Fox-himtmg Past artd Present 



huntsman, ;^ioo to £120 per annum; the first or 

 second whipper-in receive ;^8o and £(^0 respec- 

 tively ; each second horseman £\ a week. In 

 each case house and firing free. Their clothing 

 averages ;^2o to ^30 apiece. Prices of kennel 

 and stable necessaries now rather favour the 

 buyer. Oatmeal, oats, and hay are to be had at a 

 reasonable figure. Straw is dear. In some large 

 stables peat-moss and sawdust are substituted. 

 Straw, however, pays for buying in stables and 

 kennels. Straw averages £2 per ton, hay £2^ 

 per ton, and oats £\y is. per quarter. 



In some countries the master's duties have been 

 lightened latterly ; he has not now to investigate 

 all compensations for damage. In others, the 

 poultry and wire funds are now presided over by 

 their own secretaries, under the master's advice ; 

 no hard and fast rule can be laid down on this 

 head, however. A general estimate of a pack in 

 the early days of hunting was as follows : to hunt 

 a country twice a week, ^1170 per season — eight 

 horses, groom, helpers, food for twenty-five 

 couples of hounds, whipper-in, feeder, firing, taxes, 

 saddlery, blacksmith, &c. Then for £\(^2^ three 

 days a week, twelve horses, groom, helpers, food 

 for forty couples, two whippers-in, and for ^^1935 

 four days. These calculations do not allow of a 

 paid huntsman, as £'^00 extra would be required. 



Mr. Delme RadcHffe in the thirties estimates three 



42 



