A HISTORY OF KENT Colonel North's mastership lasted for four seasons, his successor being Mr. George P. Russell of South Darenth, who stayed with the pack until 1894. In the latter year Mr. Augustus Leney of Orpines took over the management, and he still (1907) holds that position. Mr. Leney is his own huntsman, with Will Welch to turn hounds to him, and John Wilcox as kennel huntsman. Mr. Richard Tapply of Thorndale is the honorary secretary. The country hunted by the Mid- Kent Staghounds lies entirely within Kent, and extends over an area some forty miles square in the eastern and middle divisions of the county. There is very little plough, the nature of the open country being principally pasture. Woodland is, however, distributed more or less all over the territory of the hunt, and some of the coverts are of considerable among them being the Boxley (Mr. Brassey's Harriers), which hunted a portion of the territory now controlled by Mr. Mercer's pack in the Sittingbourne district, and the Fox Bush Harriers, which were merged in the Hadlow Foot Harriers in 1903. The names of many of the existing packs have been changed from time to time. Mention is made of the existence of a pack of harriers in the Sandhurst district so far back as the seventeenth century, but it is doubtful whether they can claim to be in any way related to the present establishment. The CoUins family appears to have controlled a trencher-fed pack at that period, and carried it on till 1847. From that date until 1868 Messrs. Robert Dunk and Edward CoUins held the joint mastership, when Mr. Braizier of Old Place, Sandhurst, came into office, continuing till 1878. At this period there size. Wire, which in past times caused a comes a break in the pack's history, the good deal of trouble, is now well marked where it is stiU left standing, and arrange- ments are made for its removal in some districts. The establishment of the pack is twenty couples of hounds, which are kennelled at Wateringbury ; and twenty-five deer are kept in paddock, the latter being under the care of H. Ralph at East Mailing Heath. Days of meeting are two a week. The Surrey Staghounds, which, of course, belong properly to the county from which they take their name, also come into the western part of Kent on occasion. HARRIERS A county possessing so much open country as one meets with in Kent, whose breezy marshes and expansive uplands provide that seclusion so beloved of the hare, is certain to be well supplied with packs of harriers and beagles. Before the Ground Game Act of 1 88 1 came into force, the hare in Kent was considered the perquisite rather of the courser and the hunter than of the gunner, but although that act has had the effect of reducing the ground game in many parts of the county, hares have been sufficiently well preserved by large landowners and tenants to be still plentiful enough both for hunting and coursing. At the present time there are at least seven packs of harriers within the county, and three or four packs of foot harriers or beagles. The latter are mostly of recent origin, the Fordcombe pack, established about the year 1870, being the oldest of those now in exist- ence. Several packs have disappeared, chief that Jenner has been with the pack they h 4S6 hounds being sold by auction, the majority of them finding their way into the kennels of neighbouring establishments. For some years the district remained unhunted, but even- tually Mr. Edward Collins formed a fresh pack with kennels, as before, at the Crouch, and George Jenner as huntsman. Mr. Thomas Collins afterwards succeeded to the mastership, and the kennels were removed by him to Benenden, but he stiU hunted the Sandhurst country. Subsequently the ken- nels were once more removed, this time to SpiUs Hill, Staplehurst, where the hounds were established under the name of the Wesid of Kent Harriers, with George Jenner still acting as huntsman. The Sandhurst district was now again without hounds until in 1895 Mr. James Farley of Ticehurst bought the pack and re-estalDlished it under the name of the Ticehurst Harriers. For a couple of seasons he hunted the Sandhurst country from Ticehurst with Joe Relf as kennel huntsman, but in 1897 he removed his kennels to Boxhurst, Sandhurst, with George Jenner as huntsman. Up till 1902 Mr. Farley carried on the pack at his own expense, when Mr. Le Breton Simmons, of Chippenham, Wilts, joined him in the mastership. The latter carried the horn, Jenner taking the place of kennel huntsman. In the following year Mr. Farley retired, and the pack was hunted by subscription with Mr. Simmons as master. A committee took over the management in 1904, hounds and kennels being lent by Mr. Farley. Mr. H. A. Pratt of Rolvenden was chosen as deputy-master, with George Jenner again as huntsman. In 1907 Mr. Farley resumed the mastership. During the time
