EARTH-STOPPING 285 



object of the Avi'iter in fii'st doing it, he will have 

 no difficulty in proving that it is a certain way to 

 get better runs, because they are straighter, as the 

 foxes do not run the rings they used to do — in 

 trying every earth in the country where they are 

 found — as they have already discovered that they 

 are all blocked up, and therefore often go straight 

 away. But, according to the old plan of merely 

 stopping the earths in a certain quarter of the 

 country the day it is hunted, when a straight, good 

 run does happen, and the hounds deserve their fox, 

 he goes to ground beyond the distance stopped for 

 the day ; although probably, had he not been able 

 to get into the earth, he would have considerably 

 increased the day's sport by going on some miles 

 and being killed, which certainly is required to 

 make a good run perfect — and all go home satis- 

 fied. In the next place, it is the best preventive 

 against blank days ; for, as before stated, many 

 foxes nearly always he underground, in bad weather 

 particularly. Nothing is more common than when a 

 fox is dug out to find a brace, or even more ; and 

 if these are found in earths so weak as to be broken 

 up, how very much more likely is it that there are 

 foxes in the main earths ? Which accounts for every 

 cover in a part of a country being drawn blank a 



