HARE-HUNTING 115 



them bad finders. But there were other 

 reasons. Hares were " game " ; they were 

 protected under the Game Laws and by 

 special statutes, such as that of 15 Henry 

 vni. cap. 1 8, which made it a penal 

 offence to destroy hares in the snow. The 

 hare was, moreover, ubiquitous, whilst 

 foxes were vermin, and regarded as noxious 

 animals with a price on their heads, fixed 

 by law or local custom they were scarce 

 and held in contempt when packs of hounds 

 first came in vogue. 



Since penning this sentence I have 

 turned over my Beckford. He says : " The 

 hounds most likely to show you sport are 

 between the large, slow-hunting harrier and 

 the little fox-beagle. The former are too 

 dull, too heavy, and too slow ; the latter too 



