108 THE HUNTING FIELD 



breed above ground in furze, or would find drains 

 which no one knows of. 



Colonel Cook published an estimate some years 

 since of the expense of hunting a country, which has 

 been quoted and requoted till we are tired of seeing 

 it, for it has always appeared to us that the expense 

 of hunting one country affords no more clue to the 

 expense of hunting another, than does the manage- 

 ment of foxes and fox-earths in one country afford 

 a guide to the management of foxes and fox-earths in 

 another. Almost all countries are now hunted after 

 some fashion or other, and a good thing it is that 

 they are, for it not only keeps men at home, but it 

 affords sport and amusement to many who would 

 otherwise not get out at all, but one country may 

 have too many foxes, while an adjoining, and better 

 one, may be short of them. The better a country is, 

 the greater the trouble, difficulty, and expense of 

 keeping it stocked with foxes. This is self-evident, 

 for the greater the security, the greater the temptation 

 to foxes; hence the necessity of hunting good and 

 bad places alternately, or the foxes will be all huddled 

 together in the bad places. Hills, forests, deans, 

 crags, rocks, are all friendly to foxes, but unfavour- 

 able to the progression of the chase. We remember 

 breakfasting with a Master of wiry-haired, rough 

 mountain hounds once, when the servant came in 

 to say that a neighbouring farmer had sent word that 

 he must shoot the fox if the gentleman did not come 

 to hunt him, for that reynard was constantly eyeing 

 his lambs. "Tell him to blaze away," replied the 

 gentleman, adding as the servant left the room, "if 

 there were fewer foxes I should kill more, but the 

 fact is, if I ask a man in this country to stay his hand, 

 he will think he has a claim on me for damage, 

 whereas I hold out that I have a claim on them for 

 keeping down the stock of foxes, besides," continued 

 he, "there are many chances in reynard's favour as it 



