124 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS 



Pilling. The pack is hunted by the Master, or Deputy- 

 master. Mr. Pilling has been good enough to send me 

 some interesting notes upon this pack. He tells me 

 that the country hunted over is of a rough, hilly 

 description, the land being chiefly enclosed within 

 substantial stone walls, which, fortunately for the 

 hares, are amply provided with what are locally called 

 " smeuse " holes, which serve the double purpose 

 of assisting drainage, and are so constructed as to 

 allow the hare to run through ; and especially at a 

 find, or when hard pressed, they give the hare an enor- 

 mous advantage over hounds, the latter being com- 

 pelled to jump or scramble over. 



The hounds were, up to 1879, carefully bred from 

 the old original strain, great care being taken, when 

 crossing with neighbouring packs, to keep to the fixed 

 type. In 1879, however, dumb madness broke out, and 

 the entire pack had to be destroyed, with the excep- 

 tion of a few puppies then out at walk. These carried 

 the old blood on, some of their descendants being in 

 the kennels at the present time. The best of these are 

 the stock of Dulcimer, a most indefatigable worker, and 

 in his day one of the best hounds that ever hunted. 



Rattler, whose picture is shown, is a direct de- 

 scendant of this hound. At the time of their mis- 

 fortune, the hunt were able to secure a few hounds 

 of their own blood from neighbouring packs, notably 

 a hound named Brutus, whose stock has proved 

 wonderfully good. 



Owing to the roughness of the country and the 

 difficulty of procuring pure harriers suitable for it 

 (the majority being deficient in the important points 

 of legs and feet), of late years a foxhound cross has 

 been resorted to ; fresh blood has been imported 

 from time to time, Mr. Vaughan Pryse's, Mr. Quare's, 



