MODERN BEAGLING 215 



present moment is that shown by the following communication from 

 Mr. Eouse Ball :^ 



In 1897 the condition of the Kennels was such that a considerable 

 sum had to be expended in order to put them in order. To raise the 

 money, Mr. E. H. I'arker and I agreed that if the members of the 

 Hunt would subscribe £50, we would buy the hmd and the buildings 

 on it for £125. It was arranged that this sum should be repaid to 

 us at the rate of £15 a year, and that on its being cleared off we 

 should hold the Kennels for the Master and Committee of the Beatles. 

 We carried out the transaction through Barclay's Bank, guaranteeing 

 it against loss. 



By 1908 the whole of the sum advanced to us had been cleared 

 off, and the land and Kennels were then conveyed to Mr. Parker, 

 myself, and my former pupils, Mr. N. 0. AValker and Mr. Anthony 

 Buxton, for the use of the Beagles. In 1906 an additional plot of 

 land in the vicinity of the Kennels had been bought for £100, and 

 this also is held by us for the use of the Beagles. 



The additional piece of land referred to is an oblong grass 

 paddock on the opposite side of the Histon Koad to the Kennels, and 

 which is a valuable addition to the Hunt premises. It has been 

 most efficiently fenced in and divided, and Kennels for puppies and 

 brood bitches erected, as already described in Chapter V. Thus ends 

 a prosaic but most important episode in our history ; one which 

 places T.F.B., so long as Master, Whips, and private subscribers can 

 find money for current expenses, on a sound financial and business 

 footing with all the necessary capital in the way of land and 

 buildings. 



It w^as about this time that the Beagle Brake ceased to be a 

 " Committee Cart," and was open to aU subscribing beaglers who cared 

 to join it. 



It has always been a problem to know what to do with such 

 packs as the T.F.B. during vacation time. The obvious solution for 

 vacations that fall in the hunting season is for the Master or some 

 other "young squire" who has country at his disposal to take them 

 home and hunt them there, and it is manifestly an advantage to 



