The Washington times., 1933-12-14
Continued from Page y

| N~VUSAuA<0 BEVEW F0&@
better than a dead one. The
master is known for the excellent
sport he shows.
The strain from which the
Orange county pack is descended
is traceable back to q famous
hound, Ranta, property Of vii.
liam Early, Of Madison, forebear
OF the late William Skinker.
About 80 years ago the latter fur
niShed the foundation stock for
the present Orange county pack,
which incidentally contains a
number Of hounds sired by an
other Ranta, this one the Ranta
Of 1928, who won his laurels
under the severest Of competitive
conditions.
The modern Ranta, whose fame
has spread, both as a true hound
and a sire, remains beloved
among those who knew him and
his ability to follow the line of a
fox and show sport under the
most adverse conditions, for his
great cry, his remarkable drive,
stamina and courage and his ex-
traordinary ability to adapt him.
self to pack hunting and hunts
mans control, despite his out
standing personality and superior
attainments. He was hunted for
eight years.
The strain has been owned by
several generations Of the same
! family in Virginia. It is more
than passingly significant to note
that the Orange county master
and huntsman to this day repect
to remarkable degree the
methods and ideas Of breeding
advocated by the late William
Skinker.
Known AS "Ring Neck"
The Madison-Virginia type of
hound often is known as the" Ring
Neck" by native Virginians, its
color being brownish-red and
white. The former color, when it
predominates, has q tendency to
cause the hound to blend with
winter ground-coloring.
Ranta, '23, sired the following:
1928 entry, Jester, Magpie, Maxim,
Mistress; 1929 entry, Jacobin,
Jocular, Juggler, Jumper, Mar
vel, Merrylass, Mildred. Mimi,
Mindful, Mona, Myrtle: 1880 entry,
Jailer, Janitor, Mabel, Majesty;
1881 entry, Bachelor, Bauble,
Bashful, Bellwood, Jovial, Jubilee,
Justice, Jigger, Jupiter: 1892 entry,
Acrobat, Jasper, Juniper: 1888
entry, Julia, Jingle, Jostler, Jiffy,
Joyous, Judith.
Orange county entries have the
same first letter in their names
as their dams. Thus, for instance,
the dam of Jester is Judith, '25;
the dam of Magpie is Madcap,
'24; the dam of Jailer is Judith.
'25; and so on.
Leach Is Huntsman
Sterling Leach has been hunts
man for the Orange county for
the past 13 years. He utiliZes
18 to 20 couple Of hounds on
alternate regular hunting days,
as the Orange county hunts four
times a week for five months,
starting November and ending
April /.
Of new entries there are nine
couple. New entries are 1-year-
olds. Of the nine couple, AZ
couple are used one day and
the other AZ the next hunting
day. The remainder are Older
hounds. Every hound of the
pack thus hunts twice a week
AS a rule, the pack is "roaded'
to the meet, Orange county meets
varying from three miles to nine
miles distant from the kennels
During the season devoted tt
bringing hounds to hunting
physical fitness (July and Au-
gust) hounds are roaded. Nc
effort is made during this sea-
son to study hunting qualities
since no hunting is done. Wher
the pack is roaded in July ano
! August, the first day of such
training, for instance, finds the
pack travelling a distance ot