6 HISTORY OF THE YORK AND AINSTY HUNT. 



east, the road beyond Melbourne and Bubwith Bridge marks 

 its farthest boundary, whilst Pateley Bridge is the farthest 

 point westward. The curious shape of the country seems 

 to point out its origin from a number of other countries, 

 but, though it sometimes entails a long ride, and frequently 

 a railway journey to get at the more distant fixtures, the 

 peculiar nature of the country must be looked upon as an 

 advantage, for perhaps there is not another country of its 

 extent that stands so much hunting as the York and 

 Ainsty. Writing of the country in 1883, 'Brooksby' 

 says : — ' Starting northward, just north of the Badsworth, 

 it runs up between the Bramham Moor and the 

 Holderness, is narrowed at York between the Bramham 

 Moor and Lord Micldleton's, throws a limb in between 

 the Bramham Moor and the Bedale, and carries its head 

 northward between the Bedale and Lord Middleton's till it 

 reaches the Sinnington.' 



When Bromley Davenport wrote in terms of contempt 

 of the country, and even later when Brooksby wrote of 

 it, it was to a great extent a plough country, grass was 

 not frequently met with to any extent, and it was conse- 

 quently a difficult country to get over for a man who was 

 used to the pastures of the midlands. The strong thorn 

 fences, with a drain of greater or less width at one side 

 or the other, took some jumping out of the stiff clay, 

 and if a man was in a hurry at them with a half-tired 

 horse, disaster was sure to result. Since then, however, 

 the aspect of the country has changed considerably, the 

 low prices which corn has fetched of late years has 

 caused a great deal of the ploughed land to be laid 

 down to grass, and taking the country all round, fully 

 half of it is rtow grass. Indeed, in some parts of it, 

 there is a much larger proportion of grass than there is of 

 tillage, and the consequence is that runs over an entirely 

 grass line are not infrequent. 



