THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING. H^t 



When you arc purfliing a fox over a country, 

 the fcent being bad, and the [ox a long way be- 

 fore, without ever having been preifed, if his 

 point Ibould be for ftrong earths that are open, 

 or for large covers, where game is in plenty, it 

 may be acting wil'ely to take off the hounds at the 

 iirft fault; for the fox will go many miles to 

 your one, and probably will run you out of all 

 fcent ; and if he fhould not, you will be likely to 

 change at the firft cover you come into ; — when 

 a fox has been hard preffed, you have already my 

 opinion, that he never fhould be given up. 



When you w ould recover a hunted fox, and 

 have no longer fcent to hunt him by, a long caft 

 to the firfi: cover which he feems to point for, is 

 the only refource that you have left : get thither 

 as faft as you can, and then let your hounds try 

 as flowly and as quietly as poliible : if hunting 

 after him be hopelefs, and a long caft do not fuc- 

 ceed, you had better give him up — I need not 

 remind you, wdien the fcent lies badly, and you 

 iind it impoffible tor hounds to run, that you had 

 better return home ; finee the next day may be 

 more favourable. It iuvcly is a great fault In 

 a huntfman to perfevere m bad v/eather, when 

 hounds cannot run ; and when there is not a pro- 

 bability of killing a fox.* Some there are, who, 



* Though I would not go cur on a very wincjy day, yet a bad 

 fcenting {Jay is fometimes of lervice to a pack of fox-ho\]nds — 

 ihey acquire patience from it, and method of hur.ting. 



after 



