March Winds 



' There will be a scent about five or half-past ; 

 then's when we want a fox, and I know where 

 there is one." I must say he was generally 

 right, and those who stopped to the " bitter 

 end " with him generally had a better record 

 of the month of March than their neighbours. 



On one occasion we had a very remarkable 

 experience. I should premise that my hunts- 

 man friend was one of the keenest men I ever 

 knew. He never turned his horse's head 

 homewards willingly when there was the least 

 chance of sport, and he would draw to the last 

 minute of time if he thought there was enough 

 daylight to kill a fox. We frequently had some 

 chaff about this; for, on the days when I 

 hunted with him, his draw led him homewards 

 whilst it took me away from home, with the 

 possibility of finishing some eighteen or twenty 

 miles from my stable at 6.30. 



The day in question was a typical day in 



March. Hounds met in a woodland country, 



where several big woods are very near to each 



other; just the country indeed in which foxes 



might be expected to jog about leisurely 



149 



