CLOSE OF SEASON 1900-1901. 269 



gallop to Three Brooks, back by College Fields, Bellaport to Buerton Gorse ; then 

 away to Bellaport, and beat us. Found in Bellaport Woods. Did nothing much- 

 Found in the Bogs at Willoughbridge. Had a very good hunting run of two 

 hours through the Forty Acres, Ashley Heath, Burnt Woods, Bishop's Woods to 

 Fair Oak ; back through Broughton Birches, Burnt Woods, Ashley Heath, Forty 

 Acres, Cow Leasows, Winnington to Willoughbridge, Birch House Wood to 

 Lordsley Gorse. Gave him up. Seven o'clock ; getting dark. Very cold day. 

 Bather a deep snow for the time of year, but had a very good day's sport. The 

 run from Willoughbridge was a good sporting run. This fox has given us several 

 good runs this season. I hope he vnW have a good summer and be all right for 

 next season. 



"April 4th, 1901. Fair Oaks. — Found and ran to ground in Bishop's 

 Woods. Found and killed at Sugnall. Found in Wincote Wood. Had a nice 

 gallop by Johnson Hall to Ellenhall, through Walton Gorse, by Chebsey, through 

 Yeld's Rough, Holland Wood, back to Chebsey, and beat us in the village. A 

 fox was seen to go from Walton Gorse after we ran through. Went to try to 

 find him, but failed. Had a verj-^ nice day's sport to finish the season with. 

 The run from Wmcote Wood to Chebsey was a very enjoyable one. As regards 

 the weather, we had slight snowstorms, with ver}' strong winds. It was not 

 like the end of the season, which has been the wettest and roughest I remember, 

 but we have done very well in the way of sport. This finishes my twenty-fourth 

 season with the North Stafford Hounds." 



Eecorcl for the season: forty-nine foxes killed, fifty- 

 eight run to ground ; ninety-four days' hunting altogether. 



Subscriptions amounted to £2233. About £150 were 

 devoted to wire removal, and £440 to the Poultry and 

 Covert Fund, besides about £258 spent by the Duke of 

 Sutherland in laying down five and a half miles of fencing 

 on twenty-eight farms, and in cutting and fencing gorse 

 coverts. Also, out of a special fund, £221 were spent upon 

 the Draycot coverts. 



The season of 1901-1902 was a good deal interrupted 

 by frost and snow, and now and then by thick fogs, and 

 for thirty days hunting was lost altogether through 

 bad weather, but on the whole sport was rather above the 

 average, and a fair number of foxes were accounted for. 

 The season opened, as usual, with a meet at Woore, on 

 Monday, November 4th. Boxall says in his diary, 

 " Owing to a very thick fog we could not hunt much. 

 Came home early. Very disappointing for the first day ; " 

 and much the same state of things occurred on Wednesday, 

 the Gth, at Draycot Woods (Bird-in-Hand), where, " owing 

 to fog," says Boxall, " we met a little late and had to 



