1 FEBRUARY 1930, Page 22

Two books for horse-lovers are Foxiana, by Mr. Isaac Bell,

the famous M.F.H., and Stable and Saddle, by Colonel MacTaggart, the well-known writer on equitation. They are published by Country Life at 15s., and Methuens at 18s., respectively. Mr. Bell's pages teem with quiet fun and shrewd observation : it is a long time since we have read anything, more entertaining in this vein. Colonel MacTaggart's Mount and Man is already a classic : this volume is not another work on equitation, but a series of sixty-eight short essays on " horsey " subjects : we would call particular attention to the last, which goes far to confirm the Spectator's contention that the practice of digging foxes is both cruel and unnecessary. Colonel MacTaggart first draws an analogy between hounds and his fox-terrier, who remains keen on killingrats even after two years' failure to catch one, and he goes on to describe his experiences with American packs, where foxes are never dug and a kill is a rarity. In spite of this, hounds do not lose their keenness. Why is it that only English hounds must have blood ? * * * *