MYSTERIES OF SCENT 239 



of discovery than one that has just come to the nest, 

 leaving a fresh trail. So the scent given off by 

 foxes varies with their own condition as, of course, 

 with the weather. The greatest scent is left behind 

 by the fox when he is warm with running ; the least 

 is given off at the beginning of a run, or at the end, 

 when he is exhausted. The hunted fox well knows 

 that his life may depend on the strength or weakness 

 of his scent this is made clear when he runs pur- 

 posely through a herd of cattle or a flock of sheep. 



Deluges of rain, burning sun, or extreme cold 

 obliterate fox-scent, but slight heat combined with 

 moisture, as when the sun shines after a warm shower, 

 is in favour of a strong and enduring trail. But there 

 is little certainty in the matter ; as Mr. Jorrocks truly 

 said, " Nothing so queer as scent 'cept a woman." 

 On a promising day hounds may be at fault when 

 within a score of yards of a fox ; but on a day so 

 apparently hopeless that few sportsmen trouble to 

 attend a meet, as when a thin crust of hard-frozen 

 snow covers the ground, the scent may be red-hot. 

 One day may yield a perfect scent ; on the next, 

 apparently with the same weather conditions, the 

 scent is elusive, and the hounds no sooner give tongue 

 than they fall silent. Much depends on the nature of 

 the country, or of the substance on which the volatile 

 scent particles fall. Crossing the meadows, the 

 hounds speak the line with certain voice ; but when 

 they come to dry, crumbling fallow-fields, the chorus 

 dies away into a few doubtful whimpers. The time 



