132 THE MASTER OF HOUNDS 



for it is here that he can meet them together and 

 give them his views. He should also take notes of the 

 exact whereabouts of the litters and not depend on 

 hearsay. Payments are usually made as soon after 

 nine in the morning as possible, so that each man can 

 be asked, as he enters the room, whether he has a litter 

 or not ; where it is if he has one ; and any other infor- 

 mation of use. The huntsman should be present also, 

 as not only is he able to recall often important incidents 

 that happened in the same locality in other seasons, 

 but he would be a valuable witness in the case of any 

 dispute arising over finds or getting to ground. The 

 earth-stoppers should be warned that they are given 

 this money for a specific purpose, namely, to stop the 

 earths, and that if they neglect this duty they run the 

 risk of getting nothing at all the next season. Above 

 all, however, let the Master see to it that the proceed- 

 ings are as friendly as possible. The plan of bullying 

 the stoppers is a foregone failure ; it is far more polite 

 to endeavour to meet them half-way. One thing is 

 essential, and that is that they should be made clearly 

 to understand, if possible by their own masters, that 

 the Hunt gratuities are a purely voluntary levy, and 

 that stopping is as much a part of their duty as, say, 

 feeding their pheasants. It may safely be said, without 

 fear of contradiction, that the duties of the Secretary, or 

 of whomever looks after the earth-stopping, would be 

 a great deal less onerous if only all estate owners would 

 impress this on keepers when engaging them. 



The stopping money paid by the Craven Hunt 

 amounts to some ;^i5o, covering payments to about 



