Fox-lmnting Past and Present 



(Longmans), by the late Duke of Beaufort, M. 

 T. Morris, and Earl of Suffolk ; '' Hunting in 

 Leicestershire," T. F. Dale ; ^' A Century of English 

 Fox-hunting," by an old friend, the late G. F. 

 Underbill. Any of the best countries, and a few 

 seasons in the Emerald Isle with its grass, banks, 

 stone walls, &c., go to complete the education of 

 a fox-hunter. The better horses a man has, the 

 better he will be carried in any country, and it is 

 generally accepted that the provincial countries 

 are cheaper than the Midlands and shires to hunt 

 in. As to riding to hounds, you require two 

 horses per day in the grass countries where hounds 

 run fast. Allowing for one horse in six being 

 on the sick list, and the others require, say, five 

 days' rest after a hard day in the shires, ten or 

 twelve horses are required in Leicestershire for, 

 say, three days a week. Nimrod holds this to 

 be an accepted fact. An advantage in the less 

 fashionable or provincial countries is that the 

 comparative smallness of the fields enables the 

 young sportsman to see more of the hunting than 

 in the Midlands with their big crowds. Should 

 the neophyte be superbly mounted, he might, in 

 the latter case, override the hounds, which is not 

 an enviable position to find oneself in. 



I will now briefly note a few of the most import- 

 ant advantages derived from hunting in the shires. 



You get more value for your money, for it must 



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