SCIENCE OF FOXHUNTING. 229 



ces, although professing to preserve them for his 

 neighbour, who kept foxhounds. Upon his pro- 

 perty there were several good coverts and heads of 

 earths, which had, from time immemorial, produced 

 several litters of cubs ; in short, it was what is 

 called " foxy ground," yet here were no foxes now 

 to be found. The master, on making remon- 

 strances, year after year, was met with this re- 

 joinder " I give my keepers orders not to kill 

 foxes, and am assured by them they do not. Can 

 you prove the contrary ? " 



" Yes," was the reply ; " a fox was brought 

 to me yesterday with a trap on his leg, which has 

 your mark upon it, and this, I presume, is pre- 

 sumptive evidence that your keepers do gin foxes, 

 although it is done, as you say, contrary to your 

 orders. Here is the trap with your initials, and 

 the maker's name. The fox died from mortification 

 last night." 



" Well, I will make inquiries about it," was the 

 satisfactory answer to this remonstrance. 



The result was, the head keeper denied having 

 set the trap, saying it must have been stolen from 

 their woods by some poacher, and used by him for 

 this purpose somewhere out of their bounds ; and 

 the master of the hounds, finding the master of 

 the coverts so little disposed to sift the matter 

 farther, gave up the point. Some two years after, 

 this gentleman, tired with preserving, let the 

 shooting over his coverts and lands to a genuine 

 sportsman, fond of hunting as well as shooting, 

 whose first act was to discharge all the old keepers 



