The Lanarkshire and Renfrezvshire Hunt. 27 



the country up to this point. They again forced the fox away over Mid 

 Glen to Elphinstone and Wraes, where scent failed at the end of one and a 

 half hours. There was another capital hunt on the occasion of the Castle 

 Semple fixture of 6th March, and a somewhat unusual course was taken. 

 A fox was found in Lawmarnock and pursued over the hill between 

 Craigton and Glentyan to Castle Semple. As they left here they crossed 

 the River Cart and the Johnstone and Beith road just to the right of How- 

 wood to go on to Barcraigs Bog, leftwards by Rowbank over Bowfield 

 Moss, finally running into their fox in the open near Skiff. The time was 

 close upon an hour, and very fast throughout. 



After hunting a fox from Houston Wood on 10th January, hounds carried 

 on pursuit by Barochan Moss and Bishopton village down to the banks of 

 the Clyde on the lower side of Erskine. Here the sly one disappeared, but 

 when near West Ferry Webster espied the fox swimming in the river. He 

 wisely kept the hounds back and a boat was procured. It looked rather 

 funny to see this boat, manned by a farmer and Ted Parker, the first whip, 

 being rowed out to where the fox was, but when they reached him he was 

 drowned. Still the hounds had the blood they had earned. 



During season 1906- 1907 there was a deal of interruption through 

 frost, but still there was plenty of excellent sport. I make mention of one 

 particular run chiefly through the line of country traversed on 13th 

 November. From the grounds of Cowden Hall — where that keen and fine 

 horsewoman, Miss Orr, used to reside — a fox was set going, but he seemed 

 to get the best of matters for a time, and it may have been the same fox 

 that the hounds became on better terms with at Neilston Pad. They 

 then ran by Long Loch and Boyne Moor and finally killed in the open near 

 Eaglesham House. I make no further reference to what was a rather 

 unlucky campaign, for the vicissitudes of the weather robbed us of anything 

 worthy of illuminating the records. 



The interests of covert shooting claimed special consideration for 

 many years, and as a consequence hounds were seldom allowed to investi- 

 gate any portion of what was regarded as the " Saturday Country " prior 

 to the opening of the regular season. Sport in the earlier part was therefore 

 more like cubbing, with a lot of woodland work and spasmodic bursts into 

 the open. It was a very late harvest in the autumn of 1907, and when the 

 season was entered upon on 2nd November at Houston a considerable 



