NATURE AND SPORT IN BRITAIN 



past season no less than 138 packs of harriers, together 

 with 60 odd packs of beagles and basset-hounds, were 

 to be found hunting hare in various parts of the British 

 Islands. Bassets are a quite modern introduction, and 

 although hunting any sort of quarry with these long- 

 bodied, short-legged, and somewhat bizarre-looking 

 little hounds is a slow and laborious form of sport, three 

 packs were to be found following hare in different parts 

 of the country. Basset and beagle packs are, of course, 

 followed on foot. 



Turning to staghounds, 20 packs were last year fur- 

 nished by England, as against 4 by Ireland. Scotland 

 supports no staghounds, the pursuit of its numerous 

 wild red deer being reserved solely for the rifle-shot. 

 Of these 24 packs of staghounds hunting last season in 

 England and Ireland, 4 were devoted to the chase of 

 the wild stag. These were the well-known Devon and 

 Somerset hounds, which hunt the wild red deer of 

 Exmoor, Sir John Amory's, the Quantock, and the 

 Barnstaple ; the three last-named packs having been 

 newly formed since 1895 for the purpose of hunting 

 those outlying wild deer which now begin to overflow 

 beyond the bounds of Exmoor proper. The New 

 Forest is the only other country where the semblance 

 of wild deer hunting — principally with fallow deer — is 

 still maintained. Nineteen packs of staghounds pursue 

 the carted deer. This is a form of sport which, al- 

 though it affords a good gallop for those who care to 

 take part in it, can scarcely be designated as hunting 

 proper. The chase of some truly wild and unconfined 

 quarry ought certainly to be implied by the word hunt- 

 ing ; and the pursuit of a semi-domesticated deer, 

 vanned to the meet and uncarted for the purpose of 

 pursuit, must be classed as a manufactured pastime. 

 This form of sport, from the accidents which now and 



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