directions. He then passed quite close to where I was ensconced in a 

 deep ditch behind a fence, and, not seeing me, he listened for a moment 

 to the hounds, then sat down and scratched his ear with his hind pad, 

 after which he leisurely cantered along the grip and went off for Glen- 

 bower, two miles away. 



Don't let any one tell me that that fox was frightened of the hounds, 

 but the sight of me would have made him run for his life, and if I had 

 shouted at him he would have been more terri6ed than if the hounds 

 were racing him in view. Xor was that a bad scenting day, on which 

 foxes don't usually hurry themselves, for thehounds ran fairly fast. 



Foxes and Sheep. — With reference to what I say at p. 85 about 

 foxes not as a rule killing lambs, and that those put down to their 

 account are ninety-nine times out of a hundred killed by dogs, we have 

 prima facie evidence in the fact that sheep show no fear of a fox, but 

 follow him slowly in a flock, with feet stamping and ears cocked, as he 

 passes through their walk ; but, if a strange dog appears they fly from 

 him in confusion, even though he may not go near them, or appear in 

 the least inclined to. 



HORSE-BREEDING. 



CHArXER V. 



Hackneys at Dublin Show.— I see in the papers some controversy 

 arising out of the decision of our Royal Dublin Society not to give 

 prizes this year at the Dublin Horse Show for Hackney stallions. 

 As far as I am a judge, I think the Committee have done perfectly 

 right to eliminate from the catalogue of our great hunter show that class 

 of horse. We Irish, as I say in another chapter, are not drivers, and as 

 an art or an institution I don't think driving will ever rise much 

 towards perfection in my country. What we want, and what we 

 know more about than any other people, is the hunter^ and him we 

 can breed and train to^ not alone gallop and jump, but to walk and 

 trot, and so carry a man as safely along a road in the dark as he 

 can over a country in the day. The system pursued of late years 

 by my countrymen in breeding hunters has worked amazingly well, 

 therefore it should be stuck to, and to import the hackney class 

 into Ireland would tend directly to alter that system, for assuredly the 

 breed would get mixed with that of our hunters. Stick to your own 

 opinions, ray friends the Committee of the Dublin Horse Show, and 

 don't be influenced by parties who know nothing about Irish horse 

 lireeding, although they may talk and write a lot about it. Men who 

 know most talk least, so you have not heard much from those who are 

 in thorough accord with you, not alone upon the question of hackney?, 

 but upon the whole system of your management, including that excellent 

 ^dea of giving prizes for well turned-out jarveys, the competition for 

 which affords one of the most interesting exhibitions witnessed at our 



