THE MYOPIA 



and the time he could afford to give to it, than if he had followed more 

 accepted lines. 



Speed and dash are the principal requisites for a hound at Myopia. 

 The nature of the country makes it practically obligatory to ride directly be- 

 hind hounds, and if they do not possess sufficient speed to keep out of the 

 way of a hard-riding, well-mounted Field they are useless. In so cramped 

 a country any crowding at the fences, when perhaps there is only a single 

 narrow panel which is fit to jump, is not only disagreeable but positively 

 dangerous. 



Breeding from nothing but pure Elnglish stock, but taking great pains in 

 the selection of his sires, the Master had in his kennels, at the close of the 

 season of 1 907, a pack of big, racy hounds, possessed of great speed, which 

 flew the stone walls where smaller hounds would have climbed them. As 

 luck would have it, just as he had about reached his ideal, and the pack, 

 bred solely by him, certainly had no equals in America as draghounds, 

 rabies broke out in the kennels, and the entire pack had to be destroyed. 

 Mr. Mandell, good sportsman that he is, promptly imported a new draft 

 from England to fill the gap for the time being, until he can again breed 

 what his country needs. 



TTie regular season opens on Labor Day, and continues until frost, usually 

 about the 1 st of December. The hounds meet three times a week. Lat- 

 terly there have been informal meets in August, and even in July, known as 

 " pony drags." 



The farmers have met the sport in a most generous way, and there is 

 practically no spot which may be reasonably ridden over where hounds are 

 not welcome. At the conclusion of the run men are immediately sent over 

 the line to replace wire and repair damages. 



The Field turn out on the average about twenty strong, though fifty or 

 more persons ride during the season, with considerable regularity. There 

 are a number of women among the riders, as many as eight frequently 

 riding at the same time. The difficulty of recruiting the Field and giving 

 opportunity for developing green horses is greater in drag-hunting than in fox- 

 hunting. A successful drag is necessarily a burst from start to finish. There 



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