252 THE NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE HOUNDS. 



We print photographs of all the six hounds above named ; 

 Chimer is the light-coloured hound. The group of five are 

 the five first-prize hounds in succession, rather a record. 

 Boxall says of them that they are all very good in their 

 work. 



The Hunt stables are about five minutes' walk from 

 the kennels, in the village, fronting the Stoke and New- 

 castle road, on the site where the old village inn and the 

 inn stables stood before the removal of the licence and 

 the building of a new hotel near to the Trentham Railway 

 Station. Altogether something like sixty hunters represent 

 the usual Hunt stud at Trentham, and the present lot 

 (numbering sixty-two) do credit to the management of 

 Mr. G. Percival, the stud groom who succeeded Norman 

 when the latter was pensioned off something like three 

 years ago. The present writer had an opportunity, quite 

 recently, of inspecting the Hunt horses under the guidance 

 of Percival, and found them a very good-looking and use- 

 ful lot. They are kept partly in the Hunt stables in the 

 village already mentioned, and partly in the stables at 

 the Hall, something like half in each place, and are 

 summered in loose boxes at the two places mentioned, 

 and part in roomy loose boxes at the " Paddocks " near 

 the golf-links at Trentham. We understand the Duke's 

 chief favourites at the present time are Pickles, a brown 

 horse eight years old, and Whissendine, a chestnut of the 

 same age, both well-bred horses with plenty of bone and 

 quality, and well up to the Duke's weight, with a little to 

 spare. There was also a compact little chestnut horse, 

 Guinea Pig, which took our fancy as the right sort of 

 animal for the North StaHbrdshire country, and we are 

 told he is a very promising performer, but he was only 

 bought the latter end of last season. The Duchess has 

 generally six good upstanding horses for her own riding, 

 of w^hich The Laird, a dark chestnut by Clanronald, and 

 Czar took our fancy as much as any ; but they are all 

 full of quality, and look quite as much like Leicestershire 

 as North Staffordshire horses. The Duke keeps an entire 



