CRITICISMS OF HIS FOLLOWERS 163 



horn. I am a staunch believer in what is termed " the 

 silent system " of hunting, and am sure that the Master 

 who is continually blowing his horn loses many foxes, 

 for which his hounds would otherwise have accounted. 

 But there is a vast difference between continually 

 blowing the horn, like a cornet player at a Covent 

 Garden Promenade Concert, and sounding the " gone 

 away " notes, when hounds stream out of covert. To 

 say the least of it, it is unsportsmanlike to leave the 

 sportsmen and sportswomen in the lurch, when they 

 pay their subscriptions solely in order that they may 

 be provided with sport. Verbiim sapienti sufficit. I 

 will accordingly proceed to the criticism of kennel 

 management. 



No conscientious Master of Hounds should leave 

 the tuition of the entry entirely in the hands of the 

 kennel huntsman, as shooting-tenants leave the break- 

 ing of their dogs to their keepers. As " Dryasdust " 

 wrote in Land mid Water, some years ago; "The 

 Master, who should be cognisant of every detail, and 

 with whom should rest every appeal in all that concerns 

 the management of a pack of foxhounds, loses the 

 opportunity of judging for himself what are likely to 

 prove the characters of the young aspirants of the pack, 

 and he is obliged to entrust the very important task of 

 drafting to his huntsman." To watch the progress of 

 the entry, and to determine from his own observation 

 what young hands are worthy of a place in the kennel 

 list, and as likely to contribute to the strength and 

 efficiency of the pack, is one of the first duties of a 

 Master of Hounds. Many kennel huntsmen may have 



