SPORT WITH BASSET HOUNDS 297 



when my brother hunted them. At the present 

 moment (December 1903) kennels are being erected 

 at Canterbury, where I hope to hunt them till the end 

 of the season. 



" We have had as many as fourteen couples of 

 puppies at walk, but the last two seasons we have been 

 particularly unfortunate in not being able to breed 

 half that number, I do not think I got more than 

 four couples of whelps. In March 1896, we purchased 

 the whole of the late Major V. Ferguson's pack of 

 basset hounds (15 couples), from which we made a 

 good selection ; and in August 1896, Prince Henry 

 of Pless presented us with the whole of his pack from 

 Germany, consisting of about 10 couples. And at 

 various times since then we have purchased small 

 packs, with a view to selecting some 2 or 3 hounds 

 to add to our pack. 



" Here is a short summary of our hunting seasons, 

 with the number of hounds in kennel at commencement 

 of the season : 



Season 1 890-1 No record kept; hunted with 5 couples of 

 hounds, but never caught a hare. 



Season 189 1-2 

 1892-3 

 1893-4 

 1894-5 



No. of Hunt- 

 ing days. 



47 



54 

 42 



43 



No. of Couples 

 No. of No. of Hares of hounds in 

 Blank brought to kennel at corn- 



days. 

 2 



4 

 3 

 I 



hand. 



9 

 17 

 II 



14 



mencement of 

 season. 



10 



12 



14 



. I^i 



6^ brace of hares were killed this season in 

 27 hunting days. On fifteen days on which 

 the hounds were taken out, they could do 

 nothing at all owing to the frost-bound 

 state of the ground ; thus there were only 

 27 days in the whole season on which it 

 was fit to hunt. 



