202 FOX-HUNTING FROM SHIRE TO SHIRE 



Come A-Hunting 



" Come alang, let's away, wa mun all on us gan, 

 It's t' last day to 'hearken ti t' sounds 

 O' t' sweetest o' music, that ivver fills t' wood, 

 T' whinny, or t' spinny, ther's nowt near so good 

 As t' song 'at is sung by the hounds." 



— Old Sinnington Hunting Song, 1808. 



Lord Middleton's Hound and Hunters 



There is a wealth of hunting tradition associated 

 with the county of Yorkshire, whose broad acres 

 are divided into territory for some sixteen packs 

 of hounds to hunt. Venatic custom exists within 

 its borders dating back to the remote periods of 

 history, trencher-fed packs showing sport in the 

 rougher districts, side by side with noble establish- 

 ments, where everything is done to meet the re- 

 quirements of a progressive age. With so many 

 hunters and hounds in the county ; Yorkshire 

 constitutes a hunting - world in itself, fostering 

 sufficient talent to keep sport going all over England. 

 The fame of a country is associated with the 

 excellence of its hounds, and if this be true, there 

 is no more famous kennel in Yorkshire than that of 

 Lord Middleton's ; which for generations has pos- 

 sessed a noted strain of working blood, transmitted 

 through its stallion hounds to many packs seeking 

 for improvement. Lord Middleton's fine establish- 

 ment at Birdsall near Malton, is one of the most 

 important breeding centres to-day ; where the best 

 pedigree stock of all descriptions is reared, including 

 hunters, shire-horses, cattle, and foxhounds. The 

 nature of the country with its hills like miniature 

 mountains, fine stretches of grass, still more plough 

 and big woodlands, compels the highest qualities 

 in horses and hounds. Great attention has been 



