156 HACKS AND HUNTERS 



only used to patch up gaps in the banks; but even 

 when the rest of a bank is unjumpable, an Irish field 

 will not attempt a small timber fence.* Once or twice 

 I attempted a little three-foot fence with a ditch on 

 the landing side, but it was regarded by every one 

 as an extremely foolhardy and dangerous thing to 

 do, and gave me, on one unforgetable occasion, the 

 rather awe-inspiring feeling of being alone for a few 

 heavenly moments with the Ward Union hounds in 

 full cry. 



In Galway, in the west of Ireland, many huge stone 

 walls are met with, ranging as high as five feet and 

 five feet two inches, and the hunters in that district 

 "top" them, or kick back at them with their hind legs 

 instead of flying them as we would — if we could. 



In addition to the fox-hunting in England and 

 Ireland there are, of course, many packs of harriers; 

 and of staghounds which hunt the wild deer, in Devon, 

 Bucks, and in the New Forest, as well as those which 

 hunt the "carted" deer,f such as the Berks and Bucks, 

 the Enfield Chace, the Mid-Kent, the Norwich, the 

 Surrey and others. 



Belonging to this last class is the famous Ward 

 Union pack in Ireland. And as I look back over my 

 hunting experiences I realize that it was with them 

 that I had my best days. These staghounds give you 



* A fact to be remembered when importing Irish hunters with the 

 expectation that they are going to jump timber. 



t These deer are kept in large and beautiful deer paddocks, and are 

 taken to the spot where they are "enlarged" from a sort of van. A 

 certain amount of "law" or time is allowed the stag before the hounds 

 are put on, and when the stag is eventually retaken he is sent back 

 to the paddocks in the van. To all intents and purposes the stag runs 

 just like a wild one, with the possible exception of the veterans, who 

 are so used to the game that they often allow themselves to be taken 

 much sooner than a young one will. 



