THE CHESTER VALLEY 



porters of the American type of hound, and although the Brandywine stal- 

 lions, pure English foxhounds, are always at the service of their neighbors, 

 affording an opportunity to the Masters of eastern Pennsylvania to experi- 

 ment in the crossing of the two types, as the Radnor has done with very 

 good results; nevertheless Mr. Smith has stuck pretty closely to the old- 

 fashioned Pennsylvania foxhounds — no manners, no looks, no levelness — 

 but with the best of noses, plenty of voice and lots of speed. 



The country extends from Bridgeport to Downingtown, a distance of seven- 

 teen miles, in one direction and from the Pennsylvania R.R. to the Schuyl- 

 kill River in the other, and includes the beautiful Chester Valley, from which 

 the Hunt takes its name and which has no superior as a fox-hunting territory. 



Foxes are plentiful, the going sound — mostly grass with large enclosures, 

 fenced in by post-and-rail fences — and supplied with a most liberal-minded 

 set of landowners, many of whom are usually in the saddle themselves be- 

 hind the hounds, of which they are warm partisans and supporters ; so that 

 there is rarely any obstacle to good sport. 



Mr. Smith, while he is much keener on the work of hounds in the field 

 than he is about their show qualities and manners, is a strong backer of the 

 Masters of Foxhounds Association and does everything in his power to keep 

 up the interest in foxhounds in his own country. He is a very busy man, 

 having on his hands the management of one of the greatest stock farms in 

 the United States; but he always finds time to attend to his duties as 

 M. F. H. and it is in a great degree owing to his popularity in the country 

 that the hounds enjoy their present prosperity. 



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