The Hunting Year 



any harm in coverts, if there are wild foxes in 

 them. It is the half-tame foxes that have not 

 been educated by the vixen that hang about the 

 woods. The real wild ones are off like a shot 

 after two or three days' cub-hunting. 



Many years ago I was hunting with a famous 

 midland pack. It was in the middle of a great 

 shooting district, and we met at the house of 

 one of the great shooting men in the county. 

 There was abundance of game in evidence all 

 over — pheasants popped up every now and then 

 as one crossed the corner of a spinney, and if one 

 went through a wood they rose in great numbers 

 — one might almost say in flocks. But hounds 

 were no sooner in the first wood than they found. 

 They went away at once with their fox, and 

 scent not being very good, they soon lost him. 

 We went back to the same wood and soon had 

 three foxes on foot. As I was riding through 

 the wood I came across the head keeper, who 

 was, to use a colloquialism, black in the face 

 with running. He had just halloaed a fox over 

 the ride, and another crossed it as I was talking 

 to him. I remarked that he had a fine show of 



196 



