HARE-HUNTING. 291 



beagles, and turn home when they began to tire, if I must go 

 hare-hunting at all. The Shires, good as they are for fox- 

 hunting, are decidedly not happy hunting-grounds for harrier 

 men, and one who is passionately fond of the sport has told 

 me that he does not care to go out there. In fact, tempting as 

 the big pastures look, hares do not much care to face the fences, 

 but run short, and, where there is a bit of plough, stick to it most 

 tenaciously. As a rule, countries which are bad for fox-hounds 

 are good for harriers, and the reverse ; although I am sorry 

 to say I could name many countries that are bad for both, I 

 could pitch on few, if any, that are good for both. 



Open downs, such as are found in the South of England, 

 are favourable to this sport, and in the northern counties there 

 are tracks of moorland in which harriers will show capital 

 fun. Although packs of hare-hounds are often kept in the 

 neighbourhood of large and fashionable towns, such places 

 are by no means most favourable for the amusement, because 

 such large fields join them, and hare-hunting, to be thoroughly 

 enjoyed, should be pursued in select company. A few people, 

 and those all sportsmen, is the thing ; with a large crowd spread 

 about all over the place, as they soon become, it is impossible 

 that hounds can do themselves justice, or that their work can 

 be properly enjoyed by those who go out to see it. Here, if 

 anywhere, I would excuse a man keeping fox-hounds for the 

 sport, as often his only chance is to race right away from and 

 shake off the crowd ; then, if he over-runs the scent, and loses 

 his game, as most probably he will do, go and find another as 

 quickly as possible. It is a very bastard kind of affair, how- 

 ever, and few who know what hunting really is care for it. 



Where the country is good, the fields small, and the hounds 

 left alone, many first-rate men, who have made a name in the 

 crack countries, have declared that hare-hunting was the nearest 

 approach, as far as enjoyment went, to fox-hunting on the grass. 

 Hares, in such a country as I speak of, run strong and well, at 

 times making a three or four mile point before commencing 



u 2 



