THE PURSUIT OF THE HARE 223 



hounds or harriers reflect, and say whether it is not 

 invariably the case that some of his best and keenest 

 hounds will cease to take much interest in the body 

 of the animal tlicy have killed after once they are 

 satisfied that they have killed whatever they have 

 been hunting, and so attained their object. The 

 keenest hounds at the worry are not always those 

 which have contributed most to the successful issue 

 of the chase. The subject is one of considerable 

 importance to hare-hunters, as there is nothing that 

 will reconcile a farmer so much to the spectacle of 

 broken fences and trampled crops as the present of 

 a hunted hare, which should always be given to the 

 man on whose land she was found. This cannot be 

 too strongly insisted on ; it is only fair, and as a 

 matter of policy it will be found to be worth more 

 than any other present that could be offered. 



This leads us up to the subject of managing a 

 harrier country, which is mainly a question of tact on 

 the part of the master. It is his duty to know per- 

 sonally all the farmers over whose land he hunts, and 

 if he will approach them in the right way, consult 

 their convenience, and avoid doing unnecessary 

 damage, he will rarely find the British agriculturist a 

 bad sort of man to get on with ; but the farmer 

 will not be treated with neglect, and small blame to 



