94 HUNTING. 



I do not advise taking a very large number of hounds out 

 hunting, as they are very apt to get in one another's way. 



Scent is a question which ' passes the wit of man.' It is 

 governed greatly by climate and the different soils run over, 

 some places holding a scent, some not ; but of one thing I am 

 quite certain — viz. that some hares have much better scent 

 than others. A hare in kindle, at the end of February or 

 March, has hardly any scent, while at the same period a 

 straight-running jack, if the weather is not too dry, has a 

 burning scent. Hares run roads very much in some countries, 

 and nothing saves the life of puss more often than a road ; 

 scent on roads differs very much, some carrying a very good 

 scent at times, others never. Hounds will flash up and down 

 a road, particularly if the scent is catchy and the field are too 

 close after them, and it is necessary to have at least a couple 

 of road hounds, to put the rest of the pack right when they 

 are casting each side, and to teach others to put their noses 

 down on a road. Until hounds are five or six seasons old 

 they seldom take to it, but there are of course exceptions. 



A hare, if she has time to do so, will run her foil on the 

 same highway for some distance so as to baffle her pursuers. 

 It is most important not to press hounds under these circum- 

 stances. It is a well-known fact that the scent of a sinking 

 hare dies with it, and this alone renders the killing of a hare 

 difficult. 



Before I close, some of my readers may like to hear my 

 experience of feeding these small hounds, as they are so 

 often delicate eaters. It may surprise not a few when they 

 hear the advice, ' don't give oatmeal, but instead plain ship 

 biscuit with horseflesh (always boiled) in moderation, and 

 always fresh.' For a time I followed the old system of feeding 

 on oatmeal, but gave it up as it was too stimulating and too 

 heating for little hounds. They do not eat it nearly as well as 

 they do biscuit, and it is apt to give them a tucked-up appear- 

 ance. A bucket of kitchen scraps makes a nice change at any 

 period of the year, especially in the summer, when they do 



