1 62 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS 



fox," which is, to this hour, by no means an unknown 

 quantity, even among solemn and reputable English 

 packs. 



Turning to more serious hunting matters, we find 

 County Meath, the home of the finest fox-hunting in 

 Ireland — some say in the world — supporting also 

 three packs of harriers. Of these the Ballymacad 

 hunt from kennels at Crossdrum, Old Castle, the resi- 

 dence of the Master and huntsman, Mr. E. Rotheram. 

 Twenty-two couples of twenty-two-inch fox-hounds 

 form the strength of this subscription pack, which 

 hunts two days a week over a wall and ditch country 

 situate in Meath, West Meath, and Cavan. Although 

 classed as a harrier pack, I understand that the Bally- 

 macad have obtained leave from the Meath Hunt 

 to draw certain of their coverts, and now hunt chiefly 

 fox. The Drewstown, kennelled at Drewstown, Kells, 

 is another Meath pack, owned by Mr. G. B. McVeagh, 

 who himself hunts them two days a week. The 

 hounds consist of fourteen and a half couples of pure, 

 old-fashioned, eighteen-inch harriers. They are, I 

 am informed, an extremely nice lot of hounds, light 

 and very fast. The country is a very good one, con- 

 sisting almost entirely of grass, and extending west- 

 ward beyond Meath into West Meath, and ranging in 

 Meath itself from Kells close up to Navan. The Tara 

 is the third pack of harriers in Meath. These hunt 

 a fine grass country for about ten miles round about 

 Tara, Dunsany and Navan. The kennels are at 

 Dunsany Castle, the residence of the present Master, 

 Lord Dunsany, who took over the hounds from Mr. 

 W. Hope Johnstone last season. The pack consists 

 of fifteen couples of nineteen-inch pure harriers, the 

 majority of which are entered in the Harrier and Beagle 

 Stud-book. This is a subscription pack, hunting two 



