90 NOSE AND PACE 



such a bad-scenting country that we must keep close 

 to a fox ;' yet I would remind them that if such is 

 necessary with them under ordinary circumstances, it 

 must be fatal in woodland huntinof where there is much 

 covert, inasmuch as mute hounds must often slip away 

 from the field. Any old huntsman is well aware that the 

 faster the hound the less musical he must necessarily 

 be, for no hound can travel fast and be musical. I 

 have known more hounds spoiled through this mistake 

 than even through lack of breeding ; and of the two 

 evils I should most certainly prefer the music, no 

 matter how slow the pace, as failing his ' going to 

 ground ' the fox must eventually come to hand with 

 plenty of ^ nose power ' in the pack behind him. 

 I have often witnessed the Highland fox-hunter, on 

 foot, account for a fox with the most nondescript 

 animals in the way of hounds which could be imagined. 

 It is marvellous how these mongrels can creep up to 

 their fox, and run up to him too, over rough, hilly 

 ground. There is nothing which a fox so much dreads 

 as ' nose power,' he values it so highly himself ; but 

 when he finds the hounds racing him he practises the 

 same tactics as the hare he himself hunts, and by 

 running on his own * foil ' will often succeed in dodging 

 a flash pack, whereas with a pack which is of the * nose 

 to ground ' sort, which leave no chance untried, each 

 hound helping the other to unravel the line, the case is 

 different. Such hounds as the latter seldom -require 

 lifting, and I maintain that one lift to a ' holloa ' is 

 worse than twenty disappointing finishes without 

 blood. Like many other sports, patience is the key 

 to success in hunting. I was once for eight consecu- 

 tive years stalking one particular stag, but I got him 



