EARTH STOPPING, ARTIFICIAL EARTHS 

 AND DIGGING OUT 



CHAPTER X 



IN order that foxes shall not go to ground 

 without providing sport it is customary 

 to stop the earths overnight, in the locality 

 where hounds are to hunt on the following day. 

 A century or more ago, the earth-stopper was a 

 recognised Hunt official, with special duties of his 

 own to perform. In those days, before the era 

 of intensive game preservation, and consequent 

 increase of keepers, the earth-stopper had free 

 access to all coverts which contained main earths. 

 To-day one looks in vain for the picturesque 

 character who made his nightly rounds astride 

 a pony ; equipped with spade, bill-hook, and horn 

 lantern, whilst a good, rough terrier trotted along- 

 side. The old-time earth-stopper was a man 

 fond of sport and keen on his job, otherwise he 

 would never have performed his duties as satis- 

 factorily as he did. For it is no light task to 

 sally forth on earth-stopping bent during the 

 hours of darkness, and to do the job thoroughly 

 regardless of the state of the weather at the time. 

 Nothing however deterred the earth-stopper from 

 performing his task, and he knew every earth 

 and the whereabouts of every litter in the coun- 

 try. He stopped too at just the proper time, 

 so that when hounds arrived on the scene, foxes 

 were out and not in. Hunting was the premier 



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