i6 vowe's gorse to somerby in 44 minutes. 



The season has certainly been a most successful one for 

 sport, though not in the matter of killing foxes. In this we 

 were truly unsuccessful, but I have certainly seen more good 

 gallops and long points this season than I ever remember ; and 

 considering the materials we had to work with, hounds and 

 horses got together in a hurry, and no cub hunting having been 

 done, I think we have reason to congratulate ourselves rather 

 than otherwise on this our first season. 



The quickest run we had was from Vowe's Gorse to 

 Somerby in 44 minutes, when we lost our fox completely by 

 the holloaing and shouting of the field getting the hounds' 

 heads up, whilst the fox lay down, crawled back behind them 

 and died, having been found dead by Tom Heycock the next 

 day within two fields of where we lost him. I escaped won- 

 derfully well, not having had more than three or four falls, and 

 those not bad ones. 



My horses all carried me well. Cariboo was the fastest, and 

 I think Chieftain saw the most sport ; Starga.^er I like the best 

 for a very strong country. 



I hope to kill more foxes another season, after getting my 

 new pack, bought of Colyer (Collier?), into good working 

 condition. 



List of Foxes Killed, Season 1857-58. 



Cub Hunting 17. 



Foxes killed -- -----29 



,, run to ground - _ - _ - _ 28 



Thoroughly accounted for during 70 days' hunting 57 



Resume of the Season. 



I consider the past season on the whole a fair average season 

 for sport, though from the absence of rain in the early part of 

 it foxes were bad to find, being laid up generally in dry drains, 

 the scent moreover from the extreme drought being bad. 

 After a heavy fall of snow in the beginning of March, the 

 foxes were more plentiful and the scent much better. Singu- 

 larl)^ enough, during two or three of the hottest weeks in 

 March, when it was as hot as mid-summer, the scent was the 

 best. 



