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COURSING 



Mr. James Owen's property, and a better or more genial sports- 

 man than the proprietor of Holestone does not exist. The 

 running is rather severe, as it is all uphill, but the trials are 

 of the very best kind. The running ground being in the midst 

 of a district celebrated for the number of good greyhounds it 

 has produced, it is almost needless to add that little difficulty 

 is experienced in filling the stakes. Indeed, there is no part 

 of Ireland where so many greyhounds are bred and reared as 

 in the district surrounding Holestone, nor in Her Majesty's 



True to their hares 



wide dominions are there keener coursers to be found. En- 

 closed coursing was much overdone when in its zenith, and 

 its greatest attendant evil was caused by the fact that it 

 attracted a crowd who neither knew nor cared anything for 

 the sport, but who came for the sake of the betting alone. 

 After a while genuine coursers began to notice that many 

 of the greyhounds which were run time after time at the en- 

 closures gradually became exceedingly cunning, and deliberately 

 waited for their more honest opponent to put the hare round 

 to them. Occasionally two shifty ones were slipped together, 



