BECKFORD ON SCENT 239 



says, *' Scent scarcely ever lies well with a north or an 

 east wind; a southerly wind without rain, and a 

 westerly wind that is not rough, are most favourable." 

 A poet who gave an excellent description of one of the 

 best runs ever seen in Leicestershire commences his 

 narrative, " With the wind at north-east, most for- 

 biddingly keen;" and subsequent experience attests 

 the truth of this effusion, for it generally happens that 

 the best-scenting days are those when the wind has 

 something of the east in its course. 



When the earth is perfectly saturated with rain scent 

 has been known to lie well. Of this I may introduce 

 as an example the season of 1852 and 1853 ; nevertheless 

 I do not take it to be a general consequence; but this 

 adds confirmation to the opinion that it is the evapora- 

 tion which regulates the amount of scent, while the 

 force of evaporation is produced by the condition of 

 the air. 



It may be observed that pure water, although it 

 weakens a scent in passing through it, does not abso- 

 lutely destroy it. This may be determined by smoking 

 tobacco through a hookah, which renders the nicotian 

 weed milder but does not annihilate the perfume. I 

 have seen hounds carry a scent where the land has 

 been flooded three inches deep or more. It is not a 

 common case, because foxes do not often put it to the 

 test by selecting such ground ; never, in fact, unless it 

 intervenes between them and some favourite point. 

 From this it is evident that the scent exudes from the 

 body of the animal and is held for a certain time sus- 

 pended in the atmosphere. It is also quite clear in those 

 cases that very little evaporation from the earth is 

 taking place. Under some circumstances the earth 

 absorbs moisture from the air; that is when the land is 

 dry and the air dense, moist and heavy% in which con- 

 dition, I believe, the scent cannot be good. 



We must, therefore, come to this conclusion, that 

 when the evaporation is very great, or, on the other 

 hand, the absorption of moisture by the earth is exten- 



