HUNTING 55 



the pleasure of riding a good horse, that helps 

 to constitute the glamour thrown over its 

 followers by the chase, and the various phases 

 almost resemble different chapters in a novel. 

 To those who understand the game, who are 

 capable of reading as they run, every incident 

 brings with it its own special interest and 

 charm. The mode of drawing, the knowledge 

 the huntsman displays of the likely haunts of his 

 quarry, the style in which the hounds search 

 different nooks and corners, the way in which 

 advantage is taken of each varying current of 

 wind, are all subjects of interest to the keen 

 enthusiast, who makes a mental note of all he 

 sees ; and when the game is on foot, even while 

 it still clings to the shelter of the covert, hesita- 

 ting to seek safety in flight, there is much to be 

 learned from the cunning of the hunted animal 

 and the sagacity of its pursuers. 



One of the chief dangers to hunting has only 

 arisen within a comparatively few years — the 

 too frequent use of barbed wire, which, when 

 concealed in a fence, is a veritable death-trap. 

 Even with excellent arrangements for its with- 

 drawal during the hunting season, and the most 

 cordial co-operation of the farmers, it is inevitable 

 that some strands are overlooked which have 

 been used to strengthen a weak place in a hedge, 

 and which are the most dangerous of all, for they 

 are the least suspected. On a large estate timber 

 for making up gaps is usually supplied gratis 

 to the tenants, a boon which in former days was 

 freely made use Of ; but small freeholds are 

 without this source of supply. Prizes at local 

 shows for produce of farms where no harhed wire 

 is in use, help considerably to mitigate the evil ; 



