INTRODUCTION 



of a cub soon teaches him to be up and away directly he hears 

 a suspicious sound. Some Foxes indeed after a few seasons 

 may make themselves so scarce as never to be himted at all. 

 When 3^ou do get on to one of these ' ' old customers " he has 

 probably travelled so much that he is in rare condition, and takes 

 a lot of catching. Most game, and indeed all gam.e that is near 

 the ground, reHes for its self -preservation on the nose and the 

 ears rather than on the eye. The fact that his hearing will be 

 restricted if he enters a thick place may very likely account 

 in some degree for a hunted Fox avoiding cover. 



Mr. Clapham devotes a portion to The Shires, though his heart 

 is on The Fells. He draws some distinction between the Mid- 

 land and the Northern Fox, but says that " a Fox is a Fox 

 wherever you find him," and that ' ' The Fox is a national asset." 

 He does not offer any remarks about the actual handling of 

 Hounds in the hunting fields of the Midlands, but he rather 

 dogmatically ranges himself against those authorities — and they 

 arc many and great — ^who aie in favour of plenty of blood. It 

 is possible that the publication in the newspapers of the number 

 of Foxes killed by various packs, especially when no m.ention 

 is made of the nmnbers killed before and after ist November 

 respectively, might cause an unhealthy emulation between 

 neighbouring Huntsmen : but it is safe to say that the vast 

 majority of Masters and Huntsmen will tell you that there is 

 nothing like plenty of blood for steadying the young Hounds, 

 and for confirming the entered Hound in the practice of killing 

 their Foxes. 



Our author now turns to Hill Foxes and Fell Hounds, two 

 subjects in which he is quite at home ; he writes about them with 

 a certainty of touch that can only be produced by experience and 

 knowledge. He makes some shrewd and rational observations 

 on scent and pace ; he subscribes to the theory that the warmer 

 a Fox gets the more scent he gives out, and that for this reason 

 no Fox is ever in a gratuitous hurry '. it may be remarked that 

 part of the reason why a Fox does not generally hurry himself 

 unless he is obliged to do so, may be that his instinct prompts 

 him to husband his strength. But strange as it may seem, there 

 is no Fox so difficult to kill as that Fox who on a moderate 

 scenting day, not only does not think it worth while to get a long 

 way in front of Hounds, but also lies dowTi from time to time. 

 When you hear a view -halloa and the man who has seen the Fox 

 tells you that you are sure to catch him as he " laid " down in 

 the middle of a field, you may also be sure you are up against a 

 difficulty. He will probably beat you. 



