FoX'himting in the Twentieth Century 



vulpicide — even lost elections and left their home 

 thereby. The country that possesses fox-hunting 

 and game-preserving, swinging in the balance of 

 popularity, also offers food for thought. It really 

 behoves both sections to meet each other half- 

 way. All M.F.H.'s usually respect shooters' wishes 

 as to drawing coverts. 



Many packs have to confine their autumn hunt- 

 ing to districts not shot over, where pheasants are 

 scarce. Hounds, in some hunts, are not taken to 

 coverts that are doubtful, which does not pay, 

 as it encourages vulpicide. The master and his 

 followers therefore require to exercise much tact 

 and diplomacy. Hunt balls, point to point races, 

 hunt breakfasts, and hunt dinners help to smooth 

 down much of the friction. Capping, though not 

 universal, has had to be introduced, especially in 

 the larger and more important hunts which are 

 greatly visited by strangers. Then there is the 

 *' minimum subscription " to be paid by all 

 members of a hunt. Where this is very high 

 the sport becomes one entirely for the rich. Take, 

 for instance, a man with one horse, where the 

 minimum subscription is £^0 ; that is in the 

 Quorn country. Many others range from £2^ to 

 £^^. This works out, in the former instance, at 

 £1 per day, for the a,verage hunter does not do 

 much more than twenty days per season, taking into 

 account the chance of being laid up by illness, 



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