FELI. HOUNDS 



last haunts of the wild red deer of Lakeland. The 

 UUswater hounds hunt the whole of it, and will 

 run a fox through deer as if the latter did not 

 exist. Incidentally Martindale is the only English 

 deer forest, if we except Gowbarrow which har- 

 bours some deer on the opposite side of UUswater 

 Lake. 



We have already mentioned the fact that an 

 outbreak of sheep-worrying is the worst thing 

 that can happen to a fell pack. The reason for 

 this is because the fell packs are small to begin 

 with, and if many hounds have to be put down 

 it takes a long time to get the pack up to strength 

 again. No outside packs can supply hounds 

 suited to the fell country, so that breeding opera- 

 tions are confined to the five Lakeland packs 

 with an occasional cross of outside blood. 



Although packs are small, individual hounds 

 come out three and four times a week, which 

 means that the cost of their upkeep is com- 

 paratively trifling compared with the enormous 

 expense attached to a fashionable pack. In 

 these days when hunting expense is such a serious 

 consideration in the Shires and provinces the 

 fell Hunts afford an object lesson as regards the 

 worth of " hounds for countries," not only in the 

 matter of sport but also with respect to the very 

 moderate sum expended in the kennels. When 

 we consider that individual fell packs average 

 about twenty-five brace of foxes per season, it is 

 plain testimony that hounds are suited to their 

 country, a country, too, which is the wildest 

 and roughest of all the British Hunts. If further 

 proof were needed we have but to turn up the 

 records of individual hounds which every season 

 find, hunt, and kill foxes entirely "on their own." 



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