Inasmuch as this game has become a popular pastime in America we have thought it best to make our handbook complete by giving a short account of the sport and its success in this country.

Hare and Hounds is an old pastime of English schools, and it is essentially a healthy game, good for boys and young men. It requires only one thing, plenty of good runners; and all young fellows are fond of running. Two of the fleetest of the club are chosen for "Hares" and provided with a sack full of scraps of paper for "scent." The rest of the club are "Hounds." The Hares are allowed ten or fifteen minutes' start, and set off across the country, dropping scraps as they go, throwing a handful behind them every hundred feet and scattering gradually. It is their object to get out of sight as soon as possible. The Hounds are put on the trail at the sound of a horn, and have to catch the Hares if they can. This is the whole of the game.

The first Hare and Hounds Club in America was organized in 1878 in Westchester county, New York, and held its first meeting on Thanksgiving Day of that year.

The idea of the club originated in a conversation on the Harlem boat, and the members were carefully chosen. The officers elected for 1878-9 were: President, J. J. Brady; First Vice-President, W. W. White; Second Vice-President, E. Nelson; Secretary, G. Heilwig; Assistant Secretary, G. Dolde; Treasurer, F. N. Lord; Executive Committee, L. A. Berte, W. S. Vosburgh, W. C. Hamilton, W. I. K. Kendrick, and J. B. Haviland; Field-Captain, W. S. Vosburgh; Lieutenants, F. H. Banham and W. Smythe.

The field-captain of the club is also called the "pace-maker;" and he and the lieutenants—who are denominated "whippers in"—keep the Hounds together and prevent the pack from straggling. The "Hounds" must follow the "scent" and are not allowed to cut off corners after the "Hares."

Since the organization of this club several others have been started, but the Westchester club continues to be the most successful, holding meetings on all holidays when the mud is not too heavy for good running.

As practiced, Hare and Hounds clubs generally have a uniform suitable for running. That of the Westchester club is a scarlet jacket, black knee-breeches or Knickerbockers and black cap. This is a good running dress and should be followed in its general features, though any colors are admissible. Knee-breeches are preferable to trowsers on every account, as they do not cramp the knee in running.

The latest improvement in the game is the introduction of two colors in the paper thrown for scent. The Hares drop white paper when they go out, and red paper on the return home.

The game is an excellent one for young men and boys, and can be followed anywhere, with or without uniforms. The less frippery they indulge in the more will Americans like the sport.

Red jackets can be replaced by red shirts, which cost less and are lighter to run in. If the members of the club cannot afford to buy knee-breeches, they can probably alter old pantaloons into the necessary shape, and in the case of boys below twelve the common fashion of Knickerbockers saves all trouble.

In forming Hare and Hounds Clubs, as in Walking Clubs, it is advisable that the members should be equal in physical strength, when selected, to insure good runs and general satisfaction. If a hundred boys at some public school should wish to form clubs, it would be better to make at least two—one of large, the other of small boys—than to consolidate them. If both run together, the little fellows are sure to drop out in disgust when the others force the pace beyond their abilities, while the large boys will grumble at having to wait for the little ones. Clubs of small boys can be called "Beagles" to distinguish them from the larger "Hounds," and can enjoy a run as much as any one.

We repeat here—the less frippery indulged in by way of uniform, the better, though all should dress alike, so as to be recognized a long way off. A white band round the cap, with the letters of the club name, is enough to show out at a distance; and the captain could have a different colored cap to distinguish him. The Westchester club is composed of young men in good circumstances, and they can afford velvet collars and gold tassels. The less of these that our schoolboys affect, the better for the success of the club.