8 THE BELVOIR HUNT. 



together with the more recent introduction 

 of steam cuhlvatlon, are doubtless impedi- 

 ments, but as they are so conducive to the 

 interests of the farmers, we must gracefully 

 accept the custom without a murmur. On 

 the other hand, as these practices have in- 

 creased, so has the keeping of cattle in 

 the yards ; and sheep are the sole occu- 

 pants of the open fields ; they, too, are 

 mostly folded, by which means the impedi- 

 ments they present when roving at large 

 are materially diminished. 



There is much difficulty in arriving at 

 any precise data by which it can be deter- 

 mined when foxhounds were first intro- 

 duced to the Belvoir kennels. The earliest 

 date of entries supplied by the manuscript 

 lists at the kennel commences with 1756. 

 That they were established previously to 

 that year there can be no doubt, as the 

 list to which I refer relates to the entry of 

 young hounds, one of which owed his 



