THE BEL VOIR COUNTRY 



review what an influence on the development of the pack the 

 country and its circumstances have had. To have hunted 

 over the same country for 1 80 years must necessarily affect 

 the working of hounds. The country over which they go 

 carrying a scent, hounds can drive forward boldly without 

 fear of losing the line, and the foxes, being wild, make distant 

 points, so that a huntsman learns the boldest course is gener- 

 ally the wisest. The fastest hounds in the long run are those 

 which are least often off the line. 



The speed of a pack of fox-hounds is the result of various 

 causes. The power of holding to a scent and steadiness in 

 keeping to the line of the hunted animal, all the time getting 

 forward, and the soundness and condition to do this at a fair 

 pace and over a distance of ground, are the chief elements of 

 speed. The fox-hound is a quick-scenting animal ; directly 

 he gets one whiff he dashes forward in pursuit of another, and 

 so catches it, as it were, before it has time to fade. Now this 

 tendency of a pack of hounds to carry ahead instead of to 

 string, like stag-hounds, shows that perfection of emulation 

 with combination which makes up a good pack. All these 

 natural instincts of the hounds are strengthened and developed 

 by favouring conditions in the country hunted over, and ac- 

 cumulated generation after generation when a pack of the 

 same race hunts over the same country for a long period of 

 time. How well the foundation of these qualities was laid 

 we may gather from a run which Shaw had with a pack 

 made up of hounds which were chiefly Beaufort and Meynell 

 grafted on to the original Belvoir stock, with an admixture of 

 a few hounds which had come from the Duke of Leeds' pack. 

 This run, which took place from Clawson Thorns on a still, 

 fine day in 1806, was little less wonderful than the famous 

 chase of which I have already written, and has often been 

 quoted as an instance of the stoutness of the pack. Hounds 

 ran fairly well to Holwell, but from there they descended 

 into the vale. Then they began to race, the fox crossing the 

 middle of each field. Only three men — Mr. T. Assheton 

 Smith, Lords Delamere and Templetown — went down the 

 hill with hounds. Of the rest only three saw hounds again. 



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