WHEN HOUNDS ARE GONE 259 



mission to come his way until he has done with his 

 coverts. The keeper does not so much object to 

 the hounds merely passing through when in full 

 cry, for then the hounds run in a compact body, and 

 pay no attention to game. They only disturb a 

 line about ten yards wide right through the woods. 

 What disturbs every game-bird and hare in the place 

 is drawing a covert, particularly when scent is bad 

 and foxes are in evidence, but not to be forced away. 

 Unhappy the keeper who must throw open his coverts 

 at all seasons while other neighbouring coverts are 

 closed. The prohibition of one wood often leads to 

 the closing of many more ; and hunt officials are 

 well advised to break down, by every power of per- 

 suasion, all restrictions which favour one or two 

 keepers at the expense of brother keepers. At any 

 rate, we think it would be an excellent idea that the 

 keeper whose coverts are always open to hounds 

 should have double the reward paid for a find to the 

 keeper whose coverts are open only after Christmas. 



Those who shoot in the wake of hounds are no sports- 

 men. To state a case in illustration of this: A 



sportsman has the shooting of a wood 

 When bounded on one side by another's fields. 

 ^ In days gone by he was glad to keep a fox 

 gone for hounds, and gladly he would throw open 



his wood to the hunt, in a reasonable way. 

 In the cause of sport, he was content that his pheasants 



