Breeding of Hunters. 227 



with a skewer, as were all " The Squire's," was put 

 into Sir Harry's hands, and its hieroglyphics deci- 

 phered as follows, amid immense merriment : — 



"Dear Goodricke, — I can scarcely believe that you Melton men 



know a horse from a jackass. Old offered to three of your noble 



lords the horse I bought from him, and I \vish them to know that I am 

 prepared to run any one of them, or any other Melton man, or any man 

 in the world, four miles for 400/. ! eight ditto for 800/. ! ! or ten ditto 

 for 1000/. ! ! ! twelve stone each, over Leicestershire, or any other 

 county in England," &c. &c. &c. 



Eight years after, the horse was in Lord Howth's 

 stud at Melton, and went nearly as well at seven- 

 teen as when he was the subject of this dashing 

 challenge. 



The great nurseries of English hunters are the 

 North and East Ridings of Yorkshire, more especially 

 on the Wolds, and the whole of Lincolnshire and 

 Shropshire. The Lincolnshire hunters are still first- 

 rate, but they are bred in fewer numbers than they 

 were in Dick Burton's hunting prime, owing princi- 

 pally to the improved system of cultivation, which has 

 caused much second-rate grass-land to be ploughed 

 up. Hence the number of brood-mares is rather 

 limited, and the farmers have to resort to Howden 

 Fair, which is the largest market in the world for un- 

 made hunters and carriage-horses. Scarcely any of 

 them are tied in rows, but they are generally ridden 

 or led about the town, whose long High-street is for 

 four or five days one surging sea of animal life. Hosts 

 of Lincolnshire farmers may be found there each 

 September, picking up four-year-old hunters, at prices 

 which once ranged from 80/. to 100/., but now more 

 generally from 100/. to 120/. The hunting dealers 

 also attend, not to buy, but to glean information about 

 promising horses ; they learn where they go to, and 

 occasionally, if they take a very strong fancy, purchase 

 a contingent interest in some of them. Their new 

 owners aim at keeping them at least a year, but 



Q 2 



