248 THE SOUTH DEVON HUNT 



from the late Mr. " Jemmy " Deacon, a wonder both 

 over the moor and in-country and never known to 

 tire ; Speedwell, from the Eggesford hunt stables ; 

 Goldfinch, bred by Mrs. Rendell, and Miss May, 

 bought from Mr. Richard Ferris of Capton who bred 

 her. Of the last mentioned, Mr. Rendell says she 

 could be trusted always to get to or live with hounds 

 and she never tired. Mr. Ferris, though eighty- 

 eight years of age, is still riding clean-bred ones ! 

 This is evidently the fruit of early habit, for he won 

 a race over three miles of country when only twelve 

 years old. 



The pack, at the outset, numbered forty-one 

 couple. It was strengthened during the first season 

 by the addition of the Four Burrow dog-pack, 

 numbering twenty-five couple and a half, purchased 

 from that well-known judge of what a foxhound 

 should be, Mr. John Williams of Scorrier. The 

 master thus had plenty of material to work upon, and 

 by the beginning of the second season the pack had 

 been drafted down to forty-five couple, comprising 

 an equal number of each sex and hunted as two 

 packs ; amply sufficient for three days a week. 



Of the Four Burrow lot. Vagrant, by the Grafton 

 Woodman out of the Four Burrow Vanity, was 

 perhaps the most fancied, and was very freely used 

 in the kennel. Mr. Singer also had a lot of very good 

 hounds from the North Staffordshire and found the 

 Grove and the Badminton very good kennels to visit. 



Having suffered during his partnership with Mr. 

 Vicary from lack of support from the Haldon side 

 and from difficulty in getting access to coverts there, 

 in consequence of many of the shootings being let, 

 Mr. Singer decided not to hunt the Haldon side 

 during his first season as sole master. That country, 



