SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN master, although unable now to follow his pack. The equally well known Charles Miles, who under the nom-de-plume of ' Dragon ' has for many years recorded the annals of hunting in Hertfordshire, has also been treasurer and a regular supporter of the hounds since the year 1876. It is due to the efforts of keen sportsmen such as these and to the energy of several others in the neighbour- hood that the Berkhampstead Buckhounds have had so many wonderful runs, and have at the same time been kept up more or less as a private pack, principally to provide sport for the farmers and gentlemen of Herts, and the fields have not been allowed to become overrun by a crowd of uninvited non-sub- scribers. Some of the great runs with these hounds were as follows : one from Flamstead to Missenden in Bucks, one from Flamstead to Hitchin and back to Luton in Beds, and another from the same place to Kenton near Harrow in Middlesex. In 1880 they ran from Harpenden to Puckeridge, where they had to stop the night. From 1880 to 1890 one famous stag gave them many great runs, notably one from Berkhampstead to Totte- ridge, and from Sand ridge to Barnet Gate, then on to Cannons Park, Edgware, where very few saw the stag taken. jack Rawle has of late years taken his father's place as huntsman and still occupies that position, and continues to show good sport to a typical Hertfordshire field. ENFIELD CHASE STAGHOUNDS In 1885, when Colonel Somerset retired from the mastership of the Hertfordshire Fox- hounds, he took over the pack of staghounds that had hunted the eastern portion of the county, and had his kennels close to his resi- dence at Enfield Court, and called his pack the Enfield Chase Staghounds. He hunted the country that was so much patronized by Queen Elizabeth when she resided at Hatfield House. No staghounds had hunted it since the days of Queen Elizabeth until Colonel Somerset's time. He adopted the uniform of Queen Elizabeth's Hunt servants, scarlet coat and orange cap. The country hunted by these hounds is mostly in Hertfordshire, and there is a con- siderable proportion of grass which when not too wet is a fine country to ride over. When the country is very wet the deep going often drives the deer on to the roads. In 1899 Colonel Somerset, much to the regret of all the followers of the hounds, resigned the mastership, and was succeeded by Mr. Hills Hartridge, who has built new kennels near Potters Bar, and has shown good sport. Owing to most of the meets being within easy reach of London many of the followers hail from the metropolis. SHOOTING There are few counties in England where game is more strictly preserved for shooting than Hertfordshire. This county, though adjacent to the metropolis, has yet retained to a great extent its rural character ; it is there- fore, almost as a matter of course, looked upon as the natural sporting ground of those who are obliged to make London their home. There is consequently a great demand for shooting all over the county, and at the present time it would be difficult to find a farm or a covert that is not preserved. Pheasants are reared extensively for shoot- ing all over the county, and in some parts, notably the Hemel Hempstead neighbourhood, they are kept in pens solely for the profits that can be made through the sale of their eggs. In looking back to the early history of this sport one finds that shooting with bows and arrows was apparently brought to great per- fection by the ancients. The crossbow dates from the eleventh century, and con- tinued to be used for sporting purposes until the sixteenth century. In King James I.'s time it is recorded that the king, when stay- at Theobalds in Hertfordshire, shot deer with the bow, the deer having been previously hunted with hounds from the thick recesses of the woods into the open. An interesting bill for dainties appears amongst the expenses of Queen Elizabeth's visit to Sir Nicholas Bacon at Gorhambury from Saturday, May 18, 1577, until the following Wednesday, showing the variety of game obtainable at that time. How the birds indigenous to the county were killed is a matter of conjecture, but presumably by fowling or netting and hawking. Herons, 12 doz. and 8 (26 i$s. 4-d.) ; bitterns, 8 doz. and 10 (i8s. "jd.) ; shovelers, 13 (2 3*. 4-d.) ; pheasants, 2 doz. and 5 (3 I2s. 6d.); partridges, 14 (us. 8d.) ; quails, 1 6 doz. and 9 (8 Js. 6d.) ; May chickens, 17 doz. (3 8s.) ; mallards, 23 (151. 4-d.) ; teals, 12 (4*.) ; larks, 3 doz. and 9 (21. 6d.) ; curlews, 3 (4*.), etc. 359
