THE FIELD 109 



and one master was heard to say at a recent Rugby 

 hound sale, that not only was his meal bill heavier 

 every year, but that he was paying double the price 

 for dead horses that he had done when he began his 

 mastership a dozen years before. 



Forage is not much higher than it was, but straw 

 is often more expensive than formerly, and it costs far 

 more to mount hunt servants well than it did a genera- 

 tion or two ago. Wages, too, have risen a little, and 

 rates a great deal, and some kennels are now very 

 highly rated indeed. But it is not so much a question 

 of increased price of raw material which has caused 

 the price of hunting to rise, but rather that a some- 

 what higher standard is maintained in nine hunts out 

 of ten than was formerly the case. It need hardly be 

 said that with all the really swagger packs — we dislike 

 the adjective, but it is expressive — a very high standard 

 has always been maintained, and a similar remark 

 applies in a great degree to many of the best pro- 

 vincial packs ; but if we look at hunting generally, 

 we can think of dozens of countries where far more 

 money is spent on the establishment than was once 

 thought to be sufficient, and this extra expenditure is 

 doubtless demanded. 



Then, again, we have the charges outside of main- 

 tenance of hounds, horses, and men to consider, and 

 these have risen enormously everywhere. Claims for 

 poultry, claims for damages, rent of coverts, cost of 

 earth -stopping, finds and litters, cost of taking 

 down and putting up barbed wire, and many other 

 little matters have to be provided for by the executive 

 of every hunt, while the master's hand is never out 

 of his pocket, as he is continually making small 

 disbursements which never figure in the hunt ac- 



