WAR TIME AND AFTER. 247 



pack cf hounds or a stable to be inorea&ed by something like 

 one hundred and fifty per cent. 



During the latter part of the war, and more particularly in 

 the season, which had just begun when the armistice was 

 announced, hound shortage was the greatest difiiculty which 

 masters and hunt servants had to contend with. Packs which 

 were reduced to half their former strength, and this applies 

 most particularly to many provincial packs which had never 

 been ol great numerical strength, were severely handicapped in 

 their attempts to kill foxes, and at several of the bigger estab- 

 lishments the hunting days had to be cut down, owing both to 

 horse and to hound shortage. At many kennels veny few, at 

 others no hounds were bred for two, and in some instances, 

 three seasons, for the simple reason that while the country was 

 rationed in almost everything there was noi food toi spare, and 

 especially no milk, for young hounds. Fortunately, hunt 

 subscriptions were continued, not perhaps as they had been 

 before the war, but still in sufficient quantity to allow the 

 hunts being carried on by a greatly reduced staff. As regards 

 the actual hunting I am inclined to think that the lack of 

 stopping was almost the greatest difficulty iti had to face. In 

 some countries no stopping was done at all for two or three 

 seasons, for the younger gamekeepers and watchers, who do 

 mostol the stopping nowadays, had gone to the war, and there 

 was plenty of work for all the older men in every country 

 parish. Day after day hounds were disappointed by the opem 

 earth or drain, and though digging was resorted to when 

 feasible, there was no rush of spade voluntieers as there is at 

 ordinary times. And a propos digging of foxes, all hunting 

 people must know that almost invariably when it is decided toi 

 dig, men and boys seem to appear quite suddemly, noi matter 

 how remote the place may be. As an example, within a. fort.- 

 night of the present moment of writing I saw a well-hunted fox 

 run to ground in a Welsh dingle late in the afternoon of a late 

 November day, and in something like twenty minutee nine men 

 and half a dozen farm boys had appeared, carrying spades, 

 forks, and so forth. 



Personally I saw very little hunting during the war, but I 

 was in a fairly good position to know what was taking placei in 

 the hunting world. Briefly I may mention a few of my own 



