WIRE QUESTION. 79 



chairman of each committee to send men round to make 

 up gaps caused by the Hunt when necessary. Any cases 

 of wire put up to be reported by the committees to their 

 chairmen. 



All landowners are requested to insert a clause in 

 their farm agreements, preventing the erection of wire 

 by their tenants. 



It will at least be seen that the Master and the Hunt 

 Committee have made strenuous and systematic efforts 

 to minimize the wire danger, and in consequence it is 

 believed that the wire is generally well signalled now 

 throughout the Hunt where it is still used. 



It is only within the last few days that the present 

 writer read in one of the daily papers an announcement 

 that a well-known Master of one of our leading packs of 

 hounds was about to give up his position entirely on 

 account of this hateful wire. May we commend to the 

 notice of our agricultural friends, Whyte Melville's excel- 

 lent lines on this subject ? — 



" Good fellows, good sportsmen of every degree, 

 Who live by the land, will you listen to me? 

 To teach you your business I offer no claim, 

 But the man who looks on sees a deal of the game, 

 Anf" your thrift while I honour, your acres admire, 

 I think you're mistaken to fence them with wire. 



" No ; twist us your binders as strong as you will, 

 We must all take our chances of cropper and spill ; 

 There are scores of young ashes to stiffen the gaps. 

 And a blind double ditch is the surest of traps ; 

 But remember, fair sportsmen fair usage require. 

 So up with the timber and down with the wire." 



Fortunately, the too frequent collision between game- 

 keepers and huntsmen, between pheasants and foxes, has 

 not been much in evidence in the North Stafford country. 

 We have plenty of landowners and sportsmen who are 

 keen enough about rearing and preserving pheasants, but 

 happily most of them are, if possible, still more keen 

 about preserving foxes, so that we seldom hear any well- 



