54 COVERT-SIDE SKETCHES. 



then, can we reasonably expect it of the fox '? He wants time 

 to mature his powers and learn a country. This, in the present 

 day, is a thing he seldom gets. We do not often hear now 

 of the long runs which formerly took place; the reason is, 

 the want of the wild old foxes our ancestors found. They had 

 not the abundance now to be seen in many hunting countries, 

 and could not afford to crack up a couple of brace in a day ; 

 they were longer finding, and, I think, had more blank days ; 

 but when they did find one, it often turned out to be a tough 

 old customer, which cut out their day's work for them. "We 

 have less of these about now, and only at long intervals find 

 one, wdio has for years escaped hounds, steel, and strychnine ; 

 when we do, there is a Greatwood or Waterloo run recorded, 

 though, from foxes being more plentiful, these long runs are 

 generally spoilt by the suspicion of a change, if such a thing is 

 not actually known to have taken place. In fact, under the 

 present style of hunting, one fox, be he ever so good, could 

 scarcely stand such distances before hounds. 



Another great drawback to finding fliers is the insatiable 

 thirst for blood displayed by some masters and huntsmen. They 

 forget that cubs must be educated as well as hounds, and that 

 the best way to teach them to fly is to stop hounds from those 

 that break covert, and keep rattling those that stay behind until 

 not another is left. A fox who has once found safety in flight 

 is much more likely to try it again than to hang about. I know 

 this system is now pursued by a master in one of our most 

 fashionable countries with great success, as the sport he shows 

 will testify. He goes cub-hunting, not to anticipate the regular 

 season by having runs over the open, but to rout the coverts 

 and teach his foxes to fly, obtaining plenty of blood for the 

 entry from those that decline to do so. From these remarks it 

 will be gathered that I consider foxes in the present day not so 

 good on an average as those found a few years ago, and such, no 

 doubt, is the case ; they live too easy and luxmious a life as a 

 rule, do not work sufficiently hard for their living, and are not 



