GOOD SPORT. 165 



the humour of the situation from behind, an ex- 

 pressive " Ugh ! " came from the Master's lips. 

 At this moment hounds hit off the line, and the 

 boy's assistance was no longer wanted. 



The far-famed Pulham country is very deep and 

 holding, and its big blackthorn fences require some 

 jumping. If in this part of the Vale the fox 

 should take a line for Bagber, there will be some 

 real Dorset doubles to give variety to the day's 

 sport. Of the many runs I have enjoyed here, 

 two stand out as being superlatively good. They 

 were both in the year 1894 — the earlier one in 

 February, and the other at the beginning of the 

 following season. 



When the dog pack met at Pulham on February 

 3, we had a curious experience with a leash of 

 foxes from Ponting's Gorse, the Ranksboro' of 

 Dorset, as Mr Digby used to call it. The foxes 

 kept together and headed for Humber Wood, 

 at which point they divided, and hounds separat- 

 ing on the line of each of them, the hunt went on 

 in three divisions. The body of the pack ran 

 down to Short Wood, and making the circuit of 

 the covert returned to Humber Wood, thence to 

 Deadmoor and Rocksmoor, and on to the Stock 

 coverts. Crossing the Caundle Brook, they raced 

 on to Holtham Plantation and in a straight line 

 to Stalbridge Park, where the good gallop of one 

 hour and twenty minutes came to an end. In the 

 meantime five and a half couple of hounds had 

 followed another of the foxes from Humber to 



