THE CHACE. 
which, being for the most part good, is highly favourable 
to scent ; the immense proportion of grazing land in 
comparison with that which is ploughed ; and the great 
size of the enclosures, many of which run to from sixty 
to one hundred acres each. The rarity of large woods in 
this part of Leicestershire is also a great recommendation 
to it as a hunting country ; while it abounds in furze- 
brakes, or gorse-covers, as they are termed, for the rent 
of which a considerable annual sum (nearly one thousand 
pounds) is paid to the owners. Independently of these, 
what are termed artificial covers are made with stakes, 
set at a certain height from the ground for the grass to 
grow over them ; but they are very inferior to the others, 
being difficult for hounds to draw. The subscription to 
the Qaorn hounds has varied from two thousand to four 
thousand pounds per annum* ; but Sir Harry Goodricke 
bore the whole expense of them himself. 
One of the most striking features in the aspect of the 
chosen regions of English fox-hunting is the formidable 
ox-fence, rendered necessary by the difficulty of keeping 
fatting cattle within their pastures, during the season of 
the oestrus, or gad fly. It consists of first, a wide 
ditch, then a sturdy black-thorn hedge, and at least two 
yards beyond that a strong rail, about four feet high : 
to clear all these obstacles, from whichever side they may 
be approached, is evidently a great exertion for a horse. 
* Sir Bellingham Graham alone received the last-named sum. That 
now given to Mr Errington is about two thousand five hundred 
pounds. 
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