THOUGHTS UPON HUNTING, I41 



*^ the condition the ground is in, and the temperature of tjje ,, 

 " air r both of which, I apprehend, should be moist, with- 

 out being wet. When both are in this condition, the 

 scent is then perfedl j and vice versa, when the ground is 

 hard and the air dry, there seldom will be any scent. It 

 scarcely ever lies with a north, or an east wind : a southerly 

 wind without rain, and a westerly wind that is not rouo-h, 

 are the most favourable. Stotms in the air are great ene- 

 mies to scent, and seldom fail to take it entirely away^ 

 A fine sun-shiny day is not often a good hunting day 5 

 but what the French call jour des dames, warm without 

 sun, is generally a perfeft one : there are not many such 

 in a whole season. In some fogs, I have known the scenfe 

 lie high i in others, not at all; depending, I beheve, or^ 

 the quarter the wind is then in, I have known it lie very 

 high in a mist, when not too wet ; but if the wet should 

 hang on the boughs and bushes, it will fall upon the scent, 

 and deaden it» When the dogs roll, the scent, I have fre- 

 quently observed, seldom lies ; for what reason, I know 

 not : but, with permission, if they smell strong when 

 they first come out of the kennel, the proverb is in their 

 favour J and that smell is a prognostic of good luck. 

 When cobwebs hang on the bushes, there is seldom much 



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