a pack of 

 fox hounds, yet I by no means approve of it, so far as it is 

 sometimes carried. I have known three young foxes chopped 

 in a furze-brake in one day, without any sport ; a wanton 

 destruction of foxes scarcely answering the purpose of blood ; 

 seeing that blood does hounds most good which is most 

 dearly earned. Such sportsmen richly deserve blank days ; 



and without doubt they often meet with them 



How many foxes are wantonly destroyed, without the least 

 service to the hounds or sport to the Master ; that the 

 Huntsman may say he has killed so many brace ! How 

 many are digged out, when blood is not wanted, for no 

 better reason ! " 



We should remember that too many foxes spoil sport, and 

 are a calamity to farmers and other persons who keep poultry. 



