SPORTING. 
aYid bring him down to the level of speed. 
When a hound is too slow, he should be 
drawn, unless he happens to be peculiarly 
well gifted ; in which case, though he will 
constantly tail (or lag,) he will rarely fail 
when the precursors arc at fault, to dash 
through them without losing the scent, and 
thus set the pack on the cry again. 
The choice of a hound, of whatever breed, 
may be summed up in a few words : select 
the dog of a middle size, broad backed, 
wide nostrils, capacious and deep chest, 
fillets great and high, haunches large, hams 
straight, well-curved rump, round feet with 
firm dry soles, large claws, broad ears, full 
eyes, and a heavy upper lip. But with all 
this form, he will not be worth a groat, if his 
olfactory powers be defective, if he be given 
to babble, or that he steals away after his 
game without giving tongue. Many dogs, 
however, of great value, run mute, but they 
possess fine action,, and always show them- 
selves to be on scent, or eventually whimper 
as they hit it off. 
Young hounds should always be trained 
to some particxdar branch of sporting, and 
not be suffered, as is too often the case, to 
hunt either foxes or hares, as chance may 
present; such dogs are always unsteady 
and unmanageable. Enter the pups at a 
year old, if possible, in a country where the 
runs are not severe; but always have an 
eye to training them in a close or open coun- 
try, according as that part is where they 
are permanently to hunt : for a dog taken 
from an open to a close country, or vice 
versa, wilt never hunt with so much spirit 
as those trained on the spot. 
It is remarkable that hares run hardest, 
and puzzle mhst at the full of the moon ; they 
have always more scent in going to, than 
from, their forms ; both because they are 
th«n wanner, and because they usually ap- 
proach their seats slower than they quit 
them ; but a hare generally springs into her 
form from some distance. AVhen the hunts- 
man is certain of, a hare in any particular 
covert, he should lead his dogs compactly 
thereto, and give her the chance of going off 
with all advantage ; he must never baulk her 
by crossing her usual sortie, for in such case 
she would' be dismayed, and give but lit- 
tle sport. It is, indeed, usually best to 
alarm the hare by the gradual approach of 
the pack, which she will soon wind, or hear, 
and thus to give her a fair start, that she 
may go off deliberately, and not be blown 
by an early view. 
Hares generally make a circular tour; 
and, for the most part, endeavour to return 
to their haunts. Hence many a fine chace 
has been seen from a rising ground. It 
sometimes happens tliat a hare “ flies the 
country;” that is, goes off, straight : when 
this happens, the hare is generally a rambler 
from some other covert, and exerts all her 
speed to return thereto. The first ring a 
hare makes ordinarily shows where the 
chace will lay ; for all her endeavours will 
be exerted to double upon her former 
track, and to cross tlie scent, so as to throw 
the dogs out. Such is the cunning of this 
anim&l, that it wall, when close pursued, 
leap into high bushe.s, and remain there, 
although surrounded by dogs and huntsmen ; 
in this manner many escape. We have 
heard of a hare leaping into a road waggon, 
and thus evading her followers completely. 
Some when running against the wind stop 
short, and after allowing the hounds to 
pass, return secretly to their forms : this 
trick succeeds best when the dogs are fresh 
and impetuous. 
The limits of our work not allowing ns to 
enter upon all the minutia of hare-hunting, 
we must conclude this part of our subject 
with observing, that the most successful 
huntsmen always make the least noise, and 
not only keep others back, but invariably 
allow a good interval between the dogs 
and their qwn horses. By this means they 
often discover those tricks which a hare is 
apt to practise, and which with less cautious 
persons very generally insure her safety. 
Fox-hunting is a diversion requiring con- 
siderable powers both in the rider and in 
his steed : the extent of ground traversed 
on some occasions, and that too at mote 
than a moderate pace, establishes the ne- 
cessity for a rare combination of strength, 
activity, courage, and perseverance, in those 
who follow this laborious sport. 
There are three varieties of fox with us, 
all differing in form but not in colour ; ex- 
cept the cur-fox, the tip of whose ta'il is 
black. They are distinguished by the names 
of the greyhound-fox, which is the tallest 
and boldest, is found chiefly in the moun- 
tainous parts of England and Scotland, and 
will attack a full grown sheep. The mas- 
tiff-fox is rather less, but his limbs are 
strongly formed; his shape is altogether 
more compact, and he is perhaps as stout 
as the species above-mentioned : this va- 
riety is not very common. The kind mostly 
found by sportsmen is the cur-fox, which, 
though of smaller stature than either of the 
foregoing, is most pernicious to game, and 
