SCENT
CHAPTER VIII
OF all matters connecting with hunting, scent is the one that we know least about. We can of course tell whether it is a good or bad scenting day, by the way hounds run, but to forecast what the state of the scent will be on any given day, is entirely beyond our powers. Possibly it is just as well we cannot prophesy in this respect, for we should always be picking the good days, and the uncertainty of the sport would be lost to us. If we knew we were going to kill our fox every day, hunting him would very soon begin to pall. Scent of course plays the most important part in hunting, for without it, your hounds—no matter how good they are—cannot run a yard.
Roughly speaking, scent is governed by the nature of the ground and the state of the atmosphere. We know that on the day that a human being can smell the scent of a fox at some crossing-place in a lane or on a road, hounds as a rule cannot own it, because it is too far above them. Beyond this stage of our knowledge, it is difficult to speak with any certainty. Speaking in the vernacular: “There’s nowt sae queer as scent.” The factors that influence scent are the fox himself, the nature of the soil, the condition of the surface, the temporary state of the surface, and the state of the weather.
The amount of scent emanating from a fox appears to vary with individuals. Likewise the behaviour of the fox has a good deal to do with the quality of the scent. One that runs straight is nearly always easier to hunt than a short-running, twisting customer. There are two kinds of scent, i.e., the body-scent and the foot-scent. The former is held in suspension in the atmosphere, and when at the right height—“breast high”—hounds can scream after their fox. Foot-scent lies on, or very close to the ground, and hounds have to work it out slowly, as when they are on a cold drag. When scent is “breast high” on a windy day, hounds often run far wide of the actual line, because the scent drifts with the wind. In the case of foot-scent, this does not happen, and such scent leads hounds to the exact spot where a fox has jumped a wall, or crept through a smoot.
Human beings have a far greater capacity for recognising various scents than is generally supposed. Persons who are both blind and deaf sometimes know their friends by their smell, and even go so far as to base their likes and dislikes on the smell of individuals.
Probably the greater portion of the scent given off by the body of the fox, comes from the scent glands at the root of the brush. Scent appears to be closely connected with the fox’s nervous system, while the speed at which he travels also affects its strength. A fox lying close in covert gives off little or no scent at all whereas a fox that has got warm with running, leaves considerable scent behind him. I think the nervous system is chiefly responsible for the loss of scent when a fox receives a sudden fright, as when he is coursed by a cur dog. No doubt this causes the glands to contract, and scent is automatically cut off. I think the same thing happens when a fox enters the cold water of a river or lake during the course of a run, for many a fox is lost after he has been through a stream. As the powers of a hard-run fox begin to fail his vitality weakens, and scent does likewise. Hounds can tell by some subtle change in the scent that their fox is weakening, and certain members of the pack then push towards the front. At such a time they try very hard to catch him, and therefore it is most important not to halloa or otherwise get their heads up when their beaten fox is just in front of them, for once the thread is broken, they may be quite unable to pick it up again.
There is no doubt that the fox himself knows a lot about scent. His nose is his chief asset on all his hunting expeditions, and it is quite likely that he may base his actions in front of hounds on the kind of scenting day it happens to be. In the fell-country, it is often possible to watch every movement of a hunted fox for a long distance. If it is a bad or moderate scenting day, he will potter along, frequently stopping to look back, and sometimes he will even lie down. The slower he goes, the less scent he gives off, and the harder work it is for hounds to hold his line. If he hurried when there was no real need for hurry, he would grow warm and give off more scent, whereas a fox never does hurry until he is absolutely compelled to. Apropos of this, I take the liberty of quoting a passage from Mr. C. E. Benson’s book, “Crag and hound in Lakeland,” he says:
“Talking of fools and outpost hounds, a fox, for his reputation, is the greatest ass in the animal kingdom. More than once have I known one run itself almost to death, under the impression it was being chased, when the hounds were “barking up quite a different tree.” I saw an idiot of this brand blunder right on to a couple of outpost hounds, which promptly slew it, the remainder of the pack the while being seated round a “whoal” three-quarters of a mile off.”
With regard to the above, I can quite well believe that a fox blundered on to a couple of out-post hounds, for I have known it happen myself, although I should hardly use the word “blunder” in describing it. A fox, coming along through rough ground, can easily get close to a couple of hounds if the latter are quiet, before he realizes their presence, especially if they are above him, and their scent is carried over his head. I cannot however believe that a fox would “run itself almost to death, under the impression that it was being chased.” I have seen a good many hunted foxes in front of hounds, and others which had been disturbed by the presence of hounds in their vicinity, but I have never known a fox to go faster than he really need, even when hounds were on his line.
A fox coming round the shoulder of a hill, or travelling in rocky ground, may, if he cannot smell hounds or men standing quietly, almost run into them, for his eyesight is not remarkably acute as far as stationary objects are concerned. Again, what appears to be easily within our vision, may be invisible, or at any rate look very different from the much lower view-point of the fox.
As far as the land is concerned, scent appears to lie best when the ground is in good riding condition, neither too hard or too wet. Poor land carries a better scent than good land, while limestone, unless very damp, is always inimical to it. Wet, soft snow often carries a good scent. In Canada I have known hounds to run well on a line of deer tracks which had thawed out, but when the tracks froze again towards evening, scent appeared to be lacking. There is really no rule to go by with regard to scent, so all we can do is to trust to luck, and, as an old huntsman friend of mine says, just keep on “never minding.”
With his keen nose, the fox easily recognises the odour of others of his kind. Foxes like dogs “leave their cards” at certain places, and I think the aroma round the latter tell the fox all we wants to know about those which have preceded him. He knows instantly whether a dog fox or a vixen has been there, and in all probability he can tell their age as well. Hounds are less keen to hunt a vixen in spring than a dog fox, and this may be because the scent at that season is weak, or has undergone some subtle change.
The odour of the fox does not cling to his fur when the latter is used for commercial purposes. Certain creatures like the skunk, have to be carefully handled in this respect, otherwise the secretions from the scent-glands would ruin the skin. The skunk’s only power of defence is the faculty of being able to expel a fine jet of evil-smelling liquid, which is powerful enough to temporarily blind his canine enemies. If however the skunk is captured young, and the scent sacs are removed, the fur of the animal no longer retains any trace of unpleasant odour.
Strong as the scent of a fox is, it cannot compare with that of a deer. I have seen hounds change during the course of a run from fox to deer, and they could hunt the latter much more easily, as their increased pace and cry testified. This occurred in a fox-hunting district, where an occasional outlying deer puts in an appearance. When hunting deer, staghounds run in file, and do not carry a head like foxhounds. Also on certain days, hounds will run mute or nearly so, while on other occasions every member of the pack will speak to it. Just why this should be we cannot tell, but scent has probably a good deal to do with it. I think the scent of a deer chiefly emanates from the metatarsal glands, situated on each hind leg below the hock. The hair around these glands is dark coloured, and the smell is strong.
From time to time, evil-smelling liquids have been invented to prevent foxes taking partridges during the nesting season. At first these were attended with a certain amount of success, but after certain foxes had investigated the new aroma, they discovered the fact of its being connected with sitting birds, and in many instances they were guided by the smell and were thus able to walk straight in and secure a substantial feed. Although the fox is hardly so clever as the fabulists would have us believe, he is no fool, and he can put two and two together with the aid of his keen nose and experience. In the “Master of Game” it says: “The hunting for a fox is fair for the good cry of the hounds that follow him so nigh and with so good a will. Always they scent of him, for he flies through the thick wood and also he stinketh evermore.” Again with regard to the fur of the fox, it says: “The foxes’ skins be wonderfully warm to make cuffs and furs, but they stink evermore if they are not well tawed.”
When hunting with beagles, I have seen a hare roll on manure-stained ground, and instances have been recorded of foxes doing the same thing, Both foxes and dogs have a habit of rolling on carrion and other filth, and when a hunted animal does this during the course of a run, its scent is often obliterated by the smell of the foreign matter.
Foxes often take refuge in queer places when hard run by hounds. I have known a fox to enter a coal-shed, and another climbed on the window sill of a cottage. Instances are recorded of foxes taking refuge in chimneys, and Lord Willoughby de Broke, in the Badminton Magazine, tells of a fox which ran into a stable-yard, climbed on the roof, and ensconced himself among the works of the stable clock.
Some time ago, there was a good deal of discussion re hounds running from scent to view. Various opinions were expressed, one of which was to the effect that hounds do not see their fox until they practically have their teeth into him. From this view I must certainly beg to differ. On the fells one often gets a panoramic view of the chase, and it is possible to keep close watch on the movements of both fox and hounds. On many occasions it has been perfectly obvious that hounds viewed their fox for some distance prior to overhauling him. When hounds are about to run from scent to view, they know very well that their fox is close in front of them, and I think they naturally look for a moving object, when they make their final spurt. If however, a fox lies down, hounds are apt to flash over him, for they are then still running by scent, and in their eagerness fail to see his motionless form.
A hound’s vision is much more acute at picking up a moving object than a stationary one. A hound which I walked for a fell pack, had a habit, after a fox had been run to ground, of taking up his stand on the hill side well above the earth. The instant the fox bolted, the hound was away, running parallel with and above his fox, and there was not the slightest doubt that he could see it below him.
On a real good scenting day, when scent is “breast high,” hounds are likely to view their beaten fox from a greater distance than when scenting conditions are not so good, and their heads are necessarily nearer to the ground. When a hound puts his nose down and hits off a line, he at once proclaims the fact with his tongue, and at the same time throws up his head as he pushes forward. Thus, the higher lies the scent, the less often has he to get down to it, and the more likely is he to view a moving object in front of him.
