186 HUNTING IN MANY COUNTRIES. 



answer is that in many cases the boughs of the fruit trees 

 were trained along the top of the fence, leaving no place where 

 jumping was practicable. I have occasionally found myself 

 inside one of these orchards, with no road out, even for a bold- 

 jumping horse, and after a time, if hounds crossed an orchard^ 

 I always went round, and this most certainly saved ground in 

 the long run. The late Mr. Arkwright, of Hampton Court 

 (Herefordshire), who was Master of the North Herefordshire 

 at the time I am writing about, was the best man I ever saw at 

 crossing those orchards. Probably he knew the country well, 

 for if one followed him into an orchard, there was always a way 

 out, though it might^ — and generally did — involve an awkward 

 jump. 



The Ledbury country always struck me as containing rich 

 land, and much of it carried a rare scent. The best part 

 of the country from a riding point of view was on the 

 Gloucester side, where the Ledbury joins the Berkeley Hunt, 

 and such meets as the Canning Arms were the most popular 

 in my day. This part of the country contains a lot of grass, 

 and is not so- hilly as the country ronnd Ledbury, and I have 

 a recollection of a youngster mounted for the day by a friend 

 jumping a pair of raihvay gates, and the owner of the horse 

 selling him for a large sum immediately afterwards. The loan 

 horse had pounded the field, and some time afterwards, when 

 forces were joined up, the rider quietly confided to me that he 

 had not had the least intention of jumping the gates, but had 

 been run away with, and had just managed to keep his seat. 

 At times on the north side of the Ledbury country the field 

 fifty years ago^ would not exceed a couple of dozen, and 

 my recollection is that fifty was quite a big number for 

 thei Ledbury district, while on the Gloucester side of the 

 country there would be nearly double that number. I have 

 in mind, too, that hounds only hunted about five days a fort- 

 night, that the hunt establishment was a very small one, and 

 that Mr. Morrell, who was his own huntsman, hunted hounds 

 on the silent system, nothing being heard but an occasional 

 whistle when a fox was viewed. In the Ledbury district there 

 were several big woodlands, notably Eastnor; but there was 

 not a strand of wire in the whole country when I was there, 

 and I never saw or knew of a blank day. But I had some 



