264 England's oldest hunt. 



tion, over the moor to Ravengili, through Ravengill, where he tried 

 the earths, and away over Byland Moor and to ground in Wass Bank 

 in some rocks ; 42 minutes, almost without a check, as hard as hounds 

 could go ! Drew Oswaldkirk Hagg blank ; bolted a fox from the drain 

 below the Hermitage, and ran hard by Lodge Field House and the 

 Oswaldkirk low coverts, and hounds ran him into an old oak in a big 

 grass field below Oswaldkirk Hall, pushed him out and killed him ; 

 25 minutes as hard as hounds could go all the time. A capital scenting 

 day. Wind N.E. On the very next day's hunting (Feb. 25th) a fox 

 was run from near Nunnington Station to Ness Village, where he was 

 lost, after running him very slowly, with appallingly bad scent, through 

 multitudes of hares. Very poor day ! A heavy fall of snow came that 

 night, which accounts for the badness of the scent — the worst we have 

 had this season almost. 



Truly did Jorrocks say naught is so difficult to under- 

 stand as scent, except women, yet as a rule it lays well and 

 hounds can run best before a storm. Evidently it was not 

 so in this case. 



From Habton Whin a sharp run of 30 minutes was enjoyed with a 

 mangy brushed dog fox, which took hounds four miles as straight as 

 possible. Hounds killed him. A Pryor Rigg fox, on March 14th, gave a 

 forty minut-js gallop, whilst on the 17th of that month Dawson Wood 

 provided a brace and a half of foxes, one of which was taken by 15 

 couples (out of 17) of hounds through Bishop's Hagg, Howlgate Head, 

 Hell Bank, Oropton Banks, Fuelscote Wood, Skelton Banks, Keldy 

 Castle Woods, Cawthorne Camps, Rawcliffe Howe, and down over 

 Stony Moor and to ground in a big rock earth in Raindale Scarr ; 

 a six-mile point with only one check ; a capital scent ; time 55 minutes. 

 Two couple of hounds had unfortunately run another fox over to 

 Riseborough, so we drew the Hagg, Cooper's Covert, Normanby Whin, 

 and Marton Heads blank. Found a vixen in Lingmoor, and ran to 

 ground at once. 



April 7th. — Scawton Village ; found in plantation near the Ham- 

 bleton Hotel, and ran into Flashendale. It was blowing a gale of 

 wind, and we lost touch of hounds there, and never saw them again 

 all day. It appears they ran hard down Flashendale, then over into 

 the Park by Ashberry, Rievaulx, and on past Antofts and Plockwoods 

 to Sproxton and Ness Wood and on to ground in the drain in East- 

 Newton Covert. We picked up most of them on the way home about 

 five o'clock, and the rest came in next day. " Warlock was killed 

 on the railway near Helmsley Station ; an eight-mile point. 



One is reminded by the above entry of the dictum which 

 Jorrocks quoted : " take not out your 'ounds on a werry 

 windy day." Only those who know the country about 



