LONG POINTS AND THE HEYTHROP. 213 



arable land, and therefore it follows that the greater part 

 of the riding is on what is broadly termed " plough." But 

 as a matter of fact there are considerable variations, and 

 perhaps the chief of these is that during the autumn there 

 is a very great area of stubble in the hunting areas. It is, 

 of course, impossible in an arable country for farmers to 

 plough out all their stubble fields immediately they have 

 been reaped ; the process is in many places a long one, extend- 

 ing over the greater part of the autumn, and therefore it 

 happens that during October, and sometimes well into 

 November, there are stubbles to be crossed which, if not 

 too hard, afford excellent going. I have known the stubbles 

 as hard as iron in September, and yielding and pleasant a 

 little later, but the Puckeridge country carries its best scent 

 when the country is really wet, and even then the plough is 

 nothing like so heavy as I have found it in other countries. 

 This applies also to the western and north-western side of 

 the Essex country, and I am inclined to think that when 

 the land is dry scent is better on the eastern side of the 

 Puckeridge than it is on the west or in the most northerly 

 districts of the hunt. But, as has been suggested, sport is 

 best in this particular country when the land is very wet, 

 .and at such times there is greater continuity of good sport; 

 but I have seen the Puckeridge run in all sorts of weather, 

 and once saw a brilliant twenty minutes, followed by a good 

 hunting run on a holding scent when the dust was flying 

 in the centre of the fields. The best day with the pack which 

 I saw was after a meet near the centre of the hunt. Where 

 •exactly this meet was I do not remember, but hounds found 

 in a little spinney quite close to the kennels, which were then 

 at Braughing. They ran on steadily to the Hassiobury 

 Coverts, and thence to Hazel End Wood, where — as I believe 

 was thought at the time — they changed foxes. Anyhow, they 

 went on in an eastward direction, crossing the main Cam- 

 bridge railway near Birchanger. They then ran north of 

 Takeley Forest — but not into it, if my memory is correct — 

 and, still bending a little to the north, reached the coverts of 

 Easton Park. Here they came right round, and went back 

 on a parallel line to Hassiobury, and how the hunt ended 

 I do not quite remember, as one horse had had enough and 



