The South Wold. 25 



wold tract. Within them are some five and fifty- 

 couple of hounds, with which to hunt four days a 

 week. 



These four days we may classify as pertaining to 

 their Louth, Horncastle, Hainton and Spilsby districts 

 respectively ; and treat them accordingly. 



On Mondays they are in their Louth country (the 

 river Withern being held as separating it from their 

 Saturday, or Spilsby, country) — and some of their 

 chief meets are Tothill, Burwell, Haugham- Guide- 

 post, Belchford, Kenwick and Elkington. Of these 

 Tothill is a meet for the large woods adjacent which 

 overlook the Marsh (and similar woods, it may be 

 remarked, are to be found southwards all along the 

 edge of the wold). Burwell, Haugham, and Maltby 

 here form a chain of woodland from which it is often 

 difficult to drive a fox ; though now-and-again hounds 

 get away eastward towards Carlton in the Middle 

 Marsh (over a fair sporting country) or westwards 

 over the open wolds on the Withcall side. 



Belchford and Kenwick are for the Wolds pure and 

 simple, where foxes swarm and are to be found even 

 more easily in the pits and turnip fields than in the 

 coverts themselves. For the latter are small planta- 

 tations and gorses ; and foxes, a few times disturbed, 

 are apt to show a preference for the open. The 

 farmers soon discover their haunts ; and a large pro- 

 portion of their good runs have been to the credit of 

 outlying foxes. With hounds running fast over these 

 trying hills, your horse must be able to gallop and 

 stay, even if he cannot jump ; and blood is the first 

 desideratum. The same remarks apply to the Wold 



