The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-10-19
In New York.
BY PAUL HARRISON

New York. "Dashing sport, fox
 hunting," said a nice, ruddy ola
 gentleman who seemed to have
 taken a bit of fancy to me.
 "You ride, of course. Why not
 come out with us one morning, and have a go at it?"
 I wondered what the nice, rud-
 dy old gentleman would do II
 showed up at his hunt wearing
 laced boots and corduroys and
 flannel shirt, carrying 9 12-guage and bouncing here and there Tn q
 western saddle cinched on 8 livery stable mare. And so, in some con. fusion, I declined. But not until I learned something of the nice-
 ties of fox hunting. The season has only just be- gun. For month previously, peo- pie have dashed around in pur-
 suit of foxes, but they weren't fox hunting; they were cub hunting. Cub hunting means chasing little foxes and for that you all wear either black coats and hats, or white coats and hats, and all are mounted on black horses or white
 horses. Very informal.
 You Don't Just Go Hunting
 The sure-enough hunts are quite spiffy. First you pay $25O for the season; that takes kcSre of the hounds and the hired hands. It also pays for the foxes, which are caught in the south without benefit of single cry of
 .Tally ho!'' and are shipped here in cages for chasing purposes.
 Next you get pink coat, Q high hat, and a canary waistcoat with large brass buttons on which are engraved the insignia of your hunt club. You need a horse, of course, and a groom to take It to the starting place so that when you drive in your car at o'clock | in the morning everything will be 1 in readiness. It is good manners to take your hat off to the Master
 of Hounds. The fox has been released, and pretty soon the huntsman and whips get under way with the dogs. You start out very gayiy, perhaps with a nip from yoilr sandwich -and-flask case. When the fox's trail is discovered, it's call ed a "find". When the trail is
 lost, it's check.
 When, and if, you sight the fox,
 keep quiet until you have counted up to 25, thus giving him
 a chance to gete away. Then shout
 "Taily ho. Tally ho!" (twice), , raise your hat above your head and point your horses nose in the direction the fox his taken. Don't yell anything else or you might distract the attention of the hounds. If you fall and your horse runs away. literally reward the groom or farmland who brings l him back. After the hunt, always thank the Master of Hounds; thank him even if you haven't
 on account of the many paved highways, the trails of foxes often are lost. This pleases neither the hunters nor the farmers of the re- zion. So there is talk of import | ing some stags. Stag hunting is a noble sport in England; stags leave a stronger scent than foxes: and stags can be used over and over again. They are so exhaust
 ed by the chase that it is easy to catch and tie them.
 When Things Go Wrong
 l Following a bag of anise seed lis called drag hunting. It's not
 so sporting, but is excellent prac- | tice. One hunt club, newly or
 ganized, went in for drag hunts with great success-wearing their pink coats and all, and tally-hoing to beat the band. The horseman
 who did the dragging followed a
 carefully selected and not too strenuous course, and consequent
 ly each meet ended with a techni- cal kill and a victorious hunt
 breakfast afterward.
 But one day the hounds came upon the fresh scent of a real fox lthat had escaped from some other
 hunt. Anyway they went, over
 hill and dale and motor highways
 and farmers front yards. The
 riders tangled up traffic, knocked
 down gates and were threatened
 with suits for trepass. The var
 mint got away, too, and the hunts
 men were so humiliated that they
 haven't donned their pink coats