272 THE RED DEER OF EXMOOR. 



deer, they must form a strong temptation, infinitely 

 stronger than that to which foxhounds are subjected 

 by the heavier, slower moving sheep in enclosed 

 countries. Especially is this the case when, as is 

 frequently inevitable, there is no one near enough to 

 stop them. A few sheep seem always to live in the 

 big coverts like Horner Wood and the Barle Valley, 

 and these are a severe test of the discipline of young 

 hounds who find themselves off the line and freed 

 from all control. So carefully, however, are hounds 

 broken that it is the rarest thing for one to transgress, 

 and if he does he never comes out again. In a 

 country so dependent on mutton and wool, and so 

 full of sheep, the slightest suspicion of unsteadiness 

 would cause more ill-will than anything else one can 

 imagine ; as it is, the farmers have every confidence 

 in the hounds and are always pleased to see them. 

 This happy result is only arrived at by infinite trouble 

 in the early stages of education, for which the hunts- 

 man and his asistants deserve the utmost credit. 



