56 FOX-HUNTING FROM SHIRE TO SHIRE 



and Baronet with the best accepted types of the 

 modern foxhound, to give the nicer detail of 

 make and shape, stamping the hounds of to-day as 

 marvels of creative skill. Charles Leadham bred 

 Linkboy (1872), he was by Manager, son of Merimac, 

 and went back to Mr Meynell Ingram's famous 

 sorts. 



Linkboy was a great foxhound, and his fame 

 to-day is perpetuated in many a pedigree. Such 

 were the problems Mr Gerald Hardy faced when 

 accepting the mastership of the Meynell in 1903, 

 after seven years' service in the same capacity 

 with the Atherstone, where his success in breeding 

 made the kennel one of the best sources for a change 

 of blood. A Meynell man bred and born, it was 

 not likely the new master would let slip any of 

 the cherished strains or traditions so prized by 

 those connected with the pack. Shortly before the 

 appointment to the mastership, Mr Hardy pur- 

 chased Foston Hall, a pleasant residence placed 

 in the heart of the country and not far from the 

 kennels. In the shortest time possible the " modern- 

 ised Meynells " were catching the judge's eye on 

 the flags at Peterborough, whilst hound-breeders 

 were seeking the services of the stallion hounds. 

 A rising kennel always inspires new possibilities, 

 and is the source to seek improvement from, a 

 great deal depending on the type and numerical 

 strength of the brood bitches. At the present 

 time the matrons which occupy the benches at 

 Meynell are thirty-three couples, the wherewithal 

 to ensure many a future entry to carry on the 

 revival of past supremacy. When talking of dog- 

 hounds it is possible to count on the fingers of 

 one hand the number of kennels that can put 

 forward, say, two couples worthy of the title of 



