HUNTING THE HARE 



only too ready to jump anything in order to be with 

 his hounds, has not had time to acquire that know- 

 ledge of the ]ial)its of the animal he pursues which 

 it is necessary that a really first-class huntsman 

 should possess, and as he gets older and acquires 

 knowledge and experience his nerve • may forsake 

 him, and jumping a big fence may not be quite such 

 an unmixed pleasure as it was formerly. Although, 

 of course, hard riding is not nearly so necessary n the 

 more sober pursuit of the hare as it is in fox-hunting, 

 still a huntsman must be with his hounds in order to 

 know exactly what they have been doing when a 

 check occurs. A huntsman who sees his pack check 

 will often notice things which an outsider cannot tell 

 him ; for instance, he may have observed that a hun- 

 dred yards or so before they threw up some old and 

 trustworthy hound may have turned out of the pack 

 to one side for a moment, and then gone on again ; 

 this will tell him that the hare has probably retraced 

 her steps to this point, and then gone off in the direc- 

 tion indicated. Again, sheep, cattle or horses may have 

 either headed the hare or crossed her line, and may be 

 in a totally different part of the field immediately after 

 hounds arrive on the scene. Little things of this 

 sort, which the experienced eye will be continually 

 noticing, few outsiders will know anything about at 



