THE VALUE OF FOXHOUNDS 237 



Radnor, who was reducing the number of his hunting 

 days, sold twenty-three and a half couples at an average 

 of 6 gs. per couple, one lot of two and a half couples 

 realising 60 gs. In 1898 the Suffolk sold at an average 

 of no more than 3 gs. a couple, while Mr. Gerald Hardy, 

 who at that time was master of the Atherstone, received 

 231 gs. for seventeenandahalf couples of entered hounds. 

 In the following July no little interest was aroused 

 over the sale of the Quorn horses, the property of 

 Lord Lonsdale, when her ladyship's Odipus, a chest- 

 nut gelding, by Oedipus, was bought by Mr. P. 

 Whitaker, of the Oakley, for 760 gs., Bay Prince 

 realising 660 gs. and Eggshell 630 gs., the average of 

 fifty-four hunters being ;^290 and the average of nine- 

 teen of Lord Lonsdale's stud being ;i^38o. This, of 

 course, brought up a number of reminiscences, and it 

 was remembered that when Mr. Drake gave up the 

 Bicester country in 1862 he received 300 gs. for a 

 hunter (a very ordinary price in these days), while 

 Lord Lonsdale in the same year experienced what 

 may be termed the frowns of Fortune, in that out 

 of the Old Berkeley stud only about half a dozen were 

 sold, the prices ranging from 35 gs. to 80 gs., and 

 when Mr. Baker gave up the North Warwickshire 

 the majority of his stud ran to no more than 20 gs. 

 or 30 gs., while only two exceeded 100 gs. Prices 

 ruled better, however, in 1863, when Lord Stamford 

 sold seventy-nine of the Quorn horses for the sum 

 of ;6^i 5,060, or an average of about £i(^o each, in- 

 dividual bids being 520 gs., 510 gs., and 460 gs. 

 Again, when Sir G. Heathcote's hunting stud was sold 

 at Tattersall's, one horse brought 360 gs., while three 

 others realised 310 gs. (2) and 300 gs., and three 

 more sums ranging from 200 gs. to 300 gs. Lord 



