SCIENCE OF FOXHUNTING. 97 



upon the briers and underwood. The trackway 

 through which foxes and hares pass is sufficiently 

 wide to let them steer clear of burs and brambles. 

 The leading couples of a pack of foxhounds, how- 

 ever, press furiously forward, not in a line, but with 

 extended front, crashino- and dashing throuo^h all 

 obstacles, regardless of scratches and bruises. In 

 the thickest part of the covert, where grow rushes, 

 reed, and blackthorn in rank luxuriance, there is 

 the fox's kennel more secure from disturbances than 

 in any other quarter of the wood. One of the 

 chief objects in cub- hunting is to make the young 

 hounds accustomed to face the most dense thickets 

 or gorse-brakes, and by their manner of doing this 

 will their characters for resolution or weakness be 

 shown. 



AVe have recommended easy places at first, where 

 blood may be obtained without much difficulty, and 

 we also advise short work at the same time. Kill 

 your first cub as soon as you can fairly, that is, 

 by fair hunting, without mobbing or hustling, and 

 take your hounds home. Don't draw for a second. 

 Early impressions are ever most lasting. Let your 

 entry return to the kennel flushed with victory, 

 though easily won, and they will always believe 

 they are to be victorious. Let them go home dis- 

 appointed, fagged, and weary, after a hard, unsuc- 

 cessful day's work, and they will know that they 

 can be beaten. Herein lies the secret of the success 

 or failure of every pack of foxhounds dependent 

 upon their master's or huntsman's knowledge, when 



H 



