296 Hunting Countries of England. 



broke and Walton perhaps the widest The 



enclosures of Warwickshire are, for the most part, of a 

 fair size ; particularly in the grazing districts, which I 

 should estimate at one-third of the whole extent of 

 country. Taking it as a whole, I consider the soil 

 very favourable in scent, as the staple is generally 

 good. A great portion of the ploughed lands, how- 

 ever, are very tender after hard frosts, succeeded by 

 rains ; and Warwickshire may be termed a deep 

 country to ride over, and one which requires strong 

 and well-bred horses. A great many such are 

 annually bred in the county, and it always has been 

 the pride of Warwickshire yeomen to have a good 

 hunter or two in their stables, a species of stock that 

 has, on the whole, paid them well for rearing. The 

 fences of Warwickshire are, of course, of various 

 descriptions; but they are seldom placed on banks. 

 Quickset hedges, with a ditch only on one side, are the 

 general obstacles to be encountered ; and in the 

 grazing districts, from the richness of the soil, they 

 equal, in thickness and strength, the often-described 

 ' bull-finches ' of Leicestershire and Northampton- 

 shire. What are called bullock-fences are also not 

 uncommon in Warwickshire ; that is to say, a good 

 stiff rail accompanying a hedge and ditch. Timber 

 fences perpetually occur, either in the shape of stiles, 

 or rails affixed in weak parts of the quickset fences, to 

 which a ditch is always added, as a further security 

 against trespass.''^ 



I can add nothing to this, in seeking to give an idea 

 of the country you will cross and the horse you should 

 ride in Warwickshire. Of course the country varies 



