26 



give away his best hounds, and these individuals that 

 have disgraced their ancestry were probably drafted 

 as useless. 



I have had no experience of fell hunting, but 

 it seems to me that with the majority of the field 

 following on foot, hounds have a much better chance 

 than in a grass country, where a crowd of horsemen 

 are continually pressing. In the former case, also, 

 the ground is less foiled and there are fewer ex- 

 traneous smells to spoil scent. The best grazing 

 grounds of Quorn, Belvoir, or Cottesmore will often 

 contain four and five sheep to the acre, besides other 

 stock, whereas on moor and mountain I presume one 

 sheep Jbo ten acres would be nearer the mark, though 

 the greater part of the hunting season there are no 

 sheep at all on the high ground. I can quite believe 

 that the Fell hounds, having been bred entirely for 

 their abilities to hunt foxes, without any fancy for 

 shape or colour, are reliable for that purpose, but 

 doubt very much if their ancestry is as good as the 

 packs Mr. Clapham condemns. The blood of the 

 latter was selected in the first instance from the best 

 sources England could produce, and though some 

 latter-day breeders may have for the time effaced its 

 good qualijb'ies, judicious selection will bring it again 

 to the surface. 



Colonel Curre has worked hard for the last thirty 

 years in incorporating the best elements of English 

 and Welsh blood. The fact that he has got together 

 now a very killing pack of hounds with nose, drive, 

 and tongue, should mean that he has attained suc- 

 cess. Unless I am very much mistaken, however, 

 he finds great difficulty in fixing a type, and the 

 results of mixing two different strains of blood is not 



