HUNTING THE FOX 29 



what faster pace will help their condition ; and on 

 no occasion should they be hurried beyond this 

 pace on the way home. But from covert to covert 

 they can be accustomed to go on an average about 

 eight miles an hour. Like all men and women 

 they are creatures of habit ; like some men and 

 women they are intensely receptive, and can be 

 taught by a clever and sympathetic Huntsman 

 to do almost anything. 



The M.F.H. should of course arrange to draw 

 all his country impartially, with a mental reserva- 

 tion that the woodlands can be drawn with advan- 

 tage more often than small coverts. An isolated 

 covert in what people call " the good country " 

 had as a general rule better not be drawn more 

 than once every six weeks. It is better not to go 

 Cub-hunting at all in a covert of this kind. If it 

 is known to contain a strong litter of Cubs, some 

 Masters think it right to disturb them before 

 November 1. If this is done, the Cubs should on 

 no account be mobbed. They should be allowed 

 to go quietly away without anything being said, 

 and such Hounds as come out after them should 

 be stopped and turned back to the cry in the covert. 

 The body of the pack should be allowed to hunt 

 their own Cub away. But it is a mistake to spend 

 too long a time Cub-hunting in a pet covert, whose 

 proper function is to provide good runs when 

 every one is out to enjoy them later on. Even if 



