INTRODUCTION xi 



by real sj^ortsmcn tlian the practice of hunting bag-foxes. . . . 

 What chiefly contributes to make Foxhunting so far superior 

 to other sports is the wiklncss of tlie animal you hunt, and 

 the difficulty in catching him." 



3. " Next to turning out bagmen, lifting of hounds is the 

 most prejudicial. They should seldom be taken ' off their 

 noses.' Nothing is gained by it in the end ; hounds that 

 are seldom lifted will kill more Foxes in the course of a season 

 than those that frequently are." 



Those who are about to hunt a country, and perhaps are 

 anxious for short cuts to knowledge, could hardly do better 

 than remember these three things : Plenty of blood, no 

 bag-foxes, and as little lifting as possible. If to these three 

 were added the vital necessity of bringing the pack out in 

 the very pink of condition, a young M.F.H. would have on 

 a half-sheet of notepapcr a child's guide to knowledge which 

 embraces nearly all the essential conditions of success. He 

 will learn more, and forget much. But these things he must 

 not forget. 



It may be objected that Colonel Cook's condemnation of 

 lifting hounds sounds slow and " pottery." But, indeed, he 

 was no advocate of pottering. He expressly disclaims it. 

 The exact phase at which the practice of letting hounds hunt 

 degenerates into the practice of pottering, is one that must 

 be determined by the huntsman. Am'thing can be overdone. 

 A well-bred, well-conditioned, well-blooded pack of Foxhounds 

 that are accustomed to rely on each other and to kill their 

 own Foxes, instead of having their Foxes killed for them, 

 will never become " pottery " if their attendants ride well 

 up to them in the hunting-field. Foxhouiids are curiously 

 jealous creatures, and in a certain sense have a strong dash 

 of vanity ; they love to think they arc doing it all themselves : 

 but unconsciously they take a great deal irom the manner 

 of their huntsman ; and if he is near to them, he can, while 

 leaving them quite alone, influence them to score to the cry, 

 and foster the senses of emulation and dash which are the 



