The South Nottinghamshire. 225 



thougli claimed by tlie South Notts, being kept exclu- 

 sively for the RufFord, and Haywood Oaks being also 

 a place of meeting for that pack. Nottingham and 

 Derby may be said to furnish a base to the country, which 

 for practical purposes, again, may be divided thus — 

 First, there is the strip of Derbyshire, running up the 

 length of the country between the river Derwent snd 

 the coalpit valley of the Erewash, and resembling in 

 character much of the best ground of the Meynell ; 

 secondly, between the valleys of the Erewash and the 

 Leen are the Woods on a soil of loam upon limestone; 

 in a third parallel section is the tract of light sandy 

 ground where once grew the Forest of Sherwood (the 

 name being still retained) ; fourthly, there is the clay 

 of the open Oxton country ; and fifthly, there is the 

 low-lying ground on the south bank of the Trent, 

 known as the Vale. Three days and a bye-day being 

 the weekly work for the hounds, Monday is allotted to 

 the Woods, Wednesday to the Oxton country and the 

 Forest, Friday to the Vale, and Saturday (the extra 

 day) to Derbyshire or to any district that may seem 

 to require a visit. All north of the Trent is more or 

 less hilly; only the southern Vale being flat and 

 unbroken. For a visit to the South Notts, Notting- 

 ham is the most central quarter; though Derby, too, 

 commands one side of the country, and has the 

 Meynell besides. Each is about three hours from 

 London (St. Pancras or King^s Cross for either) ; and 

 the travelling sportsman might well take his horses 

 on to either place, after having tasted the sweets of 

 the chase from Leicester en passant. With the com- 

 pletion of the railways in progress (promised at a very 



