12 THZ SOUTH DEVON HUNT 



e:»ntract and c : nvert any such prmnise into a binding 

 agreement. 



The fiumers of South Devon are, afanost without 

 exeepiMm, fiist^ate fdlows. Ther are large-hearted, 

 hoqiitaWR and obtigmg, and also very independent. 

 and expect, and li^itly so, proper recognition and 

 treatment from the faont. We do not see as many 

 of tiiem in the field as we should like, and of those 

 who do fannt a good number find the hairiers. as 

 being nearer home and entailing less sacrifice of 

 time, JDCfre conTiraiient than the foxhounds. Xever- 

 thflfga^ they are stanncfa friemis to foxhunting, and a 

 claim for compcnsati<Hi fcfr damage to crops or fences 

 is Tay rare. Poultry, oi coarse, is paid for, and for 

 this purpose a damage fund exists and is administered 

 by two or three Tc^unteers in diffoent districts. 



Where all are so good, it may seem invidious to 

 name one individual, yet perhaps the fact of his 

 being one o€ the oldest tenant farmers in the hunt 

 justifies menticHi of the case of 3Ir. Daniel Ward- 

 Wreford as typical of the excellent spirit that prevails. 

 For thirteen years he farmed at Priestaford, Ash- 

 burton ; for seven at Prestoncombe, Morleigh ; and 

 for tbe past twenty-six at Whiteley, Totnes. During 

 all those years he has never made a claim for damage, 

 even for loss of poultry, although the coverts on his 

 farm have always been a sure find. Indeed, it is 

 his proud boast that he would rather lose a sheep 

 than a fox or a hare. For he has been a keen hare- 

 hunter too, and Whiteley has been the popular 

 fixture of the Dart Vale Harriers on their opening 

 day during the whole of his long tenancy. On 

 leaving Priestaford in 1881, he was presented by a 

 few friends from Ashburton with a silver tea-set as 

 a mark of their respect and esteem. 



