PREFACE 



In this volume Mr. Dale has given the results of 

 his experience in the hunting fields of Leicester- 

 shire and the surrounding counties, and has treated 

 his subject from the dual standpoint, for which his 

 earlier work so fits him, of hunting historian and 

 hunting correspondent. His chapters are almost en- 

 tirely practical, though he digresses where necessary 

 to criticise, always briefly and to the point, such 

 modern questions as the presence of ladies in the 

 field, the latest development of the capping system, 

 and the question of hunting dress and hunting morals. 

 For the most part, and with some few such exceptions, 

 he gives us minute descriptions of the country known 

 somewhat vaguely as " the Shires," and some very 

 excellent advice as to the purchase or schooling of 

 the right kind of horse for hunting that country. 

 The photographs obtained by Mr. R. B. Lodge, with 

 considerable guiding assistance from the author, 

 have here and there been supplemented, with a view 

 to illustrating in as practical fashion as possible the 

 main features of the book. 



