HISTORY OF THE KILDARE HUNT 



snow, and our hunting stopped after one week's 

 hunting. Although the weather was fine, the 

 ground in good order, ahhough quantities of foxes 

 were found during the week in every part of the 

 country, the hounds were totally unable to hunt 

 them and actually lost every fox they found with 

 one exception, as they marked a fox to ground in 

 Ballinure Churchyard, but did not hunt him. 



" Having nothing to do and trying to account 

 why it is that of late years in Kildare our hounds 

 have rarely been able to kill a fox in the open, I 

 took down this book into which I have not looked 

 for years and in which is written the last two years of 

 my Mastership, to try with its help to solve the 

 problem." 



Here Mr Kennedy analyses the records of his 

 hunting, which I have set out above and need not 

 repeat. He finishes, however, with the remark, " so 

 that of 262 foxes hunted I only lost 85, not quite 

 a third. That is a good average for any huntsman, 

 so that it cannot be that our country is a bad 

 scenting one. What is it? 



" I believe because our hounds are bad, and since 

 the lamented death of Wm La Touche, have been 

 getting worse and worse until now they are com- 

 posed of drafts from second and third-rate English 

 kennels. 



" Our present Master is not to blame for such a 

 state of things, and as no hounds have been bred 



340 



