WHICH IS THE BEST MONTH? 311 



down to posterity as " runs of the century," " great 

 runs," " classic pursuits," have taken place in "February 

 Fill-dyke"! It was on February 2, 1866, that the 

 Pytchley hounds had their famous Waterloo run, 

 which was the crowning triumph of the late Colonel 

 Anstruther Thomson's life as a huntsman. On 

 February 22, 1871, an Ash Wednesday never to be 

 forgotten in the Badminton country, the present 

 Duke of Beaufort hunted the historic Greatwood fox, 

 and upon February 16, 1872, Mr. Chaworth Musters 

 brought off the great run of his career — three hours 

 twenty-six minutes from Harlequin, near Ratcliffe-on- 

 Trent, and killed his fox in the open near Tow Hoe, 

 after covering thirty-five measured miles. 



Instances might easily be multiplied, for I am a 

 keeper of old diaries, &c., and I note that in February, 

 1893, I hunted on an average four days a week, and 

 had a run every day I was out. 



" February Fill-dyke " is, I think, a misnomer, for 

 in this month the ground usually seems to me in 

 better order for riding than in any other month in 

 the year. It has disadvantages, it is true. Lambs 

 have begun already to show themselves in considerable 

 numbers ; top-dressing covers many of our fields ; the 

 ploughshare has embrowned the land ; and the russet 

 squares show off the surroundi,ng greenery. Worse 

 than all, the presence of the vixen has to be considered 

 when we go to draw a covert, and precautions must 

 be taken to ensure her safety ; while the shepherd 

 and his dog, the ploughman and his team, the farm 

 servants foddering cattle in the fields, all cause the 

 wildest countryside to present a more populous 



