Hunting Lore 79 



with ; but the top stones are so loosely placed, that 

 if he does not clear them, they fly before him. . . . 



The greatest danger arises from the quarries, out 

 of which the stone is procured to build them. They 

 are opened close to the side of the wall, which in 

 that place is generally lower than any other part, 

 and consequently tempting to ride at. It is, there- 

 fore, sometimes necessary to " look before you leap," 

 though a man who is accustomed to the country 

 knows how to guard against the danger. In many 

 places there are small apertures in the walls, either 

 for the purpose of letting hares pass through them, 

 or for water-courses ; and a sportsman cannot do 

 better than ride at them where they are to be found, 

 if the wall is high, as through them he can see the 

 ground on the other side. 



Horses unaccustomed to walls cut a bad figure at 

 them at first ; but the raps on the shins which they 

 get soon make them clear them. I have often been 

 astonished at seeing a horse take half the wall with him 

 into the next field, and not have a mark on his legs. 

 Horses which have been accustomed only to the 

 hills are often unsafe fencers in any other country, 

 as they are apt to leap high, but not to extend them- 

 selves sufficiently to clear a wide ditch. . . . 



There is a very peculiar circumstance attending 

 these hills which has often been a matter of observa- 

 tion ; and that is, wherever a fox has reached them 

 after a run over a lower country, the scent has 

 generally failed on running over them. This must 

 be attributed partly to atmospheric causes, and 

 partly to the difference in the mean temperature of 

 the earth. 



Nimrod {C. J. Apperley). 



