FOX-HUNTING RECOLLECTIONS 179 



bought, early in September, Mr. Newnham's pack 

 from Worcestershire ; of these when he first took 

 them out hunting, he says : '' Having been fed 

 up for sale and uncommonly fat, they were by no 

 means fit." All through the following season 

 he used to divide the hounds into young and old 

 packs, with an occasional mixed pack. 



Cub-hunting started on 24th August i8i8,when 

 he says: ''Having had no rain for some months 

 the ground was in a worse state than in the hardest 

 frost." However, they hunted, and eventu- 

 ally marked to ground ; after digging for half an 

 hour '' it proved to be an old sow-badger." Some 

 rain fell, and then they had capital sport with 

 plenty of blood, so much so that, to quote the 

 Diary on 26th September : 



'' Part of the hounds were running another 

 cub hard, and it was so much blown that I was 

 fearful they would kill it. However, we contrived 

 to get them stopped. 



'' October loth, 1818. Kirkby. — Twenty-eight 

 couples ; young pack. Found in the Willow bed ; 

 ran him past the house and over the open very 

 fast for half an hour, when he went into a drain 

 close to Desford ; bolted him, and ran him a 

 terrible pace for a quarter of an hour, when he 

 went into another drain at the edge of Firley 

 Brake ; bolted and killed, a cub dog-fox. While the 

 hounds were worrying him two more foxes came 



