Nov. 16, 1895.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



429 



up at 2:30. The judge announced the winners as follows : 

 First, Roger O'Mara; second, Tick of Kent; third, 

 Whyte. 



The Association's first annual Derby was for pointers 

 and setters whelped on or after Jan. 1, 1894; $5 to enter 

 and $5 to start. 



The All-Age Stake. 



Thomas Herriott's lemon and white pointer bitch Joy 

 (Rapid Don — Rachel), handled by Henry Christ, and G. O. 

 Smith's black, white and tan English setter dog Fred 

 Hope (Gath's Hope — Lulu Hill), handled by owner, were 

 cast off at 11:20 and ran until 12 o'clock without finding 

 birds. Both showed fair speed and range. Both to be 

 put down again on game. 



McDowell & McGrew's liver and white pointer dog Spot 

 (Dick Swiveller — Vixen), handled by McGrew, and F. S. 

 Hawkins's liver and white pointer bitch Lou of Kent (Lad 

 of Kent— Oneida), handled by Wallace, were cast off at 

 3:40 and worked through cornfields and stubble. At the 

 edge of briar thicket Spot pointed a bevy, a trifle unsteady 

 to shot. Lou refused to back, going ahead, flushing the 

 bevy. The birds were marked down in woods; dogs 

 ordered on, Lou flushing two singles. Ordered up at 4:1<{. 

 Speed and range of both were ordinary. 



W, D. Henry's liver and white pointer dog George 

 Croxteth (Don Croxteth — Mollie Scott), handled by Wm. 

 Frew, and Louis McGrew's black and white pointer dog 

 Hessen Boy (Duke of Hessen — Barmaid), handled by 

 owner, were cast off in pasture field at 4:15, and hunted 

 through stubble without finding, both showing good pace 

 and range; George Croxteth best; in fact, he excelled any 

 dog yet down, remaining out at his work and hunting out 

 the ground with good judgment. Ordered up at 4:45, to 

 go down again. 



S. B. Cummings's orange and white setter dog Galert C. 

 (Duke of Princeton — lone), handled by owner, and Chas. 

 H. Gainer's black and white setter dog Spark (Gladstone 

 II. — Blue Lorna), handled by Wallace, were put down in 

 open fields at 4:47. Galert showed excellent speed and 

 range, while Spark was slow, with very contracted range. 

 They ran 45 minutes without finding. Up at 5:30, this 

 ending the day's running. ^ 



Thursday. 



The day was cloudy, with a cold, drizzling rain falling 

 almost all the time. The rain not being heavy enough to 

 interfere, a start was made at 8:45. 



A. C. Peterson's orange and white setter bitch Nellie 

 Bly (Ben Hill— Daisy Hunter), handled by Jack Bell, and 

 F.'D. West's lemon and white pointer dog Mex, handled 

 by owner, were cast off at 8:45 in stubble field. Both had 

 good pace and range; Nellie better. Ordered up at 9:35 

 without finding. 



The next brace being absent, the bye dog was put down 

 to run, while the absent dogs were sent for. 



Smoky City Kennels' black and white setter dog Dash, 

 handled by H. Christ, was cast off at 9:40 in grass fields 

 and hunted through stubble. Again the judge put up a 

 bevy that the dog and handler passed by. Worked 

 toward the scattered birds, Dash started in by a point, 

 moving in to a flush and chase. Next he pointed ; no bird 

 found. He next chased a bird flushed by some spectators, 

 most of the time working beyond the control of his hand- 

 ler, Mr. Christ explaining afterward that he had the dog 

 less than two weeks. Ordered up at 10:15. 



Dr. S. W. Hart's black, white and tan English setter 

 bitch Miss Pick (Gladstone's Boy — Lady Marg), handled 

 by Schramm, and G. O. Smith's black and white English 

 setter dog Whyte (Whyte B. — More's Clara), handled by 

 owner, were cast off at 10:20 in orchard, and worked into 

 stubble field. Range and pace of both were very limited ; 

 in fact, so much so that the judge repeatedly cautioned 

 the spectators not to press the dogs. Worked now toward 

 the scattered birds. Miss Pick flushed one; a little further 

 two flushed wild. Moving on, the handlers flushed sev- 

 eral birds the dogs had passed by, and both should have 

 pointed as they were in open stubble field. Turning to 

 the left, Miss Pick indicated scent, and hesitated an in- 

 stant; moving on, her handler coming up flushed the 

 •bird which she should have located. Whyte did nothing. 

 Ordered up at 10:55. 



This ending the first series, the rain still continuing, a 

 move was made for a house, where lunch was served. 

 After lunch, the rain having increased, running was 

 postponed until 3:30, the judge having announced the 

 second series as follows: George Croxteth with Galert 

 C; Joy with Spot; Fred Hope with Mex; Nellie Bly with 

 Hessen Boy. 



The rain having ceased, a start was made with George 

 Croxteth and Galert C. , they being cast off in pasture 

 field and worked through cornfield and stubble. Galert 

 flushed a bevy. George next pointed a single and Galert 

 backed— a beautiful piece of work. Bird flushed by 

 Frew; both dogs a bit unsteady to shot. Galert pointed; 

 George failed to back, going in and sharing point; bird 

 flushed by Cummings, and both dogs breaking shot and 

 chasing. Ordered up at 4:45, both having sustained their 

 pace and range throughout. 



Joy and Spot were cast off at 4:46 and worked in the 

 direction of the single bird. Spot pointed, Joy backing; 

 bird flushed by McGrew. Joy pointed, Spot refusing to 

 back, going in and pointing; bird flushed; both steady to 

 wing. . Spot pointed a single; Joy backed; both steady to 

 wing. Joy pointed; Spot backing to order; no bird found. 

 Spot flushed twice and Joy pointed a single in fence row. 

 Ordered up at 5:27, this ending the work for the day. 



Friday. 



This morning was clear and cool, an ideal day for work, 

 the rain of yesterday making everything damp. 



Fred Hope and Mex were cast off at 8:35 in a cornfield. 

 Crossing fence into grass, Mex pointed a bevy. Fred 

 Hope coming up refused to back, moving in and flushing 

 birds. After a run of 45 minutes the dogs were ordered up. 



Nellie Bly and Hessen Boy were cast off at 10:35 and 

 worked one hour and ten minutes, Nellie pointing two 

 bevies and one single. Steady to wing and shot. Hessen 

 Boy backed Nellie and made one false point. Both had 

 good pace and good range, Nellie working her ground 

 best and always keeping the gun in view, yet staying well 

 out to her work, Up at 11 :25. 



Third Series.] 



George Croxteth and Mex were put down on scattered 

 birds. Mex pointed; George backed. George made an 

 excusable flush down wind and dropped to wing. Up at 

 11:57, 



Galert C. and Nellie Bly were cast off at 11:57 and 

 worked until 13:40, little work being done by either dog, 

 both sustaining their range, Nellie working ground with 

 better judgment, while Galert excelled in pace. 



Hessen Boy and Fred Hope were put down at 12:43 and 

 worked until 1 :25. The only work done was a flush by 

 Hessen Boy. 



This ended the thiid series and stake, the judge an- 

 nouncing the winners as follows: Nellie Bly first, Galert 

 C. and George Croxteth dividing second, Mex third. 



The All- Age Stake was for pointers and setters never 

 having won first in any recognized field trial, $5 to enter, 

 $5 to start; entrance divided 50, 30 and 20 per cent. 



[This report was kindly made for us by Mr. W, S. Bell, 

 but arrived too late for publication last week.] 



FOX HUNTING IN ENGLAND. 



As the opening of the fox-hunting season comes around 

 each year, the London Field publishes a table snowing 

 the packs of hounds of all kinds then in existence, giving 

 also the changes in ownership, etc., as well as the per- 

 sonnel of the hunt, i. e, , the names of the huntsmen, 

 whips and kennel huntsmen. 



In England and the other portions of Great Britain and 

 Ireland this table is scanned closely in country houses, 

 farm houses and in the clubs too. To dwellers in the old 

 country homes of England fox hunting means much; it 

 makes life in the country just so much the more endur- 

 able during the gloomy winter months. With partridges 

 wild and unapproachable, and with the pheasant covers 

 shot over, fox hunting is the only means of amusement 

 left to those who live in the country, outside of a few stray 

 days with the gun. To the farmer also fox hunting means 

 a great deal. His oats and hay find a ready sale within 

 easy reach of the farm on which they were raised, while 

 it pays to raise a good colt or two that can go across 

 country. There is perhaps less antagonism ©n the part of 

 farmers toward hunting men than we on this side of the 

 Atlantic are led to believe, but antagonism does exist. 

 In an editorial on the prospects for the coming season the 

 Field says: 



"The farmer and fox-hunting question is an old one, 

 and is practically no nearer solution than when it first 

 arose in days gone by. As we have often stated, the 

 remedy lies far more with the hunting man than with the 

 farmer. The former is bound to have regard for the in- 

 terests of the men over whose land he rides; the farmer is 

 not compelled to yield up every one of his rights; in fact, 

 there is no reason at al I why he should be asked to do so. 

 When people give express or implied permission for hounds 

 to cross their land, they know th at a certain amount of 

 damage must accrue ; but the smaller farmers, many of 

 whom are struggling hard for a living, do not care about 

 putting up with needless damage; and this is just the gist 

 of the whole matter. If hunting men will refrain from 

 inflicting upon farmers an injury there is no need for 

 them to bear, any friction that may now exist would very 

 soon pass away. The men who really ride to hounds do 

 virtually no damage at all. To keep with the pack they 

 must jump the fences cleanly. The harm is inflicted by 

 the third and fourth-rankers, who cram their horses 

 through as many fences as possible, in preference to jum- 

 ping them ; make up for their want of nerve and decision 

 by taking short cuts over seeds; and leave gates open 

 through which stock escape, and give the farmers' men 

 an afternoon's work in recovering them. To avoid these 

 things should not be difficult for anybody. A step in the 

 right direction has betn taken in the Quorn country, by 

 making the second horsemen keep to the roads and bridle 

 paths: and it would be no bad thing if some of those who 

 are apparently unable to tell grass from clover, and who 

 have not mastered the arts of jumping a fairly easy fence 

 or shutting a gate, could be compelled to join the second 

 horsemen." 



Depression in agricultural circles during the past ten or 

 fifteen years in the British Isles has had the natural result 

 of materially reducing the incomes of the country gentle- 

 men from whose ranks the M. F. H. (master of foxhounds) 

 is usually recruited. To keep up a pack of hounds costs 

 money, and even when a pack is supported by subscription 

 the greater portion of that subscription comes out of the 

 pocket Of the master. Hence it is now no easy matter to 

 find a master for a pack of hounds, except in the most 

 favored countries. To this cause is attributed the disap- 

 pearance during the past summer of one or more packs of 

 hounds in England. 



In America people are so accustomed to look upon Eng- 

 land as a small portion of land so densely settled that 

 people elbow one another round in their efforts to move 

 from one spot to another, that the statement that there 

 are in England 152 packs of hounds kept solely for the 

 purpose of fox hunting is a startling one. On this subject 

 the Field says: 



"As compared with last year's figures the number of 

 packs in our present list is less by five than in 1S94, the 

 totals being 209 and 204, respectively, excluding harriers 

 and beagles. Last year there were seventeen packs of 

 English staghounds, six packs of Irish staghounds, 156 

 packs of English foxhounds, ten packs in Scotland, and 

 twenty in Ireland. 



"ThiB year shows sixteen packs of English staghounds 

 and six in Ireland. English foxhounds have dropped to 

 152, but those in Scotland and Ireland remain - at their 

 last year's total. The missing pack of staghounds in 

 England is that tor several years kept by Mr. Giles, in 

 Herefordshire, which has now been given up; while in 

 Ireland the North Tipperary pack has been dispersed, but 

 the number remains the same by the establishment of the 

 South Westmeath. The death of Col. Cowen, and the 

 inability to find a new master, has caused the Braes of 

 Derwent to fall into abeyance; the Eskdale have been 

 given up for reasons already stated in the Field; the 

 Eggesford country is cut up among neighboring hunts in 

 consequence of no master coining forward to take it; and 

 Sir John Thursby has given up his hounds." 



The greatest number of hounds in any one kennel is 

 credited to the Duke of Beaufort, whose kennel list 

 shows 75 couples of hounds. The total number of 

 hounds in the 152 packs is something over 11,000. Har- 

 riers—that is, packs of hounds kept for the purpose of 

 hunting hares — number 146, 110 of them bfing located in 

 England or Wales, 3 in Scotland and 26 in Ireland. 

 Beagles show up well with 44 packs, all told. Inclusive, 

 therefore, of staghounds, foxhounds, harriers and 

 beagles, there are 337 packs of hounds now in existence 

 in the British Isles. The returns show that the total 



number of hounds kept in the harrier kennels of England 

 and Wales amounts to 1,853 couples — 3,706 hounds. 



When one comes to estimate the amount of money 

 spent in keeping up this really enormous number of packs 

 of hounds, with the attendant expenses of hunt servants' 

 wages, the money invested in horseflesh for these 

 servants to ride, the keep of the horses themselves, and 

 the hundred and one little items that are bound to figure 

 in an expense account at the end of a year, it hardly looks 

 as if the hard times had pressed very heavily upon the 

 people of England. 



There is one fact, however, that has been looked upon 

 as ominous by the hunting men of England— the failing 

 numbers in the ranks of hunting farmers. The stagna- 

 tion in affairs agricultural in England, above referred to, 

 has hit the farmer hard, and he now rarely finds himself 

 able to spare the time or afford the money to join the 

 hounds at the coverside, unless he has a promising 

 "young one" to sell. As long as farmers followed the 

 hounds across country there was no fear of any danger 

 to fox hunting; but with the farmers forced to give up 

 hunting from lack of means, there is apparently a real 

 menace to the sport. It speaks volumes for the inborn 

 love of horse, hound and horn in the English farmer that 

 he permits his fields to be ridden over and his fences 

 broken down by men the majority of whom are nothing 

 to him, and whose sole claim upon his sympathy is the 

 mutual bond of love of sport. 



The drought that has been so general throughout this 

 country has been felt to a large extent upon the continent 

 of Europe a,nd in England. The hot, dry weather that has 

 prevailed in the latter country has militated seriously 

 against cub hunting, the returns that have been published 

 from time to time showing that hounds have been unable 

 to do much toward thinning out the ranks of the foxes, 

 or in schooling the cub to "git" and run straight when 

 roused "from his lair in the morning." v^ub hunting is 

 only a foretaste of good things to come, and consists 

 largely of sitting in one's saddle at a coverside, listening 

 to the music of the hounds as they dust the cubs around the 

 wood, and to the voice of the huntsman as he rates a 

 young hound who has not yet learned that cotton-tails 

 were not created for his special benefit. 



All this preliminary work is of great interest to the man 

 who is fond of hound work; but to the vast mass of so- 

 called hunting men, who only follow the hounds for the 

 sake of riding after them, it bears about the same propor- 

 tion to fox hunting, pure and simple, that five o'clock tea 

 does to the regulation seven o'clock dinner. 



The season of fox hunting may be said to date from the 

 first Monday of November. Then, instead of early starts 

 and long waits at the coversides while the above process 

 of schooling is going on, there is the regularly scheduled 

 10:30 or 11 o'clock meet, with the chance of a quick find 

 and a fast gallop after a flying pack. Edward Banks. 



Flushing and Pointing at Field Trials. 



Sherrill's Ford, N. C— Editor Forest and Stream: The 

 field trial season on quail is just approaching, and with it 

 the annual meetings of the different clubs; so that I think 

 the following question, put before them for their consid- 

 eration, would not be out of place, viz.: The present sys- 

 tem of flushing birds in front of a dog on point. 



The present way of doing this is to tramp and kick 

 about in front of the pointing dog until the birds are put 

 up. How often do we not see at every field trial the 

 handler (I have been guilty of this myself) making gradu- 

 ally increasing semi-circles in front of his dog, in a jerky, 

 erratic sort of way, in the vain attempt to put up the bird, 

 and eventually starting one to the side and down wind, 

 and "There goes the bird, Judge!" when it is palpable to 

 all present that that was not the bird pointed. 



Why this humbug? When at trials held on prairie 

 chickens, also on grouse in Scotland and partridges in 

 England, it is recognized that the dog should first estab- 

 lish his point on body scent (not foot scent), then wait for 

 his handler to come up, and at command he goes ahead 

 and locates the birds, thereby demonstrating at once 

 whether he is false pointing or not. 



The work done in this manner looks so much more fin- 

 ished and is more satisfactory to the shooter. 



Since this is done on all other game hunted by pointers 

 and setters, why in reason should it not equally apply to 

 the American partridge or quail ? Of course this does not 

 necessarily apply when working up scattered birds on 

 pine needles, or bevies in woods, as in Ihose cases the dog 

 when pointing is generally very close, and a step from 

 handler puts up the bird owing to light cover; but fre- 

 quently on a running covey and on scattered birds in tall 

 weeds or sedge the fallacy of the present system is often 

 shown up. 



I think other handlers must realize with me, the trouble 

 when first working a dog on quail after chicken, and the 

 necessity of having to make him stand back and hold hia 

 point while he the handler walks ahead to flush. The 

 poor dog has been encouraged, probably up to two weeks 

 previous, to go ahead and locate, and is naturally taken 

 aback at the sudden change of proceedings. 



The excellent field trial rules of the present day have 

 already had a marked effect toward the improvement of 

 the contests. There is less whistling and shouting and 

 hustling for points; and the bolting, self -hunting, next- 

 county dog will be wisely left at home, and with these 

 improvements I leave it to the several clubs to consider 

 whether the above suggestion would not be in keeping. 



C. E. Buckle. 



The United States Field Trials Club has declared its 

 field trials off, after postponing them to Nov. 35, tho rea- 

 son being the same as that which caused the abandon- 

 ment of the Continental trials; that is, scarcity of birds, 

 etc. It is a matter of keen regret to sportsmen that the 

 unfavorable season should be so disastrous to the field 

 trials. This leaves only the Eastern and Irish setter field 

 trial events to take place in the South this year, 



Since writing the above, which was received officially 

 from one of the club officials, we have received the fol- 

 lowing telegram, dated Nov. 12: "The U. S. trials com- 

 mence on Nov, 25, following the Eastern. Grounds 

 drawn. Birds plenty. W. B. Stafford." This is very 

 gratifying news to all field trial men, _^ ( 



