HARES 109 



check occurs the probability is that the fox is 

 still travelling on, though diverted from the course 

 he was pursuing, and if time is lost in hitting off 

 the line, the scent will become stale ; a hare, on 

 the contrary, is almost sure to be lying down 

 in the immediate vicinity, and therefore it is 

 necessary to search every likely place very closely 

 in order to restart the quarry, and to persevere 

 on the scent, however weak it may be — at any 

 moment the hunted animal may jump up, and 

 the hounds get away close behind on a fresh 

 and capital scent. Patience is, therefore, a great 

 attribute for a harrier-huntsman ; while the 

 quickness absolutely essential for a huntsman 

 of foxhounds is of nothing like such importance 

 when hunting a hare. In one respect, however, 

 the talents of a huntsman in either pursuit can 

 be confidently gauged ; the first-rate man will 

 frequently kill either fox or hare in out-of-the- 

 way hiding-places, in farm-buildings, a cart- 

 shed, barns, poultry-houses, on the roof of a 

 house, on the top of a wall, ensconced in ivy, 

 and many other such places of refuge ; while 

 the man without genius has little success in this 

 direction, and only manages to catch the animal 

 he is hunting in a plain, simple way. To him 

 the wiles of his quarry remain a sealed book, and 

 the amount of foxes supposed to be "run to 

 ground," will be quite out of proportion to those 

 that are killed after a run. Sometimes the advent 

 of a new huntsman appears to coincide in an 

 extraordinary way with the predilection of 

 the pursued to hide themselves in quaint 

 refuges, which they have not hitherto been 

 suspected of doing ; and with the departure of 

 the same huntsman, the fancy for these places 



