212 Cross Country with Horse and Hound 



of the dew, is thought to take with it the line of the hunted 

 game. A porous or sandy soil is believed to absorb it. The 

 scent itself is thought by some theorists to be left by the 

 feet, by others to come principally from the body, while 

 still another school says it comes from both. 



All agree, also, I believe, that a sleeping fox gives little 

 or no scent, that if he keeps still in covert, as he some- 

 times does, hounds can and do run over and all about him 

 without detecting his presence. Again, if he has gone in a 

 leisurely way out of covert just before hounds arrive, it is 

 with difficulty that they are able to own the line, even on a 

 good scenting day. It is during this first part of nearly 

 every run that a clever huntsman urges on his pack as 

 fast as ever he can and still keep their noses down ; that is 

 to say, as fast as he can just short of lifting them forward. 

 His idea is to get them on good terms with their fox and 

 that particular one as quickly as possible. 



That under favourable conditions scent improves or 

 grows stronger as the chase of the heated fox progresses, 

 and dies down or weakens when the fox becomes exhausted, 

 is also clear. Many a sinking fox but a few yards ahead 

 of the hounds saves his brush because hounds are no longer 

 able to follow the line. It has, indeed, been noticed that 

 some of the older hounds begin driving to the front the 

 moment they detect this weakening of the scent. Expe- 

 rience has taught them that the end is near, while younger 

 hounds lose interest because the sensation is now less stim- 

 ulating to their olfactory nerves. This is so established 

 that when old experienced hounds from going in the mid- 

 dle or rear of the pack make a dive to the front, it is taken 



