The Ledbury, 233 



his hounds wifch him to The Worcestershire, Mr. 

 Knowles had to get together a pack for himself. A 

 draft from the Belvoir three years since has been of 

 great service to him, while Lord Coventry has helped 

 him greatly in the matter of breeding ; and altogether, 

 the pack — which, by the way, he hunts himself — has 

 come forward wonderfully in so short a time. It may 

 be added that previous to Mr. MorrelFs five years^ 

 mastership, Mr. Talbot had the country for three 

 seasons; Mr. Thackwell of Dymock for nineteeij 

 before that — succeeding Mr. Giles, who is still alive, 

 and who was a very successful master for many years. 

 Thus the country has had a regular establishment for 

 some fifty years; before which a trencher-fed pack 

 was for a long time in existence. 



Though there are many very strong woodlands in 

 the country, these are so distributed that a fox, once 

 away from them, has every opportunity of setting his 

 head across a district of good open country. And 

 thus wood and vale — or, in its place, open hill — 

 alternate throughout. For instance, commencing in 

 the north, the Suckley Woods are backed by a 

 stretch of nice vale between the Cradley Brook and 

 the River Froome. The Suckley Hills are a northern 

 continuation of the Malvern ; and are nearly smothered 

 in covert — being able to show some seven hundred 

 acres of almost continuous wood, extending to Knight- 

 wich on the border of the country. Behind these, from 

 Knightwich west to Bromyard, and from Bromyard 

 south to Bishops Froome or further, is a deep clay vale, 

 plough and grass intermingled — the latter predominat- 

 ing as you work southward. The western boundary, by 



