JOINING A HUNT. 319 



few if any foxes of the right sort are to be found ; a fact 

 which has indirectly led to the retirement of several keen 

 and hard-working Masters. 



When coverts are closed to hounds, deluded foxes naturally 

 seek these supposed abodes of safety, and are then promptly 

 killed by the gamekeepers, who thus get a disproportionately 

 large number of victims. Fox-shooting, which is not 

 practised by farmers, inflicts infinitely more injury on fox- 

 hunting than does wire, and the only remedy is for hunting 

 people to rent as many coverts as they can. Luckily, 

 the best part of Leicestershire is comparatively free from 

 pheasants, on account of there being few coverts suitable 

 for them in it ; although these birds abound in the Charn- 

 wood Forest. 



As a rule, landed proprietors having been brought up in 

 close touch with country interests, are more tolerant of the 

 sports of others than the casual tenant. Yet we find even 

 among them rich men who, although they participate in 

 and profess devotion for the chase, take good care that 

 no fox leaves their coverts alive. Some of them keep 

 up wire, and hunt in a strange country. Of such is the 

 kingdom of Satan. 



Warburton feelingly sings : — 



" I honour that sportsman, whatever his rank, 

 Whose heart heaves a sigh when his gorse is drawn blank." 



JOINING A HUNT. 



The best course of action which a stranger who wishes to 

 join a hunt, can adopt, is to call on the Secretary, tell him 

 his intentions, and conform to the usages of the hunt in the 

 matter of subscription, etc. He will find the addresses of 

 all the hunt secretaries in Baily's Hunting Directory, from 

 which he can obtain a great deal of information about 



