In the Field. 69 



instrument possesses. Its melody fills the heart 

 of a hunter and quickens his blood, as does the 

 drum and bugle that of a soldier. 



It is remarkable how readily a hound learns 

 the tone of his master's horn and never seems to 

 forget it or confuse it with another. At hound 

 trials of the National Fox-hunters' Association, 

 when the hunt for the day had been ''called off," 

 I have known a score of owners to call in their 

 scattered hounds, all winding their horns at the 

 same time, and every hound would go to his own 

 horn. I do not think this possible with any but 

 the cow horn, as all brass and metal horns are 

 more or less alike. 



Green was the original color worn in the hunt- 

 ing field until succeeded by the showy scarlet in 

 the time of George II. In England the pink coat, 

 white hunting breeches, top boots, and silk hats 

 are the proper dress for the field ; they are seldom 

 seen in America, except upon dress parade and 

 at the hunt balls. The Eastern hunt clubs are 

 conservative in their dress, not running to either 

 extreme. I am sorry to say that with us in the 

 South the majority do not pay enough attention 

 to dress, seldom going beyond boots and riding 

 breeches. A silk hat is a rarity, an "oiled 

 slicker" being more common. In the South these 

 men and women are, for the most part, those with 

 a right to love any kind of blue-blooded sport. 

 Some of them, indeed, may not have the blood of 



