CHAPTER IX 



HUNTING CENTRES 



** The hunt is up, the hunt is up, 

 And it is well-nigh day ; 

 And Harry, our king, is gone hunting, 

 To bring his deer to bay." 



— Gray {cetat. Henry VIII.). 



For the interest of would-be fox-hunters and 



others, I now enumerate a few of the best hunting 



centres in Great Britain. Ireland, for instance, 



possesses greater attractions to some, in that in an 



average year there is more open weather there, 



more especially in the south and west. Fogs are 



not unknown in Ireland and are dreaded there as 



much as frost. As to the banks, you can get 



accustomed to them in the same way that you 



do the various fences in England. There is not 



much to choose between the winter climate of 



Ireland and Devonshire. From the point of view 



of continuous sport, say for nine months in the 



year, the corners of South-west Somerset and 



North-east Devon are the best. The Devon and 



Somerset staghounds, foxhounds, and harriers 



hunt the same ground. The country has its own 



charm, not governed by the number of fences 



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