THE ESSEX HUNT COUNTRY. 25 



"double trappy." Often there was little time for delibera- 

 tion, as the fields were surrounded by strips of fallow 

 covered with rank herbage which aided hounds in picking 

 up the scent and they would fiy over a field, if at a loss, 

 certain of the help they would get on the other side. 

 Strips of fallow of this kind are still to be seen near 

 Pleshey, but they have almost entirely disappeared in the 

 Roothings. Lord Rookwood considers their disappear- 

 ance the most important change, from a hunting point 

 of view, which the country has undergone within his 

 recollection. Another noticeable change is due to the 

 steam plough, introduced into the Pleshey country more 

 than thirty years ago by those energetic farmers, the 

 Messrs. Christie, and now largely used in the Roothings 

 also. Where this mode of cultivation is adopted, the 

 going is deeper than ever. Colonel Cook .says that in his 

 day scent in the Roothings was invariably good after 

 Christmas. The masters and huntsmen of more recent 

 times have not been so favoured. Scent is as variable here 

 as elsewhere, and in defiance of tradition, a cutting east 

 wind is often more favourable to sport than "a southerly 

 wind and a cloudy sky." 



The foxes of the Roothings have long enjoyed a high 

 reputation. Formerly there were no earths in the district. 



