APPENDIX. 



GORSE COVERTS AND ARTIFICIAL 

 EARTHS. 



I honour the man, whate'er be his rank, 



Whose heart heaves a sigh when his gorse is drawn blank. 



In order to keep foxes it is necessary to have 

 coverts in which they can rest undisturbed, 

 and, as already mentioned, it is difficult to 

 beat the ordinary gorse, which is a favourite 

 resort at all times and in all weathers. 



How many gorse coverts do we know whose 

 names are '' famed " in the annals of fox- 

 hunting as the starting point or finish of some 

 of the best runs on record, not only in the 

 good old times, but at the present day ! 



Gorse coverts may be classed under two 

 heads, the "natural" or self-sown, and the 

 " artificial " or hand-sown. The former, how- 

 ever, is much the better of the two, and, 



