FOREWORD

THIS book is designed for the pleasure of those who are fond of the horse and the hound, and for everyone, old or young, whose heart beats a little faster when a fox breaks covert.

In the section termed the “Counties,” it has clearly been impossible to cover more than part of the ground; the aim has been to include a fair variety of types. Kindly allowance will perhaps be made for the difficulty experienced by the writers of these chapters in presenting an adequate sketch within the limits of the space available.

Although here and there it aspires to instruct, I would on behalf of my colleagues and myself take this opportunity of disclaiming any desire to lay down the law. We have merely set down some of the things we have learnt and are still learning, day by day, in association with hounds and the hunting field.

Beckford, in committing to paper his “Thoughts upon Hunting,” surmised that “there is no book so bad but a judicious reader may derive some advantage from the reading of it.” He was generally pretty near the mark, and I am encouraged to hope that our work may commend itself to the reader who has no objection to a recapitulation of much that is old and is prepared to welcome some new ideas on the subject of Fox-hunting to-day and to-morrow.

C. E. Frederick.