288 THE COMPLETE FOXHUNTER 



that the strongest hares, which took most killing of all 

 we have seen hunted, were found at from seven hundred 

 to one thousand feet above sea level, and where the 

 supply was very small. Moor-edge hares we have 

 called them, because their ground was near to but at a 

 lower level than the moors. As every one knows, the 

 fringe of a moorland district is almost invariably rough 

 pasture land, and it is the hares which this sort of 

 ground produces that we have most respect for. They 

 are seldom numerous, no matter how well preserved 

 the land may be, because they live well outside any 

 grain-bearing country, but their stamina is extra- 

 ordinary, and the percentage of good to bad ones most 

 remarkable. Such hares are to be found all along the 

 backbone of England, and are hunted chiefly by the 

 Lancashire, West Yorkshire, and Derbyshire packs, 

 while several packs whose operations are usually con- 

 fined to an enclosed country are occasional visitors to 

 some of the hilly countries where these strong hares 

 exist. 



