sometimes turning to darker colours, such as red and a grizzled black and tan, but white predominating -being the favourite colour of the Squire. Here they had smooth as well as rough hounds, and particular attention was paid to their music. I have heard it stated by old hunters who knew these hounds well, that of all the packs they had ever hunted with, they never saw never saw or heard one that excelled the Lanharran. After the death of Mr. Jenkins, they were handed over to the late Mr. W. Morgan, Tremains, who carried them on until his death. They were later on removed to Braich-yCymmer, in the Ogmore Valley, where, after a few years, they found their way back again to Llanharron. From thence Col. Blandy Jenkins drafted them to different packs now hunting in Glamorganshire-principally to the Ystrad. There was another pack of Welsh hounds, viz., the "Croescade," kept by one of the best sportsmen and finest judges of Welsh hounds that Wales ever possessed -the late Mr. William Perkins, of Croes-cade. These were similar hounds to the Lanharran, both in make and shape, but their voices were not so fine. I believe in the present day a good deal of this blood found its way into the kennels of Lord Tredegar and the Llangibby.

I should rather fancy that the pack of hounds

which contains the greatest amount of “ pure Welsh blood" is that of the Ynysfor, hunting round about Penrhyn Deudraeth, Merionethshire, and of which Mr. John Jones is the master. This is a smallish pack of thirteen couples, which hunts pretty much all the year round, after the season for fox being over, otter hunting being successfully followed. The country is perhaps as rough as any in the United Kingdom, and Mr. Jones finds the Welsh wire haired hounds, of which about half his pack is constituted, the best animals for his purpose. They have been in his family for three generations, which extend in this case over one hundred years. The father of the present master bred from the hounds of old Mr. Rumsey Williams, of Penrhos, who kept a pack, mostly of Welsh blood, near Carnarvon at the beginning of the century, and in a great measure the present Ynysfor hounds are largely descended from them. Fresh blood has from time to time been obtained from various districts in South Wales, where the rough haired hound is generally believed to have been originally produced, or, at any rate, two or three generations back, it was more easily to be found there than elsewhere.

More recently, Mr. Jones secured new crosses from the kennels of the late Colonel Pryse, of Peittyll, near Aberystwith, and from other hunts

N

in the southern portions of the Principality; whilst in a few cases he has crossed with well-bred

English foxhounds. The hard, wiry coats, however, remain in most instances, as well as the peculiar character and excellences common to the Welsh harrier. As is the custom with most hounds which hunt a rough country, the meets are in early morning, and foxes are found by hounds questing and hunting the drag until their game is put away, then the run is generally over terribly rough country, in which, of course, hounds are at times left very much to themselves. For this purpose nothing can excel the Welsh "wire hairs," even if they have a remote bar sinister on their escutcheon. These Ynysfor hounds are from 20 inches (bitches) to 22 inches (dogs) in height, and vary in colour, some being black and tan, others wholly tan, whilst the remainder are the ordinary hound colours.

Of course, what has been written here, and appears later on in the chapter, more or less indicates that the really pure Welsh hounds, absolutely without any intermingling of foxhound or harrier blood, are most difficult to obtain, but that such are still highly valued in some quarters may, I think, be taken for granted.

There are other packs containing more or less Welsh blood still existing in the Lanwonno, Ystrad,

Tyn y Cymmer, Treharris, Merthyr Old Court, and the Pentyrch; the latter are black and tans, and it is said they originally came from the Gelly. When living in Glamorganshire the present master of the Pembroke and Carmarthen Otter Hounds hunted them for both fox and hare. The last named pack possess two wonderful Welsh hounds of the Lanharran strain, Langer, and Gaylass. They are lemon and white in colour, and have hard coats, good voices, and no day is too long for them. They were originally purchased from the Llangibby Otter Hounds.

At the present time there is a certain demand. for these Welsh wire-haired, hard-coated hounds; for, however opinions may differ as to their qualifications when placed alongside the modern foxhound, there do not appear to be two opinions as to their suitability for otter hunting. Masters of hounds fortunate enough to possess a couple or so, speak of them most eulogistically, especially so far as their hard, crisp, water-resisting coats are concerned; arguing that a coat of this character is more readily dried than the rougher one of the true otter hound; moreover, it is not so much in the way when swimming, and their constitutions are good. I do not think there is anywhere in the Principality or elsewhere an entire pack of the

pure Welsh hound, either of harrier or of foxhound stamp (for there are two varieties), with the wirehaired, crisp coat. The colours are various, a few being black and tan, whilst ordinary hound markings, and such as are of a dark grizzled red and white, appear to be most in favour.

In going through the annual hunt table published in the Field on Oct. 17, 1896, I found there were some twenty-four packs of hounds kennelled in Wales, but only one is alluded to as Welsh, and this is the Merthyr Old Court pack, which are Welsh harriers, but their height is not given. They hunt from near Merthyr Tydvil. There are Welsh hounds in the Llangibby and also in the Pembrokeshire and Carmarthen. As already said, masters of otter hounds value the strain or variety highly. Mr. T. P. Lewes, who hunts from Ffosrhydgaled, Llanfarian, near Aberystwith, has a few couples of pure bred wire-haired Welsh foxhounds; and in the Ynysfor, whose kennels are at Ynysfor, Merionethshire, the variety may be found as already alluded to. Mr. J. H. Jefferson, Cockermouth, secretary of the West Cumberland Hunt, tells me that they have one or two Welsh hounds, which are valued highly, and they would breed more of them were they able to find suitable material.

The Hon. H. C. Wynn, at Rûg, near Corwen,