General Remarks. 93 



vulpecide, or, if things do not go so far as this, 

 all sorts of ill-feeling which is bad indeed for 

 the welfare of hunting. Plant your fox-covert 

 well within your own boundary, and yet as distant 

 as possible from the principal game coverts. 



It is hardly necessary to dilate here upon the 

 proper way to form a gorse, because directions for 

 this have been given in so many books and 

 journals ; but a smaller area than five acres will 

 not prove satisfactory, and a bigger expanse Is 

 to be recommended. However, success will 

 largely depend upon the privacy of the site and 

 the density of the covert. The best shape for it 

 is that of a triangle, because It is more easily 

 watched when a fox Is expected to break, and It 

 has been found that Reynard more freely leaves 

 a covert of that form. In a square covert he 

 may contrive to circle and thus elude hounds, but 

 in one of triangular shape Is certain to get cornered 

 very quickly and then must take to the open. If 

 possible locate the fox-covert amid cultivated 

 fields, as these are more free from disturbance 

 than grazing land during the hunting season. Do 

 not have rides or footpaths through It, as they 

 only invite intrusion, and without them few 

 trespassers will seek to penetrate far Into a dense 

 thicket of prickly gorse. 



