The Hunting Year 



procedure I have met with in my time. But I 

 wish to avoid controversial matters as much as 

 possible, and to show what a good keeper can 

 and does do for a hunt. He knows, for 

 example, the balance of foxes in the district, 

 perhaps in many districts. He can tell where 

 a litter can be spared, and where a litter is 

 wanted, perhaps better than any man in the 

 country, and he is generally consulted in all 

 cases of suggested removal, and not infrequently 

 he makes suggestions respecting the placing of 

 foxes which are invaluable, as he knows things 

 " from the other side," from the standpoint of 

 the non-hunting man, as few can. He is 

 always in evidence when hounds meet on the 

 estate in his charge, and if you see him in close 

 conversation with the huntsman, and every now 

 and again notice that he is pointing to distant 

 coverts, you may be pretty sure hounds will not 

 be such a very long time in finding. 



Of course, there is the pinchbeck imitation, 

 as there is a pinchbeck imitation of every good 

 thing under the sun ; but we are not discussing 

 him, and there is no difficulty in spotting him 



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