THE CONDITIONS OF HUNTING. 231 



as to neck and shoulders, and with quite remarkable quality, 

 but every one of them light of bone, and I have seen good- 

 looking dog hounds bred from similar bitches that were also 

 very deficient in bone. If constitution and stamina are to^ be 

 achieved, there must be pronounced bone in the modern 

 foxhound, and in my opinion — formed by taking note of 

 the sire and dam of any particular hound which appeared 

 to be well off or badly off for bone — bone is even more 

 important than height. Yet Belvoir Gambler was only 23^in. 

 in height. 



It is not an easy matter to decide exactly what are meant 

 by the " conditions " of hunting, and I am not quit© clear 

 what it is that my correspondeint means, but I think I can give 

 some idea of the changes which have taken place since I began 

 to hunt, and from these he can form his own opinion. First, 

 then, the greatest change which has occurred with regard to 

 the physical condition of nearly every country in the kingdom 

 is the advent of barbed wire. This horrible — as regards hunt- 

 ing — ^invention had not been discovered when I began to hunt, 

 and did not appear for many years afterwards, while when it 

 first appeared its growth was very gradual indeed, and in 

 many countries it was unknown long after it had become com- 

 mon near big centres of population. Now it is to be found 

 everyTvhere, and though it has been regularly taken down at 

 the beginning of the season and replaced in the spring in a 

 great number of districts, the fact remains that there are other 

 districts in great numbers where the wire is permanent, and 

 certain to remain so. The taking down process is being ooai- 

 tinued, but I heard only a week or two ago of new wire being 

 put up, fixed to old railway sleepers, placed as posts, and 

 where there was so littlei of the old fenoet left, that it looked, 

 as my informant remarked, " as if it was intended to be a 

 permanent job." This was in one) of the most importa.nt mid- 

 land countries, and hardly augurs well for thei future. 



What is quite certain is that from a riding point of view the 

 country is nothing like so good as it was when wire was un- 

 known. Just think what it meant, viz., that a horse could be 

 ridden at any sort of fence with the knowledge that if he failed 

 to get over, his failure was due either to the jump being beyond 

 his powers or to his making a mistake in jumping. One rode 



