24 A HUNTING CATECHISM 



Partridges and pheasants can be protected from 

 foxes when sitting by various methods,"' and 

 be it remembered that foxes live on many other 

 articles of diet besides game, though naturally 

 they will not refuse it if it comes in their way. 



In defence of keepers, however, it may be justly 

 urged that they are not always free agents in 

 the matter of foxes, and a friend of great 

 experience emphasises this in the following 

 letter, which should carry great weight when 

 selecting the right horse to put the saddle on : — 



" It would hardly be fair to lay all the blame 

 for want of foxes upon keepers alone. It is 

 natural for a keeper to kill foxes unless told not 

 to by his master, and such instructions should 

 be given pretty straight. It is nearly always 

 the master who should be blamed, and not 

 the servant. I know shooting people who have 

 exactly the feeling about foxes that you attribute 

 to keepers, and with such masters how can you 

 expect the servant to show any mercy to what 

 is, after all, his natural enemy ? 



" In one way a fox is a good friend to lazy 

 keepers ; any harm done by any other vermin 

 is always put down to the fox. 



'' No doubt we have shown that it is possible 

 to have partridges and foxes, but it can only 

 be done by the master insisting on having both. 

 Rats, stoats, &c., are often neglected, and the 

 fox gets the blame ; at the same time one must 

 admit that foxes do harm. In our case I think 

 they make us take care there is not much else to 

 interfere with the nests." 



As the bags of partridges obtained on this 

 estate are very large, it is undoubtedly proved 

 * Vide " Shooting Catechism," p. 151. 



