PERFECTIOX IN FOX-HOUNDS. 449 



without a word being said to caution them. But 

 it is in chase, with only a holding scent, that a 

 pack of fox-hounds display their excellence. In 

 such a case as this there must be checks ; and it 

 being ten to one against their fox running straight, 

 because they cannot press him, now is the time to 

 see them work. Do they carry a good head when 

 the scent is a-head and serves them well i Are 

 they cautious when it does not I And do they 

 turn short when the game has turned right or left, 

 or is gone back I Are they careful not to overrun 

 the scent, and will they stand pressing to a certain 

 degree by the horsemen i But having overrun it, 

 do they stop directly, and make their own cast 'i 

 Should that fail, do they come quickly to horn or 

 holloo — to their huntsman's cast I Do they fling 

 for a scent when their huntsman lifts them to points, 

 and not attempt to ^fiash, or break away, without a 

 scent i When the scent serves well, do they not 

 only carry a good head over a country, but, as their 

 game is sinking, does the head become better i If 

 they do all this, and have speed and stoutness 

 withal, they are equal to any fox in any country, 

 and are worth a thousand sovereigns, if not two, to 

 a sportsman. 



The number of fox-hounds taken into the held 

 depends chiefly upon country ; more being required 

 in that which is woodland, than for an open cham- 

 paign, or for our enclosed grass districts, such as 

 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, &c. Eighteen 

 couples are generally considered as sufficient for the 

 2p 



