RED DEER LAND. 17 



efforts of the Northern farmers, some irri- 

 gated meadows in the glens, and the farm- 

 houses at long intervals. So far as the 

 general vista so far as the red deer and 

 the black game are concerned, Exmoor has 

 not altered one iota. The vast moors have 

 simply swallowed up the efforts of man to 

 conquer them. The details of this experi- 

 ment explain why Exmoor remains mediaeval. 

 It resists the perpetual nibbling which goes 

 on around the inhabited places. 



The villages and towns are far apart, the 

 towns are only so called as having markets, 

 and are no larger than the villages in corn 

 counties. These Exmoor villages are usually 

 situated at the bottom of deep coombes, 

 those coombes in which flow the largest 

 streams, as the Barle and Exe. For in- 

 stance, Exford, which is the very centre of 

 Red Deer Land, and has been chosen for 

 the kennels of the staghounds, is on the 



