34 



except the softest going is evidently a foot not to be 

 encouraged. 



In the regular season, the master has to consider 

 the wishes of his field, but cub-hunting is the time 

 when he is entitled to think only of his hounds, and he 

 should never be persuaded against his better judgment 

 to do anything which he thinks not for their 

 interests. Should Fate, however, ordain that hounds 

 were to run a fox across the open, most masters would 

 only be too pleased their supporters were on the spot 

 to enjoy a gallop, but in that case the field should 

 remember they are participating only on sufferance 

 and should be careful to give the pack plenty of room, 

 never riding directly in its wake. Of course, it would 

 be for the good of sport if the hard rider would abstain 

 from pressing on the pack in the regular season ; but 

 in cub-hunting, with the young hounds just beginning 

 to enter, it is of the utmost importance they should 

 not have their attention distracted by horses galloping 

 close to them. When the entry have learnt to go to 

 ** cry," I am of the opinion that even the huntsman 

 would do well to give them a wide berth in the open. 

 When they come to a check, the old hounds will get 

 their beads down and search for the missing clue all 

 the more readily because their huntsman is not on 

 the spot to give his assistance. The youngsters will 

 observe the actions of their elders, and will learn the 

 important lesson that a close search of the ground, 

 and not staring in the air, is the only way of recover- 

 ing the lost scent. The man who imagines himself a 

 heaven-born huntsman may wish to hunt the fox him- 

 self, but the ordinary mortal prefers to leave that to 

 his pack, which, to be successful, must be self-reliant. 

 Cub-hunting can make or mar a pack. 



