52 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
always as near the fox as possible: — this should be the first 
and invariable principle of Fox-hunting. 
“Nothing is more essential in Fox-hunting, than the 
huntsman knowing the country he is to hunt. Foxes are 
not capricious creatures, but know very well what they are 
about: are quick in determining, and resolute in perseve- 
rance. They generally have a point to go to; and, though 
headed and turned directly from it, seldom fail to make it 
good at the last; this, therefore, is a great help to a hunts- 
man of discernment. 
“ With respect to digging of foxes that have been run to 
earth, the hole is generally followed, except where the 
earth is large, and the terriers have fixed him in an angle 
of it — the more expeditious method then is to sink a pit 
as near to him as possible. By listening above ground, 
that is, by placing your ear close to the ground, a tolera- 
bly' correct opinion may be formed of the situation of the 
fox, from the noise of the terriers. A terrier should al- 
ways be kept at the fox, otherwise he may move, and in 
loose ground may dig himself further in. In digging, room 
enough should be kept, and care should be taken not to 
throw the earth where there may afterwards be occasion 
to remove it. In following the hole, the surest way not to 
lose it, is to keep below it. All the holes on the surface 
should be stopped, lest the fox should bolt unseen. 
“But, befoi-e the operation of digging is commenced, the 
huntsman should try all round, and be perfectly satisfied 
that the fox has not gone on: ‘for want of this precau- 
tion, (says Beckford,) I dug three hours to a terrier that 
lay all the time at a rabbit.’ 
“ A fox will sometimes go over an earth, and will not go 
into it: he will sometimes go in and will not remain — he 
may find it too hot, or not like the company he meets 
with there — a fox has most likely good reasons for all he 
does, though we are not acquainted with them. 
“Huntsmen, when they get near a fox, will some- 
times put a hound in to draw him. This is, however, a 
cruel operation, and seldom answers any other purpose 
than to procure the dog a severe biting, the fox’s head 
generally being towards him; besides, a few minutes dig- 
ging will make it unnecessary. If you let the fox first 
seize the handle of your whip, the hound will more rea- 
dily draw him. 
“ If foxes are bred in an earth which is deemed unsafe, 
they had better be stunk out; that or any disturbance at the 
mouth of the hole, will make the old one carry them off to 
another place. 
“ Foxes, when they are much disturbed in open coun- 
tries, will lie at earth. If any difficulty occurs in finding, 
stinking the earths will sometimes produce them again. 
“ Stinking earths may be practised in the following 
manner: — Three pounds of sulphur and one pound of 
assafoetida, should be boiled up together; matches should 
then be made of brown paper and lighted in the holes, 
which are afterwards stopped very close. 
“ In regard to bag foxes, hounds should be as little used 
to them as possible: — the scent of them is stronger than 
that of other foxes; and is therefore apt to make hounds 
idle; besides, in the manner in which they are frequently 
turned out, it makes hounds very wild. They seldom 
fail to know what is going forward before the fox is turned 
out; and if often used to bag foxes, will become riotous 
enough to run any thing. A fox that has been confined 
long in a small place, and carried out afterwards some 
miles in a sack, his own ordure hanging about him, must 
needs stink extravagantly; to which may be added, he is 
most probably weakened for want of his natural food and 
usual exercise; his spirit broken by despair, and his limbs 
stiffened by confinement; he then is hurried out in open 
ground, without any point to go to; he runs down the 
wind, it is true; but he is so much at a loss all the 
while, that he loses a good deal of time in not knowing 
what to do; while the hounds, who have little occasion to 
hunt, pursue as closely as if they were tied to him. If, 
however, it be necessary to turn out a bag fox, he should 
be turned into a small cover, and the hounds should be 
laid on as quietly as possible — in order that they may sup- 
pose they found him; and as bag foxes always run down 
the wind, those who turn them out, may therefore choose 
what country they shall run. 
“ ‘ To those who may think the danger that attends hunt- 
ing, (says Beckford,) a great objection to the pursuit of it, 
I must beg leave to observe, that the accidents which are 
occasioned by it are very few. I will venture to say that 
more bad accidents happen to shooters in one year than to 
those who follow hounds in seven. You will remind me, 
perhaps, of the death of F h and theTall of D 1; but 
do accidents never happen on the road? The most famous 
huntsman, and the boldest rider of his time, after having 
hunted a pack of hounds for several years unhurt, lost his 
life at last by a fall from his horse, as he was returning 
home. A surgeon of my acquaintance has assured me, 
that in thirty years’ practice, in a sporting country, he 
had not once an opportunity of setting a bone for a sports- 
man, though ten packs of hounds were kept in the neigh- 
bourhood. This gentleman surely must have been much 
out of luck, or hunting cannot be so dangerous as it 
is thought. Besides, they are all timid animals which we 
pursue, nor is there any danger in attacking them: they 
are not like the furious beast of the Gevaudin, which, as 
the French author informs us, twenty thousand French 
Chasseurs went out in vain to kill!’ ” 
