BEAGLING 



By G. H. Longman 



Though perhaps it may be too much to say that hunt- 

 ing the hare on foot with a pack of 15 -in. beagles 

 is the most interesting method of pursuing the 

 animal, still, if the evenness of the chances is to be 

 the criterion of interest, certainly the contest between 

 a good pack of beagles and a strong hare — the odds 

 being slightly in favour of the latter — presents sport 

 in its truest elements. 



A good pack of these little hounds will no doubt 

 on a good scenting day account for any hare, 

 barring accidents ; but these accidents are extremely 

 numerous, the first and foremost being the rising up 

 in the middle of the pack of a fresh hare just as the 

 hunted animal is evidently sinking. This mishap 

 occurs more frequently than any other, and is 

 generally irremediable. Imagine a large ploughed 

 field of stiff clay, the hunted hare down, and hounds 

 just feathering on the line, scent having become a 



