1845.] OF HAMPSHIRE. 129 



work and have the advantage. Exclusive of 

 these, the large hedgerows he meets with 

 enables him to turn back unperceived upon 

 the hounds, and consequently to gain time. 



" It may be observed that I have said 

 enough to prove the difficulty of killing a 

 good Hampshire fox ; but I have not done. 

 It may be safely asserted that Mr. Villebois' 

 hounds, in chase, are two-thirds of their time 

 either in covert or on ploughed land, which 

 generally carries ; and, although there are 

 fences in his country, yet there are no brooks, 

 nor anything sufficiently strong to keep back 

 the body of horses, so that hounds are always 

 more or less pressed upon when at fault. The 

 foxes also seldom run straight, so that all the 

 field get up sooner or later ; and some of 

 them accidentally find themselves before the 

 hounds, when they had good reason to think 

 they were behind them. 



" Mr. Villebois, then, has these evils to pro- 

 vide for : in the first place, he must sacrifice 

 anything to nose, for your stiff-necked ones 

 will never do in Hampshire. He Whata 

 must have legs and feet of the verv Hants hound 



° , J should be. 



best form, or they will not stand the 



flints. He must have speed, or his hounds 



could not get away from the horses. He must 



K 



