NOTITIA VENATICA. 125 



Mistei'tou, yet, by proper inanagenicnt uud atteiitiuu to a very f(!\v 

 points, really good sport may be obtained in almost any country, let it 

 be ever so dark and severe, provided tlic occupiers liave spirit and libe- 

 rality to pursue tbe following plans. Let britUe-gates — or riding gates, 

 as tliey are sometimes termed — be placed at divers points for the con- 

 venience of not only the sportsmen in freneral, but more especially to 

 enable the men attandant on the hounds to get at them quick, and as- 

 sist them as occasion may require, without the risk of breaking their 

 limbs at some great boundary fence, or other impassable barrier ; let 

 small wooden bridges be thrown over the worst of the larger dykes or 

 ditches ; let the rides be kept well trimmed, the rackways, trigs, or 

 small bye-rides kept open, and the earth-stopping department properly 

 attended to, and it will be seen that sport of the first order may be had, 

 provided that the rest of " the means and appurtenances" be in equally 

 good keeping. To the neglect of the above management, and to the 

 well-known fact that the generality of masters of hounds would rather 

 at any time draw the open under an uncertainty of finding than run the 

 risk of a long day in the woods, and to the destruction of foxes by unfair 

 means consequent to such neglect, may, in nine cases out of ten, be at- 

 tributed the odium attached to woodland hunting. I can only add upon 

 this point that, if more days were devoted to rummaging the woodlands 

 than the modern system allows, there would be fewer blank days, and 

 more clipping runs in the open, and the necessity of going to Messrs. 

 Herring and Baker would be altogether done away with. The large 

 woods and cliffs before mentioned were undoubtedly natural covers, and 

 to these may be added brakes, composed chiefly of blackthorn and the 

 briar, or blackberry ; these are the favourite resort of foxes, and in- 

 deed all other wild animals, from the almost impenetrable nature of the 

 plants which compose them ; and although not nearly so numerous as 

 they were thirty years ago, when agriculture was not attended to as it 

 now is, they are occasionally to be met with, particularly in open fields; 

 and where the land is what may be termed " fox ground," a find usually 

 accompanies a draw. One great recommendation to encourage brakes 

 is the impossibihty of shooters and poachers walking in them, especially 

 during the night ; consequently they are quieter. We may also add 

 to the list, natural gorse covers, which are met with generaPy upon 

 the sides of hills, or what are termed " hangings ;" these are consi- 

 dered by many persons as much more preferred by foxes to kennel I'l 

 than the artificial gorses (of which I shall speak hereafter), a^^ qUG 

 reason given by old sportsmen is, that when the gorse is young, aftei" 

 having been cut, the sheep and cattle eat away the grass as it grows up, 

 which allows the gorse to shoot stronger ; moreover, that the bare 

 places occasioned by the cattle grazing make excellent kennels for a 

 fox, where he can bask in the sunshine, and dry himself after wet wea- 

 ther. Let it also be remembered that gorse which grows upon stiff" clay 

 soil, although longer in coming to perfection, remains in full vigour 

 during many more seasons than where the soil is sandy, and conse- 

 quently more congenial to a quick growth. 



