PUBLIC COURSING 171 



enough to carry a horse (there have been no hounds 

 in this district since the Croxteth Harriers ceased to 

 exist a score of years ago). It happens, therefore, that 

 coursing has, during the whole of the present century, 

 been the sport of this particular part of the kingdom, 

 and as the supply of game is well maintained (thanks 

 to Lord Sefton at Altcar, Mr. Clifton at Lytham, 

 the Scarisbrick family at Southport, and other good 

 preservers), the meetings show no decline, and 

 membership of the Altcar and Ridgway Clubs is just 

 as much coveted as ever it was. The ground seems 

 peculiarly suitable for hares ; nevertheless, those in the 

 Altcar district vary very much, according to the state 

 of the weather, and I have seen them run no better 

 than rabbits after a week or two of heavy rain. 

 Should the ground be dry and the weather frosty 

 they perform in very different fashion ; and on the 

 whole they are good enough, though not of the 

 same uniform excellence as their neighbours on the 

 northern bank of the estuary of the Ribble, where the 

 Ridgway meetings are held. In that favoured spot 

 there are many sloping banks, which afford plenty 

 of dry lying in wet weather ; and though most of the 

 coursing takes place on flat, marshy land, the hares 

 never show any signs of feeble vitality, and the breed 

 in one part of the ground, which are known as ' Jock 



