68 A HUNTING CATECHISM 



a few fields away, or may turn back again into 

 covert on his own account. I have seen a fox, 

 a bold cub, viewed away, and the hounds taken 

 off another in covert and laid on the line of the 

 bold one and kill it in three fields, which in 

 my opinion was all wrong. I think those foxes 

 that are bold and leave the covert are the ones 

 to save, to show sport later on, and should not be 

 killed before they have attained a proper age to 

 give a run. I have noticed that those bold foxes 

 that have been mobbed back, or rushed and 

 killed in the open in early cub-hunting, are 

 often very much wanted before the spring." 



Q. If hounds do get away on the line of an 

 old fox, and it is not intended to let them follow, 

 should they be stopped at once ? 



A. It is much better to let them run for a few 

 fields until they come to a check when they can 

 be quietly taken back, for stopping hounds is 

 always disappointing, and discouraging to them. 



Q. Is it advisable to dig a cub out if it goes to 

 ground ? 



A. Doing so occasionally teaches the young 

 hounds to mark a fox to ground, and makes them 

 realise they have beaten the fox. 



Q. When a huntsman is blowing hounds out 

 of covert to lay them on the scent, should he 

 turn his horse's head towards the covert, or 

 from it ? 



A. This depends upon the circumstances of 

 the moment. If the hounds are coming rather 

 straggling out of a big wood, and it is necessary 

 at first to collect them together before laying 

 them on, the horse's head should be turned 

 towards the wood, as the hounds are more likely 



