70 



HOUNDS. 



oats and tons of hay, besides the straw that is used 

 for Htter. But given this benefit, times have been, 

 and are, very bad indeed ; and yet the grand old sport 

 goes on with hardly ever a word of complaint from 

 that body of good fellows, to whom all hunting men 

 owe so much. 



A few^ lines back I pointed out how the land- 

 owners so generously provided the coverts and land 

 to ride over, and in a like degree do the occu- 

 piers almost to a man welcome the advent of 

 hounds. 



There are many men of my acquaintance farming 

 largely, who care not one little bit for hunting, 

 and who have absolutely no connecting link in 

 their families with hunting, yet they are always 

 willing and pleased to see hounds crossing their 

 lands. 



In the past, if the owner of a big estate was a 

 hunting man, it was generally found his tenants 

 followed his lead, and vice versa. Nowadays, many 

 large properties have been split up and portions 

 sold, some going into the tenants' hands as owners, 

 and some to men who have no associations with 

 country life. It is the latter who are sometimes 

 hard to get to look at hunting in the proper light. 

 I have often been struck by the way some casual 

 hunting correspondents treat the farmers. Their 

 report will describe the meet, the beautiful bitches 

 that were patiently waiting round Tom the huntsman, 



