IN FOX-HUNTING- 261 



different and slack huntsman : he would press 

 on his hounds whilst the scent was good, and 

 the foxes he killed he would kill handsomely. 

 A perfect knowledge of the intricacies of hunt- 

 ing is chiefly of use to slow huntsmen, and 

 bad hounds; since they more often stand in 

 need of it. Activity is the first requisite in 

 a huntsman to a pack of fox-hounds: a want 

 of it no judgment can make amends for; but 

 the most difficult of all his undertakings is 

 the distinguishing betwixt different scents, and 

 knowing with any certainty the scent of his 

 hunted fox. Much speculation is here re- 

 quired ;— the length of time hounds remain at 

 fault; — difference of ground; — change of wea- 

 ther; all these contribute to increase the diffi- 

 culty, and require a nicety of judgment, and 

 a precision, much above the comprehension of 

 most huntsmen. 



When hounds are at fault, and cannot make 

 it out of themselves, let the first cast be quick ; 

 the scent is then good, nor are the hounds 

 likely to go over it : as the scent gets worse, 

 the cast should be slower, and be more cauti- 

 ously made. This is an essential part of hunt- 

 ing, and which, I am sorry to say, few hunts- 

 men attend to. I wish they would remember 



