The Crawley and Horsham. 63 



strangers to the country, and indifferent to any other 

 interests but their own. The rides are very deep in 

 places, but the woods are not, as a rule, difficult to 

 get about. On a good scenting day, and with hounds 

 close at him, a fox is very glad to leave the choking 

 brushwood and run the rides — the prettiest phase of 

 woodland hunting. 



The weald, or vale, again, has coverts of a very 

 manageable size, thickly grown, and with foxes 

 plentiful. There is seldom a hurning scent, but often 

 a good one — especially when the ground is not too 

 wet and cold (a postulate that would seem to apply to 

 many stiff clay countries — the vice versa to those on 

 lighter soil). The foxes, too, are^ stout and tough, 

 and seldom give up their lives easily. Those of the 

 Forest are especially strong, and are remarkable for 

 their dark colour — their brushes being often almost 

 absolutely black. 



The C. and H. now limits its operations on the 

 Forest side to the line of the London and Brighton 

 railway (which bisected the original country from 

 Three Bridges to Keymer). Its weald, and after- 

 wards the Down, now reaches from the Kennels along 

 the railway from Horsham to Arundel and Little- 

 hampton— the weald reaching about to Amberley and 

 Steyning, the Down and ^^ over-the-hill ^' to the sea. 

 The Down is much like that of the Southdown. 



Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are the 

 four days of hunting, and Col. Calvert often adds a 

 bye day to these. Taking the Kennels as a centre 

 Monday and Thursday are for the north and north- 

 east (chiefly forest and woodland) ; while Tuesday 



