List of Meets oe the Devox axd Somerset Stag-ijou.vds. 421 



they are marked on Mr. Sandford's map, copied from and corrected by a Devonshire stag- 

 hunter : — Cloutsham, Dunkerry Hill Gate, Hawkcombe Head, Brendon, Two Gates, Larkborough, 

 Mouncey Hill Gate, Tar Steps, Yard Down, Marsh Bridge, Hele Bridge. 



DRAG-HUNTING. 



This chapter would not be complete without a few words about the drag- hunts in which 

 a scratch pack of hounds is set to hunt a train scent or drag, taken by a man across a 

 country intersected by fences more or less difficult, according to the tastes of the managers. 



It is not sport in the hunting sense of the word, but it is a very exciting amusement for 

 men and horses, and capital practice for those who wish to learn how to ride fast and straight 

 across a flying country. 



In a drag-hunt the young horseman learns to " harden his heart," to " take hold of his 

 horse by the head," and decide at full gallop where and how he will get out of a field the 

 moment he has jumped into it. He can also get himself into condition before serious hunting 

 commences. At Oxford the drag-hounds were formerly kept by the principal " tuft," i.e., 

 nobleman, of Christchurch College ; but this laudable custom may have recently been discon- 

 tinued in deference to the seriousness of the age. 



A drag-hunt, not ridden too fast, is an excellent method of preparing young horses for 

 the hunting field, by exercising them to leap and accustoming them to the cry of hounds. 

 But it requires a very cool old head not to do too much with a four-year-old if you have a 

 good place. 



Drag-hounds may be of any breed, and the wilder the better. Fox-hounds are the best 

 where great pace is required, but great fun may be had out of heavy harriers or even beagles. 



A scratch pack of drag-hounds might be introduced in many parts of the Continent, 

 where the prejudices of the landed proprietors and the foreign laws of trespass would not 

 permit real hunting. 



The drag is generally made with woollen rags dipped in aniseed fastened to the feet 

 of a man who runs the course prescribed, or a fox's bush; but a very good one is a ferret's 

 nest wrapped in a cabbage net. 



