I04 THE MASTER OF HOUNDS 



of which the Master of Hounds has to concern 

 himself. During the last two seasons the price in our 

 country has been as high as ;^5 and £6 a ton, but in 

 other years, when it has been really cheap, 50s. has 

 been nearer the mark. The proper way for the Master 

 to buy his hay is by the rick, getting it from some 

 farmer who cuts good park or meadow hay. I think 

 this infinitely better than clover ; and it goes without 

 saying that the better the pasture is done, the better 

 the hay will be. The next item in the book, which is 

 more costly, is 



Oats. — Here we have a more important factor in the 

 stable bill. Masters may be emphatically cautioned 

 against buying new oats. They should, if needs be, 

 pay a few shillings more for a good oat that has been 

 well harvested. Moreover, it is imperative that, in the 

 interests of British agriculture, the industry with which, 

 above all others, the sport of hunting is bound up, the 

 Master should always buy home oats, if possible grown 

 in his own hunting country. I know nothing that 

 annoys farmers more than seeing the Master of the 

 local pack buy his forage out of the country. Seeing, 

 indeed, that in many districts hunting is carried on 

 only by sufferance, it should, I venture to say, be 

 unwritten law for hunting men to buy in the neigh- 

 bourhood or as near at hand as they can. There are, 

 of course, difficulties to take into consideration. It 

 would be quite impossible to buy oats and straw 

 enough in the Shires for the requirements of the 

 numerous great establishments. This in fact consti- 

 tutes one of the grounds for grumbling on the part of 



