HABH-uiTNTrwo.] FOB MOlTlfTAIN, FIELD, AND FARM, [haue-humtimo. 



violent, and little more than ritliuj?, or ruiuiin<» ; 

 but tho haro displays tho very art of Imntiri-^ 

 - -she atlorda a ploaHuro worthy of a philosopher 



a curiosity that may justly raise the ailiuira- 



tion of tl»e wisest statesman, physician, or 

 divine. I, therefore, hope for pardon from my 

 more sprii^-htly hrethren, if I give my vote for 

 the innoeent liare above all other game." 



The haro is a very prolific animal, and, wero 

 it otherwise, the race would soon become ex- 

 tinct, from the numerous enemies by which it 

 is sought and assailed. The average duration 

 of the hare's life is about seven years. It is 

 pursued by dogs and foxes with mortal and 

 unrelenting autipatliy. Weasels, wild cats, 

 and wolves, seize and devour it whenever it is 

 within their reach; and eagles, hawks, and 

 other birds of prey are also destructive enemies; 

 but the most formidable of all is man. If 

 taken young, it may be tamed and domesti- 

 cated. It has occasionally been suckled and 

 nursed by a cat. 



Mr. Beckford, an excellent sportsman, 

 makes many valuable remarks upon the 

 harrier and the hare, and thinks that it is a 

 fault in the former to run too fast. Scope 

 should be given for all the little tricks of the 

 hare, nor should she be killed foully. She 

 will make a good defence when fiercely hunted ; 

 and, as far as her own safety is concerned, 

 the hare has more cunning tiian tho fox, and 

 makes use of shifts to save her life far beyond 

 all the artifices of the other. The County 

 Squire, another good authority upon this sub- 

 ject, says, in reference to hare-hunting : — " I 

 would advise a young huntsman, when the 

 scent is well, always to keep himself far be- 

 hind. At such a time, especially, if it be 

 against the wind, it is impossible for the hare 

 to hold forward, nor has she any mode of 

 escaping, but to stop short, and, when all are 

 past, to steal immediately back. This is often 

 the occasion of an irrecoverable fault in the 

 midst of the warmest sport ; and is tlie best 

 trick the hare has for her life in scenting 

 weather. If the huntsman, therefore, is not 

 too forward, he will have the advantage of 

 seeing her manceuvre, and of assisting his 

 hounds at this critical moment. Upon sight 

 of the hare, avoid, above all things, the vile 

 practice of hallooing hounds off a scent to lay 

 them on after a view. It not ocly spoils the 



dogs, by accustoming them at every fault to 

 listen fur and expect the halloo, but it iu foul 

 sporting ; equally unfair, and to be condemned, 

 to HullVr the pricks of tho hare's footing to be 

 souglit for when she runs the foil ; for, alLhuugli 

 it is admitted that, by such pricking and dis- 

 covering her steps, no haro can escape, yet ib 

 is an unfnanly mode of assisting hounds, which 

 no huntsman, wlio is a sporlBman, will bo 

 guilty of hinjself, or condescend to make use of 

 when done by others. The huntsman should 

 never be noisy when a hare is first started ; 

 let him ' not only chock his own forwardness, 

 but that, likewise, of tho inexperienced sports- 

 man. Hounds are apt enough, in the first heat 

 of their mettle, to overshoot their game, and 

 hours of sad sport have happened from driving 

 them too fast. Too many people think a chief 

 part of hunting consists in hallooing loud and 

 riding hard ; but they are mistaken, and must 

 not be offended should the huntsman swear 

 at such practices. No tongue can be allowed 

 but his, nor, at this particular time, ought any 

 one to be more forward. The chief considera- 

 tions for the huntsman, when the hounds are at 

 fault, are, how long the hare has been on foot, 

 and how far the hounds make it good ; if she 

 has not been long, and hard pressed, he must 

 expeditiously try a wide circle, and so persist 

 in contracting his circles, until he returns to 

 the place where the dogs threw up. Should 

 the hare have been driven hard, or be nearly 

 dead run, the huntsman need only try a small 

 compass, and that slowdy and cautiously, for she 

 will only leap oflf a few rods and squat, until one 

 or other of the dogs jumps upon her. A hunts- 

 man should be careful of talking too loud to 

 hounds, and in a key which, instead of cheer- 

 ing, confounds them." 



In reference to the huntsman, tho same 

 authority says — " Give me a fellow of ever- 

 lasting patience and good temper, who does not 

 consider hunting merely as his business, but 

 who naturally loves it ; one with a clear mode- 

 rate voice, that speaks to an old hound when at 

 fault, frequently and with quickness, and 

 entices him in a tone that enforces courage, 

 and induces him to stoop perpetually to re- 

 cover the scent. It is by no means the hunts- 

 man's business, by pricking the hare, to hit her 

 ofi"; in the first place, it is unfair ; and, secondly, 

 while he is poring with his eyes upon the 



4.3.1 



