112 The Hunting Countries of England. 



should liave a sovereign in your pocket for tlie assist- 

 ance of a plough team ; but with the pace well on, 

 and the spurs well in to a sticky one. Providence 

 will generally help you over the Ruthins. Elsdenham 

 is another capital meet on a Wednesday ; for East 

 End, a fine holding covert of Mr. Gilby^s, who, while 

 renting the shooting, does ample duty by foxhunting. 

 " Birchanger '' gives Birchanger Wood : and other 

 coverts yet to be named are Quendon, Broom Wood, 

 Ugley (or Oakley) Park, and Alsa Wood. To the 

 north are various woodlands — among them Langley 

 High Wood, Roughway, Clavering Park, Scales 

 Park, Cheshall Wood, and EarFs Wood. In the 

 extreme south Stanstead is more often chosen for 

 a Wednesday, though often included also in a 

 Saturday's bill of fare. 



The Saturday or western country may be said to 

 extend from Wade's Mill northwards to Royston, 

 going westward (as will be seen from the map) as far 

 as Watton, and, higher up, a little beyond Walkern 

 and Wallington. Its leading coverts are Sacombe, 

 Coombe Wood, Bennington High Wood, St. John's 

 Wood (an excellent stand-by), Broadfield and Friars 

 Woods, and the small coverts at Clothall — also 

 Sandon Row, Reed Wood, and Capons Wood (this 

 last seldom without a fox). From Friar's Wood, 

 some thirty years ago, Mr. Parry (to whom, by the 

 way, the high standard of the Puckeridge pack is 

 entirely owing) had his most celebrated hunt. To 

 this day he calls it " my run." It ended in his fox 

 getting to ground, in view, at Sandy Warren, between 

 Cambridge and Woburn. Some of the Saturday 



