448 LEAVES FROM A HUNTING DIARY 



Foxhounds generally, including Scratton's, had but an 

 indifferent season. Arkwright's was exceptionally good, owing 

 to the old Thoby fox and other good foxes. 



Loftus Arkwright goes on with ^1,800 subscription. 



Staghounds had a moderately good season. The hounds 

 themselves very good and fast, and running well together. 

 Perhaps the best pack ever owned by Frederick Petre. Killed 

 seven deer. Goes on with ^400 subscription. 



Notes, 1865-1866. 



Weather. The wettest season on record, extending, without 

 intermission, from October ist until after the close of the season 

 in April. Very high winds, doing great damage to timber and 

 shipping. Heavy fall of snow on January iith; was also 

 especially damaging to trees. The land consequently was 

 always terribly heavy and holding, never giving the horses a 

 chance of going easily. For staghunting it was too heavy, 

 since it told both upon deer and horses, while hounds were 

 comparatively unaffected. It completely spoiled our hunt 

 steeplechases, which were a fortnight earlier than usual on 

 April 5th, making the course a quagmire and reducing even 

 the winning horses to a walk. There was scarcely any frost, 

 even white frosts, hunting having only been stopped by it on 

 two occasions, and these together did not extend beyond a 

 week. 



Foxhounds generally had a good season, and a long open 

 one ; Scratton had an extraordinary good one, better (he thinks) 

 than even the best with his former good Huntsman, Charles 

 Shepherd. His present Huntsman, Henry Rees, of Welsh 

 extraction, is one of the right sort with his heart in his work. 

 Arkwright had but a poor season, and the shortcomings of his 

 Huntsman, Tom Wilson, were but too apparent. Parry had 

 even a worse season than Arkwright. My opening clay with 

 Lort Phillips was a good one. He had a bad fall (into the 

 road) about the middle of the season, and was unable to go out 

 all the rest of the season, never fairly recovered, and died on 

 October 30th, 1866. 



Staghounds. The state of the country too heavy for 

 pleasurable staghunting and our Master, Frederick Petre, was 

 a cripple with sciatica and never once went out with his hounds, 

 which were hunted by F. Barker. 



On Friday, April 13th, at the Cheltenham S. C, I was on 



the grand stand with G. L , junr., when the whole 



centre of it came down with a crash, and 300 people were pre- 

 cipitated to the ground just at the finish of the first race 



