THE FIELD 103 



age hunting woman pays half, or less than half, what 

 the average hunting man does. But in this estimate 

 one includes the many women who hunt on their 

 father's, husband's, or brother's subscriptions, and this 

 in some degree increases the average of those who 

 hunt on their own subscription, and are independent of 

 male belongings. If ladies were properly approached, 

 if there was no mock modesty about asking for the full 

 subscription — whatever it might be — there would prob- 

 ably be little difficulty in the matter, and the rank and 

 file of ladies who hunt would pay as do some, in most 

 hunts, who are more generous or more business-like 

 than their sisters. There are ladies scattered about the 

 country who are very large subscribers to hounds, and 

 there are others who make a point of paying according 

 to the regular scale of the hunt ; but again there are 

 others, as has been suggested, who do not pay their 

 proper share, and yet participate in and enjoy the sport 

 fully as much as the men. 



Two other questions in the matter of hunt subscrip- 

 tions are important, one of these being the difficulty 

 with regard to people who subscribe well to one pack 

 and wish to hunt occasionally with its neighbour. It 

 is only since fields have become so large that this ques- 

 tion has cropped up. Time was when the members of 

 one hunt were welcome guests in the neighbouring 

 country, but in many hunts this friendship has been to 

 some extent discontinued, and in some places it is 

 understood that hunting with the neighbouring pack, 

 as a guest, will only be allowed once a month, or on 

 two or three days of the season. The man who lives 

 on the border line of two or more countries is, of course, 

 in rather a quandary if he wishes to hunt with all the 

 packs within his reach. If he should be a rich man his 



