TOO FREaUENTLY USED. 207 



hounds at his horse's heels, at the first halloo 

 that he hears, may throw them in close at him.* 

 This will put him out of his pace, and perhaps 

 put him off his foil. It will be necessary, when 

 you do this, that the whipper-in should stop 

 the pack from hunting after, and get forward 

 with them to the huntsman. I have already 

 given it as my opinion, that hounds may be 

 hallooed too much. If they are often used to 

 a halloo, they will expect it, and may trust per- 

 haps to tiieir ears and eyes more than to their 

 noses. If they are often taken from the scent, 

 it teaches them to shuffle, and probably will 

 make them slack in cover : it should be done, 

 therefore, with great caution ; not too often ; 

 and always should be well timed. Famous 

 huntsmen, I think, by making too frequent a 

 use of this, sometimes hurt their hounds. I 

 have heard of a sportsman who never suffers his 

 hounds to be lifted : he lets them pick along the 

 coldest scent, through flocks of sheep. This is 



* Nothing is meant more than this — "■ that the huntsman 

 should get the tail hounds off the line of the scent, (where 

 they do more harm than good,) and encourage them for- 

 ward: if he should hear a halloo whilst these hounds are 

 off the scent, he should lay them on to it ; if he should not, 

 the tail hounds, by this means, may still stand a chance of 

 getting to the head hounds by the ear, which they never 

 could do, if they continued to run by the nose." 



