THE MIDDLESEX 



that it is hard to get foxes out of them; and once out, one has the finest 

 possible country to ride over. The fences are big and stiff, and it takes "a 

 horse and a man" to negotiate them, but what fox-hunter minds the fences 

 on a crisp autumn day when hounds are running? Foxes, too, are fairly 

 abundant, and the Master was glad at the end of the season to accept the 

 invitation of the Loudoun Hunt Committee to " come back again." 



Bob Cotesworth resigned at the end of the season, thus ending a thirty 

 years service in the hunting field, leaving the pack, which he had done so 

 much toward making in the new country, in excellent shape for the Master, 

 who had decided to resume the hunting of them himself. He was succeeded 

 in the kennel by his brother Ned, late huntsman to the Linlithgow and Stir- 

 lingshire, while Will Edwards was promoted to the position of first whipper- 

 in and a new man, David Thornton, engaged as second. The season of 

 1 907-8 in Virginia was far better than that of 1 906-7 ; foxes being more 

 plentiful, scenting conditions better, and the hounds themselves much im- 

 proved, this year taking the field four days a week from October I 5th to 

 February I st. The plan of going to Virginia for the latter part of the hunt- 

 ing season has now become a regular thing with the Middlesex, as it admits 

 of hunting at least three months after the frost has made sport impossible in 

 the north. 



The home country about Lincoln is far from being a bad one, and is very 

 fortunate in having an excellent class of landowners who enjoy the sport and 

 are justly proud of the pack and its prowess all over the country. Puppy 

 walkers are always to be found, and the annual Puppy Show in the spring 

 and the Horse Show in the autumn are gala days for the countryside. 

 Drag-hunting has now been completely abandoned, the Master beginning his 

 cubbing early in August, and the sport continuing at Lincoln until the mid- 

 dle of October, when the pack goes south and hunts until the frost puts a 

 stop to it, usually about February I st. 



Just a word here as to the pack. As has been stated, most of the parent 

 stock came from Mr. Fernie's, although there has been a slight infusion of 

 Milton Fitzwilliam and Badminton blood, while a few hounds have come 

 from the Warwickshire and Southdown. The Master's theory always has 



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