142 ARTIFICIAL COVERS. 



would be all the better for sport), would fill a roll 

 which might reach from Melton to Brixworth ; but a 

 quick find and a sharp burst are all now required, 

 and whether that is sport or not, I leave for others 

 better qualified than myself to pronounce judgment 

 upon ; seven minutes and a half racing, where the 

 amalgamation of horses and hounds will scarcely allow 

 of determining which are leading, and to which the 

 powers of scent may by nature belong. Producing a 

 cover by means of sowing or planting gorse has always 

 been a favourite substitute for the absence of a natura 

 asylum for foxes, and the old and well-known toast of 

 " The Evergreen," alluding to the never-fading exuber- 

 ance of that plant, is a striking proof of the estimation 

 in which it has always been held by sportsmen. The 

 beautiful effect which a large patch of gorse in full 

 bloom, like burnished gold, gives to rural scenery, can 

 never be surpassed amidst the numerous attractions of 

 spring, and which, even to a certain extent, is to be 

 met with during the whole year, and which was the 

 origin of the old saying, " When gorse is out of bloom, 

 kissing is out of fashion." For the sake then of the 

 best and fairest of our species, let it be hoped, that 

 fox-hunting and " the evergreen" may flourish for ever ! 

 The best spot to fix upon for making an artificial 

 gorse cover is, if possible, upon rather a lightish soil, 

 which is rendered the more diflficult from the country 

 in which it is most desirable being grass, and conse- 

 quently, more frequently than not, a stiflf clay ; 

 however, let the soil be what it will, it should be in the 

 very best state of cultivation, previous to the seed 

 being sown ; it should be fallowed and well cleaned, 



