ries an axe with which to chop down the tree wherein his ringtailed Majesty has taken refuge, but he does not need a gun, for the coon is never shot. The usual procedure is to get the coon out of the tree, or den, and let the dogs and the coon fight it out to the satisfaction of all concerned. On such occasions, not infrequently the coon gets the best of the dogs and makes good his escape. It is a method, the writer believes, worthy the traditions of sportsmanship, wherein the hunter gives the quarry a fighting chance. As to quail shooting, duck and geese shooting, wild turkey hunting, and other land and waterfowl hunting, the methods all over our country appear to be much more similar. In the following pages we shall describe hunting methods as applied to all sections of the country and which, therefore, may be of benefit to sportsmen in every part of North America. These reflections and stories are the result of a lifetime spent close to Nature's Fount. If they prove an inspiration to brother sportsmen and to those not as yet fully initiated into the secrets of Nature's realm, they will abundantly have achieved the author's aim in writing them down. He can hope for no greater reward than that some suggestion offered herein may help a fellow craftsman. To aid another is really the creed of every true sportsman, and if we have failed to aid you, either in lightening your burden or by offering timely and instructive suggestions, we have failed in our mission. FOX HUNTING: The fox hunter is held by many to be the most democratic of all outdoorsmen, for is not fox hunting the most democratic of all sports? When fox hunters assemble for the royal chase, all caste and social distinction is thrown aside, and each man is judged by his fellows solely on his merits as a sportsman. Thus, the "fox hunting fraternity," as they like best to be called, is in reality nothing less than the brotherhood of universal fellowship, brought about by the democratic sport-fox hunting. The southern portion of the United States claims credit for introducing this grand sport into America. They claim 'CAREY," No. 27028 B. G. S. B. (BY TOBE-LADY), THE MOST SEN- that for a long time it was strictly a southern sport, having been introduced into this country from England about the year 1650, when the English colonists brought foxhounds to Virginia and Maryland. We have read somewhere that in England a pack of foxhounds, consisting of from twenty-five to forty pairs, is maintained either by the neighborhood or else by rich individuals. In this country, as a usual thing, each hunter owns his own pack of hounds. Before the Civil War, we are told, fox hunting in the South was much more popular than now, but this is not meant to convey the idea that the royal chase is not still much in vogue, for there are many more hunters now than then, due to the increase in population, as well as to the world war, which has learned men to live the simple outdoor life and returned them to America, from which they sailed to whip the Hun, full-fledged, unadulterated Sportsmen. When we speak of the popularity of the chase prior to the Civil War, therefore, we speak merely in terms of comparison. Prior to the Civil War, the hounds in use were the old black and tan descendants of the ancient Talbot hounds, whose pedigreed record may be traced back into the ages for more than two thousand years. These hounds had the facility to trace a cold trail with perfect ease, and, possessing enormous muzzles, they bellowed forth a voluminous cry when in pursuit of their quarry. Again, they had very remarkable endurance and staying qualities, two requisites that must be present in the make-up of the ideal foxhound. These dogs, we are told, were accustomed to chases of great length after the fleet gray fox, a fox found commonly throughout the South. In Maryland the English foxhound was crossed with the Irish stag hound, producing hounds of greater speed and more excellent quality than those used up to that time. This cross was made because of the difficult conditions in that State, a dog being desired that would make a catch in quicker time and not require 6 or 8 hours as did the Talbot descendants. Thus the first step in the improvement of the American foxhound took place, and subsequent crosses and improvements has produced the greatest foxhound the world has ever known. In the year 1738, the English colonists became dissatisfied with the common gray fox, and so they imported the red fox from the mother country-England, liberating it along the shores of Chesapeake Bay. The red fox has a habit of making great circles when being pursued, while the gray fox seeks to elude capture by dodges and doubles. Many sportsmen have taken it upon themselves to improve the breed from time to time, hence we have various strains throughout the United States, but all are directly traceable to the hounds brought to this country by the early settlers. To enumerate them, the July dogs, which were originated in Georgia, is a very popular strain; The Birdsong hounds were introduced by George L. F. Birdsong, also a resident of Georgia, who was a noted fox hunter of his day; Col. Hayden C. Trigg, and the Walkers, by judicious crossing and careful breeding, gave to the fox-hunting brotherhood the strains of fox hounds bearing their respective names. To-day, each strain of the American foxhound has its ardent admirers, and it would be suicidal for me to attempt to state which strain is superior, even did I possess that knowledge, which I think no man does really possess, for all have their merits and are the result of generations of painstaking breeding, and none of them appear to have any faults worth mentioning, no more than any species of dog, as a whole, is faulty. Of course, we recognize the fact that there are good, bad, and indifferent individuals in nearly all breeds, with the possible exception of the Airedale, a breed which some say possess uniform quality and merit. We will not attempt to dispute that claim, for we have never seen a bad Airedale terrier. The modern American foxhound undeniably possesses more skill, speed, endurance, staying qualities, and individual merit than any other strain of fox hound yet produced. That is taking in quite a lot of territory, but it is quite the truth. To these pioneer breeders belongs the glory and thanks of every fox-hunting enthusiast for all time. Let us keep fragrant their undying memory, for they have done more for the uplift of the sport within a short span of years than all their forebears accomplished throughout history. Winners of the Georgia State Meet of 1918. Now the property of T. S. Cobb, bred and sold by Blue Grass Farm Kennels, Berry, Ky. The Chase: The chase was instituted in the old country, where even Royalty was wont to ride to the baying hounds in pursuit of the wily fox. It was essentially a sport in the mother country in which the well-to-do classes and the nobility participated. To be an ardent lover of the chase-a member of the fox-hunting fraternity-was to tell the world that you were |