THE HARRIER. 



225 



S^ 



LADY GIFFORDS MARKSMAN. 



begin to draw, then take your hounds into 

 the field, and let them draw up to her form. 

 They will soon get on her line, and work up 

 to the form, and then take up the scent again 

 beyond it and settle dowTi to it well over 

 the fallow or seed field, or whatever it may 

 be where you " found," and unless you 

 happen to be 

 hunting an 

 old hare that 

 knows the 

 business well, 

 she will not 

 stand up ver\' 

 long before a 

 \' i g o r o u s , 

 t'ager lot of 

 keen workers 

 so early in 

 the season ; 

 but you will 

 have blooded 

 the puppies, 

 and by the 

 time your season opens, say by the middle 

 or end of October, both hounds and hares 

 will be fit to " go." 



At this time of year the usual difficulty 

 arises with covert o%v'ners. Messages come 

 from anxious keepers to say " such and such 

 a covert has not been shot," or, another 

 " is to be shot next week," and if your 

 country lies in the middle of some big 

 shoots the life of a Master of Harriers is a 

 burden to him until after Christmas. Most 

 arable land, too, has to be avoided until the 

 partridges are shot. There is certain to be 

 a partridge drive coming off the day after 

 you meet anywhere ! So you feel you must 

 go off, to draw a piece of rough grass you 

 know of that may be good for a hare, rather 

 than the stubble field that was a sure find. 

 The rough field yields a hare all right, but 

 she makes straight for the nearest wood, and 

 just as hounds arc setthng down well to the 

 line, they must be whipped off. And thus 

 many a good run is spoilt. But later on in 

 the season, liares will go through woods 

 without dwelling, if they are making a 

 point, and give hounds a rare gallop. 



The North of England is an ideal Harrier 



countrj^ Northumberland for choice, with 

 glorious stretches of moorland carrying a 

 grand scent. The Southern counties are 

 too much enclosed, everything feels cramped, 

 and there are too many people coming out 

 hunting in large numbers and caring little 

 or nothing about actual hunting. It is a 

 pity no rule exists to compel those who 

 wish to hunt to learn a few simple laws of 

 how to ride to hounds, before they come out. 

 Each season finds more people following 

 hounds who ride so close on the top of 

 them, over-riding them at every turn, that 

 all chance of good sport is spoilt. 



Of course this applies to all hunting, but 

 perhaps especially to hare-hunting, as a 

 hare doubles so quickly, often running back 

 a few yards over exactly the same ground 

 that she covered in the first instance ; she 

 will then strike off a yard or two "to right or 

 left, and go on again. It is easy to see, in 

 cases of this kind, how puzzling it is for 

 hounds to pick up the line if they are over- 

 ridden. Then again, a hare will give a 



LADY GIFFORDS DESPERATE AND 

 KENNEL MATES. 



spring into the air, leaving a good space of 

 ground untouched. This seems to be in- 

 tense cunning on her part, and has perforce 

 the result she evidently means it to have, 

 viz. scent failing, and hounds completely 

 baffled for the time. And here is another 

 mysterious thing about scent : you come 

 to a gateway, or possibly a place where two 

 ways meet ; you make up your mind, when 

 you see hounds stop suddenly and tlirow 

 up their heads, that the hare has gone on. 



