The Surrey Union. 145 



the neiglibourliood bought himself half a dozen deer, 

 extemporised a paddock of sheep hurdles, and next 

 morning was surprised to find his herd had disappeared. 

 Since then they have increased to such an extent that 

 there must be at least a couple of hundred in this 

 wild tract : and, as it is often impossible for whips to 

 get at hounds amid its bogs and thickets, there is 

 great difficulty in keeping the youngsters of the pack 

 from riot. 



A great deal of the Surrey Union Country is very 

 much the same, to ride over, as the Crawley and 

 Horsham (already described) — chiefly ploughed fields 

 of limited size, divided by straggling fences often 

 built on a bank. This especially applies to the 

 northern half of the country; where a horse^s chief 

 merit is to be able to scramble cleverly and to take 

 things quietly and untiringly. On the downs he will 

 be going on the top of the ground ; and may have to 

 gallop. But considerably more is required of him in 

 the stiff clay weald in the south of the country. 

 Here the fences grow strong on the top of high banks 

 — with a deep ditch on one side, or even both. There 

 are few gates, in the ordinary acceptation of the 

 term ; but the farmers get from field to field by means 

 of draw-rails, as in Sussex. Here the name for them 

 is heave-gates ; and, though they are of the stiffest 

 timber, men accustomed to the country jump them 

 readily, and often in preference to the bank-and-fence 

 alongside. Again, there is often a good scent in this 

 southern, or Cranleigh, country; so that, as the 

 inclosures are quite small, and there is little time for 

 dismounting to lower the heave-gates, a man who 



VOL. II. L 



