38 HUNTING THE FOX 



The entry should be exercised separately from 

 the entered Hounds for some weeks, so that the 

 entered Hounds who have already been disciplined 

 may be spared the worry and annoyance occasioned 

 by the drilling of the young ones. Short and 

 gentle horse exercise may begin for both old and 

 young Hounds about six weeks or so after the end 

 of the hunting season, the hours and pace being 

 gradually increased, until the whole pack covers 

 during the month of August from eighty to a 

 hundred miles a week. Some Huntsmen may 

 perhaps advocate even more than this. But it 

 is doubtful if more than a certain degree of fitness 

 can be achieved by summer exercise, and the 

 excessive straining of it may very likely subtract 

 from the vitality of the pack to no useful purpose. 

 The average working life of a Foxhound is so short 

 that it can almost be counted in days ; let us there- 

 fore not waste a single hour of his energy. In 

 countries where riot is plentiful, Hounds should 

 of course be allowed to see it occasionally during 

 the summer, and firmly, and above all quietly, for- 

 bidden to " look " at it. But however steady they 

 may become under supervision in the summer, 

 the last word about riot will not be said until they 

 have killed several brace of Foxes. The blood of 

 the Fox is the true antidote to the pursuit of the 

 hare and the deer. Hounds will soon learn what 

 animal they are brought out to hunt. 



