HORSES AND HOUNDS. 287 



we fox-hunters are not illiberal or foolish, enough to abuse all 

 game-preservers in a mass, many of whom we acknowledge to 

 be not only our best, but most disinterested friends. 



Let all lovers of the trigger imitate the worthy example of 



the Squire of C n. I have not selected him as a solitary 



instance of joint game and fox-preserving in the whole of our 

 country, there were many others who followed his example, but 

 they were proprietors of fox-coverts, which this gentleman was 

 not — he had no such thing as a real fox covert upon the whole 

 of his property. The jjlaces we found foxes in were small 

 plantations of hr and alder of about three or four acres, none 

 exceeding ten, and I should not have had any just cause of 

 complaint had I drawn such places, season after season, without 

 finding a fox. blasters of hounds know tolerably well where 

 they ought to find foxes — in coverts natural to them, and where 

 from time immemorial they have been known always to resort ; 

 but when we find them in small spinneys such as these were, we 

 feel a double obligation to men, who thus go out of their way 

 to cater for the public amusement. This gentleman turned 

 down young foxes in these places (when there were none bred 

 on the spot) among all his host of hares and pheasants, and 

 made his keepers feed them with rabbits. We honour and 

 respect men of such public spirited feelings as these, to whom 

 all honour is due. 



But wliy are we to spare game-preservers of a different class, 

 who spare neither us nor our foxes ? We will not admit that 

 foxes are fed by the game-preserver, and him only. We know 

 that a stray hare or wounded pheasant may occasionally be 

 purloined from a great man's preserves by Mr. Reynard, and 

 small blame to him for so doing ; but we know also that a fox 

 feeds upon rabbits, mice, beetles, and other such small fry, and 

 that he does sometimes pay a visit to a farm-yard if it lies in 

 his beat, and carry away a fowl from a poor ■whining farmer ^ 

 who, after all, does not make half so much fuss about a couple 

 or two of chickens as his wealthy landlord does about a j^altry 

 cock pheasant. 



There may possibly be a question whether pheasants ought to 

 be considered as ferce naturae. In the manner they are now 

 reared and preserved my opinion is that they are not ; but there 

 can be no question as to a fox being an animal ferce naturce. 

 He is here to-day and gone to-morrow. W e may find him in a 

 game-preserve it is true, but as he will run eight or ten 

 miles straight away in another locality, it would puzzle even 

 the Poor-law Commissioners to assign him his proper place of 

 settlement ; and I think a game-preserver has made an equally 



