,: -I '/ Digitized by the Internet Arcinive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/coursingfalconryOdcoxhrich OF SPORTS AND PASTIMES EDITED BY HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BEAUFORT, K.G. ASSISTED BY ALFRED E. T. WATSON COURSING AND FALCONRY COURSING AND FALCONRY COURSING BY HARDING COX THOROUGHLY REVISED BY CHARLES RICHARDSON FALCONRY BY THE HON. GERALD LASCELLES IV/TH ILLUSTRATIONS by JOHN CHARLTON, R. H. MOORE LANCELOT SPEED, G. E. LODGE, and from PHOTOGRAPHS LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON AND BOMBAY 1899 All rights reserved BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE. First Edition November 1892. New Edition, thoroughly revised and with additions to ' Coursing^ ' February 1 899. LOAN STACK v fj^,^ : fcC''7g DEDICA TION TO H.R.H, THE PRINCE OF WALES Badminton : May 1835. Having received permission to dedicate these volumes, the Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes, to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. I do so feeling that I am dedicating them to one of the best and keenest sportsmen of our time. I can say, from personal observation, that there is no man who can extricate himself from a bustling and pushing crowd of horsemen, when a fox breaks covert, more dexterously and quickly than His Royal Highness ; and that when hounds run hard over a big country, no man can take a line of his own and live with them better. Also, when the wind has been blowing hard, often have I seen His Royal Highness knocking over driven grouse and partridges and high-rocketing pheasants in first-rate 344 vi COURSING AND FALCONRY workmanlike style. He is held to be a good yachtsman, and as Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron is looked up to by those who love that pleasant and exhilarating pastime. His encouragement of racing is well known, and his attendance at the University, Public School, and other important Matches testifies to his being, like most English gentlemen, fond of all manly sports. I consider it a great privilege to be allowed to dedicate these volumes to so eminent a sportsman as His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and I do so with sincere feelings of respect and esteem and loyal devotion. BEAUFORT. %Ar-^^-^ BADMINTON PREFACE A FEW LINES only are necessary to explain the object with which these volumes are put forth. At the time when the Badminton Library was started no modern encyclopaedia existed to which the inexperienced man, who sought guidance in the practice of the various British Sports and Pastimes, could turn for information. Some books there were on Hunting, some on Racing, some on Lawn Tennis, some on Fishing, and so on ; but one Library, or succession of volumes, which treated of the Sports and Pastimes indulged in by Englishmen — and women— was wanting. The Badminton Library was produced to supply the want. Of the imperfections viii COURSING AND FALCONRY which must be found in the execution of such a design we are conscious. Experts often differ. But this we may say, that those who are seeking for knowledge on any of the subjects dealt with will find the results of many years' experience written by men who are in every case adepts at the Sport or Pastime of which they write. It is to point the way to success to those who are ignorant of the sciences they aspire to master, and who have no friend to help or coach them, that these volumes are written. To those who have worked hard to place simply and clearly before the reader that which he will find within, the best thanks of the Editor are due. That it has been no slight labour to supervise all that has been written he must acknowledge ; but it has been a labour of love, and very much lightened by the courtesy of the Publisher, by the unflinching, indefatigable assistance of the Sub- Editor, and by the intelligent and able arrangement of each subject by the various writers, who are so thoroughly masters of the subjects of which they treat. The reward we all hope to reap is that our work may prove useful to this and future generations. BEAUFORT. CONTENTS COURSING CHAPTKR PAGE Introduction 3 I. The Waterloo Cup 8 II. A Treatise on Breeding 50 III. Practical Greyhound Breeding . . . . 74 IV. Treatment of Saplings 90 V. The Greyhound in Training . . . . 98 VI. Enclosed Coursing in VII. Some Celebrated Greyhounds of the Past . 124 VIII. Opinions of Noted Coursers . . . .145 IX. Description and Points of the Greyhound . 172 X. Some English Coursing Clubs . . . .179 FALCONRY I. Introductory— The Modern Falconer— Im- plements Used — Glossary of Terms ■. . 235 II, The Peregrine— Eyesses — Hacking Hawks — Training — Game Hawking — Records of Sport — Magpie Hawking 254 X COURSING AND FALCONRY CHAPTER ■ PAGE III. The Peregrine — Passage Hawks— Advantages OF — How Caught— Mode of Training — Heron Hawking — Rook Hawking — Gull Hawking — Passage Hawks for Game— Lost Hawks 277 IV. Gerfalcons— Kite Hawking— Hare Hawking — Merlins — How Managed— Lark Hawking • — The Hobby — The Sacre — The Lanner — ShahIns — Sport in India — Other Varieties OF Hawks used in Falconry . . . . 310 V. The Short-winged Hawks — Goshawks — How Obtained — Training — Entering — Rabbit Hawking— Various Flights — The Sparrow- Hawk — Management— Blackbird Hawking. 328 VI. Celebrated Falconers— Scotch, Dutch, and English Clubs - The Falconers' Club — Colonel Thornton — The Loo Club— The Old Hawking Club— Amateur Falconers —Famous Hawks— Records of Sport . . 343 VI I. General Management — Mews — Blocks — Perches — Bow-perch — Bathing— Condition — Feeding — Castings — Imping — Moulting —Various Diseases— General Hints. . . 367 Appendix 391 Index 413 ILLUSTRATIONS Reproduced by J. D. Cooper and Messrs. Walker & Boutali. Photographs by G. Mitchell. PLATES The Waterloo Cup . . . Fullerton The Turn MiSTERTON Greentick Master McGrath .... Mespilus An Even Slip .... Excitement ..... Have a Cup In The Marshes .... On the Downs .... Peter Ballantyne .... Peregrine on Block — Adult Plumage Peregrines on Cadge . Grouse Hawking— ' Hit Fair and Square ' 'A Close Shave' .... Greenland Falcon Goshawk— Adult Plumage John Frost TO FACK PAfiE ARTIST John Charlton Frontispiece R. H. Moon John Charlton Fi'om a photograph G. E. Lodge From a photograph 22 48 50 T18 130 149 150 170 179 232 226 262 266 292 310 328 350 COURSING AND FALCONRY ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT A Frolic A Waterloo Cup Crowd A Long Jump He's had enough .... Too many Hares .... On his own account The Judge The Nursery Exercise Feeding On the Grass The Toilette .... Exercise in the Paddock Preparing the Food Enclosed Coursing— Driving out Hare Starting the Hare Counting the Slain Driving Hares out of the Woods True Ta their Hares The High Jump .... Unsighted Ready for Action Outline of a Greyhound of well-balanced physique ARTIST John Charlton . From a photograph R. H. Moore From a photograph R. H. Moore . 5 J Lancelot Speed John Charlton . Lionel Speed . R. H. Moore Lionel Speed . R. H. Moore From a photograph The Right Sort and the Wrong A Cliffe Meeting .... An Oyster Cart Carried over a Dyke after a Course R. H. Moore . Lionel Speed ILL US TRA TIONS The Game At a North-Country Meeting . Finished Dutch Hood Indian Hood Rufter Hood Jesses Leash Swivel Indian Bell Lure Falconer's Bag .... A Peregrine's Eyrie Falconer ' Making-in ' to a Hawk Tiercel and Teai Tiercel and Woodcock Magpie Hawking .... Tiercel on Partridcje . Passage Hawk under Bow-net Falcon flying Rook Iceland Falcon .... Lark Hawking .... Merlin 'Feeding up' Goshawk with Rabbit in her Foot Sparrow-hawk on Bow-perch . Young Goshawk on Captain Salvin Bow-perch Process of 'Imping' a Feather Process of 'Sewing-in' a Feather AKTIST PAGE From a photograph . 219 John Charlton 230 Lionel Speed 231 G. E. Lodge . . 244 ,, 245 >5 245 „ 246 ,, 247 ?? 247 ,, 248 „ 249 ,, 250 ?? 255 „ 265 ?> 271 ,, 273 „ 275 ,, 279 5? 28s „ 301 >J • 313 55 . 319 55 • 323 55 • 333 55 • 341 55 • 371 5, • 379 55 • 379 COURSING HARDING COX b A frolic INTRODUCTION Coursing, as a national field sport, holds its own for antiquity with any other that is now followed. How far back it dates cannot, indeed, be precisely said, but it is at least certain that very nearly nineteen hundred years ago coursing- was practised very much in the same manner as it is in the present day ; for Arrian, a.d. 150, wrote a long and elaborate treatise on the subject, from which the student may ascertain thatinall essentials the sport was what it remains ; though it may be added that in its leading features it is not easy to see how it could be otherwise conducted. Arrian describes coursing with an appreciation of sport which will be cordially recognised. He insisted on letting the hare have her start, creep from her form as if unperceived, and B 2 4 COURSING recover her presence of mind. Then, he says, ' if she be a racer she will prick her ears and bound away from her seat with long strides ; ' and he grows enthusiastic over the sight that ensues when the greyhounds stretch out at full speed after her. The spirit in which this ancient Greek wrote will warmly commend itself to readers of to-day. Those coursers who are true sportsmen, Arrian asserts, do not take their dogs out for the sake of catching a hare, but for the contest or sport of coursing, and they are glad if the hare escapes. If she fly to any thin brake for concealment, where they see her trembling and in the utmost distress, they will call off their dogs. Often, indeed, when following a course on horseback, have I come up to the hare as soon as caught, and have myself saved her alive, and then have taken away my dog, fastened him up, and allowed her to escape. And if I have arrived too late to save her, I have struck my head with sorrow that the dog had killed so good an antagonist. All this is as it should be, and in passing on with a tribute of respect to the good sportsman who wrote it nearly two thou- sand years ago, it need only be incidentally added that he says nothing about testing the relative merits of greyhounds. These old coursers went out merely to see their dogs run a hare, and, though Arrian enforces the rule that more than a brace of greyhounds should never be slipped at a time, this is because he thought two greyhounds to one hare made a fair encounter. The date when matches were first made between dogs is not easily to be traced, but it was certainly before the time of Elizabeth, during whose reign, by special command of the Queen, certain * laws of the Leash or Coursing ' were drawn up and * allowed and subscribed by Thomas, Duke of Norfolk.' They will be of much interest to the coursers of the present time, and are therefore here quoted : — I. That he that is chosen Fewterer, or that lets loose the grey- hounds, shall receive the greyhounds matched to run to- gether, into his Leash, as soon as he comes into the field, and INTRODUCTION 5 follow next to the hare-finder, or he who is to start the hare until he come unto the form ; and no horseman or footman is to go before, or on any side, but directly behind, for the space of about forty yards. 2. You ought not to course a hare with more than a brace of greyhounds. 3. The hare-finder ought to give the hare three so-ho's before he puts her from her form or seat, that the dogs may gaze about and attend her starting. 4. They ought to give twelve score yards law before the dogs are loosed, unless there be danger of losing her. 5. The dog that gives the first turn, if after that there be neither cote, slip, nor wrench, wins the wager. 6. If the dog give the first turn, and the other bear the hare, he that bears the hare shall win. 7. A go-by, or bearing the hare, is equivalent to two turns. 8. If neither dog turn the hare, he that leads last to the covert wins. 9. If one dog turn the hare, serve himself, and turn her again, it is as much as a cote, and a cote is esteemed two turns. 10. If all the course be equal, he that bears the hare shall win, and if she be not borne, the course shall be adjudged dead. 11. If a dog take a fall in a course, and yet performs his part, he may challenge the advantage of a turn more than he gave. 12. If a dog turn the hare, serve himself, and give divers cotes, and yet in the end stands still in the field, the other dog, if he turn home of the covert, although he gives no turn, shall be adjudged to win the wager. 13. If by misfortune a dog be ridden over in his course, the course is void, and to say the truth, he that did the mischief ought to make reparation for the damage. 14. If a dog give the first and last turn and there be no other advantage between them, he that gives the odd turn shall win. 15. A cote is when a greyhound goeth endways by his fellow, and gives the hare a turn. 16. A cote serves for two turns, and two tripplings or jerkings for a cote ; and if she turneth not right about she only wrencheth. The first version has it thus :— A cote shall be more than two turns, and a go-by or bearing the hare equal to two turns. 6 COURSING 17. If there be no cotes given between a brace of greyhounds and that the one of them serves the other as turning, then he that gives the hare most turns wins the wager ; and if one give as many turns as the other, he that beareth the hare wins the wager. 18. Sometimes the hare doth not turn but wrencheth, for she is not properly said to turn, unless she turns as it were round ; and two wrenches stand for a turn. 19. He that comes in first to the death of the hare, takes her up and saves her from breaking, cherishes the dogs and cleanses their mouths from the wool, is adjudged to have the hare for his pains. 20. Those that are judges of the leash must give their judgment presently, before they depart the field. The earliest coursing seems to have been private, but in the reign of the first Charles matches were decided in public, and they have increased in popularity till the present day, when the Waterloo Cup is recognised as one of the chief events of the sporting year, even by those who are in no way enthusiastic about the greyhound. It is not the purpose of this work to trace the history of coursing as related in the works of Dame Juliana Berners, Wynkyn de Worde, Daniel, and other authorities, nor wall space be occupied with well-worn quotations from Shakespeare and elsewhere. It is rather the object to describe the method in which coursing is carried on, so that any reader who has a fancy for the leash may be provided with information which will help him to join the ranks of the coursers with some knowledge of what is done, and some perception of (what the writer's experience has induced him to regard as) the best way of attaining success. Those who are curious as to the progress and development of coursing may be referred to the third volume of ' The Greyhound Stud Book,' in which an exliaustive chapter on the subject appears. Much misconception prevails about coursing. Compara- INTRODUCTION 7 tively few men really appreciate the niceties of the sport, and many persons have no ideas beyond a vague belief that two greyhounds run after a hare, one kills her — if she does not get away — and wins in consequence. This is, of course, by no means the case. Very often the dog that actually kills loses, the winner being the one that ' does most towards killing the hare ; ' it has even been estimated by some devotees of the sport that as often as nine times out of ten the worse of the two dogs kills. Judging a course is, therefore, a somewhat elaborate busi- ness, requiring special knowledge and aptitude, the keenest eyes and quickest observation, on the part of the official who undertakes the duty. He is guided by Rules set down by the National Coursing Club ; but, for the better appreciation of the sport by those who are altogether unacquainted with the sub- ject, it may here be briefly said that the points of the course are six in number, and include ' speed,' the ' go-by,' the * turn,' the ' wrench,' the 'kill,' and the ' trip.' For a full explanation of these terms the reader is referred to the aforesaid Rules, which are quoted in an Appendix to this portion of the volume. So much will, it is hoped, serve for general introduction. Before closing these preliminary remarks, the author desires to add his acknowledgments to Mr. Charles Richardson, for his chapter on Coursing Clubs, and for various other aid kindly furnished. We now proceed to a detailed examination of the sport. A Waterloo Cup crowd CHAPTER I THE WATERLOO CUP Mention of public coursing is to be found as far back as the middle of the seventeenth century, but it is only in compara- tively recent years that public stakes have become a sporting institution. In an admirable article by that sterhng authority, 'Robin Hood,' in the ' Field Quarterly Magazine and Review* of February 1870— an article to which I am indebted for much valuable information on the coursing of the past — the writer estimates that at least 50,000/. was run for in stakes in the preceding year. This was in the palmy days of Lords Sefton, Craven, Lurgan, Grey de Wilton, and a host of others, for the sport was then a thoroughly popular one, and was supported by the highest in the land. We have already spoken of the origin of coursing. For a long w^hile greyhounds were used as a means of catching hares, apart from relative merit, and a dog that ran cunning and could account for fur with unfailing regularity was regarded as a real friend, instead of being promptly put out of the way— a fate that generally overtakes rogues since stakes were instituted By-and-by owners would match their dogs against each other ; but for a long time the THE WATERLOO CUP 9 killer was considered the winner,' apart from any points of merit as calculated nowadays. When these points had been adopted small stakes were run for, and no better illustration of the progress and development of the sport can be found than a reference to the historical records of the Waterloo Cup, which is rightfully called ' The Blue Ribbon of the Leash ' — for is it not the summit of a coursing-man's ambition to be returned the winner of the great event? and should he be fortunate enough to have bred and trained his successful nomination, the achievement will rank as a red-letter performance in the pages of his life's history. The Waterloo Cup finds its parallel on the turf. In these days of 10,000/. stakes a man may win a prize of greater pecuniary value than the Derby ; but even the most mercenary of racing-men and those who look upon the sport as a profession would in all probability, if asked, tell you they would rather win one Derby than two Eclipse Stakes. So it is with the great trophy of Altcar. A Gosforth Gold Cup is won and forgotten, but a Waterloo triumph is a living memory. Let us then look to the foundation of this popular stake, and, again adopting 'Robin Hood' as our authority, unearth its records. The year 1836 saw its beginning. That begin- ning was modest in the extreme, for we find in the 'New Sporting Magazine' a record of the event described as an eight-dog stake at 2 sovs. each. The contest was conducted under the auspices of a Mr. Lynn, and resulted in a win for that gentleman's nomination, Melanie, though the owner of the bitch was none other than Lord Molyneux, eldest son of the Earl of Sefton, who had kindly given permission for the stake to be run on the now classical plains of Altcar. In addition to the stakes, a trophy, in the form of a silver snuff-box, was presented to the winner. The following year saw the nomina- tions increased to sixteen at 5/. each \ and the eight dogs beaten in the first round could compete for ' the Altcar Plate,' an equivalent to the Waterloo Plate of to-day. The next celebration found thirty-two nominations at 25/. each, and no 1 This was evidently not the case in Queen Elizabeth's time. — Ed. lo COURSTNG alteration occurred for twenty years, with the exception of a distinct stake called ' The Waterloo Purse,' which was added to the card. It was not until 1857 that the stake attained its full dimensions as follows : — The Waterloo Cup, sixty-four subscribers at 25/. each = 1,600/., which is allotted as follows : 1,240/. to the thirty-two dogs left in the Waterloo Cup proper, comprising 500/. to the winner, 200/. to the second, 50/. each to the third and fourth, 30/. each to the next four, 20/. each to eight, and 10/. each to the other sixteen. The thirty-two dogs beaten in the first round to run again for the Waterloo Purse, for w^hich 260/. is reserved, the winner getting 100/., the second 50/., two dogs 15/. each, four dogs 10/. each, and eight dogs 5/. each respec- tively. For the Waterlpo Plate 100/. is reserved for the sixteen dogs beaten in the second round of the Cup, the winner receiving 45/., the second 20/., two dogs 7/. loi-. each, and four others 5/. each. Now, having regard to these conditions, it is easily gathered that the owner of a smart dog stands a fair chance of drawing a prize of some sort, even should he fail to win the laurel crown and its substantial concomitant ; so no wonder that the nominations are eagerly sought after, and that the fact of one being allotted is considered a high honour in the coursing world. A short account of some of the more remarkable winners of this trophy may here prove acceptable to the reader, and amongst the older generation may recall many half-forgotten scenes of interest and excitement. 1847. — This was the first year in which Lord Sefton com- peted on his native soil, and he won ; w^hat is more, he bred the winner, Senet, himself, and also his sire and dam.. 1854. — Lord Sefton repeated his triumph with Sackcloth, a son of Senet, a victory that must have been specially gratifying. 1850-52-53. — In these years the winner was Cerito, who was only a puppy on the first occasion. Altogether this smart bitch was slipped fifty-three times and won forty-five courses. THE WATERLOO CUP II 1855 saw the victory of Judge, a dog who subsequently proved of inestimable value at the stud, and who was runner- up in the following year. 1857 was the first year that the stake attained its full dimensions, and the winner proved to be King Lear, the runner-up being Sunbeam, w^ho was backed to win an enor- mous stake. 1858 saw a rank outsider in Neville victorious ; another greatly fancied one, named Deacon, running up. 1859. — In this year the stakes were divided ; and when ' Robin Hood ' wrote the article to which I have referred, this was a record ; but in late years we have three examples of a division of stakes : by Miss Glendyne and Bit of Fashion, by Herschel and Greater Scot, and by Fullerton and Troughend, further allusion to which will be made in the proper sequence. On the occasion under notice the dividers were Clive and Selby ; the latter, whose success was expected, was the property of Mr. Jardine, while Clive was by the 1855 winner. Judge — a good example of the transmission of merit. 1 86 1 saw the victory of a sterling greyhound in Canaradzo, whose name is conspicuous in most of the tabulated pedigrees of our present -time celebrities. A sister of Canaradzo, called Cioloja, was believed to be a perfect wonder, and became a very hot favourite for the Cup ; but, as ill luck would have it, she broke her thigh a few days before the event. 1863 was remarkable for the victory of Chloe, another daughter of Judge, the favourite and runner-up being Rebe, the property of Messrs. Heywood and Racster. 1864. — Rebe again ran up, being unluckily beaten in the final by King Death, a son of Canaradzo, and in 1865 she divided the Purse with Beckford. In 1866 she ran into the last four, this proving the finale to a remarkable but luckless career. 1865. — In this year Brigadier was returned the winner, a dog that had previously shown wretched form and had cost his owner the modest sum of twenty-five shillings — a most 12 COURSING profitable investment as it turned out ; for Mr. Gorton had backed his nomination to win a good round sum, having an idea that a bitch called Wild Geranium (believed to be very smart) would fill it. So he won his money, as it were, against his will. 1866. — Here again was a dea ex machina^ to the great benefit of Mr. Stocker, who had secured the Newmarket Champion Puppy Stakes winner, Saucebox, to fill his nomination. This bitch went wrong after a trial with Lobelia, but so smartly did the latter run that Mr. Stocker sent her to fill his nomination, and, moreover, threw a fresh commission into the market. * Lobelia,' says 'Robin Hood,' ' ran her first three courses some- what unsteadily ; but settling down to her work she won the remainder most brilliantly : her decisive victory over Royal Seal in the last course being one of the smartest performances imaginable. She took part in the Waterloo Cup in the two subsequent years, and won four courses each time, but was compelled twice to lower her colours to the invincible Irishman.' ^ She was a small wiry greyhound by Sea Foam, weighing a shade over 44 lbs. 'When Lobelia secured her memorable victory, so great was the enthusiasm at Southport that a messenger was despatched from Altcar with instructions that the bells of the parish church were to be rung in honour of the event.' We now come to what may be termed the Master McGrath era— viz. from 1868-187 1, for this prodigy made a mark on the records of coursing which is quite indelible, and stamped it with a public interest which reaches far beyond the limits of the true votaries of the sport. His was a name to conjure by, and many a one who had never seen a course, who would not know a greyhound from a lurcher, would discourse of the prowess of this canine giant — giant only in achievement, for he was by no means a big dog ; nor was he a remarkably hand- some one. having a short, even sour, head; but he was compactly built, and stood on the best of feet and legs. In another 1 Master McGrath. THE WATERLOO CUP 13 portion of this volume, when discussing breeding theories, we shall enter into an analysis of Master McGrath's pedigree, which cannot fail to be of interest to students of the subject. For the present we must return to his career as affecting the history of the Waterloo Cup. 1868. — In this year Brigade was favourite, and though the Irishmen were very sweet on their puppy, and entrusted him with solid support, the fact remained that the coveted trophy had never crossed the Channel, and the English division were in happy ignorance of the sort of goods that was to be slipped. Prior to leaving his native soil. Master McGrath had won the Visitors' Cup at Lurgan, and those who witnessed his victory did not forget him when he went to the slips. His first opponent was Belle of Scotland, and he began moderately by running an undecided, but at the next time of asking he polished her off in decisive style, and made quite an example of Kalista, Marionette, the favourite, Brigade, and the previous year's winner, Lobelia. For the final he met Mr. Lister's Cock Robin. In the previous round this dog had tumbled on his sister Charming May, who was drawn in his favour, though she ran the bye with him, and, strange to say, easily beat him, so that when he made a very respectable show against the Irish crack, Mr. Lister must have been sorry that he did not leave the bitch in. This year was also remarkable for the debut in the stake of Bab at the Bowster, whom contemporary critics considered second only to McGrath. She came from Scotland with a great reputation untarnished by defeat, and won two courses in brilliant fashion ; but then she met Lobelia and went down after an undecided. The following year (1869) was full of interest, for both the Irish dog and the Scotch bitch had added to their laurels since the last meeting. The bitch's record was indeed brilliant, for she won the Scarisbrick Cup (128), the Douglas Cup (64), the coveted Altcar Cup (20), and the Elsham Cup (32). In the Douglas Cup she had had her revenge on Lobelia, for on a strong outside she led her former conqueror three lengths and 14 COURSING gave her a good beating. Notwithstanding this the British public would not be stalled off their idol, and McGrath was steadily backed down to 6 to i, whilst 'tens' were procurable about Bab, who ran in Mr. R. Paterson's nomination. As luck would have it, the great rivals were drawn well apart, so that as the contest progressed excitement waxed higher and higher, until it culminated in their going to slips together for the final. Lobelia, who had grandly worked her way into the last four, had met the Irishman in the morning. At one moment in the course it looked as if the idol would be shattered, as Lobelia fairly held him, and had she killed at the drain when she made her great effort, McGrath would never have been hailed winner of a triple Waterloo. No sooner, A long jump however, had the hare crossed than the leviathan came like great guns and snatched the verdict in a brilliant finish. Meanwhile Bab at the Bowster had settled Ghillie Galium, who made no show against her. Then came the tug of war : away they went to a splendid slip and to a stout hare, and a shout arose as it was seen the bitch was slightly leading. On approaching the drain McGrath steadied himself, and clearing it more smartly than the bitch, he scored first and second ; Bab soon joined issue, and brilliant exchanges ensued ; then McGrath drew out, and concentrating his forces in the marvel- lous way so often noticed, he dashed in and effected a grand kill, thus winning his second, but not his last, Waterloo. In 1870 the meeting was interrupted by frost, and an ob- jection was lodged by Mr. Borron against the nominations of THE WATERLOO CUP 15 Lord Lurgan and Mr. Jones on the ground that they had not named by the time fixed. As Master McGrath represented his owner, there was a deal of excitement ; but the objection was overruled by the stewards, and was similarly treated on appeal to the National Coursing Club. On Wednesday the frost gave, and a start was made the following day. Although the Irish champion had not been seen in public since his previous triumph, he went to the slips a hot favourite, as little as 7 to 2 being accepted about his chance. What then was the general dismay when it was seen that Lady Lyons was not only holding him, but giving him a severe dressing. She drew right out, and the course ended at the river Alt, still covered with rotten ice. In following the hare it gave way, and McGrath was in imminent peril, but was rescued by Wilson, the Irish slipper. The next morning the poor dog was in a pitiable state, and Lord Lurgan, in the heat of the moment, expressed his opinion that he had been poisoned, and swore that he should never run again ; but the general impression was that the crack was short of work, and that he was upset by the treacherous state of the ground. Meanwhile Bab at the Bowster had won three courses, and was then put out by Cataclysm, but the winner turned up in Sea Cove, a bitch with very fair credentials. Bed of Stone and S. S., two sterling greyhounds, competed in this stake. The latter, having been unluckily put out in the first ties, scored decisively in the Plate, and it is the general opinion that, had he got clear of his first course, the Cup would again have gone to Ireland by aid of her second string. Lord Lurgan, repenting of his hastiness, put McGrath into training again, and won the Brownlow Cup, when it was seen that the old dog had lost none of his dash, so that on the night of the draw for the Waterloo Cup (187 1) he was again installed favourite, but this time at the extended odds of 10 to i. It was soon apparent that he would make it as hot as usual for the best of his opponents. His first course against Wharfinger was not particularly brilliant, and many expected a repetition of last year's fiasco ; but he improved as he went on, and when i6 COURSING he met the puppy Pretender in the final he crowned a very smartly run trial with one of those dashing kills which went so far to uphold his fame. In this Cup, Bed of Stone had the bad luck to run no less than three undecideds with Bendimere, which of course destroyed her chance ; but she came out like a giantess refreshed, and polished off her opponents in the Plate in grand style. This was the last course that the great dog ran in public, and, as we have said before, his name became a household word. Even Her Majesty the Queen commanded him to appear at Windsor Castle, and expressed a lively interest in his perform- ances. He did not long survive his retirement, for he died of heart-disease two years after. In the chapter of this volume entitled ' Famous Greyhounds of the Past ' will be found the measurements of this remarkable greyhound, whose running weight was 54 lbs. 1872 found Bed of Stone victorious. She was a sterling bitch, and had previously won the Purse in 1870 and the Plate in 187 1, so that this last performance set a seal on her fame, and as a matron she was a decided success (see chapter on * Celebrated Greyhounds '). The runner-up was Peasant Boy, who occupied the same berth the following year (1873), when Muriel was successful. On this occasion there was a dis- graceful demonstration against the judge, Mr. Warwick. It having got wind that he had judged a private trial of Peasant Boy, an idea prevailed that he meant pulling that dog through at all hazards ; consequently, when he went to the slips with Muriel for the final, Mr. Warwick was literally mobbed, and although Muriel fairly won at the finish, there w^re not wanting those who declared that the judge had been intimidated ; these were probably the disappointed backers of Peasant Boy. Mr. Warwick had judged the Waterloo Cup thirteen years, and had given every satisfaction ; but this was the last time he officiated. 1874 was remarkable for being the first year in which Mr. Hedley acted as judge ; he had every qualification for the post, which he has held up to the present time. Magnano, the winner, THE WATERLOO CUP 17 was a rank outsider, and he put out Muriel in the first ties ; she, however, making amends by winning the Purse. In 1875 the Irish were again successful with their much- fancied representative Honeymoon, the favourite Sirius going down the first round. The next year (1875) Honeymoon, who in the interim had won the important Brownlow Cup, started a hot favourite at II to 2. She beat in grand style Warren Hastings, Handicraft, He's had enough and Lucetta, but in the next round fell foul of her compatriot and kennel companion, Donald, who succeeded in lowering her colours, and eventually proved the winner of the Cup. After his victory Donald was sold for 300/., and was immediately put to the stud. 1876. — Now once more we have to deal with a canine mar- vel, for the winner was the diminutive Coomassie, who made very short work of all her early opponents, with the exception c r8 COURSING of Master Sam. This dog, who was a regular electric flash, led the little bitch, but he had one conspicuous failing, which was his utter inability to kill his hares. On this occasion it cost him the course, as Coomassie, getting a chance, put in some telling points, and wound up with a brilliant kill ; for she was as clever with her teeth as her opponent was deficient. When it came to the final, the fawn had a hard nut to crack in Braw Lass, who was favourite for the stake ; but she led her, and though the latter was very busy afterwards, Coomassie, finishing with another brilliant kill, gained the award. The next year (1878) Coomassie, who had not been seen ^^i^f^« Too many hares out since her previous victory, was naturally enough installed favourite at 9 to i, with a point longer odds accepted about her old opponent Braw Lass. Now it appears that Coomassie had been amiss, but the secret was well preserved, and did not leak out till she had run her first two courses in anything but her old form ; however, she pulled through, and improving as she went on, she went to slips for the last time with Zazel, who had been somewhat hard run. She made a fair show against the crack ; but, killing too soon, settled her chance, and gave Coomassie her second Waterloo Cup. This year witnessed Tom Wilkinson's debut as slipper, a THE WATERLOO CUP 19 post he filled most efficiently until 1890, when Wright handled the slips. As the time approached for the next Waterloo (1879), it was thought that the little wonder Coomassie had a chance of rivalling the feats of Master McGrath, but these hopes were disappointed. She had the ill-luck to fracture a small bone in her leg during training, so that she never ran again. Coomassie was the smallest greyhound that ever won the Waterloo Cup, as she weighed but 44 lbs. ; but, with the exception of Master McGrath, Fullerton, and possibly of Miss Glendyne, she stands out from other winners as an animal of exceptional merit. She was bred by Mr. Cafley, of Runham, near Yarmouth,' and when at walk at a butcher's there, might have been purchased for a few shil- hngs. It was not until she ran in, and won, the Newmarket Champion Puppy Stakes that her merit was discovered. 1879. — The way now being clear for Zazel, she was made favourite for the great event ; but she was not destined to re- compense her owner for the previous disappointment. The winner sprang from the extreme outside division, viz. Misterton, a dog who was to make a great name for himself at the stud. He started at the remunerative price of 1000 to 6, which is rather odd, considering that in the Newmarket Champion Puppy Stakes he had won four courses in grand style, and had been most unluckily put out. The final with Commerce was a close affair, and she had none the best of the luck against Mr. Miller's dog. 1880. — Misterton had a rare gruelling in his first course, and was put out by Devastation next round. Honeywood and Plunger (100 to i chance) were left in for the final, but after the former had made a strong beginning, he ran roguishly, and Plunger all but succeeded in snatching the verdict out of the fire. A very smart and clever greyhound won in 1881, viz. Princess Dagmar : she was a big bitch (58 lbs.), and disposed of all her opponents with considerable ease. The next year (1882) she made but a poor show, having been amiss, and the winner turned up in Snowflight, who fought out the issue 1 There are those who declare that Coomassie was stolen, in Cumberland, when a puppy. — Eu. , 20 COURSING with the aged Hornpipe. The last-named had had a hard time of it, having run an undecided with Banchory, and de- feated GlenHvet, Death or Glory, Sut, and Leader. In the final, after a stiffish course, the hat came off, and at the second go a fresh hare crossed them and they separated ; so that, when at last they were fairly off, the poor old bitch was spun out, and, to add to her misfortunes, the hare favoured Snowflight throughout the course. 1883. — Snowflight was within an ace of repeating her victory, but it was snatched from her by Wild Mint, who had the luck of the contest, and who is generally considered the worst greyhound that ever won the trophy. In 1884 Mineral Water won, and the runner-up was that good, game but unlucky greyhound Greentick, who made a name for himself that seemed unapproachable until it was rivalled by Herschel as a sire. Here again it was thought that a bad dog had won ; but Mineral Water's subsequent perform- ance in the Gosforth Gold Cup went far to remove that impres- sion, though his defeat in the Waterloo Cup of 1885 was easily brought about in the first ties. Here we had another division when Bit of Fashion and Miss Glendyne were left in for the final. These bitches represented one interest, though owned respectively by Mr. E. Dent and Mr. C. Hibbert. Had they run it off, it would have been, bar accidents, a very one-sided affair, as Miss Glendyne was quite a class above her kennel- companion, though the latter has subsequently been immorta- lised as the dam of FuUerton. That Miss Glendyne was a really peerless bitch was proved the next year (1886). In the summer she had the misfortune to break a toe, and as the time approached for her preparation it was found she was constantly falling lame. The late eminent surgeon, Mr. Hutton, however, performed a most successful operation, and though the bitch was brought to the slips very big and made a slovenly exhibition of herself in her first two courses, she ran herself into condition and wound up with a brilliant victory over the midget, Penelope II., who was even THE WATERLOO CUP 21 smaller than Coomassie, and weighed no more than 41 lbs. To see the two bitches in the slips together was really comical^ and to look at, it was 20 to i on one ; nevertheless, the pigmy could go a great pace, and was as clever as a monkey ; she rendered an excellent account of herself, and only just lost one of the grandest trials ever run. We remember asking Mr. Hedley, during one of the intervals this year (1890), what was the finest course he ever witnessed, and he immediately said the one under notice. In 1887 a division once more occurred, the heroes being Greater Scot and Herschel. The latter was a particularly brilliant all-round performer, and would in all probability have beaten his kennel-companion, especially as the latter was very hard run with Jenny Jones. 1888 witnessed the victory of Burnaby. The original fix- ture had to be abandoned owing to frost, and the draw was declared void. This year is indelibly fixed on our memory, as, for the first time, we held a nomination and journeyed to Liverpool to see her (it was a bitch) run ; but, owing to the postponement, we returned to town after a bootless journey. At the second time of asking, Herschel and Miss Glendyne were drawn together, and there was great excitement when they went to slips ; but the dog led and beat her decisively, though she eventually won the Purse, one of her victims being our above-mentioned hope and joy, who had won two courses in great style before he unluckily met the crack. Curiously enough, when the hare to which Miss Glendyne and Herschel had been slipped was picked up, it was found to liave but three legs, though this mutilation was not apparent when the dogs were slipped, and she seemed to go strongly and well. Greater Scot raised but one flag ; but Herschel survived until meeting Burnaby, when he was seen to be spun out, and Mr. Pilkington's dog won rather easily. The runner-up was Duke McPherson, an Irish dog that had recently been purchased by Colonel North, who had just risen on the horizon of the coursing world. His blue 22 COURSING dog made a good show against the winner ; but, to add to the bitterness of the defeat, the Colonel had the bad luck to lose his dog. Since then Fortune has come with both hands full, as in 1889, 1890, 1 89 1, and 1892 he has had it all his own way in the Waterloo Cup. In 1889 he sprung a mine on us in the shape of his puppy Fullerton, by Greentick— Bit of Fashion. Whatever may have been the opinion of the critics after the division between this dog and his kennel companion, Troughend — and it is not unlikely that his colours would have been On hi s own account lowered by Herschel, who was going in his best form, had not the latter got away with a demon hare that ran him as stiff as the proverbial poker — nevertheless, there could be no mistaking his quality after his brilliant performance in 1890 and the two following years. As for Troughend, the divider in 1889, he did very badly, and was very lucky to get as far as he did in the Purse. The runner-up. Downpour, was a sterling little bitch, very fast and clever withal ; with Fullerton out of the way she would have easily accounted for the stake. In the Waterloo Cup of 1892 Fullerton set a seal on his fame and broke all records by winning outright for the third year running —after having divided with his kennel companion THE WATERLOO CUP 23 Troughend (whom he could assuredly have beaten) in his puppy season. On this occasion great interest was centred in the event ; the eyes of all coursers, and a vast concourse of those who, as a rule, pay little attention to the affairs of the leash, were bent on the contest, and all items of news con- nected with it were greedily scanned. At one time a feeling of uneasiness and dissatisfaction prevailed, because at the first draw Colonel North had announced his intention of drawing any or all of his dogs that might meet FuUerton, in the latter's favour. On the first blush Colonel North was to be commended for a very natural desire to smooth the path for his matchless favourite ; but when the pros and cons were fairly weighed, it was obvious that the proceeding was not a sportsmanlike one. In the first place, it would be grossly unfair on the nominators who were represented by his other dogs ; and, secondly, were the great brindle to pull through under such circumstances, a substan- tial handle would be afforded his detractors for dragging in a host of ' ifs ' and ' perhapses.' Fortunately, it soon dawned on Fullerton's owner that he had made a mistake, and having arrived at such a conclusion, he lost no time in altering his tactics, and the result must have left him heartily thankful that he did so, though, as it happened, the old dog did not meet any of his kennel companions. For the third time in the history of the contest a postpone- ment on account of frost was found necessary ; but the follow- ing Tuesday (February 23) a beginning was made. In both draws Colonel North may be said to have been favoured by fortune. In his first course, FuUerton made short work of Likeness, for he raced away quite six lengths and ran clean into his hare ; and Maggie Miller in the first ties fared no better when opposed to him ; for she failed to score a point, as the brindle led four lengths, and though momentarily thrown out at a dyke, managed to keep possession until the end. The following day he came out like a giant refreshed, and then came across a foeman worthy of his steel in Rhymes — 24 COURSING indeed, there is no disguising the fact that his neck was fairly stretched, and at one time his opponent had won the course ; but just faiHng to kill at the critical moment, the never to-be- denied champion put in some of his finest work and pulled through. The course was one of the most interesting that the Cup contest has produced — which is saying a great deal — and the enthusiasm at the result was unbounded. It is thus technically described : — To a good slip Fullerton led nearly three lengths and scored thrice ; but Rhymes shot up as the hare broke away and rapidly put together a sequence of strong points and soon had matters equalised ; he then made a bold attempt to kill and just failed ; this let up Fullerton, who again scored twice, but he was not left in possession long, as his opponent joined in, and the hare taking them over some rough ground, quick exchanges followed ; but at last the crack drew out, and scoring twice, smartly picked up his hare, and won. His next victim was the puppy Patrick Blue, who had previously disposed of Great Fly and Burlador in smart fashion before being favoured by a bye through the withdrawal of Pleasant Nancy, who was lame ; and though the white and black actually got his head in front when nearing the hare, he pecked and let up Fullerton, who flew the drain in grand style, and got up quite two lengths to the good. The puppy now crossed behind and managed to score a little one, but the other soon clinched matters by spinning round him, wrenching, and killing brilliantly. The following day Fullerton was due to meet Racecourse, a very highly-fancied dog belonging to, and nominated by, Mr. Russel ; but as he (Racecourse) had got away with a fresh hare after defeating a very smart puppy in Ivan the Great, and had been run to a standstill, odds of 7 to i were laid on the old dog, whilst 2 to i that he won outright was freely betted by his supporters. The former odds were fully justified, for whatever chance Racecourse may have possessed before the mishap alluded to, he now failed to make any impression on THE WATERLOO CUP 25^ his opponent, who led three lengths, and running a magnificent course, ended with a particularly brilliant kill. The hare having broken across a drain, he was round on her scut like lightning, and pinned her down on landing before she could recover herself. Now came the final course, and excitement ran high when Fullerton and FitzFife were delivered to Bootiman. Certainly two more strikingly handsome greyhounds have never gone to slips to fight out the final stage of the great contest ; well matched in size and symmetry, but not in colour, for FitzFife shows a deal of white — is, in fact, a white and brindle. He ran remarkably well in the 1891 Cup, but had the misfortune to be run to a complete standstill early in the contest. Seeing how he acquitted himself on this occasion, the Messrs. Fawcett are surely to be condoled with that, through her going amiss, they were unable to run Faster and Faster (the 1891 runner-up), who at home was always reckoned a good two lengths in front of FitzFife and quite as clever ; albeit, Fullerton had already lowered her colours, and on form should have done so again, though great improvement was claimed for the bitch, whereas it was reason- able to suppose that the champion had lost some of his speed and dash. All this is a matter of speculation, for the question now to be settled was not, Could he beat Faster and Faster ? but, Would he beat FitzFife ? The latter had run quite well enough to promise an interesting struggle, having beaten successively Sir Sankey, Woodcote Green, Silver City, and Texture — the last-named, who is evidently an exceedingly smart bitch, somewhat luckily, as she was easily leading, but made a slight mistake at the drain, and FitzFife, making the most of his opportunity, had just won, when Texture shot up for a mutual kill ; had the hare lived, in all probability the verdict would have been reversed — another case of ' if.' To a good hare Bootiman despatched them on their fateful journey on capital terms, and everyone held breath as it was seen that the younger dog was holding his own for pace ; but, nearing the hare, Fullerton put on a great spurt, drawing clear 26 COURSING he reached her nearly two lengths ahead, and slaying there scored the second; but puss, breaking round, gave FitzFife an opening, which he used to great purpose, as he shot up, scored once, and effected a very fine kill, Mr. Hedley's hat coming off, rather to the surprise of the skilled spectators, for it certainly looked a good thing for FuUerton. However, the old coursing adage that no one can decide a trial but the judge is a good one, and doubtless on this occasion Mr. Hedley must have seen something that was lost to the general body of beholders. Anyhow, the excitement was protracted, and had lost none of its fever-heat when, for the second time, the doughty pair went to the slips, odds of 4 to i being laid. THE WATERLOO CUP 27 This time the old dog was on his legs quickest and, making the best of his way, drew out a good four lengths for the turn and again scored decisively twice, the third being gained by his brilliantly sweeping round his opponent ; a slight scrimmage now took place, out of which the younger dog came best, and he began to run up such a smart sequence that the odds were in jeopardy ; but, not to be denied, the crack came again, a series of exchanges followed, and then FitzFife had an innings of small points. Meanwhile the hare had ringed, and they were approaching the slipper's shelter. With one of those mighty efforts that have distinguished him throughout his career, the great dog now drew past, and driving the hare before him very strongly over the bank, swept her up on the other side, and thus won what may fairly be termed his fourth successive Waterloo Cup. Had the voting circulars as to the merits of greyhounds that form another chapter been sent out subsequent to this great achievement, surely Fullerton would have stood at the head of the poll, instead of occupying third place to Master McGrath and Bab-at-the-Bowster? That his equal has been seen we doubt — his superior we deny. Surely his detractors are now silent ; where is the flaw in his reputation ? In his early days he was decried as not being smart with his teeth ; but this theory has been completely falsified by a succession of really brilliant kills. Long will it be before we see such another, and in bidding him farewell, we can only hope that he will live to reproduce a modicum of his own brilliancy in a long line of offspring ; and that his stud achievements may rival if not outstrip those of his remarkable parents. 1893. — The preceding paragraph was written very shortly after Fullerton had got to the end of his fourth Waterloo Cup, and when it was generally supposed that the most brilliant grey- hound of all time had run his last public course. As already stated, he had divided the Cup with his kennel companion Troughend in* 1889, and had won it outright in the three following years. In 1893 he was— rather to the general 28 COURSING surprise — brought out for the fifth year in succession, and though he got through one course, his first display clearly showed that he was not the old Fullerton, but a decidedly deteriorated greyhound. Flashes of his former prowess were visible both in the course he won, and again when he was beaten by Full Captain, but it was nevertheless evident that he had lost a great deal of his fire, that his pace was not what it had been, and also that his stamina was nothing like so pro- nounced as in earlier days. At the same time it can be truly urged that Fullerton struggled gamely under difficulties, and had he killed his hare early in his first course, instead of merely flecking it, he might once more have gone far down the stake. As a matter of fact, however, the hare stood up marvellously after her lucky escape, and Fullerton was fairly pumped out when his opponent killed. The first part of the course had been all in favour of Fullerton, so that although Castlemartin scored the final points, the old dog deservedly gained the award. In the second round Fullerton's opponent was Full Captain by Millersdale out of Dear Eleanor, and the latter had also been rather hard run in his first course, but had got oif more lightly than Fullerton. The pair seemed to be about equally matched for pace, for though Fullerton scored the turn, he had a slight inside, and Full Captain had shown in front as long as they were running straight. Fullerton also scored a second point, and then after an exchange or two fell into a drain. He joined issue again, but was being beaten when he came down heavily, leaving Full Captain to bring off the kill and secure the verdict. After- wards it was found that Fullerton's knee was a good deal bruised and swollen, but whether he wrenched it when the course was in progress or when he fell will of course never be known. Increasing years had probably a good deal to do with Fullerton's defeat, but it must be stated in defence of the dog that he had, previously to this defeat, been sent to the stud and found wanting. That Fullerton was unable to perpetuate his THE WATERLOO CUP 29 species is a matter for general regret, but such was the fact, and his owner and trainer may well be excused for having run him again when it was discovered that the great dog was of no use as a sire. After his last appearance at Altcar, Fullerton was taken back to Short Flatt Tower in Northumberland, where he had always been trained by Mr. Edward Dent ; but his owner, the late Colonel North, wished to have him at home, and so he was removed to Avery Hill, near Eltham in Kent. He had not been long located in his new quarters when he disappeared, and though his loss was noised abroad all over the country, nearly a week elapsed before he was found by a country post- man. The old dog was in a pitiable condition, worn out for want of food, footsore and weary, when he was happily restored to Eltham, and it is on the cards that, after the manner of dogs whose quarters are changed late in life, he had attempted in vain to find his way back to Northumberland. It should be mentioned that in spite of his age Fullerton was greatly fancied on the night of the draw, as were Fine Night and FitzFife. This pair met in the second round, but the course between them was unsatisfactory, FitzFife securing the verdict after a very poor trial. Fine Night after showing pace from slips tripped at a drain, and let up FitzFife, who twice slightly moved his hare, and picked her up before Mr. Fletcher's bitch joined issue. In the third round FitzFife fell against Wild Hornet, and in a gruelling course of great severity the bitch rendered him very little assistance, Messrs. Fawcett's dog winning all the way, though at the expense of a considerable amount of stamina and condition. In the fourth round Fitz- Fife came to slips rather badly cut, from having run a consider- able distance along the road in his last course. He would have been drawn, we believe, had he not been so heavily backed by the public, bearing which fact in mind the Messrs. Fawcett let him take his chance, and accordingly he was beaten by Button Park. The trial was only a short one, and FitzFife made a gallant effort to divert defeat, but his previous bad luck in 30 COURSING getting far too long a course, some of it on hard ground, brought about his defeat, and thus he did not go so far into the stake as in 1892, when he had been the runner up to Fullerton. With Fullerton, Fine Night, and FitzFife all out of it on the second day, the finals did not arouse so much interest as usual. The last four left in were Character, Patrick Blue, Button Park, and Texture ; and Character, who had got off very lightly, led and easily defeated Patrick Blue, while Button Park disposed of Texture even more easily, and had a rather severer course than Character. The final course was a short one. Character not only showed speed, but also had the best of the subsequent work and the kill to his credit, though it should be mentioned that Button Park was suffering from shoulder lameness when he went to sHps. Sensational as the early stages of this Waterloo Cup were, the ending was singu- larly tame, and there was a very general opinion that the stake had been won by a moderate greyhound, whose position at the end was in a great measure due to his having escaped all bad luck, and having got very lightly off in all his courses. Character was owned and trained by John Coke, of Birkdale, Southport, and it is also worthy of mention that Button Park, the runner up, was also one of Mr. Coke's charges, so that he emulated his feat of six years before, when he had trained the dividers, Herschel and Greater Scott. In this particular Waterloo Cup the Birkdale kennel ran Dillon and Green Cherry, in addition to Character and Button Park, Dillon being the ' first string ' of the kennel. Character was a second season greyhound, who had been beaten four times as a puppy, and as a matter of fact he had never got to the end of a stake before. His best previous performance was running up to Sir Sankey for the Scarisbrick Cup at Southport, but he had per- formed moderately on three other occasions during the season, and only a few weeks before he won the Waterloo Cup he had been on offer to Mr. W. Ward of Blackburn for the insignifi- cant sum of 25/. 1894 was in no respect a wonderful year, and the names of THE WATERLOO CUP 31 very few of the greyhounds which took part in the Cup are likely to be handed down to fame. Still the winner, Texture, was always a sterling bitch, and she went through the stake in good form, showing very fair speed, good working abilities, and a consistent style of running. Nor can it be said that she had a great deal of luck on her side, except that in the final course she had much the best of the handicap with the puppy Falconer, who when he went to slips was running his fourth course of the morning. It should be mentioned here that coursing was impossible on the Wednesday (Wednesday is always the first day of running) on account of severe frost. On Wednesday evening the weather changed, the frost quickly gave way, to be followed, however, by a visitation of fog, and thus it happened that the first brace of greyhounds were not slipped until after two o'clock on the Thursday afternoon. The result of this delay was that the first round of the Cup was not completed on the first day of running, and that on the Saturday morning eight dogs were left in the Cup, instead of the usual last day complement of four. As a natural consequence the winner and runner-up were obliged to go to slips three times, and Falconer, in the fifth round, ran an undecided with Follow Faster, so that when sent to slips with Texture for the final, he had taken part in three previous courses. It should also be added that all these four courses wee run off within a space of not more than three hours, and this was a tremendous ordeal for a puppy, especially when it is remembered that the ground, was rather heavy and holding— a natural result of the frost earlier in the week. Pennegant was led and beaten in the first round by Grey Crow, one of the many useful greyhounds who owed paternity to Herschel and Raven, but Falconer and Free Kick each got through the first round with credit, and Texture showed good form in her defeat of Lady's Fan. Count Stroganoff's bitch led three lengths to the hare ; and though she once lost her position, she was quickly there again, and had won very easily when Lady's Fan killed. In the second round Falconer ran a 32 COURSING good course against Camerino, and Free Kick met Texture, who was non-favourite for the course. The trial between this pair was not a very satisfactory one. To begin with, the hare was circHng round when slipped at, and this gave Texture a nice advantage. Nevertheless she did not gain the first point, as Free Kick came behind her, and so got the turn on the in- side. She failed to bring her hare round, and Texture, at once taking advantage, had put on a nice sequence before Free Kick joined again. The latter afterwards had none the best of the luck, but all the same Texture worked well, and had deservedly secured the verdict when she finished matters with the kill. In the third round Texture and Grey Crow came together, and were a capital match for pace. Texture got the turn on the inside, then in a well-contested trial she showed superior cleverness, and was in a considerable majority when she killed. In Falconer's third course he met a half-brother and kennel companion. Four in Hand (by Freshman out of Fine Sport); and though at one time it looked as if he might be beaten, he had the best pace, and the beginning and end of the course to his credit. Four in Hand having a strong sequence in the middle of the trial. On the Saturday morning Texture met Mellor Moor, whom she led a couple of lengths, and fairly outworked in an average course, which the loser also ran well. In the fifth round Texture's opponent was Ivan the Great, who had been somewhat hard run on the pre- vious day, owing to his having got away on a fresh hare after he had won his third course. Texture led three lengths, and always had a nice balance in her favour in just an average course, which she finished with a good kill. Falconer meantime had well beaten Thistleton in the fourth round, but had been twice to slips before disposing of Follow Faster. With the latter Mr. Pletcher's puppy had nothing to spare, for though he led the Messrs. Fawcett's bitch well, in the opinion of very many critics he was outworked afterwards, and certainly the bitch had a majority of points after first turn had been secured by her opponent. In the THE WATERLOO CUP 33 deciding course Falconer again led, and ran straight into a weak hare ; and here it may be remarked that Follow Faster was the unlucky greyhound of the stake. On the first day she ran a terribly long trial against Little Robin, and on the Friday she had an undecided, won two courses well, and then had a long single-handed with a fresh hare ; so that she was really running her sixth course when she made the undecided with Falconer. We have now brought the winner and runner up down to the final course, in which Falconer was generally expected to lead. To the great surprise Texture had a shade the best of the speed, and reaching the hare about her own length clear, she came round in possession and scored twice again before Falconer got in. The last named was busy for two or three points, but Texture was not to be denied, and with the best of the exchanges to her credit, she then' drove her hare out, moved her two or three times, and flecked her strongly, bringing up Falconer, who gave puss her death-stroke. It was a clear win for Count Stroganoff's bitch ; but it should be mentioned that some of the crowd (those on the lane side) were of opinion that Falconer had won, this being due to their difference in position. Texture was bred in Northumberland, by the Messrs. Thompson of High Thorneyburn, and was by Herschel out of Tinsel by Jester (son of Ptarmigan and Gallant Foe, but of a later litter than that which included Princess Dagmar, Paris, &c.). She (Texture) as a puppy first ran at the Upper Niths- dale meeting, where she divided a sixteen-dog stake with three others. She was unluckily beaten in the first round of the Champion Puppy stakes at Newmarket, but, as a puppy, won three courses in the Waterloo Cup, before being put out by FitzFife, the runner up to Fullerton in 1892. Some time after this performance Texture was sold by the Messrs. Thompson to Mr. H. Fenning, and for her new owner she won four courses in the Waterloo Cup of 1893, going down before Button Park in the semi-final, after having been very hard run. She next ran in the Netherby Cup, in which she won two D 34 COURSING courses, and was beaten by Fallen Fortune In the third round. She was then put by for the Waterloo Cup, but unfortunately Mr. Fenning was obliged to go abroad, and much to his dis- appointment he had to part with his favourite, who passed into Count Stroganoff's hands for no guineas at a Barbican sale, only six weeks before she won the envied trophy. Falconer, like Texture, was by Herschel out of a Jester bitch, and the same sire was in this year responsible for one of the dividers of the Purse and one of the dividers of the Plate, neither of these stakes being run out. Pennegant got to the end of the Purse, as also did Happy Relic, by Herschel out of Happy Omen, and the Plate was divided between Tasmania by Restorer out of Tinsel (the dam of Texture) and Free Kick, one of the Herschel-Fine Sport litter, and, as stated above, a full sister to Falconer. 1895. — In this year frost interfered much more seriously than it had done twelve months before. In fact, on the original date the whole country was iron-bound, with a tem- perature which in some places went below zero, and coursing — as also necessarily hunting and steeplechasing — was quite out of the question. Finally a start was made on March 12, three weeks after the original date, and nominators generally were much puzzled about their greyhounds, hardly knowing which to send to sUps, so much had training operations been inter- fered with. 1895 was, too, the first year of office of Mr. J. Hartley Bibby, who had been chosen to succeed Mr. Harold Brocklebank as secretary of the Altcar Club. At the last moment Bootiman, the properly elected slipper for the meet- ing, wired to say he was ill, and R. Wright was chosen to take his place. On the night of the draw Falconer, runner up to Texture in the previous year, was favourite ; Fabulous Fortune was the next choice ; Fair Floralie, Fortuna Favente, and Thoughtless Beauty were believed to have good chances. The latter proved to be the winner of the stake, and she got through her task with great credit to herself, proving herself a fast and good greyhound. Curiously enough she was a very THE WATERLOO CUP 35 little bitch, only about 45 lbs. in weight, and like Texture, her predecessor, was bred by the Messrs. Thompson in North- umberland. She was by Herschel out of Thetis by Greentick, and thus unites the blood of the two most successful stud dogs of the present decade. In her first course Thoughtless Beauty met The Quorn, whom she led, and beat almost pointless ; . in the second round her opponent was Cloudy Night, against whom she ran brilliantly. The first turn she took quite three lengths ahead, flecking her game as she reached it. She just failed to hold the hare, but continued to keep her place, and in a short trial was always right on the top of her hare until she pulled it down. In the third round Thought- less Beauty met Kilrosa, who was no match for her as regards speed, and who was led many lengths in a long run up. Mr. Pilkington's bitch put on a good sequence before losing her place, but Kilrosa had the end of the trial and the kill, though she never looked like wiping off the early score made by Thoughtless Beauty. In the fourth round against Fabulous Fortune Mr. Pilkington's bitch showed to far greater advantage than in her trial with Kilrosa. At first it appeared as if she would be led, but the hare favoured her slightly at the end of the run up ; she quickly took advantage of the chance, and had scored twice before Fabulous Fortune began to exchange points. The latter part of the trial was all in favour of the bitch, who was a most decisive winner when she killed. On the last day of the meeting the four left in were P'alconer, Fortuna Favente, Thoughtless Beauty, and Gallant ; and over- night Falconer was favourite to win outright. He was, how- ever, led and easily beaten by Fortuna Favente. Gallant (a puppy) made a good fight with Thoughtless Beauty, who, how- ever, was too smart for him, and though not faster in the run up, fairly outworked him at close quarters. In the final course Thoughtless Beauty and Fortuna Favente were well matched for pace, but Mr. Pilkington's bitch secured an advantage in jumping a dyke, and gained the first turn when just clear. Exchanges followed, and Thoughtless Beauty once fairly lost 36 COURSING her place through missing an attempt to kill. She was soon in possession again, and driving her hare before her two or three times, picked it up when a decisive winner. Fortuna Favente, the runner-up, was also by Herschel, out of Fair Future, and to Herschel also went first honours in the Plate, won by Mr. Fletcher's Forum (out of Fine Sport), and half the honours in the Purse, divided between Word of Honour, by Herschel out of Watchful Duchess, and Fertile Field, by Townend out of Honey Deer. 1896. — The Waterloo Cup of 1896 was chiefly remarkable for the fact that at last the coveted trophy was secured by the Messrs. Fawcett, whose kennel had suppHed the runners-up in three of the five previous years. The Messrs. Fawcett have during the last few years probably run more greyhounds than any other owner or combination of owners, and as a rule their efforts have been attended with great success. When the two brothers first began to keep greyhounds in "partnership, they went to the public market for their dogs ; but almost immediately they began to breed, and having the advantage of good walks in Durham, Northumberland, and elsewhere, they very quickly began to make a big mark in modern coursing. For some years past they have been quite at the top of the tree with their numerous ' double F's,' and it is worthy of mention that as a general rule the greyhounds they run have been bred by themselves, though they have occa- sionally given high prices at the Barbican sales. They have always gone for the big stakes, and have invariably been represented at the most important fixtures, but with regard to the Waterloo Cup their luck was extraordinarily bad, for Faster and Faster ran up to Fullerton in 1891, FitzFife ran up to Fullerton in 1892, and Fortuna Favente ran up to Thought- less Beauty in 1895, Fertile Field also running up to Word of Honour for the Purse in the same year. 1896, however, saw the long delayed prize won at last, and the victory must have been all the more welcome because Fabulous Fortune proved himself to be far and away the THE WATERLOO CUP 37 fastest and best all-round greyhound in the stake. In the previous year he had been beaten in the fourth round by the ultimate winner, Thoughtless Beauty, but on that occasion it was a tight fit between the pair ; Fabulous Fortune had shown fine speed, and would have secured the turn had he not dwelt for a moment at a drain, just before the hare was reached. In 1896 he showed no disposition to dwell, or in fact to do anything which a high-class greyhound ought not to do, and only once on his way through the stake was he any- thing like seriously challenged. To go a little more into detail, it may be mentioned that on the night of the draw favouritism was practically divided between Thoughtless Beauty (the winner in the previous year) and Fabulous Fortune, the former just having the call. Two more of the Messrs. Fawcett's team, Fortuna Favente and Fair Floralie, were also highly esteemed, and probably no kennel ever showed a bolder front on the eve of a Waterloo Cup. The pair just named and Fabulous Fortune were all of the same litter, by Herschel out of Fair Future, and it has been the opinion of many competent critics that so much excellence was never combined in one litter before. Fair Floralie, who had succumbed to Fortuna Favente in the pre- vious year, now only won one course, being put out by Weather- wise in the second round, after a long course the beginning of which was all in favour of Fair Floralie. The hare, however, was a regular stag ; Weatherwise, an Irish-bred son of Her- schel, stayed the better of the pair, and had fairly rubbed off the early points scored by his opponent when the flag went up in his favour. Curiously enough, Weatherwise also ad- ministered the coup de grace to Fortuna Favente in the next round ; but this was a very near thing, the Irish dog, who got the turn by favour, being only in a slight majority when he killed. Meantime Fabulous Fortune was pursuing the even tenour of his way through the stake. In the first round he met a second-class greyhound named Stipplefield, whose only claim 38 COURSING to reputation rests on the fact that he is generally supposed to have jumped over thirty feet when covering a drain at one of the Heatley and Warburton meetings. With Fabulous Fortune he was quite outclassed, the latter leading many lengths, and winning a short course in most decisive fashion. In the second round the Messrs. Fawcett's first string fell against Mr. James Russel's Reception, of the Restorer — Real Lace litter, and as regards pace there was not a great deal to choose between the pair. In fact, it looked as if either might get the turn, until Reception faltered slightly at a drain. Fabulous Fortune instantly shooting ahead to score the coveted first point about a couple of lengths in front. The hare was one of the dodging short- running tribe, and the work that followed as she crossed and recrossed a drain was an unsatisfactory test of merit. At the same time Fabulous Fortune was always doing the greater share, and won very easily indeed. In the third round Fabulous Fortune fell against High Dappley Moor, a grey- hound of fairly high character, who had been backed at 25 to I on the night of the draw. High Dappley Moor began much faster than his opponent, and showed daylight before they had travelled very far. Fabulous Fortune, however, was not to be denied, and laying himself down to his work in grand style, he soon drew past and scored the turn about three lengths in front, on a slight outside. He served himself again and then turned the hare to High Dappley Moor, who scored three sharp quick drives, and just for a moment looked like holding his own ; he could not, however, keep his place longer, and Fabulous Fortune, regaining possession, wrenched and killed, being a clear winner at the time. This was a well-run course on the part of both greyhounds, as neither of them ever threw away an opportunity, and both went with plenty of fire. In the fourth round Fabulous Fortune's opponent was Juggernaut, and though the latter showed a nice turn of speed, and was not led very far, he really never had a chance in a short course. In fact, Fabulous Fortune covered his hare so strongly from the turn that it never could break away again, the favourite THE WATERLOO CUP 39 killing after some short work in which he received no assist- ance from Juggernaut. In the fifth round, against Utopia, Fabulous Fortune had a longer course, but he won it all one way, leading several lengths and running up a fair sequence of points before the bitch was able to score. She did eventu- ally get in, and by no means disgraced herself while she re- tained possession ; but Fabulous Fortune recovered his place with a racing go-bye, and had won with a great deal to spare when he fell into a drain, Utopia driving the hare into a sough almost simultaneously. In the final course Fabulous Fortune was opposed by the Irish dog Wolf Hill, who had beaten Thoughtless Beauty in the fourth ties, and had previously put out Mellor Moor, Grey Morn, Gallant, and Real Point. Fabulous Fortune was of course favourite, and he led the Irish greyhound many lengths to the hare, though it should be mentioned that the latter lost a good deal of ground through stumbling in the run up. The hare was just an average one, but Fabulous Fortune retained strong possession throughout, and when he killed had practically beaten his opponent pointless ; indeed, a more decisive victory in the final course of a great stake is seldom seen, and as already stated the Messrs. Fawcett's greyhound proved himself a Triton among the minnows right through the stake. That he got lightly off in the early stages of the Cup cannot be denied, but this was chiefly due to the fact that he was remarkably handy with his teeth, as he killed five of the six hares at which he was slipped. Reception, who had gone down before Fabulous Fortune in the second round of the Cup, won the Plate for Mr. James Russel, beating the Northumberland greyhound. Gallant, in the final course ; and Sir Thomas Brocklebank's Biere won the Purse, for which Mr. C. Murles's Brummagem Man was the runner-up. 1897. — This was not in any way a remarkable year, and we are somewhat inclined to think that the form was a little below the average. The winner was Mr. Thomas Holmes's Gallant, a 40 COURSING brindled dog by young Fullerton out of Sally Milburn by Mis- terton, who ran in the nomination of the late Mr, T. P. Hale, and who, though he had often run most moderately elsewhere, has always been seen at his best over the Altcar ground. Two years before (in 1895) Gallant had survived the fourth round, but had been put out in the semi-finals by Thoughtless Beauty, the winner of the stake. In 1896 he had been beaten in the second round by Wolf Hill, the runner-up to Fabulous For- tune ; and in the same year he had run up to Reception for the Waterloo Plate. Thus, after his Cup victory it could be claimed for Gallant that he had won fourteen out of seventeen courses at Altcar, and only succumbed to high-class greyhounds when beaten. It should be added that, at the Border Union Meeting of 1896, Gallant had run so badly that he could have been bought for a 10/. note; but Mr. Tom Graham, who had trained him originally, had not quite lost faith in him, and persuaded Mr. Holmes to send him back to his old quarters at Great Corby, near Carlisle. He soon began to recover his form, and having divided small stakes at Kirkoswald and Bar- nard Castle, he came to Liverpool considerably fancied by his connections. At the same time the running hardly showed Gallant to be a superior greyhound to everything else in the stake, as had been the case with Fabulous Fortune in the pre- vious year. Mr. Holmes's dog was twice led, and in the final he had an advantage over his opponent, because he had been nothing like so hard run. Throughout the stake Gallant ran kindly and showed marked cleverness, and though, no doubt, his speed was hardly equal to that of the average Waterloo Cup winner, he was nevertheless by no means the worst greyhound which has got to the end of the stake. Rather a curious feature of this particular Waterloo Cup was that a much greater number of puppies took part in the stake than is usually the case. Nor were there the average number of ex-Waterlooers among the sixty-four, the entry at last including only eleven who had run in 1896, and no fewer than thirty-eight first season greyhounds. Amongst the eleven just referred to were Fabulous Fortune and Wolf Hill, the winner THE WATERLOO CUP 4' and runner-up of a twelvemonth before, also Weatherwise and Fair Floralie, who had shown good form at Altcar. Fabulous Fortune stood at a remarkably short price on the eve of running, and others backed at comparatively short odds were Five by Tricks, Fair Floralie, Royston, Rouge Croix, Weather- wise, and Faber Fortunae. Mr. T. Graham's Under the Globe stood at half the odds accepted about his kennel companion Gallant, and doubtless carried the confidence of the Corby establishment, though, as stated just now, Mr-. Holmes's dog was backed to win a good stake. Gallant's first opponent was Realism, by Restorer out of Real Lace, and in this course Mr. Holmes's dog showed great superiority] He led two or three lengths for the turn, and working his game very closely in a trial of just average length, he had hardly allowed Realism more than an odd point or two when he clinched matters with the kill. In the second round Gallant met Laurel Leaves, a smart bitch puppy owned by the Duke of Leeds. Gallant led about a couple of lengths, and sent the hare right round to the puppy, who wrenched, killed, and brought the hat off. In the decider curiously enough the lead was reversed, Laurel Leaves reaching the hare well clear of the older greyhound. The latter obtained possession as the hare came round, and put on a winning sequence before Laurel Leaves got in again. He then quickly shouldered her out, and finishing with the death had easily outcounted the bitch's beginning. In the third round the Messrs. Fawcett's Faber Fortunae fell against Gallant, and odds of 9 to 4 were laid on the first named. To the general surprise Gallant showed better speed and cleverer working abilities, and when Faber Fortunge killed, Mr. Holmes's dog was an undisputed winner. For first point Gallant led a good length, and he continued to score several times before Faber Fortunae got in. The latter had done very little before Gallant was there again for another short sequence, and he also had the best of two or three exchanges before Faber Fortunae brought off the death. In the fourth round against Wildfire II., Gallant had about five-sixths of an average course. He led quite three lengths to the hare, and put on a telling sequence before he 42 COURSING lost his place. Then after an exchange or so he resumed strong possession, and finishing with the death was a most one- sided winner. On the last day of running the four left in were Five by Tricks, Fabulous Fortune, Gallant, and Black Veil, and over night Fabulous Fortune was a decided favourite, while Gallant, being generally expected to beat Black Veil, was in slightly stronger demand than Five by Tricks, his chance of getting into the final course looking better than that of Five by Tricks, who had to meet the favourite in the fifth round. It may be men- tioned here that Fabulous Fortune had not been quite so well liked on his way through the stake as had been the case twelve months before. He had shown great smartness more than once, and had evidently not lost his killing powers, but, on the other hand, he had steadied himself too soon at the end of the run up, and in his first course against Charioteer had certainly thrown away a chance in this manner. Still, on the Friday morning he was very generally expected to repeat his triumph of 1896, and there was much disappointment when he was both led and beaten by Five by Tricks. It was again the tendency to dwell which cost Fabulous Fortune the all-important first point. In the run up the pair were well matched, but the favourite was showing in front when he steadied himself, and this allowed Five by Tricks to get there two lengths to the good, and put on a strong sequence before he lost possession. . After- wards the course was of the give and take order and very well contested, but when Fabulous Fortune killed he had not rubbed out his opponent's good beginning, and was decidedly in arrears. Gallant was favourite against Black Veil, but the latter showed the better pace in the run up, and was well clear when she brought the hare round. Unfortunately for herself Sir Thomas Brocklebank's bitch did too much with her hare, brought it too far round in fact, and thus helped Gallant to score. Had the hare broken to the right or left, or even half round, Black Veil would probably have gone on with it ; but as it was, she brought it right round, and Mr. Holmes's greyhound, who was not slow to avail himself of the opportunity, had THE WATERLOO CUP 43 nearly all the rest of a short course and the kill to his credit, his victory in this particular trial being due partly to good luck, partly also to very marked cleverness. For the final course, •Five by Tricks was a slight favourite, but he certainly had the worst of the handicap, his course against Fabulous Fortune having been much longer than that in which Gallant beat Black Veil. Unfortunately the hare slipped at was not a very strong one ; but such as it was, it served to show the superiority of Gallant, who had the lead, the best of the work, and the death to his credit. It is just on the cards that Five by Tricks was momentarily ' blinked ' in the run up, for after he had been level with his opponent for a short distance, he threw up his head for a second, at which instant Gallant drew out to score the turn about a couple of lengths in front. Mr. Holmes's greyhound came well round with his game, and scored again before Five by Tricks joined. An exchange then took place before Gallant resumed possession, wrenched and killed, leaving off a most decisive winner. Gallant' is by Young Fuller- ton, who was a full brother, though of a younger litter, to the famous Fullerton, by Greentick out of Bit of Fashion. The Purse this year was won by Mr. M. G. Hales's Happy Sight, a very fast puppy, who had been beaten in the Cup after leading. The Waterloo Plate went to Under the Globe, who beat Laurel Leaves in the deciding course, the latter being the Duke of Leeds' puppy who had led Gallant in the second round of the Cup. Thus the chief honours of the meeting, Cup and Plate, went to a brace of Cumberland-trained kennel com- panions ; and curiously enough this double victory was achieved by Mr. Thomas Graham just after that well-known courser had disposed of almost his entire kennel by auction at the Barbican. 1898. — Like its predecessor, 1898 was not a particularly sensational year, though on all three days of the meeting first- rate coursing was afforded. Indeed, it is questionable if the Altcar hares have ever run better than they did on this occa- sion ; and we may also add that the weather was fine through- out the meeting, though it rained heavily on at least two of the intervening nights. The winner of the Cup was forthcoming 44 COURSING in Mr. H. Hardy's f.w.b. Wild Night, by Freshman out of Fine Night, who owed her position at the end of the stake to cleverness, to the rapidity with which she scored when in possession, and to her killing powers. Like Gallant in the previous year, Wild Ni^ht was more than once led on her way through the stake, and to carry the parallel further she was also the second string of her kennel, Wet Day running in Mr. Hardy's own nomination. Wild Night had always been a consistent performer and a clever runner, though short of pace for a Waterloo Cup winner. As a puppy she had won three courses in the Oaks at Massareene Park (Ireland), and had shared in a three-cornered division of the puppy stakes at the Border Union meeting, her co-dividers being Fiery Furnace and Farmer's Folly from the Messrs. Fawcett's kennels. She also won four courses in the Croxteth stakes at Altcar, being very unlucky when beaten, and at Newmarket she had been drawn, after an exceedingly long trial in the first round. She was at that time the property of Mr. Waters, who inherited the kennel of the late Mr. Matthew Fletcher, but she was sold, together with Wet Day, Wintry Weather, and Five by Tricks (the runner-up to Gallant in 1897), for 850/., to Mr. Hardy, and for her new owner she shared in the division of the De Grey Cup at the Studley Royal (Ripon) meeting. Wild Night's pedigree is a most interesting one ; her sire Freshman was by Greentick out of Mary Mole by Paris, her dam Pretty Nell by Countryman. Paris was one of the famous Ptarmigan- Gallant Foe litter, and was also the sire of Bit of Fashion (the dam of Fullerton), Miss Glendyne and a host of other winners. Fine Night (Wild Night's dam) was by Herschel out of Harp- string by Glenlivet out of Polly, and Mary Mole was sister to Bit of Fashion ; Harpstring was bred by Mr. Thomas Graham at Great Corby. Fine Night when owned by the late Mr. Fletcher was a very fine performer, and we remember seeing her run grandly at Newmarket as a puppy. Before going more into details we may mention that this year the services of a new judge were requisitioned, the change being the first that has been made for five-and-twenty years. THE WATERLOO CUP 45 Mr. R. A. Brice, of Witham in Essex, was chosen to succeed Mr. James Hedley, whose health does not at present allow of his undertaking the duties. No fewer than twenty-four consecu- tive Waterloo Cups has Mr. Hedley judged — from 1874 to 1897 inclusive — and this constitutes a wonderful record. That Mr. Hedley was a perfect master of his work, there were never two opinions among coursing men, and probably there never was any other judge of this particular sport in whose in- tegrity and ability the public had so much faith. He knew thoroughly well the value of good and bad work in greyhounds, he never gave a long undecided course, and his nerve was of the strongest. We remember on one occasion, when Mr. Hedley had only been judging a year or two, his taking office at a miners' meeting in the county of Durham. Now these miners — who nowadays are so ably controlled by Mr. Thomas Snowdon and the North of England Coursing Club — were, nearly thirty years ago, a very rough lot, who inclined greatly to the * win, tie or wrangle ' school. They thought nothing of * bo-hooing ' the judge when a popular favourite went down, and it is beyond question that some of their earlier judges occasionally gave decisions which would please the crowd, whether they were right or not. On the occasion we refer to, a well-backed favourite had just failed to raise a flag, and immediately afterwards Mr. Hedley had to ride right past the crowd, as they were changing the beat. As he approached, some of the roughest of the spectators drew out threateningly, and there was a loud shout of ' Pull him off his horse ! ' with a deal of strong language. The judge took little notice ; but when two of the noisiest took hold of his horse's bridle, he raised his heavy whip and promptly laid one man's head open, while the other, as he tried to bolt, received the lash of the hunting crop full in the face. Confidence was at once restored, and we have an idea that Mr. Hedley was never jeered at again. Among the sixty-four who contested the Cup in 1898 puppies were in a minority, only twenty-one of that age being entered for the stake, against six third season, two fourth 46 COURSING season, and no fewer than thirty-five second season grey- hounds; and it may be added that the last (our left in the Cup and the winner of the Plate were all in their second season. Wild Night was drawn against Cissy Smith in the first round, and she would have led a long way had she not stumbled in the run up. As it was, she reached the hare well clear, came nicely round with her, and after a short drive or two put her into a sough, winning in very one-sided fashion. Her second course with Bella Dobson was equally decisive, as she led many lengths and ran straight into her game, thus getting off very lightly in both efforts. In the third round she met Faber Fortunae. Between the pair the issue was very close, and Faber Fortunae would probably have won had he not stumbled and lost his place at a critical point of the course. As it was, he had the lead and the death to his credit, but the bitch outworked him at close quarters in the middle of the course, and just pulled through a clever winner, but with no big balance to her credit. In the fourth round Wild Night came against Under the Globe, who had won the Waterloo Plate in the previous year. The pair were a grand match for pace, but Under the Globe just secured the turn, having a slight inside at the finish of the run up, but the bitch came round more quickly than the dog, scored three or four times with great celerity, and finishing with a smart kill, raised the flag in her favour. On the last day of the meeting the four left in were Ryde, Lang Syne, Wild Night and Chock ; and over- night Wild Night was favourite for her course, as also indeed favourite to win outright. Lang Syne beat Ryde for speed with a straight-going hare, and Wild Night very decisively dis- posed of Chock, whom she just led, but beat in hollow fashion when it came to working. She had, in fact, about three-fourths of the course to herself, Chock giving her little assistance during the latter half of the trial. For the final course Lang Syne went to slips very lame. The Duke of Leeds' dog had been more or less lame all through the stake, and in conse- quence he began slowly each time. After going a short dis- THE WATERLOO CUP 47 tance he warmed up to his work, and though the odds were against him, he led Wild Night in the final course, after a grand race between the pair in which each in turn had shown in advance. From the turn Wild Night came round more smartly than her opponent, and put on a nice sequence before the dog got in again. The latter — who would have done better with a straight-going hare — only exchanged points, then Wild Night was there again, scoring very fast, and when she finished the course with a clever kill, she had a large balance in her favour. That she was lucky in meeting a lame dog in the final cannot be disputed ; but her marvellous quickness in scoring more than equalled his extra speed, and she would always beat him except with a very straight-going hare, such as used to be found when the enclosure system was at its zenith. Gallant, who won in the previous year, was this time put out in the second round by a Falconer puppy named Peregrine Pickle, who, after winning his first course, had coursed and killed a second hare single-handed. Peregrine "Pickle was far too fast for old Gallant, now in his fourth season, but he was picked up so hopelessly lame after winning the course that he had to be drawn. Several competent judges expressed the opinion that Peregrine Pickle was the best greyhound in the stake. Wet Day, the kennel companion and full brother of Wild Night, won three courses, and was then beaten by Lang Syne, Five by Tricks failing to survive the first round, and he had evidently lost his form. The purse was divided between Mr. Russel's Real Turk and Mr. John Coke's Cissy Smith, both puppies by F'alconer, and the Plate went to Mr. D. Graham's Genitive by Norway, who beat Silver Lace in the final course after an undecided. It should be added that Wild Night was nominated by Mr. Joseph Trevor of Lichfield, a popular Midland courser, who has held a Waterloo nomina- tion for very many years. It was Mr. Trevor's Lady of Lyons (running for the late General Goodlake) who put out Master McGrath as far back as 1870, and though he had never before owned or named the winner. Downpour, who filled his nomi- nation, ran up to Fullerton in 1890. 48 COURSING WATERLOO CUP.- -WINNERS Date 1836 Winner COLOUR Sire Dam Owner Milanie . r. b. Mile Duchess Lord Molyneux 1837 Fly . . . bk. h. Tommy Roads Fly Mr. Stanton 1838 Bugle . . .be. d. Bachelor Nimble Mr. Balls 1839 Empress , . 1 r. b. Tramp Nettle Mr. Robinson 1840 Earwig . i bk. d. Hailstone Pastime Mr. Easterby isji Bloomsbury . | r. d. Redcap by ^Valton (Sister Mr. King to Preserve) 1842 Priam . f. w. d. Emperor Venus Mr. Deakins 1843 Major f. d. Moses Melon Mr. G. PoUoks 1844 Speculation r. vv. b. Sandy Enchantress Mr. N. Slater 1845 Titania . . i bk. b. Driver Zoe Mr. Temple 1846 Harlequin , . bk. w. d. Emperor Lady Mr. Sampson 1847 Senate , . i r. d. Sadek Sanctity Lord Sefton 1848 Spade. . . ! bk. w. b. Nonchalance Margery Sir St. G. Gore 1849 Magician [Long) bk. d. King Cob Magic ,, 1850 Cerito (late Lucy f. w. b. Lingo Wanton Mr. G. F. Cooke 1851 Hughie Graham . f. d. Liddesdale Queen of the May M. W. Sharp Mr. G. F.Cooke 1852 1853 1854 Cerito . f. w. b. Lingo Wanton Sackcloth . bk.d. Senate Cinderella Lord Sefton 1855 Judge Protest r. d. John Bull Fudge Pearl Mr. Jefferson 1856 f. b. Weapon Mr. W. Peacock 1857 King Lear. w. f. d. Wigan Repentence Mr. W. Wilson 1858 Neville . . f. d. Autocrat Catherine Hayes Mr. S. Class 1859 J Clive . 1 Selby . bk. b. bk.d. Judge Barrator Moeris Ladylike j- J. Jardine i860 Maid of the Mill r. b. Judge Bartolozzi Mr. J. Blackstock 1861 Canaradzo . w. d. Beacon Scotland Yet Mr. I. Campbell 1862 Roaring Meg bk. b. Polly Mr. Gregson 1863 Chloe . . . .w. bk. b. Judge Clara Mr. T. T. C. Lister 1864 King Death w. bk. d. Canaradzo Annoyance Dr. Richardson 1865 Meg . . . r. or f. b. Terrona Fanny Fickle Mr. G. Carruthers 1866 Brigadier . bk. w. d. Boreas Wee Nel Mr. Foulkes 1867 Lobelia . w. bd. b. Sea Foam Lilac Mr. W. J. Legh 1868 Master McGrath bk.w.d.p. Dervock Lady Sarah Lord Lurgan 1869 „ [Covet) jj J) >> 1870 Sea Cove (late r. b. p. Strange Idea Curiosity Mr. J. Spmks 1871 Master McGrath bk.w.d.p. Dervock Lady Sarah Lord Lurgan 1872 Bed of Stone f. b. Portland Imperatrice Mr. J. Briggs Mr. R. Jardine 1873 Muriel . . r. w, b. p. Fusilier Portia 1874 Magnano . r.d. Cauld Kail Isoline Mr. C. Morgan 1875 Honeymoon bk. w. b. Brigadier Hebe Mr. W. F. Hutchinson 1876 Donald bk. d. Master Burleigh Phoenia Mr. R. M. Douglas 1877 Coomassie . f. w. b. p. Celebrated Queen Mr. R. Gittus 1878 ^ Mr. T. Lay 1879 Misterton . bk.w.d.p. Contango Lina Mr. H. G. Miller 1880 Honeywood r. w. d. Cavalier Humming Bird Earl of Haddington 1881 Princess Dagmar w.b.d.b. Ptarmigan Gallant Foe Mr. J. S. Postle 1882 Snowflight bk. b. p. Bothal Park Curiosity Mr. G. Hall 1883 Wild Mint . r.b. Haddo Orla Mr. M. Osborne 1884 Mineral Water . w. bk. d. Memento Erzeroum Mr. J. Mayer Mr. E, Dent ( Bit of Fashion . bd.w.b.p. Paris Pretty Nell 188s 1 Miss Glendyne . b. d. b. p. Lady Glendyne Mr. C. Hibbert 1886 Miss Glendyne . ,j ,, 1887 j Greater Scott . bk. d. Macpherson Madge' Mr. R. F. Gladstone IHerschel . . r. d. p. ,, . Stargazing II. Mr. T. B. Hornby 1888 Burnaby bk. w. d. Be Joyful Baroness Mr. L, Pilkington 1889 f Fullerton . bd. d. p. Greentick Bit of Fashion Colonel North ( Troughend >) Toledo „ 1890 Fullerton . bd. d. >> Bit of Fashion ,, i8?i 1 „ „ »» „ 1892 1 „ 1893 Character . w. bd. d. R. Halliday Mermaiden Mr. I. Coke 1894 I Texture [Beauty r.b. Herschel Tinsel Count Stroganoff 1895 1 Thoughtless f. b. " Thetis Mr. L. Pilkington 1896 Fabulous Fortune r.d. Fair Future Mr. G. F. Fawcett 1897 Gallant bd. d. Young Fullerton Sally Milburn Mr. T. Holmes 1898 1 Wild Night f. w. b. Freshman Fine Night Mr. H. Hardy WATERLOO CUP WATERLOO CUP.— RUNNERS-UP 49 Date 1836 RUNNER-UI' Colour Sire Dam Owner Mucus b. r. d. Hornet Fly Mr. Morris 1837 Dr. Fop . bk. w. d. Bob Logic Spinner Mr. Speed 1838 Risk (late La! age) r. b. Luff Minikin Mr. Jebb 1839 Brenda r. b. Topper Belinda Mr. Blundell 1840 Emperor . bk.d. Hellenus Fly Mr. Easterby 1841 Saddler . be. w. d. Old Sailor Fanny Mr. Brooks 1842 Barrier f. d. Blueman Lady Mr. Bradley 1843 Solon . r. d. Merchant Myrtle Mr. N. Slater 1844 Dressmaker bk. w. b. Hector Lill Mr. Clarke 1845 Sherwood . bk.d. Kenwigs Sarah Mr. B. Smith 1846 Oliver Twist r. d. Sadek _ Sanctity Mr. O'Grady Mr. W. Webb 1847 Flirt . r. b. Marquis Coquette 1848 Smut . bk. w. b. Sam Lucy Mr. B. Robinson 1849 Forward . bk.d. Foremost Catch'em Mr. Temple 1850 Neville . r t. d. Scot Grace Mr. G. Gregson 1831 Staymaker . bk.d. Foremost Dressmaker Lord Sefton 1852 Larriston . f. d. Liddesdale Hannah Mr. G. F. Henderson 1853 Movemer.t . bk. w. b. Foremost Fairy Mr. G. Gregson 1854 Larriston . f. d. Liddesdale Hannah Mr, G. F. Henderson 1855 Scotland Yet w. b. Wigan Veto Mr. Campbell 1856 Judge . r. d. John Bull Fudge Mr. Jefferson 1857 Sunbeam . r. d. ,, Fleur-de-Lys Captain Spencer 1858 Deacon , r. d. Ben Buttress Mr. E. Dixon, jun. 1R59 Divided . — — — — i860 Sampler . b. d. b. Sky Rocket Stitch Lord Sefton 1861 Sea Rock . f. d. Willow Fanny Mr. J. Spinks . Mr. T. Brocklebank 1862 Bowfell . bd. w. b. Judge Regan Rhapsody 1863 1864 1865 Rebe . . . bk. b. Lady Mr. H. Haywood King Tom '. '. w."d. Canaradzo Kitty Nicholson Mr. Kennedy 1866 Fieldfare . bd. w. b. Dalgig Woodpigeon Mr. F, Johnston 1867 Royal Seal . bk. b. Patent Romping Girl Mr. Haj'wood 1868 Cock Robin [ster w.bd.d.p. King Death Chloe Mr. T. T. C. Lister 1869 Bab-at-the-Bow- r.b. Boanerges Cauld Kail Mischief Mr. Blanshard 1870 Bendimere . r. w. d. p. Bergamot Lord Binning 1871 Pretender . f. d. p. Ewesdale Peerless Mr. W. H. Punchard 1872 1873 Peasant Boy bk. d. p. ) Racing Hop j Factor } Placid Mr. A. Smith 1874 Surprise f. d." Sir William Modesty Mr. Martelli 1875 Corby Castle r.orf.d.p. Silver Fox Bet Mr. J. Cunningham 1876 Lord Glendyne . bk.d. Smuggler Fanny Wharfield Mr. D. J. Paterson 1877 Braw Lass . bk. b. p. Blackburn Happy Lass Mr. R. Briggs 1878 Zazel . bk.w.b.p. Mast. Frederick Geneora Lord Fermoy 1879 Commerce . bk.w.d.p. Contango Cumelion Mr. R. B. Carruthers 1880 Plunger f. w. d. Backwoodsman Gretna Mr. J. Hinks 1881 Bishop bd. d. Barleycorn Daffodil Mr. T. Brocklebank 1882 Hornpipe . bk. b. Bedfellow Hornet Earl of Haddington 1883 Snowflight . bk. w. b. Bothal Park Curiosity Mr. W. ReiUy 1884 Greentick . . bk. d. p. Bedfellow Heartburn Mr. R. F. Gladstone 1885 Divided . . _ — 1886 Penelope II. f. b. Macpherson Stitch in Time Mr. L. Pilkington 1887 Divided . — . — 1888 Duke Macpherson be. d. p. Macpherson Prenez Garde Colonel North 1889 Divided . — — _ — 1890 Downpour . f. b. p. — [press — Mr. N. Dunn 1891 Faster and Faster be. b. Northern Ex- — Messrs. Fawcett 1892 FitzFife . w. bd. d. Royalty — )» 1893 Button Park bd. w. d. Tester Brampton Mr. T. Baxter 1894 Falconer w. f. d. p. Herschel Fine Sport Mr- M. Fletcher 1895 Fortuna Favente r. d. p. ,, Fair Future Messrs. Fawcett 1896 Wolf Hill . f.d. Carrs Green The Pug Mr. W. Smyrl 1897 Five by Tricks . f. d. Freshman Full Hand Mr. H. Hardy 1398 ■ Lang Syne . bk.d. Boss 0' the Belle of Soham Duke of Leeds. Shanty 50 COURSING CHAPTER II A TREATISE ON BREEDING In giving Misterton a place amongst greyhounds of the past, we must use him as a connecting Hnk with the dogs of the day, as his blood is intimately intermingled with the running strains, and his puppies were so recently running with success. Later on we shall give a table of this remarkable dog's winning progeny, together with those of Macpherson and Greentick, the former of whom predeceased Misterton ; but the latter still flourishes and adds laurels to his crown as a sire as surely as the seasons come round. Now, as a basis for breeding winners, we should take these three dogs as primary sires, representing as they do a long hne of highly successful ancestors, and on them we should ring the changes and em- body the Glendyne and Clyto family. An indiscriminate use of these dogs or their representatives would, of course, be futile, and due regard must be had to size, constitution, tempera- ment, faulty points, points of excellence and other details that command a breeder's closest attention ; but when once a suc- cessful ' nick ' has been discovered, it should be closely adhered to, if not on identical, at any rate on similar, that is to say col- lateral, lines ; such, for example, as the union of Beacon with Scotland Yet, one to which we shall have to make frequent reference in a subsequent chapter, which produced Canaradzo, Sea Foam, Sea Pink, Cioloja, Bugle, and through them a host of high-class winners. In recent times we have good examples in the produce of Misterton and Lady Lizzie, Misterton and Gulnare II. (which includes Mullingar, Habeas Corpus, Ayala, A TREATISE ON BREEDING 51 Glenmahra, Hibernian, &c.), Macpherson and Rota (Happy Rondelle, Have a Care, lulus, Rotula, &c,), Macpherson and Stargazing H., Ptarmigan and Gallant Foe, Greentick and Tonic, Greentick and Bit of Fashion (FuUerton, Jupon Vert, Kate Cuthbert, Young Fullerton, Simonian, Netherwitton, &c.), Greentick and Governess (Greengage, Greengoose, Greenhouse and Greenstick). It will be interesting to scan the respective pedigrees of these well-mated ones, and try to discover to what the success of their progeny is attributable. To begin with, let us take the Misterton-Gulnare H. combination. Gulnare H. was bred by Mr. Horner, and was by his dog Harfagar out of his Herrenhausen. Now here is a bitch possessed of good stout blood, traceable to the strains that are most noticeable in the pedigrees of Waterloo winners. Harfagar was by Harold (sire of Saxon King) by Farrier by Cavalier, son of Cauld Kail ; whilst Gulnare, dam of Harold, was a granddaughter of Master McGrath on her sire's side, and a great-granddaughter of Canaradzo on her dam's side. Herrenhausen owns a different infusion altogether, but is a descendant of Cock Robin (grand- son of Canaradzo) and Glimpse of Glory (Goodlake's strain). Turning back to Misterton's pedigree, we find it full of Canaradzo blood, whilst his maternal grandsire is Cock Robin, so that the cross is identical with that which produced Saxon King, whose dam. Locomotion, was a granddaughter of Con- tango. Here is an example of constant but discreet inbreed- ing to a famous strain, but when the performances of the pro- duce are looked to a curious fact presents itself. The pace of the family is concentrated in Mullingar, whose gx^dX forte was speed ; all the rest are deficient (as regards first class) in that respect, though all are stout honest runners. In conformation they are of good size and strongly built, with plenty of bone and good legs and feet, though some show a tendency to coarse- ness. Now that Misterton is dead, breeders who want to follow up the line indicated must make choice of a successor, and E 2 52 COURSING that choice will naturally fall on Mullingar, as his performances will bear looking into, and his speed is undeniable ; more- over, such of his stock as we have seen are full of promise. In fact, we are convinced that a carefully selected com- bination of Mullingar with Macpherson bitches will assuredly produce high -class winners. Our own dog Habeas Corpus was a sticker of the first water with fair speed, and he kept on winning. That Mullingar was a dog of very great courage we take leave to doubt, and on one occasion we saw him deliberately 'cut it.' Next we will analyse the Mac- pherson-Rota combination. MacPherson himself was got by Master Sam, son of Contango, and one of the speediest dogs ever slipped, whilst his dam, Annie Macpherson, was by Fusilier (a grandson of Judge), so that there is no doubt about his running blood. Rota was by Balfe (a son of Contango) out of Ruby III. Now it may be held that the cross between a Misterton dog and a Macpherson bitch is carrying inbreed- ing to a dangerous extent ; but, supposing there is no consti- tutional weakness on either side, and taking care that the Misterton dog has a fresh strain on his dam's side, and that the Macpherson bitch has a like advantage, we maintain that the happiest results may be expected. We will now pass on to the Ptarmigan-Gallant Foe combination, which includes a Waterloo wanner in Princess Dagmar, Paris (sire of Miss Glendyne and Bit of Fashion, hence grandsire of Fullerton), and Jester (sire of Huic Holloa and other winners noted for speed). Here, indeed, we have a grand running strain. Ptarmigan was by Contango, and his dam is inbred to the Canaradzo strain, with a telling admixture of Cauld Kail's desirable blood. Gallant Foe also has plenty of the grand vein, but one remarkable fact in her pedi- gree is that her dam, Maggie Smith, is descended from a union of Beacon, not with his ever-successful and legitimate spouse, Scotland Yet, but with Miss Nightingale. A careful study of Princess Dagmar's pedigree (p. 140), and a comparison with that of Misterton and Macpherson, will show ~ how similar A TREATISE ON BREEDING 53 they are, and how the same telHng blood stands out clearly defined in each. Paris is dead, but this variety of the strain is ably represented by Jester, who is a remarkably fine hand- some dog, and whose stock, as we have remarked above, are nearly always possessed of a fine turn of speed. Gay City, too, is bred on similar lines, being by Paris — Lady Glendyne, hence own brother to Miss Glendyne. His first batch of saplings, or rather such as we have seen of them, are hardly to our liking ; but it seems as if this dog, himself a brilliant performer, is absolutely certain to get some big winners in the future. He is a remarkably handsome dog, but his back is as level as a billiard board, his tail is set on too high, and he carries it badly. We remember judging at a show where he was a com- petitor, and he had to put up with second place to a dog of Dr. Salter's, faultless in conformation, but who in these running days would have had to ' look on ' from a respectful distance if he had been slipped with the dashing red. So much for show points. Now we come to Greentick, and we take the union of that game and honest dog with Bit of Fashion (a speedy, though somewhat flashy bitch, but one of the best-looking ones we have ever seen) as productive of indubitably the best grey- hound of our time. Bit of Fashion's dam. Pretty Nell, was by Country Man out of an unnamed f. w. bitch by Willie Wylie — Miss Johnson (a granddaughter of Canaradzo), whence it will be seen that she is outbred to a considerable extent, and as her dam produced London (a good winner and sire of winners) to Pathfinder (by Ptarmigan — Gallant Foe) we may feel assured that the cross is a successful one. Besides Fullerton and Bit of Fashion in her first litter, she threw Yooi Over (Jupon Vert), Yo Doit and Kate Cuthbert, all winners, her second lot including Young Fullerton, Simonian, Netherwhitton, Over the Alt, &c. From a cross of Greentick with Miss Glendyne great things were naturally expected, but the result was rather disappointing. One of the progeny, a blue brindle dog called Cagliostro, ran in the Waterloo Cup of 1890, and after 54 COURSING cleverly defeating Hughie Fearon in the Purse, was put out by the speedy Plymouth Rock, though, had the hare lived a bit longer, the verdict might have gone the other way. Struck by the dog's good looks and his clever performance in the previous round, Mr. William Ingram and the writer purchased him from Mr. Hibbert.^ Unfortunately Macpherson himself is dead, but he has left four good dogs to represent him — viz. Herschel and Lance Macpherson (out of Stargazing II.), Jock Macpherson, and Greater Scot (out of Madge). Of these our choice would fall on the first and last named, though their puppies have yet to make their dcbut^ and Jock and Lance have already sired several good winners. We have never seen Jock, but some of his saplings have not the best of legs. Having rung the changes on these three branches of the Canaradzo family, we may find it necessary to breed out again, and we must look out for a strain that is fairly remote, though it is hard to find any good greyhound that has not the Scotland Yet quarterings on his coat-of-arms ; but a few years back ;Mr. Crosse owned a good greyhound in Clyto. A short study of his pedigree shows a digression from the strongly marked line that we have indicated, and he was a dog that got a large number of winners, though few if any were of the very first order. The most promising of his sons was perhaps Holmby, and next to him Clytorus, who, after dividing the Plumpton Stakes and showing a fine turn of speed, fell and injured him- self so badly at Kempton that he could never be trained again. His dam, Mabel, was by the Canaradzo dog Crossfell, which proves the efficacy of the cross. Clyto himself w^as by Caleb Garth, a dog inbred to David and going back through his sire, Racing Hopfactor, to Senate, Hannah, and Tollwife, and through his dam, who was by Brigadier, to Figaro. Clyto's dam was Clytie by Howden out of Acute, the former being a grandson of David and the latter a great-granddaughter of the 1 In her next litter by Fullerton, Miss Glenciyne threw Not Out, a useful dog. Miss Glendyne died in 1891. A TREATISE ON BREEDING 55 same dog, so he was well inbred to a good old-fashioned strain, while the only trace of Scotland Yet blood is through Sea Foam, maternal grandsire of Howden. Hence, if a dog by Misterton out of a Clyto bitch were crossed with a bitch by Greentick out of a Paris or Jester bitch, we should get a grand concentration of running blood. The value of Clyto as a stud dog was evidenced by his getting 33 winners and dividers from his first season's puppies, and eight saplings out of a Misterton bitch fetched 600/. at auction ; so the cross was evidently appreciated. The difficulty is to find a Clyto dog whose efforts at the stud have met with marked success. We cannot say we altogether like the running of the progeny of Clytorus, but we should have no hesitation in using Holmby, and his first batch of puppies were decidedly smart. His dam, High Opinion, was by Good Authority out of H. P., and through the latter (a granddaughter of King Death) he has a dash of Canaradzo blood. Fury, dam of H. P., was a granddaughter of David, and as Good Authority was by Howden (sire of Clytie, Clyto's dam), we find very close inbreeding to the Tollwife strain, which is very stout, physically and morally. This, then, is, in our opinion, the dog to use to Misterton bitches ; he was a sterling greyhound and won forty courses in public, setting a seal to his performances by securing the Kempton Park Grand Champion Prize. All the Clytos are distinguished for quality, a matter of great consideration when we have in view the tendency to coarseness shown by some of the Greenticks, especially those inbred to Contango. Another useful dog by Clyto is Clyto IV., who has size and substance, and is free from Contango blood, his dam being Governess, a thorough winner-producer, as when put to Green- tick she threw Greengage, Greenstick, and Greenhouse, who between them won over sixty courses their first season ; hence Clyto IV. should suit either Misterton or Greentick bitches or those that combine their blood. A very valuable strain is that of Cui Bono, who was a decided success at the stud. He was 56 COURSING by Gone, by Strange Idea— Gaudy Poll, and his dam was Ruby (sister to Rota), a most remarkable bitch, as she was not only a fine performer, but as a matron she threw such first-class performers, besides Cui Bono, as Rhodora, Romney, Rufina, Rufus, Radiant (dam of Fluttering Fersen and Happy Omen), Hector, Edwina Balfe, ' Heart II. Quarrington Stakes Allegroist .... Ettrick Westraw Purse Alice Daisy Apperley (late Shipley) Graceful Girl Mermaiden Tenant Farmers* Stakes Bermondsey Lady Lizzie Durling Stakes Bessie May .... Flywheel - Braggart .... Merry Maid II. — Bronze .... Speculation Bloomsbury ,, Bog Oak . . . . Wandon Lodge Stakes Bouquet of Beauties . Nell Blink Sister to Alec Halliday Brewer's Boy Graceful Girl __ Bank Street Fairation Redshank Stakes Branston .... Burglary Baseball (vide Go Ban? II.) — Cherry . . . . Clytie Coronet .... Hark Forward Cotillon .... Waltzing Kate — Cymbeline .... Merry Heart II. Brough Cup Clamontes .... Ripe Cherry — Cottage Nymph . Cottage Maid Hassocks Stakes Countess Lilian . Lady Macbeth Countess Dudley jj Crown Point Rose Marie Donington .... Deborah Eltham Lad Durable Freewill .... Village Girl Fusilier II Foam Belle Tenants' Cup Gaily Tennis Ball Gladsome .... Merry Maid II. ,. » Craven Cup Glenbloom ... Mary Hill Brighton Cup Glencotho .... 1 Glengowan Scarisbrooke Cup )> J, Hesketh Cup Glenkirn .... — Glaucus .... Hilda October Stakes Glenmahra .... Gulnare II. Olanteigh Stakes Glenmaid .... Redemption Gorse Hertha — Giuseppe .... Mascotte — Go Bang II. . " . Tennis Ball Adderley Stakes Glenkirk .... 1 Glengowan - j Happy Hampton Corsica Ashford Stakes A TREATISE ON BREEDING 6i MISTERTON Meeting Divided Meeting Season Mistletoe Stakes Haydock 1884-S — Beaudesert Stakes Lichfield 1885-6 — Anglesey Cup J 1885-6 — Leamington Stakes Wappenbury 1886-7 Sleaford — 1885-6 Carmichael — _ 1886-7 — New Grange Stakes Louth 1887-8 Bickerstaffe Second North and South Lan- cashire Stakes Ridgway 1889-90 Cliffe and Hundred Folkestone Stakes Wye 1884-5 ofHoo — ^j 1886-7 — Hythe Stakes \\ 1887-8 — South Lancashire Stakes Ridgway Club 1884-5 — Maiden Stakes Wye 1884-5 — Paget Stakes Lichfield 1884-5 — Coombe Stakes CliflFe 1885-6 Lichfield — 1885-6 — Brough Cup Catterick 1885-6 — Hoddom Stakes Mid-Annandale 1886-7 — Lichfield Stakes Lichfield 1886-7 Farcet Fen — 1888-9 — Molyneux Stakes Altcar 1888-9 — Catterick Stakes Darlington 1884-5 — Gosforth Derby Gosforth 1884-5 — Olanteigh Stakes (Jan.) Wye 1884-S — (Mar.) 1884-5 Darlington Club — 1884-5 — Produce Stakes Plumpton 1886-7 Plumpton — — 1886-7 — Wye Oaks Wye 1887-8 — Dover Stakes 1887-8 — October Stakes Haydock 1887-8 — Hastings Stakes Plumpton 1886-7 — Sandgate Stakes Wye 1887-8 — Monmouth Stakes Berkeley 1888-9 Corrie — — 1889-90 — Farmers* Stakes Hale Tenants 1889-90 — Peahall Stakes North Lancashire 1889-Q0 — Paget Stakes Lichfield 1884-5 Ashdown — 1888-9 Plumpton — — 1884-5 — Blagdon Stakes Gosforth 1886-7 — Border Union Stakes Border Union 1885-6 — St. Mungo Cup Mid-Annandale 1886-7 Southport — — 1887-8 RufFord — 1887-8 — Earlstown Stakes Haydock 1885-6 Haydock — 1886-7 Wye — — 1889-90 Oakbank Stakes Longtown 1885-6 — Wye Derby Wye 1885-6 — Wilton Stakes Wilton 1886-7 Market Drayton — — 1887-8 — Second Spoonley Stakes Market Drayton 1889-90 — September Stakes Haydock 1888-9 — Gosforth Gold Cup Gosforth 1888-9 Wye — - 1884-5 62 COURSING MISTERTON- Name Harraby Hieland Fly Hibernian . Homers* Claim Hooe Lassie Heavy Cavalry Habeas Corpus Ivy Green . Jealous Squaw (late Wild- girl) Jolly Mystery (late Bonny Glen) Kilkoo . . . . Kilkiel King Cole . Knockshea . Kilchief . Longest Day Mada . Magic . Maid of Kellena Maidstone . Matin Bells Miranda Miss Baxter Mullingar Master Tom Harbison Miss Avon . Miss Harries Missing Son Maggie Park Mid Lincoln My Dear , Northern Expre Phantom II. Dam Hook Sail o' the Mill Gulnare 11. Hilda' Go Hilda Gulnare II. Arama Woodsdown Mermaiden Koriata Lyonese Koriata Avon Beauty Romanoffski Now or Never Glengowan Memorial Ma Chere Prenez Garde Speculation Won Ashdown Stakes Scarisbrooke Cup Burscough Cup Cowley Cup Wallasea Stakes Dover Stakes (No. i) Bagley Cup Westminster Stakes Roche's Point Stakes Quarrington Stakes Second Southern Club Stakes Scarva Stakes Mermaiden Arama Buccleuch Cup Southminster Oaks Beaudesert Stakes Madcap Violet Princess Dagmar Joyful Tenants' Cup Promotion Flywheel Gulnare II. St Mungo's Cup Queensberry Stakes Cardinal Wolsey Stakes Gold Cup Mrs. Eliza — September Stakes Conington Stakes Lady Hill Stakes A TREATISE ON BREEDING 63 continued Meeting Divided I Meeting | Season _ Dinnington Stakes Gosforth 1888-9 Haydock — — 1885-6 — — — - 1886-7 Burscough — — 1887-8 South minster — - — J888-9 Rochford Hundred — — 1888-Q 1885-6 DuUingham St. Leger DuUingham Wye — — 1888-9 Hasting Stakes Hassocks Stakes Plumpton 1887-8 1888-9 _ Brook Stakes Wye " 1889-90 — Cliffe Stakes Chffe and Hundred ofHoo 1889-90 Bagley — — 1884-5 Kempton _ _ 1885-6 — Leamington Stakes Wappenbury 1886-7 — Second Gold Cup Haydock 1889-90 Southern Club Needham Purse North of Ireland 1884-5 Ireland Union ,, 1884-5 — Maiden Stake Wye 1884-5 Sleaford » — — 1886-7 Southern Club — 1884-5 Ireland — Downshire Stakes Banbridge 1887-8 Banbridge — 1888-9 _. Purdvsburn Stakes Purdysburn 1889-90 — Carmichael Cup Carmichael 1884-5 — Carmichael Stakes J, 1887-8 Upper Nithsdale ,, ,, 1885-6 Southminster — 1889-90 Lichfield - — — 1884-5 Beaudesert Stakes Lichfield 1885-6 _ Earlstown Stakes Haydock 1884-5 Garrick Stakes Kempton 1885-6 — Eldon Stakes Gosforth 1885-6 Lower Gosforth — — 1886-7 — - Prestwick Stakes ,, 1887-8 — Tibbers Castle Stakes Upper Nithsdale 1885-6 Mid-Annandale _ — 1885-6 Upper Nithsdale — — 1885-6 Kempton — — 1885-6 Gosforth — — 1886-7 — Kilmorey Cup Mourne Park 1888-9 — ,, )> 1886-7 Northern Club — 1887-8 — jj jj 1887-8 — Killingworth Stakes Gosforth 1887-8 — Kilmorey Stakes jj 1887-8 — Blagdon Stakes 1887-8 Carmichael — 1886-7 — Paget Stakes Lichfield 1886-7 — Southport Stakes Southport 1886-7 — Newton Stakes Haydock 1886-7 — jj jj 1886-7 — Dudley Maiden Stakes Gosforth 1888-9 — First Club Stakes Cliffe and Hundred ofHoo 1889-90 — Trabolgan Stakes Trabolgan 1886-7 Haydock — 1 — 1884-5 64 COURSING MISTERTON- Name Dam Won Phantom II. Penalty .... Peseta. .... Speculation Durable Glengowan - Rainbow .... Rebound .... Rosemary Gulnare II. Sefton Stakes Royal Prince Regal Court — Ruby IV Run Forward < , •Revolt .... Hopper Hark Forward Cottage Maid ~ Sewing Maid , Stitch in Time >> Carmichael Cup Soprano .... Adelaide Cowley Cup Sorcerer (late Shopwalker) Lady Lizzie Heath Stakes Spider II Spinage .... Settling Day 1 - Star of Woodcote Sally'bay Hordley Stakes Anglesey Cup Sister Eliza Strongbow .... Lady Jessie Graceful Girl — j Sarah Day .... 1 SallieDay .... SwafFham .... 1 Startaway .... Sally'bay Star of Woodcote Go Rufford Stakes De Grey Jubilee Cup Craven Challenge Cup First C/ub Cup Stonebow .... Fairation — Swan" Talbot .... Tres Bien .... Twenty Five ! The Guv'nor Graceful Girl Ladybird Truthful Lady Lizzie Redemption Farmers' Stakes Isle of Grain Stakes ! The Slut .... The Squaw The Oaks The Bard .... Gulnare II. - Veracity .... Wainfleet .... Welsh Gem. . . . WiUoughby Woman in Black Wine Bottles Truthful Lady Lizzie Gulnare II. Wheel of Fortune Promotion Madcap Violet Hamsey Stakes Westrup .... Winchelsea .... Woodcote .... Lyonese Redemption Old Sleaford Stakes Preston Stakes Chapel Bridge Stakes » t » A TREATISE ON BREEDING 65 continued Meeting Divided Meeting ! Season Westminster Stakes Ecclestone 1885-6 — Lytham Cup Lytham 1886-7 ; January Stakes February Stakes Haydock 1888-9 — J, 1888-9 Altcar Derby Stakes Bickerstaffe 1889-90 — Benton Stakes Gosforth 1885-6 St. Leger Cliffe and Hundred 1889-90 — ofHoo — Chilham Stakes Wye 1885-6 — Wye Stakes 1886-7 — Champion Stakes Amesbury 1885-6 — Olanteigh Stakes Wye 1886-7 — Gravesend Stakes Cliffe and Hundred ofHoo 1888-9 — Corrie Cup Corrie 1884-5 Carmichael — — 1884-5 — Lytham Cup Ridgway 1884-5 Southminster — — 1884-5 — Produce Stakes Ludham 1884-5 Haydock — — 188I-? — Hove Stakes Plumpton 1884-5 — Brighton Stakes ,j 1887-8 Bagley — — 1884-5 Lichfield — — 1885-6 — Last Trial Stakes jj 1884-5 — Manor Stakes South Lancashire 1885-6 — Southport Stakes >> 1888-9 1 — Royal Plate Yorkshire Club 1888-9 — Wye Stakes Wye 1888 9 — Anglesea Cup Lichfield 1884-5 — Champion Produce Stakes Haydock 1885-6 — Christmas Stakes 1885-6 Rufford 1886-7 Yorkshire Club — — 1887-8 — 1887-8 1888-9 Cliffe and Hundred — — ofHoo — Old Sleaford Stakes Sleaford 1888-9 — Winchelsea Stakes Ewerby 1889-90 Hale 1888-9 — Holly Stakes Haydock 1884-5 — Beaudesert Stakes Lichfield 1885-6 — Maiden Stakes Plumpton 1885-6 Cliffe and Hundred Club Cup Cliffe and Hundred 1886-7 ofHoo ofHoo — Factory Stakes 1887-8 Southminster — — 1886-7 ~ Cowley Cup Aske Cup Southminster 1887-8 — Darlington 1887-8 — Newton Stakes Newton 1887-8 — Prestwick Stakes Gosforth 1887-8 — Wandon Lodge Stakes Lichfield 1885-6 Plumpton — — 1884-5 — Bagpath Stakes Kingscote 1889-90 — Royal Stakes Four Oaks Park 1884-5 — November Stakes Gosforth 1884-5 — Londesborough Stakes Market Weigh ton 1886-7 — Dawnay Jubilee Cup Leeds and County 1887-8 Sleaford — — 1885-6 Plumpton — — 1885-6 Whittlesea — 1887-8 — Quarrington Stakes Sleaford 1887-3 1 66 COURSING MACPHERSON Name Dam Won Be at Home Baby Manor Stakes Be Good .... ,, — Bird's Head . . Stargazing IL Watlass Cup Bonny Dick . . Bal Gal IL • — Brave Scot .... Duchess of Delvin — Buxton Lad Baby — Carratze .... Patella — Caterham Usher. Hush — Charming Sally . . . Avon Conway — Christmas Day . Christmas Box Trabolgan Stakes November Stakes Companion .... Hush " Dingwall .... CEnone. Produce Stakes Scarisbrooke Cup Duke Macpherson Prenez Garde Holestone Derby Faliant Fhairshon Strawberry Girl — Fenton Fairy (late Charm- Avon Conway Needham Stakes ing Sally) Flattering Fersen Radiant Z Flora Scotica Strawberry Girl Ashton Stakes Footboard (late Backbiter). Peppercorn — Gentle Eva .... Bal Gal — Greater Scot Madge >5 Half a Chance , Sing Song Haifa Scot. . . . Agnes — Hamilton Palace Heart of Oak — Happy Rondelle (late Rota Members' Cup Rondelle) Harpoon .... Hush February Stakes Hartington .... Prenez Garde — Have a Care Rota Burradon Stakes Hayleaf . . . Hush — Haytime ♦ . . . - Heli'ce Starlight Newton Stakes Her'schel .... Stargazing IL Sefton Stakes Haydock Grand Prize Highland Laddie Holei'n Lass — Scarisbrooke Cup Hostia .... Ladv Agnes Golbourne Stakes Hush Money 1 Hush — A TREATISE ON BREEDING 67 MACPHERSON Meeting Divided Meeting Season 1887-8 Southport Christmas Produce Stakes Haydock 1887-8 — Tenants' Cup North of England 1886-7 Earsdon Stakes Gosforth 1886-7 Thornton Watlass Brancepeth Stakes Willingion 1887-8 Tenants' Stakes Windlestone 1888-9 Farmers' Stakes Halewood 1887-8 Valentine Stakes Haydock 1887-8 Burscough Cup Burscoua;h 1888-9 — Lady Hill Stakes Haydock 1887-8 _ Sefton Stakes Altcar 1886-7 — Seghill Stakes Gostorth 1887-8 — Gosforth Oaks 1887-8 — Southern Club Stakes Cork 1884-5 Trabolgan — — 1886-7 Haydock — — 1887-8 Plumpton — — 1887-8 Southport — — 1888-9 Brownlow Stakes Mourne Park 1887-8 Northern Club — — 1887-8 Paget Stakes Lichfield 1887-8 Mourne Park — — 1887-8 _ Gosforth Oaks 1886-7 — Netherby Cup Border Union 1887-8 — Kilmorey Stakes Mourne Park 1887-8 Haydock — — 1887-8 — Club Cup West Cumberland 1888-9 — ,, 1889-90 — Farmers' Stakes Hale 1886-7 — Waterloo Cup — 1886-7 — Champion Produce Stakes Haydock 1885-6 — Produce Stakes (Dec.) „ 1885-6 — St. Leger DuUingliam 1887-8 — " Cliffe and Hundred ofHoo 1888-9 — Acle Stakes Stokesby 1887-8 Altcar — — 1888-9 Haydock Border Union Stakes Border Union 1884-5 — City of London Stakes Kempton 1887-8 Gosforth — - — 1887-8 — Bitch Maiden Stakes Haydock 1889-90 — Club Cup West Cumberland 1889-90 — Sprinkell Stakes Springkell 1889-90 Border Union Stakes Border Union 1884-5 — Gosforth Stakes Gosforth 1886-7 Haydock — — 1887-8 — Spring Stakes Haydock 1888-9 Altcar Champion Pioduce Stakes ,, 1886-7 — Waterloo Cup — 1886-7 -*- Members' Cup — 1886-7 — — . Altcar 1887-8 — Consolation (Maiden) Stakes Haydock 1884-5 South Lancashire — — 1885-6 Haydock Sefton Stakes Altcar 1885-6 South Lancashire Stakes Ridgway 1884-5 — Sefton Stakes Altcar 1885-6 68 COURSING MACPHERSON— Name Dam Won Jinne Macpherson (late Black Lass) Stargazing II. Rainham Stakes »» Newby Stakes Catterick Stakes lulus _ » Rota Just Asleep Lacerta .... Hush Starlight Maiden Stakes Lance Macpherson (late Blackman) Last of the Macs Little Giant (late Sailor V.) Meol's General (late Colin Campbell) Meol's Hero Stargazing II. CEnone Bugle Sweet Daughter Hutton Stakes Blaydon Stakes Bristol Stakes April (Maiden) Stakes Meol's Vixen Waterloo Plate Mlsr, Webster . Penelope II. Lilac" Stitch'in Time »» >> Tenants' Cup Altcar Club Cup Members' Cup Porcia Prince Alexander Patella Brighton Lady - » » March Stakes Prince Napoleon Lady Agnes Leamington Stakes Downshire Stakes Foyle Stakes Rags and Feathers . Relentless .... Ripe Berry .... Rose Macpherson Cosy Baby Strawberry Girl Stargazing II. Scarisbrooke Cup BrafFerton Stakes Rhoda Macpherson (late Flossie) >> Cosy 5> Paget Stakes Queensberrj' Stakes Rotula " . . Rota — Scotch Pearl Silence ' . . . . Simba Sir E. K Sparkling Gem . Step Aside .... Strathpeffer Warden .... Willie Macpherson Sea Maid Hush Salamis Sister Ada Oi^none Salamis Nuit Blanche Mazurka Duchess of Delvin Mourne Park Plate Sleaford Stakes Ewerby Stakes A TREATISE ON BREEDING 69 conti7iued Meeting Divided Meeting Season North of England Prestwick Stakes Gosforth 1884-5 — Selby Stakes Selby 1884-5 Newby — — 1885-6 Catterick — s 1885-6 — Willington Stakes Willington 1880-7 — Ravensworth Cup North of England 1886-7 — ,, — 1887-8 — Wye Derby Members' Produce Stakes Wye 1887-8 — Plumpton 1887-8 Haydock — — 1888-9 — Rain ton Stakes Rainton 1887-8 — Royal Stakes 1888-9 North of England Plessy Stakes Gosforth 1884-5 Gosforth _ 1885-6 Sleaford Westminster Stakes Kempton 1888-9 — Earlstown Stakes Haydock 1884-5 Haydock — — 1885-6 — Gosforth Stakes _ 1887-8 — Oaklands Stakes Longtown (Local) 1888-9 Corrie (Tenants) — — 1887-8 Altcar — — 1885-6 •• — — 1885-6 Lytham Cup Ravensworth Cup — 1885-6 — North of England 1886-7 — Clifton Cup Ridgway 1886-7 — Covington Plate Carmichael 1884-5 — Scarva Stakes Banbridge 1887-8 — Champion Produce Stakes Haydock 1887-8 Haydock — — 1887-8 — Holestone Stakes Northern Club 1888-9 — October Stakes Haydock 1888-9 Wappenbury — — 1888-9 Banbridge — — 1889-90 Black Brae — — 1889-90 — Lady Hill Stakes Haydock 1885-6 — October Stakes ^ 1887-8 — Barnton Stakes Barnton 1888-9 South Lancashire 1888-9 — Valentine Stakes Haydock 1889-90 Heworth Park Ripon Stakes North of England 1886-7 — Prestwick Stakes Gosforth 1886-7 Lichfield — 1888-9 Upper Nithsdale 1889-90 — Paget Stakes Lichfield 1889-90 — Molyneux Stakes Altcar 1889-90 — Quarrington Stakes Sleaford 1889-90 — Keymer Stakes Plumpton 1889-90 — Gordinnog Stakes Bangor 1886-7 _ March Stakes Four Oaks Park 1885-6 — 1888-9 Bickerstaffe Stakes Bickerstaflfe 1888-9 Sleaford — 1887-8 — Gordinnog Stakes Bangor 1887-8 — Burscough Cup Burscough 1888-9 — December Stakes Kempton 1888-9 Ewerby — — 1887-8 70 COURSING GREENTICK Name Dam Blue Tick , Brief Bliss . Cagliostro Cheque Book Coca Water Cunningarth Dove Cot . Ilquivocal . Full of Fashion Fraulein II. FuUerton German ie . Goldfinder . Green Cot . Green Fern Greengage . Greengoose . Green Hat . Green Hay . Greenhouse Green Moss Greenshanks Greenstick . Green Stone Hammock . Happy Fun Hellebore .... Herrick .... Highland Green . Howitzer .... Huddier .... Ivy Green .... Jupon Vert (late Yooi Over) Kaiser II Kate Cuthbert . Lecturer .... Manilla .... Marsayas .... Mespilus .... Mickleton .... Cayenne II. Lady Macpherson Cayenne II. Madeline Ecumenical Maid of Taunton Ecumenical Bit of Fashion Waterwitch Bit of Fashion Governess Cosy Baby Jinne Macpherson Governess Jinne Macpherson Jinne Macpherson Governess Jinne Macpherson Rufina Governess Jinne Macpherson Hedge Rose Suppliant Hedge Rose Hostia CEnone Suppliant Diadem II. Arausa Bit of Fashion Waterwitch Bit of Fashion Madeline Miss Edith II. Madeline Miss Edith II. Won Spoonley Stakes Maiden Stakes Waterloo Cup Stanley Stakes Wye Stakes Haydock Derby Covington Stakes Caledonia Cup November Stakes Southminster Derby Roche's Point Stakes A TREATISE ON BREEDING 71 GREENTICK Meeting Divided Meeting Season Market Drayton _ _ 1889-90 — Manor Stakes South Lancashire 1888-9 — North Seaton Tenants' Stakes Bothal and North Seaton 1889-90 — Berkeley Stakes Berkeley 1888-9 Haydock — — 1888-9 — Second Waterloo Plate Waterloo 1889-90 — Portland Stakes North of England Club 1889-90 Wye Oaks 1888-9 Second Tenants' Stakes Widdrington 1889-90 — Valentine Stakes Haydock 1888-9 — Manor Stakes Second South Lan- cashire 1889-90 — Waterloo Cup 1888-9 — — — 1889-90 Bickerstaffe — — 1888-9 Wye — — 1889-90 — Haydock Oaks Haydock 1889-90 — Christmas Produce Stakes jj 1889-90 Second Members Cup Altcar 1889-90 _ Christmas Produce Stakes Haydock Park 1889-90 Haydock Oaks 1889-90 — Second Members' Cup Altcar" 1889-90 — — — 1888-9 — Scarisbrooke Cup Second South Lan- cashire 1889-90 Carmichael 1888-9 Scottish National — — 1888-9 — Second Haydock Derby Haydock 1889-90 Second Selton Stakes _ 1889-90 _ Haydock Oaks Haydock Park 1889-90 — Champion Produce Stakes jj 1888-9 — HaydoctfOaks ,, 1889-90 — Dunmore Stakes East Stirlingshire Club 1888-9 Haydock 1889-90 — Champion Produce Haydock 1889-90 — Border Union Stakes — 1888-9 — Spring Stakes Haydock 1888-9 — Sunbur y Stakes Kempton 1889-90 — Produce Stakes Newmarket 1888-9 — Blundell Cup Little Crosby 1889-90 — Valentine Stakes Haydock 1889-90 — Old Sleaford Stakes Sleaford 1888-9 — Wye Stakes Ashford Stakes Wye 1889-90 „ 1889-90 Southminster 1889-90 — Wye Oaks Wye " 1888-9 De Grey Plate Sefton Stakes Yorkshire Club 1888-9 — Altcar 1888-9 — Old Place Stakes Sleaford 1889-90 — Gosforth Gold Cup — 1888-9 — Brownlow Stakes Mourne Park 1889-90 Trabolgan — — 1889-90 — Newton Stakes Haydock — December Stakes Xcmpton Park 1889-90 — City of London Slakes Kempton 1887-8 Olanteigh Stakes Wye 1888-9 72 COURSING GREENTICK— Name Dam Won Micklelon .... Mixed Affair Restorer .... Sweet Home Sweet Music Terms. .... Miss Edith II. Waterwitch Tonic Sa'l'ly Day Tonic Kilmorey Cup Clifton Cup Thetis Thicket . , . . Toboggan .... Toledo - Townend .... Tonic _ » »> — Troughend . r . . Toledo November Maiden Stakes Whaup . , . . Whim *"~ A TREATISE ON BREEDING 73 continued Meeting Divided Meeting Season __ Sunbury Stakes Kempton 1889-90 — Old Place Stakes Sleaford 1889-90 Mourne Park — • — 1889-90 Ridgway — — 1889-90 Sleaford Stakes Sleaford 1889-90 Newton Stakes Haydock 1889-90 — Portland btakes North of England Club West Rainton 1888-9 Second Tenants' Stakes 1889-90 _ Christmas Produce Stakes Haydock 1888-9 Pettinain Stakes Carmichael 1889-90 _ Spring Stakes Haydock 1888-9 — Second Kilmorey Cup Mourne Park 1889-90 — Gosforth Derby — 1888-9 — St. Leger Gosforth 1888-9 — Port Victoria Stakes Cliffe and Hundred of Hoo 1888-9 Gosforth Christmas Produce Stakes Haydock 1888-9 Waterloo Cup — 1889-90 — Second Waterloo Purse — 1889-90 — Ashford Handicap Wye 1888-9 74 COURSING CHAPTER III PRACTICAL GREYHOUND BREEDING The greyhound-breeder having now made up his mind as to which particular strains he will patronise, and having his theories as to certain crosses and inbreedings that may be calculated to produce desirable stock, must look to individual merit and characteristics ; for a certain ' hit ' in breeding may be clearly established both in theory and practice, and yet in some cases may fail, not through any miscalculation of genealogy, but owing to some defect, physical or mental, on the part of the immediate parents, a defect that will surely be accentuated if inbreeding is included in the programme. It therefore behoves him to be very careful in the selection of his brood- bitches, and in mating them he must always keep in view their individual peculiarities as well as their inherited characteristics. To begin with, we think it a mistake to breed from a very big bitch ; rather would we choose a medium or even a small one, provided she came of a family that usually produced fair- sized animals. Very often it occurs that in a large litter three or four of its members greatly distinguish themselves, but one little bitch may fail to follow their example, simply and solely on account of size. Such a one can usually be bought for a few sovereigns, and we would as soon breed from her as from her larger sister, who had perchance won the Waterloo Cup ; in fact, it is seldom that a hard-run bitch ever distinguishes herself as a matron, though there are notable exceptions to this rule, such as Bab-at-the-Bowster, Tollwife, Bed of Stone, Ruby, Rebe, and Bit of Fashion. PRACTICAL GREYHOUND BREEDING 75 In breeding from such a bitch as we have described, when mated with a dog of size and substance, there would be Httle fear of the produce being undersized ; but she must not, of course, be weak in bone, rickety, splay-footed, or in any way misshapen. As we said before, size must be the sole supposed objection. When this bitch has her litter she will, in all probabihty, be found a good mother. Big bitches are prone to lie on and The nursery Otherwise injure their whelps. It might be argued that in like manner it is better to breed from an own brother to a great winner than from the dog himself. A list of winners would not, at first sight, show this to be the case ; but we think the reason is that the distinguished dog gets more and better chances, and unless an unknown dog, by accident as it were, produces some great winner, he will not, however well bred, be generally patronised by breeders. This is so with thoroughbred stock ; unless a horse is * fashionable,' 76 COURSING he gets few chances, and hardly ever a first-class mare. We feel certain there are at the present moment not a few grandly bred horses covering half-bred mares at five guineas that, if they had a fair chance, would produce as good an average of winners as those that stand at 50 and 100 guineas. In the preceding chapter we mentioned a greyhound that would come under this category, viz. Edwin Greentick. We have not the remotest interest in him, but from his breeding and all we have heard of his individual merit (in appearance), we do not doubt his proving a successful sire if provided with a sufficient number of suitable dames. Having procured our brood-bitches, and premeditated a line of breeding that we must closely adhere to, we must try to get our puppies introduced to the world at a suitable season. Unfortunately the exigencies of nature forbid us producing whelps whenever we want them, but at any rate we can determine when not to have them. Those who breed for public auction count themselves fortunate when they have a goodly proportion of January litters. A sapling is a greyhound whelped on or after January i of the same year in which the season of running began, and no greyhound is to be considered a puppy which was whelped prior to January i of the year preceding the commencement of the season of running. So that obviously a litter born from August to December is practically worthless for coursing purposes ; but a January puppy when brought in front of the rostrum has a pull over those born in the spring or early summer. Those, however, who breed to run may well consider the advisability of getting their litters in March and April. We do not mean to say that a bitch coming in season in the first part of November should be 'passed,' for early puppies come in handy for early produce stakes, and meet their younger opponents at a distinct advantage. But it will be found easier to rear, say, a March Htter than one born in January ; for just as they are fit to be reared the spring will be well advanced, and the months of May and June, so admirably adapted for the development of all young things, PRACTICAL GREYHOUND BREEDING 77 will lend powerful aid to the breeder ; whereas the rigours of !March and the uncertainty of April are calculated to retard the growth and impair the well-doing of the January puppy. Those who are anxious to see their charges in the slips as early as possible would do well to avoid breeding from a bitch that comes in use later than May i, because dogs born in July and August are seldom of much account during their puppy season ; but we have known very late ones, that have not run at all as puppies, come out in good form the following season. During pregnancy the bitch should have plenty of exercise ; it is not everyone who finds it convenient to let her wander about at her sweet will, though this is the most desirable course ; but, at any rate, she must be taken out for slow exercise, which must be gradually decreased as she nears the time of labour. For those that run loose a suitable place must be provided for whelping, and for early bitches it will be found necessary to call in the aid of artificial warmth. A loose box in a warm but wxll-ventilated stable is an excellent accouchement chamber, and if the bitch is shut in every night she is sure to betake herself thither when the time of her trouble comes. Great care must be taken that she has constant and uninter- rupted access thereto, or we may have the chagrin of finding that our best bitch has whelped a fine litter to a 2 5 -guinea dog under a neighbouring stack of firewood or behind a haystack, and that they have all been frozen to death. A bedding of good oat straw sprinkled with K eating's insect powder should be placed on a low bench not raised more than six inches from the ground, and guarded by an edging of matchboard four inches in depth, and this should be placed in the corner of the stall. Many people allow their bitch to whelp in an old wine case or other box ; but this is dangerous, especially if it be her first litter, as she is prone to injure her babies when she jumps out or in. The reason for providing a low bench is obvious : not only might the w^helps fall off, but, in her naturally weak condition after 78 COURSING whelping, it would be highly injurious for the mother to have to jump up to, or down from, a height. If a bitch is permitted to whelp on straw thrown into a corner of the box, it will be found that in a day or two the whelps will have scratched about until they lie on the bare floor, which is not at all conducive to their welfare. Some place a piece of carpet and throw the straw on that ; but it quickly absorbs the urine and becomes foul and unwholesome. Of course care must be taken that all draughts are excluded, and that there is sufficient light and ventilation. For our own part we have converted a row of loose boxes that were used for brood mares, and fitted them with movable benches, under which we have run a two-inch hot-water pipe ; this is fed from a boiler erected in the furthest partition, and the same furnace heats it and the boiler wherein the food is prepared. The doors of these boxes are divided in the centre, and when the top portion is open a sheet of galvanised netting secures the inmates. It is not everyone, however, who can find the facilities at hand, but in most country places there are buildings that can be converted to the purpose, and a bay of a barn or a clean and well-drained pigsty is not to be despised as a substitute for a more commodious lying-in hospital. So far we have said nothing about the medical treatment of a pregnant or suckling bitch, and if dosing can be avoided by all means let it be ; but there are circumstances under which it is necessary to have recourse to physic. Foremost amongst these is when the bitch shows signs of irritant skin disease, whether it be follicular mange or eczema, and she should be very carefully watched ; for should she litter down with her blood or skin disease, her whelps will assuredly contract the complaint, and a load of anxiety will fall on the breeder. What is born in the blood will come out in the flesh, and although the little creatures may appear sound and clean up to the time of weaning, they will, nevertheless, break out subsequently, and a deal of care and attention will be necessary to restore them PRACTICAL GREYHOUND BREEDING 79 to health ; often, indeed, every effort will prove futile, and they will become masses of corruption. In cases of follicular mange, during pregnancy, the bitch should be isolated at once, and well dressed with one of the lotions in vogue. That of Messrs. Spratt is good. A more cooling diet should be resorted to, and a mild aperient administered. Most people prescribe castor-oil, but for our part we prefer to use flower of sulphur, or one of Norton's camomile pills given every other night till six have been taken. These are mild in their action, and stimulate instead of exhausting the digestive organs, whereas castor-oil always causes a certain amount of griping. The dressing should be applied once a week, and continued until the skin presents a healthy appearance and all humid spots have entirely disappeared. In the case of a bitch who has broken out subsequently to the birth of her puppies a somewhat different course must be pursued, for it would not do for them to take in with their mother's milk a large percentage of strong dressing, or to be in continued contact therewith. Therefore the spots and sore places must be well anointed and rubbed in, and the super- fluous dressing removed with a dry cloth ; after which the back and sides may be covered with a light mixture of sulphur and vaseline, and the same concoction may be applied to the puppies themselves when they are upwards of a fortnight old. If it be possible to obtain a foster-bitch, of course this plan should be adopted, and an exchange of puppies will mini- mise the risk of infection as regards the little greyhounds, while the other puppies will serve to draw the milk from the tainted bitch and keep her from fretting. It often happens that a bitch after whelping shows a certain amount of eruptiveness during her suckling period. This is generally the result of too heating food, and must not be con- founded with mange or eczema, as it will disappear on change of diet and a cooling draught. When the bitch is suffering from true eczema the internal treatment is more severe, though we have found the mange lotion very efficacious, even when the disease is entirely sanguineous and no parasites exist in the 8o COURSING epidermis. Here we recommend a strong dose of sulphur or fluid magnesia to begin with, and a teaspoonful of concentrated essence of sarsaparilla placed in the water daily, whilst all meal must be removed from the food, which should consist of lean meat and gravy mixed with brown bread, and well boiled and mashed carrots, turnips, beetroots or tomatoes, the two last for choice. In many cases eczema proves a stubborn enemy, and its cause and cure vary so that fixed rules for treatment are impossible, and the breeder must be guided by circum- stances. Constipation is often present in pregnancy and during nursing, and here the camomile pill or sulphur may be em- ployed; but if obstinate and continual an enema of glycerine and Castile soap may be administered. Other ailments may trouble the breeder ; but, as a rule, a brood-bitch, if constitu- tionally strong, is exempt from serious contagion. It is always as well, however, to give a bitch a worm powder in the middle of her pregnancy, for we are strongly of opinion that internal parasites are often contracted in the womb, and not always acquired with the food after weaning. The bitch should be left almost entirely to herself during parturition : in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred Nature is far the best midwife, and any interference is calculated to do more harm than good, though exceptional cases may occur when the veterinary surgeon should be called in, as any attempt at an operation by an inexperienced hand is to be deprecated. After she has pupped and has made herself comfortable, the bitch should be quietly provided with a bowl of gruel, and no attempt should be made to count or over- haul her whelps. Gruel, sheep's-head broth, beef-tea, or some extract of beef should form the sustenance for the first week, during which time no solid food should be given ; but after that the diet may be varied, though very little, if any, meat should be included. If there is a scarcity of milk, the gruel must be continued ; fresh fish carefully freed of all bones will be found very beneficial, and half a teaspoonful of cod- PRACTICAL GREYHOUND BREEDING 8i liver oil, with the same quantity of Parrish's chemical food, can be mixed in the feeding-trough. Greyhounds are very prolific, and have been known to throw upwards of twelve puppies at a birth, nine and ten being of frequent occurrence ; but such numbers are more than any ordinary bitch can manage with justice to herself and them. When practicable, a foster-bitch should be ready at hand, and this provision should not be left to the last moment, for they are often very hard to procure. It is better to get a healthy spaniel, poodle, pointer, or other bitch of suitable size, served at the same time as the greyhound bitch, and then you know that the time will fit in conveniently ; a maiden bitch, however, should not be chosen, but one who has already performed her maternal duties creditably. However much milk the grey- hound is apparently blessed with, she ought not to be asked to bring up more than five whelps at the most ; for often the lactine flow will suddenly cease, and it will be necessary to rear the whelps by hand, always a risky undertaking, and even those that survive are heavily handicapped for months to come. Some breeders are inclined to believe that the moral attri- butes of the foster-mother are assimilated with the milk. For our part we do not accept this theory ; but, were it true, a bull or bull-terrier bitch would be a most desirable wet nurse, likely to impart some of her courage to her charges. In changing the puppies from the real to the foster-mother it Avill be as well to do so gradually, and always to leave at least one of her own pups with the latter. Should it be impossible to procure a foster-mother, and should your greyhound produce a large litter of, say, nine, it will be necessary to harden your heart and doom three or four of them to destruction. We are quite aware that this requires Spartan fortitude, especially when a large fee has been paid for some celebrated sire to your choicest bitch, and when the whole litter presents an appearance of level excellence. If, as sometimes happens, there are three or four obviously weakly ones, smaller than their brothers and sisters, and very deficient in bone, then G 82 COURSING the choice of victims is easy enough ; but otherwise there is always the thought present that you may be destroying an embryo Waterloo Cup winner. Experienced greyhound breeders have various methods of selecting choice whelps, and they are guided by general appearance ; but the tiro may easily be deceived. ' Stonehenge ' gives a hint which is certainly worth attention. Let the puppies remain with their dam for a week, then hold each up by the tail ; the best ones will bring their legs well over their head, and you can see which possess length, and the promise of good ribs. And here we would impress on the reader that a well-chosen pup of this age, even if he subse- quently deteriorates, will eventually assert his superiority ; and however much a grand-looking puppy goes off, he should never be despaired of until he has arrived at full maturity, unless, of course, he has been disabled by accident, or has become 'chink-backed'— an axiom that applies not only to greyhounds, but to foxhounds, and, indeed, to all members of the canine race. With regard to early whelps (January and February), it will be necessary to keep them in their compartment until they are well over their weaning ; but if the place of their birth is small and cramped, or not sufficiently lighted, they must be placed in the warm bay of a barn or an old loft for an hour or two daily, where they will exercise themselves. Great attention must be paid to cleanliness ; during the suckling period the bitch will see to these sanitary measures if she is allowed sufficient liberty, but after weaning the room or box must be regularly cleansed. In the case of a loose box, it should be washed out, but must on no account be allowed to remain wet, or even damp ; a good supply of Sanitas sawdust should overlie the bricks or tiles, and on this should be spread short clean oat straw. The tin containing the food should be placed on a slab, or, at any rate, the straw and sawdust should be cleared from around it, as the whelps persistently pull their food out of the vessel and would devour a considerable quantity of saw- dust, which is very irritating to the intestines. PRACTICAL GREYHOUND BREEDING 83 But now we must speak of the process of weaning, which we have somewhat anticipated. Should it unfortunately happen that the mother's milk dries up suddenly and that no foster-bitch is at hand to continue the nursing — a mishap that may occur as early as the first week — recourse must be had to the feeding- bottle, and Dr. Ridge's food and Swiss milk will be found as good as anything. Cow's milk, we feel convinced, is not a good food for dogs, but if given it should be first boiled and then diluted with a fifth part of water. The bottle-feeding must be very carefully attended to, and should only be tempo- rary ; for in the case of valuable whelps — and we trust no man would be so foolish as to breed those that are not presumably valuable— the country should be scoured for a foster-bitch ; but when the milk supply fails in the fifth week or later, an attempt at hand-rearing is more likely to prove successful, as by that time the little ones will make an effort to feed themselves. As soon as their noses have been dipped in the basin, and their appetites thus whetted, many dog-breeders would begin to give them bread and milk ; a hope- less diet, and one that would, in a very brief space of time, pro- duce what are vulgarly termed ' pot-bellies ' and bowed backs — a state of things brought about by the internal parasites whose presence is, our experience tells us, directly traceable to raw cow's milk. Dr. Ridge's food, to which glycerine in the pro- portion of a teaspoonful to a pint has been added, will prove staple food, and after the sixth week Brand's extract of beef (in the jelly form) may be given ; but bread, meal, soaked biscuit or solid meats are carefully to be avoided until after the eighth week, when the weaning proper begins; then brown bread with shreds of well-boiled sheep's head may be made into a partially solid mess with the broth of the latter, and even the Swiss milk should cease. Now is the time when a careful look-out for internal parasites must be kept, and the attendant must not cease his vigilance because the faeces contain none of these pests, as they are sometimes present for months in the intestinal canal without signs, except those produced on 84 COURSING the patient by their baneful influence. If, then, the puppies, after weaning, grow emaciated, their backs round, and the vertebrae distinctly limned ; if the ribs are tucked and easily counted ; if the nose is dry, the coat staring, the breath foetid, then the natural conclusion will be arrived at, and prompt measures taken to remove the pests : but if no portions have come away with the motions, it is difficult to determine the variety of parasite with which the victims are infested. There are two varieties frequently met with in recently weaned puppies. First, the common tapeworm {Tcenia serrata\ which in its disjointed existence is held by many writers to be identical with the maw- worm, though 'Stonehenge' is inclined to an opposite opinion, which we share, and for the same reason — viz. because the maw-worm is almost innocuous, whereas the tapeworm proper produces the marked symptoms of constitutional disturbance mentioned above. Of still more frequent occurrence is the round-worm {Ascaris marginata), which, unlike the Tcenia serrata, is ac- quired from liquids, especially cow's milk. Very few puppies escape a visitation of these pests at some period or other of their youth, but they are more easily got rid of than their flat cousins, and the effects of their ravages soon disappear. Even if puppies fail to show any signs of their presence, it is as well to dose them all round a fortnight after weaning, and the agent to employ is santonine. The patients should be kept without food for at least twelve hours, when enough of the powder to cover a sixpence, made into a bolus with butter, should be administered ; half an hour later a dessert-spoonful of castor-oil must be given, and the puppies taken out for exercise ; and they should be carefully watched to see if they void any worms. When the attendant is satisfied that round- worms are present, he has nothing to do but to repeat the treatment after the lapse of a week or so ; if, however, none are passed and the symptoms of internal parasites continue to be marked, the existence of the tapeworm may be suspected. In this case the same preparation for medicine by fasting must PRACTICAL GREYHOUND BREEDING 85 be practised, but freshly grated areca nut must take the place of santonine, and enough of it to cover a shilling. This dose must be followed, as in the case of round-worm, by castor-oil. The breeder, as soon as he feels confident that his charges are entirely freed from the unwelcome presence of these para- sites, should give cod-liver oil and Parrish's chemical food — one teaspoonful of each daily to each puppy ; or he may administer half a tonic ball, as described later on. The former may be mixed in the feeding-trough, and in a very short time he may expect to see a marked improvement in his charges ; the eye will become bright, the nose cold and w^et, the body well nourished, the coat soft and sleek, and the spirits exuberant ; failing this desirable state of things, he will have cause to fear some undiscovered malady. To cure worms is, in our experience, easier than to prevent them. The tapeworm usually comes from the use of raw animal food, and he who allows the cooked meat to be placed in a vessel that has previously contained the raw material runs the risk which is also attendant on the picking up of offal during exercise. The danger arising from round-worms may be avoided by using nothing but boiled water in the kennels ; but if these measures are attempted at all they should be most strictly carried out, for one lapse will render abortive the care of months. About this time that dire disease, the bugbear of all cynophihsts — distemper — must be looked for ; though we certainly do not subscribe to the old-fashioned theory that every dog must necessarily pass through the ordeal. Nevertheless, the frequent appearance of the plague, despite the most stringent measures and the strictest quarantine, is un- doubted, and the breeder must be ever prepared and strongly armed against it Every whelp should be overhauled daily, and on the slightest symptom of a disordered state of health should be immediately isolated and a careful examination made. "When the whelps are thoroughly weaned and in good health, the question of * walks ' arises, and here we must 86 COURSING begin to discuss the pros and cons of a rery important step. Personally we have no hesitation in advising the breeder to keep his youngsters under his own watchful eye, if he is so fortunate as to be able to afford them his undivided attention, and if he has the space, accommodation, and exercise-ground necessary to rear them to the pitch of strength and vitality to which they must be brought before they enter upon their training. Cramped quarters and overcrowding are fatal, and space is a sine qua non when any number of young greyhounds are to be considered. Presuming that the advantages we speak of are at the command of our breeder — in the shape of a dozen acres of paddock land — he cannot do better than en- close six pieces of about half an acre each with iron fencing of a sufficient height to imprison the inmates securely ; for, as the youngsters wax big and strong, they develop marvellous jumping powers. The grass in the enclosure should be cut, and a roomy kennel on four small stout wheels should be placed within. If it is convenient to enclose a tree, this should be done, as the shade afforded thereby will be grateful during the hot summer days ; failing a tree, a sheet of bevelled zinc coated with whitewash may be shelved m one corner of the yard. Such a place will hold half-a-dozen greyhounds from three to nine months old ; but the whole paraphernalia must be so constructed that it is easily taken down and re-erected on another site. The youngsters should never be kept on the same spot for more than a month at a stretch, nor must they be left there when long-continued wet weather has rendered the ground soaked and slushy ; in that case they must return to their barn or stall, or wherever they have been placed after leaving their dam, and road exercise in batches for at least two hours daily must be the rule. We say advisedly in batches, for several six-months-old greyhound puppies are a rare handful for anyone to manage. Even when penned oat in the way described above, the road exercise must not be neglected, or bad feet, and legs far from straight, may be expected. PRACTICAL GREYHOUND BREEDING Z^ With regard to food, it should be varied occasionally : good old hound-meal, carefully and freshly prepared, with an ad- mixture of flesh, and well-soaked biscuits mashed up with beet- root or cabbage, are the staples, and the changes may be rung thereon. Some extravagant breeders think that no greyhound can be put into training with any hope of winning a stake un- less it has been reared on prime joints of mutton and beef ; but this is all rubbish, as good sound horseflesh contains quite sufficient nourishment to develop the bone and muscle of any dog that was ever born. Another useful article of food, when properly combined with the others, is plain suet pudding, and after all it is not a very expensive one, and in rearing grey- hounds, as also blood stock, it never does to economise food, lest we prove penny wise and pound foolish. After our re- marks about beef and mutton, we may appear to contradict ourselves, but in the case of prime joints the extravagance is thrown away and no good purpose is served. The danger attached to the rearing to maturity of one's greyhounds is this. We have, so to speak, all our eggs in one basket ; the outbreak of distemper in its most malignant form may have fatal results, and the first victims are sure to be our most cherished youngsters. Moreover, to do the thing pro- perly, quite a staff of servants is required, and, unless these are trustworthy lads and have learnt their duties under a competent master, they will be found as great a trouble to their employer as the young greyhounds are to them. Unless all circum- stances are favourable, it will be as well to send the whelps out to walk at ten weeks old, and let them remain there until they are a year old, or until their delinquencies are so marked that they can no longer be kept in a state of freedom. To puppies reared in this way there are innumerable risks, and the breeder may deem himself fortunate if a third of those sent out are returned to him sound and well. If a sufficient num- ber of ' walkers ' who have any real knowledge of dogs, and of greyhounds in particular, can be found, the risks are minimised, and the puppies fare better at walk than they do at home. 88 COURSING Butchers form a class that are in great request, and if they have the necessary knowledge, and take a personal interest in their charge, no better can be found, because they have plenty of good food at hand, and can prepare it properly ; but if, on the other hand, one's puppy is stuffed with raw scraps and offal, he is a pretty sure victim of mange and eczema, and distemper will hardly pass him by. The crime of chaining a greyhound up is one that must be condemned most forcibly, and the watch- ful eye must see that it has not been committed ; for the wife of our friend, having had a dozen of her chickens de- molished one fine morning, is prone to insist on the culprit being so treated, and by-and-by a rheumatic, twisted-legged, splay-footed, and useless creature is sent in. Unless a puppy walker has had any real experience with dogs, he should com- municate with the owner or his kennelman directly he becomes aware of the fact that his charge is ailing, when the matter should be seen to without a moment's delay. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing ; and save us from the man who, on the appearance, or supposed appearance, of distemper, forces salt, tobacco, and other such nostrums down our puppy's throat. Another danger that threatens puppies that are walked in villages and towns is that of being run over, an accident of far too frequent occurrence ; there are brutes in human shape who will not trouble to turn their cart-wheels aside to avoid crushing to death an innocent and valuable dog standing in the road or basking in the sun. At least once a week the head kennelman, or trainer, having armed himself w^th a good supply of worm powders, mange lotion, and other products of the canine pharmacopoeia, should drive round and thoroughly overhaul all the * walks,' and, if he finds ailing puppies, should there and then supply the necessary drugs and give careful instruction as to feeding. In this way much mischief is avoided. Very often greyhound- puppy walkers take a keen interest in their charges, not only during the time they are under their care, but also when the time comes for the animal to go to the slips for an important PRACTICAL GREYHOUND BREEDING 89 stake ; and those who breed greyhounds on a large scale might do worse than follow the example of M.F.H., in giving a dinner to the walkers and awarding a prize to the best walked puppy. For our own part we rear a few choice puppies, to which we have taken a particular fancy, at home, allowing them to roam about at their own sweet will, and smiling cheerfully when a list of their dehnquencies (murdered cats, fowls, ducks, torn clothes, and homesteads laid waste and devastated) is placed before us, putting our hand in our pocket and paying the piper cheerfully, always hoping that some day a good tune may be played whilst we drink from the mythical cup that hails from Altcar, and is called Waterloo. The rest we send out, and fortunately can congratulate ourselves on a long list of safe billets. Exercise CHAPTER IV TREATMENT OF SAPLINGS When the greyhound sapUng has reached the age of nine months, a course of treatment which will fit him to begin active training must be put in force. With those that have come in from walk, the first step is a thorough overhauling, carefully looking for signs of accidents, such as scars, enlarged joints, &c. Being satisfied of their freedom from outward weaknesses, the skin should be closely examined for symptoms of mange, eczema, or vermin ; should such be discovered, the youngster must be isolated and treated accordingly, and under any circumstances a thorough washing with soft soap in tepid water is recommended, care being taken to thoroughly dry with a rough towel and rub down with a hair glove. The practised eye is pretty certain to detect the presence of internal parasites in a large percentage of the saplings that come in from walk unless they have been constantly attended by the kennelman on the system mentioned in the previous chapter. Anyhow we strongly advocate a general course of physic all round as soon as the youngsters have been cleaned up and have settled to their new abode. A dessert-spoonful of castor- TREATMENT OF SAPLINGS 91 oil, or, better still, a full teaspoonful of German liquorice powder, is first given, and this alone will often betray the presence of worms in the individual. A couple of days later they should be deprived of their evening meal, and on the following morning a dose of freshly grated areca-nut — as much as will lie on a shilling -should be given in butter ; in short, the same process is to be gone through as was practised in the days when they were weaned ; but now the doses must be stronger. If the presence of tapeworm is discovered, those suffering from it should be put aside and dosed again with areca-nut after the lapse of a week, but those which betray no sign of parasites should after a like interval be treated with santonine. When the owner is satisfied that his saplings are purged of all such pests, a tonic treatment will be found most desirable, and with this and regular feeding on suitable food, plenty of exercise and warm clean quarters, he will be pleasantly surprised at the rapid improvement that takes place in his charges. We have already given a description of tonics that are most beneficial, and also general directions for feeding, so we need only point out that the attendant must be guided by circumstances in his choice. Cod-liver oil, for instance, which is most valuable where there is lack of flesh and the patient remains thin and ' tucked up,' must not be administered too freely in the summer months, as it is very heating, and is apt, moreover, to develop an undesirable quantity of internal fat ; if sufficient and regular exercise is not given, it is sure to damage the liver and cause a complication of diseases, so that a watchful eye and common sense should be the guides that must determine the quantity to be used and the duration of the course. These remarks apply with equal force to Parrish's Food, a most useful agent both in wasting of tissue and where there is a tendency to rickety limbs and weak joints. Now is the time when both home-reared saplings and those that have been sent in from walk must be removed to the kennels proper and rendered amenable to discipline ; but on no account must this be done till they are outwardly and 92 COURSING inwardly free of all ailments. The number of saplings placed in each department depends, of course, on the size thereof, but in no case should more than five be left together, and, if possible, they should already have been accustomed to one another's society, as greyhounds are apt to be nasty to a ' new chum.' As a rule it is not advisable to place saplings with the old ones of either sex, or they may be terribly bullied ; but a quiet, well-behaved old brood-bitch or young dog of well-tried and exemplary respectability is a most desirable kennel companion for the youngsters, and the force of example is never lost on them. Under no circumstances must a dog who has been used for stud purposes be placed with any of his own sex. Most owners, in registering their dogs for running purposes, give them fancy names, such as would be both unwieldy and absurd for ordinary everyday work ; so it is customary to bestow such appellations as Dick, Tom, or Harry on the saplings as soon as they have been relegated to the kennels, unless some name has been used at walk, in which case a deal of trouble is saved. The kennelman should always make a point of inquiring into this. At feeding-time they should be ' drawn ' singly by name, and the allowance of food regulated according to the constitution and appetite of the individual. In fact, no better lesson can be learnt by the beginner at coursing than is obtained by a visit to a neighbouring kennel of foxhounds, always provided that the hounds have the repu- tation of being properly and methodically managed. The greyhound is not half such a fool as he looks or is popularly supposed to be. If properly treated he will develop into an intelligent, affectionate and tractable animal, sometimes, indeed, suffering from an overflow of spirits, but he never need be either vicious, disobedient, or treacherous. Comparing his behaviour in kennel and his amenity to disciphne with that of the foxhound, the balance is in his favour. There is an old adage that a greyhound cannot be a good one unless he is a fool ; but we beg to diifer, and most strongly object to the TREATMENT OF SAPLINGS 93 employment of fools for any purpose save that of making wise men laugh. The idea is that an intelligent dog is prone to run cunning, which may in some instances occur ; but, on the other hand, a real fool of a dog does not possess the spirit of emulation that prompts him to ' cut out ' his opponent, nor does he show the fire, devil and dash that enable him to dust his hare in the style so taking to the eyes of experienced coursers. In exercising on downs, in parks, or paddocks, a smaller number of greyhounds must be taken out at a time. Dogs that have trotted quietly enough at the horse's heels will now rush about and play, and these romps are sure to degenerate into bickerings and quarrels, sometimes indeed ending in blood- shed. Nor must old dogs be exercised with young ones under these circumstances ; for, instead of leading them in a gallop, they will content themselves with hanging back and nipping the youngsters in the haunches; in fact, one of the most difficult tasks of a trainer is to keep his charges skin-whole and free from scars. Having a due regard to the difficulties and dangers attending horse exercise, perhaps the safest plan is to lead the grey- hounds for two or three hours' exercise on the roads, and give them an hour's galloping and play on the grass alternate days. Three months of this treatment (the saplings now being about a year old) will find most of them fit to be tried, and this point should be absolutely assured before they are allowed to see a hare. If on passitig the hand from the point of the shoulder down the back to the stern, and then over the thighs, the muscles appear firm and wiry, if the coat is smooth and glossy, the eye bright, the nose cold and wet, and the pads of the feet hard and strong, there need be no hesitation, and it only remains to find a suitable place for the trial to take place, a difficulty that is very often hard to solve. The ideal trial- ground for young greyhounds is a fair-sized, flat water- meadow or a soundly turfed park if the space in the latter is not too great, an objection that would apply to marsh-land, 94 COURSING and such flats as those found at classic Altcar — for here our saplings run the danger not only of a terrible gruelling from one hare, but may get on to another before they can be picked up, thus being run to a standstill, and receiving a shock to the system from which they may never recover, and in such cases those of highest courage and promise are likely to be the first victims. Very hilly country is to be avoided, and a flinty soil, such as is found in Bucks and Herts, utterly forbids the slipping of a valuable greyhound, as one course would be sufficient to cut him to ribbons. Stubbles, too, are dangerous, and very apt to produce sore feet. Suitable ground being for h coming, the question as to the advisability of trying a sapling with an old dog arises, and we have no hesitation in condemning the prac- tice— that is, for the first time of asking, for saplings are easily discouraged. An old dog has an immense pull over one of this age, and is pretty sure to take every advantage ; whereas if two saplings run together they meet on even terms, and will vie with one another, thus fostering the spirit of emulation which is so necessary in a dog that is asked to win stakes. Should it be found impossible to obtain suitable trial-ground, recourse must be had to sapling stakes, affairs that are regarded with righteous horror by a large section of old-fashioned coursers, who maintain that to run a sapling is to ruin him. No doubt this prejudice arose before the days of enclosed meetings, when there was always the risk of a dog being clean pumped out ; for these stakes were held at large open meetings, on the ground used for all-aged and puppy stakes. Moreover, many coursers would send their saplings to the slips unfit to gallop across a meadow, and how much more so to dust a hare ! But at such enclosures as Haydock and Wye most useful trials for saplings can be had,^ and nothing but benefit is likely to accrue, providing the youngsters have been properly prepared for the ordeal. By this we do not mean thoroughly framed, a pro- ceeding that would certainly ruin any sapling, but brought to 1 Since this was written we are glad to note that enclosed coursing has become practically extinct, and sapling stakes are also nearly unknown. — Ed. TREATMENT OF SAPLINGS 95 such a pitch of physical welfare and freedom from external and internal fat, by the regime that we have indicated, as to render him capable of putting forth his powers of speed and endurance without an undue strain on his constitution. In such sapling trials a shorter slip is given, and the escape is brought half way up the ground, by which means the severity of the course is greatly modified. Moreover, the stakes are x'r^ Feeding limited to four dogs, and if a sapling wins his first course, but shows symptoms of distress, a division can generally be agreed upon, or he can be withdrawn. Thus a good line can often be obtained, and a dog that has acquitted himself well when pitted against a fancied one of another kennel will later on serve as a useful trial-dog for his kennel companions. 96 COURSING It will now be found an excellent plan to divide the saplings into three classes, keeping them in separate compartments, and placing the best accommodation at the service of Class I., which will consist of well-tried youngsters and those who from their quality, conformation, breeding or style of moving promise great things. Class 11. will contain promising but backward ones, in whom time may work wonders, and who, as they come on in looks, or win a satisfactory trial, may be promoted to the superior class. Class III. will consist of very backward ones, and such as lack size and substance, or show but little quality, but whom one is loth to part with, living in hopes that they may see a better day ; and it is far from improbable that a gem may suddenly be discovered in this ragged company. It is wonderful what strides very late puppies take when once they begin to improve, and the ugly duckling may yet develop swan's plumage. But the maim, the halt, and the blind, and such as have, with every advantage thrown in, failed signally in their trials, should be destroyed, or bestowed on a neighbouring farmer who enjoys a sporting course on his own land ; for a grey- hound that ' is not good enough ' is good for nothing from a courser's point of view. We are quite aware how difficult it is to make up one's mind thus summarily to dispose of a dog of whom from his earliest days great things have been expected, and whom we have trotted out with pomp and pride. We make all sorts of excuses for his failure, and are always giving him 'another chance.' Undue precipitancy may once in a way lead us to dispose of what subsequently proves to be a smart dog, but in nine cases out of ten we shall not repent the loss, and a long bill for food, entrances, travelling expenses, with zero on the credit side, will be avoided. When the season has finally closed and the erstwhile sap- lings (now puppies) have been thoroughly weeded out, a good dose of sulphur or fluid magnesia can be given, and a dressing of black sulphur and vaseline applied from head to foot. They can now rest awhile from long exercise on the roads, but should be taken out for at least an hour daily and allowed TREATMENT OT SAPLINGS 97 to stretch their legs on the grass. At this period the food must not be of too heating or fat-producing a nature, and cod-liver oil must be eschewed, but old hound-meal, dog-biscuits, lean horseflesh,^ with carrots, turnips, vegetable marrows or beetroots, will form the staple diet, and if a tonic is required iron pills may be used ; also Parrish's food mixed with the pudding, in the proportion of one teaspoonful to each dog, will be found most beneficial. Now that the youngsters begin to look like business, attendants are fond of polishing their coats up too much ; but this should be delayed for three or four months, as the benefit is only temporary, and is calculated to produce a ragged and thin jacket later on. After a month's rest the road-work should begin once more, and must be continued at an increased ratio till the puppies are ready to enter upon strict training. The leisure can be employed in mapping out a campaign for the coming season, and nominations must be taken for suitable produce stakes. The season generally opens about the middle of September. For early produce stakes it would obviously be useless to enter anything born later than March, or April at the outside ; for the more mature ones, that saw the light at the ushering in of the new year, hold an advantage that can only be wiped out by phenomenal merit, though the May or June puppy may turn the tables in a stake run in the ensuing spring, if not earlier. These facts will therefore guide the courser in taking his nominations, and his plan for the season being satisfactorily decided, he should not trouble himself about the puppies until the beginning of July, beyond seeing that they are properly fed, exercised and kept in a state of boisterous health. t Few trainers use this ; the majority much prefer mutton.— Ed. 98 COURSING CHAPTER V THE GREYHOUND IN TRAINING * Stonehenge,' in his standard work on the greyhound, gives very explicit directions for the reduction of fat and weight, whereby a dog that was absolutely unfit may be hurriedly prepared for a stake. With such we shall not deal ; but rather we shall presume that both puppies and older dogs have by degrees been prepared for the final touches by the regular and gradual treatment that we have advocated in the preceding chapters. Hurried preparations are seldom satisfactory, and though in some instances a dog thus treated may see the end of an important stake, it is generally more by good fortune than by reason of his training; even if his first two courses are brilliant, a sudden collapse is likely to occur in the third. If the dogs are thoroughly well exercised and carefully fed during the summer months, very little extra work is needed to complete the winding-up process ; nevertheless, the trainer must be very careful that he does not ' bring on ' his charges too quickly ; if a dog, and especially a puppy, is prematurely wound up to concert pitch, he is sure to run down and become stale before he is wanted. In this treatise on training we shall only deal with dogs that are presumably fit to begin work, that are in themselves sound and well, and that will eat with relish what is given to them. It may be the lot of many a trainer to have a dog to prepare that is gross and fat, with soft feet and long nails, or one that is so upset by strong work that he goes off his feed. THE GREYHOUND IN TRAINING 99 These are exceptional cases demanding exceptional treatment from practised hands ; for ourselves, we repeat, we shall pre- sume that we start with our team in good health, and more than half-prepared by summer exercise. We are greatly in favour of a very gradual preparation, a belief that has been engendered by our experience of foxhounds, whose work calls for training such as will produce the physical state so desirable ^■^, On the grass in the greyhound — for to account for his fox the hound must be possessed of pace, dash, and stamina relatively as great as may enable the greyhound to win an important stake. It has, therefore, struck us that what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander ; and since we have possessed a pack of foxhounds that could travel fifteen miles to the meet, hunt from ii a.m. to 4 P.M., return to kennel with sterns up, and could repeat this performance with variations five days a fortnight throughout the season, we fail to see why a similar r'egime applied to grey- H 2 loo COURSING hounds should not prove eminently successful. We say similar, because the nature of the hound and his conformation are not identical with those of ' the long dog.' Nor has the foster- ing of top speed to be considered in the preparation of the former. In the early days, say from the beginning of July, slow exercise on the roads in the early morning, and a frolic on the grass in the evening, will be sufficient. As time goes on, the duration of exercise must be increased ; but if any member of the string is footsore on his return to kennel, or appears inert and jaded, he must be eased in his work. On returning from road exercise the trainer should wash the feet of his charges in strong brine or a saturated solution of alum. If any inflammation or soreness is visible, an application of Friar's Balsam will give relief ; but the individual must not go again on the roads until the symptoms have entirely disappeared. If a gash has been cut by a flint or piece of broken glass, the application of Spratt's Locurium — a most valuable preparation — will be found efficacious. The next proceeding is thoroughly to rub down each dog with a horsehair hand-glove. This massage should begin at the shoulder and forelegs, be carried down the back and loins to the root of the stern, and end with the thighs, stifles, and hocks ; after which a clean chamois leather may be applied. The usual time for feeding greyhounds in training is the middle of the day ; but we much prefer it on their return from evening exercise, for two reasons : first, the dogs are more likely to curl themselves up and pass a restful night if fed late ; whereas, if they are given their meal earlier they are prone to prowl about and sing choruses that, however charming to their own ears, are not at all calculated to call forth blessings from their human friends who have the misfortune to dwell within hearing. Secondly, dogs that are accustomed to a midday meal will be upset by the want of it when engaged at a coursing meeting ; for, of course, conditions may not be favourable for them to be indulged. THE GREYHOUND IN TRAINING loi The question of gallops is one that requires more thought and tact than that of road-work, as with the former there are many matters to be considered and many theories to be advanced ; with regard to the latter, the duration of the exercise, and the pace, are all that need trouble the trainer. Many trainers are of opinion that this style of road exercise is calcu- lated to ' slow ' a greyhound ; and we are hardly prepared to contradict the theory emphatically, though our opinion is not The toilette in accord. What we do assert is, that the effect on stamina is most marked, and the advantage that dogs thus trained have over those that have only been walked out is very manifest at open meetings where hares are strong and courses long. We have always held that, where a dog is being trained for an en- closed meeting, a preparation widely different is necessary ; but as this style of coursing is practically moribund, it would serve no good purpose to enter upon the subject at any length. I02 COURSING Stamina, then, is as important as pace, and many a half- trained flyer is out-counted by a plodding dog who means ' being there ' as long as the hare lives. Now comes the question of gallops, and, to begin with, it will be necessary to find a strip of sound turf on the decline, or slightly undulating. With young greyhounds it is a fatal mis- take to gallop them uphill ; for that, we have no doubt, is highly prejudicial to speed, and induces an undesirable shoulder action, whereas a gallop on a decline is calculated to produce speed and develop the shoulder. There are several ways of galloping greyhounds, and the one usually practised is for a boy to take the string some three furlongs from the trainer. The latter then holloas or whistles, and the boy releases one that is sure to go straight ; when this one has traversed a couple of hundred yards another is slipped, and so on until the whole string is under weigh — each one will strive to overtake the dog in front of him, and will thus be properly extended. If sufficient interval is not allowed they overtake one another, and rough play begins, generally ending in torn flanks and perforated thighs. When the gallops are increased in length, the trainer must mount his horse and gallop away whistling, when in like manner the dogs are slipped one by one, and in their eagerness to overtake the horse they will refrain from interfering with one another! It is very important that the horse selected for this duty should be thoroughly quiet, or disastrous results mav ensue. The most likely animal is a hunt servant's horse, that is thoroughly accustomed to hounds crowding round his legs ; such a one is not only free from kick, but will carefully avoid treading on them, whereas one that has not been accustomed to hounds is almost sure to let fly when they come racing up to his heels — bounding and barking as is their wont — and even if he refrains from so doing, is likely by clumsiness and fidgetting to put his hoofs on their precious toes. THE GREYHOUND IN TRAINING Those who have closely followed ' Stonehenge's ' directions for galloping greyhounds, and now turn to these pages, will be struck by the fact that the great sporting writer advocates up- hill galloping and lone work. In fact, he goes so far as to say 3,/^, Exercise in the paddock that the trainer should mount his horse and gallop his charges for four miles at top speed. This, we confess, is positively astounding. Perhaps the greyhounds of the day are a degenerate lot ; but we fancy that there are very few whose constitution would stand such an ordeal. And what about the horse ? The days of Beacon courses and rides to Ghent, not to mention York, are over, and if greyhounds are not what they were, the same applies to horses — yea. even to trained racers. No, we opine that stamina should be induced by road-work, and speed by short gallops, six furlongs being quite the limit if 1 Stonehenge had some good grounds for advising uphill work, and a notable case was that of the greyhounds owned by the late Mr. T. T. Lister. This gentleman, who possessed a very strong kennel some thirty years ago (he won the Waterloo Cup with Chloe), in the days of the great matches at Ashdown and Amesbury, had his greyhounds trained in the Valley of the ■V\'harfe, and they were regularly galloped from the levd^ of the river to an elevation several hundred feet above. The distance was nearly a mile, the going good, but for most of the distance on a terribly steep ascent. — Ed. I04 COURSING the dogs are fully extended. It is true that greyhounds have to cover long distances when contesting a course in public; but the very bends, wrenches, and turns afford relief that is not obtained in a straight-away gallop, in the same way that a racehorse, who cannot stay home in a five-furlong sprint, is often seen to advantage in a race of two miles over hurdles. When we advised that the first gallops should take place on a decline, we did not mean that this should apply to the whole period of training. As condition improves and the date of ' cherry-ripeness ' approaches, undulating ground will be desirable, so as to bring into play all the muscular powers ; but we still object to a long incline. Every day the trainer must overhaul his charges, and the first spot on which he must place his hand is the chest and brisket. If these, and particularly the former, are soft and flabby, then is the subject far from fit, and increased work will be necessary ; but if they are firm and hard to the touch, a near approach to fitness is indicated. Next, the hand is passed down the neck, back, and quarters, and second thighs, and here the eye will aid the touch ; but experience alone will guide the two. The question of vv^eight is a most important one, and every kennel should be supplied with a machine for the purpose. A weighing-machine has been invented of late which is much in vogue at dog shows, where the exhibits are classified by weight, and this is well adapted to the purposes of the grey- hound trainer. It consists of a cage or cradle of galvanised iron in which the dog is easily placed, when the exact weight is registered on a dial. It is almost an axiom with trainers that the weight of a twelve-months-old sapling, when in full and lusty condition, but not fat, is the weight at which that dog should run as a puppy when trained to the hour. There are frequent exceptions to this rule, as some dogs train lighter than others, while some show to greater advantage when running big ; but the THE GREYHOUND IN TRAINING 105 rule is a good one to keep in view when reducing flesh, and is for the most part approximately correct. When once the trainer has found the weight at which a mature dog shows to greatest advantage, the weighing-machine will always answer the important question as to ripeness, and will frequently check a tendency to over-train. The advice we have given as to the final preparation of greyhounds must only be taken generally, as it is impossible to lay down any hard and fast rule, for the simple reason that the constitutions and temperaments of greyhounds vary to a remarkable degree. The old saying that ' What is one man's meat is another man's poison,' is peculiarly applicable to greyhounds ; a preparation necessary to enable one dog to stay to the end of a big stake would send another to the slips jaded and ' over - marked.' Here is where the ability, experience, and intelligence of the trainer are tested. It is his duty to mark the running of each of his charges most carefully, and when he sees one display fire and dash, together with stamina, he will know that he has had a preparation that suits his constitution. But when a kennel companion that has had identical work shows speed and smartness in his first or first two courses, but, without undue pumping, or any unforeseen contingency such as a cut or a sprain, fails to raise a gallop, and lobs along behind his opponent without attempting to share the work, he may reasonably suspect that the dog is over-trained, and on a future occasion it will be as well to send him to the slips a pound or two heavier. There are many greyhounds who, starting in a stake a bit above themselves, yet manage to survive a couple of courses, and, improving as they go on, run themselves into perfect con- dition, and wind up brilliantly. Examples of this are very frequent, and a notable one is Miss Glendyne, who was decidedly 'jolly ' when she went to the slips for the Waterloo Cup the year following that in which she had divided with Fullerton's dam, her half-sister Bit of Fashion. She ran her first two courses in very slovenly style ; but by the time she io6 COURSING met Penelope 11. in the final she was thoroughly fit, and her display was one of the grandest ever seen. The adage that we have quoted as applied to work is of still greater force when the all-important question of food is to be considered ; and here, again, observation and study of the individual must constantly occupy the trainer's mind. It used to be considered a sine qua non that the only way to prepare a dog was to stuff him with unlimited mutton, on the principle adopted by domestic servants, I suppose, who fancy that they will drop down dead or faint over their menial tasks if they fail to consume a sufficient poundage of 'butcher's meat.' We are quite opposed to this idea, and feel convinced that nothing upsets a dog's stomach and renders him stale and useless more than a continued use of toasted mutton, without a variety of other food. A greyhound will stand his road- work and gallops for several months, and flourish thereon ; but stuff him with a surfeit of animal food for one month only, and the chances are he will utterly lose his form. It is very easy to ascertain when a dog has had too much animal food — on examination the faeces will be found to be black ; if, on the contrary, there has not been a sufficient quantity, the motions will be almost colourless ; when they are the colour of ochre the proportion is correct. When a dog has been trained and run for a stake, and is wanted again in, say, three weeks' time, it is a good plan to ' let him down,' i.e. his exercise should be gentle and only sufficient to keep him healthy and active, and his food should consist of old meal, brown bread, vegetables, trotter jelly, and broth of sheep's heads. No more solid animal food should be given till within ten days of his running again. As soon as he returns from the first meeting he should have a dose of Epsom salts or German liquorice powder, to be followed by a tonic ball. It is wonderful how this treatment and the cessation of solid animal food will freshen the stomach, and prepare the dog for another ordeal. The resumption of solid mutton for a week previously to running will be found ample ; even if he THE GREYHOUND IN TRAINING 107 went to the slips on the former occasion rather stale and over-trained, he may now appear in totally different colours, and surprise everyone by his smartness. Very likely this will Preparing the food cause him to be dubbed an uncertain animal, but the trainer will know to what his success is due, and will make a note of it for further use. Cases of dogs winning important stakes when practically io8 COURSING untrained are common enough, and their connections imme- diately say, ' If Fly-by night could perform like that in such condition, what could he not do if thoroughly prepared ? ' So they proceed to trot and gallop him vigorously, stuff him with slices of mutton from prime joints, and bring him to the slips heavily backed for a big stake ; and great is their dismay when he is upset in the first round, perhaps by a dog whom he easily beat when untrained. As with racehorses so with greyhounds : many an under- trained one wins, and many an over- trained one goes down. Moral:— It is better to under-train than to over-train your horses and dogs. Many trainers are in the habit of ' letting down ' their charges immediately before running — that is to say, they give them a strong preparation to within four days of the meeting ; they then dose with Epsom salts, and substitute a light farinaceous diet up to the day on which they are to run. The wisdom of this plan we take the liberty of doubting, believing that a too sudden reaction of the digestive organs would be induced, and a consequent relaxation of nerve and muscles ensue ; and we have noted that greyhounds thus treated have perhaps shown speed and brilliance, but have failed to stay beyond a course or two, even when they have been lightly let off. With regard to general feeding, variety should be the watchword ; for, how^ever good the food may be, no dog will thrive without a change, not only in the ingredients used, but in the method of prepara- tion and the consistency of the pudding. Taking a dog of ordinary constitution whose peculiarities are unknown to us, and given a month to prepare him for a stake, w^e should feed him as follows, having first administered opening medicine followed by alterative condition balls, and an external dressing of black sulphur and train oil. For the first iveek. — Well-boiled and shredded horse-fiesh with its broth, old hound-meal, mashed turnips and beetroots. Second week. — Toasted horse-flesh cut into small squares, brown bread, trotter jelly, carrots or parsnips. THE GREYHOUND IN TRAINING 109 Third iveek. — Fried sheep's heads, a very Httle meal, brown bread, Brand's Extract, a few potatoes and beetroots. Fourth week. — Toasted mutton, no meal, brown bread, trotter jelly, and a few mashed turnips (every other day). Pity the poor trainer and owner whose brightest hopes are centred on the female members of the kennel ! When bitches are really brilliant there is no denying them, and it is almost im- possible to refrain from hopes that may at any moment be dashed by the exigencies of Nature. All may go well till the night of the draw, and then the discovery is made which leads to despair. Sometimes a bitch in use will run with even greater fire than usual ; but the effort generally dies away after a course or two, and a collapse may be looked for at any moment ; nor do we think it is fair for an owner to send a bitch to the slips in such a state. Should she meet a dog, the latter is sure to be upset, and his attention will be distracted; nevertheless, it is a remarkable fact that on the appearance of the hare everything will give way to the ruling passion for the chase. Where important issues are involved, owners and trainers often make great efforts to bring a bitch to the sHps in the face of Nature's attack. Should she come in use, say, three weeks or a month prior to the date on which the stake is to open, a common practice is to put her to the dog, and it not infre- quently happens that at the beginning of pregnancy she may quite retain her form. If a bitch is allowed to miss (i.e. if she is withheld from the dog), it will be useless to dream of running her for at least three months from the first appearance of the symptoms. The reason of this is that Nature keeps on accumulating internal fat and tissue to fit the bitch for the duties that should have been hers, while toward the time when, in the natural course of things, her whelps would have been born, the lacteal glands secrete a certain amount of milk. To be on the safe side, fourteen weeks should elapse before the bitch is sent to the slips, though training may start three weeks earlier. 11^ COURSING Having regard to this difficulty, the hopes of a courser's kennel should never be entirely centred in bitches ; and so often does this exasperating disappointment occur, that there are many old and knowing hands who never train or run bitches, but keep them, if found in the kennel at all, solely for breed- ing purposes. Ill CHAPTER VI ENCLOSED COURSING The idea of enclosing grounds for coursing purposes originated with Mr. T. H. Case, who, as is well known, showed marked acquaintance with the habits of the hare, and also considerable powers of organisation. Towards the end of December, 1876, the ground at Plumpton, which had been enclosed with wire- fencing at considerable expense, was ready for the first meeting to be held in the new style. A programme, consisting of a thirty-two, two sixteens, two eights, and a four, was considered large enough to start with, and the stakes filled without diffi- culty. The dinner and draw were held at the Gloucester Holel, Brighton. The late General Goodlake, V.C., took an active part in the general arrangements, and also used his influence to have special trains run from London and Brighton at convenient hours each morning. The principal event was the Street Place Stakes, which was won by Mr. H. G. Miller's Master Banrigh, Mr. T. Quihampton's Quaver running up. The success which attended the first fixture induced Mr. Case to increase the entry fee, and in the following March we had the Southern Cup for thirty-two All-ages at 10/. 10s. each. This brought eight ex-Waterlooers to slips, namely : Dark Rustic, Kilkenny, Serapis, Huron, Sir Magnus, Conster, The Squatter, and High Gillerspie. The stake resulted in a division between Mr. G. Darlinson's Dark Rustic and Mr. H. Heywood's Early Morn. The following year more important stakes were run for, the entry for the Great Southern Cup (sixty- four sub- scribers) being increased to 12/. loi". each, the winner to receive 112 COURSING 250/. and a piece of plate value 50/. In the final course Mr. G. Darlinson's Deceit beat Mr. G. Woodward's Woodland King. The fame of the Plumpton ground had now spread far and wide, and we had amongst the Irish supporters Lord Lurgan, Captain Archdale, Mr. F. Watson, and Mr. J. Sands. Other patrons of the meeting were the Duke of Hamilton, Lord St. Vincent, Sir John D. Astley, and Colonel Goodlake. Enclosed covrsing. Driving out a hare It may be mentioned that, although the new style had become popular with a certain section of the coursing community, many of the old school opposed it strongly, and with the best reason, for it utterly lacked the elements of real sport. The Ground Game Act, however, which came into operation in September 1880, having naturally led to a lessening of the number of hares throughout the country, it was urged that, if coursing was to exist, the enclosed system became almost a ENCLOSED COURSING 113 necessity. From that time old-fashioned meetings dropped out one by one, owing to the scarcity of game. The September fixture in 1884 was a very successful meeting at Flumpton, the Grand Produce Stakes of 6/. each, i/. ft., securing no fewer than 128 runners, out of an original entry of 298. The prizes were 500/. the winner, 150/. the second, and 50/. each third and fourth. For tl^e deciding course Mr. T. Graham's Glen Islay, by Glenlivet— Glengowan, Starting the hare and Mr. H. J. Norman's Newsboy, by Peter— Nellie, divided after an undecided. Mr. C. W. Lea's Latha and his Lara were third and fourth. The meeting was carried on for another five years, but despite the erection of a commodious stand, the outside pubUc held aloof, and February 1889 saw the last of the Plumpton gatherings. Gosforth followed Plumpton (the enclosure being made by Mr. Case), and was w^ell supported, as might be expected from the number of greyhounds kept in the north of England, and 114 COURSING the ardour with which coursing has always been pursued in this locaHty. The trials at Gosforth during Mr. Case's manage- ment were of the very best description. Coursing continued to flourish there until March 1889, when several of the directors who did not care for the sport called a special meeting of the company and it was resolved to discontinue it. The following return of the winners and runners-up in the Gold Cup shows that speed has well served at Gosforth, for we find that a greyhound like Cangaroo, whose only redeeming point was speed, carried off the prize from a brilliant per- former like Greentick. Many greyhounds who distinguished themselves in the open ran at Gosforth, notably Mineral Water and Burnaby (both Waterloo Cup winners), Free Flag (Netherby Cup winner), Markham (Netherby Cup divider as a puppy), Waterford, Todlaw Dene, Nimrod, Glen- kirk, and Plymouth Rock, whose names will all be found in the following list : — 1881 THE HIGH GOSFORTH PARK GOLD CUP, at 6/. ioj. each ; winner 150/. and gold cup, value 50 guineas, second 90/.; 64 subs. Mr. G. Darlinson ns (Mr. J. Hinks's) be d Marshal M'Mahon, by Master Sam — Death, beat Mr. J. W. Morrison's bk d Free Flag, by Freeman — British Flag. 1882 GOSFORTH GOLD CUP, at 10/. los. each : winner 500/. and gold cup, second 200/. and silver cup ; 128 subs. Mr. G. J. Alexander's w bd d Alec Halliday, by Fugitive — Free Trade, beat Mr. W. Osborne's r or f d Waterford, by Bothal Park — Curiosity. 1883 GOSFORTH GOLD CUP, at 10/. \os. each ; winner 500/. and cup, second 200/. and piece of plate ; 128 subs. Mr. L. Hall ns (Mr. A. Vines's) wf d Markham, by Banker- Pall Mall, beat Mr. O. Markham's bk w d Woodpecker, by Bed- fellow— Agricola. ENCLOSED COURSING 115 1884 GOSFORTH GOLD CUP, at 10/. los. each, cup value 50 guineas, with piece of plate, value 15 guineas to the second ; winner 500/. and gold cup, second 200/. and piece of plate ; 128 subs. Mr. M. Spittle ns (Mr. W. Carver's) rorfd Britain Still, by Misterton — Arama,beat Mr. W, P. Greenall ns (Mr. H.J.Norman's) bk w d Nimrod, by Misterton — Fair Helen. 1885 GOSFORTH GOLD CUP, at 12/. 12^. each, with 500/. added ; winner 1,000/., second 250/. ; 128 subs. Mr. J. Mayer's w bk d Mineral Water, by Memento — Erzeroum, beat Mr. Postlethwaite ns (Mr. H. Thompson's) r d Todlavv Dene, by Herrera — Terrific. 1886 GOSFORTH GOLD CUP, at 12/. 12s. each, with 500/. added ; winner 1,000/., second 250/. ; 128 subs. Mr. H. Emmerson ns (Mr. J. Kellett's) bk d Cangaroo, by Bothal Park— Bundle and Go, beat Mr. R. F. Gladstone's bd d Greentick, by Bedfellow — Heartburn. 1887 GOSFORTH GOLD CUP, at 12/. 12s. each, with 500/. added ; winner 1,000/., second 250/. ; 128 subs. Mr. H. G. Miller's bk d Mullingar, by Misterton— Gulnare H., beat Mr. E. Dent's w bk d Huic Halloa, by Jester — Countess. 1 888 GOSFORTH GOLD CUP, at 10/. los. each ; winner 470/. and cup, value 50 guineas, second 190/. ; 119 subs. Mr. E. Dent's w bk d Huic Halloa, by Jester— Countess, and Mr. L. Pilkington's bk w d Burnaby, by Be Joyful — Baroness, divided. 1889 GOSFORTH GOLD CUP, at 10/. los. each ; winner 350/., second 125/. ; 75 subs. Mr. T. Edwards' r d Glenkirk, by Misterton— Glengowan ; Col. J. T. North's bd b Kate Cuthbert, by Greentick— Bit of ii6 COURSING Fashion ; and Mr. W. Paterson's r w d Plymouth Rock, by Carratze — Process, divided, without the latter running his bye. Kempton came next, and the fact of Mr. S. H. Hyde being at the head of affairs (coursing) was a guarantee for good management. It was over the Sunbury pastures that the first 1,000/. prize was run for, the ground, like Haydock, being a dead flat. Hares ran very weakly at first, and coursing was a com- parative failure, but after a year trials were fairly good, and continued to improve subsequently. Coursing at Kempton took immensely at first with Londoners, but after a few meetings the attendance fell off, and the patronage of the general public became so scant that the directors resolved to cease holding meetings, and the champion fixture of January 1889 was abandoned. The reason given was that during the last three years the directors had to fill several nominations the best way they could, so as to secure the requisite number of runners, and the meetings were carried on at a loss. The following return gives the winner and runner-up in the Great Champion Stakes : — 1883 CHAMPION STAKES, at 25 guineas each, with 500/. added ; winner 1,000/., second 500/ ; 64 subs. Mr. L. Nicholl's f d p Royal Stag, by Ptarmigan — Raby Lass, beat Dr. T. S. Hosford ns (Mr. W. Osborne's) r or f d Waterford, by Bothal Park — Curiosity. 1884 CHAMPION STAKES, at 25 guineas each, with 500/. added ; winner 1,000/., second 400/. ; 64 subs. Mr. G. Bell Irving ns (Mr. H. G. Miller's) r d Manager, by Misterton — Devotion, and Mr. T. Stone's r d Sea Pilot, by Haddo —Sea Beauty, divided. 1885 CHAMPION STAKES, at 25/. each, with 500/. added ; winner 1,000/, second 400/ ; 64 subs. Mr. S. H. Hyde's bd d Ballangeich, by Craighton Castle- Heathbird, beat Mr. W. Carver's r or f d Britain Still, by Misterton .^Arama. ENCLOSED COURSING 117 1886 CHAMPION STAKES, at 25/. each, with 500/. added ; winner 1,000/., second 400/. ; 64 subs. Mr. T. Stone ns (Mr. L. Pilkington's) bk d Phcebus, by Coleraine Diamond — sister to Lady Hester, beat Mr. C. Hibbert ns r d Gay City, by Paris — Lady Glendyne. 1887 CHAMPION STAKES, at 25/. each, with 500/. added ; winner 1,000/., second 400/. ; 64 subs. Mr. W. Reilly ns (Mr. E. Dent's) Huic Halloa, by Jester- Countess, beat Mr. R. F Gladstone's bk d Greater Scot, by Mac- pherson — Madge. 1888 CHAMPION STAKES, at lo/. \os. each ; winner 600/., second 200/. ; 64 subs. Mr. S. Handfordns (Mr. G. Hobbs's)bk d Holmby, by Clyto— High Opinion, beat Mr. H. G. Miller's bk d Mullingar, by Misterton — Gulnare II. 1889 CHAMPION STAKES, at 10/. icy. each, with 400/. added ; winner 600/., second 200/. ; 64 subs. Major H. Holmes's bk w d Puddletown, by Domino — Bonniness, beat Mr. A. Sydney's bk w d p Pilate Black, by Northern Express — sister to Petrarch. Haydock Park succeeded Gosforth Park, and with capital management some good sport of its kind has been witnessed here from time to time. Being in the midst of a coursing district, and adjacent to such populous centres as Liverpool, Manchester, Wigan, &c. &c., Haydock has hardly received that amount of patronage from the public one would naturally expect. Many stirring and striking associations attach to Haydock Park, and Greentick, FuUerton, Herschel, and Gay City have all tingled the blood of onlookers by their brilliant displays. FuUerton first came out in the Lancashire enclosure, and took people by storm in his succession of fine courses, though one hammerins; after another over the adamantine surface, the Ii8 COURSING ground being very hard that week, entailed defeat in the final trial, the only one he has suffered. Herschel won his spurs at Haydock by dividing the Champion Produce Stake, and undoubtedly his very best performance was over this ground in the Haydock Gold Cup, when he shot clean away from one speedy greyhound after another. Probably Gay City's best display was for the same cup upon another occasion. One of Greentick's Haydock victories will always be recollected from the sensational incident of his striking the escape hurdle with such force as to fall back api)arently dead. The sym- pathy that existed for this gallant greyhound was shown by the cheer that greeted him when his trainer, John Coke, led him back shortly after the accident, and his own gameness was testified when he afterwards won the final course. The Irish greyhound, Pinkerton, also upon one occasion made a succession of brilliant displays, winning course after course in one-sided fashion, though every hare took him to the top of the ground. The Wye Racecourse being easily converted into an en- closure, Mr. G. Kennett started his first meeting in 1883. The trials generally are of indisputable excellence, and as the ground gradually rises to the escape, a capital view is obtained of the working-powers of a greyhound, which is often lost when running on the level. A few years since, Mr. Kennett started the East Kent Club, and has on his list sixty members. Wye, however, fares no better than Haydock Park as regards the support of the public, and it remains to be seen if either of these meetings— now the only two enclosures in England — will be carried on after another season. Several good greyhounds have made their debut over the Wye ground, viz. Holmby, Puddletown, Glenmahra, Winfarthing, Myra Ellen, and Janet's Pride. The Four Oaks Park Company was started with a large capital to carry on racing and coursing, and, being situated close to Birmingham and other large Midland towns, everything ENCLOSED COURSING 19 looked promising for the shareholders. The coursing en- tailed a considerable loss from 1883 to the close of the season 1886; but as the enclosure never took with either the racing or coursing public, the autumn of • 1 890 saw the company go into liquidation, and the estate is now to be built over. Many good greyhounds were seen at Four Oaks Park, amongst Counting the slain others Marshal McMahon, Winchester, Witchery, Quicklime, Rosewater, Golden Star, Miss Staton, Fair Floraline, &c. The Doncaster Coursing Company, Limited, with a capital of 5,000/. in 5/. shares, had a very brief existence. The first meeting was held December 1882, and the next and last the following year, when, owing to want of proper management, hares ran so badly that many sportsmen left the ground in disgust. The fixtures were soon afterwards sold off, and the ground is now under cultivation. I20 COURSING Mourne Park, the first of the Irish enclosures, was esta- blished by the Earl of Kilmorey in the autumn of 1879. The ground could hardly then, nor could it till a couple of years later, be strictly called an enclosure, as the hares were driven from a spinney ; in fact, it was not an enclosure as the term is generally understood. A few years later the present coursing ground was designed by Mr. Case. Hares have never run stoutly at Mourne Park, but it was well adapted for trying puppies, and being generally the first meeting of the season was well patronised by English and Scotch coursers; the beauty of the surrounding scenery was also a great attrac- tion to visitors. One meeting, sometimes two in the season, continued to be held until the year 1890. Purdysburn was established in the North of Ireland in 1890. A club was formed in Belfast, and permission obtained from that good sportsman, the late Mr. R. N. Batt, to hold a couple of meetings during the season in his demesne. The ground was well adapted for coursing, and the manage- ment being in the hands of a most business-like and energetic committee, Purdysburn soon took high rank amongst the coursing fixtures of the season. As with Holestone, there is no lack of support in the shape of greyhounds, large numbers being bred every year in the surrounding country. Trabolgan, in the South of Ireland, if not so easy of access as the other three meetings just mentioned, is not inferior to any of them in the quality of the sport provided. Situated in Lord Fermoy's demesne overlooking Cork Harbour, in fine weather it is a delightfully wild and picturesque spot. Hares are reared on the ground, and are driven from two spin- neys, one at each end of a large field, so that the running happily partakes of the character of open coursing. Few understand better than the noble owner of Trabolgan, Lord Fermoy, coursing and the management of hares, and hence sport of a high order may always be reckoned upon at the Southern Club meetings. Unfortunately, there is not the same keen ardour for coursing in the province of Mun- ENCLOSED COURSING 121 ster as in Ulster, and a difficulty in filling stakes is ofteti experienced. Driving hares out of the woods Holestone followed Mourne Park, and from the very be- ginning was a decided success. The enclosure is situated on 122 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, ENCLOSED COURSING 123 and then the proceedings became actually farcical. It was evident, too, after a few years of enclosed coursing that the best strains of blood were becoming seriously affected, and The high jump that coursing generally was in a fair way to collapse if something was not done. That something practically removed the enclosures en bloc, and without doubt the running is far truer and more genuine now than it was. 124 COURSING CHAPTER VII SOME CELEBRATED GREYHOUNDS OF THE PAST In our resu?ne of the Waterloo Cup we touched on the winners in the early contests when the trophy was a thirty- two dog stake ; and among the heroines of those days Cerito is worthy of a niche in the Temple of Fame : she won no fewer than three times — viz. as a puppy in 1850, in 1852 and 1853. She was by Lingo out of Wanton. The next grey- hound of mark that comes under notice is Senate, for his victory of 1847 was repeated by his son Sackcloth in 1854 ; and here we append a table of Waterloo winners whose progeny have also been successful : — Senate (1847) begat Sackcloth (1854) Judge (1855) „ Clival (1859) „ „ Maid of the Mill (i860) „ Chloe(i863) Canaradzo (1861) begat King Death (1864) Brigadier (1866) „ Honeymoon (1875) Bit of Fashion (1885)2 gave birth to Fullerton (1889-90)^ It will be seen that this is a very limited list, and the old adage that ' like begets like ' is not borne out to a remarkable extent ; however, there are many examples of dogs who have run prominently in the Waterloo Cup shining as sires of abso- lute winners ; such, for instance, as Fusilier (sire of Muriel), Greentick (sire of Fullerton and Troughend), and Macpherson (sire of Greater Scot and Herschel). 1 Divided with Selby. ^ Divided with Miss Glendyne, 5 Fullerton won in 1891 and 1892, and during the next three years the winners were by Herschel, who divided the Cup with Greater Scot. — Ed. CELEBRATED GREYHOUNDS OF THE PAST 125 1 i Is 0 fe §1 M a 1 « 0 0 2 c Briton (late Knight of the Garter) Lady Emperor Knavery Helenus Fly, by Blue Wart Bachelor Nimble, by Lunardi Nathan Risk (late Lalage) Levite Milliner Luff Minikin Sandy Smart Bachelor Venus (sister to Solomon) Bachelor Nimble, by Lunardi Dart Smut Streamer Bride Colwick Sister to Herdsman Baron Verity s 5 Sadek Sanctity Kouli Khan Harriet Topper Hannah Spartacus Fly, by Snowball Stradbroke Leanthe Mariner Fly (Rev. R. Day) Lifter Leah Carronade Gaunt Carron Sister to Fairy Viscount(late Bluebeard) Vagrant Garland Balloon Violet Mortimer Sister to Mirth (missing) Above is the pedigree of Judge, who won in 1855, ran up the following year, and was, moreover, the sire of three subse- quent winners — viz. Clive, Maid of the Mill, and Chloe. His pedigree, it will be observed, goes back on his dam's side to Lord Sefton's strain, her sire, Oliver Twist, being an own brother to his Lordship's winner, Senate. 126 COURSING a. e 'go ti <-s Z I 1 Bluelight Frolic Monsoon Stave Colonel Smart Bugle Strawberry Waterloo Clarinda Dusty Miller Exotic Cessnock Young Hornet Wigan Veto Drift Cutty Sark Driver Coquette Kirkland Cutty Sark Dux Tillside Lass Driver Duppy Draffin Old Tillside Lass 0 < 1 Skyrocket Silkworm (Stone) Bluelight Syncope Monsoon Stave Worcester Marquis Synecdoche Barabbas Medora Egypt Cobcea Scandens Vraye Foy Elf Foremost Cygnet Czar Wideawake Foremost Catch'em Grasshopper Nell The entire pedigree of Snowdrop is doubtful, and indeed some authorities give Liraeflower as the dam of Lilac. K I30 COURSING From what we have just written it will be seen that here is another example of the excellence of the Scotland Yet strain. Next we append the pedigree of 'the mighty McGrath ' : — < si rJoo CO ^.— Length from joining on of head to shoulders, 9 in. ; girth round neck, 13I in. Back. — From neck to base of tail, 21 in. ; length of tail, 17 in. Intermediate points. — Length of loin from junction of last rib to hip- bone, 8 in. ; length from hip-bone to socket of thigh-joint, 5 in. Fore leg.—Yxovcv base of two middle nails to fedock-joint, 2 in. ; from fetlock-joint to elbow-joint, \i\ in. ; from elbow-joint to top of shoulder-blade, \2\ in. ; thickness of fore leg below the elbow, 6 in. Hind le£^.— From hock to stifle-joint, 9| in. ; from stifle-joint to top of hip-bone, 12 in. ; girth of ham part of thigh, 14 in. ; thickness of second thigh below stifle, 8:^. Body. — Girth round depth of chest, 26| in. ; girth round loins, 17^ in. ; weight, 54 lbs. A study of these particulars by those accustomed to grey- hound measurement will show what a ' big httle one ' McGrath 132 COURSTNG was. Unfortunately he did not survive his triumphs long enough to give him a really fair chance at the stud, for it is seldom that a dog sires anything of high class until he has been at least a year out of training, though there may be ex- ceptions to the rule. In his two seasons he was sire of several minor winners, and his blood is to be found in the pedigrees of some of the smartest dogs of the present day. •013 ffl t. Ho <:^ Beacon Scotland Yet Hughie Graham Wild Duck Bluelight Frolic Wigan Veto Liddesdale Queen of the May Sam (Gibson's) Nimble Monsoon Stave Waterloo Clarinda Drift Cutty Sark Dux Tillside Lass Bowhill Lady Seymour King Cob Minerva Traveller^ Tippitywitchet Douglas (Raine's) Unit (Raine's) Priam Virago Mynheer Sister to Lass o' Gowrie Cambridge * Mischief Muley (Forster's) Alice Hawthorn (Hutchinson's) Mangonel Marionette (sister to Mocking Bird) Figaro Bessy Bedlam Sportsman (Jolly) Lucy Figaro Countess (Bartholomew) Figaro Malvina Said to be brother to Bedlamite. CELEBRATED GREYHOUNDS OF THE PAST 133 As a companion picture we now give the pedigree of Bab- at-the-Bowster. There are many who consider this bitch the best greyhound of all time, though her actual achievements do not equal those of her great opponent. True she won more courses — viz. sixty-two^but five times the flag went against her ; nevertheless she stands out from all others of her sex, and her gameness and stamina were wonderful. To have won such big events as the Scarisbrick Cup and the Douglas Cup two years in succession is a mighty record. Her merit in this respect is to be expected by students of running blood, as she is closely connected with the Scotland Yet strain through her sire Boanerges, son of Canaradzo, and through her paternal grandam Baffle. She goes back to King Cob, and is very much inbred to that pillar of the 'Stud Book' on her dam's side through Figaro, whose name occurs three times in five genera- tions. That Bab would have had her name enrolled in the list of Waterloo Cup winners had she not chanced to live in the days of McGrath is a moral certainty. We append a list of her winnings : — Meeting Courses Lost Courses Won Value 1867-8 Divided Scottish National St. Leger Divided Croxteth Stake at Altcar . Won two Courses Waterloo Cup . . Won Scarisbrick Cup at Southport Won Douglas Cup at Scottish National . 1868-9 Won Altcar Club Cup Divided Elsham Cup at Brigg Second for Waterloo Cup .... Won Scarisbrick Cup at Southport Lost first Course Douglas Cup at Scottish National Divided Biggar Stakes at Scottish National . 1869-70 Won Douglas Cup at Scottish National . Won one Course Brownlow Cup at Lurgan . Won three Courses Waterloo Cup . Divided Clifton Cup at Altcar. I 1 X 1 I 5 5 2 I 5 4 5 7 4 5 i £ 11 25 350 180 60 105 200 300 6S 60 30 25 5 62 1,540 34 COURSING The next to come under notice is Sea Cove, the Waterloo winner of 1870, and we give her pedigree as another instance of a successful combination of the same blood, through Black- cloud (an own brother to Beacon) on her dam's side, and through Bugle (own brother to Canaradzo) on her sire's side, whilst several traces of King Cob are found through Figaro. > O 0 < ^ Q "ft H tn U Jacobite (Gibson) Forest Queen (Diiulop) Blackcloud (Borron) Eve (Hyslop) Bedlamite (Brown) Flounce (Fox) Ruthless King (Dunlop) Fornarina (Dunlop) Figaro Bessy Bedlam Carronade Gaunt Merry Monarch Ruby Dreadnought Judy Blue Light (Borron) Frolic (Lord Eglinton) Monsoon Stave Eden (Clemitson) Old Eve (Atkinson) Waterloo Clarinda Winspiel Brenda Tyrant Hannah Beacon (Borron) Scotland Yet (Campbell) A (Lambert) The Pullet (Black) Blue Light (Borron) Frolic (Lord Eglinton) Wigan (Hyslop) Veto (Greenshields) Bedlamite (Brown) Calypso (Lambert) Gamechicken (Anderson) Sultana (Surties) Monsoon Stave Waterloo Clarinda Drift Cutty Sark Dux Tillside Lass Figaro Bessy Bedlam Field Marshal Effie Deans Figaro Fancy Sultan Alice Grey CELEBRATED GREYHOUNDS OE THE PAST 135 p 0 " 0 < 0 1 I 1 Lariston Hopmarket Liddesdale Hannah BowhiU Ladj' Seymour BuflF Cathowdie Bedlamite Cerito Figaro Bessie Bedlam Lingo Wanton Blackcloud Prize Flower Blue Light Frolic Monsoon Slave Waterloo Clarinda Paramount Isis Idas Pamela Probity Dam by Fantai u <: Pi w Oh •-> Motley Wanton Sam Tollwife Traveller Tippitywitchet King Cob Matilda Gillespie Senate Coquette ' Sadek Sanctity Kouli Khan Knavery Judg.^ Moll Troll John Bull Fudge Lodore Jane Oliver Twist Fairy Young Champion Maid of the Mill (Slater) Champion (Atkinson) Fly (Cuthbert) ' Spelt by Thacker ' Koket.' Bed of Stone, who won the Waterloo Cup in 1872, was certainly a remarkable bitch, and showed to great advantage on the Altcar Flats. She gradually worked her way to the pinnacle of a greyhound's fame, for she won the Purse in 1870 and the Plate in 1871. Her pedigree is full of the blood of Waterloo winners, and that of King Cob crops up on both sides. Her dam, Imperatrice, is a granddaughter of Judge, and her sire, Portland, a great-grandson of the triple winner Cerito. 36 COURSING Appended is a short pedigree of King Cob, which we have taken from the appendix to ' Stonehenge's ' well-known work on the Greyhound. Going beyond the dog himself we feel out of our depth, so refrain from any comment on his ancestry. KING COB, 1838, w and bd, Captain Daintree ION bd '34 Stumps '28 Ida '29 Pilot Bliss Pilot Spring KATE r '33 Deptford w '28 Sis, to Fanny '29 Gunshot, late Webb's Whirlwind, according to Mr. Howard, and not Lane Fox's, as generally given ; but Capt. Daintree gives it as Lord Rivers'; seventh from the bulldog Reverting to the time when the Waterloo Cup was a thirty- twQ dog stake, this list would certainly be incomplete without the addition of Cerito's pedigree, for this bitch won the stake three times, and although the feat was not to be compared with that of Master McGrath, when the nominations were doubled, the competition keener, and the eclat more coveted, yet it must be admitted that the performance was a most meritorious one. 11 0 ►^ LINGO r '45 Lark »b '43 Lady bk Leader Tongue Gunshot Venus WANTON bd '41 Emperor bk '35 Blossom Helenus Fly , Haemus Hadiz a Higa Mr. Goodlake gives Best's Turk 1822, who was by Lane Fox's Txirk— Lord Rivers' Fly Cerito in all won forty-five courses out of fifty-three, and just 1,000/. in stakes, exclusive of trophies. In writing the name of Misterton as a celebrity of the past we almost seem guilty of an anachronism, for he has carried his powers as a stud dog to a comparatively recent date ; his sons and daughters are still running, and he has left plenty of sterling greyhounds to carry on one of the most successful strains of modern times ; and whilst such dogs as Mullingar, Aberbriant, &c., are advertised at stud (with them we shall CELEBRATED GREYHOUNDS OF THE PAST 137 deal in a subsequent chapter), there is little fear of its being neglected. A glance at the subjoined pedigree will show a profusion of the ever-telling Scotland Yet blood combined with the equally desirable Judge cross. JSffl e5 Jacobite Bedlamite Flounce Cardinal York | Forest Queen Lady Stormont Blue Ruin Ruthless King Fornarina Antipas Carolina Holiday (late j Jubilee) Skyrocket Jailbird Boanerges Mischief (late Bessy Bedlam) Canaradzo Baffle Beacon Scotland Yet Hughie Graham Wild Duck Priam Dam Priam Virago Mynheer (late Flying I Dutchman) Sister to Lass o' Gowrie King Death Chloe Canaradzo Annoyance Judge Clara Freshman Consequence Combat Lively Beacon Scotland Yet Heart of Oak (late Felling Pet) ^iss Johnson John Bull Fudge Lopez Mrs. Kitty Brown Stanley Money Taker Click 'em in) (late Forerunner Linda David Remedy Motley Wanton Mechanic Ratcatcher's Daughter Misterton on his first appearance showed great promise, and was very unluckily beaten in the Newmarket Champion Puppy Stakes ; notwithstanding this he started at a good outside price for the Waterloo Cup. Having won it, his subsequent 138 COURSING performances were very moderate, but he proved a gold mine to Mr. Miller, and a complete list of winners by him would fill several pages. o So -o.c o « ffi-a Union Jack Scotia's Thistle Cardinal York Meg o* the Mil Bridegroom Attermire udge lartolozzi British Grenadier Lady Neville Selby Meg Barrator Ladylike Jacobite Forest Queen Bonnie Prince Charlie Fanny Bedlamite Flounce Ruthless King The Fornarina Bonnie Prince Charlie Fanny Cardinal Wiseman The Widow John o' Badenyon Kepentance Cauld Kail Bergamot Union Jack Scotia's Thistle Bridegroom Attermire Selby Meg Sackcloth Darkness Senate Cinderella Jacobite Queen of Hearts Strange Idea Curiosity Cardinal York High Idea Jacobite Forest Queen Bugle Banter Blackcloud Eve (late Jane's my Darling) Beacon Scotland Yet Abk The Pullet or Emily Deans or Miami Honey wood, the winner of the Waterloo Cup, 1880, was inbred to Cauld Kail, and possessed an infusion of the Beacon- Scotland Yet blood, his dam, Humming Bird, being out of Baby Blake, out of Curiosity by Bugle. There seems to be a general impression that the pedigree CELEBRATED GREYHOUNDS OF THE PAST 139 of Coomassie is not absolutely authenticated. With this doubt, which we are not in a position to traverse, we shall not give a tabulated pedigree, but shall reprint the following particu- lars of this ' pocket edition ' from vol. 41 of the ' Coursing Calendar.' Coomassie, a light fawn bitch, by Celebrated out of Queen (whelped March 10, 1875), was bred by Mr. J. Cafley, of Runham, near Yarmouth. The dam of Queen was Cottage Girl by Monarch out of Nell, the property of Mr. Bulwer ; she ran years ago at a local meeting near Yarmouth. Magic was the property of Mr. Pollard, of Burgh St. Peter. The sire of Celebrated was Mr. Allen's f. w. d. Albatross by TuUochgorum (own brother to King Death) out of Cygnet by Brewer out of Glimpse at Glory (an own sister to Gaudy Poll), and through this Coomassie has the same excellent strain of blood as Bed of Stone had. Gilderoy had this strain, as he was by Crossfell out of Gaudy Poll. Queen was by Captain Dod's r.w.d. Lord Derby by May Morning out of Lady Bathilde. The dam of Celebrated was Mr. Cafley's Caribella by Magic out of Regalia,' Magic by Joe out of Topsy. The measurements of Coomassie, corrected by Mr. J. T. Shaw, Northallerton, are appended. Coomassie Head. — From tip of snout to joining on to neck, 9 in. ; girth of head between eyes and ears, 13 in. ; girth of snout, 7 in. ; distance between the eyes, 2 in. Neck. — Length of joining on from head to shoulders 7J in. ; girth round neck, 13 in. Back.—YTOVCi neck to base of tail, 22^^ in. ; length of tail, \(i\ in. Hips. — Length of loin from junction of last rib to hipbone, 8^ in. ; length from hipbone to socket of thigh-joint, ']\ in. Fore leg. — From base of two middle nails to fetlock-joint, 2.\ in. ; from fetlock-joint to elbow-joint, 10^ in. ; from elbow-joint to shoulder-blade, 11^ in. ; thickness of the fore leg before the elbow, 6 in. Hind leg. —From hock to stifle-joint, 10 in. ; from stifle to top of hipbone, 10^ in. ; girth of ham part of thigh, iS^in. ; thickness of second thigh below stifle, T^ in. I40 COURSING Body. — Girth round depth of chest, 27 in. ; girth round the loins, I9i in. Weight the day before starting for the Cup, 44 lbs. As a marked contrast to this little creature we give the measurements of the 1881 Waterloo Cup winner, Princess Dagmar, who was a remarkably fine slashing bitch. She was bred on the same lines as Misterton : — < % P4 Cashier Bab-at-the-Bow- ster Waywarden (late Leek Kail) Bocca Chica Cardinal York Lady Stormont Boanerges Mischief (late Bessy Bedlam) Cauld Kail Charmer Strange Idea Witchery Jacobite Forest Queen Blue Ruin Holiday Canaradzo Baffle Priam Dam by Mynheer (late Flying Dutchman) Union Jack Scotia's Thistle Canaradzo Speculation Cardinal York High Idea Canaradzo Speculation Elsecar Peggy Taft Engineer Snow Patent Jessica David Lady Clara Gallant Graham Emily Regan Cordelia Nimrod Princess Royal Canaradzo Benton Belle Gaspard Nellie Harold ' Benton Belle Beacon Scotland Yet Fyson The Pullet Beacon ^ Miss Nightingale Grasper Moonlight * A stolen service. CELEBRATED GREYHOUNDS OF THE PAST 141 Princess Dagmar Head. — From tip of snout to joining on to head, 8^ in. ; girth of head between eyes and ears, 13^ in. ; girth of snout, 8^ in. ; distance between the eyes, 2 in. Neck. — Length of joining on from head to shoulders, 9^ in. ; girth round neck, 13! in. Back. — From neck to base of tail, 24 in. ; length of tail, 19 in. Hips. — Length of loin from junction of last rib to hipbone, 8| in. ; length of hipbone to socket of thigh-joint, 5^ in. Fore leg. — From base of two middle nails to knee-joint, 6 in. ; from knee-joint to elbow-joint, 9^^ in. ; from elbow-joint to shoulder-blade, 12 in. ; girth (thickness of the fore leg below the elbow), 6 in. Hind leg. — From hock to stifle-joint, iif in. ; from stifle to top of hipbone, 12\ in. ; girth of ham part of thigh, 16^ in. ; thickness of second thigh below stifle, 9^ in. Body. — Girth round depth of chest, 27 in. ; girth round the loins, 23 in. Weight the day before starting for the Cup, 58 lbs. A comparison of measurements is very interesting, for it will be noticed that in several points the little bitch exceeds the other, and, despite the disparity in size, she equals her in chest measurements. Another sterling bitch that now claims our attention is Snowflight, who won the Waterloo Cup in 1882 and ran up the following year. She was the first of Bothal Park's progeny to show up conspicuously, but since her victory he has produced a long list of winners and added to the lustre of Scotland Yet, to whom Snowflight traces back on both sides. 142 COURSING fe 2 IZiH Cashier Bab-at-the-Bow- ster Black Boyd Gang-a-wee Cardinal York Lady Stormont Boanerges Mischief (late Bessy Bedlam) Cardinal York Hurrara (late Blossom) Clansman (I^te Nana Sahib) Bergamot Jacobite Forest Queen Blue Ruin Holiday Canaradzo Baffle Priam Dam to Mynheer (late Flying Dutchman) Jacobite Forest Queen Sackcloth Winifred Acrobat Tela Sackcloth Darkness Linnaeus Spendthrift St. George Lu.xur>' (late Con- vent Chime) Seagull (late Reveller) Seaweed Monk of Thorney (late Seth) Mazourka Canaradzo Speculation Beacon Scotland Yet Judge Banter Kingwater Widow Machree Jacobite Meg Bedlamite Flounce Bonnie Prince Charlie Fanny The Bounding Elk Old Grannie Baron Fairy Queen Captain Lady CELEBRATED GREYHOUNDS OF THE PAST 143 Herrera was one of the most successful sires of modern times, and when his pedigree is carefully examined the reason of this success is easily perceived. King Death Chloe Cardinal York Meg Canaradzo Annoyance Judge Clara Jacobite Forest Queen Beacon Scotland Yet Heart of Oak Miss Johnson John Bull Fudge Lopez Mrs. Kitty Brown Bedlamite Flounce Bonnie Prince Charlie Fanny Ruthless King The Fornarina Cardinal Wiseman The Widow John o' Badenj'on Repentance Cardinal York Lady Stormont Cauld Kail Bergamot Jacobite Forest Queen Blue Ruin Holiday (late Jubilee) Union Jack Scotia's Thistle Sackcloth Darkness Bedlamite Flounce Ruthless King The Fornarina Antipas Carolina Skyrocket Jailbird Bridegroom Attermire Selby Meg Senate Cinuerella Jacobite Queen of Hearts Herrera won nine courses out of ten as a puppy, but met with an accident, and although he ran again he never recovered his form. The last pedigree we publish in this chapter is that of Macpherson, who may be placed in the same category as Misterton, as he has passed away recently, and seems to belong 144 COURSING more to the present than the past. Macpherson was a good greyhound, and won the Waterloo purse in Snowflight's year (1882), but it is as a sire that his name will live, and the names of Herschel, Greater Scot, Happy Rondelle, Rhoda Macpherson, Jock Macpherson, Lance Macpherson, and a host of others are a credit to any dog. In the chapter on theoretical breeding we have taken occasion to allude to him as one of the greatest pillars of the ' Stud Book,' and the representative of a strain that must never be lost sight of. His sire. Master Sam, was a son of Contango and one of the speediest greyhounds ever slipped, but a bad killer. The descendants of Macpherson are usually very fast, but they likewise display sterling clever- ness, a fact borne out by the running of Happy Rondelle — who when at her best was a gem of the first water — Herschel, one of the best greyhounds of all time, and Greater Scot. In siring the two last named Macpherson shares with Greentick the honour of having begotten co-dividers of the Waterloo Cup. By glancing at the appended pedigree it will be seen that the excellence of the strain is the combination of the Contango and Judge blood, the latter derived through Fusilier, sire of Annie Macpherson. 0 Pi £ MASTER SAM Contango Carlton Cashier Bab-at-the-Bowster Cardinal York Lady Stormont Boanerges Mischief (late Bessy Bedlam) Samuel Lucy (late Rachel) David Patch Pugilist Cinderella ANNIE Mcpher- son Fusilier Maid of Pow- hillon Picton Blooming Daisy Jacobite Forest Queen Judge Fanny Fern Black Tom Miller's Maid Wellington Bessie Merry Miller Alice MS CHAPTER VIII OPINIONS OF NOTED COURSERS When chatting with the coursing fraternity on subjects connected with their favourite sport, one is often asked, ' Which do you consider the best greyhound of all time ? ' * Who is the most successful courser ? ' 'What is the best-looking greyhound you ever saw ? ' and so on. When engaged in the writing of this work of love, it struck us that a consensus of opinions on these leading questions, gleaned from those whose knowledge and experience of coursing matters are undeniable, would prove of interest to our readers. With a view to this we sent circulars to a large number of the leading owners, trainers, and breeders, the result being that most interesting matter was returned, furnishing tables that must prove of the greatest value to all those who have made a hobby of this ancient and fascinating sport. The questions put were as follows : — 1. Give in your opinion the twelve greatest greyhounds of the century. 2. Name absolutely the best you have ever seen run. 3. Give in your opinion the twelve most successful stud dogs of the last thirty years. 4. Name the most successful living one. 5. Describe the best contested and most exciting course you ever saw. 6. Name the six best-looking dogs or bitches you remember to have seen. 7. In your opinion, have greyhounds improved or de- 146 COURSING teriorated of late years ; and to what do you attribute such improvement or deterioration ? 8. State whom you consider {a) The most successful Courser ip) „ „ Breeder {c) ,; „ Trainer {d) » » Judge {e) „ „ Slipper 9. Relate any anecdotes or incidents relating to greyhounds or coursing that may prove of interest to readers of this volume. 10. What do you consider the best coursing ground, (a) In England and Wales ; \b) In Scotland ; if) In Ireland? 11. Do you think it prejudicial to the welfare of a sapling to run him {a) At an enclosed meeting when the shield is moved half- way up the ground ; ip) In the open ? 12. Your opinion on any other matters connected with coursing will be highly esteemed. Now, in the first place, let us analyse the returns as relating to the ' greyhounds of the century.' As might be expected. Master McGrath heads the poll with 32 votes, and Bab-at-the- Bowster follows with two fewer, whilst FuUerton comes third with 26, a reversal of the order we had expected ; the fact being that there are a few old coursers who took exception to the latter's style on the occasion of his winning (or rather dividing) his first Waterloo Cup, a prejudice that time and most brilliant achievements have not altogether effaced. But we confess it does seem strange that any of those answering the questions — even though they considered the claims of one or two other dogs and bitches to surpass those of Fullerton — should go so OPINIONS OF NOTED COURSERS 147 far as to omit his name altogether from the list of the twelve best dogs of the century. Let these remarks suffice for the present ; elsewhere we have entered more closely into the merits of .this remarkable dog. To proceed, Coomassie and Miss Glendyne tie with 25 votes, then there is a drop to 18 — a number obtained by Bed of Stone. Herschel is two behind with 16, Greentick and Cerito tie with 13 each, Patent has 10, and Honeymoon and Lobelia tie for last place with 8 ; the lionoured twelve reading as follows : — Votes Master McGrath 32 Bab-at-the-Bowster 28 Fullerton . 27 Coomassie Miss Glendyne '' ^ Bed of Stone 18 Herschel 16 Greentick 0 7 o f Greentick ] ^ Cerito y^ 10. Patent 10 Honeymoon \ 9, Lobelia ) Others that have received a fair share of notice are Mocking Bird, Princess Dagmar, Honeywood, Chloe, David, Canaradzo, Rebe, Gay City, Misterton, and Riot ; whilst a whole host have received one or two votes each. Even Simonian is included in the list by one enthusiast, which shows that in some cases the form has been filled up without due consideration ; for surely this promising yf;? de siede puppy (1891) had hardly, when the question was put, done sufficient to ensure himself a niche in the temple of fame. With regard to the second question — viz : ' Name the best greyhound you have ever seen run ' — Fullerton, being fresh in everyone's memory, gets a good majority. The older coursers go for Master McGrath, with the exception of three, two of whom name Babat-the-Bowster and the remaining one Patent. The following is the return for the twelve most successful stud dogs of the past thirty years : — L 2 148 COURSING Votes 30 28 27 26 18 17 14 12 II 1. Greentick 2. Misterton 3. Contango 4. Macpherson 5. Patent . 6. Canaradzo f Ptarmigan ^i Judge . ( David . ' 1 Cardinal York / Countryman II- Paris . V Brigadier whilst Beacon, Clyto, Fusilier, Master Sam, Bothal Park, Bedlamite, King Death, Jester, and Cashier have all gained more than six votes. Of course Greentick's name at the head of the poll was a foregone conclusion, and well he deserves the honour; so also was it certain that breeders would not forget Misterton, Contango, and Macpherson ; but we must confess to a feeling of considerable surprise at not finding Beacon's name higher up, though the compliments to his descendants are a sufficient testimony to his own merits. Clyto, again, is one who might have received more sub- stantial recognition, and we fancy that his blood will be very highly prized in the near future. For the best stud dog of the day Greentick * walks in,' as they say in racing parlance. Of course there is an immense diversity of opinion when it comes to electing the six best-looking dogs and bitches within the memory of voters. The results gave : — 1. FuUerton , . . . . 2. Miss Glendyne 16 3. Bit of Fashion 9 4. Lauderdale , . .8 ( Honeymoon \ , ' \ Princess Dagmar J Votes 18 OPINIONS OF NOTED COURSERS i49 with Canaradzo, Shepherdess, Jester, Chloe, Mespilus, London, and Greater Scot, close up. It will be seen from the reduction of the poll that the question has been altogether shirked by quite a third of those who have answered others ; and we frankly admit the difficulty that lies in making a satisfactory selection. We were pleased to find that Lauderdale, who was a shining light on the show bench, had not escaped notice ; undoubtedly he was a grand specimen of the greyhound to look at, and we believe, unlike most show dogs of the breed, was a useful per- former in his day and secured a fair share of stakes. Fullerton could hold his own in any show ring, as also could his dam and her peerless half-sister, whilst a really grand- looking dog is Colonel North's Not Out by Greentick — Miss Glendyne, consequently own brother to Cagliostro. Handsome is as handsome does, and though Master McGrath was, we are told, by no means the sort to take a prize at a beauty show, the sons and daughters of Greentick from Paris bitches are pleasing both to the eye and the pocket. Beauty may only be skin deep, but that skin often covers a conformation calculated to realise a courser's fondest hopes, and long may it be so. The accounts of the most exciting and best contested courses are somewhat meagre ; for instance, a man of such experience as Mr. William Ellis names that between Master McGrath and Bab-at-the-Bowster in the deciding course for the Waterloo Cup, but omits to favour us with particulars from his own point of view, which would surely be interesting ; but another writer, choosing the same course, thus describes it : — The bitch was going the faster, until the hare bearing to the dog's side crossed the drain by a hare-bridge. In taking the drain the bitch had to go round by a post at the end of the bridge, or she would have made the turn — a point just achieved by the dog ; the course continued in three wide circles in which ' six of one and half a dozen of the other ' was the cr)-- ; at last the dog, on the inside, wrenched and killed, thus winning a grandly contested course. ISO COURSING Mr. Edward Dent, whose remarkable success as a breeder, trainer, and courser is almost unprecedented, speaks as follows : — 1 have many times stood alone at Altcar, placed where I thought it best to be to pick up my dog. With none near me, but I shall never forget the roar from the crowd when Fullerton drew out for the finest kill I ever saw made in my life, and he also made a point during this course • which for quickness and sagacity I never saw equalled. The following were remarkably fine performances, and all intensely exciting : — Phoebus beating Gay City Gay City beating Greater Scot Greater Scot beating Gay City Miss Glendyne beating Greater Scot „ „ beating Penelope II. The greatest race I ever saw to the hare was at Haydock, between Greentick and Nolan ; they ran neck and neck for at least 300 yards, and the former just shot out for the turn. Nolan never got over it. When Princess Dagmar ran her first course at Newmarket, the hare dropped dead inside the Jerusalem Covert, and her opponent (Haford) died half a mile before reaching it. The bitch lay down just outside, but notwithstanding this terrific gruelling, she came out and won two more courses, and in the interval of three months divided at Plumpton and won the Waterloo Cup. When she ran at Newmarket she must have been very well and trained to the hour. The longest course ever run in my time was between England Yet and Bishop Juxton, this being the 'decider' for the Uffington Cup at Ashdowr. We have already spoken of the course between Master McGrath and Bab-at-the-Bowster in the Waterloo Cup of 1869. ' Mr. Dent omits to say which of Fullerton's numerous Waterloo courses he refers to, but we presume it was the final for the Waterloo Cup, 1891. Whatever the great dog lacked in killingpower as a pupj^y, there is no doubt that this weak spot in his performance was quite remedied subsequently ; for during the campaigns of 1890-91 he was handy enough with his teeth and made some remarkably fine kills. OPINIONS OF NOTED COURSERS 151 This is selected by no fewer than five coursers as by far the best contested and most exciting they had ever witnessed ; and of these three are strongly of opinion that, had the bitch been better placed, the remarkable record of the little Irishman would have been somewhat tarnished. It was obviously owing to a close and skilful observance of this course that Bab-at-the Bowster is, on several papers, pronounced the greyhound of the century. It will be observed that one of the courses named by Mr. Dent was that between Gay City and Greater Scot at Kempton ; and Mr. G. M. Williams, a courser of considerable experience, refers to this, remarking that, though the son of Paris fell, he was quite under the impression that he finished a winner. We were ourselves a witness of this course, which was undoubtedly a most exciting one, and our opinion as to the result quite tallies with that of Mr. Williams. The following courses are named once : — Between Bed of Stone and Lurline „ Honeymoon and Corby Castle „ Fullerton and Real Lace „ Burnaby and Duke Macpherson It will be noticed that nearly all have been fought out on classic Altcar, and there are several reasons why such records live in the minds of spectators. In the first place, excitement runs higher on these occasions, and the impressions are there- fore calculated to be more lasting ; secondly, the high class of dog competing tends to well-contested and exciting trials ; and, finally, the nature of the ground lends itself to the highest tests of a greyhound's merit. Before closing our remarks on the answers to this question, it will be interesting to note the opinion of no less an authority than Mr. James Hedley. During the intervals of coursing on the occasion of a recent Waterloo Cup contest, in conver- sation with the judge we asked him whit was the best con- tested, cleverest, and most exciting course he had ever seen. He 152 COURSING paused, but only for a second or two, and then replied decidedly, ' That between Miss Glendyne and Penelope II. in the final for the Cup.' It will be seen that Mr. Dent has made particular mention of this trial, and we fancy that there are very many skilled coursers who will readily endorse the verdict of our lead- ing judge. The course is thus described by 'Robin Hood': — From a splendid slip Penelope II. quickly began to show in front, and held the lead for quite two-thirds of the ran up, then Miss Glendyne, who was certainly slow in getting into her stride, began to get on terms, and, after drawing level, made a great effort on nearing the hare, and eventually made the turn just over a length in front ; the hare went to Penelope II.'s. side, and she swept round with it for two short points before Miss Glendyne resumed possession, and then a couple of exchanges followed, after which the brindled drew out for a wrench and a fine kill, thus winning a viery exciting trial. When we consider what a pigmy Penelope II. was, her per- formance in this spin was really marvellous, and she must have been made of the best stuff". The question relating to the improvement or deterioration of greyhounds we will leave for subsequent discussion, and will pass on to the ballot for pride of place as courser, breeder, trainer, judge and slipper respectively. Taking the first named, we find Colonel North at the head of the poll with 2 1 votes ; Mr. E. Dent, 1 1 ; Mr. H. G. Miller, 9 ; the Earl of Haddington, i ; Mr. Hornby, i ; Mr. Gladstone, i. Undoubtedly the success of Colonel North as an owner of greyhounds has been phenomenal as far as it has gone, and it is hardly to be wondered at that those who have filled in the forms should pronounce him the most successful courser of modern times. We believe it was Mr. W. J. Hope-Johnstone who recruited him to our ranks, and who acted as guide, philosopher, and friend during his novitiate. His first important purchases were, if we remember rightly, Jock Scot and Mickleton, both good second-rate dogs, with which he OPINIONS OF NOTED COURSERS 153 took a stake or two ; but in the Waterloo Cup of his first year (1888) he was represented by a real good one in Duke Mac- pherson, and when this puppy met an older and more seasoned opponent in Burnaby in the finale, we were treated to a most exciting tussle, and the old one only just pulled through. Shortly after. Colonel North had the misfortune to lose this most promising youngster ; but he was not to be denied, and, in the face of this disaster, he outstayed all opposition when FuUerton was placed before Mr. Rymill's rostrum at the memor- able sale of Messrs. Dent and Hibbert's greyhounds. The price (860/.) was a long one, but the purchase has proved most profit- able, and the young dog's first essay under the new ownership quite recouped the purchaser, who was also rewarded when he gave a good round sum for the beautiful half-sisters and co-divi- ders of the Waterloo Cup, Bit of Fashion and Miss Glendyne ; and it is somewhat remarkable that, when mated with the same dog, the bitch who was doubtless of inferior class has produced the best runners. At present Miss Glendyne's reputation as a matron rests upon decent performers such as Cagliostro and Not Out ; but how ran she compare in the stud-book with Bit of Fashion, the dam of Fullerton, Simonian, Young Fullerton, Jupon Vert, Kate Cuthbert, and others ? From Messrs. Thomson, Colonel North purchased Trough - end, who soon made a capital beginning to his career ; and when this dog, somewhat luckily be it confessed, divided the Cup with his kennel companion, also lucky in having met the mighty Herschel when that dog was quite spun out, the Colonel had good reason to shake hands heartily with him- self, and to glow with gratitude towards those friends who had counselled him when making selections for his kennel, and choosing a trainer. Nor did his success stop here ; for, as everyone interested in coursing knows, Fullerton stalled off all opposition, and easily secured the coveted blue ribbon of the leash the three following years. When we say easily we must pause to remark that the overthrow of the big dog was very nearly being brought about by his younger brother and 154 COURSING kennel companion Simonian, in the first round of the Cup, 1891 ; and we may mention in parenthesis that when the names of Colonel North's two cracks were drawn together from the classic jug, there was a good deal of commiseration showered on the owner ; but the sequel proved that nothing could have been more fortunate. When these two went to the slips there was much curiosity and excitement, as Mr. Dent had not hesitated to state his opinion that the younger dog was the faster, though he would not hear of the elder being beaten. To a bad hare the black came at a great pace from the slips, and soon showed in front. We were luckily placed for the run up, which was not a long one, and we should say the puppy finished a good length in front, Fullerton never having fairly got into his stride. After making the turn, however, Simonian went wide and let in the brindle, who put in two or three dashing points in his own inimitable style before letting in the other, who wrenched twice and then just failed to kill, when Fullerton took possession, and using puss smartly for a couple of minor points, picked her up and just won. This was a scrambling course with a weak hare, and till the flag went up there was some uncer- tainty as to the result. Later on the brindle improved on this form and wound up with another brilliant victory, whilst his early opponent and younger brother ran through the Purse in grand style. Here is Colonel North's record for his four essays in the classic event of the coursing year : — 1888 Duke Macph go ( Fullerton ^i Troughend . 1 890 Fullerton 1 89 1 Fullerton erson . . Ran up for Cup • s Divided Cup . Won Cup . Won Cup 1 89 1 Simonian . Won Purse 1892 Fullerton . Won Cup Besides these wonderful achievements, the Colonel has won a number of good stakes with such dogs as Mickleton, Tarset, Blue Green, Huic Holloa, Nuneaton, Not Out, Netheravon, Kate Cuthbert, &c. ; and as long as he sticks to the strain OPINIONS OF NOTED COURSERS 155 of which he is the fortunate possessor, nothing but a complete reversal of the luck that has followed him can prevent him from appropriating a good share of the plums of the season. The brilliant career of this meteor on the coursing firmament has thrown into shade the consistent shining of such stars as Mr. Dent and Mr. Miller. The former is so closely identified wnth the success of Colonel North that the honour is due to him even in a greater degree than to the owner ; not only did he breed Fullerton and his progenitors on the dam's side, but he also trained them for all their engage- ments, and certainly no trainer of modern times can show such a record as regards the special preparation requisite for success at Altcar. The eleven voters who named Mr. Dent as the most successful courser must have borne these facts in mind, and in the highest sense of the word theirs is a happy selection \ for we take it that there is a distinction to be drawn between a courser and an oivner, and in the former capacity there is no doubt that Mr. Dent easily bears off the palm. Mr. Miller, who comes third, has very great claims ; in fact, in all-round coursing his successes, if totted up, would, we fancy, exceed those of the master of Shortt Flatt, though as regards the Waterloo contest his record is not so brilliant. Misterton's victory came as a pleasant surprise, judging by the price at which he started ; and from this mighty sire sprang a host of winners to do honour to the Dorsetshire courser. Mullingar, Millington, Middleton, Madeleine, Mickleton, Match Girl are but a few from a long list, and a reference to the table of winners got by the Waterloo Cup winner of 1879 will reveal many a winner that credited Mr. Miller with good stakes. Of late years Mr. Gladstone, by the aid of Greentick and his descendants, can show a brilliant list of triumphs ; while the Messrs. Fawcett, who stick religiously to their own particular strain, can be quoted as coursers whose success has been conspicuous of late — a remark that also applies to Mr. Hornby and the Messrs. Thomson. Mr. Dent, of course, heads the list of breeders with 27 156 COURSING votes, and what we have already said renders further comment needless. Mr. Miller can, on the same grounds, be dismissed with the remark that he takes second place with 13 votes, whilst Mr. Hayward is the only other breeder who has gained suffrage. This gentleman, who bred, amongst a host of other good ones, that sterling little bitch Happy Rondelle (whose litter brothers and sisters, Have-a-Care, lulus, and Rotula, were all good winners) by Macpherson — Rota, has a wide knowledge and experience and a fine faculty for pedigrees, only equalled by that of Mr. Ellis and Mr. N. Dunn. Once more Mr. Dent heads the poll as a trainer with 23 votes, the late Archie Coke coming second with 11 and J. Coke following with 9 ; but as this vote is practically identical, the mass brings this kennel to 21 votes, which is a strong testimony to the esteem in which it is held and to the success that has attended its efforts. Many an owner can bear witness to the integrity and energy of the late veteran, and the establishment now presided over by his son is patronised by some of the most influential and enthusiastic followers of the greyhound. We now come to an opinion on the merits of the judges of the day. Two stand out conspicuously, and these are Mr. James Hedley and Mr. Brice. It is easy to see what the opinion of the coursing world is; for the former gains 31 votes to 7 scored by Mr. Brice, and the election of the former as judge of the Waterloo meeting year after year by a large majority speaks volumes for the confidence which nominators repose in him. We take it that, with Mr. Hedley put out of the question, Mr. Brice would distance all other opponents quite as markedly, as there is no doubt that he is held in very high esteem by all classes of coursing men and also by the pubhc. He is always steady, careful, and entirely impartial in his decisions, and his services, especially in the South, are in great request. The advent of Judge Hedley marked a new era in the sport ; for we are informed by the most competent authorities that the earlier systems and methods of OPINIONS OF NOTED COURSERS 157 deciding trials were far from satisfactory, and he (Mr. Hedley) was the first to mitigate the nuisance of undecideds — an evil that had previously flourished to an irritating and dangerous extent ; one courser of long experience informing us that in the old days he had seen the judge's hat come off no fewer than five times for one trial, which shows how the practice was used as a foil to the confusion and vacillation of judges. Tom Wilkinson scores as easily in the list of slippers as Mr. Hedley did in that of judges, receiving as many as 27 votes. Some of the older generation of coursers 'go for' Tom Raper, so that he is second with it. This slipper is beyond our memory, but the fathers of the sport speak of him in terms of the highest praise. Jeffery and Bootiman get I vote each, and they are undoubtedly painstaking and skilful men. Opinions differ considerably as to the merits of the various coursing grounds, but with regard to the English venues Amesbury is held in highest esteem, and is voted for by fifteen of those who filled up the forms. Altcar and Border Union are next with seven. Other grounds that are thought well of are Ashdown, Newmarket and Brigg. Carmichael is, par excel- lence^ the pick of the Scotch meetings, whilst Upper Nithsdale and Kelso Border Ground are also noticed. With one voice Lurgan is pronounced the ideal of Irish coursing, and we have been told that this ground will bear comparison with any in the United Kingdom. With reference to the question, Which have been the most successful sires within the last thirty years ? we will go somewhat further back, and give a rough sketch of the best strains as far as we have any information which can be relied upon ; and that, as all breeders know, at the cost of much time and temper, is most meagre. The average generation of a greyhound is about five years ; by which is meant, that from Topham's Snowball, who was pupped about 1796, to the present time we shall find in any pedigree about nineteen or twenty generations. And the usual 158 COURSING age of successful breeding seems to tally with this period. But there are very great exceptions. We have not been able to go further back than Lord Orford's Czarina, who was pupped about 1778. She was the grandmother of Snowball. It is recorded of her that she won forty- seven matches, and never was beaten. A melancholy interest attaches to her last appear- ance, as her owner. Lord Orford, was so excited at seeing his favourite win that he fell off his pony and died. This bitch is the progenitor of all our best greyhounds, we might almost say of all greyhounds of the present day. She was exceptional in every way. Not only was she an exception- ally good performer, but she was exceptional in breeding : we are told that she did not breed till she was thirteen years old, and then she bred Claret and Vengeance, two very good greyhounds, of which Claret was the sire of Snowball and Major. This is more exceptional than it would seem at first sight ; for very few bitches have bred at that age, and none that we know of have produced winners, even if they had litters. Mr. G. Carruthers's Meg, by Terrona, the winner of the Waterloo Cup, is the only instance we have come across at all like that of Czarina. She bred Bellini when she was twelve years old, and he in his turn has got some winners. We believe she had a litter when she was fourteen years old, but do not think any of the produce could be called successful. It is rare for greyhounds to produce anything good at the age of ten years. Out of a list of about 2,400 successful breeders, there are only about no of that age or more. Those of the age of eleven and twelve are very few indeed, certainly not twenty ; while not one has attained the age of Czarina — thirteen years. It is to be under- stood that the point dwelt upon is success in breeding, not in running. It is possible that Misterton may have winners to represent him begotten when he was thirteen years old ; but we cannot tell if they will, in their turn, be successful as breeders. That is the point. David and Meg are the only two we know who have produced successful breeders at the age of twelve years. OPINIONS OF NOTED COURSERS 159 It will now be clear that Czarina must have been truly an extraordinary greyhound ; and from her must date an improvement in the quality of the breed. Her sons, Claret and Vengeance, were famous ; but still more was Topham's Snowball, the Eclipse of the leash, and his brother, Thornton's Major, who were her grandsons. Snowball never was beaten, and his fame was so great that Sir Walter Scott immortalised him in verse. From him and from his brother Major come all our successful runners, through Senate and Oliver Twist. Most probably King Cob, who might be compared to Touch- stone, was of the same blood. He was of what would be called in those days the Newmarket breed. Gunshot, one of his ancestors, is said to be of Lord Rivers's , breed ; and Lord Rivers's Rhoda, a favourite brood bitch, was a granddaughter of Snowball. Other breeders about Newmarket, such as Inskip and Hassall, would value the strain as highly as he did. There is probably not a greyhound now running who has not King Cob as his progenitor. Lidderdale's Champion, Best's Streamer, and later on Hassall's Hercules and Longden's Old Derbyshire Grasper, were all of this breed. It is difficult for us at the present time to say which were the successful breeders among greyhounds in the early years of this century ; there was so much more private breeding then, and with it so much jealousy in keeping successful strains to their own kennel, and a dislike to give information on the subject. Un - fortunately for us, Thacker was aware of this feeling, and excused some of his mistakes in his ' Annual ' on the ground that it would have been an impertinence in him to have written to a breeder of greyhounds for information on the subject. As a consequence, the records of pedigrees are faulty in detail. When we come to Hill's Bachelor in 1828, and to Daintree's King Cob in 1838, we find ourselves on somewhat firmer ground. Captain Daintree was one of the first to put his dog at the service of the public, and from that time we find more pedigrees advertised. i6o COURSING From these two greyhounds come the modern breed. Bachelor was the ancestor of Bugle, who through Borron's Bluelight founded what might be called the Canaradzo breed ; including in this title the progeny of Lady Stormont, and that of Blackcloud. Bugle is also represented in the pedigree of David. Bachelor is likewise the ancestor of that other famous line of Senate and OHver Twist. Oliver Twist, who was said to be by no means a good dog himself, though he was second to Harlequin for the Waterloo Cup, was the sire of Fudge at a year old, and died two years afterwards. He was the grandsire of Judge and Sunbeam. The family of Judge was, and is, one of the most successful. Sunbeam, we think, still lives in Sir Thomas Brocklebank's strain, which is ever astonishing us by exhibitions of its stoutness. Oliver Twist's brother, Senate, has a larger and an equally successful family to represent him. The descendants of his sons, Junta and Sackcloth, still take high rank among the best. He is also the ancestor of Long's David. In this great sire the two branches are united, for he has also a double strain of King Cob. This other great branch in modern pedigrees, i.e. King Cob, >vas the sire of Figaro and The Tollwife, and grandsire of Sam. Through Figaro we have Bedlamite and the four sisters Mocking Bird, Marionette, and Humming Bird, and one without a name, which has made a name for herself, as the ancestor of Bab-at-the-Bowster, the most worthy descendant of Czarina. Bedlamite was the grandsire of Cardinal York, his brother Picton, and that great family. Mocking Bird, through Mansoor and Mechanic, has a large family to keep her name alive. Humming Bird lives in the progeny of Lady Stormont and her son Cashier, and joins her unnamed sister in Contango. Again, Sam was the progenitor of Bab-at-the-Bowster, and the union of Sam and The Tollwife produced Motley, and Mrs. Kitty Brown, the ancestors respectively of David and Chloe. OPINIONS OF NOTED COURSERS i6i Roughly speaking, here are the Hnes of the great sires of that time : Canaradzo, Judge, Cardinal York^ David. Contango represents the lines of Canaradzo and Cardinal York ; the dams of Misterton and Greentick (his son and grandson) furnish those of Judge and David. These two, the great sires of modern days, will be seen to be of almost the same blood ; and are worthy of the greatest sires in their several generations. Several strains of Mocking Bird and her sisters are to be found in both ; Greentick boasts also the names of Cerito, Racketty Hoppicker, Riot and Prizeflower in his ancestry. Some hold that the excellence of the greyhound comes more from the dam, and some believe that he will prove the greatest sire of all time. With these great names in addition to the others, ' Is it folly that we hope it may be so ? ' In some sort of way, the above account, as it may well be termed, of these two champion sires furnishes us with an answer as to the most successful sires of the last thirty years. Bugle, Bluelight, Beacon, Canaradzo, King Death, Judge, Senate, David, Sam, Figaro, Bedlamite, Cardinal York, have made their mark among the sires of old ; while Cashier, his son Contango, his grandson Ptarmigan, and the produce of the last from Gallant Foe, Jester, Peter, and Paris are among the best of later days. Bedfellow, a son, and Macpherson, a grandson,, of Contango have much the same blood. Cauld Kail has the addition of some very good lines, notably of Barrator, by many thought to have been the very best, certainly the most wonderful dog of his day ; of Jardine's Ladylike, and of Lord Eglinton's Waterloo, the champion of his day. Patent was of the same blood as the great-granddam of Greentick, and was great-grandsire of Gallant Foe ; but with these exceptions, neither he nor Clyto, who shares most of his lines with Greentick, will be found in the pedigrees of the day as often as their success in the first generation seemed to promise. M 1 62 COURSING It should be remarked that Beacon owes his chief, if not sole, representation in these days to his union with Scotland Yet, as Ptarmigan does to that with Gallant Foe. The family of the last couple, Ptarmigan and Gallant Foe, is probably the most distinguished in the annals of coursing. Princess Dagmar, Miss Glendyne, Bit of Fashion, FuUerton, all winners, two of them more than once, of the Waterloo Cup, and in 1 89 1 the v/inner and runner-up for the Cup, as well as the winners of the Purse and Plate, may be said to have established a record. Strange Idea should not be passed over. He was one of the successful sires of his day ; and furnished the winner of the Cup in Sea Cove. Brigadier was another favourite sire ; and he claims Honeymoon among the Waterloo roll. Bothal Park should also be named, being the sire of the winner of the Waterloo Cup and of the Gosforth Gold Cup ; these stakes requiring very different styles of running. And Fusilier should not be left out, as in his short career he was the sire of one of the Waterloo Cup winners in Muriel, and laid the foundation of the success of Mr. Thomas Graham's kennel with Annie Macpherson and Mary Hill. His strain is undoubtedly much valued by breeders. But, after all, it is difficult to say which sires are the most distinguished for their success. The grounds on which to found the distinction are so various. The number of winners of all kinds may be one standard : the numbers of winners of the first class may be the recommendation to others ; the power of perpetuating its good qualities, as breeders w^ould term it its prepotency, would be valued by another class. Then, again, the length of stud life would greatly modify any statistics. We have Oliver Twist, a sire at a year old, and •dead in three years ; Fusilier, with a stud life of about three years ; Macpherson, with four years, compared with David and Misterton, who lived till they were thirteen years old. Once more ; the means of popularising the dog or the fame of the kennel would have an effect. Bothal Park, for instance, OPINIONS OF NOTED COURSERS 163 was allowed to run loose in a pit village till Snowflight had made a name for him ; while Misterton was carefully managed, the best of mates were found for him, and a word was never wanted to illustrate the excellence of his produce. We add, as a sort of rough guide, the number of times in which each of the sires named appears in a collection of pedigrees of the winning strains of modern days. It must be noted that it cannot be accepted as a criterion of the success of each dog, for the above reasons ; besides which, the latest sires are credited with winners whose excellence in breeding has not yet been proved. The older sires occur only as the parents of those who preserved their names in the annals of breeding, not of running. Still, some interest may attach itself to the list Misterton . 168 Ptarmigan 40 Greentick . 87 Jester 39 Canaradzo . 68 Brigadier 36 Macpherson . ■ 59 Cardinal York 35 Patent . • 52 Cashier . 11 Bedfellow • 50 Pinkerton 31 Clyto . 49 Strange Idea . 27 Cauld Kail • 45 Bothal Park . 27 Contango . 40 King Death . 22 The following are rather before i860 : — David 45 Judge 35 Bedlamite .32 We now come to those questions which relate to coursing in general, and first we will go over the answers received to question No. 5, viz. 'In your opinion have greyhounds im- proved or deteriorated of late years ? To what do you attribute such improvement or deterioration ? ' There is a strong balance of opinion that pace has improved, but that pluck and determination have deteriorated, and many prominent coursers have attributed this state of things to the run on enclosed coursing, which lasted till the obvious evils arising therefrom, and the great danger that threatened 164 COURSING the sport, as it had hitherto been conducted, fairly frightened the better class of coursers into a steady opposition. A valuable opinion in this direction is given by Mr. J. Porter Porter, who says : — Now that enclosed coursing is losing popularity all must see the ruin that has arisen from it ; good greyhounds spoiled ; fluky, flashy ones benefited ; stamina and determination lost sight of ; encouragement to every public-house landlord to keep a dog of Unsighted sorts ; encouragement to small bookmakers and welshers ; and deterioration of all long-odds betting before a meeting, and conse- quent prejudice to good books ; strong incentive to run for money value only, and not for sport's sake. It now lies with the real sports- men of Great Britain and Ireland, who course for the love of the thing only, to raise the standard of coursing, which has sunk far below its proper level. The thanks of all may thus be ensured, no matter how a few may be annoyed for a year or two. Mr. Frank Richardson, a northern courser, who took to the sport as far back as 1850, but who for the past four or five OPINIONS OF NOTED COURSERS 165 years has ceased to maintain a kennel of greyhounds, declares himself Laudator te?nporis acti, and proceeds thus : — ' The en- closed meetings have spoiled the all-round characteristics of the greyhound ; for since these meetings were established he has been bred for speed alone. There is also much more in- breeding than in the olden time, which tends to deterioration.' The latter part of this opinion is well worthy of notice, and induces speculation as to whether or no in-breeding tends to lower the general standard of merit, and if so in what direction. Is it prejudicial to stamina? and does it promote speed? In our chapter on breeding this will be found fully discussed, and with it attention is called to the evils arising from the overstrained procreative powers of the fashionable sires of the day, a reason assigned by J. T. Shaw for what he holds to be a slight deterioration in our present running dogs. The opinion as to the evils arising from enclosed coursing and the consequent 'flashiness' and lack of stamina given by Messrs. Porter Porter and Frank Richardson is shared by Messrs. W. Ellis, J. L. Reed, J. Taylor, Horace Ledger, and A. J. Humphery, who all express themselves more or less strongly on the subject. Some there are who stoutly maintain that the greyhound is a decidedly improved animal, and they mostly attribute this desirable state of things to the greater care and attention be- stowed by coursers on breeding, rearing, kennelling and train- ing, as compared with the slipshod procedure of the days of yore. Amongst this number are Messrs. Dent, F. Graves, F. Dobson, G. M. Williams ; several others hold that the average of merit has been maintained. Now, to sum up this question, we are inclined to agree with those who point to flashy and roguish greyhounds as the product of the enclosed meetings, to admit a great improve- ment in average speed, and a corresponding falling off in stamina and courage ; and moreover we would point to a quality that may bear good fruit, but which, if abused, may be disastrous in its consequences, viz. mtelligence, which, if i66 COURSING unduly developed, is prone to induce cunning and trickery. We have already traversed the opinions of the old writers who held as an axiom that 'the greater the fool the better the greyhound,' for we do not believe that crass stupidity is cal- culated to fit the individual, human or animal, for any work that he may be set to do ; and many a noted greyhound has been well developed in the intellectual faculties without ever having run otherwise than bravely and honestly. Doubtless the enclosed meetings are responsible for the increase of this roguish propensity in far greater degree than the development of the intellect ; though in such cases a clever dog is far more likely to fall a victim to undesirable habits than if his efforts had been confined to the open country. A dog of average intelligence, running time after time at the same enclosure, cannot fail to notice the run of the hares ; and his deductions, though they may lead to his picking up puss before the escape is reached, will probably have lost him the verdict and possibly cost him a fatal knock on the head ; whereas this identical greyhound, if relegated to the open, would have sufficient intelligence to see that his old style of running did not lead to like results, and in the interests of his teeth he would find that honesty was the best poHcy. Still, although we agree as to the evil induced by a too free patronage of the enclosures, we cannot subscribe to the dictum that the alleged deterioration affects either the average or the aggregate, and we feel convinced that, though there may be more rogues than in bygone eras, there are undoubtedly more good greyhounds and fewer bad ones running than ever there were ; and we join those who attribute the improvement to the care, trouble, and expense that are nowadays bestowed in breeding, training, and running greyhounds capable of holding their own in the important stakes of the year. The fact of the matter is that in olden times the few good dogs stood out as Gullivers in Lilliput ; but now, unless a dog is quite phe- nomenal— a Fullerton, in fact — his merits are applauded when he wins ; then he is forgotten until the occasion of his next OPINIONS OF NOTED COURSERS 167 success, and he is continually meeting opponents of equal calibre and class. A parallel may be found in the case of the Turf ; for we opine that during the past decade we have been richer in the aggregate of good horses than we ever were previously, while the average of merit far surpasses that of the earlier portions of the century. Therefore our verdict on all counts is as follows : — 1. The average speed has increased. 2. Stamina and courage have decreased. 3. Both average and aggregate merit have improved. 4. Flashiness and roguishness are far more frequently met with. Rider. — The causes that have led to the unsatisfactory portion of this verdict are : — {a) The attention that has been bestowed on pace at the sacrifice of stamina and courage, consequent on breeding for the rostrum and the demand for ' speedy ones.' ip) The evils resulting from the system adoped at enclosures. {c) The breeding on lines which, however good, are too closely identified : whereby we do not mean in-breeding ; but rather the too free use of ' fashionable ' sires to the exclusion of a host of hardy, useful customers whose merits at the stud are never fairly tested, yet whose blood is of the bluest, and whose performances have been full of merit. A reference to the list of greyhounds running through the season will reveal the fact that there are not above half-a-dozen sires who have as many runners to represent them — which is remarkable, con- sidering the large number of sterling dogs advertised as at the service of the public. Before quitting this subject we must not forget to point out that, as every dark cloud has a silver lining, it would be unfair in the extreme to heap nothing but unquaH- fied abuse on all enclosed meetings. They have their uses and abuses, and in the former capacity should receive recog- nition from even the most bigoted of the old school. A large produce stake such as is run at Haydock is a most interest- ing event. For a puppy competing it is likely to be more 1 68 COURSING beneficial than the reverse, and may prove an excellent initia- tion, whereas the ordeal of the open with so large an entry might very well settle all future hope for those that got to the end of the stake. We now approach the much -vexed sapling question, viz. : — Do you think it prejudicial to the welfare of a sapling to run him — {a) At an enclosed meeting, where the shield is moved half-way up the ground ? {b) In the open ? The answers we have received to this query are so diverse and diametrically opposed to one another that it is almost impossible to arrive at a real consensus of opinion. For instance, Mr. Dent boldly declares that he would not hesitate to run saplings, and that in so doing their career would not be in any way prejudiced, bar accidents ; while Mr. J. L. Reed and others are strongly opposed to running saplings under any circumstances. Some see no harm in running them at en- closures, but condemn open coursing ; whilst others — a more limited band — hold that to run a youngster in the open, where he has a fair chance of killing his hare, is preferable to the first proposition, where they may use their hare to the escape, and then be disappointed — which they are apt to remember, to their owners' cost, when their legitimate running career com- mences— an argument in which there is some sound common sense, albeit the risks and dangers of over-exertion and heart- breaking trials are so great under such circumstances that the disadvantages must inevitably outweigh the advantages. Some hold that sapling-running is only detrimental when training is involved, whilst others declare that it must be injurious unless the youngster is well trained. Here we should certainly fall in with the views of the latter section. To run a sapling soft and quite untrained would surely be to court disaster. On the other hand, be it understood, we should not advocate a course of training such as would be given a mature greyhound. In foregoing pages the method of a OPINIONS OF NOTED COURSERS 169 semi-preparation has been carefully set forth, and it would be out of place to discuss the matter any further in the present chapter. To revert to the opinion of Mr. Dent and his followers, who pooh-pooh the idea of harm accruing to the sapling through running, that astute breeder, owner, and trainer points tri- umphantly to the fact that both Miss Glendyne and Bit of Ready for action Fashion won sapling stakes, which is a fair clincher to his argument. Bat, notwithstanding this, we fancy that statistics would go far to prove that winners of these affairs very seldom distinguish themselves subsequently, and that the exceptions might be quoted to prove the rule. To dig to the root of the matter and unravel the problem satisfactorily would be a hard I70 COURSING task, for it is difficult to ascribe a feasible reason why a trial of moderate length should be prejudicial to a young grey- hound. Take, for instance, one which is born, say, in January. He does well, gets over a mild attack of distemper, and by March of the following year is, as far as the eye and the hand can tell, a well-developed and mature youngster, as well fitted for the task as a two-year old racehorse or a University athlete. His speed may be at its prime ; his stamina should be sufficient to carry him through the apparently by no means trying ordeal of working his hare up half the space of an ordinary coursing enclosure. Without being trained to the hour, he is yet in a state of excitement, health, and fitness, carrying no superfluous flesh or fat within or without. He does what is asked, and shows no outward or visible signs of temporary distress or lasting deterioration ; he has seen a hare, and enjoyed the fiery joy of the chase ; henceforth he is on the alert, he has a degree of confidence lacking in the green novice, and he despises opposition. When the forthcommg campaign looms in the near future you have no reason to doubt his prowess. His performance as a sapling was unexceptionable, his physique and breeding all that could be desired ; but what is the result ? In nine cases out of ten he proves to be practically useless, and his retirement from public running rather than ' the Blue Ribbon of the Leash ' is the goal to which he is inevitably drifting. Hence, in summing up, we are reluctantly compelled to record our opinion that, though in theory there is no discernible reason why a mature saphng of fifteen months, in a state of physical well-being, is unfit to compete against one of his own age in a trial of limited length, practice, on the other hand, holds up a warning finger, and, despite the mighty achieve- ments of Miss Glendyne and her half-sister, the peerless matron Bit of Fashion, warns us that, if we have a sapling of excep- tional promise, his public efforts should be decayed until he enters upon the season of his legitimate puppyhood. With these remarks we bring to a close our analysis of the answers received to our circular. Such an expression of opinion from ■"%! ^ ^^'^• OPINIONS OF NOTED COURSERS 171 those whose experience in coursing matters carries immense weight must prove both interesting and instructive to all who follow the fortunes of the leash, and our most grateful thanks are tendered to them for having given so much time and thought to our appeal. CHAPTER IX DESCRIPTION AND POINTS OF THE GREYHOUND * Handsome is as handsome does ' is an old and trite adage ; but all who have had any intimate experience of the various species or breeds of dogs will agree with us that, as a rule, the best looking are the best. That exceptions are frequently met with cannot be gainsaid. Many a plain-looking greyhound has proved of sterling merit ; but then, if his points be carefully scanned, it will be found that they are well balanced, and that what is deficient in striking beauty is made up for by some remarkable development conducive to speed, stamina, or activity, or else that all points are so evenly balanced that no great merit or defect stands out prominently. Master McGrath was by no means an imposing specimen ; but he was com- DESCRIPTION AND POINTS OF GREYHOUND 173 pactly built, and had a phenomenal development of quarter that lent him remarkable propelling power which enabled him to put in that wonderful 'extra bit' when he was apparently fully ex- tended, a power shared by every great greyhound or racehorse. The sketch at the head of this chapter represents the out- line of a greyhound of well-balanced physique. The letters indicate the points familiar to all cynophilists, but useful as references when studying the description which ensues : — A A Head H Pastern-joint A B Muzzle I Foot A« Jaws J Brisket C Eye D N N Back ^-[Neck ^Ear L L Ribs LM Couplings N 0 Stifle E E Shoulder P Thighs E E ^ ^ K K Chest F Elbow Q Q Whip or tail R Hock F F Forearm S Second thighs F G Pastern The vertical line cutting the diagram divides the dog into : X Fore quarters z Hind quarters. The \jtxvc\.forehand is generally taken to include chest, shoulders, brisket, and forearm ; whilst quarters signifies back, couplings, stifle, thighs, second thighs, and gaskins ; but each term is elastic, and is often applied to the whole of the fore and hind quarters respectively. DESCRIPTION OF THE SHOW POINTS OF A GREYHOUND An old writer has summed up the description of the greyhound in the following rhyme : — Heade lyke a snayke Necke lyke a drayke Backe lyke a beame Cheste lyke a breame Foote lyke a catte Tayle lyke a ratte. 174 COURSING With regard to the head of the greyhound it is somewhat far-fetched to hken it to that of a snake, although the term is very frequently met with in modern journalism ; ' a long snake-like head ' being quite a cant phrase with advertisers of fox-terriers and other such dogs. * Neck like a drake ' is fair, for in this particular no dog can vie with the greyhound and his cousins-german as regards the acme of grace and symmetry. If novelists would only describe their heroines as being possessed of greyhound-like necks instead of swan-like ones, the simile would be more accept- able. It is madness to allow the mind to dwell on a vision of female loveliness attached to a swan-like neck ! ' Back like a beam ' would seem to imply a broad, flat back, the same width from end to end, which would, of course, be wrong ; but we must only take it as applying to its strength and breadth. * Chest like a bream ' is sufficiently descriptive, and quite applicable. ' Foot like a cat ' will not quite do, as the foot of a grey- hound is not as round as that of grimalkin, nor are the toes of the latter as arched as those of the former, though in closeness and compactness they resemble one another. ' Tail like a rat ' will do, except that we do not often see rats with the terminal pot-hook, characteristic of the greyhound. The following is a categorical description :— Head {includmg nose, muzzle, jaivs, eyes, ears, and skull). — 'That head is the best which is most often in front,' was the answer given by a well-known M.F.H. when asked which he considered the best type of foxhound head. This applies with almost equal force to the greyhound. We say ' almost ' advisedly, for the latter has more work to do with his head (physically speaking) than the former. The head itself should be long and tapering, the skull slightly domed, but flat at the junction with the neck ; the muzzle long and powerful, and the nose pointed ; the jaws strong, muscular, and level ; pig- jaws or overshot teeth are very objectionable, and prevent a dog DESCRIPTION AND POINTS OF GREYHOUND 175 from holding his hare when he has floored her. Undershot greyhounds are seldom met with, and should not be encouraged. The eyes are of moderate size, neither deep-set nor pedun- culated, and of varying colour ; generally speaking, a light eye in a dog of dark colour is to be avoided. The usual measure- ment of the head round the ears would be from 14I to 15^ inches according to sex and size, but a tape run round the eyes should show a considerably reduced measurement. The cheek should be very muscular, so as to lend additional strength to the striking and holding power of the jaw. The neck of the greyhound is peculiarly graceful, and its length, symmetry, and set on are of vital importance. It must be of sufficient length and flexibility to enable him to strike his hare without losing stride. A ewe neck — i.e. one that is concave above and convex beneath instead of the reverse — is a terrible fault, and one seldom met with, for the simple reason that all puppies thus afflicted are as a rule promptly destroyed. If the tape is run from the point of the nose to that of the shoulder, the junction of the head with the neck will, in a well- formed dog, be found to be midway. This fact is mentioned by ' Stonehenge,' and is well worth remembering, for where the test fails it will be found that either the head or the neck is too short for well-balanced symmetry. A long, graceful, and well-set neck adds greatly to that vague— but to experts well-understood — term, quality. Chest and shoulders. — The chest of the greyhound is somewhat flat, but deep and roomy, giving plenty of space for lungs and heart to bear the extra strain so often put on them. The shoulders are long, oblique, and laid well back, working smoothly on the flat surface of the ribs, the latter bein^; well separated and more convex as they approach the quarters It is of great importance that in none of these details excess should be noticeable, for unless a happy medium is maintained the effect of the whole is neutralised. The back is arched and very powerful and supple ; it is broad, and shows enormous muscular development. These 176 COURSING muscles should lie forward, setting the back well into the shoulder-blades, and rising prominently on each side of the spine, which lies, as it were, in a trough between the ridges. The quarters. — The general impression is one of great power, and in following a good and well-trained dog, it will strike the observer that the balance of power is uneven, and that the development of the hind quarters somewhat dwarfs that of the fore : such an impression as is produced in inverse ratio when meeti?tg a bulldog. This is not really the case, the fact being that the functions of the hind quarters are more obvious to the eye than those of the fore. The thighs are well breeched, and full of muscle. The stifle long and well bent. The second thighs and gaskins exceedingly muscular, and far more developed than in any other animal. This is one of the first points to which a practised courser will direct his eye. The hocks let down, strong, and well separated from the leg bone. The tail long and slightly curled at theextremity — a fine whip tail is sometimes insisted on, but some of the hardest and speedi- est strains show a considerable coarseness in the stern. This peculiarity is very noticeable in the dogs inbred to Contango. The fore legs should be straight, and the bone carried well down, muscular on the outer surface, but flat on the inner. The pasterns long, but very strong and springy. The feet of moderate size ; the middle toes, being slightly longer, make them appear more oval or pointed than round, but the impress will show that such is not the case. A flat foot is very bad, and a splay one horrible. The knuckles should be strong, close, and well-arched ; but it is a bad sign to see a dog too much ' on his toes.' Quality. — ^It is difficult to define this point ; but, as we previously hinted, it is easily discerned and appreciated by all ' doggy ' critics. It consists in a coup d^oeil, which precludes analysis, but which embraces symmetry, blood, life, grace, movement, condition, and freedom from all coarseness. DESCRIPTION AND POINTS OF GREYHOUND 177 Colour. —There is really no rule in this respect, and no allowance should be made in a scale of points. 'A good horse cannot be a bad colour,' is a saying as true when applied to a greyhound. A long chapter— and interesting to boot- could be written on the cause and effect of colour- production ; for a good deal remains to be learnt by breeders in this direc- tion. One fact is worth mentioning, however, which may only The rijrht sort and the wrong be due to the accident of chance. It is that, until Fullerton appeared, no brmdled dog had ever gained any marked distinc- tion, though numerous brindled bitches had had their names enrolled as classic winners. SCALE OF POINTS OF THE GREYHOUND General symmetry and quality . ... 10 Head and neck 20 Chest and shoulders 20 Back 10 Quarters . 20 Legs and feet . 20 Total. . . 100 N 178 COURSING This is a simple and compact scale, and would be convenient for judging a dog roughly ; but each of these items could be subdivided ; for instance, the quarters, " for which we have allowed 20 points, could be made up as follows : — Rump 3 Tail 2 Stifle .3 Thighs 3 Second thighs 5 Hocks 4 Total . . 20 And so on, with regard to the other divisions. In the Hunting volume of the Badminton Library the Duke of Beaufort gives a specimen of a good and a bad fox- hound. The latter is of course presented in the guise of such a monstrosity that no master or K.H. would ever have sent him out to walk ; but he serves as an example in every way of what a foxhound should not be. Following his Grace's example, we give (p. 17 7) the counter- feit presentments of two greyhounds. One. ' The right sort,' the other, 'The wrong.' The one a model of symmetry and power, the other a nightmare. Observe his ewe neck, his straight shoulder, his tucked-up chest, weak ribs, straight back, long couplings, straight stifles, muscleless thighs, upright hocks, long (and presumably splay) feet ; and you will at a glance perceive what a greyhound should not be. 179 CHAPTER X SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUES By Charles Richardson ('King Cob'). Clubs have at all times played an important part in the history of coursing, and the earliest records of the sport show that for many years the public meetings were all promoted by one or other of the existing clubs, which, according to historians of the leash, differed very widely in their rules, constitution, and method of conducting their fixtures. The early history of the clubs is so much mixed up with the early history of coursing, and so many once important associations have so long ceased to exist, that I shall pass over the historical part of the subject as quickly as possible, and shall deal almost exclusively with the clubs which are in existence to-day, as in writing of these I am able to trust my own experience instead of search- ing the badly* kept records of bygone generations. I have made some attempts to obtain particulars of the early doings of existing clubs ; but, except in a few instances, so little record has been kept, and so little is really known, that a successful issue of the investigations was quite out of the question, and with secretaries in office who had had innumerable pre- decessors, I was referred from one to another, and then back again, until I found the utter impossibility of getting correct information. To revert, however, for a moment to earlier times, the Swaffham Club in Norfolk, founded by Lord Orford in 1776, was the first association of coursers of which there is any record, and four years later the Ashdown Park Club was N 2 i8o COURSING brought into existence. Swaffham and Ashdown were both very powerful associations in bygone days, and among the rules of the former it is stated that the number of members was confined to the letters of the alphabet, each member taking a letter and also a colour. What the colour was used for is not shown, but each member was bound to use the parti- cular letter allotted to him in naming his dogs. The running consisted almost entirely of matches, and, curiously enough, everyone chose his own judge, the two judges for each match appointing an arbiter, who was to decide when they disagreed. At Swaffham, a 50/. cup was run for by sixteen greyhounds once a year, but stakes were the exception and matches the rule. Malton Club was founded in 1781, one year after Ash- down, with a membership limited to twenty, and two meetings annually, in November and February. The immortal Snowball won the cup twice, and in 1828 the hst of members embraced such well-known names as those of the Duke of Gordon, Lord Macdonald, Sir John V. B. Johnstone, Sir Bellingham Graham, Messrs. Lowther, Best, Vansittart, and Bower. A coursing club was founded at Louth, in Lincolnshire, in 1806, and in the same year the association at Ilsley, in Berk- shire, was established by Lord Rivers, one of the leading figures in early public coursing. About this time, too, the Newmarket Coursing Society sprang into existence, and in 181 2 Berkshire was again to the fore, with an association at Newbury, under the patronage of Lord Carnarvon. In 18 14, Mr. Goodlake formed a club to course on his estate of Letcombe BowerSjin Dorset, and one year later the Morfe Club was estab- lished by Mr. Davenport, already a member of the Swaffham, Ilsley, and Ashdown. This last sentence may not seem of much importance at first glance, but it shows that gentlemen were in the habit of taking their dogs long distances by road, years before railways had come into existence, and thus we find Mr. Davenport a member of clubs which are more than 150 miles apart. The next few years witnessed the establish- ment of several other coursing associations or clubs, but all, with- SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS i8i out a single exception, have ceased to exist ; although there is coursing at x\shdown to this day, the meetings of late years have been entirely open, and therefore quite out of my pro- vince. In 1825, Altcar Club was founded, and from that date a gradual change came over the spirit of public coursing, with the result that the Lancashire association in the course of a few years came to be looked upon as the most influential of all the clubs, and was soon recognised as the leader in all matters relating to innovation or reform. Since the foundation of Altcar, dozens of other clubs have had their day and have died out, and it is witli regard to these chiefly that the information obtainable is so meagre. In the Midlands, the Derbyshire, the Chester, the Sheffield, and the Burton-on-Trent were all important institutions for many years, whilst in the South, the Rock (Epsom), the Everley (Amesbury), the Spelthorne, and the Amicable had long and interesting careers. Of late years large open meetings have taken the place of club gatherings, and to-day Altcar and Ridg- way in Lancashire, the Scottish National, and the South of England are the only important associations of coursing men where the hard-and-fast rule is complied with to the effect that no dog is allowed to run which is not absolutely the sole property of a member. Other flourishing clubs there are, of the hybrid order, where certain stakes are ' club,' and certain others are open, or where all the stakes are open to the public after the members have taken what nominations they require, and in dealing with the associations now in existence I shall make mention of these half-and-half affairs, as they are just now so much in fashion. It may be observed that Altcar still takes the lead, whilst Ridgway comes in a good second. The North of England affords its members far the most meetings, and the Yorkshire has taken a much higher place of late ; the South of England is still comfortable and exclusive, and the Cliffe and Hundred of Hoo has come to the front with extraordinary rapidity. The new institution at Sleaford also bids fair to attain prestige. i82 COURSING ALTCAR COURSING CLUB Although it would seem that at the beginning of the present century some of the southern and eastern counties stood first in the coursing world, it has long been a recognised fact that Lancashire holds the pride of place, and at the present time we find the two most important clubs of the kingdom— Altcar and Ridgvvay — with their coursing grounds only twenty miles apart, and both situated near the coast-line of Southern Lancashire. The former club ' was established in the year 1825 by Viscount Molyneux, on his father's property near Liverpool,' and from that date to the present time the association has continually gained in importance, whilst ' its influence upon coursing has been an ever- increasing quantity.' The last sentence describes in a few words the position of the Altcar Club with regard to the rest of the coursing world, and although the words quoted are Mr. Harold Brocklebank's (the Honourable Secretary of the Altcar Club) and not mine, I can testify that they exactly bear out the general feeling with regard to Altcar which is held by coursing men who are not fortunate enough to be members of the premier association. Writing of Altcar historically, I must dip into Mr. Brockle- bank's interesting volume on the doings of his club, and, following the sentence about Viscount Molyneux, I must note his remarks that : — At the first meeting of the club the members acted as umpires for each other, but last season (probably 1827) when a cup was run for, a regular tryer was employed. The members dine together on the first day of the meeting at the Waterloo Hotel, Liverpool, when the matches for the cup and other sports are arranged. The hares are abundant, and the noble Earl of Sefton appears gratified when the sport is good. There are two meetings each season, the first in the early part of November and the last in the early part of February. The club consists of twenty members, and four honorary members. It will be seen from the above that in some particulars there has been little change, for the members still dine SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 183 together on the first day of the meetings, and annually hold their first fixture in the early part of November. Their second gathering has, however, been moved forward about a month, to make way for the Waterloo Cup, which is run for over the same ground ; and whereas the membership was twenty strong some sixty years ago, it is now of nearly three times the strength, whilst honorary members have almost disappeared from the list. This membership of Altcar is an honour which is eagerly coveted by all good coursers, and perhaps no higher evidence as to the prestige of the club can be afforded than the fact that the greatest care has always been main- tained whenever the ballot box has been in requisition. A courser who is elected a member of the Altcar Club has been thereby embossed with the hallmark of the leash, and it is satisfactory to note that the first great essentials for member- ship are a liberal patronage of the sport, and a line of conduct in public coursing which must be altogether above suspicion. Social position, too, is justly made something of a sine qua non, but it is not the case (as has been sometimes alleged) that the club is a peculiarly exclusive one. Although it recognises the fact that a long purse m coursing has as much power as else- where, it insists that an applicant shall have served a proper apprenticeship, and shall have proved himself (as far as can be judged) a stayer at the game. As may be easily understood, Lancashire men are numeri- cally stronger in the club than sportsmen from any other county ; but this is perfectly natural, for coursing is the sport of the County Palatine, and where the nature of the land will not admit of riding across country, it can easily be under- stood that greyhounds are to the Lancashire man what foxhounds and harriers are to the denizens of more accommo- dating counties. Then, again, the South Lancashire seaboard probably carries a greater head of hares than any other portion of the Kingdom, and go to whatever public coursing you will, nowhere else are to be seen the droves of hares which come down the ground at Altcar when beating operations have begun. i84 COURSING Reverting again for a moment to the histoiy of the Altcar Club, it should be noted that the far-famed Altcar Cup has been in existence almost from its first year. Produce Stakes were first introduced at the November meeting of 1852, since which time they have always figured at the earlier of the two annual gatherings. From that date up to 1887 the entries for this class of stake had been 5,486, of which number 2,620 started. The club matches at Ashdown and Amesbury in i860 and 1864 are perhaps the most important landmark in the Altcar history, and of these Mr. Brocklebank has furnished us with a complete history. Altcar Club Matches at Ashdown and Amesbury, i860 AND 1864 In commenting on the club's meetings during the several seasons, I have made no reference to the matches in which it took part in the years i860 and 1864 respectively, considering that they could best be treated in a separate notice. The first and least important of the matches took place over the Ashdown country, in the March of i860. It resulted from a challenge issued by the club to the World, to match sixteen grey- hounds in the Craven Challenge Cup against sixteen to be drawn by the members of the Ashdown Club from any source. Great interest centred in the contest, and when at the close of the first round the World stood with ten winners against six, it seemed as if the challengers were to have the worst of it ; but this unfortunate start was retrieved as the struggle progressed, and when Rosy Morn beat Little Wonder and Lord Sefton's Sweetbriar overthrew Veronica, the club was left with first and second, Mr. Randell being the ultimate winner with Rosy Morn. In addition to this important stake there w^ere a number of others in which North of the Trent was pitted against South, and much wrangling ensued on the point of guarding. At this distance of time it would serve no good purpose to enter into details of the arguments advanced on both sides ; certainly the visitors considered themselves aggrieved, and the conditions appear to have been so loosely drawn as to leave some justification for the feeling they manifested. It sounds somewhat un-English, but there does not appear to have been any anxiety manifested on the part of the World to try SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 185 conclusions again with the club, and the next proposal for a renewal of the contest appears to have come from the club itself ; for we read in vol. xii. of ' Stonehenge's ' Calendar, p. 59, that at the Wiltshire Champion Meeting in October, 1863, 'The Earl of Scfton, Lord Grey de Wilton, Viscount Uffington, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Brocklebank, Mr. J ebb, and Mr. Randell represented the Altcar Club (Mr. Hornby being absent from ill health), and broached the subject of a match between that fiourishmg institu- tion and the World at the next Amesbury Meeting, they taking sixteen nominations in the Ladies' Plate and Challenge Cup.' What brought about this proposal on the part of the club was, I understand, a suggestion made by Mr. Brocklebank to Mr. W. Long, the Secretary of the Wiltshire Club, that the dogs of the members of the Altcar Club, who had come so far should be guarded, as they had plenty of opportunities of competing against each other over their own ground. Finding his suggestion could not be met, Mr. Brocklebank hinted that the best way out of the difficulty would be to make a match, the club taking the one halt of the nominations in the plate and cup. The subject having been favourably discussed, the Earl of Sefton on behalf of the club at once took sixteen nominations in each stake for the following season, on condition of being guarded throughout. With a view to carrying the match to a successful issue I find that the Hon. Secretary of the club promptly issued the following circular, and the details it gives confirms the particulars above related. 'Dear Sir,— It has been arranged that sixteen nominations in the Challenge Cup for thirty-two greyhounds of all ages, and six- teen in the Ladies' Plate for thirty-two bitch puppies at the Wilt- shire Champion Meeting in October 1864, are to be taken by members of the Altcar Club. Dogs belonging to members of the club will be guarded throughout in the above-named stakes, and also in two open Produce Stakes which will be run for at the same time. ' I beg you will be so good as to let me know whether you wish to take any, and if so, what part in this engagement, before the Club Meeting in January at which the allotment of the nominations will be settled. — I am. Dear Sir, — yours truly, 'T. D. Hornby, Hon. Sec. ' Druids' Cross, Liverpool, December, 1863.' During the end of 1863 and early part of 1864 steps were taken on the part of the club and the world to perfect their arrangements, and it was agreed that, instead of two stakes in which the club and 1 86 COURSTKG the World should compete there should be three, and I find that in March 1864 the following circular was issued by the committee of the Amesbury Match, and as it gives the corrected programme and illustrates the vigour with which the contest was taken up, I think it is well to give it in full : — (For Private Circulation only.) VyiLTSHIRE CHAMPION COURSING MEETING will take place at Amesbury, on Monday, October 17, and following days, when the follow- ing stakes will be run for. THE GREAT WESTERN CUP, for an unlimited number of bitch puppies of 1863 ; entrance 5/. each, 2/. forfeit. To be named and close on August I. The Altcar Club to be guarded as long as possible. THE DRUID CUP, for dog puppies of 1863. The conditions the same as above. The Altcar Club to be guarded as long as possible. THE LADIES' CHALLENGE PLATE (No. i), for thirty-two bitch puppies of 1863 ; entrance 61. 10s. each, i/. from each nomination to be applied to the purchase of a bracelet for the winner, and 10s. from each nomi- nation for a brooch for the second. To close and name on the evening of the draw, October 17. Sixteen nominations in this stake have been taken by the Altcar Club, to contend against the World ; both parties to be guarded as long as possible. THE LADIES' CHALLENGE PLATE (No. 2), for thirty-two dog puppies of 1863 ; entry and conditions the same as in Ladies' Challenge Plate (No. i). THE CHALLENGE CUP, for thirty-two dogs and bitches of all ages ; entrance 61. xos. each. To close and name on the evening of the draw, October 17. Sixteen nominations have been taken by the Altcar Club, to contend against the World ; both parties to be guarded as long as possible. The rules of the National Club will be strictly enforced. No dog will be allowed to start on any account unless the stake be paid. Application to be made to the Hon. Secretary, Red House, Amesbury, Wilts. Thk Earl of Sefton, T. D. Hornby, Esq. \ C. Randell, Esq. W. Long, Esq. [ Committee of J. S. Bowles, Esq. Joshua East, Esq. ] ^^^^^S'"'<^''i' Mr. W. Long, Hon. Sec. Mr. Warwick, Judge. T. Raper, Slipper. It has been decided by the committee, who are engaged in collecting greyhounds which shall be best qualified to represent the World in the match with the Altcar Club at Amesbury, ne.xt October, that, as the honour of the World is at stake, the only principle to be adopted is that of ' Selection,' and that this must be SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 187 left entirely to the committee, or to those to whom they may depute the management of the matter. It is indispensable, therefore, that all apphcations which may have been already made to the Hon. Secretary, and entered by him, as well as future applications, shall be considered simply as Pro- visional, and not at all as entitling the applicant to the right of a nomination hereafter, in any of the Challenge Stakes. A memorandum has been made of the names of those who have applied to the Hon. Secretary ; but, with the view of facilitating the eventual selection, it will be very obliging, if all those who may be desirous to compete in a match, which promises to be one of unusual interest, should at once communicate with the committee. It is recommended, wherever it may be possible, that the owners of greyhounds shall endeavour at once to ascertain which are the most promising puppies, and forward full particulars to the committee, with names, ages, pedigrees, &c. The specifica- tion of their size and weight would also be useful. It is taken for granted that parties who may be anxious to com- pete in the match will also enter their puppies in the unlimited Open Produce Stakes, so as not to be without the opportunity ot running their greyhounds in a good stake, should they ultimately not be selected for the Challenge Stakes, such entry for the Produce Stakes to be made in due course to the Hon. Secretary, in pursuance of the advertisment. The present intention (should time and opportunity admit of its being carried out) is to appoint some day, of which notice will be given in the Autumn, previous to the Amesbury Meeting on which preliminary trials shall be arranged in the presence of a selected body of competent public coursers, to determine who shall be the champion representatives in the Challenge Stakes : and it is ex- pected that owners of greyhounds engaged in this competition will cheerfully agree to abide by the selection which shall be thus made. All communications on the part of the world, in regard to the Challenge Stakes, should be addressed to The Committee for the Amesbury Match, 15, Great Stanhope Street^ May Fair, IV., London? London, March 19, 1864. • The address given at the end of this circular was that of Mr. Marjoribanks (of Messrs. Coutts and Co.), who undertook the chief direction of the arrange- ments on the part of the World. 1 88 COURSING It will be noticed that, in addition to the three Challenge Stakes, there were two Open Stakes for puppies in which the club was to be guarded as long as possible. It is also worthy of note that, while the draw is announced for the 17th, it really took place on Saturday the 15th, and the running beginning on Monday extended over the whole week, the final tie for the Druid Cup not being run off till the Monday following. The Committee of the Altcar Club were not behind in their anxiety to be Avorthily represented, as the following circular shows : — ' March 31, 1864. 'All the members of the Altcar Club will be anxious that it should be represented as strongly as possible in the match-stakes, at Amesbury, in October next ; and in the meantime there may be some desirous either to give up a nomination, on finding the want of a dog of sufficient quality, or to acquire one in the expectation of being able to fill it with a good greyhound. As the committee appointed to act for the club at the Amesbury meeting, we beg leave to offer to be the medium of communication and arrangement in such cases, and shall be glad to hear from any member who may wish either to drop a nomination or to take one up. Letters to be addressed to the Secretary. 'Sefton, C. Randell, T. D. Hornby. * In case of any transfer of a nomination by private arrangement, it is requested that the secretary may be informed of it.' There probably was on both sides some difficulty in getting together the most reliable representatives, and the anxiety of the club to be fully prepared is strikingly exemplified in the annexed circular : — Altcar Club ' Dear Sir,— I beg to draw the attention of those members who think of attending the Amesbury Meeting to the advertisement in last Saturday's papers of the Great Western and Dru^d Cups (the entry for which closes on August i), and especially to the condition of a very small forfeit for puppies entered, if subsequently chosen to run in the Challenge Stakes, while they reta'n the option of starting again in the former stakes, if in the latter they are un- luckily put out in the first round. SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 189 ' I take this opportunity of expressing the hope that all the members will co-operate as far as possil^le towards success in the Challenge Stakes by promoting the entry of the best greyhounds that the club possesses. This can only be done by comparing notes as to the results of trials and by trials between the kennels of those members who are neighbours. If this view is adopted, I hope I may receive by-and-by from the members reports of the opinion they entertain of the form of their kennels, and of the trials on which the opinion is founded. If information can thus be brought together, it will not, I think, be difficult (without inter- fering with the rights of any gentleman who holds a nomination) to make arrangements, by common consent, which will ensure (at any rate pretty nearly) the representation of the club in the three Challenge Stakes by the greyhounds most likely to do it credit. ' Yours faithfully, 'T. D. Hornby, Hon. Sec. 'July 25, 1864. Of course between this time and the date of the meeting many details had to be adjusted, both as to competitors, quarters, &c. ; but at last all was arranged, and the meeting began on October 17, the draw for the three Challenge Stakes having taken place on the Saturday after dinner, at which Mr. Hornby, Mr. B. H. Jones, Mr. Randell, and Mr. Brocklebank repiesented the interests of the club. At the close of the first day it was found that the club were winners of eleven courses out of sixteen in the Bitch Puppy Stake, nine in the Dog Puppy Stake, and eleven in the All-Aged. This was a great triumph for the club, and it is satisfactory to note from the comments on the day in the ' Calendar ' that ' the members mustered in great force on the downs and bore their honours with a proper amount of modesty.' After the dinner in the evening the Open Stakes were drawn, and it was found that in the five stakes 208 different dogs had been engaged, probably a larger number than had ever been brought together at a meeting before. At the dinner on the evening of the second day's running a discussion took place as to guarding, and I give the comments upon the subject as given in the ' Calendar' : — 'Some little discussion took place among the subscribers as to the method to be adopted in drawing up the pairs in the Challenge Stakes, for which both sides were guarded ; but fortunately Mr. Randell had seen the necessity of providing against the chance of any dispute like that which occurred at Ashdown some years ago, and had set down his ideas 190 COURSING in writing, which were agreed to by all the other stewards piesent, and thus all discussion was avoided. The rule is clear enough, viz, : that the draw once made shall only be disturbed for the purpose of guarding. The programme set forth that both sides should be guarded as far as possible and tlje general practice in the north, where Scotch and English are usually guarded, is that the first brace of either side coming together shall be split and each shall take the next two of the opposite side. This was pro- posed by Mr. Randell and adopted, and 1 cannot see how it can be objected to, though next morning there were several mfluential coursers who thought the plan wrong.' The result of the third day's running was still in favour of the club, and after a full week's coursing the match ended in success attending them in the first and second events, while the World took the third. For the All-Aged Challenge Cup, Mr. T. T. C. Lister's Cheer Boys beat Mr. Borron's Bit of Fashion in the final, and it is rather remarkable that while the World had five representatives that survived the first round, all of these went down in the second. In the Challenge Bracelet for bitch puppies the same proportion stood in the first round, and Mr. Bartholomew's Mock Modesty managed to get into the fourth, but the final was fought out between Mr. Randell and Mr. G. A. Thompson, both members of the club, the former with Rising Star, by Beacon— Gregson's Polly, defeating Theatre Royal, by Cardinal York— Meg of the Mill. In the Challenge Bracelet for dog puppies, the fortune of war was com- pletely reversed, the World having three of the last four left in, and running first and second with Mr. Strachan's St. George by Seagull — Seaweed, and Mr. J. Jardine's Jacob by David — Goneril. In addition to these three thirty-twos, wherein the club dogs were guarded as far as practicable, there were two open stakes for bitch and dog puppies, seventy-four of the former and forty-six of the latter putting in an appearance. In these stakes the final positions were reversed, for while the club, in the person of Mr. Randell, won the Druid Cup for dogs with Revolving Light (beaten in the first round of the Challenge Bracelet, No. 2 for dog puppies by Jacob, one of the dividers), a brother of Rising Star, the World was first and second in the Great Western Cup for bitch puppies with Mr. Purser's Pastime by Seacombe — Peony, and Mr. S. Smith's Sultana by Sea Foam — Editha. The triumph of the club was very marked, especially as in the Open Stakes they were to a large extent overmatched in numbers by the representa- SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 191 tives of the World. Mr. Warwick, of Shrewsbury, who judged the meeting, declared to me long afterwards that the second day's coursing over Tanner's Down was the grandest he ever witnessed, course after course going right away from the slips for quite a couple of miles. On a moderate computation he calculated that he rode over 120 miles that day. For any further comments on the actual running I cannot do better than refer to the account of the meeting as it appears in vol. xiv. of the ' Coursing Calendar,' from which much interesting- information may be gathered, and in conclusion I quote from the remarks prefacing the report of the Saturday's running : — ' By two o'clock all but the deciding course of the Druid Cup were run and the party separated with a vivid impression of the charms of Salisbury Plain as a coursing ground, and a strong im- pression that we shall never see the like of the late meeting, which has gone off without a single contretemps. Of course, one side must lose ; but as the managers of the World have the consolation of knowing that no pains have been spared to bring the contest to an issue successful to themselves, and as after the first round the contest has been a very close one, they have no reason to feel in any way disgraced. The trouble of carrying through the manage- ment of the World in a meeting of this kind is so enormous, that I do not believe there is the slightest chance of a return match, especially as, with the prestige gained by the Altcar Club, it would be considerably increased.' The following is the return of the matches detailed in the fore- going article : — ASHDOWN PARK CHAMPION MEETING. MARCH i860 Stewards— \.o^T) Sefton, Lord UffingtOxV, Mr. T. D. Hornbv, Mr. Randell. Field >te oards— Mr. Etwall and Mr. Bowles. Fta£- Sienmrd—M.9.. Mallabey. Judge— Mr. J. H. M'George. Slipper— H. Spring ALL. Craven Challenge Cup (vv) Mr. King's bk d Ruler, by, u,,, ( ^'^l'^!; l' "* -J^^^f/ ^^ ^ >^:^^ ^ Rutland-Redwing [ ^^^' j f^^'^' ^X Junta-Humm.ng Bird (c) Capt. Bathurst's r b Bapla, by) J (w) Lady B. Craven's bkd Comet 0/ Skyrocket— Shame i " 1 '5.8, by Ld. Mayor— The Cure (i) (w) Mr. Oates's bk w d Glengarry, ) j (c) Mr. 'W. G. Borron's r d Bloody by Blackcap - Black Bess ^ " I Heart, by Beacon — ^Judy 19: COURSING ASHDOVVN PARK CHAMPION ME?:TING Continued. (c) Mr. C. Randell's r d Rosy Morn, » , , by Black Cloud— Riot [ ^^^^ (w) Mr. W. Long's bk d Little\ Wonder, by David — Lewanna.... ' " (C) Lord Grey de Wilton's f dj. Greek Fire, by Weapon — Pearl .. ' " (w) Mr. Hole's bk b Opal, by Bar-). rator — Integrity * " (c) Lord ^efton's r b Sweetbriar, 1 by Skyrocket — Shame ^ " (vv) Mr.' Minton's r d Sailor Prince, \ by Euclid — Minerva * " (w) Mr. Price's bk b Patience, by i Black Cloud— Rint.... f " (w) Mr. Allison ns be d Hyena, by ) Black Cloud — Young Eve '..^ " (C) Mr. Blundell's bk w b Barbelle, \ by Weapon — Japonica * " (c) Mr. Randell's bk b Refulgent, ) by Hlack Cloud— Riot ^ " (vv) xMr. Marflcet's bk b Monolo, by I Ranter — Highland Home ^ " (w) Mr. G. Gregson's be w d | Ravenswortli, by Conqueror — \ ,, Campfollower ' (w) Mr. Etwall ns bk wb Veronica, ) by Vauban — Valinda i " (w) Mr. G. Gregson's bk \v d Raw Recruit, by Harpoon — Cat-o'- nine-tails (c) Mr. Jebb's bk h Stirfs, by Peacemaker — Blooming Heather (w) Mr. Hill's bk b Hobl^v Bird, by Black Cloud— Lady (c) Mr. Hornby's bk b Hammer, by Junta — Jael (w) Lady E. Craven's f w d Flas/i- m.jn, by Larriston — Lively (i) (C) Mr. E. Haywood's f d Hardy, by Hardstone — Hummmg Top (c) Lord Utlington's bk wb Trip- tlie-Daisy, by Jacobite — Forest Queen ( (c) Mr. Spinks's bk w b Seasiiell, ^ by Weapon — Japonica ( (w) Mr. Loder's bk d Snap, by ^ Loyts — Vanitv i(w) Mr. T. L.' Bootes f b Wild ^ Wave, by Larriston — Fly J (c) Capt. Spencer's bk b Skittles, * by Black Cloud— Southport i (c) Mr. T. T. C. Lister's bk w d ^ Corporal, by Corporal — Clara ' (C) Mr. W. G. Borron's bk d Bold ^ Enterprise, by Beacon — Judy Bapta beat Ruler (i) Rosy Morn beat Glengarry Little Wonder beat (ireek Fire Sweetbriar beat Opal Barbelle beat Snilor Prince Patience beat Refuigent (i) Monolo beat Hyena Veronica beat Ravensworth Little Wonder beat Bapta Rosv Morn beat Patience Sweetbriar beat Monolo Veronica beat Barbelle Rosy Morn beat Little Wonder | Sweetbriar beat Veronica Mr. C. Randell's Rosy Morn (C) beat Lord Sefton's Sweetbriar (C) and won the Cup SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 193 WILTSHIRE CHAMPION (AMESBURY) MEETING. OCTOBER, 1864 Stewards — LORD Sefton, Messrs. T. D. Hornby, C. Randell, Bowles, AND Strachan. Field Stewards — Messrs. F. Long, C. Rendall, R. Loder, W. Long, and East. JHon. Sec. — Mr. W. Long. Judge — Mr. Warwick. Slipper— T. Raper. The Challenge Bracelet, No. i— Bitch Puppies \-[ C) Mr. C. Randell's bk w Rising > Star, by . Beacon — Gregson's I beat Polly .0) w) Mr. Saxton's be w Skylark, by ) ,, . David— Patch i C) Mr. Brocklebank's w Bowness, \ „ by Canaradzo— Bowfell I c) 'Mr. J. Brundrit's bk Birdseed,] „ . by Bramwell — Bird of Passage ... J c) Lord Sefton' s f Soubrette, by) ,, , Skyrocket — Susannah ) , c) Mr. T. T. C. Lister's r w Cora, ) ,, by Red Lion— Kitty ) w) Mr. W. Long's w \^Lulu, by> ,, Sea Foam— Editha i w) Mr. R. Jardine's f w Annahelle, by David — Goneril w) Mr. Bartholomew's be w Mock\ Modesty, by David— Bonnie Las- r sie ' c) Mr. Blanshard's r Brownie, by \ ■ Cardinal York— Baffle \ c) Mr. G. A. Thompson's w r> Theatre Royal, by Cardinal York L —Meg of the Mill ) C) Mr. Jebb's bk Regan, by Regan , —Judge Bitch \ C) Lord Grey de Wilton's bk 1 Guillemot, by Seagull— Golconda 1 C) Mr. B. H. Jones's bk Joke, by > Seagull — Jollity i C) Mr. Hornby's r w Her Majesty, \ by Balmoral — Martha f w) Mr. Cunningham's bd Belle of Eden, by Mongoose — Maid of the Vale }"i w) Mr. Price's be Pride of Bishton, by Seacombe — Patience C) Mr. Borron's r Bright Star, by Skyrocket— Tritonia w) Mr. Ellis's bk w Evening Bell, by Seacombe — Patience (i) w) Mr. East's f Entertainment, by Effort— Columbine W) Mr. Purser's w bd Purity, by Seacombe — Peony w) Mr. Morgan's bk Melody, by David — Brunette C) Mr. Spinks's w be Sea Fair, by Seacombe — sister to Blue Hat C) Lord Uffington's be w Rob- beena, by David— Trip the Daisy c) Mr. Jefferson's bd Ida, by Sea Foam or Derry — ^Java w) Lord Craven's bk t Country Dance, by Monk of Thorney — Mazourka w) Mr. J. C. Russell's bk Roseleaf, by Regan — Gambol w) Mr. Davy's bk t Convent Chime, by Monk of Thorney — Mazourka w) Mr. Deigh ton's bk Donna Diana, by Errand boy — Early Blossom w) Mr. F. Lorg's bd Celeste, by Bigwig — Columbine w) Mr. Hole's bk Yes, by Silver- sides — Quiver c) Mr. S. C. Lister's bk Lace, by Liverpool — Lovely Rising Star beat Skylark Lulu beat Bowness Birdseed beat Annabelle Mock Modesty beat Soubrette Cora beat Belle of Eden Theatre Royal beat Brownie Regan beat Guillemot Her Majesty beat Joke 194 COURSING WILTSHIRE CHAMPION M.Y.Y.TmQ— Continued. in Rising Star beat Lulu Mock Modesty beat Birdseed Theatre Royal beat Cora Regan beat Her Majesty IV Rising Star beat Mock Modesty | Theatre Royal beat Regan V Mr. C. Randell's Rising Star (C) beat Mr. G. A. Thompson's Theatre Royal (C) and won. Challenge Bracelet, No. 2— Dog Puppies w) Mr Strachan's f St. George^ by 1 ^^^^ Seagull — Seaweed i^ C) Lord Lurgan's f Master Mark, \ by Seagull — Lady Norah > " c) Mr. G. A. Thompson's r Teddy\ the Tiler, by Cardinal York — Meg r ,, of the Mill ' c) Mr. Borron's r Bright Belt, by j. Black Hag— Isabelle^ * " c) Col. Bathi rsi'sf ^4^^ of Trumps, \ by Bosphorus — Bapta ' '* c) Lord Sefton's bd Signal, by \ Sk' rocket — Susannah ■• " C) Mr. Blanshard's r Bubwith, by ) Baffler — Burning Shame ' " c) Lord Uffington's {King Cole, by I Effort— Enjoyment ^ " w) Mr. T. L. Reed' sf Rambler, by I Flashman — Risk ' " c) Mr. J. Brundrit's bk Bulrush, by Sister of Jacobite— Sister to Wild Wave w) Mr. Saxton's bk Samuel, by j. David— Patch > c) Mr. W. W. 'Rmndr\\.'?,r Accident, l by Joshua — sister t(j Gauzewing... ' w) Mr. J. ]2ix6.\n&' ST Jacob, by David I — Goneril ' W) Mr. East's f Evident, by Effort I — Enjoyment ' W) Mr. Davy's bk t Consternation, j. by David— Doubt ' w) Lord Craven's bk t Sir Roger de\ Coverley, by Monk of Thorney — j Mazourka c) Lord Grey de Wilton's bk Glamour (late Lan Chester), by The Wizard— Rosley w) Mr. Bland's f w Bishop of St. David's, by David — Rip w) Mr. R. Jardine's r Aimsfeld, by David— Goneril w) Mr. Fuggle's f Farmer Foster, by Woodman — Finesse w) Mr. Purser's be Pleader, by Seacombe — Peony (i) w) Mr. F. Long's r Chief Justice, by Bigwig — Columbine w) Mr. Trinder's w be Triad, by Seacombe— Lola (2) w) Mr. Esdaile's bk Sunbeam, by Shakespeare — Sister to Silverside c) Lord Sefton's bk Stingo, by The Brewer — Sylphide w) Mr. Dunlop's be The Blue Boy, by Canaradzo— Diana Vernon c) Mr. J. Johnston's bd Joint Stock, by the Brewer — Sr. to Streamer w) Mr. Loder's f Light-Train (i. Long-train ) , by Railroad — Lustre C) Mr. C. Randell's r Revolving Light, by Beacon-Gregson's Polly C) Mr. Hornby' sr Highland Chief", by Balmoral— Martha c) Mr. Brocklebank's w Broad- water,by Canaradzo — Bowfell (i) c) Mr. H. B. Jones's bk Jemshid, by Shooting Star — Jenny Caxon St. George beat Master Mark Teddy the Tiler beat Rambler Samuel beat Bright Belt Jacob beat Ace of Trumps Signal beat Evident Bubwith beat Consternation K. Cole beat Sir Roger de Coverley Accident (a bye), Bulrush (dr. i.) SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 195 WILTSHIRE CHAMPION yiY.Y.TV^G -Continued. St. George beat Teddy tha Tiler Samuel beat Signal Jacob beat Bubwith King Cole beat Accident St. George beat King Cole | Jacob beat Samuel V Mr. Strachan's St. George (W) and Mr. J. Jardine's Jacob (W) divided. The All-Aged Challenge Cup (c) Mr. B, H. Jones's be w d Jem , Mace, by Pugilist — Happy Lass I and ) (C) Mr. T. T. C. Lister's bk d) Cheer Boys, by Skyrocket — Clara i (c) Lord Sefton's r b Syringa, by i David — Sweetbr-iar ' (c) Mr. G. A. Thompson's bk w bj. Tirzah, by Mariner — Titmouse... ^ (w) Mr. S. Smith's w b Snowjlake, ) by Cantab — Enna > (C) Mr. B. H. Jones's f d Justice, by ) Vengeance— Swiss * (w) Mr. Lea's bk b Coronella, by) Blackadder — Luck's All ' (c) Mr. Borron's bk w b Bit of Fashion, by Black Flag — Bit of Fancy (c) Mr. Jebb's w f b Dog-sick, by ) Skew — Desdemona ' (c) Mr. Spinks's r b Sea Girl, by l Seacombe— Sea Flower ' (w) Lord Craven's f w d Commercial L Traveller, by Wrangler— Welfare ' (w) Mr. Price's bd w d Patent, by l David — Lady Clara ' (c) Lord Sefton's r d Sackbut, by I David — Sweetbriar (a bye) ' (w) Mr. Dunlop's bk d Marshall Forivard, by Picton — Coquette... ' (c) Mr. Blanshard's f d Boanerges, I by Canaradzo — Baffle ' c) Mr. Brocklebank's bk d Baron ) Lyndhurst, by Nester— Blengdale * Jem Mace beat Snowflake Cheer Boys beat Coronella Syringa beat Commercial Traveller Tirzah beat Patent beat \ ^^ ^^' Gregson's bk w b Torpedo, \ by Canaradzo — Sealed Orders ( (w) Mr. Cunningham's wbk b Belle \ of the Campbells, by Canaradzo — i Sister to Black Hy (i) ( ( W) Mr. Bland's be w d Beadle of the 1 Parish, by The Brewer — Haidt-e f (vv) Mr. Gree 's r b Gipsy Queen, I by Twixt — Thanks i (c) Mr. Borron's f w b Bon& Fide, ' by Flashman — Elfin I {yi) Mr. W.Long's fd Loud Timbrel, ^ by Lapidiit — Kissing Crust (i) \ (c) Lord Lurgan's bd w b Lady ^ Java, by David — Java J (\v) Mr. J. Jardine's bk d Owersby, ' by Selby — Mazourka J (w) Mr. Boote ns bk b Trip the ' Daisy, by Brandy — Polly (w) Mr. Marshall's bk b Riotous Hoppicker, by Buckshorn — Racketty Hoppicker J (c) \^oxA\}^ng\.ovL?,ihEzangeline, ' by Effort — Ju>t Decision ! (c) Mr. Brocklebank's r b Bindweed, 1 by David — Sweetbriar j (vv)'Mr. Loder's r b Lyra, by David t —Czar Bitch (dr.) i (C) Mr. C. Randell's bd w b Rho- ' danthe, by Dalgig — Myrtle i (w) Mr. Saxton's be b Sea Nymph, ^ by Seacombe— Prairie Flower J (w) Mr. Ellis's bk b Evening Star, ' by Baronet — Muslin Justice beat Marshal Forward Bit of Fashion beat Dod-sick(r, dr.) Sea Girl beat Sackbut Baron Lyndhurst beat Boanerges (i) 196 COURSING WILTSHIRE CHAMPION WE.KYmO— Continued. in Cheer Boys beat Jem Mace I Bit of Fashion beat Justice Tirzah beat Syringa | Baron Lyndhtirst beat Sea Girl IV Cheer Boys beat Tirzah | Bit of Fashion beat B. Lyndhurst Mr. T. T. C. Lister's Cheer Boys (C) beat Mr. Borron's Bit of Fashion (C) and won The Altcar meetings of to-day are among the most popular coursing fixtures of the year, and are attended by coursers from all parts of the kingdom as well as by the club members ; indeed, the January meeting is now-a-days a huge gathering, and probably more interest is attached to the Members' Cup than to any other stake of the year, the Waterloo Cup alone excepted. When the enclosures were at their zenith some few years ago, their influence had an effect upon nearly all open country meetings ; but at Altcar, in January, this was less noticeable than elsewhere, and during the time I have just referred to the stake filled as well as ever, such cele- brities as Stitch in Time, Hornpipe, Greentick, Penelope II. and Herschel having either won or divided the coveted trophy. The ground coursed over is the same estate which is used for the Waterloo Cup, but the beats are varied, and while the Withins was a few years ago the best going and productive of the strongest hares, there has lately been a leaning to North End, Monks Carr, and the meadows below Lydiate Station. Hares, as I have just stated, are exceedingly numerous on all portions of Lord Sefton's estate, but wet weather has an ad- verse effect upon their well being, and during the last two or three seasons it has unfortunately been the case that the sport has sadly suffered from their weakness. A few days of frost and hard weather before a meeting generally insure the strength of the game ; but the fact is that there are no dry hillsides of which hares can avail themselves in long-continued rain, and the SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 197 moisture hangs so much about the flats that poor puss's food becomes far too soft, and she suffers accordingly. Occasionally a third meeting is held in March, but for the reason just stated this has not taken place for the last two or three seasons. Luckily for spectators of Altcar coursing, there are plenty of high mud banks on which the crowd can be placed, and although it is sometimes necessary to take up one's position on the dead level and in sloppy ground, this is the exception and not the rule. THE BOTHAL CLUB Although little is now heard of this once celebrated club, it is still in existence, and, thanks to three of its chief patrons, the Hon. W. C. Ellis, Dr. Richardson of Harbottle, and Mr. Nathaniel Dunn of Newcastle-on-Tyne, the coursing world was placed in possession, some four or five years ago, of the ' Bothal Club Stud Book,' an amusing and interesting work, which dealt with north-country coursing generally, and the Bothal Club in particular. The writer was luckily fortunate enough to visit Bothal when the meetings were at their zenith, some twenty years since, and in his opinion the place was then quite unique as regards the amount of enthusiasm shown by the natives. Even now, at the revived meetings, *the crowd ' is wonderfully large ; but the pernicious Ground Game Act has done its deadly work here as elsewhere, and, in spite of the efforts of Mr. Ellis and Mr. John Stott of Coneygarth, only comparatively small programmes are now possible. Dealing with the history of the club, it must be mentioned that the present society only came into existence in 1866, but as the ground was simply first-rate, coursing had long been a favourite sport of the district, and other clubs had previously availed themselves of the permission granted by the Lord of the Manor. Thus, we find in 'Thacker' that the Morpeth Club held a meeting over the Bothal Barony in 1841, by per- mission of the Rev. Mr. Parry, the rector, when Mr. Jobling won a fifteen -dog stake, value eighty guineas. The Morpeth Club at this period was a very powerful association of coursers, 198 COURSING who had 4eave ' over all the best ground in South Northum- berland, and whose meetings were numerous and largely patronised. There must, however, have been something wrong with the customs in existence at their gatherings, for about 1850 the club died out, and, as far as Bothal is concerned, the Newcastle, Northumberland, and Durham Union took its place The newcomer did not last long, but was soon merged into the North of England Club, and then, after a short interval, the Bothal Club, well supported by the tenants on the estate, sprang into existence. The promoters of the new venture were Mr. Ellis, the rector of the parish, a relation of the then Duke of Portland, whose property Bothal was, and Mr. Angus of Whitfield, one of the largest tenants on the estate. These gentlemen actually succeeded in organising fortnightly private meetings, which at once ' caught on ' with the inhabitants of the district. In 1866 the first public meet- ing was held, fifty-four greyhounds taking part in the puppy stakes, and victory going to Mr. EUis's El Soudan, among the defeated lot being such a first-rate after-performer as Hyslop's Strange Idea, a subsequent winner of the Waterloo Plate, and the sire of a Waterloo Cup hero, in Sea Cove, two years later. The succeeding years saw an enormous in- crease in the Bothal entries, and as the place became more widely known, so much the more did it grow fashionable as a trial ground for puppies ; indeed, such produce stakes in the open were never equalled elsewhere, the entry in 1870, when Cottage Girl and Charming Belle divided, reaching 345 for one of them. This enormous number of subscribers caused a division of dogs and bitches, with the result that in 1871 the former numbered 209, the bitches reaching the gigantic total of 242. The big entries were found to be quite unwork- able, and, consequently, the next year the stake was limited to members only. Even then 259 names were set down. At this period there were five members' meetings in a year. With the victory of Gallant Foe in 1875 the early history of the club ceases, as for some years afterwards the meetings were in abeyance. SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 199 I need hardly remind my readers that Gallant Foe was the mother of that wonderful litter which included, amongst others, Princess Dagmar, a winner of the Waterloo Cup ; Paris, the sire of Miss Glendyne and Bit of Fashion, and therefore the grandsire of Fullerton, Palm Bloom, Prenez Garde, and Path- finder. Gallant Foe, as Mr. Ellis tells us, was altogether a Bothal Club greyhound, for her sire was Mr. Nathaniel Dunn's Don Antonio, by Mr. Ellis's Elsecar, from Coxon's Peggy Taft, and her mother Wilson's Meggie Smith ; all four owners mentioned being members of the club. During the ten years which followed the victory of Gallant Foe only one public meeting took place over the Bothal ground, but in 1884 a revival was brought about, and with Mr. Ellis showing all his old energy in the interests of the Northumber- land coursers, the club gatherings soon began to be of import- ance again. It was, however, never intended that any more large stakes should be attempted, and thus the revived meet- ings have been kept within limits. For all that, the number of members of the Bothal Club is still very considerable, and as long as the supply of hares holds out, the fixtures will be quite as important as any held in Northumberland. During the last two or three years the meetings have been run off as joint affairs of the Bothal and North of England Clubs, and as this arrangement allows of the services of Mr. Thomas Snowdon as secretary, the prosperity of the gatherings has been increased. And now, for the benefit of south-country coursers, I may add that the ground is, most of it, quite first-rate. There is a mixture of arable and grass, with hedges between ; but the grass predominates, and the large field between two small coverts, which is called ' Abyssinia,' is as grand a trial ground as any to be found in England. From the Cooper's shop at Ashington, on either side of the lane, right down to Longhirst, the coursing is always unexceptionable, and it is only when the few rough fields, directly east of Longhirst station, are used, that the fluky element is ever likely to enter into the trials. 200 COVRSJNG The venue is on the main Hne of the North-Eastern Railway from Newcastle to Edinburgh, and a morning train from the first-named place (about twenty miles) brings visitors to Long- hirst exactly at the right time. Those who come from a dis- tance with greyhounds can stay at Morpeth, five miles away, or at the little watering-place of Newbiggin-on-the-Sea, four miles off, on the eastern side of the ground. The North Seaton estate, which adjoins Bothal on the east side, has also been a favourite Northumbrian coursing-ground for a long period. Since Mr. I. Lowthian Bell went to reside at North Seaton Hall, some half-dozen years ago, the revival, which I mentioned in connection with Bothal just now, has extended to the sister estate, and for the last two or three seasons the meetings have been joint affairs, under the auspices of the North of England Club, the coursing taking place one day on North Seaton and the other day on the Bothal estate. Mr. Bell has been most generous in his numerous presentations of tenants' prizes, and no Northern courser has worked harder in the interests of the sport, or has had more difficulties to contend with, he having essayed — with success— the task of getting back a head of game where, owing to the Ground Game Act, it had almost ceased to exist. The North Seaton ground is very similar to that of Bothal, and between the line of railway and the village first-rate coursing is always obtained, the big pastures round the 'ten acre plantation' being particularly good. Nearer the sea a high ridge and furrow, even on the grass, slightly spoils the view, and causes occasional flukes, but on the whole the place ranks high among coursing fields. The hares are always strong and never affected by wet as in some parts of Lancashire. CLIFFE AND HUNDRED OF HOO CLUB Of late years the Cliffe and Hundred of Hoo Association for the Preservation of Hares and Wildfowl, to give it its proper title, has become a very important factor in south- SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS country coursing ; indeed, the club is now the most influ- ential within hail of London. Its rise has been of a very rapid description, whilst its ever-increasing popularity is a sure sign that coursing still has a great hold upon the Kentish sportsmen, who assemble in great numbers whenever it is announced that the hare will be publicly coursed upon the A Cliffe meeting marshes which lie between the chalk cliffs and the river wall of the Thames m Northern Kent. The meetings are well worthy of more than passing men- tion ; for the venue, now that the North Woolwich and Amicable clubs, whose meetings used to be held on Plumstead Marshes and about Bushey Park and Hampton respectively, have ceased to exist, lies nearer to London than any other coursing- ground, and the sport enjoyed is of the good old-fashioned type, where hares are walked up and slipped at as they leave their 202 COURSING ' form.' The headquarters of the Chffe Club are at the Bull Hotel, Rochester, and this old-fashioned inn, with its museum of curiosities and countless relics of the late Charles Dickens, is well worth a visit. Here it was that Mr. Jingle abstracted Mr. Winkle's dress-coat while that worthy was enjoying a post- prandial nap, and in the long room, where the club members now dine, was celebrated the famous ball, whereat the extra- ordinary strolling player cut out Dr. Slammer of the 99th with the widow of Rochester. It appears that Dickens had actual foundation for this particular story, for much the same thing had really occurred at the Bull some years before ' Pickwick ' w^as written, and to this day one is shown the two bedrooms, one within the other, where the two Pickwickians slept, and from the inside one of which the garment was taken. Be that, however, as it may be, the Bull is full of interest to a lover of Dickens's works, and apart from the coursing attraction at Cliffe there is much to be seen in Rochester and Chatham which will repay the stranger from a distance. At the December meeting of the Cliffe Club, w^hich is the most important fixture of their season, an annual dinner is given at the Bull Hotel to the landholders on the Cliife Marshes, which function is generally attended by nearly one hundred members and friends, and where, with the popular and versatile Dr. Swayne in the chair, the fun generally grows fast and (almost) furious as the evening wears on. I have, however, heard at this dinner better speeches on coursing than I have ever listened to elsewhere, and the visitor who is not identified with the neighbourhood of Cliffe cannot fail to be impressed with the good feeUng which exists between the club and the tenants of the land coursed over. The drive from Rochester to the marshes is through about seven miles of pretty country, and the hotel need not be left before 9 a.m., the ' meet ' being usually fixed for one hour later. This reminds me, too, that Gravesend is also well with- in reach, either by road or rail, so that anyone preferring the - "\ 1 ^X^^^^L V - }»§ ^ ,^ ^ "'"•• ^aB^a. ;^-.^>-.,^ d2^ ' ' "^ ~ "T7 l"JF*il M .^ ^ ,. ^M^ ^ "---.-.■_.., ^>< ^ k' ■-r - ' W^ " A 3 ■ t ' ', ^"^ — SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 203 well-known hostelries overlooking the river in the last-mentioned town have their choice of quarters. I myself have tried both Rochester and Gravesend, and find that the only advantage in the former place lies in the fact that the express trains to Chatham are available. With meetings recurring every two or three weeks during the season, the stakes at Cliffe are made to suit all comers, and, ranging from 30^. to 4/. \os. and 5/. 10^., the average is probably about 3/. 3i'. The one-day fixtures are entirely confined to members of the club, but at the larger meetings the more important stakes are of the hybrid character so often met with nowadays, i.e. open to the public after the members have taken what subscriptions they may require. Thus we have seen here, at a December meeting, dogs from Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and South Wales, in addition to the usual supply from the Southern Counties, and curiously enough many owners have sent animals in order that they may get something approaching a Waterloo trial. I shall refer to this subject again directly, but first it may be as well tu mention that the coursing ground is of enormous extent, and almost entirely composed of what are called ' Marshes ' in the local vernacular, but they really are the soundest old pasture, enclosures intersected and divided by dykes or ditches. The country lies on the south side of the river Thames, and, be- ginning at a point half-a-dozen miles east of Gravesend, it extends to Port Victoria, five-and-twenty miles away. Readers who are acquainted with the lower reaches of the Thames will know that the cliffs lie back some four miles from the river between Gravesend and Sheerness, and the tract between the sea-wall and the higher land — 25 x 4 miles — forms the happy hunting ground of the Cliffe Club. Oxen and sheep are grazed on the marshes, and one has only to glance once at the hve stock to be able to form an opinion as to the enormous feeding properties of the grass, which necessarily must be also the regular diet of the hares. Down on the ' Isle of Grain ' close to Port Victoria there is some arable land, but as it lies 204 COURSING fifteen miles from Cliffe, and is not very plentifully populated by hares, it is seldom resorted to, and indeed is mostly used for trials. I have occasionally seen rare good coursing here, and once remember to have witnessed the driving of a few- acres of Brussels sprouts, with the result that half a dozen capital spins were obtained. The first meeting of the club's season is usually held in the same week as that of the South of England Club at Stock- bridge, and sometimes at this fixture long grass is a sad de- terrent to the sport. Indeed, the ' marshes ' have to be very carefully chosen early in the autumn, or else the mortality among the hares is out of proportion, and the trials too short and fluky. As soon as there has been half a dozen degrees of frost in the night, the grass is laid, and the going of the very best. The hares are on the whole very strong indeed, so much so that ' homes ' are scattered about the marshes, and if this was .not the case there would be any amount of distress amongst the puppies, who, as it is, sometimes get courses of abnormal length. The run up is perhaps the least satisfactory part of the busi- ness, the lead being often of very little value at Cliffe, owing to the fact that a majority of the hares lie close to the drain-side, and that in consequence the shpper is obliged to give them very short law, or else miss them altogether. The drains are very much wider than those at Altcar, and hares rarely jump them when coursed, but usually make for the gateway and bridge leading on to the next marsh. There are, generally speaking, an entrance and exit to each enclosure, and great pains are taken to prevent the crowd getting in the way of these modes of egress ; the result is that the drains are seldom used by puss unless she is very hard pressed, and then she generally tries to swim, and is often seized in the water. From the above it will be noticed that Cliffe and Altcar are really quite dissimilar, and I have frequently met disappointed individuals who have taken dogs into Kent with a view to a Waterloo trial, and who, when considering the matter afterwards, have recollected that no drain jumping was brought into play. SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 205 No beaters are engaged at Cliffe, but the farmers and others generally ride in line up and down the marshes with the Slipper and Judge together in the centre. The progress is a steady three miles and a half per hour, the crowd following behind the horses and never getting a rest for a moment, unless it happens that a marsh is walked over to which there is only one entrance. There is absolutely no galloping when a course is going on, and as at Altcar it is often impossible for the judge to leave the marsh in which the dogs were slipped. I have seen Mr. Brice ride a long way occasionally, but this has always occurred when he has been able to follow his dogs through an open gate. Coursing generally ranges over a period of from six to seven hours — according to the time of year— with half an hour's interval for lunch. The spectator, therefore, gets a fair day's walking in addition to the sport, and I have often wondered how the Lancashire men, who stand still whilst all their hares are driven for them, would like the change to the primitive style of the Kentish marshes. An intending visitor should write to Rochester for a hack if he does not care about pedestrian exercise, and I may mention that once, when suffering from a sprained ankle, I borrowed a pony from the shepherd, upon whose back (the pony's) I was able to write the full report of a three days' meeting. Although visitors generally choose Rochester or Gravesend for their temporary quarters when running dogs at Cliffe, I must not omit to state that there is a station only a mile from the village — on the single branch line from Gravesend to Port Victoria — and this brings to my mind a somewhat amusing recollection in connection with the splendid time kept by the railway which serves the district. The incident took place two or three years ago, when the Company referred to used to run a special to Cliffe, and was as follows. The special had come down fairly well filled in the morning, and as the day was the last of the meeting we, who had been stopping in Kent, were very anxious to know what time it returned, as by availing ourselves of it the journey to London ought to have been 2o6 COURSING shortened by two or three hours. We were informed that 4.45 P.M. was the appointed hour, and when four o'clock arrived we were just finishing close to the Sea Wall, nearly four miles from the station. I was very anxious to get to town, as my ' copy ' was required as soon as possible, and bearing this in mind I made the best of my way across the marshes, almost at a run. When I reached the village the church clock showed that it was already a quarter to five, but I jumped into a tradesman's trap that was standing about, and was at the railway in another five minutes. I need not have hurried, for the waiting-room was full of coursers who had come on before, and they all reported that not only had the special not started, but that it had been sent down to Port Victoria, instead of being shunted into the Cliffe siding. The officials, however, told us they expected it back every moment, and so we waited, an impromptu concert taking place in the waiting-room. Meanwhile half an hour passed, and still no train — an hour, and then another quarter, when (at six o'clock) a porter began to ring a bell furiously. We all rushed on to the platform, only to be told that 'the bell meant six o'clock, time to change hands in the Signal Cabin.' Another quarter was passed, and then someone suddenly fancied that a green light, a long way down the line, was moving towards us. The porter could give no information, but the betting fraternity began to gamble over the apparition, and in about ten minutes it was placed beyond doubt that the lamp was moving towards us. Everyone waited anxiously, wondering whether this was the special, and when lighted compartments were discerned our fears were set at rest. On came the train, the pace increasing as it neared the platform, and as it steamed slowly /^j-/ the crowd, someone shouted out to the functionary whose head was seen looking out of the van, * Is that the special, guard ? ' ' Oh no, sir,' was the reply. ' This is a yesterday's train that was lost in the fog ; we're now taking it back to Charing Cross.' The day before had been extremely foggy — indeed, coursing had been interrupted for some hours — and the official, like SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 207 many others on the line referred to, was so accustomed to getting chaffed, that he had his Httle bolt ready for us the moment he was tackled. THE ESSEX CLUB This club in itself is of such minor importance that, were I to place it upon its own merits, half a dozen lines would suffice to describe its doings ; but as it is mixed up with one of the most important southern fixtures, I may treat of the combined affair at rather greater length. The Essex Club is, in fact, affiliated to the Southminster meeting, and although that gathering is nominally celebrated under the wing of the club, the open stakes are of far larger dimensions than those confined to members, the support of the public being absolutely neces- sary to maintain the present standard. How matters would be, supposing the Essex Club was properly worked up — like its neighbour on the south side of the Thames at Cliffe— I do not pretend to know, but certain it is that Southminster coursing has an exceptional popu- larity among south-country followers of the sport, whilst the running witnessed there is usually of the very best type. Southminster used to be a most unapproachable place when the nearest railway station was at Maldon, twelve miles off, but now, with a new line right up to the village itself, there is little to complain of in this respect, and London is brought within about two and a half hours of the place. The meeting is gener- ally run off in the first week of December, and all the arrangements are in the hands of Dr. Salter, a rare type of sportsman, who acts for both the club and the open stakes, and who has brought about, and thoroughly maintained, a feeling of extreme cordiality with the Marsh farmers. The programme consists of a Produce Stake for dogs and bitches, for club members, and the D'Arcy Cup for all ages, also confined to members, but beside these there are the Southminster Derby and Oaks, open to the public, and the Cowley Cup (also open), a really important All-aged Stake at 2o8 COURSING 5/. 10s., to which is added a handsome cup, given conjointly by Mr. E. R. Lightfoot of Cowley and Messrs. Elkington of Regent Street, London. This stake usually produces a very good class of greyhound, and is a most coveted trophy amongst southern coursers. The meeting extends over three, and sometimes four days, and headquarters are at the King's Arms Hotel, Southminster, where there is a largely attended dinner each evening. Most of the regular habitues of the fixture go to the same lodgings each year, for the hotel can only accommodate a very small portion of the visitors, and so the cottagers have to make pro- visions for strangers. I can safely affirm that the accommodation set forth, though primitive in appearance, is spotlessly clean and extraordinarily cheap ; there is none of the ' fleecing ' existent at other places, and it is a well-known fact that coursers who have once been to Southminster always want to go back when the meeting comes round. Whilst I am on this subject of quarters I may mention, too, that the change in diet is very welcome ; for it is the fashion during the sojourn in the village to live upon oysters and widgeon, both of which are procured in their native excellence on the spot. Indeed, the oyster carts follow the coursing all day long, and wonderful are the stories as to the vast quantities of Burnham natives which have been swallowed by some of the midland division, who have come from a country where the bivalve is an unaccustomed luxury. The widgeon are brought from the decoy close at hand, and no one is thought to have done his Southminster meeting properly unless he gets through at least one each evening at dinner. As a rule, the widgeon is a bird that is not much esteemed, but cooked in Southminster fashion he becomes a veritable tit-bit, as witness hundreds of attesting coursers. The system was thus explained to me : — *You wring the bird's neck, then cut an incision in the skin (of the neck) and lay a piece back all round. With one quick stroke you then chop the head off, and sew the skin over, without allowing a drop of the SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 209 blood to escape. The bird must then be " drawn " very quickly, and the place instantly sewn up also. Ten minutes before a hot fire, and the trick is done.' When dissected, the flesh is apparently quite blue, but it literally melts in one's mouth, and no one who has eaten widgeon cooked as I have described will ever care for them done in any other way. The ground coursed over is very similar to that at Cliffe ; grass covers by far the larger portion of it, but there is some arable, which latter affords rather heavy going. The land is, however, quite free from stones or flints, and as the enclosures are mostly large, very genuine trials are seen. Wide dykes intersect the various fields, and I think that hares jump more than they do at Cliffe, but still there are ' homes,' and the short 'breaking back' from the bank often occurs. The hares are uniformly stout, and by the end of the meeting the dogs which are left in the various stakes have all had enough of it. Coursers ^o to Southminster from all parts of 2IO COURSING the South of England. A year or two ago over a hundred greyhounds competed, the number being about the third largest seen out at any open gathering in that particular season. I omitted to mention that a third very valuable cup (the Essex Cup) is given to be run for by the winners of the Derby and Oaks, and as this is subscribed for by a deduction of \os. each from the stake, the amount is generally over 20/. C^ Carried over a dyke after a course Before the railway w^as opened to Southminster, the reports of the coursing had to be sent by road to Maldon, whence they were telegraphed to town, and on one occasion I recollect that when the London papers reached the village next morning not a word was to be found about the meeting, except a foot- note in each to the effect, ' our correspondent's message had not reached the office in time for publication.' Great was the consternation amongst the scribes, for sport had finished early, and the man entrusted with the messages had had ample time at his disposal. Enquiries were at once SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 211 made for this functionary — a well-known follower of coursing, and he, being run to ground in a beer-shop, at once confessed that he had posted the reports in the hollow of a tree as he left the marshes. There surely enough they were found ; the general laugh that followed — in which no one joined more heartily than the unabashed offender — was small consolation to the discomforted writers, who had to witness their handiwork drawn out of a puddle of water, which had entirely obliterated the account of the day's doings. LICHFIELD COURSING CLUB Since the passing of the Ground Game Act, many coursing meetings have altogether died out in the Midlands, and now Lich- field and Wappenbury, the latter an open meeting, have to do duty for a large tract of country, wherein there are still, luckily, plenty of greyhounds kept. The Shropshire and Worcestershire one-day country fixtures are still in existence, but in Derbyshire and Notts public coursing has almost entirely disappeared, so that the dwellers in those counties have no really good meeting nearer than Lichfield, where, however, there are always two, and sometimes three, lengthy programmes during the winter months. The club at Lichfield is well established and of good posi- tion, but of itself is not strong enough to attract outside attention, and therefore its meetings are worked off" with valuable open stakes, the latter being really the most important events on the card. All the land coursed over now is the property of the Marquis of Anglesey, but at one time other estates were re- quisitioned besides Beaudesert, and King's Bromley in par- ticular used to afford good sport. The first meeting is usually held in the early days of October, the second about eight weeks later, and the third six or eight weeks beyond that date, the running generally extending into a third day. The programme mostly consists of two thirty-twos, one for puppies and one for all ages, the Anglesey Cup (club) for all ages at 5/. icf., and at least three 212 COURSING supplementary eights. If the first day has proved very successful, made-up stakes are quite the rule, and matches are also often added to the card. The fixtures are attended by coursers from all parts of the kingdom, Scotland, Ireland, and at least a dozen English counties, being sometimes repre- sented at the same meeting. The draw dinner at Lichfield is a great institution, and Mr. Trevor, the secretary (at whose Swan Hotel headquarters are), is so popular in the district that some of the neighbouring gentry always put in an appearance, prepared to support the host and welcome the visitors from a distance. The first day's coursing usually takes place at Cooper's Coppice, about six miles from the city, and on high land in the immediate vicinity of Cannock Chase. On this part of the ground there are some first-rate trial fields, but the stubbles are not quite free from stones, and the venue, good though it is, is not to be compared with Fiaxiey Green, which is the alternate meet. This place is quite ten miles away from headquarters, but the drive, either by way of Longdon and Rugeley or through Beaudesert Park, is exceedingly pretty, and though the train to Rugeley does the distance in a quarter of an hour, it is little used except in wet weather. The courses at Flaxley Green are now run entirely upon grass, and the forty-acre meadow at the bottom of the hill is undoubtedly one of the finest trial grounds in England. There is a give and take about it which causes an infinite variety in the coursing ; the view to the crowd is, from the conformation of the ground, simply perfect, and it can safely be said that the courses average at least forty points before puss comes to grief or makes good her escape at the boundary fence. A characteristic of the coursing on Beaudesert estate is to be found in the fact that speed is hardly so much served as elsewhere, and though dogs are sometimes slipped to demon hares who take a vast deal of reaching, it is nevertheless the fact that clever -and sometimes little— bitches always show their best form over this ground, quick turning and general sharp- SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 213 ness being an important factor in the result of many of the trials. Reference to the Calendar will show that clever bitches, who would be outpaced in an open stake at Haydock or Wye, are often returned winners at Lichfield, and writing from memory of what has occurred in the last few seasons, I can instance such as Daisy of the Green, Rheda Macpherson, Jenny Jones, Flowering Fern, and Dear Sal, all of which were successful in the more important stakes. NORTH OF ENGLAND CLUB Since Mr. Snowdon became secretary of the North of Eng- land Club, that association has rapidly increased its opera- tions, and now is virtually the controlling power of all the open public coursing in the county of Durham, and a very great part of that which takes place in Northumberland and the North Riding of Yorkshire. No other coursing club has ever assumed the dimensions of the North of England, and in proof of what it can do, let me state that in the season 1890-91, thirteen meetings with eighteen days' coursing were satisfactorily ac- complished, while no fewer than eighteen different postpone- ments took place. This is a tremendous record for such a severe winter as that just mentioned, and it may further be added that, had the season been an open one, second meetings would have been held over several of the estates where leave is granted. Begun in a very humble way by a few Newcastle-on-Tyne innkeepers, the North of England dates back to 1835 ) ^^ut early accounts are altogether wanting, and I can only learn that the draws were held at the houses of each of the licensed victualling members in rotation, and that he whose turn it was engaged his own judge and slipper. Tradition further adds that the choosing landlord generally won ; but I will not insult the good people of Newcastle by asserting that I believe this. Joking apart, however, the club under discussion was never exclusive as regards membership, and although respectability 214 COURSING and integrity in running were, of course, rigidly insisted upon, social status was not an important factor when the ballot was in requisition ; thus we find at the present moment a membership of 215, ranging from all the most prominent northern coursers to small village tradesmen and even sporting colliers. This liberality with regard to election has really been of enormous benefit, for it has made the club exceedingly popular with all classes of northern coursing- men, and now its hold upon the affections of the districts where it flourishes is so strong that nothing is ever likely to interfere with its well-being. The present patrons are the Duke of Portland, the Marquis of Londonderry, the Marquis of Ripon, the Earl of Ravensworth, Sir William Eden, Sir John Lawson, Hon. W. C. Ellis, Admiral Carpenter, Mr. W. D. Russell, and . Mr. V. W. Corbett, all of whom grant leave for meetings. There are in addition several shooting lessees, who occasionally allow small meetings to be held on their ground, and between Eslington in Northumberland, the most northerly fixture of the club, and Rainton, near Boroughbridge, the most southerly gathering, there are at least a dozen estates where the North of England is received. The two places just named are more than one hundred miles apart, and this fact alone will convey to the uninitiated some idea of the magnitude of the club's operations. Of late years quite the most important fixture has been the three days' meeting held over the Marquis of Ripon's estate at Rainton, which usually takes place in the week following Waterloo, and always brings out a fair class of greyhound, with, generally, several of the pre- vious week's Waterlooers in the principal stake. The Rainton meeting has been in existence some sixteen or seventeen years, and from a very humble beginning it has risen to exceedingly large dimensions, the programme now consisting of a sixty- four, a thirty-two, three sixteens, and some minor stakes. The ground lies on the east side of the town of Ripon, and consists for the most part of large enclosures, of an average of from thirty to forty acres, which are divided by small fences, SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 15 and are almost alternately grass and arable land. The best of the coursing takes place oh either side of Leeming Lane, that famous old North Road which has for more than a hundred years served as the trotting ground for North Riding matches, and hares are generally driven off the ploughing on to grass. The ' crowd ' have to move pretty often, but a fair view of the sport is always obtainable, and the going is for the most part first-rate, flints and stones being almost entirely absent. The breed of hares, too, is far above the average, and the courses are, in nineteen cases out of twenty, sufficiently long to thoroughly test the greyhounds' merits. I may here recount an incident which occurred some half-dozen years ago, and of which I myself was a w^itness. We were coursing in the low ground close to Rainton village, where the inclosures are rather smaller than on 'the Moor,' and where also the hedges are very much thicker and higher. Hares were being driven into a grass field, Bootiman the slipper being hidden behind the fence, Mr. Hedley stand- ing some fifty yards out. A brace of greyhounds were slipped, the hare was reached about the centre of the field, and a pretty course followed, puss finally taking her pursuers through the further hedge. Some twenty points at least were scored in the slipping field, and Mr. Hedley rode over to the other side as his dogs worked their hare across. He (Mr. H.) could, how- ever, see nothing more of the course after he reached the hedge, and so the decision w^as given, and a second brace put in the slips. Another hare was quickly sent through, slipped at, coursed, and killed, without having left the field, and then a third brace of greyhounds were taken to Bootiman, who still remained in the same place. We had not long to wait for the third hare, and she, being of the short running, jerking type, went round and round the centre of the field, affording a pretty course of the sort, and really standing up well. This trial had been in progress for some considerable time, when hare number one, with her attendant followers, struggled back into the original arena, and there we had the spectacle of the two 2i6 COURSING courses going on close together. The greyhounds who were running number one were, of course, dead beat, and neither was any use afterwards ; but it was clearly established at the time that the sa?ne hare was always before them, several of the stragglers having been able— in different positions — to watch the performance from start to finish. I may mention that the hare was fresher than her opponents at the end, and, if my memory serves me right, she actually escaped. Of course, with such an enormous programme set forth every year, it can easily be understood that game is very plen- tiful over the Rainton estate, but for all that the card often takes a lot of working off, and to my mind the dimensions thereof are sadly in want of a shortening process, which would allow of a somewhat later start in the morning. As it is, Mr. Snowdon marshals his forces long before the February sun has struggled through, and on the first and second days headquarters at Ripon have to be left very shortly after seven o'clock, it being nothing unusual to find the sport in full swing an hour later ; indeed, I once saw the sixth brace handed over to the slipper just as the Ripon Cathedral clock tolled out the half after eight, and I recollect perfectly that there had been no waiting for late dogs, and that the crowd was even then almost as big as at any portion of the day. Another very important fixture of the Club is the two days' gathering held over Lord Ravensworth's Eslington estate in North Northumberland, and here again the early rising move- ment is strongly practised. The country is of a wild and roughish type, but the scenes amid which the courser's day is spent are exceedingly picturesque, and the air which blows off the Cheviots is of the purest and keenest character. The getting to and from Eslington was once a very serious matter. Hundreds of enthusiastic coursers used (before the railway was made) to make Alnwick their headquarters, and, rising in the middle of the night, drive in December darkness over the fourteen miles of hilly ground which lie between the ducal domain of the house of Percy and the battle-ground of the SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 217 club. Tlie meeting generally takes place early in December, and is therefore often postponed ; but when the weather is right, no more enjoyable fixture exists for those who are stimu- lated by the air of the Cheviot Hills, and who do not mind roughing it to a certain extent. Dealing with the other grounds in vogue with the North of England Club, Bothal and North Seaton have been treated of in the account of the Bothal Club. West Rainton, near Leamside, in Durham, is another very favourite spot for one-day meetings. The ground lies so handy for all the big northern towns that it is easily reached from Newcastle, &c., on the morning of coursing, and the programmes usually consist of a sixteen and two eights, with sometimes a supplementary stake. Hares are very numerous, despite the fact that the neighbour- hood is a densely populated one, and good coursing generally ensues. The class of greyhound competing here is not, how- ever, so good as at Ripon or Eslington, and the meeting may be said to be of local interest only. The same remark applies to the fixture held over Sir William Eden's Windlestone estate, but at Catterick and Scorton, in Yorkshire, larger programmes and of better class are to be found. At both the last-named fixtures two-day meetings are held, but the enclosures are smaller than those coursed over at the Rainton (Ripon) gathering, and the meetings, generally speaking, of a less im- portant character. New ground, too, is being constantly requisitioned by Mi-. Snowdon, and, in addition to the places I have mentioned, there were last season meetings at Rushey- ford, Lumley and Washington, in the county of Durham, and at Londonderry in the North Riding. Good ground has been used by the club where coursing no longer takes place, and I may mention Minsteracres in South Northumberland, where a large and important meeting was held for many years, and Flotterton in Coquetdalc, where the coursing — in the time of the late Mr. Weallans — was exceptionally good. It happens sometimes at the larger meetings of the club, that there are nominations to spare, and if that is the case, non-members are 2i8 COURSING allowed to take them up. Should any south-country coursers wish to witness the doings of the most successful club in the north-east district, they should arrange to visit Ripon, where they could hardly fail to be delighted with the entertainment provided. THE RIDGWAY CLUB I have before stated that the Ridgway Club ranks second only in importance to Altcar among the coursing institutions of the country, and this opinion I actually find to be the opening line of Mr. David Brown's account of the club, which — probably before these lines are in print — will have been given to the coursing public in the tenth volume of the Stud Book, the proof sheets of which have been most kindly placed at my disposal by a gentleman who has done much for coursing hterature, and whose indefatigability in research has gained him the warm approval of all coursing men. I attempted some months ago to get at the history of the Ridgway Club, but at the outset I found that Mr. Brown had taken up the matter some time before, and therefore I gladly avail myself of his permission to use his information. As regards the early doings of the association, I cannot do better than quote his own words, remarking at the same time that such obscurity about an institution not more than sixty or seventy years old seems most remarkable. Mr. Brown's account will, however, show the trouble he has been at in his research, and, although it is probable that the earlier history of Ridgway is still far from perfect, it is also pretty certain that no further light will be forthcoming about the early doings of the Club. Mr. Brown writes : — Long ago I began to institute enquiries about its (the RidgAvay Club's) early history, but found upon application to Mr. Mugliston, its present courteous secretary, that he could afford me not the slightest assistance. When he took over the books from his pre- SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 219 decessor, Mr. Percival, he found that these went no further back than Mr. P.'s appointment in 1879. Prior to this Mr. James Bake, of Bird's Cliff, Cheetham Hill, had been in office from the March Meeting of 1854, exactly a quarter of a century, and doubt- less his books contained a carefully kept record of the club's transac- tions, possibly from its start. By some strange carelessness it would The game appear that no effort was made at his death to recover the books and documents belonging to the club, and possibly it is too late to make any effective attempt now. This is greatly to be deplored, as the most contradictory reports exist as to its inception, Goodlake, whose history of coursing was published in 1828, makes no mention of the club, and as he appears to have taken great 220 COURSING pains to elaborate a complete list of all the existing clubs, going so far as to supply the names of the members in most cases, I should have been tempted to believe that it did not exist in his day were it not for the testimony of a living member to the contrary. During the winter of 1889 two letters appeared in the 'Field' from 'A Sportsman of the Olden School,' appealing to the younger members to take the trouble of supplying a history of the club, such as had been published in connection with Altcar. There being no response to his appeal, I opened up a private correspondence with this gentleman, which has ever since been maintained with much pleasure on both sides. He supplied me with many details of coursing as conducted in his early days, and specially of his con- nection with the Ridgway Club. Contrary to my belief, he affirms that when he joined the club in 1828 it had been in existence some years, and was at this date a flourishing institution, to be connected with which was accounted no small honour. He was barely twenty years of age when he found admittance to the Select Circle, and the circumstances were impressed upon his mind, as well by the fatherly interest which the preside^it took in him, as by the sound advice he gave him ' to drink little wine or spirits, avoid cards and gambling, and go early to bed.' Mr. W. G. Borron, the gentleman referred to, has been at great pains in corresponding with the descendants of Mr. Ridgway in the hope of being able to throw light upon his connection with the club, but except a remark contained in a letter from Mr. Ridgway's daughter, there is nothing to help us materially. The note is to the following effect ; ' I can- not tell when the Ridgway Coursing Club was founded, certainly some years before my marriage in 1832.' Mr. Brown then goes on to tell us how he visited the British Miiseum, and overhauled BelPs Life in search of what he wanted, but that he could find no trace of the club earlier than 1839 ; he, however, also discovered that at the Southport meetings there had been a ' Ridgway Stakes ' as far back as 1833, which stake continued to be run until the meeting dis- appeared in 1839, and the Ridgway took its place. This appears to have raised a doubt in Mr. Brown's mind as to whether Mr. Borron was right in his dates, but, on being inter- viewed, the latter gentleman stuck to his story, detailing inci- dents which had made a firm impression upon him at the time, SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 221 and recounting how the field costume of the club in 183 1-2 was a green-cloth frock-coat, drab vest, corduroy breeches, and long leather boots coming well up on the leg. Mr. Brown next consulted the files of several local papers, but his investigations led to little or no result, and therefore he fell back upon the conclusion that the Ridgway Club grew out of the Southport Club, and that the latter was merged into the former through the growing popularity of its president, Mr. Thomas Ridgway, in whose honour a stake had been named some ten years before the actual change of title took place. I believe that local testimony goes to favour the idea just promulgated as to the Ridgway Club having sprung out of the Southport, and it is certain that the meetings of the former were held over the ground of the latter at no very far away date ; indeed, the present ground at Lytham was not used until 1845, and for twenty years after that date the meetings were divided between the two places. Since 1865, the club has been wholly indebted to the Clifton family for its leave, and no better locale for the sport is to be found in all that part of Lancashire, where, by the way, there is a meeting of some sort at nearly every village. Leaving the historical epitome and treating of the asso- ciation of the present day, Ridgway holds quite a unique place amongst coursing clubs. The membership is almost as select as Altcar, and there is a certain spirit of bonhomie and good-fellowship in the Lytham gatherings, which is alto- gether wanting in some more sedate and dignified institutions. The present membership of the club is fifty strong, and the meetings held are two annually, one in the early days of October, and the other in the first week of February. At the first-named there are separate dog and bitch Produce Stakes, Clifton Cup, Tenant Farmers' Cup, and sundry supplementary stakes of minor importance ; and at the latter the United Produce (North and South Lancashire) Stakes, Clifton Cup, Lytham Cup, and Peel Stakes, a goodly programme, which / causes the running to extend over a third day. The ground 222 COURSING coursed over is a mixture of grass and arable land, but there are some nice sloping hillsides, which, though not high in them- selves, are sufficient to afford dry lying for the hares, and, as a consequence, there is none of the 'weakness ' referred to in the account of Altcar. The hares, indeed, are veritable demons in point of staying powers, and the particular breed to be found on one portion of the ground has earned great notoriety by the name of 'Jock o' Pods.' These specimens of the furry tribe have the reputation of being the stoutest hares in the kingdom, and although I, personally, have seen game go stronger at Stockbridge than anywhere else, I must say that a ' Jock o' Pods ' hare takes a great deal of kiUing, even when he has a pair of the fastest greyhounds of the day at his scut. As mentioned before, the coursing takes place on the Clifton property, and although the present owner, Mr. Talbot Clifton, has not yet joined the ranks of public coursers, he takes great interest in the sport, and certainly shows a wonder- ful head of game. On the first day of the meetings Birk's Farm is generally the meeting-place, and operations are begun with the driving of a large tract of arable land on to a grass flat. The sport is generally very fair here, but if puss once reaches the hillside, she generally gives her pursuers leg-bail in the plantation. The ' crowd' have a first-rate view of this beat, which generally takes a couple of hours to get through. A move of half a mile is then made to another large flat, and sometimes the card is worked off here ; if, however, this cannot be managed, a second move of another half-mile has to be undertaken, the ground reached this time being generally arable. On the second day the coursing is somewhat further afield, and the ground sometimes rather deeper, but ' Little Plumpton ' now serves for all the finals, and the field so nick- named affords a grand stretch of galloping, where, so long as hares do not attempt the ' wired ' fence, the trials are most legitimate. I have seen some gruelling courses on Little Plumpton at the end of a meeting, but the going is always SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 223 delightfully sound and springy, and after running on such stuff dogs naturally recover much more quickly than on really hard ground. SLEAFORD CLUB The club which has been recently formed in connection with the Sleaford Open Coursing Meetings is hardly more than a year old, and has, as yet, done little to establish its claims to be reckoned as of first-class importance amongst coursing institutions. The sport, however, with which it is associated is so good that I imagine there should be a great future before the meetings, and in the face of the support accorded them during the last few seasons, I feel tempted to put on record (for the benefit of those who do not know) what manner of coursing Sleaford provides. At present, all the stakes are offered to members of the club first, and after they (the members) have taken what nominations they require, the balance is submitted to the public. Whether in the future the club or the outsiders will play the chief part it is impossible to say just now, but about the quality of the sport there is 'no possible probable shadow of doubt whatever ' ; and, given good management and a strong com- mittee, I see no cause why Sleaford should not take high rank amongst the hybrid associations which seem to suit the coursing public of to-day better than really enclosed clubs where no one but members can run greyhounds. Public coursing at Sleaford is only about half-a-dozen years old, but Lincolnshire has always been a great greyhound county, and when several old fixtures, such as Brigg, dis- appeared [by the way, Brigg has been resuscitated again as an open meeting], it was only natural that new ground should be sought for. This was forthcoming on the Marquis of Bristol's estate at Sleaford, and as the shooting was, and is, mostly in the hands of the tenants, that sporting body are mainly responsible for the new departure. Mr. Fred Ward of Quar- rington has in particular bestirred himself in the matter, and I 2 24 COURSING may also mention the names of Mr. G. H. W. Hervey, agent to the Marquis of Bristol, and the Messrs. Sumner, as gentle- men who have lent able and willing hands, and who, with Mr. Charles Smith, landlord of the Bristol Arms Hotel at Sleaford and secretary of the club, are possibly the leading spirits in the movement. The meetings, two in number, are held about the end of October and in the middle of January, and the programme generally consists of four thirty-twos, two of which are for all ages — one at 6/. loj". and the other at 2/. 10s. — and two for dog and bitch puppies respectively, both these latter being at 4/. loj"., non -members in every case paying ^s. per nomina- tion more than those who have joined the club. As may be imagined, with such valuable stakes on the programme the class of greyhounds competing is very good all round, and now the meetings, like Lichfield, are attended by coursers from all parts of the kingdom. On the evening of the draw a large public dinner is held in the Corn Exchange, and some two years ago, when I was last present, the company numbered over one hundred, tenant farmers turning up in great force, and by their presence entirely disproving the idea that they wish the hare to be exterminated. The show of game is first-rate everywhere, and each time I have visited the meeting the question of a close time for hares has been vigorously discussed, the farmers hereabouts being particularly keen on the Bill, and most desirous that a restriction should be placed upon the wholesale slaughter which occurs elsewhere. A peculiar feature of Sleaford coursing lies in the fact that there is no long walk or drive to the scene of action, for the meet on two days is just outside the little town, and a five minutes' stroll from the Bristol Arms down the old-fashioned street brings one to the first stand. The land coursed over is a mixture of grass and arable, but at the earlier meeting hares are nearly all driven out of turnips on to grass and slipped at in large enclosures where a good view can be obtained and SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 225 where the trials are of a most legitimate character. This turnip driving is worked in small beats, the village school- boys being employed to the number of about sixty, each boy carrying a small yellow flag. The little army is ' dressed ' up in close rank, and with the noise they make, and the waving of the flags, it is 100 to i on ail the hares going forward. The moment game is on foot the captain calls a halt, the flanking horsemen ride forward, and generally succeed in sending puss where she is wanted. Mr. Ward is particularly clever at this riding hares out, and as a natural consequence of the pains he takes with the beating arrangements, it is always possible to run off about sixty courses or more between ten and five o'clock — really good work for the open ! The fences are mostly small, and on the Quarrington Side I have seen Mr Hedley jump at least half a dozen when following a course of exceptional length. THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND CLUB Coursers on the south-western side of the metropolis used to be cared for some thirty years ago by a couple of clubs- -the Amicable and the Spelthorne — both of which used the same ground, viz. the home park at Hampton Court. It was, how- ever, found that the members of one mostly belonged to the other club, and therefore the two were joined together under the title of South of England. The membership of the joint venture some few years ago was sixty-four strong, but the num- bers have fallen off of late, and now the list is only of half the strength it used to be. It is exceedingly probable that the Ground Game Act is responsible for the decline, for now the club has to go much further a-field for its sport, and last year the meetings were held at Stockbridge in Hampshire and Amesbury in Wiltshire, both first-rate coursing grounds but by no means so easy of access as Hampton Court had been a few years before. Newmarket, too, has been frequently visited by the South of England, but hares are woefully short on 226 COURSING Chippenham field to what they used to be, and I do not know- that the club ever used the Six Mile Bottom or Lord Gerard's ground where the Newmarket open meetings now take place. The Stockbridge Meeting is usually held in the early days of October, and if the weather is fine (which by the way it generally is) no more enjoyable sma// fixture occurs in the year's Calendar. The stakes consist of a Produce Stakes for dogs and bitches, the Stockbridge Cup for all ages, and the Longstock, Andover, and Danebury Stakes of lesser importance. Headquarters are at the Grosvenor Arms Hotel at Stockbridge, where the club use the same room which has served for the Bibury racing club three months before, and where the party is always jovial and pleasant, if not of very large dimensions. The ground coursed over belongs to Mr. Joshua East, of Longstock House, himself an old courser of note, and a most enthusiastic sportsman, who, despite the fact that he is an octogenarian, still rides with the beat all day and continues to direct all the arrangements. The meet is usually at Vicar's Cross, hard by the pretty Danebury racecourse, and operations are conducted in a circle round the copse-crowned hill of Money Bunt, so well known as a landmark in the Tedworth Hunt, which serves so efficiently as shelter for the Longstock hares. The drive — or walk — up to Vicar's Cross on a pleasant autumnal morning is a thing to be enjoyed by London sports- men, and a stranger coming upon the scene, and accustomed to other coursing grounds, could hardly fail to note the striking difference between this and the usual state of affairs at a coursing meet. No cardsellers are here, no itinerant vendors of ' Ormskirk gingerbread,' or other well-known coursing viands, no loud-voiced bookmakers vociferating the odds on the coming event, no miscellaneous crowd of ' hangers-on ' or ' pickers-up,' but, instead, a group of gentlemen, gaitered and knickerbockered to their hearts' content, some mounted and some on foot, and attended only by their servants with the dogs in charge. Veritably a private day it seems, and yet by the time the I'W^ ^^1 c SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 227 low ground is reached on the other side of Money Bunt, a goodly array of carriages, bearing their freights of Hampshire ladies, will have put in an appearance, and when the good things, which are spread out on a table in the stack-yard of the farm where the luncheon halt is made, are tackled, it will be found that the scene savours more of a picnic than anything else. As the afternoon wears on the ' crowd ' is also increased by numerous horsemen from adjacent Danebury, but the attendance is never large, and the rowdy element at all times conspicuous by its absence. The best of the sport is generally forthcoming from a beat along the valley, where turnips are driven on to grass in most systematic and clever fashion. The beat is not very wide, but is flanked on either side with horsemen, and the boys employed carry a long rope, which they keep dropping on to the tops of the turnips in order to prevent hares breaking back. The effect is first-rate, and though it is a difficult matter to conceal the slipper hereabouts, the quarry is easily sent where he can reach it. Hare after hare is ' used ' in the low ground, and hare after hare clears her pursuers as the hill- side is reached, only to go right away on the steep ascent and gain the covert far in advance of the greyhounds. I have seen course after course from this low ground when the points scored would tot up to seventy or eighty, could anyone keep count, and not many years ago two stakes had to be divided after having been once run down, not a single hound being fit to go to slips again ! The stock of hares, too, is large enough for a meeting of four times the dimensions, and some three or four years ago Mr. East told me that 300 had been shot in one drive, in the pre- ceding year, and after the coursing had taken place. The second meeting of the club is generally held about a month after the first, and now Amesbury is the venue, the old place having been once more requisitioned after a spell of Newmarket. Another Produce Stake is run off at this fixture, but the chief event is the Craven Cup for all ages, and the first Q2 228 COURSING day's sport is usually on Tanners' Down, the finals being run off hard by the weird pile of Stonehenge. Headquarters are at Amesbury, but Sahsbury is of course available also, and if only the weather is right the meeting is sure to be enjoyable. Some old coursers think Amesbury Downs the finest coursing ground in England, and certainly the 'going ' is better for grey- hounds' feet than the flinty downs at Stockbridge ; but on a wet day there is no escape from the downpour, and late in the year the wind makes itself very strongly felt in the elevated positions. Down coursing is essentially a fine-weather pastime, for rain and wind which would hardly inconvenience the crowd on Cliffe Marshes, or on the Lancashire coast, seem to come in the form of hurricanes here, and the severest wetting I ever got when watching the long-tails was in a twenty minutes' storm on Tanners' Down. The force of it was quite strong enough to ' unsight ' the only pair of greyhounds slipped during the time of its continuance. WEST CUMBERLAND CLUB Coursing meetings have been held in the Whitehaven district for many generations, and, indeed, love of the leash is so inherent in Cumberland men that it is really difficult to say in what part of the country there has not been coursing, out of the mountain district. There is, however, no doubt that the Ground Game Act had a severe effect here for some years after it had been passed, and it was only when that ardent courser, Mr. Anthony Dixon, took matters into his own hands, that the sport began to look up again. Mr. Dixon began very young as a public courser, almost his first purchase being the brother and sister Record and Requisite by Hector from Netley Burn, w^hich pair he afterwards renamed Dunmail and Disguise. Both were fast greyhounds, a fact that was clearly proved when they got to the end of Gosforth Derby and Oaks respectively, and while the former won some good stakes for his new owner, the last-named — a beautiful bitch of the seldom-seen colour of SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 229 white, black, and fawn — has been invaluable as a matron. At one West Cumberland meeting lately, nearly all the winners were greyhounds bred by Mr. Dixon, of whom it can certainly be said that his energy, determination, bonhomie^ and popularity have worked wonders with regard to the coursing revival on the west coast of Cumberland. The Rheda estate of Mr. Thomas Dixon— elder brother of the gentleman just mentioned — furnishes the ground for the West Cumberland Club, which was founded in 1887 by Mr. Anthony Dixon, and which, supported by coursers like Sir Thomas Brocklebank, Mr. E. M. Cross, the Messrs. Hyslop of Denton, Mr. Lowingham Hall and Mr. H. B. Boardman is certain to increase in popularity and importance. The stakes range from 2/. to 4/. loi"., and the Club and Rheda Cups, of twenty-four dogs each, are hmited exclusively to members, the minor stakes being generally open. The membership shows a steady increase every year, and the meetings, two or three in number, are nearly always of two days' duration. The ground coursed over lies principally in a circle round Rheda Hall, and it may be mentioned that the estate is situated between two large mining centres, Frizington and Cleator ; but the stock of game is simply enormous. At no open meeting of to-day do courses follow each other more quickly than at Rheda, and this, occurring with an attend- ance of 5,000 miners looking on, speaks volumes for the hare- preserving qualities of the delvers for coal and iron. The crowd at a West Cumberland meeting is certainly most remarkable, and even more wonderful still is the manner in which they are held in check. Mr. Thomas Snowdon of the North of England Club is almost facile prhiceps in the management of a chance crowd, but Mr. Anthony Dixon is absolutely not to be beaten in this line, and as a rule he has a much more cramped country in which to manoeuvre his forces. The first time I visited the meeting I found the system was worked thus : Mr. Dixon and his friend Mr. Robert Jefferson (master of the Whitehaven Harriers) were mounted, and when 230 COURSING a change of beat took place they simply drove the vast herd of miners before them like a pack of hounds, the effect being perfect in its result, but exceedingly laughable to watch. Hares run very strongly on all parts of the estate, but there is too much covert near the Hall for the coursing to be quite first- rate there, and my experience inclines to the belief that Weddicar Hill is the best trial ground used. Headquarters of the club used to be in the village of Frizington, but lately they have been moved to the Grand At a North-country meeting Hotel at Whitehaven, and at that hostelry the stranger can be thoroughly comfortable. I could tell many stories of the social part of a modern West Cumberland meeting, but I do not care to tell tales out of school, and therefore will content myself with saying that the Whitehaven people give a ready welcome to coursing visitors — only they would rather they did not come on a ball night. The drive out to the ground is about five miles, up and down hill. One little story and I have done with the West Cumberland Club. Many years ago, not quite at Whitehaven, but some- SOME ENGLISH COURSING CLUBS 231 where else in the north of England, I was lugging a greyhound along the road, being then a youth of tender years with a strong partiality for the long- tails. My canine friend was being sent under my charge to a field half a mile off in order that he might be tried, and as usual when there were trials in the neighbour- hood, some of the miners were hanging about to witness the sport. On my journey to the field one of these worthies rose from under the wall where he had been sitting, and, taking his pipe out of his mouth, addressed me as follows very solemnly : ' Master C , if ivvor ye want to make yer fortun at cooours- ing, ye mun get a grand bitch and put her to a grand dog, and keep on breedin, till yer get five pups, arle (all) of one colour. They needn't be mair (more) than five, but mind ye, they mun be arle of one colour.' The last words were spoken with great emphasis, and thus having got rid of what he had to impart, my mining friend resumed his pipe and his seat. I was most anxious to know what he meant, but he only kept repeating his last words, ' they mun be arle of one colour,' and it was some years before I understood the gist of the remark. This story was a great one for Mr. Dixon to tell the miners at a Frizington draw, and coursing men — especially those of the North county — will instantly understand the old miner's implication. The West Cumberland Club is in abeyance, or has ceased to exist ; but sport still flourishes at all the other places of which an account has been given. Altcar and Ridgway more than hold their own, the North of England Club has secured a new and enthusiastic patron in the Duke of Leeds, and new- ground on the Hornby Castle estate. In the South of England new institutions have been promoted quite close to London, viz. the Eastern Counties and Stock Exchange Clubs, and the two held joint meetings over the CHffe ground in 1898; the Stock Exchange Club have also held meetings on the Essex Marshes. FALCONRY BY THE HON. GERALD LASCELLES l\: '^^^7^ PETER BALLANTYNE The last oj the old Scotch Falconers 235 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTORY — THE MODERN FALCONER — IMPLEMENTS USED — GLOSSARY OF TERMS A WORK upon falconry, the most ancient of all the field sports which men follow at the present day, needs no apology for its introduction to the public, especially when, as is the case with the following chapters, it forms part of the series of volumes which deal comprehensively with all our English sports. That falconry is not better known or more commonly practised is due to the great alteration in the character of the country since the days when it was the pursuit chiefest in the estima- tion of the sporting public. The almost universal enclosure of the land, accompanied in many cases by the planting of hedgerow timber, the introduction of the art of shooting flying, which at once supplanted hawking as a means of providing game for the table, the adoption of the system of forming plantations which came so much into vogue about one hundred and fifty years ago — all these things contributed to make falconry less possible and therefore less popular than it had been up to the time of the Commonwealth, when men's minds were occupied with greater concerns than those of sport, and when falconry, the chief amusement of the upper classes, received its rudest shock. So now in the present day the parts of the country where hawking can be successfully carried on are comparatively few and far between, and though there are a goodly band of devotees to the sport (and there is no pursuit with the love of which its votaries become more deeply imbued), yet it is not possible for them to respond to 236 FALCONRY the innumerable invitations which they receive to show their friends something of their favourite diversion, because the country where their host would seek to fix the venue is not merely bad, but impossible for the sport. This is rarely under- stood. In other sports the best can be made of a bad country : foxes can be hunted over plough lands, if not with the same success as attends the sport in the wide pastures of the Mid- lands, yet with satisfaction to those who are enterprising enough to carry on the pursuit under grave difficulties. In the absence of covert birds may be driven, and so on. But in a country unfavourable to that sport falconry cannot be carried on at all, and any crude attempts to do so must result in the disap- pointment of all concerned and in the depreciation of what is, under more favourable circumstances, one of the wildest and noblest of all the field sports in which man has ever indulged. Hawking can only be carried on in a perfectly open country, that is to say, open enough for the particular flight that is to be followed. Thus partridge hawking can be pursued wherever the fields are large and the fences small without much hedge- row timber. Magpies require a rather more open country and entire absence of trees of any kind, while rook hawking can only be practised successfully in a perfectly open country, such as the downs of Wilts or Berks, or Newmarket Heath. It is therefore clear that only the residents in certain favoured localities can follow this amusement with the same facilities as are ready to hand in the case of most other field sports, and on the other hand a man must be really deeply ' bitten ' who is willing to leave his home and his ordinary avocations in order to follow his favourite amusement in suitable yet distant local- ities. Yet there are many such enthusiasts left even in these degenerate days. Falconry has never for a single hour been extinct in Great Britain ; and there are probably at the present time more hawks in training, well and ably trained too, both by amateurs and professionals, than ever there were since the beginning of the century. INTROD UCTOR V 237 In this work we propose to treat of modern falconry alone. That it is the most ancient of sports none can doubt. That it was the popular sport in the East centuries before it travelled to Europe is well known. Sir A. Layard records in his work on ' Nineveh and Babylon ' that in the ruins of Khorsabad he found a bas-relief representing a falconer bearing a hawk on his wrist. In this case we may start our history of the sport from 1200 B.C. But we have no intention of following its course from that date to the present. As from the time of Alfred to that of James I. falconry was the chief sport of the aristocracy, so there were published more works on that subject than perhaps on any other. To these we would refer those who are curious in the history of the sport. First and foremost is the old ' Boke of St. x\lbans,' printed in i486, purporting to be written by Dame Juliana Berners, Abbess of Sopwell, Herts, con- taining treatises on ' Hawking, H unting, and Cote Armour.' Next the ' Booke of Falconrie,' by George Turberville, Gentleman, a most excellent and quaint work abounding in good advice. In 16 1 5 was printed 'The Faulcon's Lure and Cure,' by Symon Latham, a thoroughly good, practical work on hawking, full of good sense. In the various editions of Blome's ' Gentleman's Recreations' (1670) are to be found many hints on training hawks, although most of the letterpress is copied from the older works quoted above. But a very good and original work, now very scarce, treating chiefly of the management of the short- winged hawks, is 'A Treatise on Hawks and Hawking, by Edmund Bert, 16 19.' ^ In these books, with various other treatises, can be found many interesting details of this sport, which probably was at the height of its popularity about the time of Elizabeth. Her chief falconer was Sir Ralph Sadler (who was for some time the custodian of Mary Queen of Scots), and the abode which he selected in order to follow his favourite sport and for the better training of her Majesty's falcons was Everley in Wiltshire, now the seat of Sir J. D. Astley. In the old manor ' A reprint of this work was published in 1891 by Mr. Quaritch, limited to 100 copies. 238 FALCONRY house there is a portrait of Sir Ralph in the Court costume of the period, with a falcon on his hand bearing a jewelled hood. Not far from the manor house is the old chalk pit, to this day known as ' Sadler's Pit,' where tradition says that a member of the chief falconer's family met his death by unwarily galloping over its precipitous edge while eagerly following a flight. There is an ancient hostelry hard by the spot which has now for many years been selected as the headquarters of the Old Hawking Club, showing how little the character of the country has changed since Sir Ralph Sadler selected it as the best he could find for the sport he loved so well. That hawking was intensely popular in the days of Shake- speare can be proved ' by a hundred trite quotations, which we spare our reader, with the exception of one which shows so perfect a knowledge of the falconer's practice, and is expressed so exactly in the technical language of a falconer, that it is hard to believe it was written by anyone who was not a perfect adept in the art. It is in ' The Taming of the Shrew,' where Petruchio says of Katherine — My falcon now is shafp^ and passing empty ; And, till she stoops she must not be i\yS\. gorge df For then she never looks upon her lure. Another way I have to man my haggard^ To make her conie^ and know her keeper's call ; That is, to watch her, as we watch these kites That bate^ and beat, and will not be obedient. She ate no meat to-day, nor none shall eat ; Last night she slept not, nor to-night she shall not. Had Petruchio been a falconer describing exactly the manage- ment of a real falcon of unruly temper he could not have done it in more accurate language. But to pass by the ancient practice and to come to modern falconry. There, again, we find the art fully described in many a work. Campbell's treatise, dated 1773, though full of extra- vagant nonsense, contains many a useful hint. The brief trea- tise of Sir John Sebright (1828) is most excellent, and has but INTRO D UCTOR V 239 one fault, viz. that there is too little of it. * Belany on Fal- conry,' 1848, is a useful work, and in 1855 was published ' Falconry in the British Isles,' which has ever since been re- cognised as a standard work on the subject, excellent for its letterpress, but beyond all praise for the admirable engravings from the drawings of the late Mr. W. Brodrick, with which the book is so copiously adorned. This book was followed by ' Falconry : its History, Claims, and Practice,' by Messrs. Freeman and Salvin, and by various other smaller treatises which bring the history of the sport down to the present day. These works are all in the English tongue. There are in French, German, Italian, in Swedish, Russian, Japanese, and Hindustani, nay in every tongue that has existed since the days of the Tower of Babel, works on falconry. Of all these, manifold and curious as they are, we will commend but one to the notice of the student on falconry ; that is the magnificent work of Messrs. Schlegel and Wiilverhorst, published at Leyden in 1 84 1. The illustrations, from the pencil of Wolff, are in themselves an education in falconry, while the letterpress (in the French language) comprises as good a treatise upon the art as it is possible to write. Especially interesting to English readers are the graphic accounts of the heron hawking at the Loo, which was chiefly carried on by the Hawking Club, a full history of which is appended to the work. The student of falconry who desires to perfect himself in the art need only possess himself of all the lore to be found in these books. To their instructions we can add nothing. With the knowledge contained in them we cannot presume to vie ; but we will endeavour to describe the pursuit of falconry precisely as it is carried on at the present day, with all the advantages of modern science, with the disadvantages of modern agriculture, and the modern manner of life. This is an age of progress, and hawking, like other sciences, has not altogether stood still. Facilities for travelling, modern educa- tion, and the more rapid mode of thought have left their mark upon this ancient art, jus: as they have upon other 240 FALCONRY matters. Clever as our ancestors were in the training of hawks, much as we have learnt by following closely in their footsteps, yet, as we live faster ourselves in these days, so we expect more to be got out of our hawks than would have contented the falconers of an hundred years ago. At that period the training of falcons was entrusted either to a man well taught in the practice of the Scottish school, and, therefore, well versed (and probably very clever) at hacking and training hawks taken from the nest ; but the mysteries of catching and taming the wild-bred hawks were a sealed book to a man of this stamp, and the higher forms of falconry to be followed by the aid of hawks of this class were unknown to his employers. Or, again, where the master of the hawks was of more ambi- tious temperament, a Dutch falconer was imported, whose patience, skill, and delicate handling of the ' passage ' or wild- caught peregrine were incomparably superior to the arts of the rougher professional, who was only familiar with the easily tamed, because never wild, nestling. But such a man as this was, as a rule, entirely ignorant of game or of game hawking, and, good as might be the sport which he showed, a great deal of the fun which, on an English manor, can be got out of a team of hawks, was lost to his followers. The falconer of the present day is a different personage altogether. Met, perhaps, in the spring on the breezy downs, with a first-rate team of wild-caught hawks, where he is show- ing sport every day — ay ! and all day — to a large party at rooks, magpies, &c., you next encounter him on the platform at Perth on his way north to fly grouse with a combined team of eyesses and passage hawks which he has educated on totally different principles for a totally different flight. Some, per- chance, are the very same rook hawks as were flown in the spring, but so altered in education and habit as hardly to seem the same birds. Next he will be seen at Holyhead, returning from a successful trip to Ireland, where he has been pursuing the flight of the magpie, just in time to cross over to Holland to help the Dutchmen in capturing the hawks for the following THE MODERN FALCONER 241 yeai, and to render no little assistance in the early breaking and training of these captious pupils. Naturally he must be a man of experience, versatile, intelligent, and of some education, so as to be able to study and master the different forms of the science. No rule-of-thumb education will do here, for at a few weeks' notice he is called upon to train different kinds of hawks, in an entirely different manner, for flights which differ one from another almost as much as it is possible for sports to do. As is the modern falconer, so is the modern sport. We travel faster, we get over more ground, and our hawks do more work. Only a year or two ago the score of quarry killed by our principal hawking club reached 600 head of winged game taken in England, Scotland, and Ireland by different kinds of hawk, all differently trained, entered, and managed. In ancient days where one system was pursued such scores were impos- sible, and though, perhaps, we are not nowadays superior to the best of the old Scotch falconers as regards game hawking, nor are we able to beat the best Dutch falconers as to their management of the wild-caught hawk, yet in the combination of both systems, with perhaps a few wrinkles from the Oriental falconers, whose practice has been a good deal followed of late years, we believe that modern falconers can lay claim to a distinct superiority in their science over those of any one school in ancient days. In one respect, certainly, English falconry has made a great stride during the last twenty-five years — that is, in the general management of passage hawks. A great deal has been learnt here from the Indian falconers, to whom nestlings are unknown, but who are able to do as much in every respect with their wild-caught birds as European falconers can with their eyesses. At any rate, in these later years, passage hawks are tamed and trained, and that early in their career, to an extent which was unknown to those masters of the art who, forty years ago, achieved great results with them in certain flights, where clever 242 FALCONRY management and good entering were essential, but where very high training was not required. In the ' Encyclopaedia Britannica ' Col. Delme Ratcliffe, a falconer second to none, states it as his opinion that eyesses, or nestling hawks, have been far better managed in the nine- teenth century than they were in the middle ages. Whether this be so or not we cannot tell ; certainly if hacking such hawks was not formerly practised, this would be the case, but we are disposed to think that this practice was generally followed by the old falconers in Scotland and the north of England, where falcons could easily be procured from the nest, and that the good sport which they appear to have enjoyed was shown by eyess falcons which can hardly have been without hack. At any rate, he has placed upon record his opinion that the falconers of the present time have learnt to manage their hawks better than their ancestors were able to do, and we believe that he is perfectly correct in this view. The hawks which are used in falconry in the present day are of various kinds, and are divided into two great varieties. First, the true falcons, or long-winged hawks ; secondly, the short-winged, or true hawks. In ' Falconry in the British Isles ' we find the following excellent definition of the two varieties : — The falcons or long- winged hawks are distinguished from the true or short-winged hawks by three never-failing characteristics, viz. by the tooth on the upper mandible (this in some of the foreign species is doubled), by the second feather of the wing being either the longest or equal in length to the third,^ and by the colour of the irides, dark in the case of the falcons, yellow in that of the hawks. Falconers will, however, find many more differences be- tween the two species than are here described ; for their whole nature is different, and so, consequently, is their mode of flight. 1 In the short-winged hawks the fourth is the longest feather in the wing. The tail and also the legs are far longer than in the falcon, and the foot more powerful. THE FALCONER 243 Whilst the falcons are fine-tempered, generous birds, whose home is in the open country, and whose dashing style of flight is only adapted to wide plains or hills, the hawks are shifting, lurching fliers, deadly enough in their own country, which is the close woodland through which they can thread their way like a woodcock or an owl, and that with extreme rapidity, for a short distance. Of the first named variety the species which are commonly used in modern falconry are, first and foremost, the peregrine, which is to be found in every quarter of the globe, and wher- ever it has been trained, east or west, has always proved itself to be the hawk which is by far the best suited to the service of man ; next the gyr-falcons and the merlin. These have been regularly made use of from time immemorial. Besides these we sometimes find the Barbary falcon, the sacre, the lanner, and the hobby ; but though, no doubt, these birds are very capable of showing sport, they have been treated more as pets in this country, and trained as an experiment rather than with any serious intention to kill game with them. In the East both sacre and lanner are trained with success, as well as various other species of falcon. Of the short-winged hawks the goshawk and the sparrow- hawk are the only varieties in use. Of the implements which are in use for the confining and training of hawks, the first and the most important ig the Hood. This is a cap of stiff leather, so contrived as to blindfold the hawk, while at the same time it fits easily to her head and does not press upon her eyes, and yet is so well fitted that she cannot get it off. Two patterns are in ordinary use, Dutch and Indian. The Dutch hood is the old European form, and is made of three pieces, one body-piece and two eyepieces. These latter are usually covered with cloth or velvet, not only for appearance' sake, but also because the cloth being drawn into the seams of the leather makes a close joint and does not allow a glimmer of light to come through the hood just above the hawk's eye, and just where it should not. 244 FALCONRY Many a fine falcon has been made into an incurable * jumper' or a 'restless brute' by straining to get at a ray of light which fell through an ill-made hood, and was just enough to do away with all the effect of hooding her, while at the same time it gave her no comfort or sense of freedom. A good pattern of hood, nearly akin to the Indian pattern, made out of one piece, is given in ' Falconry in the British Isles,' Plate XVI., but we have never seen this hood in actual Fig. I.— Dutch hood use. The Indian hoods are excellent, easily made, and most comfortable to the hawk. In fact, they are perfection so long as the hawk is on hand ; but hawks can readily get them off if left hooded by themselves, and therefore there are many occasions on which they are useless. Rufter hoods are light caps of leather which blindfold the hawk, but are open at the back, and securely tied with a strap and button round the neck. Hawks can readily feed through them, but they cannot be taken on and off, and are only used for the controlling of hawks that are just caught. IMPLEMENTS 245 What the bridle is to the horse, that the hood is to the falcon 3 it is the only means by which she is controlled ; with- out it, so nervous and excitable is her temperament that she would, even if trained and fairly tame, dash herself from the Fig. 2. — Indian hood perch at every strange sound or sight, and after an exhausting struggle would not, perhaps, recover her equanimity for a whole day. To take her to the field on the hand, or to travel with her from place to place, among sights and people most strange Fig. ■Rufter hood and alarming to her, would be an impossibility. With the hood on her head she sits like a stuffed bird ; she can be handled, passed from one person to another, carried for hundreds of miles, and taken through streets, railway stations, 246 FALCONRY or where you will, without the slightest trouble and without feeling any alarm or inconvenience herself. Sir John Sebright very aptly remarks : — ' It may, perhaps, appear paradoxical to assert that hawks, by being kept hooded, are brought nearer to their natural habits ; but this is un- doubtedly the case, for, by this treatment, they are induced to remain at rest when they are not feeding or in pursuit of game, and such are their habits in a wild state when left undisturbed.' Jesses are two short strips of leather (see fig. 4) by which the hawk is held at all times. They are about one quarter of an inch wide for the greater part of their length, and half an inch wide at the part where they encircle the hawk's legs. Two slits are made about one and a half inch apart, Fig. q Jesses and the jess being placed round the hawk's leg, the shorter end is passed through the slit nearest the middle of the jess, and the longer end passed through both slits, which makes a neat knot around the leg. (See fig. 5.) At the end of the jess furthest from the hawk's leg is a long slit which is passed over a swivel (see fig. 7), through the lower end of which is run the leash. This is a strap or thong of leather about three feet in length, with a button at the end, formed by folding the leather several times, then punching a hole through the folds and drawing the end of the thong through the hole. By this leash the hawk is tied to her block or perch. Dog-skin well tanned is the best leather that can possibly be used for jesses, and out of the centre part of the back, in very large skins, can be cut the best leashes. When skins of suffi- cient size cannot be got, calf leather or 'kip' is very good. IMPLEMENTS 247 Once we saw some capital leashes cut out of lion's skin, but this leather is not often found in the tanyard. White horse-skin is very tough and very good for hawks that are prone to gnaw and tear their jesses, but it is apt to grow very hard with wear and requires constant greasing and attention, and nothing is better for leashes than ' porpoise ' hide or the leather of the white whale. In India a leather is used that is very light and good, and also soft : it is usually dyed some bright colour on one side and appears co be goatskin. Swivels should be made of brass in all cases ; iron or steel rust with bathing and then do not act well. In old days ' varvels ' or rings of brass, silver, or even gold (often engraved with the owner's name) were attached Fig. 6.— Leash Fig. 7. -Swivel to the jesses, and the leash run through them. But this more clumsy arrangement has for a long time been superseded by the swivel. Bells should be very good ones or they are not worth putting on to a hawk. By far the best and most durable are the Indian bells, of which the shape is peculiar (see fig. 8, p. 248). They are easily procured through any friends who may have taken up falconry in India, and they are largely made in Lahore. Of rough manufacture and cheap in price, they are perfect for the purpose for which they are intended and few falconers use any others. They are light, of good tone in general, and marvellously durable. We have used some for many years, even until a hole was worn through the metal of the bell by the clapper within it, and yet the tone was unim- paired. Many attempts have been made to get these bells 248 FALCONRY exactly copied in Europe, but the result has always been utter failure : probably the metal used in India is a different alloy to that in use in Europe. Bells are made in Holland and are fairly good when new, but nearly always crack and lose their tone after a season's use. Bells are fastened to the hawk's legs by short straps called 'bewits,' which are attached in the same manner as the jess. Fig. 8.— Indian bell The Cadge is a frame or perch on which hawks are car- ried to the field. It should be made of light deal, and the edges well stuffed and covered with stout canvas. It is supported by four legs, which can be made to fold up for convenience sake, and it is hung over the shoulders of the bearer, who stands in the midst of the frame, by two cross belts. The box cadge is simply a light box, without a lid, and with padded edges, on which hawks are placed for railway travelling, &c. To induce hawks to sit quietly on the cadge they must frequently be brailed. The Brail is a strip of leather similar to a jess, about ten inches long, with a sht in the middle about two inches long. This slit is passed over the shoulder, and one end of the brail is passed round the wing and tied on the outside. The wing is thus lightly confined in its natural position, and the hawk, being unable to use it, will sit perfectly still as long as she is allowed to do so. IMPLEMENTS 149 The Lure is a most important instrument in the training of hawks. The chief requirements are : that it should be attractive in form to the hawk, too heavy for it to carry, and convenient for the falconer to carry and use. A very good lure is made of a horseshoe, w^ll padded with tow, and bound and covered with leather. It should be covered over with two pairs of wings, of which wild duck's will be found to be the best, and strings are attached by which food may be fastened to the lure, on which the hawk may feed. A lure is figured below. A good lure is formed of two or four fresh pairs of pigeon's or fowl's wings laid face to face, and bound together. The hawks can pull enough at it to be rewarded after a flight, and it more closely resembles a bird, dead or alive. But, as hawks can carry such lures as these, they must be held by a long string, and are usually thrown up to the returning hawk to be taken in the air, instead of being thrown out on to the ground. The falconer's left hand^ on which hawks are car- ried must be protected by Fig. 9.— Lure a stout glove. Buckskin is the proper material for this, roughly tanned, and it should be sewn double over the thumb, fore-finger, and upper part of the hand, or sharp claws will penetrate. A Falconer's Bag, with different compartments for live and dead lures, snaring hues, &:c., is most useful. A pattern is 1 European falconers always carry the hawk on the left hand, but Indian, Persian, Arabian, and other Oriental falconers invariably on the right. Japanese falconers, however, use the left hand, like Europeans. 250 FALCONRY shown below. It is usually worn round the waist on horse- back, or, if used on foot, over the shoulder. Many falconers use the voice freely when training or exer- cising their hawks. Tradition is in favour of the practice, and it seems to have been in use in Shakespeare's time, or he would not have made Juliet exclaim : — Hist ! Romeo, hist ! O ! for a falconer's voice To lure this tassel-gentle back again. Romeo and Juliet^ Act II. Sc. ii. Yet we have our doubts as to the efficacy of the practice. A short sharp cry as game rises is certainly of use, as it ma\' attract the attention of a hawk that is waiting on so w-ide that her eyes may be turned for the moment in another di- rection. An old hawk, too, may become so used to her trainer's voice that she may not, however wnlful she be, stray beyond sound of it. But, as a rule, hawks are birds that work solely by the eye. They will generally detect game the instant it rises from the covert, many seconds ere the sound of the falconer's voice reaches them. So, too, they will see the lure the moment it is shown to them, and if they will not come to it when well in their view, no strains of the human voice, however melodious, will attract them. If the falconer has a fine sonorous voice and he likes to exercise it either in calling or in cheering on his hawks, he can do so with eyesses without doing the slightest Fig. 10. — Falconer's bag GLOSSARY OF TERMS 251 harm ; but many passage hawks do not Hke a noise, and, as a rule, in hawking, as in all other sports, the quieter you are about it the more successful are you likely to be. In ancient times the number of technical expressions used in falconry were almost innumerable ; hardly a motion could be made by the hawk, hardly a feather shaken, but a special term was applied. We in modern times have much reduced the number of these terms, and in describing our hawks are content to make use of the ordinary expressions of everyday life ; but in a sport so peculiar there are necessarily many tech- nicalities and many terms which must be used and understood when falconry is the topic. We here append a glossary of terms now used in hawking, and, while we have endeavoured to include all those that are in daily use, we have excluded all that are unnecessary or obsolete. Glossary of Terms used in Hawking Bate. — To flutter off the perch or fist through wildness or from temper. Bewits. — The strips of leather by which the bells are fastened to the legs. Bind. — To seize and hold on to quarry in the air. Brail. — A strip of leather with which one wing of a hawk is secured so as to prevent her from moving it. Cadge. — A frame of wood with padded edges upon which hawks sit when carried to the field. Cadges for travelling are made in the form of a box without a lid, and the edges of the box are padded as in an ordinary cadge. Calling off. — To call the hawk to the lure from the fist of an assistant. Carry. — To fly off with the quarry which has been taken, on the approach of the falconer : a fault hawks are very liable to con- tract. Cast. — A couple of hawks. Castings. —Fur or feathers given to a hawk, together with its food, to promote digestion. Cere. — The waxlike skin above or round the beak. Check to. — To leave the bird flown at for another. 252 FALCONRY Coping. — Trimming and paring the beak and talons. Crabbing.— Hawks fighting with one another. Deck feathers.— The two centre feathers of the tail. Enter. — To train a hawk to a particular quarry. Eyess, or Eyas.— A hawk taken from the nest. Falcon. — Means the female of any hawk as opposed to the male, when used by falconers. Naturalists use the word to signify a long -winged as opposed to a short-winged hawk. Falcon Gentle. — Another name for a peregrine. Frounce. — A disease in the mouth and throat of a hawk. Gorge. — To give a hawk as much as she will eat. Hack. — A state of liberty in which young eyesses are kept for some weeks to enable them to gain power of wing. Hack- BOARD. — A board or table upon which the hawks at hack are daily fed. Haggard. — A hawk captured after she has assumed the mature plumage ~z.^. is two years old at the least. Hood. — A cap of leather used for blinding a hawk, so as to bring her under proper control. Imp. — To repair broken feathers. Intermewed. — A hawk that has been moulted in confinement. Jesses. — Leather straps about six inches long permanently secured to the legs of a hawk. Leash. — A leathern thong fastened by a swivel to the jesses in order to secure the hawk to a perch or block. Make-hawk. — ^An old hawk flown with a young one to assist and encourage her. Manned. — A hawk that is tame enough to endure the company of strangers. Mantle. — To sit on the perch with wings and tail fully spread — a sign of an ill-tempered hawk. Mews. — The place where hawks are kept. Mutes. — Hawks' droppings. Nares.— Hawks' nostrils. Nestling. — The same as an eyess. Pan n EL. — The gut of a hawk. Passage. — The regular flight of any quarry to or from its feeding- ground ; also the annual migration of hawks. Passage hawks. — Hawks which are caught when fully grown, as they migrate. Perch. — The pole or rail on which hawks are usually kept within doors. GLOSSARY OF TERMS 253 Pitch, — The highest point to which a hawk rises when waiting on. Point, to make. — The perpendicular shoot up of a hawk over the exact spot where quarry has put in. Put in. — The quarry is ' put m ' when driven to take refuge in some covert. Put over. — To digest food. Quarry. — The game flown at. Ramage. — Wild and stubborn. Rangle.— Small stones which hawks take with their food to aid digestion. Reclaim. — To tame a hawk, or bring her from, her wild condition to such a point that she is fit to enter at quarry. Red hawk. — A hawk of the first year — i.e. in the 'red' or im- mature plumage (sometimes also termed a ' soar ' hawk). Ring. — To rise in wide circles, or spirally. Rousing.— Shaking all the feathers. Rufter hood. — A hood of peculiar construction used for freshly- caught hawks. Serving a hawk. — Driving out the quarry which has 'put in' to the hawk as she waits overhead. Slight falcon. — A peregrine. Stoop. — The rapid descent from a height upon the quarry. Swivel. — Used as a link to attach the jesses to the leash, and to prevent entanglement. Tiercel, Tercel, or Tassel. — The male hawk as opposed to the female ; he being a 'tierce' or third smaller in size. Truss. — To clutch or hold on to the quarry in the air. Varvels. — Small rings of brass or silver which used to be attached to the end of the jesses. Now disused and a swivel adopted, being less likely to become entangled in trees, &c. Waiting on. — To soar steadily above the head of the falconer or his dog, in expectation of the springing of game. Watching or Waking. — Sitting up at night with a newly caught hawk, so as to tire out and tame her. Weathering — Is placing hawks unhooded upon their blocks in the open air. Yarak. — An Indian term to signify good flying condition. 54 FALCONRY CHAPTER II THE PEREGRINE — EYESSES — HACKING HAWKS — TRAINING — GAME HAWKING^RECORDS OF SPORT — MAGPIE HAWKING The peregrine falcon breeds in most parts of the United Kingdom where a suitable situation can be found for its eyrie and where it is allowed to remain unmolested. Wild sea-cliffs or lofty scaurs on inland hills are the most common situations ; but the sea-cliffs are generally preferred because of the abund- ant food which is provided, both for the parent birds and the young, by the dense flocks of sea-birds and rock-pigeons which have also resorted to the same range of cliffs for breeding pur- poses. The chalk cliffs of the South Coast ; rocky islands, such as Lundy or Handa ; the headlands on the Welsh coast ; the north and west of Ireland ; and almost the whole of the coast of Scotland, are dotted with the breeding-places of the pere- grine. Only one nest is found within a considerable circle, for the pair which have taken possession of an established eyrie will brook no intruder on their hunting-grounds. Taking the young from the nest is an operation attended with considerable difficulty and danger, and, if possible, experienced cliff-men, who are in the habit of descending the cliffs by means of ropes in order to take sea-birds' eggs or to gather samphire, should be employed. It is absolutely essential that the right moment should be selected for taking the young birds, and that moment arrives when the birds are nearly fledged, but have not yet left the nest. If taken too young the nestlings are very difficult to rear ; are very liable to be taken with cramp, which is incur- able, and, even if they survive, are almost certain to contract PEREGRINE ON BLOCK— AD DLT PLUMAGE THE PEREGRINE 255 the vile habit of incessant screaming, and to be hot, bad- tempered birds. The nest should be carefully watched with a glass from some coign of vantage until all the down which at first clothes the nestlings is seen to be replaced by brown feathers, and, when this is the case, the birds may be taken. A peregrine's eyrie This should be done, if possible, towards evening. They should be placed upon long straw (not upon hay), in a hamper v,'ell lined with canvas, and sent off at once to the falconer, so that they may accomplish as much of their journey as possible during the night. No food should be placed in the hamper unless the journey is likely to be a very long one, and great 256 FALCONRY care must be taken that no hay, grass, or woollen material be placed at the bottom of the hamper, or else the young birds will very probably pick up and swallow pieces thereof. Many a young hawk has been destroyed in this way. Young hawks well taken and well sent off are worth about i/. to i/. loj-. each. Those taken too young are literally not worth one shilling. Un- less the falconer can thoroughly rely upon the cliff-men who are to take the nest for him, it is well worth his while to go himself or to send a man to see the nest taken. Not unfrequently there is some competition as to which man or set of men shall secure the nest, and in such cases birds are often taken young, and kept, generally in a bad place and on bad food, until they are fledged, and then sent to the falconer as freshly taken birds. Such nestlings as these are the most worthless of all ; their weakly nature, tame disposition, and screaming will betray them, at once, and the best and cheapest plan is to send them straight back again to wherever they came from, if, as should always be the case, proper directions have been sent for taking them, and a stipulation made that they are carried out. As soon as they are received, they should be taken from the hamper and placed in a roughly-made nest on the floor of a large loft, or even a shed or coach-house, in the vicinity of which they are intended to fly at hack ; jesses and a couple of large bells should be put upon them at once, and, after that, the less they see of any human presence the better. The object of flying at hack is to get the young hawks wild and powerful on the wing. All training should be left until this part of their rearing is past and done with ; the wilder they get the better, so long as they feed regularly. Food should consist of fresh beef finely chopped, with every other day a new-laid egg mixed with it ; a change of diet should also be resorted to as the birds get older, and freshly-killed birds, rabbits, and even squirrels and rats, form good diet for hawks at hack. All food should be tied on a piece of board (which should be kept scrupulously clean) and placed withirj sight of the young birds by the falconer, who should show himself as little as possible and EYESSES 257 retire as quickly as he can. If the young hawks learn to asso- ciate his presence with a supply of food, they will at once begin to scream at the sight of a human being, and, if this habit is contracted, it will never be lost, and the' hawks will become a positive nuisance to their owner. The method of rearing hawks which was adopted by Peter Ballantyne, one of the most successful of Scotch falconers, was to place them in an open loft or old pigeon-house, along the front of which was nailed a wide board or shelf at such a height that a man standing underneath it could just reach up high enough to place food on the shelf. On this board the young hawks spent most of their time in fine weather, their food being placed before them twice or three times a day without their catching sight of a living creature near enough to alarm them. Gradually they extended their flight to the roof of the house and the adjoining trees, and soon were on the wing and taking long trips into the adjoining country, regularly returning when hungry to the board, where they never failed to find their food at regular intervals. This was an excellent method of rearing nestlings, and its principle should be followed as nearly as possible. Where the hawks are reared in an ordinary loft, the window should be set open as the hawks get stronger, and they should be allowed gradually to come out, care being taken to set their food, when they have done so, on a large board called the hack-board, in a conspicuous place just outside the loft : for, when once in the open air, they will not re-enter the house. In some places the contiguity of a village or some other circumstance renders it undesirable to let the hawks out until they are strong enough on the wing to extend their first flight to the tops of high trees well out of harm's way. In the first \\\on flights of the very young birds they are, of course, very liable to be knocked over by a stone from some mischievous boy, or picked up and injured by some ignorant but well- meaning person. In such a case as this the hawks must be reared in a good large loft or loose box until they are quite strong on the wing. They must then be taken out and tied 258 FALCONRY down to blocks close to the hack-board for two or three days until they get thoroughly familiar with the surroundings. At the end of that time the falconer should quietly, and without frightening the hawk, cut its jesses off close to the swivel and leave it on the block loose. At night, after the hawk has fed, is the best time to do this. In the morning it will, after looking about it, quietly take wing, though its first flight will probably not take it out of sight of the hack-board, to which it will come down and feed, as it has been accustomed, at the usual time. As soon as the young hawks have each spent the day on the wing and returned to feed at evening on the hack-board, they may be considered safe, and may be kept in this state of liberty until they learn to prey for themselves, which will not be for some weeks. It is a beautiful sight to see them playing together, coursing each other through the air, stooping and dodging, till at last, hot and weary, they ring up in wide circles into the cooler currents high overhead till they are out of sight and you see them no more till the feeding-time draws near.' Possibly as the time approaches, none, or at most but one or two, are to be seen about the hack-board ; but before the hour strikes, a httle dot will be seen in the far distance, which in a few seconds resolves itself into a falcon, hastening like ' a bolt from the blue,' to take her place at the dinner- table ; in a minute more another speck is visible in another direction, then two or three together, and in a few minutes the whole vicinity of the hack-board will be alive with hawks, racing and chasing each other, till at last they drop down ' In the summer of 1881, an old wild tiercel came daily to play with the young hawks which we were flying at hack, and so lost his natural fear of mankind, through associating with them, that he would at times stoop within a few yards of the windows of the house, and even took to roosting on the ad- joining church-steeple with the young hawks. When some of the nestlings were caught up, he disappeared, but, unhappily, carried off with him his favourite playmate, an exceedingly promising young falcon, which he kept so well provided with food that she ceased to feed at the hack-board and so never could be taken up. HACKING 259 one by one to the ground, and soberly settle down to the serious business of the evening meal. Strict punctuality must be observed in feeding young hawks : six o'clock morning and evening are good hours to appoint J They will not go far away at so late an hour, and will drop down from their roosting- places for their morning feed before they attempt to leave the place for the day ; conse- quently every hawk goes away with its crop full, safe from getting, into mischief for the present. Care must be taken to fasten the meat securely to the hack-board, so that it cannot be carried 9ff by any hawk, and for feeding at this stage very tough beef, alternated with rabbits, skinned partially and cut into four quarters, is as good as anything. As long as each young hawk appears regularly at the morning and evening feed, it is in no danger of being lost by its own fault, however far it may roam from home, and a careful watch must be kept to see that all have attended. But directly a hawk absents itself at feedmg-time it is a sign that it is killing for itself, and, should it be missing a second time, it should be caught at once. Probably, however, this will not happen until the hawks have been at large for a fortnight or three weeks. In order to secure them the bow-net must be used. This is a plain, circular, or oval net about three feet in diameter ; for half of its circumference it is fastened to a light hazel-rod, bent into a semicircular or ' bow ' shape. To the centre of the bow is attached one end of a line fifty yards long. To set the 1 Hawks that are irregularly fed, or are allowed to go for any protracted length of time while their feathers are growing, are apt to develop a serious defect in their plumage known as ' hunger traces.' Sir John Sebright in his. work on falconry describes it thus : — ' The defect when strongly marked may be seen in some degree on every feather of the body, but it is especially ob- servable on the expanded wing or tail, in a line crossing all the feathers. On the shaft of each feather the mark may not only be seen but felt as a ridge slightly projecting. It may also be seen as a line of imperfection across the web of every feather neatly marked as if a razor had been lightly passed across the wing. The injury from this cause is sometimes such as to occasion the feathers to break off at the hunger-trace, and it is not improbable that the razor-mark seen on the web is in fact owing to the breaking off of all the fine fibres of the web in the line of the trace. ' S 2 26o FALCONRY net, spread it open on the ground near the hack-board, and peg down that half of it to which the bow is not fastened with half a dozen pegs set round its outer edge. Then fold the bow back over the pegged-down portion, tuck away all the loose part of the net under the bow itself, till but little is seen except the hazel stick lying on the ground. In the very centre of the net place the food of the hawk, firmly pegged down, draw the long line tight, and the net is ready. Care must be taken not to allow the hawk which is wanted to feed with the others, and, as it will probably be the shyest and wildest of them, it will be easy enough to move it off till all the others have fed. Then remove all food except the piece which is in the net, and ere long the hawk will come to it. One pull of the line brings the bow flying over the hawk's head ; the net is spread out to its original shape of a circle, in the centre of which, under the net, is the hawk. It must be secured as quickly and as quietly as possible— a hood put on its head, a swivel and leash attached to the jesses, and then it should be tied down upon soft grass with a block to sit upon, and so left to itself for an hour or two to settle down. No unnecessary delay must intervene before training must be seriously taken in hand. At first the young falcon must be carried on hand for two or three hours at a time, being con- tinually stroked with a feather and otherwise gently handled. She will show great impatience at every touch and every strange sound, but she will gradually settle down to her unaccustomed perch and its concomitant disagreeables. As soon as she does this she will pull at a piece of meat laid across her feet, and will shortly take a fair meal through the hood. The next stage is quietly to remove the hood, by candle-light, while the hawk is feeding and hungry. Probably she will continue her meal without taking much notice, but the hood must be replaced ere the meal is at an end, and a few mouthfuls given after it is put on ; for the appearance of the hood must never be associated with the abrupt termination of dinner in the hawk's mind. If, however, she will feed well and fearlessly by candle-light, TRAINING 261 she should be tried by daylight on the following day, and, if she has been carefully handled, no doubt she will feed well enough on hand in a short time in the open air, with strange people about her. She should now be carried as much as possible among strange dogs, children, &c., and her idle moments may be spent bareheaded on a block in some place where she will see many strangers of all sorts, and in this way she will tame herself in a few days, and will eagerly jump to the fist for the evening meal, which she has become accustomed to take there. The next step in her training is to break her to the hood, and this is a most important one, for to be shy of the hood is one of the most serious vices with which a hawk can be cursed. It is hardly too much to say that there is no fault that a hawk can possess which may not be induced by a dishke to the hood in the first instance. It lies with the falconer himself whether his hawk shall be perfect in this respect, and there is no greater test of the skill and patience of the trainer than the way in which his hawks stand to the hood. Not on his own fist. Ke may be an exceedingly skilful hooder, and his hawks may know him perfectly, and let him hood them easily enough ; but a well-broken hawk should stand well to the hood on the hand of any and every man who knows how to use his hood with ordinary skill. To do this well requires much practice and some dexterity : it is hardly possible to describe the process on paper. It should be done firmly, quickly and gently ; no shots or dabs taken at the hawk's head, nor should the middle finger of the hand which holds the hood by the plume be used to thrust the hawk's head into the hood ; but it must be gently placed on her head and a quick movement made of the hand on which she perches, so as to cant her forward, as it were, and let her hood herself. Any person who aspires to become a successful trainer of hawks must practise this branch of his art under good tuition, and should he master it he may be assured that the rest of the business will give him no great trouble. But suppose the young eyess to feed well on the hand, to 262 FALCONRY jump readily to the fist for food, and to stand well to the hood, the next step is to introduce the lure — an instrument which has been described at page 249, but which is really any convenient piece of food which may be offered to a hawk, and which she cannot readily carry away. A dead pigeon or a fowl will do very well. Let your hawk take a bite or two from it and then fling it to the ground; she will follow it with a little en- couragement, and, after you have helped her to feed upon it, she will again fly a few yards to it when thrown from her. During this part of her education she must be confined by a long string. Let her finish her meal upon the lure with your assistance ; and the next day if she will fly keenly at it directly it is thrown at a little distance from her, and not offer to leave it at your approach, she is fit to fly loose with due care. She should be called from the block a few times at increasing distances, hut before this lesson has been often repeated, the falconer will find that he cannot walk far away from his hawk with the lure in his hand without her following him. She should be now placed on an assistant's hand and 'hooded off' to the falconer, who will swing the lure at a distance of about 200 yards. The hawk will be well on the wing when she reaches him, and when she stoops at the lure he will twitch it from her, and keep it from her sight for a while. She is sure to mount and circle round his head for a few moments, when the lure will be thrown out to her, and she should be fed on it. In a few lessons she will follow her master, circling round his head at a greater or less height, according to her natural inclination, for five or six minutes at a time, and then the rest of her education is a mere question of practice. This hawk has never killed for itself, so it will be necessary to arouse the instinct within it by offering her a pigeon at the block. She will almost surely seize and kill it, and the next time she is flying round the falconer may be offered an easy pigeon, which also she will take and instantly kill. If the falconer has thoroughly won the confidence of his hawk he will have no fear of her carrying, but if it be otherwise the TRAINING 263 pigeon must have a short line attached to it. When the hawk has taken two or three pigeons from the hand thus, let her have a real good old blue-rock fresh taken from the dovecote. If she should catch him, you may hug yourself on having got a ' wonder,' but in nine cases out of ten he will either beat her to some covert, if she presses him hard, or will fairly defeat her in the air.' In either case (if the country be open, and none other should be selected for such a trial) the hawk will return high in the air in consequence of the distance from which she comes. Then the moment she is well overhead throw out to her a pigeon which she can easily catch, feed and reward her well, and the lesson is learnt — viz. that to catch quarry she must be high and well placed over her master's head. Another lesson or two of this sort and the hawk is fit to fly at game. The less work that is done at pigeons the better — it is but a paltry amusement not fit to be called sport — and if hawks are kept very long at bagged quarry, they will soon fly at none other, and become useless, half-hearted brutes. This remark applies to all kinds of hawks and all varieties of quarry. The first essay at wild game should be attempted with great care, and, if possible, in private, so that the hawk may be given every chance, and nothing sacrificed in an endeavour to show sport to an admiring circle. The weather must be fine — not necessarily a dead calm. A steady, good dog, well used to hawks, must be put down on favourable ground — the most favourable that can be selected— and should he get a point at birds in a good place, let the young falcon be flown. Plenty of time must be given her to attain her highest pitch, which the falconer will employ in getting round the birds so as to head the dog. The hawk must be exactly ' placed ' when 1 For three years we tried all our hawks, to the number of six or seven, annually with the same old Belgian homing pigeon that was the pride of a very fair loft. He stood the test well and sailed home in triumph year by year, when his feebler mates were defeated, although some very high-class hawks were tested by him. At last ' Buccaneer ' fairly caught him, and, though we were fortunately up in time to save the old bird's life, we never used him as a ' trial horse ' again. 264 FALCONRY the birds are sprung- that is to say, she must be as high as she isHkely to mount, exactly over the birds, but a little up wind of them. If, then, the falconer springs the birds at the right moment, and turns them down wind, a good stoop will be made, which will probably result in a kill. O fortunati 7ii7nium ! if such be the result, for, with future care and caution, the hawk is made. Let then the falconer go carefully in to her as she sits with the game in her foot ; if he has trained her carefully he need have no fear of her carrying, for she will but regard his approach as an extra assistance by which she may the more rapidly obtain the tit-bits of her meal. She should be given a fair good three-quarter crop with plenty of casting, hooded up and taken home, and flown again the afternoon of the next day. Should she kill her bird again, treat her in the same manner, and then fly her twice or thrice a day as long as she kills well, and get all the spoU you can out of her. After being flown for a while at game the hawk will (if it is ever to become a good one at all) begin to mount higher and higher. Unless it does so, it will be of no use at all later in the season, and, indeed, it is sur- prising how few hawks can kill grouse regularly and well after September 15, or partridges (especially in the case of tiercels) after November i. The higher a hawk mounts the more ground it will cover, and where the pitch is good game will be killed that has sprung very wide of the hawk ; but, as a rule, the hawk should be high, and directly over the game, which should be sprung down wind, so as to ensure a down-wind stoop. To ensure success these three points must ever be strictly observed, and for grouse late in the season, or even December partridges, the falconer will find that he can afford to give very few points away. Should the quarry be driven into a fence or other covert, a good spaniel is useful either to retrieve or to drive him 01 1. Old hawks are thoroughly alive to this part of the sport, and v/ill recover their pitch with extraordinary rapidity after having driven a bird headlong into covert, so as to be ready should he emerge from it. Game hawking, contrary to what might be expected, has GAME HAWKING 26 s not the effect of banishing the game flown at from its haunts, A single afternoon at the sport will prove to any man of ex- perience that it is not likely to have this effect. Immediately a covey is flushed, the hawk being overhead, its members hurry with the utmost speed they can command to the nearest covert. One bird only is killed, and the rest find a refuge within a few hundred yards of the place where they were Falconer 'making-in* to a hawk found. Directly they discover that they are not pursued they will be out on the feed again, for there is nothing unnatural or unusual to them in being frightened by a hawk. Probably on any ground open enough for hawking, they see a wild one every other day, and merely consider the trained bird to be one of their natural enemies, which they readily avoid by their natural powers and instinct. 266 FALCONRY We have not unfrequently, in countries where there were but few spaces open enough for hawking, flown almost daily at the same coveys, both of grouse and partridges, and found them without fail on the same feeding grounds, though in diminished numbers, as they were one by one taken ; nor did flying hawks at them regularly appear to make them nearly so wild as even a day or two of shooting over the same ground. On moors where, for convenience, a separate beat is devoted to the use of the hawks, it has been found that, towards the end of the season, birds lie better to dogs and are considerably more numerous than they are upon the beats where they have been shot regularly. This has been proved most conclusively upon the Achinduich moors in Sutherlandshire in 1882 and 1883, and upon the Langwell moors in Caithness in the seasons of 1885, 1886, and 1887. A good flight at game is one of the prettiest sights hawking can afford, especially when grouse is the quarry. The moor should be rather a flat one, and the less broken the ground is, and the fewer burns intersect it, the better the hawk's chance of success. Grouse will 'put in ' to a burn with steep sides, like a partridge into a fence, and get right underground where the banks are hollow. Good dogs are essential : they must be wide rangers, very steady, and thoroughly understand the sport, into which they will enter most keenly. As soon as the dog stands the falconer should unhood his hawk and throw her off. If she is an old hand at the game she will not be long mounting. Possibly, if a dashing flier, she will do so in very wide circles, ranging, it may be, a mile or more from her master. Especially will she do this when flying hard daily, and being fully fed upon the game she is killing, she becomes full of flesh, muscle, and vitality, and at the same time what is called ' a little above herself.' Should she stray too far away the swinging of the lure, or in extreme cases, one flutter of the wing of a pigeon, will bring her back ; but, as a rule, all exhibition of lures while a hawk is mounting high on the wing should be con- demned. Directly she returns, and has shown by a few short turns GRQ-DSE HAWKING— ' HIT TAIB AND SQUARE GROUSE HAWKING 267 that she is steady, the birds may be flushed. The hawk ought now to be hanging steadily, with her head to the wind, at least three gunshots high. She looks no bigger than a butterfly, and here and there bits of scud may be seen drifting between the earth and her ; yet she is under command, and, should the point prove a false one, will follow her master at that lofty pitch while, say, fifty acres of heather are beaten below her. But at the right moment the falconer, who has moved quietly round so as to head his dog while the hawk gains her pitch, dashes down upon the point, the birds are sprung, and the hawk, turning on her side, flies downward for a few strokes as hard as she can, and then with wings closed she falls like a stone slung from a mighty catapult, almost like a flash of light, right on to the very top of the bird she has from the first moment selected. Should she hit him fair and square, there will be a little cloud of feathers in the air, and the grouse will bound on to the heather as dead as though he had received the contents of a choke- bore at forty yards ; but if the quarry pursued be an old cock grouse, perchance at the critical moment he will give three or four abrupt side shifts like those of a newly-sprung snipe, and the bafiled hawk will shoot up after her stoop to a height half as high as that which she came from, ready to drive at the grouse again as he scuds off to the shelter of the nearest burn. It then becomes a trial of speed between the two, the result of which depends on the distance of the flight, the lay of the ground, and similar circumstances ; but the falconer will only occasionally be able to see the actual finish, and following on the line of flight will either find his falcon beneath the lee of some great boulder surrounded by a mass of feathers, about to begin her feast on the body of her victim, or else hears the tinkle of her bell as the defeated hawk, having re- covered her wind, takes flight again to search for her master. It is a great advantage when the dog can be trained to dash in towards his master and flush the birds at a given signal, instead of the man having to run down and spring them himself. The dog's nose tells him exactly where the birds are. 268 FALCONRY They may be at a little distance from him, and will lie like stones with the hawk overhead, so that the falconer may be unable to light upon them instantly, and the delay of a few moments may be fatal. We have seen two or three dogs of the breed of lemon and white setters, belonging to Mr. St. Quintin, that would dash in ' as keen as mustard ' at the signal and flush the nearest grouse of the covey, dropping instantane- ously as they did so. There they would remain during the time the hawk was flown, was taken up, and a fresh hawk taken from the cadge and hooded ofl", and after she had got to her pitch would again dash in and flush, at the exact moment, the remaining bird or birds of the covey. In this way we have seen, especially with one magnificent setter called ' Prince,' who worked for many seasons solely with hawks, three and four flights obtained from the same point at one covey, the dog lying immovable during the long time — perhaps twenty minutes — that elapsed during the flight and taking up of the hawk in each case. Yet these dogs were no potterers, but were dashing, high- ranging dogs of the highest class, thoroughly acquainted with the work they had to do, and fond of it. They were seldom used with the gun, and seemed to work with more intelligence and sense of responsibility than dogs which are shot over usually display. As a rule we have found setters more suited to hawking, and more capable of understanding the peculiar work that is required of them than pointers. This appears to have been the experience of falconers at all times, and is placed on record in various books. Partridge hawking is very similar to grouse hawking, but is, from the nature of the country, more circumscribed. Hence very dashing fliers that have done well at grouse cannot always be flown in the low country. Tiercels, which, as a rule, cannot kill grouse regularly after the first fortnight or so, are best suited to this flight, and if only they will go high enough, and wait on steadily, they will show perfect sport wherever the fields are large enough to give a fair chance of a flight. A good spaniel or two that is used to the hawks should be taken out in order to put out or retrieve a bird driven into a hedge. GAME HAWKING— RECORDS OF SPORT 269 It is, of course, not possible to kill very large bags with hawks, nor is the sport of such a nature that the number of head killed can be always taken as a fair criterion of the amusement which has been afforded. In 1830 the hawks belonging to the Duke of Leeds ^ are recorded to have killed 317 head of game, and in 1832 one tiercel of his, 'The General,' killed 129 head out of 134 flights. Most of this work was done at partridges. In the season of 1870 that excellent falconer Peter Ballantine killed 269 head of game in Ayrshire, being then in the service of Mr. Ewen, and in 1871 he killed no less than 346 head with six hawks, which is, we believe, the highest score (if ground game killed by goshawks be excluded) that a team of game hawks has yet made. The greater number were, however, partridges, with a few grouse and young blackgame in the early part of the season. In 1882 the hawks belonging to the Old Hawking Club achieved what may be termed a ' record ' in the annals of game hawking, killing between August 12 and September 14 exactly one hundred brace of grouse upon the Achinduich moors, in Sutherlandshire, which were taken by Mr. St. Quintin and Colonel Brooksbank for the purpose. The score for this season is sufficiently remarkable to be appended here, and is as follows : — Hawks c 1 ^ 1 .2 Parachute, eyess falcon, 2 years old Vesta ,, ,, I year ,, Aneela, passage falcon, 2 years ,, Creole „ „ . . . . A.-D.-C, eyess tiercel, i year old Amesbury, passage falcon, 3 years old . Virginia, eyess falcon, i year old . Belfry, eyess tiercel, i year old 57 43 10 16 32 3 3 76 9 I s_ 3 5 I 146 62 36 10 26 32 4 3 200 104 5 3 7 319 See Falconry in the British Isles, y>. 64. 270 FALCONRY In 1883 the Club hawks, under the same management, killed :— Grouse , . . . . - 85 Blackgame .... • 7 Partridges .... , 87 Pheasants .... • 3 Sundries , . - . , 21 203 But considering how bad a partridge year this was, and that no hawking was done after November i, it can hardly be called a fair average year. About six hawks were flown during the season. In 1886 ninety six grouse and one woodcock were killed at Langwell, Caithness, in August and September, and in 1887 ninety-three grouse on the same moors, two blackcock, and two pheasants. Where grouse are so wild that they cannot possibly be in- duced to lie to the dog, flights may be obtained by putting up the hawk to wait on as soon as likely ground is reached, and forming a good wide line of beaters across the moor. If the hawk is steady and goes high, a good many grouse may be killed in this way ; but it is, of course, an inferior sport to the legitimate practice of working the highly trained dog in con- junction with the highly trained hawk, which has been de- scribed in the preceding pages. The method of putting the hawk up beforehand has been regularly followed by Major Hawkins Fisher, a falconer of thirty years' experience, who has met with success of no mean order. In 1887 Major Fisher made the excellent bag of in grouse, nine partridges, one snipe, and a woodcock owl, and in 1886 he also met with excellent sport, of which we have not a record. Major Fisher also gives an account of an extraor- dinary flight which one of his eyess falcons made at a woodcock on the shores of Loch Eil, when both cock and hawk mounted into the air over the loch to such a height that even powerful glasses failed to discern them. At last a speck was seen coming GAME HAWKING 271 out of the sky, and the woodcock dropped like a stone towards the very patch of bracken from which he had originally been sprung. His pursuer, however, was close behind him, and long ere he could reach his haven of refuge he was cut over stone- dead in mid-air and fell at the falconer's feet. In another Tiercel and teal moment the hawk was upon him, and received the full crop she had so well earned. Wild ducks and teal afford the best of sport, provided the water is not too large and they can be driven out of it. Most hawks will fly them readily, but ducks shift quickly from the stoop, and will then take the air, when a fine high flight is 272 FALCONRY sometimes obtained, the duck when outflown generally making straight for the pond whence he was sprung. Few tiercels will take mallard, but for teal they are excellent. Woodcocks afford the finest kind of game hawking, but can rarely be found in sufficiently open ground to be flown at. Should the cock avoid the first stoop, as it probably will do, even when a high- mounting hawk is waiting on, he will cer- tainly ring up into the air, and a beautiful flight, akin to heron hawking, may be witnessed after the usual description of game flight is over. Falcons are the best for this quarry, and though it taxes the powers of the hawk, yet with a really good falcon the woodcock is not an exceptionally difficult bird to kill. Snipe are occasionally cut down by a good tiercel, and some- times the hawk will ring up over them, but they are not easy to kill except in August. Pheasants, if found in the open, are easily caught, but not many tiercels care to tackle an old cock, which buffets them sadly when on the ground, Blackgame when young are very readily taken, and are useful for entering young hawks, but when fully fledged, say after October i, the blackcock can take care of himself. A high -mounting hawk, well placed, may cut him down at the first stoop, but should he shift from it he will almost certainly outfly the hawk. We have never known hares to be successfully taken with the peregrine except in one season. This was in 1883, on the Achinduich moors, when a particularly fine, high-mounting grouse- falcon, called ' Parachute,' was waiting on at a great pitch over a point, which turned out to be at a blue hare instead of a grouse. To the surprise of all, the moment the hare moved the falcon came down like a flash, and striking it behind the ears rolled it over and over. Shooting up, she repeated the blow again and again, and finally binding to the exhausted hare would no doubt have very shortly killed it, even if an officious spaniel had not come to her assistance. The case seemed so remarkable that the experiment was tried again the next day, and the hawk purposely allowed to gain her pitch over a blue hare that had GAME HAWKING '2-11 been espied in its seat. Precisely the same thing happened, the hawk flying her game with the greatest courage and deter- mination, and a third essay produced the same result. With- out a doubt, then, if a little pains were taken to enter peregrines Tiercel and woodcock to this quarry, they could be trained to take it, and perhaps might, with the help of a dog, tackle even an English brown hare ; but it seems a pity to use the noble long- winged hawks for a flight at ground game which is far better suited to the goshawk. 274 FALCONRY Magpie hawking, though not one of the higher branches of falconry, is nevertheless most excellent sport, and possesses this charm, that the field, one and all, may take an active part in the chase, for their assistance is necessary to bring "about a kill. It is a flight well within the powers of either eyess tiercels or falcons that do not mount high enough to kill game well. Passage tiercels are also very good, and if they become well entered to the quarry are, from their superior dash and style, rather more deadly than eyesses. Two tiercels should be flown together, as the magpie shifts so rapidly from the stoop, and avails himself so cleverly of every possible covert that might protect him, that a single hawk has not much chance with him, and the whole beauty of the flight consists in the pretty double stooping in which the one tiercel takes up the chance that the other has missed. A partially open country devoid of trees is the best for the purpose. The best sport we have seen is in Ireland, where the sport was ever heartily welcomed and cordially joined in. Great sport has been seen in co. Kildare in the neighbourhood of Sallins and of Kildare, and in Wexford, near Enniscorthy. In Tipperary, near Fermoy, Captain Salvin ^ records that in 1857 he killed in four months 184 magpies, killing as many as eight in one day with his excellent tiercels ' The O'Donoghue ' and ' Dhuleep Singh.' In 1873 the same gentleman, together with the author of this volume, took twenty-eight magpies, three sparrow-hawks, and about the same number of rooks and other quarry in one month's tour in Ireland ; and in 1879 certain other members of the Old Hawking Club had a most suc- cessful trip of three weeks in Kildare and Tipperary, killing fifty-eight head. Of this number ' Buccaneer' and ' Meteor,' two excellent eyess tiercels, killed in thirteen days forty- four magpies. The great object in flying the magpie is to cut him off from his point, and to drive him into the open at the moment when the hawks are well placed for a stoop. Cunning to the last 1 See Falconry in the British Isles, p. 68. MAGPIE HAWKING 275 degree, however he may be pressed, a magpie never loses his head, or ceases to make for the point on which he has set his mind from the first. Unless he is headed by horsemen or active runners, he will sneak from bush to bush, from tuft to tuft, nay, even within a deep rut or a furrow, never moving Magpie hawking except when the hawks are a little wide of him, and shifting rapidly into covert the instant he is stooped at. No hawk can kill him without assistance, except in the most open ground. As soon as a magpie is seen a high-mounting hawk should be thrown off ; his presence in the air will keep the magpie quiet 2/6 FALCONRY in the bush or hedge in which he may be. This will give the field time to get well round him and cut him off from any strong covert there may be in sight. The quarry may now be moved, and as soon as the first hawk comes at him, a second may be flown. It will all depend upon the ability of the field to keep the magpie out of covert, and move him often enough for the hawks to stoop at him, whether the issue will be successful or not ; but in favourable ground we have often known a magpie hunt, with an active field, and two good hawks, to last thirty minutes, and not always result in a kill then. Good sport may be obtained on open downs where many scattered bushes exist if there are magpies breeding in any plantations bordering such ground. The woods must be beaten systematically, down wind, by a line of beaters, and the hawks concealed to the leeward of the covert. The magpies usually pass out very high, and it requires a good and experienced hawk to go straight and well at them, and fetch them down into the scattered bushes. As soon, however, as they see the tiercel coming hard at them, they will drop, and if he waits on well and steadily, they will remain in their hiding place till the field comes up and the hunt begins. But they are exceedingly clever, artful birds, and on ground of this kind a great deal of manoeuvring is necessary to obtain a flight at all. 277 CHAPTER III THE PEREGRINE— PASSAGE HAWKS — ADVANTAGES OF — HOW CAUGHT — MODE OF TRAINING— HERON HAWKING — ROOK HAWKING— GULL HAWKING — PASSAGE HAWKS FOR GAME — LOST HAWKS What the professional is to the amateur, or rather, perhaps, what the thoroughbred horse is to all other varieties of the equine race, the passage hawk is, according to species, to every other hawk which is trained, inasmuch as she is swifter, more active, more hardy, and more powerful than the nestling. That this should be so is no matter for surprise when it is recollected that the passage, or wild-caught, hawk has spent days and weeks on the wing in every kind of weather, and has killed dozens, or perhaps hundreds, of wild birds in fair flight, while the nestling has only gained what power of wing she possesses from some three or four weeks of flying at hack, and since that time has been flown at from two to three birds a day, and that only when the weather was fine. Moreover, though we cannot definitely account for this, the temper of the wild-caught hawk is, as a rule, far gentler and more amiable, when once she is tamed, than is that of a hawk taken from the nest ; and, while the latter are rarely free from the horrible trick of screaming, that vice is almost unknown among passage hawks. These difl'erences in temper were well understood by Symon Latham, who pubHshed in 1615 his book called ' The Faulcon's Lure and Cure ' (which is to this day the best English work on falconry ever written), and who says in conclusion of a chapter 278 FALCONRY on eyess falcons : ' But leaving to speak any more of these kinde of scratching hawks, that I did never love should come too neere my fingers, and to returne unto the curteous and faire conditioned haggard faulcon whose gallant disposition I know not how to extoll or praise so sufficiently as she deserves.' What the falconers of ancient days thus recorded is abundantly confirmed by the practice of their successors in modern times. The passage hawk, as every wild-caught peregrine is termed, with the distinction of ' haggard ' when she is captured in the mature plumage — perhaps aged several years — has proved herself, in our own experience, the superior to the eyess in every kind of flight to which the peregrine can be put. But, moreover, there are many flights such as those at the heron and the rook, for which the passage hawk alone is well adapted, and of which the eyess, as a rule, is not capable. It is true that there have been many eyesses which have been fairly good rook hawks — in one or two instances they have even taken the heron ' on the passage,' but such hawks were exceptional ones. To obtain a team of, say, six good hawks that would take the heron, or even the rook, in the rough winds of March as he passes to and from his feeding-grounds, it would be neces- sary to train and test at least twenty eyesses ; but a better result w^ould be obtained from the training, in experienced hands, of ten well-caught passage falcons. And, again, even if the trainer of the eyesses were to succeed in producing hawks that took rooks or herons fairly well, he could never hope that they would emulate the style and dash with which iheir wild- bred congeners accomplished the feat ; nor, above all, would he be as independent of weather as are those who use the hardy passage hawk, which seems to glory in a gale and laugh at the bitterness of the north-east wind. For game hawking the passage hawk requires both time and careful training, and here, perhaps because of the difficulty of managing the wild-caught hawkj the eyess holds her own. Yet even when the best possible eyesses are being flown — THE PEREGRINE— PASSAGE HAWKS 279 hawks that may be trusted to kill three and four head of game every day — if there be in the stud a passage falcon that will wait on high and steadily, she will so eclipse the eyess for style and pace, and above all in ' footing qualities,' i.e. accuracy of striking her quarry, that there is no comparison between the J" )Kt^iW.' '■'i^M ^**f-^'?¥'iJJ ■y£^\r. jil Tiercel on partridge pleasure which is afforded by the flights shown by the two hawks. Probably no game hawk has beaten the record of ' Parachute,' as shown on page 269, of 146 head of game in five months, or of ' Vesta,' also the property of the Old Hawking Club, who has killed 297 grouse (besides other game in numbers) during her nine years. Yet in nearly every season that such hawks 28o FALCONRY have flown they have had to take the second place, as regards briUiancy of execution and deadhness of stoop and style, to some one or two of the passage hawks which have accompanied them to their hawking ground, and this will ever be the case when both varieties are given a fair trial. Naturally, the hawk which has spent so long a period in a wild state, during which she has imbibed a holy horror of man and all his works, regarding him as her natural foe, is very much more difficult to train at first than the nestling, which requires at any rate little or no taming, and whose idea of man is that he is a being created in order to bring food to hawks. First, however, how are passage hawks to be obtained ? They may be caught doubtless in many parts of the United Kingdom, where, every autumn about the middle of October, peregrines appear, for a day or two, on ground where they certainly do not breed, and where they are very seldom seen at other times. Thus falcons have been taken, at huts specially put out for the purpose, both in Northamptonshire and on the downs of Wiltshire. These no doubt w^re stragglers from the great army of birds of all kinds and descriptions which annually migrates from north to south at the commencement of winter. Upon the outskirts of this army hang the falcons and other raptorial birds ; whether they are themselves follow- ing the same migratory instinct that urges onward the other innumerable varieties of birds, or whether they are simply following their food as it changes its quarters, it is -impossible to say. In North Brabant in Holland, near to Eindhoven, there is a vast wild plain or heath, and this plain appears to lie in the very centre of the track which the great concourse of migratory birds follows. Wild fowl of every kind, cranes, larks, linnets, all varieties of birds may be seen, during October and November, passing over this plain and steadily pursuing their route southwards. Here, too, come the falcons, first the haggards and tiercels, after them the young falcons of the year, and here from time immemorial have they been cap- PASSAGE HAWKS 281 tured for hawking purposes. On the edge of the heath hes the Httle town of Valkenswaard, which takes its very name from the falcons, that in old days were its staple article of trade. Therein reside certain families of men who from gene- ration to generation, as far back as history goes, have been falconers and catchers of falcons. Some hundred years ago, even, there were from twenty to thirty huts put out at Valkens- waard for the capture of hawks during the autumn passage, and the little town could boast of the like number of men skilled in training hawks. In those days a sort of fair was held after the migration was over, which was attended by the chief falconers of various noblemen and princes from every country in Europe. The hawks that had been caught were sold by auction, and rare prices were occasionally paid for very choice specimens, with such a competition as took place under the circumstances described. Ichabod ! The glory has departed. Some three huts now supply all the wants of the hawking world. They are under the management of one family, the Mollens, the head of which, Adrian Mollen, was formerly head falconer to the King of Holland, and his customers average annually some half-a-dozen only, mostly Englishmen, with a Frenchman or two added to them. The actual instru- ment which is used in taking the hawks is the bow-net, which has been fully described in the chapter on hacking and training eyesses at page 259. Two or perhaps three of these nets are set out at about a hundred yards each from the falconer's hut, into which lead the strong lines by which they are worked. The hut itself is a very simple affair, partly sunk in the ground and partly built of turfs and sods covered with heather. The roof is very often made of an old cartwheel, which is well covered over with heath and turf, so that the hut itself looks exactly like a small natural mound on the surface of the plain, and perfectly conceals the falconer even from the sharp eyes of a bird of prey. The bait for each ol the bow-nets is a live pigeon, which is kept in a cleverly constructed little house built of turves, 282 FALCONRY with a hanging curtain over the door, made of a heather sod, so that when the long Hne, which is attached to the pigeon by soft buckskin jesses, is pulled by the falconer the curtain gives way and allows the bird to be drawn out. This line passes through an eye in the head of an iron pin, which is driven into the ground exactly in the centre of the bow-net, so that the falconer knows, whether he can see it or not, that when the pigeon's line is pulled taut and checks, the bird itself is on the ground exactly in the middle of the net. A fourth pigeon inhabits a similar little house immediately in front of the hut, and about fifty yards from it. The line from this pigeon passes over the top of a light pole about twenty feet high, so that when this line is pulled the pigeon is raised to that height and flies well out so as to be easily seen. This pigeon is intended to serve as a lure and attract a hawk from a distance. Sometimes it happens that the falconer will catch, early in the season, an old or a bad plumaged falcon that he does not think highly of for hawking purposes. Such a falcon he will set out, hooded, with a line attached to her, passing over a pole just as in the case of the lure pigeon. A few feet in front of the hawk is fastened to the line a bunch of feathers, so that when the line is pulled tight the hawk is lifted to the top of the pole and flies round with the bunch of feathers in front of her, looking from a distance exactly like a hawk in full pursuit of, and on the point of catchmg, some quarry. This forms a most attractive lure to a wild hawk, which is almost certain to pause in her flight and lower her pitch to join in the fray. Last of all comes the most important adjunct to the apparatus, in the shape of a butcher bird, or grey shrike, which is used as a watch-dog or sentinel to give notice of the approach of a hawk. These curious little birds are always on the alert and on the look-out for birds of prey ; their power of vision is most mar- vellous, far beyond the reach of any human eye. They can detect a falcon, which minutes afterwards will come into sight as a PASSAGE HAWKS— CATCHING 283 tiny black speck, high in the heavens. Two of these shrikes are generally used, tethered upon mounds near the hut, with a little house, like those in which the pigeons are kept, to shelter them. As soon as they see a hawk they will chatter and scream, pointing steadily in the direction of the bird's approach. An experienced falconer can tell fairly well from the action of his butcher bird what species of hawk is in view. More alarm will be shown at the approach of a goshawk than of any other variety, while at tiercels or merlins his gestures are those of absurd indignation and defiance. Everything being then prepared, the falconer will arrive at his hut and have all in readiness by daybreak. Early morning is the best time for catching hawks, and the passage for the day is over by three o'clock as a rule. With a good stock of tobacco and some occupation such as net-making or cobbling, to while away the many weary hours of waiting, he establishes himself inside his hut ; presently, if all goes well, his butcher birds will chatter, point, and warn him to be on the look-out. Far away, it may be, he sees a tiny speck, which he believes to be a peregrine. At any rate he pulls the line attached to the pole hawk, and soon brings up the wild bird to rather closer quarters. Should it be a peregrine such as he desires to cap- ture, he drops the line attached to the pole hawk, which at once subsides to the ground, and draws that which lifts the pigeon to the top of the pole, and lets it fly well out. At this pigeon the wild hawk most likely ' comes with a rattle,' but at the nick of time the falconer drops the line, and the frightened bird will bolt into its little hut for safety. Angry and disap- pointed, the wild hawk will shoot into the air and give a circle round to see what has become of her prey. At this juncture the falconer pulls out the pigeon attached to one or other end (ac- cording to the direction of wind and position of the hawk) of his bow-net. The wild falcon's blood is up ; she has been dis- appointed once, and she dashes like lightning on to the pigeon, which she imagines to be the one that just escaped her. Of course she has no difficulty in taking it, and as she is killing it 284 FALCONRY the falconer steadily draws the line till it checks at the head of the iron pin in the centre of the net. One pull of the net line and the hawk is safely caught. As rapidly as possible she is taken out of the net, a rufter hood is placed on her head — that is to say, a light, comfortable hood, open at the back, and easy for a hawk to feed through — she is then placed in a ' sock,' which is simply the leg of an old stocking, which pins her wings to her sides and acts as a strait-waistcoat, making it impossible for her to move or to struggle, Jesses are placed on her legs, the points are taken off her beak and claws, and she is left to lie quiet until the time arrives for leaving the hut and going home. Two hawks in one day is unusually good fortune. More often the falconer sits day after day without any luck at all. Sometimes it happens that from something going wrong with his tackle, or from some such cause, he misses the hawk. This is a serious reverse, for he will not easily get the chance to catch the same bird again. Such a mishap occurred to Mollen, senior, in 1872. He had just caught a falcon, and was taking her out of the net when there came up, attracted by the pigeon, an exceedingly fine dark falcon. It was too late to hide ; but when, an hour or so afterwards, she again appeared on the scene, and he pulled out the lure pigeon, all that resulted was, that after a shy stoop the falcon followed the line at the height of a yard or two right from • the net to the hut, spread her wings, and sailed away. There were many wild fowl on the heath at the time, and he could see this grand hawk day after day chasing and killing them in the finest style, till his mouth fairly watered to catch her. In vain did he try all his arts ; every time he showed his lure the crafty bird would sail along the extended string, as if to show how well she understood the game, and then would bid him good-bye. Worst of all, she would brook no intruder on her hunting grounds, and day after day as other falcons passed and began to stoop to the pigeon, she would descend upon them from the clouds, and after a buffeting match would drive them away. Mollen was in de- spair, the season was slipping away, and his business being lost. PASSAGE HAWKS 285 At last he took his gun to the hut, having made up his mind to shoot the hawk as a last resource and free himself from the incubus. Hour after hour he sat with gun in readiness — a strange position, indeed, for a falconer. But that day she came Passage hawk under bow-net not, nor the next, and at last the gun was laid aside and the hawk catching went on as before. At the end of the week one of Mollen's sons who was working a hut many miles away returned home with his catch. He had not much to boast of, except one, 'a real beauty.' Hardly had the old man set eyes on her than he recognised his tormentor — unmistakable from her size, dark plumage, and 286 FALCONRY beauty. She had gone straight to the other hut after plaguing him the last day he saw her, but never having been frightened at that place was less suspicious and so was caught. This hawk came into the possession of the Old Hawking Club, where she was known as ' the Duck-killer,' and was one of the grandest hawks for temper, flying qualities, and steadiness that the Club have ever owned, killing over forty rooks her first season. She was eventually lost when flying rooks at Feltwell in Norfolk, and it is to be hoped became the mother of falcons as good as herself on some wild cliff in North Britain, or Scan- dinavia. But to return to the freshly caught falcon. Her captor will have little difficulty in carrying her home on his fist ; so dazed and terrified will she be by her novel situation that she vvill sit like a hawk of stone. On arrival the hawk may be temporarily set on the perch wuth any others that have been lately caught, or, better still, fastened securely to a soft grass mound (which sometimes takes the place of the sock) ; but the sooner she is taken in hand, the better. The directions which have been already given for the training of the freshly taken- up eyess will apply in this case also, but it must never be for- gotten that the passage hawk has hitherto spent her days in avoiding men as her natural enemies, and that it will take much time, care, and gentleness ere this terror and aversion can be overcome. A single impatient action or hasty gesture may undo the work of days, and the man who tries to tame a wild- caught hawk should possess a temper which is under perfect command and a patience which is ' above proof.' The first step is to take the hawk on hand and to handle her gently, stroking her with a feather or some such thing, to accustom her to being taken hold of and handled. Hawks differ marvellously at this stage of their education. Some will display the most passionate temper, will fight, bite, even scream, and dash themselves about like passionate children. Such as these are usually the easiest to deal with ; their passion soon abates and generally develops into a fine, generous temper. PASSAGE HAWKS— TRAINING 287 Some sit like statues— immovable, indifferent, resenting no handling, noticing no food — such are difficult hawks to train, and only time and patience, added to experience, will train these, though it can be, and annually is, done. Gradually the hawk will become reconciled to the touch, to the sound of the human voice, and will in a few days comport herself more like a tame bird and less like a wild beast. Most of this work is done at night ; and the best method of training wild-caught, or indeed any other birds, is to deal with them at night, and to tame them by depriving them of their natural rest and by handling them by lamplight, which dazes them and takes away half their power of resistance. Where time is an object, hawks are kept awake for the whole night for three or four nights together, and by such treatment a hawk may be tamed in about four days. Such haste is rarely needed, and in ordinary cases any hawk may be got into good order in reasonable time by taking her on hand, say, from seven in the evening until eleven at night ; and, indeed, a man may have two or three hawks on the perch by his side, and by taking them in hand alternately bring them all on together at the same rate. It is very important, if the most is to be made of passage hawks, that each one should be taken in hand as soon as she is caught, and tamed at once. This is not always easily managed, and sometimes several birds are left to stand idle for many days while others are being caught. This leads to many faults, always causes delay (sometimes very great delay) in the training and entering of such hawks, and not unfrequently ruins them altogether. The great secret in successful training of passage hawks is to get food into them by fair means. This is by no means so easy as it appears to be, and requires no little skill in the way of handling the hawk so as to get her to bite at the food which is held on to her feet, and to continue feeding after she has once begun. The room must be perfectly quiet, there must be no changes of light or distant sounds heard, or the hawk's attention will at once be arrested and she will leave off feeding. 288 FALCONRY There is also great knack in getting her to pull at the meat without being frightened. Adrian MoUen boasts, not without reason, that he can get a quarter of a crop more into any hawk after any other man has done his best with her. It is very important that hawks shall be well fed ; they will lose their wild condition quite fast enough from the change of food, the numerous shocks to their nervous system, and the loss of exercise ; but if they are allowed to get down too low they will never recover their power or their courage. If all goes well, however, in a few days the hawk will feed well and boldly through the rufter hood, will allow herself to be handled, and will feel more at home on the fist. The rufter hood should now be removed by candle-light, and the hawk induced to feed bare-headed. A hood of ordinary make can also be placed on her, and she can be frequently hooded and unhooded and broken carefully to the hood in the same way as eyesses are treated. When she sits quiet and bare-headed by candle-light, the same lesson may be repeated by daylight, and ere its close the hawk will jump to the hand for her food — at first a short distance only, afterwards the full length of the leash — and will do so promptly and briskly as soon as the meat is shown her. All this takes a good deal of time and patience, but anything like hurry is to be avoided, or the hawk will probably go back rapidly as soon as she is taken out into the open air. So long as a little progress, be it ever so little, is made every day, the falconer should be content, and not endeavour to hurry his more backward, shy tempered birds in order to keep pace with one or two good-tempered ones that ' never look behind them,' and almost train themselves. As soon as the hawk will feed fearlessly on the hand bare- headed she should be entered to the lure : this at the first outset must, in the case of wild-caught hawks, consist of a live pigeon. The moment the hawk seizes it the falconer should twist its neck, so as to kill it instantaneously and pain- lessly, and the hawk should be allowed to break into and eat it while still warm. PASSAGE HAWKS— TRAINING 289 Many passage falcons are very stupid and troublesome to enter to the lure just at first. The process of taming and training them seems to have completely transformed their nature and driven all recollection of their past life out of their minds. It is very curious to notice how the young eyess, which has no fear at all of man or nervousness at its sur- roundings, will, almost to a certainty, seize and kill in- stinctively the first live pigeon shown to it, though it has never killed a bird before ; while the passage hawk, which has, perhaps, chased and killed hundreds of wild birds during its life, and has subsisted on nothing else, will sometimes sit and blink stupidly at a pigeon within a few feet of it, as though it had never seen such a creature before. A little patience will overcome this difficulty also, and as soon as the hawk will seize and kill a pigeon within doors, and feed quietly upon it without fear of the falconer, she may be tried out of doors on a long string with the pigeon similarly confined. Should she behave equally well this time also she may be trusted to fly loose. A good deal of care must be exercised the first few times she is flown, for if any little thing should go wrong and upset the hawk's equanimity it may become a difficult matter to take her up at once ; and if she is at large, even for an hour or two, out of control, her wild ways will at this stage return to her with great rapidity. She should be very sharp-set, and for the first trial it will be quite enough to call her from the fist of an assistant (who must not be a perfect stranger to her) about a hundred yards to the falconer. One or two stoops will be enough, and she should then be allowed to feed on the lure. As soon as the hawk behaves well and flies keenly, the use of Hve pigeons should be abandoned, and the hawk trained to the dead lure. In former days it was supposed that passage hawks could not be trained to dead lures until they had been in work for a long time, but we have proved this to be a fallacy, and that it is, with care and good management, quite as possible to get passage hawks to come to the dead lure as it is to train eyesses to it. The early education cannot in either case be u 290 FALCONRY carried on without the sacrifice of two or three pigeons. These should be killed instantaneously the moment the hawk touches them, and all unnecessary cruelty avoided. But as soon as these first stages of the falcon's education are completed the ' live lure ' should become a thing unknown, except in cases of emergency, such as a lost hawk. As soon as the passage falcon flies well and steadily to the lure, stooping at it for seven or eight minutes at a time, she should be entered to the quarry at which she is to be flown. It is a very bad plan to keep hawks that are fit to be entered flying on at the lure day after day, for weeks together. Such hawks will become very tame and very handy, but they will lose all that dash which is the special charm of the passage hawk, and will become so wedded to the lure that they will fly at nothing else.^ The quarry which, as a rule, the passage hawk alone is capable of taking, is the heron ' on the passage ' ; to enter her to this quarry she should first be allowed to take and kill a few large-sized towls. If she should seize and tackle these powerful birds with determination, she will have no hesitation in binding to a heron if ever she shall get to close quarters enough to do so. After this education she must be flown at a bagged heron, first in a string and afterwards loose and at some distance from her. During these lessons her beak and talons must be cut very short and well rounded off, so that beyond seizing the hieron she can do him no injury before the falconer runs to save him. Having once ' bound to him ' the falcon must be fed upon some food which she relishes, and after a lesson or two of this kind she should be fit to fly at a wild heron. Heron hawking, however — sad as it is to record it— must be written down as a sport almost extinct in England. To catch 1 But it is necessary to observe that the passage hawk must at first only be entered to quarry which she cannot easily carry (unless, indeed, extraordinary pains are taken to tame her). Otherwise she is very likely to lift any light bird (such as a pigeon), and, though not actually wild at first, she becomes so frightened at being followed with a bird in her foot, which she repeatedly carries, that she becomes unapproachable. HERON HAWKIJ^G 291 a heron with a hawk as it rises from the stream where it may be feeding is easy enough ; any nesthng that has been well entered, even the short-winged goshawk, can do this to an absolute cer- tainty every time that it is brought near enough to the quarry ; but this is not heron hawking. To arrive at this sport the follow- ing conditions are necessary. A heronry of large size, situated far from any river or feeding-ground, so that the herons pass continually to and from the nearest river to the heronry, and pass also over some vast open space of ground suitable to be ridden over and wide enough to afford a flight of at least two miles ere the heron could reach either a sheltering wood or a piece of water into which he will dive like a duck. Nay, we have known a heron to put in even to a sheepfold when hard pressed on an open field ! Such conditions as these were well fulfilled at Didlington in Norfolk, which was for many years the scene of the sport of the High Ash Club. But here, even so long ago as 1838, the draining of the fenland and breaking up and cultivation of the open heaths so hmited the area in which it was possible to pursue the sport that blank days became more and more common, and eventually the club was broken up. Better still were the conditions under which the sport was pursued at the Loo in Holland, where the heronry was of vast size, and the country surrounding it even better than at Didlington. Here heron hawking was pursued on a princely scale, the joint establishments of the King of Holland and of the English Club being equal to any emergency, and some idea can be obtained of the sport which they obtained when it is recorded that in one year (1852) the hawks took no fewer than 292 herons, while for eight years in succession they actually averaged 178 herons annually.^ Of course so large a number of herons taken in the breeding season would very soon ruin the finest heronry in the world, but it was the practice to save and liberate every heron that was taken, and it was a point of honour with the members of the Club to 1 See Schlegel's Traiti de Faucottnerie, 1844. 292 FALCONRY ride hard enough to be handy at the finish, so as to make sure that the heron should not be injured. When Hberated a small copper ring was fixed to his leg with the date of his capture written on it, and herons have been taken with as many as three and four of these rings on their legs. ^ The method of conducting the sport is as follows. The falconers with their hawks are placed at intervals of half a mile, in two or three parties, down wind of the heronry, and at some considerable distance from it. As the heron passes homewards with his crop full of fish, he must pass within sufficiently close distance of one or the other of these parties. As soon as he is well past, and up wind of the hawks, they are hooded off. Pro- bably the heron is two hundred yards away, and at least a hundred yards high, and with such a start as this he can set to work to ring into the air with confidence. It is useless for him to attempt to reach the heronry, which is dead up wind, while he has such pursuers as these behind him. Below him is no protecting covert, and therefore his only resources are the clouds above him. Ring after ring he makes, mounting into the air in long spiral curves. Ring after ring do the hawks make after him, tearing into the wind for perhaps half a mile without a turn, and then swinging round in a great circle that sends them higher and higher. At last one hawk is over him, though at such a height we cannot distinguish the distances between them ; but we can see her shut her wings and drive like a bullet at the heron. A rapid shift, and the hawk has fallen many hundreds of feet below her quarry, but, shooting up with the same impetus, at once sets to work to ring into the wind, so as to regain her lost advantage. During this time the second falcon has climbed almost out of sight above her mate and her quarry, and can be just distinguished poising herself for a terrific stoop. The good heron can just, but only just, avoid it, and that with the loss of a few feathers and a down- . ward sweep that sacrifices some minutes of the hard ringing by which the height he is now at was attained. This sweep gives 1 See Falco7iry in the British Isles, p. 8i. ;;.iX^='it,v. • A CLOSE SHAVE HERON HA WKING 293 a chance to the first hawk and down she comes, pressing the heron hard — so hard that as her mate follows her at an interval of a second or two he is hit heavily. In another moment one hawk has bound to him, and ere the struggle can commence the other has joined in the fray, and all three birds steadily descend to the ground. The wind has carried them for at least a mile from where they were hooded off, and that, too, at a pace as good as a horseman cares to gallop over fairly rough ground with his eyes in the air. Old hawks will always let go the heron as they approach the ground, so as to avoid the concussion, and will renew the attack the instant that they are safely landed. Some falcons are a little slow in ' making in ' to a heron on the ground, and in this way have been badly stabbed. If the heron has time afforded to him to collect himself and get into a fighting attitude he is a dangerous opponent, but the fables of hawks spitting themselves as they stoop upon beaks upturned in the air are myths which have no foundation in fact. A heron on the ground is, however, a formidable enemy, and when hawks are flown at a bagman it is essential that his beak be muzzled by being cased in a double piece of soft elder, one for each mandible, or mischief is sure to ensue. It is absolutely necessary that hawks should be well entered to herons and should be kept to this flight alone. So far as we know, there is hardly any place left in England where a heronry exists with suitable country round it so that one or even two flights could be obtained daily. It is not, therefore, worth the while of any falconer to set aside a cast or two of his best hawks for a flight which, noble as it is, he could not obtain with any certainty. Probably at the Loo — although even there much of the country is enclosed and cultivated — very good sport could be obtained, but it is thirty-six years since the cry of ' A la vol ' echoed in the domain of ' Het Loo,' and it is doubtful if there are more than two or three falconers now alive who have seen the heron taken 'a la haute volee.' Heron hawking must, for the present, be looked upon as a thing of the past ; 294 FALCONRY but hawks are still trained annually that are as capable of this noble flight as any that ever have been reclaimed by man, and it needs only a little enterprise to reinstate this, the most magnificent form of falconry, if it could meet with the same cordial support, and be organised under those Royal auspices that were extended to it forty years ago. Perhaps even superior to heron hawking was the flight at the kite, for which passage falcons combined with gerfalcons were used. It is many years since kites were common enough in England to be an object of sport, and the method of flying them is more particularly described in a subsequent chapter on the gyrfalcon. The modern substitute for heron hawking is the flight at the rook, and it is by no means a bad one. Rook hawking is the finest form of the sport that is nowadays readily available, provided that it is carried out in a proper manner, in a good country, and with the best of hawks. Rooks, just like herons, may be caught in a bad country by very inferior hawks. In the autumn, in a country where the fields are large, the fences small, and the hedgerow timber scarce, rooks may be driven into covert and (possibly) caught, after a chase partaking of the nature of a rat hunt, by almost any hawk that has courage enough to go straight and hard at her quarry. But this is not rook hawking. The falcons that have beaten down rook after rook into fences or covert in enclosed country in November would find themselves at a sad nonplus if they were hooded off at an old cock rook travelling away over the wide downs of Wilts or Berks in the teeth of a March north-easter. The proper time for this sport is the month of March or early April when the hen birds are in the rookery and the cocks are traveUing great distances in search of food. A very open country is requisite. The chalk downs of the south of England are, generally speaking, the best. Parts of Salisbury Plain, the downs near Lambourne and Ashdown, and near Brighton, at Royston, and other parts of Cambridgeshire are capital country, and in fact, wherever a clear open space of a mile can be found ROOK HAWKING 295 rooks may be flown with success. The difificulty is to find any country where flights can be obtained day after day ; for this quarry becomes very crafty, and the appearance of the well- known hawking party over the sky-line is enough to send every rook in the plain below scurrying to his home if the visits have been too frequent to the same portion of country. A flight may be obtained wherever the quarry is found far enough from covert, whether following the plough, feeding on new-sown corn, or on open downs. After rain with a south-west wind they will be found on the turf downs, but in dry, cold weather they will haunt sheepfolds or villages, and flights are not so easily obtained. The best flights are obtained at rooks * upon the passage ' — that is to say, passing regularly from the rookery to some favourite feeding ground across an open stretch of ground. Such a slip is generally a pretty long one ; the rook at any rate is well on the wing, and a fine flight is almost a certainty. It is most essential that the hawks should be slipped dead up wind at the rook. This is a cardinal rule, and must never be transgressed, although with a very good hawk liberties may be taken now and then. If the slip is down wind, or so nearly on a side wind that by a swerve right or left the rook can get to leeward of the hawk, he will dash away down wind at a pace that will leave all riders far behind. Although the hawk will follow him just as fast, it will be a stern chase and a long one, and in no country that we are aware of is there room for a flight of this kind to end successfully ; the result must be a long uninteresting chase without a stoop, with the rook safely ensconced in covert at the end, some miles from the falconer. The hawk is there with no one to take her down to the lure, and is left to dash after any fresh quarry as soon as she gets her wdnd, and thus is lost. If the slip be dead in wind, the rook cannot go straight away from the falcon, who is better at flying into the wind than he is ; but he will at first do his best to escape her by flying up wind, rising all the time to keep above her ; thus ere she can reach him both birds will have attained a considerable height. 296 FALCONRY But as soon as the hawk gains her pitch fairly over the rook, he can no longer carry on in the teeth of the gale, but must turn down wind, thus passing under the falcon and giving her the chance of her stoop, and also passing by all the horsemen, who, up to this point, have been following the flight up wind. Although the rest of the flight will be down the wind, the hawk will have so far got the advantage that she will put in stoop after stoop, and thus the horsemen will be able to keep up fairly well, and, at any rate, to see a pretty flight with many stoops, far different from a long down-wind stern chase, and should, moreover, be near enough at the finish (if their horses can gallop, and they can ride them) to secure the hawk, if, per- chance, she is, after all, beaten to some covert. Let it then be considered an inviolable rule in rook hawking and all similar flights that the hawk be flown dead in the wind at the quarry, just as in game hawking the birds should be flushed dead down wind under the hawk. It is not always an easy matter to enter falcons at rooks. The quarry is distasteful to them because it is difficult to catch, difficult to master when on the ground, and disagreeable to eat. Many hawks can only be brought to fly them by very skilful management, and at first all must be extra sharp set when first entered to them. No hawk, however, can be made to show any sport by the process of starvation, and, though she may be so reduced by hunger as to dash keenly at anything alive, yet her strength will fail her directly she is asked to climb into the wind over a rapidly mounting rook. The famous hawk * Bois-le-Duc ' was a striking instance of this unwillingness to fly rooks. Throughout her training she had shown such power, speed, and dash that it was clear she was a hawk of no mean order. When entered at bagged rooks she would dash at them and take them out of sheer devilry ; and when first flown at wild rooks she would tear away over them, in spite of wind, snow, or any disadvantages, but having them once at her mercy would disdain to stoop and finish her work. To have starved her into flying would have been to sacrifice her ROOK HAWKING 297 great powers or to lower her to the level of an ordinary falcon. Instead of this she was flown in a string at bagged rooks, and the moment she seized them a fresh-killed pigeon was thrust under the wing of the rook, and the falcon fed upon it. After a time or two she began to think that rooks were not such bad eating after all, and, being slipped at a wild one, brought it down in splendid style. The same process was repeated, and the lesson was learnt. After that day Bois-le-duc was slipped at sixty consecutive rooks, which she killed with but a single miss during that whole season, a feat which has never been rivalled by any other hawk. For some time the greatest care was paid to her condition and to her feeding, but ere long she became so wedded to her quarry that no slip was too far, no chance too bad for her, and she became, perhaps, the best rook hawk that has ever been trained. Eyesses will sometimes take rooks very well, and there have been many good rook hawks of this kind. As a rule, they lack the dash and drive requisite for work of this kind. They will kill on fine days and in nice places, but cannot take the long slips in wild weather, and under all circumstances, that passage hawks will attempt, even if they cannot succeed, nor are they clever enough at footing to be deadly at a quarry so active in shifting as the rook. It would be almost impossible to produce a team of eyesses that would show sport to a large party, day after day, in all weathers during March and April ; but with passage hawks this can annually be done. Tiercels will fly rooks well enough, but are naturally rather more difficult to enter than falcons ; for the rook is, on the ground, almost as powerful a bird as the tiercel, and knocks him about sadly. As a rule tiercels are not entered to this quarry, but are kept for game and for magpies, &c. One of the best that ever was flown was an eyess called ' Druid,' belonging to the Hon. Cecil Buncombe, which for three years held his own and flew in his turn with a first-class team of passage falcons — no small feat indeed when the difference in size, power, and training are considered. There have been many 298 FALCONRY good passage tiercels trained to rooks, of which the last was, perhaps, ' Plenipotentiary,' in 1878. Rook hawking must needs take place in very open and exposed country. It is also pur- sued during a very bleak stormy time of year. To insure sport it is advisable to use a light covered van in which to carry the hawks, built after the fashion of a carrier's cart, or light game waggon ; the interior is fitted with perches, on which the hawks sit as well protected from weather as if they were in their mews at home. Far different is it when they are dragged over the downs on an open cadge, straining themselves to the utmost to retain their footing against the bitter breeze, and, if feeding time be delayed for an hour or two, starved by the cold till they develop many diseases of different kinds. Without warmth and protection no man can keep his hawks in the high, yet keen, condition that is essential to sport, and without the ' van,' or some such contrivance, rook hawking could not be Ijrought to the perfection to which it has attained of late years. In their comfortable carriage the hawks are readily conveyed from place to place over a large tract of country. If rooks cannot be found in one place, the party can easily shift to another, taking the hawks with them, and in this way can cover a great deal of country. A good horse that can gallop, but that is quiet enough to carry a hawk, is indispensable. At the end of a flight, when the falconer must needs dismount to take up his hawk, he should be tethered by a leaden weight, which is carried in a socket at the pommel of the saddle and attached to the bit by a rein. To stand well with this weight, which can be dragged if the horse bolts (i.e. do not break the bridle), and to carry a hawk well, requires a little education, and we have always found thoroughbred horses (especially young ones) more fearless and better suited to this work than any others. A good deal may be done with a very nervous horse by keeping him in a loose box with three or four live pigeons till he is thoroughly used to them, and to stand with the weight is best learned by long hacking rides with the frequent use thereof among fresh spring grass, ROOK HAWKING 299 when the horse will rapidly appreciate the luxury of being left to himself with only a slight check upon his movements, and will be only too glad to remain near the spot where his master dismounts as long as he pleases to leave him. The following description of a flight at rooks appeared in print some years ago, but as it gives a fair idea of the sport we venture to reproduce it with slight alteration : — Let us suppose that we are out for a day's rook hawking, and that we have arrived at our ground. All around, as far as the eye can reach, are wide rolling downs, partly cultivated, but still in a great measure clothed by the smooth virgin turf that has never known the touch of ploughshare or harrow. It is a lovely spring day ; there is a mild gentle wind from the south, with a warm sun, tempered by great fleecy clouds, throwing upon the turf huge shadows which seem to race one another from slope to slope of the downs. We take up our position behind a stack to wait for a rook passing on his way from the rookery in the valley to the sheepfold on the hill. Presently we see one coming, toiling slowly over the shoulder of the down. Shall we fly one of the young falcons lately entered and coming on so well ? Or shall it be the old heroine of a hundred flights, victress over more than double that number of rooks, that flies now in her fourth season with all the vigour and dash she displayed in the blinding snowstorms and heavy gales of her first year ? A hundred or two of yards is far enough for a slip with a young hawk, but with a real good one a quarter of mile is not too far, while many and many a time, if the wind be right for her, the old hawk has been slipped at rooks a fair half-mile away. It looks as if this slip would be too far for a young hawk, so the handsome old falcon is taken on hand, to the delight of the whole field, not one of whom, however large it may be, but will stay out 'just one half-hour more' when it is announced that it is the turn of old ' Bois-le-duc' to fly at the next chance that occurs. All is hushed as the rook, a single bird, presumably a strong old cock, comes slowly up. He passes us and is going nicely on up wind when something about the party awakens his suspicions, and he gives a sudden swerve that in one second takes him about 150 yards off on a side wind. We are not to be done in this way though, and in a moment the head of our party, with the falcon on hand, dashes out at a brisk gallop down wind of the rook, which 300 FALCONRY hastens on up wind. But a hundred yards or so is no matter to us with this hawk, and the moment we are fairly down wind of him the old hawk is unhooded and flung off ; and the falcon is in hot pursuit of her quarry, rising with each stroke of her powerful wings till she seems to shoot upwards like an arrow from the bow. The rook has seen her, and is making his way upwards at no mean rate, but the pace of the falcon is too much for him, and ere long she is above him ; poising herself for a moment she comes, with one terrible perpendicular stoop, straight at him. It would seem as though nothing could escape ; but our rook is equal to the occasion, and with a clever shift he has dodged her attack by a good yard or more. Well done, rook ! but there is clearly now no safety for him in the air, for the falcon has shot up again with the impetus of her stoop to a height scarcely inferior to that from which she descended ; so, turning his tail to the wind, he makes all pos- sible haste to a small patch of thorns and whins that promises a temporary shelter, having, however, on the way to evade two similar stoops from the hawk, almost as fine as the first. Alas for friend rook ! On reaching the covert he finds it already occupied by the enemy, in the shape of the excited field, who soon drive him with halloo and crack of whip from his shelter, and compel him to again seek the open. The falcon has, however, strayed a little away, so he starts with might and main to ring in spiral curves into the very clouds. After him starts the hawk, but soon finds that a really good rook, such as this is, can mount nearly as fast as she can. Up, up they go, gradually becoming smaller and smaller. Ring above ring does the falcon make, yet without getting above him, till, apparently determined to gain the victory, she starts off into the wind to make one tremendous circle that shall attain her object. Steadily into the wind she goes, the rook striving to follow her example, and appearing from below to be flying after the hawk. At length, as she almost completes the outer circumference of her circle, the rook, perhaps feeling his powers exhausted, turns down wind, and, at a great height, makes off as fast as he can go. Surely the flight is over, for the falcon is still working away, head to the wind, as hard as she can — in fact, the two birds are flying in oppo- site directions, half a mile apart. ' Not a bit of it ! ' say the initiated, who are off down wind as fast as they can ride. In another moment you see the falcon come round, and though at such a height she looks no bigger than a swallow, you can see that she is far above the rook, whilst her pace, slightly descending as ROOK HAWKING 301 she is, is almost that of a bullet. So thinks her quarry apparently, for, shutting his wings, he tries to drop like a stone into a clump of trees now nearly beneath him. Swiftly as he drops there is a swifter behind him, and down from that terrific height comes the falcon like a thunderbolt. Lord ! what a stoop ! By the powers, she has missed ! And now surely he must escape. But no ! shooting ^^V M ^ffi i^^m ^^ ^^ «v 5^ ■ ^ ^ w*^^ > „,...^ WL i. .dtMS^^^^^ ^- 5x.£M,t, Falcon flying rook upwards like a rocket, the old falcon puts in one more straight swift stoop, and the rook is taken just as he enters the sanctuary which he has had his eyes on from the first. Whoo-who-op ! A grand ring ! a magnificent stoop ! a splendid flight ! — Bravo, *Bois-le-duc ! ' All flights are not of course so long or so good as this one, but generally afford some sport. As many as nine and ten 302 FALCONRY have been killed in one day, while the total score of rooks and crows taken in the spring of 1887 by the Old Hawking Club reached 209. One year with another some 150, for the last fifteen seasons, have generally been killed, which represents many a ringing flight, and many a brisk gallop over the breezy downs. Another flight which taxes to the full the powers of the best passage hawks, but which is capable of affording the finest of sport, is the flight of the seagull. In many places herring and other gulls are found far inland, and in open places following the plough or feeding on the land. In 1877 the Rev. W. Willi mott, a thoroughly practical falconer residing in Cornwall, trained a passage falcon, that had been entered at rooks, to this quarry with no little success. The hawk took so keenly to the gulls that she would fly them well even with flocks of rooks or other birds around her, and several very fine flights were the result, In fact, on the only occasions when the falcon was defeated the gull made good its point to the sea, but in the air the falcon had the mastery. More recently considerable success has been achieved in flying gulls upon the Yorkshire Wolds by Mr. St. Quintin. This gentleman has chiefly used tiercels for the sport, and principally passage tiercels. With these he has succeeded, on one or two occasions, in taking even the big herring gull, and, perhaps, from their greater activity, they are even better suited than falcons to the small, black-headed gull. Still, upon the whole, we think falcons are most likely to achieve success with seagulls. In the year 1890 Mr. St. Quintin succeeded in killing no fewer than forty-three gulls during winter and early spring, using both tiercels and falcons, and many of the flights were of the finest possible description. As gulls will put in to no sort of covert except water, this flight can be obtained in a country where any other kind of ringing flight would be impracticable. It is not an easy quarry to enter hawks to, and considerable know- ledge of the condition and management of hawks is necessary. As a rule, care must be taken to avoid letting the hawks break GULL HAWKING 303 into and eat the flesh of the gull, which is very distasteful to them, and likely to sicken them of the flight. A freshly-killed pigeon should be substituted for the gull the moment it is dead, and the hawk fed upon it, on the body of the gull where it has killed. Hawks require to be very ' fit ' for this flight, as the gull's power of shifting from the stoop is marvellous, while he can also ring into the clouds very rapidly, and both hawks will need to work hard and to stoop straight and often before they can master him. Moreover the gull, especially the herring gull, bites very sharply, and the falconer must make every effort to be near enough at the close of the flight to assist his hawk, as, should a hawk be injured at first entering, it is not likely to take well to the quarry ever afterwards. It is, however, placed upon record that the seagull is perfectly within the powers of hawks of the best class, and we are of opinion that it is a flight well worthy the attention of falconers, and likely, if well managed, to afford sport of the highest kind. The lapwing or green plover is an exceedingly difficult bird to take, so much so that it may be termed outside the category of * quarry.' We have, however, taken a few in the spring, when they are strongest, with a very first-rate cast of passage tiercels specially trained to the flight. In i\ugust or July, when the old birds are moulting and the young have hardly arrived at their full power, they could perhaps be taken readily, but at any period of the year their powers of high-mounting and of swiftly dashing from the stoop must make them a very difficult bird to catch. The Norfolk plover, stone curlew, or thicknee, is compara- tively easy to take, but is very powerful and fights hard on the ground. It is a good quarry at which to fly hawks that are intended to fly the heron later on. It may be flown either out of the hood, or it may be marked down, and a hawk trained for game-hawking may be put up to wait on overhead and to capture it as it rises. In this way they are more easily caught. Yet occasionally a bird is met with that will shift from the first stoop, and fairly ring away into the clouds, beating, as we have 304 FALCONRY sometimes seen, hawks of the very highest class that were doing their best to catch them. The marked excellence of passage hawks at game hawking was proved for the first time in recent years in the season of 1869, when the two falconers John and Robert Barr, the one in the service of the Champagne Hawking Club and the other in that of the Marquis of Bute, met at Grandtully Castle by the invitation of the Maharajah Dhuleep Singh. The team of hawks was a very strong one, both of eyesses and of passage hawks, the latter having been caught and trained for other purposes, but soon in the skilful hands of John Barr well entered to game. The report of this clever falconer to the author of these lines was as follows : — ' We are having the finest grt>use hawking here that has ever been seen, killing three or four brace of grouse a day, but our hawks are too good — they kill every time they are flown, very often far out of sight, and are not found the same day, and often are difficult to take up after they have been left out one night.' • This, no doubt, is the fault of wild- caught hawks, if they are used for any kind of hawking in which they cannot be ridden up to ; but for swiftness, style, and deadly stooping, eyesses have no chance with them. Haggards especially seem to take to waiting on very w^ell as soon as they are thoroughly well tamed, and naturally they are most deadly at their stoop. In 1869 — the year referred to above— John Barr had a very old haggard falcon named * Granny,' that was a splendid game hawk and also very good at the heron. But the best of all his passage hawks was a falcon called 'Aurora,' so small that ' all the talent ' assembled at Valkenswaard voted her to be a tiercel when first she was caught, until the veteran Adrian Mollen pointed out sundry points of distinction and proved them all to be wrong, and that she really was a tiny falcon. Of late years 'Sibyl,' 'Bacchante' (an old haggard), -and * Elsa,' all the property of the Old Hawking Club, have proved on the Caithness moors that, however trustworthy and good eyesses may be, they cannot hold their own when tried against wild- PASSAGE HAWKS— GAME 305 caught hawks in an open wild country with a strong swift quarry hke the grouse. The fatal word ' lost,' entered against the name of "many a good passage hawk in the game book, has prevented her score from reaching that of the steady-going eyess, who is rarely lost, or if lost is very easily recovered after an extra day or so at hack ; but even if the score of killed be not as great in the one case as in the other, the fine style in which the smaller number has been taken will fully balance the account between the two hawks. In former years it was supposed that passage hawks were not fit to fly at game till after they had been for a long time in training. As long ago, however, as 1869 we saw passage tiercels waiting on perfectly in February that had been caught in the previous October and had been trained by John Barr. Since that time we have had several hawks that were perfectly steady for magpie hawking in the spring succeeding the autumn in which they were caught, and so lately as 1887 we took a magpie in April with a haggard falcon of the previous November. As a rule any passage hawk that has had a good spring season of work at rooks, &c. may be got up in condition, and after a few pigeons from the hand will wait on as well as any eyess. Peregrines differ both in size, colour, and general appearance to an extent so great that it is sometimes almost impossible to believe that they are the same species of hawk. Some falcons of the first year are of a bright reddish cinnamon on the back, the breast being almost all of one rufous shade, blotched with dirty cream-coloured markings. Next to such a bird on the same perch will be perhaps a falcon nearly a third taller, with a rich dark brown back and wing coverts, and her breast and thighs of a bright cream colour regularly marked with very dark brown markings ; the head of such a bird will be nearly black, her thighs very evenly marked, and not a trace of red or cinnamon in her whole body. Other hawks will perhaps be there, all caught on the same passage, of every intermediate shade between these two, some nearly black, others almost the colour of a kestrel. So, too, with the adult birds. One will 3o6 FALCONRY moult out with a beautiful pale blue back, a crop and breast almost white, with a few regular bars across the lower part. Another will have a back of the darkest blue, with head and cheeks very nearly jet black and a breast of rich salmon colour, almost rose, so strongly marked with black that, excepting that the markings run horizontally and not perpendicularly, they are almost as thick as they were in the young plumage. In old hawks pale cinnamon feathers are not uncommon about the nape of the neck, so that the hawk has somewhat the appear- ance of F. Babyloniais. We are satisfied from close observation that it is not possible to tell from the plumage of hawks in the immature stage whether, when fully inoulted out, they will be of the darker or lighter variety. As a rule those falcons which are very black in the young stage will be of a dark variety when moulted out; Itut we have known very light red young hawks moult to a dark variety, and vice versa. A disagreeable but a common phase of falconry is the loss of a hawk, and her recovery taxes oftentimes both the patience and the skill of the falconer. Usually the first cause of the loss is that the flight has carried both hawk and quarry far beyond the ken of their followers. In such case the falconer will follow on down wind as fast as he can to the spot where he last saw the birds, or beyond that to any point where he thinks the flight likely to have terminated. Here he will search all covert into which the quarry may have been driven and killed, from time to time showing his lure, in case the hawk may be either soaring to cool herself after a hard flight or be sitting sulky and disappointed close to where she lost her prey. If he has with him any of the field on horseback, they must be sent on straight down wind to look over all likely places, and especially to the neighbouring rookeries. If the hawk is near these or within them there will be a most unmistakable com- motion, and a signal will show the falconer either that she is there or has passed that way. If the latter prove to be the case, the hawk is probably to be sought for still farther down LOST HA WKS 307 wind of this spot. Flying another hawk to the lure will often bring up a sulky hawk, if done in an exposed place where it can be seen from all sides. Should all these devices fail, it may be taken as certain that the hawk has killed and has gorged herself upon her quarry. In that case she will not be recovered the same day. The falconer will therefore make his arrangements to be upon the spot where the hawk was last seen or heard of before daylight the following morning. He will, with a pair of good glasses, watch the motion of every bird that moves at dawn, and these will act as his scouts, especially in the case of rooks and crows. If he is able to reach a point where he can command a rookery from which the birds are travelling in all directions for their food, he can, sitting quietly glasses in hand, make good an immense extent of country. Should the hawk be sitting in a tree, or on her kill — nay, should she have recently killed any bird— no rook or crow will pass over it without ' mobbing,' i.e. circling round and cawing. If the rooks pass to and fro in all directions peacefully, the falconer may rely upon it that his hawk is not and has not lately been in that neighbourhood ; but if he sees one or two consecutively ' mobbing ' in one place he may be sure it is worth his while to inspect it. Possibly it is only the kill of the day before, but it is an assurance that the hawk is not far off. Later in the morning he may see a lot of rooks and plovers ' sky up ' in a cluster as if alarmed, and if lucky he will, near that spot, find his hawk, perhaps half gorged. If very tame, she may even in that state come to a live pigeon, and allow him to take her up. She will almost certainly come to the pigeon, but perhaps, with a full crop and a day (or may be more) of liberty, will not allow him to take her up. He should try every plan he can think of to do so, but if he fail, then he must snare her. If she will, as is often the case, allow him to come within twenty or thirty yards without notice, he will produce from his bag a long light line of about 100 yards (a salmon line is very 3o8 FALCONRY good) with a peg at one end. Driving the peg into the ground, at forty yards from the hawk, as she sits plucking the pigeon, he will walk round and round, never approaching her, but thus winding the line round her legs, above the bell. As long as he keeps moving and not coming towards her the hawk will not notice him. So soon as he sees that the string is well lapped round her legs he will make quietly in towards the hawk ; but even now, if he can, let him try to take her up, so that she may not find out she is snared. If once a hawk realises this, she is always difficult to manage, very shy of a string and of all tackle, and half spoilt. But if she attempts to leave the pigeon and fly off, the falconer must needs pull his string tight, march in upon her, and the quicker the hood is on her head the better. Possibly, if she is a wild-natured hawk and has been out for a few days, she will not allow any man even within gun- shot. The best plan in such a case is to throw out a live pigeon with a long string attached to it which it can carry away pretty well. If the hawk takes this and kills it, go right in upon her, seizing the string, and frighten her off it. She will not go far. The long line must then be set with an ordinary slip-knot round the pigeon, which must be firmly pegged down just as the hawk left it ; a few wing feathers should be stuck round the noose so as to guide the line upwards and round the hawk's legs. The falconer must retire to the end thereof, conceal himself, and play the game of patience. Sooner or later the hawk is sure to return to her kill, and, if she does so, one pull secures her. This snare can be set with a long spring of india-rubber and a trigger, so that the lighting of the hawk on the pigeon will liberate it and tighten the noose. If the falconer finds more kills than one, a snare or two of this kind will aid him much. A very good device for catching a half-hungry hawk that will stoop at a pigeon, half in play, half in earnest, is as follows. A short strap of stout leather is cut, about three inches long by three-quarters of an inch broad ; to this there are attached LOST HA WKS 309 four or five little snares of catgut, or of gimp, so arranged that, when open, they stand like a series of little wings on a salmon fly, upright, all along the strap, about an inch high. The whole apparatus is next fastened to a pigeon's back by means of double strings round the shoulder of each wing and one round the root of the tail. The strap then fits close along his back among his feathers without impeding his flight in the least, and the snares stand up the whole length of his back and well above it. The pigeon is now thrown out with a long line attached, and should the hawk make but a half-hearted stoop, it is ten to one she will catch her claws in one or other of the snares and be fast. With a pigeon, and a long string attached to her toe, she is readily taken, and we have known even wild hawks to be caught in this way in England. In the East, where they are far tamer, it is almost a certainty.^ * Should a hawk persistently carry any light quarry, the best plan to adopt is to fly another — a very tame hawk— at her. Both hawks will then hold on to the prey, and the falconer can easily approach. Failing this device, the hawk must either be snared, or else frightened off her quarry, and then taken down in the usual way. 510 FALCONRY CHAPTER IV GERFALCONS — KITE HAWKING — HARE HAWKING — MERLINS — ■ HOW MANAGED — LARK HAWKING — THE HOBBY — THE SACRE ■ — THE LANNER — SHAHINS SPORT IN INDIA OTHER VARIETIES OF HAWKS USED IN FALCONRY. The noblest kind of hawk that is, or ever has been, used in falconry is certainly the ger-, or gyrfalcon, as the three varieties of the great Northern falcons are each called indiscriminately by falconers. These varieties are, first, the Greenland Falcon, the handsomest of the three, almost (in its adult plumage) snow-white, with handsome, regular markings. This variety is more widely distributed than the other two, but the only specimens which have been trained have been either ship caught birds or stray hawks that have been taken by some chance. Secondly, the Iceland Falcon. Very many hawks of this variety have been trained, some being birds taken from the nest in Iceland (to which country it is almost entirely confined) and others birds caught when fully grown, besides chance speci- mens. Thirdly, the Norwegian variety, which has been taken both adult and from the nest by expeditions of falconers sent expressly to procure them. Three specimens also have, during the last fifty years, been taken on the passage at Valkenswaard, all of which were trained with varying success. Just as big yachts sail faster than little ones, so the ger- falcons, being nearly twqce the size of peregrines, can fly far faster even than those swift birds. Moreover, in their style of flying they excel all other hawks. No gerfalcon that has the full use of her wings ever makes a bad stoop or flies in bad i J m^M-. j£.4.,Aa^y>„ GiUfiRNLA-TsTD FA.LCON GERFALCONS 311 form. Whether at the lure or at wild quarry their style is per- fection. But yet, in spite of this, they cannot altogether be termed a success in falconry. Their tempers are generally very violent and stubborn, making them difficult to train in the early stages ; they are always troublesome to break to the hood, and it requires an infinity of pains to get them to stand to it at all. From their great size and wild disposition they are very prone to carry, and altogether it requires a very experienced hand to do any good with them. Worst of all, it is extremely difficult to keep them in health until they become thoroughly acclimatised. The Iceland variety especially is afflicted with a form of asthma that is almost universal among those hawks which are caught wild in the island, and which are in other respects the most likely to succeed. Few of those which are seized with this disease ever recover ; it is closely allied to that lung disease which in ancient books is described as the ' pantas.' In the Norwegian falcons, within our experience, this disease has not been so prevalent, but they have been very liable to a virulent, and generally fatal, form of frounce, resulting in a tumour in the throat, which generally kills them. Both varieties, when flymg well, have been apt to lose all form and to become useless when a change has occurred from cold to warm weather, and they seem espe- cially sensitive to a damp, muggy climate. Of the constitution of the Greenland Falcon we cannot speak from actual experience, but from its wider distribution it may possibly be more hardy. One in the posiession of Lord Lilford was a fine-tempered hawk and a good flier, keen at rooks. When once, however, the first moult is past, these birds seem to thrive well in England. The Maharajah Dhuleep Singh possessed a beautiful Icelander which was moulted for many years, and there have been many instances of these hawks living to a considerable age. Symon Latham, writing in 161 5, says : ' I have known a gerfalcon an excellent hearenor, and to continue her goodnesse very neare twenty years-, or full out the time.' In 1845, John Pells, the falconer, brought over several 312 FALCONRY Icelanders for the Duke of Leeds, and these were trained at the Loo and entered to herons. One or two were pretty good birds, but upon the whole they did not turn out well. Some of the falcons were entered to hares and took them fairly well. In 1839, M^- E. C. Newcome visited Norway in search of gerfalcons, of which he always had had a high opinion— .so much so that, several years before that date, he had systematic- ally issued hand-bills to the captains of whalers sailing in the North Seas, requesting them to take every opportunity of pro- curing for him birds of that species. Having selected the place most suited to the purpose, he caused huts to be built the following year for the taking of the falcons in the Dutch method, and in digging the foundations for these the men came upon those of the ancient huts which had been used by falconers in bygone days, all knowledge of which, except as an ancient tradition, had perished. In this place he took three gerfalcons, and in the succeeding year the Dutch falconers caught ten or a dozen. All of these birds were trained at the Loo, but out of all the lot only two — a falcon and a tiercel — turned out to be good ones, one being trained by James Bots and one by Adrian Mollen. The great fault of gerfalcons, even when they could be induced to persevere at this flight, was that their stoop was so hard that they would either kill or cripple the heron, and this, in the breeding season, when it was important to save every heron, was a serious drawback. Their nature is ever to stoop repeatedly at their quarry, and after they have so knocked it about as to cripple it, then to seize or bind to it. In 1869, John Barr and James Barr, his nephew, were sent to Iceland by the Maharajah Dhuleep Singh for the purpose of procuring gerfalcons. In this they were exceedingly successful, bringing back no less than thirty-three of these magnificent birds.' In the spring of 1870 we had the pleasure of inspect- 1 Naturally great difficulty was experienced in bringing these hawks home. The greater part of one steamer had to be specially retained for them, and for GERFALCONS 2>^2> ing this stud of hawks, together with Mr. E. G. Newcome. They were then established at Elveden, and all, or nearly all, were trained, and many entered. Probably, since the earliest days of falconry, a stud of hawks has never been seen of Iceland falcon so magnificent an appearance as this collection presented at that time. Besides the thirty-three gerfalcons, there was a fair team of peregrines, a sacre in full work, a goshawk or two, and some half-dozen ponies which Barr purchased in order to be slaughtered during the voyage to provide the hawks with food, no other flesh being obtainable. 314 FALCONRY other varieties. Several of the gerfalcons were flying at the lure in the finest conceivable style. In fact, three of them were, in our opinion, and in that of Mr. Newcome, whose judgment could hardly be called in question, among the best, if not absolutely the finest, fliers that have been trained during the memory of any living man. The falcons were being, some of them, regularly flown at hares, and we saw a curious flight or two of this nature. Alas ! Even at this early stage the asthma, to which we have referred above, was rife among these noble hawks, and by the close of the year almost the whole team were defunct or useless, with hardly a record to their names of wild quarry killed ! In 1876 John Barr, who was then employed by the Falconry Club, was sent to Norway in order to obtain gerfalcons of the variety of that country, which it was hoped would be more free from the fatal disease which was so destructive to the Ice- landers. He succeeded in taking ten, all of which but one were females, and all young birds. Out of those which landed, six were dead by the end of December of the fatal 'pantas' ; of the two which fell to the portion of the Old Hawking Club, one died in a few weeks, and the other was successfully, but with great trouble, trained and entered. She was in no respect a good hawk, and died the following August of a fatal form of frounce. Of the others, one only took wild quarry, viz. rooks, at w^hich she was flown on Epsom Downs by Mr. J. E. Harting. Three gerfalcons have been caught at Valkenswaard. Of the first we have no record, save that it was trained at the Loo, and was no great success ; the second was for some time in England, fn the possession of Lord Lilford ; the third was a noble tiercel caught in 1878 in the adult plumage, and, so far as we know, is the only haggard gerfalcon (of that species) that ever was trained. He fell into the hands of the Old Hawking Club, and w^as very carefully trained by their falconer, John Frost. Although a haggard, he had a finer temper than most gerfalcons, and was trained without a great deal of trouble. He was entered to rooks on Sahsbury Plain, and turned out a most splendid hawk, KITE HAWKING 315 one of the grandest fliers the club has ever possessed. Yet when hot weather set in he fell off in style, and refused to fly, being very untrustworthy, and was lost, owing to an unfortunate accident during his first moult. Upon the whole, then, gerfalcons must be termed unsatis- factory hawks to train, and though no falconer likes to miss giving a fair chance to one of these noble birds, yet if sport alone be the object aimed at, it is not worth while to waste time upon them while the peregrine is readily obtainable. In old times the gerfalcon was especially valued for the purpose of flying the kite, then a common bird, and probably that flight was the finest that has ever been followed in this country, not even excepting the ' heron on passage.' It is still a common flight in India, where the sacre, a bird of almost equal power to the gerfalcon, is used for it ; but the difficulty of training and entering hawks to this quarry, and the courage and perseverance needed to overtake so swift and high-mounting a bird, show us how skilfully our ancestors must have managed their hawks in order to succeed in the undertaking. The method by which the kite was flown was somewhat peculiar. As soon as the bird was descried soaring in mid air, generally at a height so great that it could hardly be dis- tinguished, a live owl was let fly by the falconers, to whose legs was attached a fox's brush. This both impeded the owl's flight to such an extent that it could not escape, and also pre- sented to the kite the spectacle of a bird of prey, such as could easily be robbed, carrying off some quarry. Immediately then he would descend from his lofty pitch to attack the poor owl, when the falcons, generally three in number, would be slipped at him. In the Appendix to Mr. Southwell's edition of Lubbock's ' Fauna of Norfolk,' written by Professor Newton, it is stated, speaking of the practice of falconry in Norfolk, that : — Lord Orford's chief quarry seems to have been the kite, which was then very common throughout England, and apparently especially abundant in this district so rich in rabbits. Years ago 3i6 FALCONRY I well remember haying heard from several old men in the neigh- bourhood of the excellent flights which this species afforded, and especially of one flight, which, beginning on Eriswell or on the adjoining part of Elveden, ended in Lord Bristol's park at Ickworth, near Bury St. Edmunds, a distance in a straight Hne of some ten or twelve miles. The famous Colonel Thornton, who succeeded Lord Orford as the manager of the Falconers' Club (or, as the Colonel describes it in his ' Northern Tour,' ' The Confederate Hawks of England '), seems to have been very successful at this flight with the gerfalcon, as also at hares. Whence he got his hawks we are not able to trace, but as it is certain that the falconers of that day were in frequent communication with those of the Continent, we are inclined to suspect that the ancient huts for hawk-catching which Mr. Newcome discovered on the Dovrefjeld had some connection with the gerfalcons trained by Lord Orford and Colonel Thornton, and with the princely estabhshments of hawks which they maintained. In Colonel Thornton's 'Northern Tour' is described an episode which bears so strongly upon the subject of this chapter that we venture to reproduce it verbatim. He says : — A Mr. A , attended by a little humpbacked servant with a large portmanteau, joined our party ranging for kite near Elden Gap. At length one was seen in the air, and I ordered the owl to be flown. He came as we wished, at a proper distance. The day was fine, and the hawks, particularly 'Javelin' and * Icelanderkin,' in the highest order, and with them ' Crocus^ a famous slight falcon. Never was there a finer day, a keener com- pany, or for six miles a finer flight. When he was taken, in an ecstasy I asked Mr. A how he liked kite hawking. He re- plied with a sort of hesitation that expressed but small pleasure, ' Why, pretty well ! ' We then tried for hare with a famous hawk called ' Sans Quartier.' After ranging a little we found one, and in about two miles killed it. Mr. A , coming up again slowly, unwilling or unable to leave his portmanteau, I repeated my former question, and though the flight of a hare is fine, yet being in no way equal to that of a kite, was surprised to see his countenance HARE HAWKING 317 brighten up and to hear him express himself with uncommon pleasure. 'Ay, that,' he said, ' was a nobler kind of hawking ; the hare would be of use — a good roast — the kite of none.' Desirous to gratify his wishes, and to get quit on easy terms of the trouble the servants would have to carry an old jack hare in the month of May, I begged his acceptance of it, to which he very readily con- sented ; and his servant was ordered to add this trophy to the top of the enormous portmanteau. I leave every sportsman to guess the observations that were made by a set of lively young men on the occasion. Apart from the humour of this anecdote, it is clear that the Colonel had in his service at least three good well-trained gerfalcons, and probably others. It is, we believe, on record that ' Sans Quartier,' the falcon that was flown single-handed at an old jack hare, was a gerfalcon. Clearly * Icelanderkin ' was one of that species, while the express allusion to ' Crocus ' as a 'slight' or peregrine falcon seems to show that both the other two which were flown with her were of another species. The kite, however, is no longer to be flown in this country, and with its disappearance the necessity for the gerfalcon as a bird of sport has also vanished. That they can be trained and used has been well proved in these modern times, but they now have to be flown at quarry for which the peregrine is better suited, and therefore it is not to be wondered at if they are beaten out of the field by that most serviceable of all falcons. Their chief excellence is at quarry that mounts high in the air, and we have never known one used successfully at game as yet. Merlins are a very beautiful variety of hawk, tiny in size, but full of dash and courage. They are always great favourites with young falconers and with amateurs, because of their docile, even affectionate, nature, and of the ease with which they may be managed. Unfortunately their constitution is so delicate that they require the greatest care to keep them alive, and only few falconers have succeeded in keeping them through the winter, fewer still after the first moult. They are not uncommon hawks in this country, breeding 3i8 FALCONRY on the moors of Yorkshire and the northern counties. Their nest is placed on the ground among the heather, and they are late breeders, the young being rarely fit to take before the third week m July. Wild merlins are also caught at Valkens- waard on the autumn migration, in the same manner as pere- grines, special nets and lures being arranged for them. Those taken from the nest are easily reared with sufficient care. They should be fed three times a day on the tenderest possible beef, with all fat and gristle cut away ; an occasional change to pigeon, chicken or rabbit is desirable. When merlins are full-grown they must be kept as much as possible upon birds, trapped ones in preference to those that are shot ; but if a shot bird be given, an abundance of casting must be given with it in case any shot corns should be swallowed. They can be flown at hack, and if they are likely to be flown when trained near the place where they were hacked, it is a great advantage to rear them thus, as a lost hawk will then return home of herself very often. But it is impossible to fly them at hack together with pere- grines, for the latter, being much more forward than the merlins, are easily able to take them when first put out, and would be very likely to kill them. Care must also be taken not to have peregrines sitting out on blocks near where merlins are hacked ; they are bold, confiding little hawks, and are very likely to drop down by the side of the peregrine, attracted perchance by some food, or else for company, and in that way are likely to be killed. A very good way both to keep and rear merlins is to bring them up altogether in a good large room or a loft ; there must be a perch or two for them, and all corners should be rounded off as much as possible to prevent injury to the feathers. The bars to the windows must be fixed perpendicularly and not horizontally, so that the hawks cannot fly at the windows and cling to them. A very little carrying will soon accustom the merlins to fly to the hand of anyone they know well in order to be fed, and this with a little calling to the lure is really all the trainirg they require. We have brought up birds in this MERLINS 319 way many times, and have also hacked them, and we have found those reared in a room prove just as good fliers as those that had been hacked. It was also the method employed by Mr. Newcome, who was very successful with these little hawks. Whether hacked or not, merlins will do better loose in a room than on blocks or perches. On days when they are to be Lark hawking flown they can be taken up, and after being given a few mouthfuls in the morning, set down on small-sized blocks or on the bow-perch (see description in Chapter VII.) ; the latter is the best perch for merlins. ^Vhen in the house they can be secured on the ' screen.' The flight for which merlins are most esteemed is that of the skylark, and an exceedingly beautiful flight it is, closely resembling that of the heron in 320 FALCONRY miniature. The lark as a rule mounts straight into the air, and that very rapidly. The little hawks must ring again and again to get above him, and even then will sometimes fail It is a common thing to lose sight of the lark in the clouds, even on a clear day, and not unfrequently both the hawks flying with him will also disappear fairly overhead in the air. Presently the two larger specks reappear, and then in front of them you may see the smaller dot, falling like a bullet from the clouds into a fence below, with the little falcons stooping right and left at him till he is taken just as he gains his sanc- tuary. It is better to fly two merlins together at larks, and the females w411 be found more persevering and harder fliers as a rule than the males. During August the larks which are moulting can be readily taken, but after September i they are very much stronger, and it is not easy to get the merlins, which are easily discouraged by a tew defeats, to persevere in flying them, unless a plentiful supply of bagged larks be kept where- with to encourage them, after failure, by affording an easy flight. As the season grows later the larks get stronger, and generally the merlins give up the flight altogether, though we have known larks taken in the winter occasionally. Therefore in the North of England, where the corn remains on the fields, either standing or in stooks (into which the larks will drop instantly), until very late in August, it is no easy matter to get merlins entered in time to show any sport before the season is practically over. The first falconer who took up this branch of hawking on any large scale, in modern times, was Mr. Newcome. He used merlins for several years, and killed a great number of larks, but we have no precise record of his doings. Like other falconers, he found merlins inveterate ' carriers,' tame as they are, and a small hook on the end of a long stick, by which he could lay hold of the body of the lark when killed, was often of great assistance. We have found a similar hook, at the end of a Japanese fishing-rod which folds into the butt, very useful, especially when the merlin has been so unfeeling as to carry her quarry into a tree. As larks, when put in, will often lie like LARK HA WKING 321 stones, a good terrier, that will nose them out, is of considerable service. In more recent times the Rev. G. E. Freeman, author of ' Falconry : its History, Claims, and Practice,' has been successful with merlins at various different flights ; his doings are well recorded in Chapter XIII. of that work, and he appears to have had considerable sport in flying the ring ousel as well as the skylark. More recently Mr. E. B. Michell, an amateur falconer of some experience, met with great success with merlins. In i88t he succeeded in taking, up to September 15, fifty larks with two male merlins; but in 1883, with three merlins, two of them females, he killed (on very first-rate ground on Salisbury Plain) no less than 136 larks. Whether this surpasses Mr. New- come's scores of former years or not we do not know, but it is certainly very good work, and deserves to be placed on record. For ourselves, flying in bad country, we have found from thirty to forty larks killed between August 20th to September 20th to be fairly successful work, and our practice for some years was to allow our merlins to fly loose after the autumn migration began, and to procure fresh ones the following year, by which we avoided the probability of losing our little pets during the winter, and yet had fresh ones ready for the only time of year when much can be done with. these hawks. Any varieties of small birds can be flown with merlins, where the fields are large enough and the birds to be found ; they are very quick and active, even among trees and bushes, partaking a good deal of the character of the true hawks, such as the sparrow-hawk and goshawk, as well as of the falcons, to which they properly belong. The more courageous females can be trained to fly pigeons well, and so great is their activity that it requires a good pigeon to escape them ; and if the quarry seeks refuge in a bush or a hedge the merlin is almost sure to follow and seize him. Their method of killing birds of this large size is peculiar, being by strangulation, a method not usually adopted by any other hawk ; in fact, a full-grown pigeon is as strong as a merlin, Y 322 FALCONRY and therefore the hawk cannot master its prey so as to put it to a speedy death as the peregrine does, by breaking its neck. It requires some trouble, as a rule, to enter a merlin to pigeons, just as in the case of any other quarry that is somewhat beyond the strength of the hawk which is to fly it ; but, although it is rather interesting to see these little falcons tackle a bird with powers fully equal to their own, yet as it can only lead to flights at bagged quarry, we do not propose to enter further into a description of this flight. We cannot, from personal experience, say that snipe can be killed with trained merlins, but it seems very possible that hawks accustomed to ring after larks would be able to take this quarry also. On the whole merlins, though, if compared with the falcons treated of in the preceding chapters, they must be ranked as toys, are well worthy the consideration of falconers, especially of the tyro in that art. They require but little training, or trouble to manage. They are not easily broken to the hood, nor is much education necessary, for so tame are these little birds that they will sit quietly enough bareheaded until the bird springs near them. The hood should only be used when travelling, and should be removed as soon as the field is reached, for it will be found that merlins will not fly readily ' out of the hood ' as peregrines do, especially on bright sunny days. They must always be fed twice a day, kept very warm, and especially free from damp ; either a loft with a stove in it, or a condition of entire liberty at hack with liberal feeding, affords the best chance of keeping them alive after summer is past. Of hobbies we can say but little from personal experi- ence, except that they are, of all falcons, the most elegant, whether on the wing or on the block. Partly insectivorous in habits, they lack the dash and courage requisite for a bird of sport. Many have been trained of late years, but with no success as far as sport is concerned, although the hawks them- selves were found perfectly docile, very fine-tempered, admir- HOBBIES 323 able at waiting on, and very fine fliers to the lure. Here their good qualities ceased ; when tried at wild quarry of any kind they failed, and though, perhaps, with perseverance, individual birds might turn out well, this variety can hardly be included Merlin ' feeding up among the birds used in sport at the present day. Mr. E. Michell did, we believe, succeed in training one to fly larks as well as the best merlins, but it is the only case we know of.^ 1 In the spring of 1885, a pair of hobbies took up their quarters for breed- ing purposes in an old wood in the country of the Old Hawking Club. It was a common practice to let fly an eyess tiercel near this wood for the purpose of • drawing the hobbies,' which would rally out to mob and drive away the in- truder with the greatest vigour. Never have we seen so fine an exhibition cf flying and stooping as was shown by these beautiful little falcons, and deeply did we regret that it was not possible to make use of such splendid powers as they possessed for the service of man. 324 FALCONRY The sacre is a falcon almost equal in size and power to the gerfalcon, but belongs to a different species, now termed the * Desert falcons.' They are fine fliers, but slack mettled, soft feathered birds, unable to face rough weather, and, therefore, unsuited to this climate. It is many years since sacres were used in this country. We have ourselves seen but one in regular use, which had been imported from Egypt, and in England was only flown at pigeons. They are mentioned in most of the old books on hawks, but seem to have been im- ported as passage hawks, taken in the Levant, Egypt, &c. But -svhen Adrian MoUen was in the service of Prince Trauts- mansdorff, near Vienna, about the year 1838, he trained three young sacres which were taken from the nest in Hungary. We know of no more recent instances of the training of European sacres, and we give this fact on the authority of Professor Schlegel, and of Mollen himself.' In ancient times the sacre was valued for her kite-flying qualities. Blome, in the ' Gentleman's Recreation,' treats of her thus: — This hawk will make excellent sport with a kite, who, as soon as she sees the saker (the male whereof is called a sakaret) cast off, immediately betakes herself to, and trusts in the goodness of her wings, and getteth to her pitch as high as possibly she may by making many turns and wrenches in the air, which, well if observed, together with the variety of contests and bickerings there are be- tween them, it cannot but be very pleasant and delightful to the beholder. I have known in a clear day and little wind stirring that both the saker and the kite have soared so high that the sharpest eye could not discern them, yet hath the saker in the encounter conquered the kite, and I have seen her come tumbling down to the ground with a strange precipitancy. Sacres are much used in India for flying at the kite, ravine-deer, bustard, and other quarry. They are difficult to manage, and are usually induced to fly by the free use of drugs ; these can only be administered safely where the ^ We have been offered nestling sacres through a falconer resident in Moscow, but we do not know where the eyrie is situated. They appear, how- ever, to be easily obtained. SACRES—LANNERS 325 climate can be* relied on, and if for no other reason than this, sacres would be unsuitable for use in variable weather such as British falconers have to contend with. They are trained for gazelle hawking in Persia and Arabia, in conjunction with greyhounds. See also Burton's * Falconry in the Valley of the Indus ' for a description of this sport. The lanner is a falcon of type similar to the foregoing, but considerably smaller in size, being somewhat less than the peregrine. In former years it bred freely in Europe, but recently we do not find a record of a single nest ; in Egypt and Nubia it breeds freely on rocks and ancient ruins. Many specimens have been tamed in this country and kept without any difficulty; they are easily tamed, but like the species last described are too slack mettled to be of real service at European quarry, and nearly akin to the kestrel in their habits. The Barbary falcon is an extremely beautiful hawk very like the peregrine, but about one-third less in size. Several have been imported and trained in England of late years, and two nestling birds were hacked at Lyndhurst for a member of the Old Hawking Club in 1885. They are dashing little flyers, and take pigeons in fine form ; they might make good partridge or even magpie hawks, but are not very well suited to English quarry. They have perhaps hardly had a sufficiently good trial in recent times, and we should certainly advise any falconer to try one if he has an opportunity to procure a specimen in good plumage. There are besides these several varieties of hawks used in Oriental falconry, of which perhaps the chief are the black shahin {F. peregrinator) and the red-naped shahin {F. Babylo- nicus), both excellent hawks, nearly akin to the peregrine, but, though of smaller size, better built and equally good fliers ; they are specially used for wild fowl, partridge, and the endless varieties of wader that India affords. The sacre and the luggur are also used, but in India, as in Europe, the best hawk that can be trained is the ubiquitous peregrine. Goshawks, merlins, and sparrow-hawks are all used with great success at various quarries. The East is the home of falconry, and in countries 326 FALCONRY where for many centuries it has formed ' the sport of kings ' it is only natural to find hawking carried to great perfection and exceedingly well understood. So great is the variety of quarry at which hawks may be flown, and so certain the climate, that the sport may be carried on under advantages such as the European falconer sighs for in vain. In India hawks are easily obtained and cheaply kept. Whatever species is trained, it is not difficult to get flights to use it at. From the highest art of training the sacre to the flight at the kite, down to the use of the sparrow-hawk, every branch has its votaries. Indian falconry would need a volume to itself, and it might be one far more comprehensive than the Western sport will admit of, but space does not allow of our dealing with the subject here. We would recommend any man, who is sufficiently enthusiastic to desire to see the sport in perfection, to spend a winter in India, and to study the methods of training hawks and of flying game which Eastern, and especially Anglo-Indian, falconers have brought to so great perfection. As an example of the sport which may be obtained we append a return of the quarry killed by the hawks of two members ' of the Old Hawking Club during the months of November and December 1888, and January and part of February 1889, chiefly in the neighbourhood of Meerut. Fifteen hawks in all were trained : — ^ Herons . Houbara Black Ibis . Egrets . White-necked Stork Bar-headed Goose Ruddy Sheldrake . Common „ Mallard 24 i7 1.3 7 I 4 2 31 ^ Mr. B. H. Jones and Captain Biddulph. 2 Of these hawks, three shahins were brought to England, one of which had killed no less than seventy duck of various sorts out of the above score. This falcon, one of the red variety, was successfully flown at grouse, partridges, and magpies in England and Scotland, and lived till 1C91, through two severe English winters. INDIAN FALCONRY 357 Spotted-billed Duck 12 Red- crested Pochard ..... 3 Pintail 1 Gadwall 18 Shoveller 24 White-eye 4 Tufted Duck i Teal 68 Red-wattled Lapwing 72 Indian Roller 12 Various. . . . . . . .7 Total 322 328 FALCONRY CHAPTER V THE SHORT-WINGED HAWKS — GOSHAWKS — HOW OBTAINED — TRAINING ENTERING — RABBIT HAWKING VARIOUS FLIGHTS THE SPARROW-HAWK — MANAGEMENT — BLACK- BIRD HAWKING. Of the short-winged or true hawks only two varieties are used in England, viz. the goshawk and the sparrow-hawk ; the latter is common enough in every country, the former is only an extremely rare visitant to this country. It breeds pretty freely in the forests of Germany, in France, and in Norway, the hawks from the latter country being as a rule the best. They are widely distributed, however, throughout Europe, and varieties of this species are found throughout the world. We know of na authenticated instance of its breeding in Great Britain since Colonel Thornton in his ' Northern Tour ' found several nests in the forests of Glenmore and Rothiemurchus, whence he took and trained a young bird. Passage goshawks, which are in every respect infinitely the best, are sometimes taken at Valkenswaard in the same manner as peregrines. Full-grown birds can also be caught not unfrequently in the German and Norwegian forests ; such as these will prove very superior to the hawks taken out of the nest, which are spoken of by Bert, who wrote in 1619 one of the best and most practical books ever pub- lished on falconry, treating entirely of the short-winged hawks, as ' the eyas hawk upon whom I can fasten no affection for the multitude of her folHes and faults.' In ancient times, however, falconers or ' ostringers,' as the trainers of the true hawks were termed, seem to have been in the habit of turning their hawks fe> "aA GOSHA.WE— ADULT PLUMAGE GOSHA WKS 329 into woods to breed. From the 'Colloquium' of Archbishop ^Ifric, written about a.d. 995,^ it would appear that the practice of Saxon falconer^ was regularly to turn their hawks in the spring into the woods, and to take the young at the end of the summer. With birds like the goshawks, which are not greatly inclined to stray from where they can get food, we can well believe that this plan might answer. In the ' Paston Letters,' edited by Mr. Gairdner, a corre- spondence is given between John Paston the younger and his elder brother, in which the younger man prays the elder : — ' I axe no more gods of yow for all the servyse that I shall do yow whyll the world standyth butagosshawke.' After some further correspondence his desire seems to have been granted, but alas ! She hathe ben so brooseid with cariage of fewle that she is as good as lame in both hyr leggys, as every man may se at iee. Wherfor all syche folk as have seen hyr avyse me to cast hyr in to some wood wher as I wyl.l have her to eyer,'but I wyll do ther in as ye wyll, wheder ye wyll I send hyr yow agen or cast her in Thorpe wood and a tarsell with hyr for I weit wher on is. This practice was therefore known, if not common, in 1472, but we cannot find an account of the goshawk having bred in England within the last century. There is little difficulty in procuring nestlings from France, Germany, or Norway now, though if it be possible to find a keeper skilful enough to snare the young birds some months after they have flown, it is worth while to pay an extra price for them. Goshawks average in value about 5/., females being wOrth considerably more than males ; they do not require to be flown at hack. The training of short-winged hawks is not difficult, as they are hardy and easily managed, but it is a laborious task, and requires time to accomplish, nor is it very easy to get a gos- hawk into such condition that she will fly well and keenly. They ' See also the Introduction by J. E. Harting to ' The Perfect Booke for kepinge of Sparhawks, 1575,* printed by B. Quaritch, 1886. 330 FALCONRY are * hawks of the fist ' — that is to say, they are flown straight from the hand, and do not mount after their quarry ; the nature of the flight is a short, sharp dash at their prey, and they either take it or give up the flight in a short distance. They are never hooded except during training and when travelHng. It is their nature to he in wait for prey on some coign of vantage, remaining immovable perhaps for hours, till the chance occurs of a swift dash at the unsuspecting quarry, which rarely escapes. The trained bird, therefore, will learn to look upon her master's hand as the vantage post whence she is to kill, and will soon learn to sit thereon, bareheaded and immovable, but ready to dash like lightning at the first prey that stirs. The art of training her, then, is to carry her day and night, till she is so familiar with her master and his hand that she looks on the latter as her home on which she lives, from which all her sport is obtained, and to which she will return without lure after an unsuccessful flight. To arrive at this desirable end a great deal of trouble must be taken. The older falconers made a good deal more use of the hood than is done nowadays with goshawks, and took as much pains to break them to stand well to the hood as they did with any other kind of hawk ; we believe that they were wise, for the more training these birds undergo the better they will be. However, having procured a goshawk and put upon it jesses of stout leather — white horseskin, if kept well greased, is the most reliable — the best plan is to put on her a rufter hood through which she can see a little — a loose old one with a hole bored near the eye is very good — and to carry her for the greater part of the day, and as much of the night as possible, handling her in every possible way, and inducing her to pull at a piece of beef in the same way as is recommended in the case of the freshly-caught peregrine (see Chapter III.) As soon as the goshawk will feed well and keenly through her hood, let it be discarded, but from experience we think that the use of the hood in the early stages of training saves time, and that it should not be left off till the hawk is thoroughly at home on the fist. GOSHA WKS 331 and feeds thereon without hesitation. When first the hood is taken off it should be done by candle light, and the hawk should be carried till she recovers her first alarm at being bare- headed. She must then be placed in a dark room, on the perch, and taken on hand therein for half an hour or so in the morning before she is brought into the daylight. As soon as she will sit pretty quietly on the hand, she should be carried at intervals for the whole day. Every time she is taken on to the fist a reward of meat should be given her. She should gradually be taken among all the strange people, sights, or dogs that can be found, and in fact accustomed to everything that is unusual. An hour or two in the village blacksmith's forge, with all its strange sights, sounds, and constantly changing succession of visitors, is admirable training, provided that her food be given her at intervals, so that she may learn to pull away at a meal amongst all these disturbing influences. Colonel Delme Ratcliffe most wisely advises carrying a hawk in the gas- ht streets of a crowded city — an excellent means of taming her where it can be carried out. In fact, as Bert phrases it, ' She shall be well assured to finde no other perch than the fist, from the time I rise till I goe to bed, when she shall goe with me.' Very soon, if the hawk be well handled by her master and not frightened by any harsh treatment either by look or by deed — for goshawks watch their carrier's eye and are very sen- sitive to it — she will become very tame, and show but little Xear of strangers. Long ere this stage is arrived at she will have learned to jump to the fist the instant she sees food, and have begun to come to it when held out to her in the expecta- tion of being fed. She should now be called to the hand in a long string out of doors. It is better that she be set on the ground for these lessons ; she will come the more readily, and it will not tend to get her into the habit of taking perch in a tree after a flight — this should always be discouraged. The fist is the home of the goshawk, and she should never be allowed to fly quarry from 332 FALCONRY any other position, however tempting it may be to do so when she is well placed. As soon as she comes readily to the fist the distance may be increased very rapidly, till she will come as far as she can see her master in enclosed country ; in fact, if hungry she probably will not allow him to go a hundred yards from her. Goshawks, for all their wild savage nature, when so thoroughly tamed are very affectionate birds, and learn to know their trainer very well. They should be used to a short cry or call when they are coming to the fist, and it will often bring them up when in a wood or covert where their owner cannot see them. They can now be entered at the quarry they are to fly ; females are generally used for rabbit hawking, and this is on the whole the best purpose to which goshawks can be put in England. A few live rabbits must be obtained, and having carried the hawk for an hour or two, and when she is sharp set, a rabbit must be offered her. She will almost certainly take it, when it should be instantly killed by the thrust of a knife, and the hawk well fed on it. The next day she will be ready to fly a bagged rabbit in a good place, and then may try a wild one. Should she fail to take it, it will be wise to give her an easy bagman, feed her on it, and make a fresh essay next day. Rabbits lying out in old pasture give the best and most dashing flights, especially where there are a few bushes, &c. for them to dodge in. Great sport may be had in summer even- ings, when the rabbits feed a long distance out from the covert, by creeping between them and the wood, when one or more will be seen to squat, and may be taken in detail and captured, each one so noiselessly as not to alarm the others. In fact, a good goshawk in full training is very deadly indeed. The number killed by her need only be limited by the time her master spends on her, and the more she has flown the more trustworthy she will be. In 1877 we killed T12 rabbits in two months with one goshawk, never using her more than three days a week. During this period ten was the greatest number RABBIT HA WRING 333 taken during an evening walk, but we have known sixteen and seventeen killed before the hawk was tired. Good sport may be obtained by using a ferret to bolt the rabbits, but care must be taken lest the goshawk take the ferret and kill it. A good female will kill pheasants ; they are best flown among hedge- rows or in a very open plantation, and should they gain covert \\::^0^ Goshawk with rabbit in her foot in front of the hawk they will not dare to run, but will lie very close. The goshawk will ' make her point,' i.e. shoot up again in the air, very accurately at the spot where the pheasant has put in, and when she is called down to the fist the bird may be freshly found by a spaniel and will generally be taken at the second flight. Hares may be taken by female goshawks in precisely the 334 FALCONRY same way as rabbits, to which they should be at first entered. The next attempt must be at a leveret, found in a good place, and if it be taken, an old hare may be attempted ; but a hawk must be kept entirely to hares, for one that is frequently used for taking rabbits will soon learn to refuse the more powerful quarry. A good hawk will always get her quarry fast by the head, when it is almost powerless in her grip, which is tremendous. We have often seen a goshawk with one foot over the head of a rabbit, plant the other across his loins and, almost before we could stoop down to kill poor bunny, he has turned over dead, killed almost instantaneously by the simple grip of the hawk's terrible feet. A very stout glove must be worn when carrying a goshawk, or the hand will not only be injured, but the whole arm numbed by the pressure of her claws. The male goshawk is very much quicker than the female, and will take pheasants well. Young partridges, too, he can take, but old ones will generally outfly all but the best. Few male goshawks can take rabbits regularly ; they too often fail to hold them, and so get disappointed. Waterhens and coots, when they can be driven from the water, may be killed to a certainty. Wild ducks or teal, if they can be stalked, will be taken as they rise ; but if once on the wing the goshawk has no chance with them. Grouse, where they lie well, have been caught in this way. In fact, a goshawk in really good 'yarak,' or flying condition, can be used like a fowling-piece — he will dash at and kill almost anything that rises within reach of him, provided he can overtake it within a certain limited range. Thus, in the list of ' various ' quarry that have been killed by one goshawk, now in training, we find (besides her legitimate quarry of rabbits and hares) pheasants, partridges, wild duck, rats, squirrels, waterhens, stoats, blackbirds, &c. Of actual performances on the part of a male goshawk in recent years, we are informed by Mr. Riley, of Putley Court, Herefordshire — a gentleman who has been markedly successful with short-winged hawks in a county well suited to their capabilities — that he took with his male goshawk GOSH A IVKS 335 (an eyess) in 1886, 26 partridges (all well-grown strong birds), 10 pheasants, t6 rabbits, 5 landrails, 12 waterhens, and one stoat ; and with a female bird, in the same year, he killed 1 36 rabbits, 4 ducks, 3 waterhens, a pheasant and a stoat — good work, indeed, for two hawks, and, as regards the male bird, better than has been recorded for some time past. They grip their prey firmly on taking it, and are seldom inclined to ' carry.' Goshawks, though not capable of emulating the fine flights of the falcons, are able to show a great deal of sport in a country where the higher branches of falconry are impossible. Like a good fox-terrier, there is no more delightful companion in a morning's stroll round an ordinary English country-place than a goshawk in good form on the fist of a man who knows how to work her. If she be not required, she is no trouble ; but if a good chance occurs, almost any game that is likely to be met with can be killed with her. The determination of a goshawk is something surprising ; we have seen one drive downhill at a rabbit, and as it leaped four feet in the air to avoid the stroke which grazed it, turn over and catch it from underneath while in the air, rolling afterwards down a steep bank head over heels, but never leaving go her hold. It is not uncommon to see a rabbit captured at the mouth of a burrow, and hawk and all disappear under ground ; but when she is lifted out, however much she is knocked about, the rabbit is in her foot. No covert will stop them, and they dash between the bars of a hurdle or through a meuse like a flash of light. Goshawks, though easily tamed, if sufficient trouble be taken with them, require experience and a considerable know- ledge of condition to be induced to fly well. They must be a little lower in condition than most other hawks, but require a good gorge every fifth day, lest they lose strength. It is better to give them washed meat than to shorten unduly the quantity of food, and when being got into flying order they may be given washed meat for as much as a week at a time. It is not l)ossible to lay down fixed rules for their management, as the 336 FALCONRY tempers of individual hawks differ so much. It is easy for the falconer who is constantly carrying his hawk, and calling her to his fist, to judge if she be keen and fit to fly or not. If she be slack-mettled or sullen, he can judge of the cause and govern himself accordingly. It is useless to fly a hawk unless she be in perfect ' yarak.' If not in good order, even the best of them will take perch and sulk, appearing absolutely unconscious of live rabbits, pigeons, or other lures, a few feet below her. This sulkiness is a great drawback to the use of goshawks, but it is the effect of imperfect or insufficient training ; and the same hawk which one day spoils an afternoon by her sulky refusals to fly will, two days afterwards, behave to perfection, and perhaps continue to do so for weeks, if properly handled. Nay, even at the height of their ' sulks,' we have seen them leave their perch, with live and dead lures below them, and follow their master who has made as though he were leaving them ! When in true ' yarak ' the feathers are set up, as if the hawk were cold, the crest is erect, the hawk immovable, gripping the fist with a grasp of iron, yet noticing the movement of every living thing and ready to dash at it. When not fit to fly her feathers lie close to the body, she constantly utters a chirp or twittering cry, and will h2X&from the fist, but not at everything that moves. When in this condition it is hopeless to fly her. Even when in good ' yarak ' a goshaw^k must be carried for an hour or two to get her into flying order on every day that she is wanted. If left idle for a day or two, more work will be wanted. An hour or two of carriage will work a transformation in a hawk that obviously was not fit to fly in the morning. Thus a goshawk will require more time to be expended on her than a team of four or five peregrines when once they are in condition, and two goshawks are as much as any one man can manage if he be required to keep both in flying order. Goshawks can be kept in-doors upon the screen and out- of-doors on the bow-perch (see Chapter VII.) They are dangerous brutes with other hawks, and must be kept well away from them at all times. If convenience admit of it, they should GOSH A WKS 337 not be kept in the same house as peregrines, for, if by any acci- dent they get their leash untied, they may kill every other hawk in the mews. Very much more can be done in India with goshawks than in Europe, because — first, there is so much greater a choice of quarry to fly them at ; and, secondly, labour is so much cheaper that a man can be told off solely to attend upon each bird, by which means they are kept tamer and in more constant ' yarak ' than an English falconer in charge of many other hawks can find time to do. In Colonel Delme Ratcliffe's work on the Falconidae used in India he gives the list of quarry at which he has flown goshawks as follows : — * Hares, cranes, geese, ducks, teal, houbara, florikin, pea-fowl, jungle- fowl, partridges, crows, kites, mynas, a great variety of other birds, and ravine-deer.' With a list such as this it is no wonder that the goshawk is very highly esteemed, or that her price is sometime as high as 20/. Goshawks seem, from some illustrated works in our possession, to be very popular in Japan, and to be flown chiefly at pheasants, cranes, and wild fowl. They are carried on the left hand, as in Europe, and appear to be rarely hooded, and usually taken from the nest. We take from ' Falconry in the British Isles ' the following description of the goshawk : — The colour of the young goshawk differs considerably from that of the mature bird. During the first year the whole of the under- portion of the body is of a rusty salmon-colour, marked with long lanceolate streaks of blackish brown, while the upper part is liver- brown, each feather being margined with reddish- white. At first the eyes are grey : ' this colour gradually changes with age to lemon-yellow, and eventually becomes orange ; the cere is waxen yellow, with tarsi and feet of a deeper tone. At the first change the whole of the under-plumage becomes light grey, striped transversely with narrow bars of a dark brown colour, the top of the head, back, wings and tail becoming of a uniform brown, with five distinct bars of a darker colour on the latter. There is also a ' In very old birds the colour of the eyes changes to a deep fiery red. Gos- hawks do not deteriorate much with age, are at their best at three or four years old, and with care will last up to nine or ten seasons. 338 FALCONRY streak of light grey over each eye, speckled, as are the cheeks, with minute brown splashes. The bars on the breasts of the adult birds differ considerably in width in different individuals. The under tail coverts are pure white. The sparrow-hawk, or ' spar-hawk ' of our ancestors, is the commonest species that is used in hawking ; it is familiar to everyone who knows anything at all of the ornithology of this country. Being a true or short-winged hawk, its training and management are almost identical with that described in the foregoing pages as suitable for the goshawk. But, as the sparrow-hawk is a more delicate bird, the severe discipline as to diet which is necessary for the goshawk cannot be resorted to in her case. They require a great deal of carrying, but must be well fed, as much as possible upon birds, and should be given a mouthful or two in the morning without any castings, as well as the usual meal at night They are birds of a highly nervous organisation, and when first taken on hand will seem to be, and in fact are, so absolutely paralysed by terror as to lose all use of their legs. Nothing is to be done but to replace them on the fist as often as they fall off, and so steadily to inure them to being carried, and then to follow out the course of training as before described. Although delicate and rather liable to fits, the sparrow-hawk is full of dash and courage, and has not so sulky a temper as that with which her larger congener is cursed. Instances of their dashing through windows to get at caged birds are so common as to be hardly worth recording, and during the present year a sparrow-hawk belonging, to Mr. Riley took and held a pheasant nearly full-grown and three times her own weight. In fact, they are most sporting birds, and well worth training and using in a country which does not admit of the higher forms of falconry. Sparrow-hawks can easily be flown at hack in the same manner as is prescribed for peregrines and merlins, but there is no advantage in doing this ; birds brought up in a large room or loft will fly quite as well as those that are hacked. SPARRO W-HA WKS 339 Moreover, they can be well entered at birds while yet in the loft, and before they are taken in hand to train. The males and females must be kept in different lofts, or the former will probably be killed, and in any case they must all be highly fed. It will be found that one, or at most two, of these hawks will take up the whole of a man's time, and it is better for the falconer to restrict himself to one good bird than to attempt too much by trying to train several. The female sparrow-hawk will take partridges — even full- grown ones — fairly well. In, early September she will kill many. Formerly they were of no little account for killing landrails, which were far better for the table when thus killed than if they had been mangled with shot. The best sport to be had with them is at blackbirds and at thrushes in large old hedgerows, and this is really an excellent flight, requiring much skill and management. Two assistants are advisable, and, the hedge being beaten and a blackbird marked down into it, the falconer, hawk on hand, should make a detour, and having got well round the bird, should advance close to the bush where it is concealed, while the beaters, one on each side of the hedge, advance towards him. The blackbird is thus well between the two fires, and if the beater on the opposite side to the falconer is a little in advance of his fellow, and uses his stick well, the blackbird is certain to be forced away between the falconer and the advancing beater, and so affords a fair good chance in the open. Thrushes are more active and not so easy to take. Sparrows and similar small birds may be taken by the male or ' musket,' but upon the whole he is not worth training. If the female be used for small birds, almost any number may be killed by her, but the sport is not very good— and if she is to fly blackbirds, she must be kept to them and not allowed to fly at easier quarry, or she will become slack-mettled. The late Sir Charles Slingsby — whose melancholy death by drowning (caused by the overturning of the Newby ferry-boat when he was crossing the river Ure during a run with his hounds) is 340 FALCONRY fresh in the memory of all hunting- men — was an excellent falconer, and especially clever in the use of this little hawk. AVe have witnessed his skill on various occasions, but the only record we can find of his performances was a score of forty- seven blackbirds with one hawk in 1853. His friend, Mr, Bower, was also exceedingly successful with these hawks, and (we quote from ' Falconry in the British Isles') in 1857 he killed 327 head between August 23 and October 20 — mostly, however, sparrows. In 1858, with another hawk, he killed, in nineteen hawking days, 46 blackbirds, 36 thrushes, 17 partridges, 11 sparrows, and i starling - total, in; the best day being 6 blackbirds, 3 thrushes, 2 partridges, and i sparrow. And in 1861 Mr. Bower killed 126 birds in twenty-seven days, Avith a young sparrow-hawk which was in flying order by July 27, the score being — 68 blackbirds, 42 thrushes, 5 sparrows, 3 greenfinches, 7 partridges, i wood-pigeon, i sundry. He had an excellent hawk in 1865 ; but, though we witnessed some of its performances, we have no record of the result. But Mr. Bower was, no doubt, the best and cleverest hand with these •delicate little hawks that has attempted to use them during the present century. For a good many years after 1866 nothing much has been done with the sparrow-hawk, until about the year 1883, when Mr. Riley — whom we have mentioned above as having done very good work with goshawks — commenced also to fly sparrow- hawks in Herefordshire with great success. Commencing with a hawk which took 34 head in the first season in which he attempted the sport, he in the year 1887 killed with one hawk 51 blackbirds, 4 thrushes, 3 partridges, i pheasant, and 2 small birds — total, 61. Mr. Riley informs us that he only uses one beater, and that he frequently lets the hawk take her own stand in trees, and beats the hedge up to her. Mr. Bower's practice was always to have two assistants, and to so place himself that he could ensure the hawk a fair chance at the blackbird as it crossed the open ; he never allowed the hawk to fly except from his hand, and he never let her go except SPARROW-HA WKS 341 when she had a chance to kill. Except when he had an inferior liawk, he was most careful never to allow them to take a small bird ; but with one that was not good enough for blackbirds (and very many are not) he would kill as many sparrows, &c., as he pleased. Mr. Bower and Mr. Riley concur in using the I r. ^,€.C>f!j(t Sparrow-hawk on bow-perch lure occasionally to call their hawk out of trees ; but Mr. Bower's hawks would nearly always (unless half-fed) come to his hand with or without food, and this is the proper way to manage short-winged hawks. Sparrow-hawks are rather delicate and very liable to fits ; the best recipe to preserve them in health is to feed high, work 342 FALCONRY hard, and protect them from cold draughts and damp. If fed high without . work, they will probably have fits ; but if worked too hard without condition to bear it, they will be sure to do so. They are best kept on the bow-perch, and indoors on the screen. They must be flown with very short jesses of rather stiff leather, for ordinary jesses are very apt to become entangled in hedges, &c., and when on the perch a short leash or strap, four inches long, should connect the ordinary leash with the swivel, so as to give them room to jump on the perch without recoiling on to their long tails, which are ever apt to suffer in confinement. In conclusion, sparrow-hawks are the very best of all hawks for the beginner who lives in an enclosed country to try his hand at ; they cost nothing to procure, and, if failure be the result, the loss is not great. If the beginner has the patience and perseverance to master the peculiar temperament he has to deal with, he may be sure that his further efforts in the art of falconry will be made infinitely easier to him by this experience ; and, if he succeeds in training a good hawk, he may have a considerable amount of sport with her, as the preceding records will show. 343 CHAPTER VI CELEBRATED FALCONERS— SCOTCH, DUTCH, AND ENGLISH CLUBS — THE falconers' CLUB — COLONEL THORNTON — THE LOO CLUB — THE OLD HAWKING CLUB — AMATEUR FALCONERS — FAMOUS HAWKS— RECORDS OF SPORT. The histories of those individuals by whose skill and know- ledge any sport, science, or art has been maintained will always be interesting to those who at a distance of time may follow in their footsteps. A few pages describing the men who in recent times have kept the art of Falconry not only alive, but have now and again fanned its glowing embers into a blaze, will no doubt prove of interest to the student of the sport. For a history of the falconers of the last century we would refer our readers to the introduction to ' Falconry in the British Isles.' We will ' take up the running ' from the point where that work has abandoned the task. Among the chief friends of John Anderson the great Scotch falconer, who was born in 1745 and died in 1833, was one Ballantyne, who was the steward at Lord Bute's residence, Dumfries House, in Ayrshire, and who had at one time acted as falconer to the Earl of Eglinton. Ballantyne, like his friend, loved a hawk, and his boy Peter was trained to carry one as soon as he could stand erect. Peter Ballantyne was born in 1798, and at the age of twenty was apprenticed to his father's old friend, John Anderson, who was at that time falconer to the Renfrewshire Subscription Hawks. Mr. Fleming was the manager of this club till his death, and the head -quarters of the hawks was at his seat, Barochan Castle. For some years after Mr. Fleming's death, Anderson and the 344 FALCONRY hawks, with Ballantyne to assist him, continued at Barochan ; but for the last two years of his professional life he was in the service of the Earl of Morton at Dalmahoy. It was during the time of Peter Ballantyne's apprenticeship to him that he visited London in a fancy dress of the period of James I., on the occasion of the coronation of George IV., in order to present to the king a cast of falcons on behalf of the Duke of Athol, who held the Isle of Man on that ancient feudal tenure. Very quaint indeed was Ballantyne's description of his master's appearance in this 'get up,' and the old picture at Barochan, which has been engraved (though impressions are scarce), fully justifies the language applied to it by Anderson himself. After Anderson's retirement in 1832, Ballantyne entered the service of Lord Carmarthen under John Pells, senior, at Huntly Lodge, Aberdeenshire, Both passage hawks and eyesses were kept, and great sport was obtained both at herons and at game. The finest flight was that at the woodcock, which could then be obtained in perfection among the young plan- tations on Deeside. From Pells Ballantyne learned the Dutch method of training hawks, of making hoods, and of using the swivel and jesses in lieu of the old heavy varvels, and by com- bining both systems was able to become the successful falconer that, so far as game hawking is concerned, he undoubtedly was. After leaving Lord Carmarthen's service Ballantyne entered that of Sir James Boswell, where he had charge of greyhounds as well as hawks. At vSir James's death he was employed by Mr. Ewen of Ewenfield, Ayr, and it was in that gentleman's service that he was most successful, and showed the great sport that is recorded in a previous chapter on game hawkmg. On Mr. Ewen's death he became falconer to Mr. Oswald of Auchincruive, in whose service he died in 1884, a falconer to the last, at the age of eighty-six. Though he failed a little for the last year or two of his life, so lately as 1880 he was able to show good sport, and probably never flew a better hawk than the falcon ' Pearl,' which was then CELEBRATED FALCONERS—SCOTCH 345 in fine form ; but even at the time of his death he had one hawk in training, which died on the same day as himself. A notable family of Scotch falconers have been the Barrs. William Barr, the father of the family, was by profession a game- keeper, but having been bred in the good days when a talcon or two was a necessary part of the appanage of a north -country gentleman, he had learned the rudiments of management, and acquired skill enough to train eyesses for game very successfully. His sons, all learned the business with aptitude. William, the eldest, was a clever falconer with eyesses, and for some years made a living by exhibiting his trained hawks at racecourses and similar places, and flying them at pigeons— a description of hawking which cannot however be sufficiently condemned as being degrading to those who practise it, and a prostitution of what is essentially a genuine wild sport. William Barr emigrated to Australia in 1853, and is we believe still aUve. Robert Barr, the third son, was trained under his elder brothers William and John, was for a time in the service of Captain Salvin and of the Maharajah Dhuleep Singh, and eventually became falconer to the Old Hawking Club. He remained in their service for about seven years, and then entered that of the Marquis of Bute, dying soon afterwards, in the year 187 1. John Barr, the second son, was, however, the falconer who will be best remembered of the whole family, probably also as the cleverest professional falconer of this century. John Barr may be said to have been the first of that school of falconers who have been able to combine all the different methods of the various countries where hawking is practised. Brought up under a Scotch falconer, he was from childhood familiar with the method of rearing and training eyesses. As a lad he travelled through Italy and Syria, with the Maharajah Dhuleep Singh, and associated regularly with the professional falconers of the East, observing their system and bringing his own energy and cleverness to bear upon it ; while year after year he visited Holland to assist in the catching of hawks, and what- ever the Dutchmen could teach him was at his disposal. A 346 FALCONRY real lover of hawks, active and intelligent, it is no wonder that he more thoroughly fathomed the mysteries of catching, taming, and training a hawk than any man we have as yet met. There was no quarry that he had not flown at, no kind of hawking that was not familiar to him. From 1857 to 1865 he was with the Maharajah, during which period he may be said to have trained every variety of hawk used in falconry, and to have taken every quarry that can be killed by means of hawks. After this he became head falconer to the Champagne Hawking Club, whose head-quarters were at the camp of Chalons. A good deal of sport was shown by Barr at rooks, herons, magpies, curlews, &c. In 1869 the club was broken up, but the hawks were kept on by the Comte de Aldama, and though Barr subsequently brought them over to England, he was still, we believe, in the Count's service. At that time he had several excellent hawks in training, some of whose performances have been referred to on page 286. In 1869 John Barr, with his nephew, James Barr, also a falconer, made a successful visit to Iceland to capture gerfalcons, which, mainly owing to John Barr's skill, resulted in his bringing home thirty-three, though he was, of course, a perfect stranger to the country, and probably had not at that time seen a wild gerfalcon. He was next engaged by Lord Bute to take the place of his brother Robert, who had recently died, but he only remained for a short time in his lordship's service, and after that he gave exhibitions of trained hawks at various places, chiefly the Welsh Harp at Hendon, after the fashion of his brother William. In 1872 he became head falconer to the Old Hawking Club, and showed very good sport on the Wilts downs. In 1873 he had an excep- tionally good team of passage hawks, and we may remark that he was the only falconer we have seen who succeeded in taking peewits in the spring with a trained hawk. He was next engaged by Captain Dugmore, who organised the Falconry Club, to be described hereafter. At this time Barr had three under- falconers, and flew hawks in Ireland, on JOHN BARR 347 Epsom Downs, in the grounds of the Jardin d' Acclimatisation at Paris, and at the Alexandra Palace, near London. It was not, however, during this period that Barr's talents as a sports- man and a falconer had the best scope for their display. In the summer of 1876 he was sent by Captain Dugmore to Nor- way to catch gerfalcons. Here the old talent came out, for though unfamiliar with the country, he came back, after an absence of but eight or nine weeks, with ten fine falcons, and as many goshawks as he cared to bring. At catching a wild hawk or at recovering a lost bird Barr had no rival ; he seemed to know instinctively where the hawk would be, and what she would be about at the time when it suited him to search for her, and somehow or other he generally came back with a hawk on his hand. In 1879 Barr entered the service of Mr. Evans, of Sawston, Cambridgeshire, and in 1880, after having successfully trained and flown some passage hawks at rooks in the spring of that year, he died at the age of thirty-nine. As skilful in the mews as he was in the field, and that is no light word, it will be many years before such another falconer is found to ensure success to the sport of which he was so ardent a lover. With the Barrs and Ballantyne the ancient line of Scotch falconers seems to have died out, and though many an in- telligent ghillie and keeper has shown an aptitude for the science, and, with the opportunities at their disposal, might soon have developed into falconers, yet, for the first time we believe in the history of sport, there is at the present time no Scotch falconer of note now practising the art. The Scotch school was, as we have previously said, always the exponent of the management of eyesses and of game hawk- ing. For many years, therefore, the Englishmen who cultivated the higher flights at the rook, the heron, and the kite, with passage hawks, were dependent upon the Dutch falconers for their servants. We are indebted to Professor Schlegel's ' Traite de Fauconnerie ' for an account of the more celebrated of these clever trainers and managers of hawks. 348 FALCONRY Jan Daams, born at Valkenswaard in 1744, entered the service of Lord Orford about the year 1772.^ After Lord Orford's death he was engaged by Colonel Wilson, at Didlington in Norfolk, and in 1808, while waiting at Cuxhaven for a passage to England after one of his annual voyages to Holland to procure hawks, was arrested by Louis Bonaparte, then king of that country, and was made to re-organise the mews at Het L0O5 which had been abandoned since the departure of the Statholder William V. in 1795. There he stayed until King Louis's abdication in 1 810, when he was summoned by Napoleon to take charge of the hawking establishment at Versailles. This was suppressed in 181 3, when Daams returned to Valken- swaard, and died in 1829. Frank van der Heuvell was born at Valkenswaard in 1766, and when very young was apprenticed to Frank Daams, nephew of Jan Daams. In 1780 he entered the service of the Elector of Hesse, where he remained till in 1785 he was engaged at Versailles under M. de Forges, Lieutenant de Chasses to Louis XVI. In 1792 the royal establishment was suppressed, and he returned to Valkenswaard. Two years later he joined Colonel Thornton, with whom he stayed till 1799, when he was hired by Lord Middleton, and in 1804 entered the service of Sir Robert Lawley. Subsequently he engaged with Colonel Wilson from 1820 to 1828, when he went back to Valkenswaard. In 1840 he was taken on by the recently formed Loo Hawking Club, and he died in 1845. Jan Peels, a pupil of Jan Daams, and with him at the time of his detention at Cuxhaven, was also a native of Valkenswaard. After making several voyages between Holland and England, he returned to the latter country in 1808 (when his master was carried off), and was engaged by Sir John Sebright and others. About 1814 he entered Colonel Wilson's service, and was sent for heron hawks to Holland. He returned to England in 181 5 with Jan Lambert Daankers (who had 1 See also ' Hawking in Norfolk,' Appendix to Mr. Southwell's edition of Lubbock's Fauna in Norfolk. DUTCH FALCONERS 349 been his fellow-pupil under Jan Daams, and died in 18 16), and continued to make annual trips till 1827, being for part of that time in the service of Mr. Downes of Gunton (see Sebright, *0n Hawking'). He was subsequently enagaged by Lord Carmarthen, afterwards Duke of Leeds, and then by the Duke of St. Albans, in whose service he died in 1838. Jan Bots, a pupil of Daankers, first came to England as an assistant to Frank van der Heuvell in 182 1. From 1828 to 1838 he was regularly at Didlington, but on the death of Lord Berners he went to Baron Oifemont in France. In 1840 he was engaged by the Loo Hawking Club, and continued in its service until 1852, making in that time one expedition or more to Norway to take gerfalcons. Arnold Bots, brother of the preceding, accompanied him on his voyages to England from 1829, and was also one of the falconers to the Loo Club. James Bots, a third brother, was also in his youth employed at Didlington, and he subsequently entered the service of Colonel Hall at Weston Colville. He then returned to Hol- land, and was employed by the Loo Club. He established himself at Valkenswaard, Avhere he kept the Valken Inn. He occasionally visited England, and died about the year 1869. John, the elder son of Jan Peels, was born in England, and adopted the English form of surname. Pells. He succeeded his father in the service of the Hereditary Grand Falconer of England, the Duke of St. Albans. When the present Duke gave up all active participation in the sport of hawking, Pells was pensioned off, and continued to train and fly hawks at Lakenheath, in Suffolk. In 1845 he made an excursion to Iceland, to procure gerfalcons, and brought home fifteen, eight of which were trained at Loo. He was an excellent falconer, well known to many of the present generation, and always ready to impart his knowledge to beginners. He died in 1883 Adrian Mollen — almost the last of the old Dutch falconers — was a native of Valkenswaard, and a pupil of Jan 350 FALCONRY Bots, when in Lord Berners's employ from 1833 to 1836. In 1837 he entered the service of Prince Trautmansdorff, near Vienna, when he trained hawks, principally for game and for the flight at the thick-kneed plover. During his stay he procured from Hungary a nest of young sacres, two tiercels, and a falcon, which he trained for game. Occasionally, but rarely, he saw a wild sacre when flying his hawks. In 1841 he returned to Holland, and became head falconer to the king, flying his hawks at Loo and working with the falconer employed by the Loo Hawking Club. After the abandonment of the annual hawking at Loo, Mollen returned to Valkenswaard, and since then, aided by his two sons, has annually caught, and in many cases trained, what passage hawks are required by English or other sportsmen. Of his skill and ability all falconers are aware. Paul Mollen, brother of the last mentioned, was under Adrian Mollen when he was at Loo. After the breaking up of the king's stud of hawks he obtained employment at the Zoological Gardens at Antwerp. About the year i860 he was engaged as falconer and attendant on his aviaries by Lord Lilford. A few years ago he retired, and lives at Oundle in Northamptonshire. This closes the list of a race of falconers which Sir John Sebright well describes as 'sober, industrious men,' as well as clever and patient trainers of hawks. To their skill and care the art of modern falconry owes much, and it is to be regretted that men of this stamp have almost ceased to exist. We have treated above of Scotch falconers and of Dutch falconers — both masters of the art — practising in England under English masters ; but as yet we have named no English falconer. Singularly enough, from the days of Colonel Thorn- ton up to the time of the present generation no Englishman professionally has attained eminence in the science of falconry. In Colonel Thornton's 'Northern Tour' (1804), his chief fac- totum seems to have been ' William Lawson, Head falconer and Inspector-general,' and from the Colonel's account he seems JOHN FROST For eightesn years Falconer to the Old Hawking Club CELEBRATED FALCONERS— JOHN FROST 351 to have been an old and highly valued servant. We believe he was an Englishman. But we have to pass from that date to 1870 before we again find an Englishman similarly well qualified and in a position equally of trust, in the person of John Frost, head-falconer to the Old Hawking Club. Being the son of a keeper to Mr. Newcome, of Feltwell, Norfolk, Frost was brought up from childhood among hawks, and had the opportunity of learning the intricacies of the art, not only from Mr. Newcome himself, but from Robert Barr (to whom he acted as under-falconer at one time), and John Pells, who lived at Lakenheath, hard by. In 1872 the present writer engaged him for the Old Hawking Club as under- falconer to John Barr, and in 1873 he was promoted to the post of head-falconer, which he filled to the year 1890. During that time he annually visited Holland to train the freshly-caught hawks of the Club, and under Mollen and his assistants had the opportunity to master the Dutch school of falconry, just as his education under the Barrs started him with an acquaintance with Scotch methods. Those who have seen the sport shown by the Club hawks when under his charge on Salisbury Plain and Yorkshire, in Kildare, Cork, and Wexford, in Sutherland and Caithness, will know that the art of falconry had in him an able English exponent. His death, at the early age of thirty-six, occurred in September 1890, at Langwell in Caithness, where he was engaged in flying his hawks on the moors of the Duke of Portland, one of his employers. Those only who have participated in the sport shown by the hawks under his care will realise what a loss the ancient science of falconry has sustained by the death of one so capable of demonstrating its practice both in the field and in the mews. Even in the last few weeks of his life he had the greatest success in the difficult sport of grouse hawking, killing, although in failing health, ninety-six grouse between August 12 and September 6 with four hawks only. He lies buried at Berrie- dale. 352 FALCONRY It is not too much to say that, with the exception of John Barr, Frost has had no rival as an ' all-round ' falconer during the present century, and it is hard to say what perfection the sport, as adapted to modern times and modern methods, might not have attained under his intelligent care and un- failing keenness. As a first-rate sportsman he excelled, and with dog, gun, or hawk was equally good. With an education and an intelligence not commonly met with in persons of his station, he was not only an admirable servant, but an interest- ing companion, clever at all sports, and as such, and as a friend, he will be most regretted by all those who knew him best. Fortunately Frost was not the only English professional falconer ; his brother, Alfred Frost (in the service of Mr. T. J. Mann), George Oxer (formerly falconer to Mr. St. Quintin), now in the service of the Old Hawking Club, both trained under John P>ost, are as able to train and fly hawks as either Dutchmen or Scotchmen of fifty years ago. James Retford, falconer to Major Hawkins Fisher, is a pupil of John Pells the younger, and is an able falconer, as also is Cosgrave, now falconer to Lord Lilford, and Peter Gibbs, falconer to the Hon. C. W. Mills, M.P. ; and E. Dwyer, in the service of Major Bingham Crabbe. But with this short list our account of living pro- fessional falconers must close, though other men beside these no doubt exist, well able to train and fly a hawk to the satis- faction of their employers. Like many other sports hawking has, especially of late years, been most successfully carried on by means of clubs, or estab- lishments maintained by joint subscriptions. One of the first of these institutions was the Renfrewshire Subscription Hawks, to which John Anderson was falconer, and which had its head- quarters at Barochan Castle, the seat of Mr. Fleming, who seems to have been the master of the hawks until his death about 1812. After that event the hawks seem to have remained at Barochan for many years with Anderson still as falconer, and Sir John Maxwell of Pollock as master. They would appear to have been given up about 1830. THE FALCONERS' CLUB 353 A larger and more ambitious establishment was maintained at about the same date under the managem.ent of Colonel Thornton, and is described by him in his ' Northern Tour ' by the name of the ' Confederate Hawks of Great Britain ; ' but it was more generally known by the name of the Falconers' Club. Lord Orford was the president of the club, and apparently its manager both before and after the reign of Colonel Thornton. The date of the formation of this club is not certain, but it would seem to have been started in 1770 or thereabouts, and to have been maintained on a high scale, chiefly for kite and heron hawking. The falconers were almost entirely Dutchmen, and the hawks used passage hawks. From the chapter on Hawking in Norfolk, in Stevenson's 'Birds of Norfolk,' we take the following ancient advertisement, which gives a good idea of the transactions of the club : — Swaffham : February 5, 1783. HAWKING. Earl of Orford, Manager of this Year. The gentlemen of the Falconers' Society are hereby acquainted that the hawks will be in England the first week in March, and will begin kite and crow hawking immediately on their arrival. The quarters are fixed at Bourn Bridge, Cambridgeshire, forty- eight miles from London, until the first April meeting, when they will go to Barton Mills and Brandon until the 31st May, when the season will finish. The hawks to be out every Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday in each week at ten o'clock, provided the weather is favourable. Subscribers are desired to pay in their subscriptions for this season on or before the 20th March, to Messrs. Coutts & Co., Bankers, in the Strand, London. N.B. — The cage consists of 32 Slight falcons, 13 German hawks, and 7 Iceland falcons. The * German hawks ' were probably goshawks, but the number of these birds seems very large. ' Slight ' falcon was a term often used for the peregrine at that date. Colonel Thornton appears to have taken the management of this club in 1772, and to have resigned it in 1781, when Lord Orford A A 354 FALCONRY took his place. In that year a handsome piece of plate in the form of a silver-gilt urn, with a hawk killing a hare, well modelled on the top thereof, was presented to the Colonel by the club. (This urn was exhibited in 1889 at the 'Sports and Arts ' exhibition at the Grosvenor Gallery by the present Lord Orford, who purchased it from a descendant of Colonel Thornton.) The inscription on the urn, and the list of names which is engraved on it, are interesting as recording something of the progress of the chief hawking establishment of a hundred years ago, and the names of those who patronised the sport at that date. The inscription runs as follows : — Col. Thornton, the proposer and manager of the Confederate Hawks, is requested to receive this piece of plate from George, Earl of Orford, together with the united thanks of the members of the Falconers' Club, as a testimony of their esteem and just sense of his assiduity, and of the unparalleled excellence to which, in the course of nine years, he has brought them, and when unable to attend to them any longer, he made them a present to the Earl of Orford. Barton Mills, June 23rd, 1781. MEMBERS OF THE CLUB Earl of Orford Mr. Vaughan Mr. Sturt Mr. R. Wilson Mr. Snow Mr. Musters Mr. Smith Mr. Barrington Price Mr. Stephens Mr. Daniel Earl Ferrers Hon. W. Rowley Hon. Thos. Shirley Lord Mulgrave Sir John Tancred Mr. E, Parsons Mr. A. Wilkinson Captain Grimstone Mr. B. Wrightson Captain Yarburgh Mr. Drummond Earl of Leicester Sir Cornwallis Maud Mr. Stanhope Duke of Ancaster Mr. Leighton Mr. Williamson Mr, Francis Barnard Mr. Baker Mr. Nelthorpe Mr. W. Baker Mr. Potter Mr. Pierse Col. St. Leger Mr. Chaplin Mr. Serle THE FALCONERS' CLUB 355 MEMBERS OF THE ClAJB—COnthwed Mr. Coke Mr. Parkhurst Duke of Rutland Mr. Molineux Duke of Bedford Earl of Surrey- Mr. Lascelles Lascelles Sir William Milner Mr. Prxker Sir John Ramsden Mr, Tyssen Mr. Royds Mr. Molloy Sir Richard Simonds Mr. Affleck Earl of Lincoln Mr. St. George Marquis of Graham Earl of Eglinton Mr. Parsons Lord Orford remained manager of the Falconers' Club till his death in 1792. After his death the control of the establish- ment passed into the hands of Colonel Wilson of Didlington, who subsequently became Lord Berners. The hawks were kept at High Ash, near Didlington, but as kites became very scarce the heron was the chief quarry. The club seems to have been carried on and the hawks maintained, to some extent at any rate, by subscription up to the date of Lord Berners's death in 1838. Several sketches were made by Sir E. Landseer of the hawks at Didlington, one of which, with the date, 'Didlington, June 30, 1831,' is in the author's pos- session. Previously to Lord Berners's death herons had become com- paratively scarce at Didlington, and what was of even more importance, the ground over which hawks could be followed had become very circumscribed, owing to the breaking up of the heath land and bringing it under the plough. Kence it occurred to the members of the club that they might find better sport further a-field, and instead of bringing their hawks from Holland over to England to fly at a quarry becoming more and more scarce, they might go over to Holland to their hawks, and in that country turn them to better advantage. A prospecting party was formed of Mr. Stuart Wortley and the Baron d'Offemont, with the result that in 1839 the Loo Hawk- ing Club was^ formed. Mr. E. C. Newcome, of Feltwell, who A A 2 356 FALCONRY had for several years been the backbone in the field of the English Club, became secretary of the new Anglo-Dutch insti- tution. In 1839 he appears on the list of the club as its soUtary member, but in 1840 a goodly number of members was en- rolled, and at their head were the Prince of Orange, with the Princes Alexander, Frederick, and Henry of the Netherlands — of Englishmen, the Duke of Leeds, Rev. W. Newcome, Mr. Jerningham, Lord C. Hamilton, Lord Sufifield, Mr. E. Green, Mr. J. Balfour, and Mr. Knight were early members — and thus the Hawking Club was established at the Loo under the protection of his Majesty King William H., and under the presidency of his Royal Highness Prince Alexander of the Netherlands. With the establishment of the Loo Hawking Club there came to an end the old Falconers' Club of England, which for some sixty-six years had maintained the sport with no little success and prestige. It had carried on the art of falconry from the days when the kite and bustard were quarry readily found on our wolds or warrens, till the heron was the only flight left of those which were deemed most worthy of pursuit. But from its ashes a worthy successor had arisen, and the Loo Club was destined to carry the sport to a pitch of excellence never before achieved. The establishment of the club consisted as a rule of twenty-two falcons, that of the king twenty-two more with their attendants, and with such a staff success became merely a question of opportunity. The sport that was shown has been related in the chapter on heron-hawking, to which branch of falconry the club solely confined its operations. In the eight seasons during which it lasted nearly 1,500 herons were taken by hawks, and never has hawking been managed so skilfully or on so princely a scale. Of the hawks that were most successful the best were a falcon called ' Bull -Dog,' which had the character of rarely needing to make more than three stoops at any heron. Mr. Newcome used to speak of this falcon as the best heron hawk he had ever met with. Next to her came a famous cast of falcons, ' Sultan ' and ' De Ruyter,' THE LOO HAWKING CLUB 357 which after their first season as club hawks became Mr. Newcome's own property. This cast of hawks, always flown together, took in 1843 fifty-four, and in 1844 fifty- seven herons, besides many rooks in England. ' De Ruyter ' was ultimately lost at Feltwell while rook hawking, but ' Sultan ' adorns the splendid collection of stuffed birds which Mr. Newcome formed at Hockwold, set up as his hands alone could do it. Besides these a ger-tiercel called ' Morock ' was noteworthy. Among the Englishmen who were members of the club we find, besides the names already quoted, those of Mr. Stirling Crawford, Lord Alvanley, Lord Chesterfield, Mr. Thornhill, Mr. Fred. Milbank, Lord Strathraore, Hon. C. Maynard, Hon. C. L. Fox, and Hon. C. Fitzwilliam. In 1853 the club came to an end ; the royal patronage was withdrawn, and its head-quarters at Loo ceased. For the next ten years after that date the maintenance of falconry in England was due chiefly to the efforts of Mr. Newcome, who, himself the ablest and most skilful amateur falconer of the present century, was ever ready to assist beginners or to further the sport of those who were already entered to the sport. Few of the mature falconers of the present day do not owe something of their success to his kindly assistance and advice, or to his experience, which was ever at their disposal. During this period Mr. Newcome, who could not always procure passage hawks from Holland, suc- ceeded in taking herons on the passage with one or two eyess falcons, a feat never before achieved, but possibly never attempted, nor perhaps one of special difficulty, since a really good eyess is as good as the average passage hawk, but it is necessary to train and to discard many before one sufficiently good is obtained. At this time also Mr. Newcome practised game hawking — of which, however, he was never very fond — and was also very successful with merlins at lark hawking, which sport he ranked next to the flight at the heron. In 1863 the Hon. C. Duncombe, with Robert Barr as his falconer, commenced rook hawking on Salisbury Plain, con- 358 FALCONR V jointly with Major Fisher ; and the year following, finding that the management of the hawks, which was left on his hands, was more than he could attend to, a club was organised which grew and prospered as the present Old Hawking Club. The original members in 1864 were : The Hon. C. Buncombe Mr. E. C. Newcome Lord Lilford Mr. Amherst The Maharajah Dhuleep Col. Brooksbank Singh A. E. Knox, Esq. Robert Barr continued as falconer, and the chief sport of the club was then, as now, shown on the Wilts downs in March and April, rook hawking. A little heron hawking was done in Norfolk in May after the hawks returned thither each year, and some good work was done at grouse, chiefly in Perthshire on moors taken by the Maharajah Dhuleep Singh. In 1871 falconry in England sustained a severe blow by the death of Mr. Newcome at the comparatively early age of sixty, and, under that shock and other difficulties, the fortunes of the club for a brief while were at a low ebb. But in 1872 it was reorganised on a rather larger basis. The Wiltshire downs were again visited, and in that autumn ? peculiarly fine team of passage hawks was got together. John Barr had been engaged as falconer, and the present writer succeeded Mr. Newcome as secretary and manager. The area of operations became somewhat extended. A first-class team of hawks, eyesses, and passage hawks has ever since 1872 been maintained, suitable for every description of hawking. The annual two months' visit to the Wiltshire downs has been kept up as the leading feature of the club's sport ; and the great kindness and liberality of a large body of owners and occu- piers of land on the open downs of Salisbury Plain has enabled the club to establish itself on a tract of country wide enough to show sport every day without doing damage to any- one. Besides this, the hawks and their falconer are at the disposal of any member of the club who desires to use them THE OLD HAWKING CLUB 359 during any part of the year, and thus the green jackets of the members and their servants have become well known in Kildare, in Wexford and in Cork, in Sutherlandshire and Caithness, in Yorkshire and in Hants, in fact wherever hawking could be carried on in the United Kingdom, while it is only the lack of time and leisure that has prevented them from carrying the sport yet further afield in response to numerous invitations. Of the sport which has been shown we have treated to some extent under the various heads of game and rook hawking. The total number of head of quarry killed of all sorts is very large, but perhaps the return of the year 1887 may serve as a specimen of the sport carried on by the club ; it was as follows : — Rooks 209 Magpies 13 Grouse 95 Black game 2 Partridges 114 Rabbits 112 Pheasants 5 Hare i Various ....... 25 576 During the year 1890 244 rooks were killed in the spring and 95 grouse between August 12 and September 6, when game hawking came to an end temporarily, owing to the death of the falconer, John Frost. During the period of its existence the club has owned many hawks of marked excellence. One of the first that is worthy of mention was an eyess tiercel called ' Druid,' trained in 1864, which, after a visit to Ireland and being entered to magpies, was flown regularly at rooks for some three seasons on Salis- bury Plain, as we have already stated when treating of rook hawking. We have not known an eyess tiercel to repeat this feat since the days of ' Druid,' though in recent times Mr. St. Quintin has trained and flown one or two at gulls that would 36o FALCONRY in our opinion have been equal to any performance that a tiercel is capable of. In 1 87 2, among others of a remarkably good team of hawks one falcon called ' Empress ' was trained, and for general excellence has hardly been surpassed. Her record of 63 rooks in one season has not yet been beaten. She was flown for three seasons, and died from an accident. In 1876 — a remarkably stormy spring — a passage hawk called ' Bois-le-duc,' from the name of the place where the hut at which she was taken is located, formed part of the consignment sent to the club. Probably this falcon is the best that has been trained since the days of the famous ' Bull Dog ' of the Loo Club. Troublesome at first to enter, when once she took to rooks she killed no less than 60, missing but one flight. It seemed impossible to give her slips that were too long or for a gale to blow strong enough to stop her, and the magnificent style of her flying and stooping left nothing to be desired. She was flown for five seasons, in three of which she made the highest score of rooks killed against any of the other hawks, and eventually was given away as a pet. Another excellent servant was the falcon 'Elsa.' This falcon is especially remarkable for her excellence at all sorts of quarry. A passage falcon trained in 1886, she killed by far the highest score of rooks in her first three seasons, and was not far behind the best in 1889 and 1890. While in her second season she was entered to grouse, and has each year since then proved herself to be one of the most perfect game hawks that it is possible to fly, steady, tractable, and as high a mounter as can be procured. In the spring of 1890 she killed 35 rooks, and in the autumn 31 grouse, nor does the flight at the one appear to interfere in the least with her keenness to take to the other quarry when the time comes. In all 186 rooks and 123 grouse have been killed by this falcon, besides many sundries. 'Elsa' was lost at Langwell in the autumn of 1891. 'Vesta,' an eyess falcon from CulvercHff, Isle of Wight, has been spoken of w^hen describing game hawking. As a grouse hawk she is nearly perfect for killing, but lacks a little FAMOUS HAWKS 36j of the perfect style of the passage hawks with which she has been generally flown. This falcon was flown chiefly at grouse (though a great number of sundries were killed by her, as well as partridges in one or two years). For nine successive seasons she visited Scotland, and her average score for each season is 2)Z' She died in the winter of 1890. The remarkable score made in 1882 by an eyess falcon, 'Parachute,' is recorded when treating of game hawking in Chapter II . This was a very steady high-mounting tractable falcon, easily worked, and thus very deadly. She was in 1882 two years old. Nor must the ger-tiercel 'Adrian,' trained in 1878, be forgotten when speaking of hawks perfect in style. Of tiercels two very good passage hawks were trained in 1873, 'The Earl' and ' The Doctor.' These tiercels were the only two trained hawks with which we have succeeded in taking wild peewits in March. Many excellent magpie and partridge hawks have been trained, among which ' Cabra ' and * Meteor ' will long be recollected by members of the club. ' Shamrock ' and * Shillelagh,' two Irish tiercels (eyesses), were flown in the autumn of 1873, in Kildare and Wexford chiefly. These two formed an almost perfect cast of magpie hawks, and with them the smallest field could kill a magpie. It was beautiful to see how perfectly the two little hawks under- stood the whole game, and to watch how they divided the labour, one always mounting high and remaining steady at a lofty pitch, so as to dominate the magpie and command every point by which he could escape, while the other at a lower pitch would drive at the quarry every moment that the white wing fluttered, and either drive him below the fatal pitch of his comrade or else seize him for himself. These tactics never failed, and the two hawks rarely omitted to adopt them, and would exchange roles as often as flights were found for them. A year or two afterwards a cast of tiercels, ' Buccaneer ' and 'Meteor,' killed in thirteen days 44 magpies on similar ground. Such performances as these have no doubt been 362 FALCONRY equalled over and over again by hawks belonging to private individuals.^ They are set down here simply as a record of what has been done with hawks within our own knowledge, and in order to prove what can be done in the way of modern falconry by anyone who will devote that time and care to it which is necessary for the attainment of excellence in any kind of sport. The members of the Old Hawking Club in 1890 were as follows : — Lord Lilford Duke of St. Albans . Mr. F. Newcome Duke of Portland Rev. W. Newcome Hon. E. W. B. Portman Mr. W. H. St. Quintin Col. Watson Earl of Londesborough Mr. A. Newall Mr. B. H. Jones Hon. G. Lascelles, Manager ajtd Secretary. Honorary Members Hon. Cecil Duncombe Col. Brooksbank Hon. G. R. C. Hill Mr. F. H. Salvin The objects of the club have ever been to promote falconry, first, by keeping up a first-class establishment of hawks for every description of hawking ; secondly, to train young men and boys as falconers under an able man ; and, thirdly, by every year getting a fresh lot of hawks and by drafting out at the end of each season all bur a few favourites of very high class, to keep up the supply of well-trained hawks available for the public. In this way many beginners have been assisted when first taking up falconry, by obtaining a perfectly trained hawk at about her original cost price, and even if they have found that an edu- 1 In 1883 a remarkable tiercel called ' Destiny ' was caught at Valkenswaard and trained by George Oxer for Mr. St. Quintin. He was flown regularly for seven seasons, and was one of the most beautiful fliers that we have ever witnessed. During his career he killed 88 partridges, 40 magpies, 64 sea- gulls (assisted by a second tiercel), and 30 ' sundries,' which include grouse, blackbirds, pheasants, curlew, landrails, rooks, &c. This is an apt illustration of the amount of fine sport which can be obtained by means of one good hawk if in proper hands and well cared for. CHAMPAGNE HAWKING &- FALCONRY CLUBS 363 cated hawk is not as easy to handle as a barrel-organ, still they have been able to make a better start than by those crude efforts at ' training a hawk for themselves ' which result in the death of the subject to be trained and the hopeless disappoint- ment of the trainer. A club on rather similar lines was started in France in 1866 under the title of the 'Champagne Hawking Club,' with M. Alfred AVerle as president, other members being M. Pierre Pichot, Comte de Montebello, Vicomte de Grandmaison, Comte Alphonse de Aldama, Count le Couteulx de Canteleu, &c. John Barr was head falconer, and the country mainly resorted to was in the plains near Chalons. A large establish- ment was kept up, and a sincere desire was shown to follow the best traditions of falconry ; but in 1869, owing to various circumstances, the club came to an end, though the esta- blishment was maintained for a year or so longer by the Comte de Aldama. But the good which the club did in reviving falconry in France may be traced by the existence in that country of more than one excellent and able falconer who might perhaps never have taken to the sport had it not been for the fillip administered at a critical moment by the organisa- tion of so good an establishment as that of the Champagne Club. In 1878 an English club was promoted on an ambitious scale by Captain F. S. Dugmore under the title of the Falconry Club. The head-quarters of the club were fixed at the Alexandra Palace, Muswell Hill, near London, where the hawks, sometimes forty in number, were kept on view and were occasionally flown to the lure or at bagged pigeons for the public amusement. Branches were proposed to be established in France, Ireland, Spain, Holland and Belgium ; four or five falconers were engaged, and a large number of hawks of all kinds ordered and procured. The scale of operations was so large as to be unwieldy, and the method of carrying out the scheme did not prove successful. A certain amount of sport was shown at rooks on the Epsom Downs under the manage- 364 FALCONRY ment of Mr. J. E. Harting, who acted as secretary and devoted much trouble and time to the perfecting of the arrangements, but after a brief period of life the club was broken up and the establishment scattered. Besides clubs, there are various private establishments in the United Kingdom, as well as many amateurs who keep a few hawks which they manage themselves, in some cases, with marked ability, and show very great sport on a small scale. A private mews has for very many years been kept up by Lord Lilford, whose falconer was, as stated previously, Paul Mollen, and subsequently Ed. Cosgrave. Falcons have been successfully taken on the passage in the autumn as they migrate over Northamptonshire, and indeed we believe the hut placed there has rarely failed to secure one or two when the attempt has been made in earnest. Although the country about Lilford is not particularly well suited for the sport, Lord Lilford stands high as one of our oldest and ablest falconers, and the ancient sport owes no less in these modern times to his munificence and energetic support than it did in the days of a former generation to the support of Lord Orford or Berners. It is not too much to say that the maintenance of falconry of the higher class in England during the last hundred years is due to the three noblemen named above, together with Mr. E. C. Newcome. At the present day the sport is wider spread ; fresh enthusiasts spring up from year to year, and falconry no longer depends, as for so many years it did, upon the mainte- nance of one single establishment which in its turn was depen- dent on the liberalities of its principal patron. Among amateur falconers Mr. W. H. St. Quintin, of Scampston Hall, Yorks, has been very prominent. He has had special success both in game hawking and in the flight at seagulls, and is seldom without a cast or two of tiercels of superior excellence. For many years his falconer was George Oxer, formerly under-falconer to the Old Hawking Club, who has now returned to that establishment as head falconer, his place being taken by young Charles Frost. PRIVATE ESTABLISHMENTS 365 Major Fisher's establishment is one of the oldest now in England. He has principally devoted himself to game hawking, especially at grouse, but has annually visited the downs in the spring for a brief season at rooks. For the first years of his hawking career Major Fisher chiefly confined himself to eyesses, of which he trained some very superior hawks, especially those taken from Lundy Island. But of late years he has adopted the passage falcon for game as well as for other flights, although his original predilections were in favour of eyesses alone for this flight ; and we have the Major's authority for saying that he has found the passage hawk as superior for game as he had already proved her to be at other quarry, especially in the case of a famous falcon called 'Lady Jane Grey,' which he has flown for some eight seasons. His falconer for many years past has been James Retford. Another well-known establishment is that of Mr. T. J. Mann, of Hyde Hall, Sawbridgeworth, who with Alfred Frost for his falconer has had much sport in Norfolk and Herts both with peregrines at rooks and game, and with a famous goshawk known as 'The Shadow of Death.' Colonel Watson and Mr. Bingham Crabbe have also a joint mews in Ireland, with E. Dwyer as falconer, now located in Ireland. And in that country lives also a veteran falconer, Mr. W. Corbet, of Rathcormack, Cork, to whom many a beginner is indebted for assistance. Mr. Corbet had a fine acquaintance with the numerous eyries of Ireland, and in some years reared and hacked a great number of hawks, which were often at the disposal of those to whom he thought they would be of good service. The Hon. C. W. Mills has also a mews of hawks at Mul- grave Castle, Yorks, under the charge of Peter Gibbs, but the principal work done hitherto has been with the goshawk at rabbits. Besides these gentlemen, many amateurs as stated above train their own hawks, among whom may be quoted the veteran Mr. F. Salvin, one of the authors of * Falconry in the 366 FALCONRY British Isles/ Mr. A. Newall, Major Anne, and Mr. E. Riley, whose successes with the short-winged hawks have already been referred to. Nor is the church ill-represented among the ranks of falconers, for the successes of the Rev. W. Willimott in the difficult branch of gull hawking have been mentioned when describing that sport, while all readers of the 'Field' are familiar with the writings of the Rev. G. E. Freeman, under the nom- de-guerre of ' Peregrine,' dealing chiefly with game hawking with eyesses, and with the training of merlins. Even this brief list of the better-known amateurs will show that English hawking is in no moribund condition. Very rarely does a sportsman who has once taken it up abandon it during his life, and though from the nature of the sport, and of the country requisite for it, it can never become generally popular, we believe that as it is already the most ancient, so it will continue to be one of the most enduring of the field sports in which mankind takes delight. 5(^7 CHAPTER VII GENERAL MANAGEMENT — xMEWS — BLOCKS — PERCHES — BOW- PERCH — BATHING — CONDITION — FEEDING — CASTINGS — • IMPING — MOULTING — VARIOUS DISEASES — GENERAL HINTS. The first consideration of a falconer will naturally be to pro- vide himself with a 'mews,' or place to keep his hawks in. Almost any stable or loose box will do for this, and elaborate buildings are rather to be shunned. The requirements are : first, that it be well ventilated, but quite free from draughts ; second, that it can be made dark at any time. The best mode of ventilating is what is known as a ' Tobin ' tube, by which plenty of air is admitted without either light or draught, combined with a ventilator in the roof which can be closed. When the place is made dark, hawks will remain still, and can be left for the night without any fear of their jumping or fidgetting during the early morning hours. The ' mews ' should be kept as dry as possible, and for this purpose one of the little slow-combustion stoves known as a ' Tortoise ' stove is exceedingly useful, and, though anything like coddling hawks is undesirable, still it is a good plan when they are getting no exercise at all to give them a little extra warmth, and the stove keeps the whole place dry. The perch may be arranged in the mews just as is most convenient to the shape of the building ; a very good plan is place it round the house, parallel with the walls, and not less than three feet from them. It should be four feet high, and is best made of a rough larch pole with the bark on it. In any 368 FALCONRY case it must not be too smooth, lest the hawks slip off it.^ On the under-side of the perch is nailed a piece of stout canvas, (whence it is often called the screen). This is best nailed firmly along the pole, with the use of leather washers to pre- vent the canvas from tearing at the nail-holes. At intervals of about eighteen inches can be worked large eyelet holes, through which the leashes can be passed, so as to tie round the perch. If it is preferred, the nails can be put in at intervals of about eight inches, so as to allow the leash to be passed between the canvas and the perch ; but by the first-named plan the canvas will last twice as long. The object of the screen is, first, to make sure that a hawk that has bated off the perch will certainly attempt to regain her position on the same side that she came off from, and so will not get her jesses twisted round the pole ; secondly, it enables a hawk that is not very active, to struggle to the perch again by getting a hold with her claws in the canvas. This perch is in universal use in- doors and is perfect for passage peregrines, merlins, or the short- winged hawks ; but eyess peregrines, being less active, cannot safely be placed on the perch at first, though most of them will gradually become used to it. A sick hawk should never be placed on any perch from which it can possibly be hung. A bed of sand, three inches thick, should be placed below the perch, and that part which is foul must be removed every morning. If sand is not procurable, sawdust can be used ; but in that case great care must be taken lest any of it find its way on to the hawk's food, especially if it be deal sawdust, which contains turpentine. In fine weather hawks must be kept in the open air as much as possible, and every day, before they are flown, should be placed out at least for an hour or two to ' weather.' If put out for this purpose by seven o'clock in the morning they should be well weathered and ready to fly by eleven o'clock at latest, and ^ If a padded perch is required, the best and most durable method is to cover the pole with Brussels carpet turned the reverse side out ; it will be found to answer every purpose and to come cheap in the end. MEWS 369 those which are so indined will have bathed and got thoroughly dry ; but when hawks are being flown every day, and perhaps late in the day, they cannot be so fed as to be ready early the next morning, and therefore, when the same lot of hawks are being daily used, the sport must take place in the afternoon for the most part. The blocks on which hawks are kept in a garden or on a lawn are made in different ways, but the best pattern is the simplest and the cheapest of all. Take a plain simple log of wood with the bark upon it, saw into lengths fourteen inches long and six inches in diameter ; drive into the base thereof an iron spike ten inches long, the end of which is then sharpened so as to be driven into the ground and thus hold the block firmly. Into the centre of the top drive an iron staple, to which the leash is to be tied, and for a few pence a block is produced that cannot be surpassed for all practical purposes. Hardwood of any kind is the best, for fir decays, loses its bark, and rots from the staple, which may thus wax loose. Birch with the bark on it makes a very neat, pretty-looking block, and a very durable one ; while holly, if it can be obtained of large enough size, is almost imperishable and very neat. Both blocks and perches have been devised of various and more or less complicated forms. Blocks which revolve and blocks which do not ; with fixed staples and with revolving rings (which have been known to hreak, and which invariably jam). Blocks of the shape of wine-glasses on stems, of wine-glasses without stems, and of wine-glasses upside down, are all recommended by their various inventors ; but the only advantages we could ever see in them are those which are obtained by the turner and the carpenter, who are able to charge roundly for their manufacture ! Short-winged hawks, and also merlins, are better kept on the bow-perch which is figured on p. 341. This is best made of a simple piece of hazel or ash, shaved on the lower side to make it bend readily, and kept in its position by a stout piece of iron wire bent round the bow and securely fastened. The ends of the bow should be shod with iron, so as to be driven B 6 370 FALCONRY into the ground, and a stout iron pin, at least ten inches long, must be run on to the wire and driven into the ground in the centre of the perch as an extra safeguard. A ring, large enough to run over the perch with /^^/^z>.— One point. Definition of Points {a. ) In estimating the value of speed to the hare, the judge must take into account the several forms in which it may be displayed, viz : — 1. Where in the run up a clear lead is gained by one of the dogs, in which case one, two, or three points may be given, according to the length of lead, apart from the score for a turn or wrench. In awarding these points the judge shall take into consideration the merit of a lead obtained by a dog which has lost ground at the start, either from being unsighted or from a bad slip, or which has had to run the outer circle. 2. Where one greyhound leads the other so long as the hare runs straight, but loses the lead from her bending round decidedly in favour of the slower dog of her own accord, in which case the one greyhound shall score one point for the speed shown, and the other dog score one point for the first turn. APPENDIX 407 3. Under no circumstances is speed without subsequent work to be allowed to decide a course, except where great superiority is shown by one greyhound over another in a long lead to covert. If a dog, after gaining the first six points, still keeps possession of the hare by superior speed, he shall have double the prescribed allowance for the subsequent points made before his opponent begins to score. b. The Go-bye is where a greyhound starts a clear length behind his opponent, and yet passes him in a straight run, and gets a clear length before him. c. The Turn is where the hare is brought round at not less than a right angle from her previous line. d. The Wrench is where the hare is bent from her line at less than a right angle ; but where she only leaves her line to suit herself, and not from the greyhound pressing her, nothing is to be allowed. e. The Merit of a Kill must be estimated according to whether a greyhound, by his own superior dash and skill, bears the hare ; whether he picks her up through any little accidental circum- stances favouring him, or whether she is turned into his mouth, as it were, by the other greyhound. f. The Trip, or unsuccessful effort to kill, is where the hare is thrown off her legs, or where a greyhound flecks her, but cannot hold her. 26. The following allowances shall be made for accidents to a greyhound during a course ; but in every case they shall only be deducted from the other dog's score : — a. For losing ground at the start, either from being unsighted, or from a bad slip, in which case the judge is to decide what amount of allowance is to be made, on the principle that the score of the foremost dog is not to begin until the second has had an opportunity of joining in the course, and the judge may decide the course or declare the course to be an undecided or no course, as he may think fit. I). Where a hare bears very decidedly in favour of one of the grey- hounds, after the first or subsequent turns, in which case the next point shall not be scored by the dog unduly favoured, or only half his points allowed, according to circumstances, No grey- hound shall receive any allowance for a fall or an accident, with the exception of being ridden over by the owner of the cbmpet- 4o8 COURSING ing greyhound, or his servant, provided for by Rule 30 or when pressing his hare, in which case his opponent shall not count the next point made 27. Penalties are as follow : — a. Where a greyhound, from his own defect, refuses to follow the hare at which he is slipped, he shall lose the course. b. Where a dog wilfully stands still in a course, or departs from directly pursuing the hare, no points subsequently made by him shall be scored ; and if the points made by him up to that time be just equal to those made by his antagonist in the whole course, he shall thereby lose the course ; but where one or both dogs stop with the hare in view, through inability to continue the course, it shall be decided according to the number of points gained by each dog during the whole course. c. If a dog refuses to fence where the other fences, any points sub- sequently made by him are not to be scored ; but if he does his best to fence, and is foiled by sticking in a meuse, the course shall end there. When the points are equal, the superior fencer shall win the course. 28. If a second hare be started during a course, and one of the dogs follow her, the course shall end there. 29. Greyhound Getting Loose.— Any person allowing a greyhound to get loose, and join in a course which is being run, shall be fined i/. If the loose greyhound belong to either of the owners of the dogs engaged in the particular course, such owner shall forfeit his chance of the stake with the dog then running, unless he can prove, to the satisfaction of the stewards, that he had not been able to get the loose greyhound taken up after running its own course. The course is not to be considered as necessarily ended when a third dog joins in. 30. Riding Over a Greyhound.— If any subscriber, or his servant, shall ride over his opponent's greyhound while running a course, Ae owner of the dog so ridden over shall (although the course be given against him) be deemed the winner of it, or shall have the option of allowing the other dog to remain and run out the stake, and in such case shall be entitled to half its winnings. 31. A 'no course' is when by accident or by the shortness of the course the dogs are not tried together, and if one be then drawn the other must run a bye, unless the judge on being appealed to shall decide that he has done work enough to be exempted from it. ' An undecided course ' is where the judge considers the merits APPENDIX 409 of the dogs equal, and if either is then drawn the other cannot be required to run a bye ; but the owners must at the time declare which dog remains in. (See Rule 33.) The judge shall signify the distinction between a 'no course' and an 'undecided' by taking off his hat in the latter case only. After an ' undecided ' or 'no course,' if the dogs before being taken up get on another or the same hare, the judge must follow, and shall decide in favour of one if he considers that there has been a sufficient trial to justify his doing so. A ' no course ' or an ' undecided ' may be run off immediately, if claimed on behalf of both dogs before the next brace are put into the slips, or in case of ' no course ' if so ordered by the judge, otherwise it shall be run again after the two next courses, unless it stand over till the next morning, when it shall be the first course run ; if it is the last course of the day, fifteen minutes shall be allowed after both dogs are taken up. 32. The judge shall render an explanation of any decision only to the stewards of the meeting if required, through them, before the third succeeding course, by the owner, or nominator, or repre- sentative of the owner or nominator, of either of the greyhounds engaged in the course. The stewards shall, if requested to do so, express their opinion whether the explanation is satisfactory or not, and their opinion in writing may be asked for and published after- wards, but the decision of the judge, once given, shall not be reversed for any cause. 33. Withdrawal of a Dog.— If a dog be withdrawn from any stake on the field, its owner, or some one having his authority, must at once give notice to the secretary, or flag, or slip steward. If the dog belongs to either of these officials, the notice must be given to the other. When, after a ' no course ' or an ' undecided,' one of the greyhounds has been officially drawn, and the dogs are again, by mistake, put into slips and run a course, the arrange- ment come to shall stand, whatever the judge's decision may be, and all bets on the course shall be void. 34. Impugning Judge. — If any subscriber, owner, or any other person, proved to be interested, openly impugns the decision of the judge on the ground, except by a complaint to the stewards, according to Rule 32, he shall forfeit not more than 5/., nor less than 2/., at the discretion of the stewards 35. Stakes not Run Out.— When two greyhounds remain in for the deciding course, the stakes shall be considered divided if they belong to the same owner, or to confederates, and also if 4IO COURSING the owner of one of the two dogs induces the owner of the other to draw him for any payment or consideration ; but if one of the two be drawn without payment or consideration, from lameness, or from any cause clearly affecting his chance of winning, the other may be declared the winner, the facts of the case being clearly proved to the satisfaction of the stewards. The same rule shall apply when more than two dogs remain in at the end of a stake which is not run out ; and in case of a division between three or more dogs, of which two or more belong to the same owner, these latter shall be held to take equal shares of the total amount received by their owner in a division. When there is a compulsory division all greyhounds remaining in the class that is being run, even where one is entitled to a bye, shall take equal shares. The terms of any arrangement to divide winnings, and the amount of any money given to induce the owner of a dog to draw him, must be declared to the secretary. 36. Winners of Stakes Running Together.— If two or more greyhounds shall each win a stake, and have to run together for a final prize or challenge cup, should they not have run an equal number of ties in their respective stakes, the grey- hound which has run the smaller number of courses must run a bye, or byes, to put itself upon an equality in this respect with its opponent. 2,7. Objections. — An objection to a greyhound may be made to any one of the stewards of a meeting at any time before the stakes are paid over, upon the objector lodging in the hands of such steward, or the secretary, the sum of 5/. which shall be for- feited if the objection proves frivolous, or if he shall not bring the case before the next meeting of the National Coursing Club, or give notice to the stewards previous thereto of his intention to withdraw the objection. The owner of the greyhound objected to must deposit equally the sum of 5/., and prove the correctness of his entry. Expenses in consequence of an objection shall be borne as the National Coursing Club may direct. Should an objection be made which cannot at the time be substantiated or disproved, the greyhound may be allowed to run under protest, the stewards retaining the winnings until the objection has been with- drawn, or heard and decided. If the greyhound objected to be disqualified, the amount to which he would otherwise have been entitled shall be divided equally among the dogs beaten by him ; and if a piece of plate or prize has been added, and won by him, APPENDIX All only the dogs which he beat in the several rounds shall have a right to contend for it. •^Z. Defaulters. — No person shall be allowed to enter or run a greyhound, in his own or any other person's name, who is a defaulter for either stakes, forfeits, or bets, or for money due under an arrangement for a division of winnings, or for penalties regularly imposed for the infraction of rules by the stewards of any meeting, or for any payment required by a decision of the National Coursing Club, or for subscriptions due to any club entitled to have repre- sentatives in the National Coursing Club. As regards bets, how- ever, this rule shall only apply when a complaint is lodged with the secretary of the National Coursing Club within six months after the bet becomes due. On receipt of such complaint the secretary shall give notice of the claim to the person against whom it is made, with a copy of this rule, and if he shall not pay the bet, or appear before the next meeting of the National Coursing Club, and resist the claim successfully, he shall be considered a defaulter. 39. Judge or Slipper Interested.— If a judge or slipper be in any way interested in the winnings of a greyhound or grey- hounds, the owner and nominator in each case, unless they can prove satisfactorily that such interest was without their cognisance, shall forfeit all claim to the winnings, and the dog shall be dis- qualified ; and if any nominator or owner of greyhounds shall give, offer, or lend money, or anything of value, to any judge or slipper, such owner or nominator shall not be allowed to run dogs in his own or any other person's name during any subsequent period that the National Coursing Club may decide upon. 40. Any person who is proved to the satisfaction of the National Coursing Club to have been guilty of any fraudulent or discreditable conduct in connection with coursing, may, in addition to any pecuniar}- penalty to which he may be liable, be declared incapable of running or entering a greyhound in his own or any other person's name during any subsequent period that the National Coursing Club may decide upon ; and any dogs under his care, training, management, or superintendence, shall be disqualified during such subsequent period. 41. Bets. — All bets upon an undecided course shall stand unless one of the greyhounds be drawn. All bets upon a dog running further than another in the stake shall be p.p., whatever accident may happen. Bets upon a deciding, as upon every other course, are off, if the course is not run. Long odds bets shall be 412 COURSING void, unless the greyhound the bet refers to shall run one course in the stake, other than a bye, after the bet is made. Long odds bets, with this exception, shall be p.p. . 42. Bets on Stakes Divided.— Where money has been laid against a dog winning a stake, and he divides it, the two sums must be put together and divided in the same proportion as the value of the stakes. INDEX Accidents to greyhounds during a course, allowances for, 407 Achinduich moors, Sutherland- shire, 266, 269, 272 A.-U.-C. (eyess tiercel), 269 Adrian (ger-tiercel), 361 Aldama, Comte Alphonse de, 346, 363 Alec Halliday, 114 Alexander, Prince, of the Netherlands, 356 Alexandra Palace, Muswell Hill, hawking at, 363 Altcar Coursing Club, 181 ; its influence on coursing, 182 ; prestige of membership, 183 ; predominance of Lancashire members, 183 ; the Cup, 184 ; matches (i860, 1864) at Ash- down and Amesbury, 184 ; representative members in 1863, 185 ; circular issued by the committee of the Ames- bury match in 1864, 186 ; the Altcar Club's circular, 188 ; discussion on guarding, 189 ; results of the meetings, 191- 196 ; present position, 231 Altcar coursing ground, 9, 157 Altcar Plate, the, 9 Alvanley, Lord, 357 Amesbury (passage falcon), 269 Amesbury coursing ground, 157, 227 Anderson, John (falconer), 343, 344, 352 Angela (passage falcon), 269 Angus, Mr., of Whitfield, 198 Anne, Major, 366 Annie Macpherson, 144 Annoyance, 127 Archdale, Captain, 112 Arrian, quoted on coursing, 3, 4 Ashdown Park Champion Meet- ing, 191, 192 Ashdown Park Coursing Club, 179, 181, 184 Astley, Sir John D., 112 AthoU, Duke of, 344 Avery Hill, 29 Aurora (passage hawk), 304 Ayrshire, hawking in, 269 Bab-at-the-Bowster, 13-15, 132, 133, 146, 147, 149, 150 Bacchante (haggard falcon), 304 Bachelor, 159, 160 Bag for falconers, 249, 250 Balfour, J., 356 Ballangeich, 116 Ballantyne, Peter (falconer), his method of training hawks, 414 COURSING AND FALCONRY 257 ; record of game killed in hawking, 269 ; professional career, 343-345 Banchory, 20 Barbary falcons, 243, 325 Barr, James, in Iceland for ger- falcons, 312, 346 Barr, John (falconer), 304, 305 ; in Iceland for gerfalcons, 312 ; in Norway for same, 314 ; his professional career, 345-347? 351. 358, 363 Barr, Robert (falconer), 304, 345. 346, 351. 357, 358 Barr, William (falconer), his professional career, 345 Barrator, 161 Batt, R. N., 120 Beacon, 126, 148, 162 Beckford, 1 1 Bed of Stone, 15, 16, 135, 137, 147, 151 Bedlamite, 148, 160 Belany on falconry, 239 Belfry (eyess tiercel), 269 Bell, I. Lowthian, 200 Bella Dobson, 46 Belle of Scotland, 13 Bellini, 158 Bells for hawks, 247, 248, 267 Bendimer, 16 Berners, Dame Juliana, on coursing, 6 ; on falconry, 237 Berners, Lord, 349, 350, 355 Bert's ' Treatise on Hawks and Hawking,' 237 ; on short- winged hawks, 328, 331 Betting on greyhounds, 401, 402 Bewits, 251 Bibby, Mr. J. Hartley, 34 Biddulph, Captain, 326 ; his improvement on the ordinary hawk's perch, 384 BOW Biere, 39 Birkdale kennel, 30 Bishop Juxon, 150 Bit of Fashion, 43, 44, 53, 148, 169, 170, 190, 196 Blackbird hawking, 339 Blackcloud, 134 Blackgame hawking, 272 Black Veil, 42, 43 Blome's ' Gentleman's Recrea- tions,' on falconry, 237, 324 Boanerges, 127, 132, 133 Boardman, H. B., 229 Bois-le-Duc (passage hawk), 296,297, 299, 301, 360 Bootiman (slipper), 25, 34, 157, 215 Border Union coursing ground, 157 Border Union Meeting, 40 Boreas, 128, 129 Borron, W. G., 220 Borrow, Mr., 14 Boswell, Sir James, 344 Bothal Coursing Club, the, 197 ; its Stud Book, 197 ; early days, 198 ; large entries for produce stakes in the open, 198 ; decadence and revival of its meetings, 198, 199 ; character of the coursing ground, 199 Bothal Park, 141, 142, 148, 162 Bots, Arnold (Dutch falconer), 349 Bots, James (Dutch falconer), 312, 349 Bots, Jan (Dutch falconer), 349 Bower, Mr., record of his sport with the sparrow-hawk, 340 ; his manner of flying, 340, 341 Bow-nets, 259, 281 Bow-perch, 336, 369-371 INDEX 415 BRA Brabant, North, catching pas- sage hawks in, 278 Brail, the, for hawks, 248, 251 Braw Lass, 18 Breeding of greyhounds, 50 ; the Misterton— Gulnare II. com- bination, 51 ; Macpherson— Rota combination, 52 ; Ptar- migan— Gallant Foe, 5^ 5 Greentick — Bit of Fashion, 53 ; Macpherson's represen- tatives, 54 ; Clyto's pedigree, 54 ; Clyto IV., 55 ; Cui Bono, 55, 56 ; failing in the produce of Greentick, 56; in-breeding, 57 ; general resemblance and measurements, 58 ; tabulated pedigrees -Misterton, 60-65 '■> Macpherson, 66-69 '■> Green- tick, 70-73 ; practical : selec- tion of blood bitches, 74 ; size in matrons, 74, 75 ; proper season for litters, 76 ; sap- lings, 76 ; exercise for the bitch during pregnancy, 77 ; the accouchement chamber and its appurtenances, ^'J ; medical treatment of a preg- nant or suckling bitch, 78 ; cure of follicular mange or eczema, 78, 79 ; remedy for constipation, 80 ; diet after parturition, 80 ; what to do when the litters are too big for the bitch to suckle, 81 ; the theory that the moral attributes as a foster-mother are assimilated with the milk, 81 ; selection of superfluous puppies for destruction, 81 ; discrimination of the choice whelps, 82 ; the treatment of early whelps, 82 ; bottle- BUR feeding, 83 ; first foods for pups, 83 ; detection and rid- dance of worms, 83-85 ; dis- temper, 85, 87, 88; the question of ' walks ' and proper exercise, 86 ; food, 87 ; butchers as ' walkers,' 88 ; overhauling the ' walks,' 88 ; training treatment of saplings, 90 ; purging them of parasitic pests, 91 ; removal to kennels and subjecting to discipline, 91, 92 ; accustoming to coup- lings and leads, 93 ; alternate horse and ' led ' exercise, 93 ; choice of trial-grounds, 94 ; sapling stakes, 94, 95 ; class- ing saplings, 96 ; medicine and diet for puppyhood, 96, 97 ; entering for early pro- duces takes, 97 Brice, Mr., 45, 156, 205 Brigade, 13 Brigadier, 11, 128, 148, 162 Brighton Downs, rook hawking on, 294 Bristol, Marquis of, 233 Britain Still, 115 Brocklebank, Harold, 34, 182, 185 Brocklebank, Sir Thomas, 39, 42, 229 Brood bitches, selection of, 74 Brooksbank, Colonel, 269 Brown, David, quoted, on the Ridgway Coursing Club, 218 Brummagem Man, 39 Buccaneer (tiercel), 263 n., 274, 361 Buckskin gloves, falconers', 249 Bugle, 134, 160 Bull -dog (falcon), 356 Burlador, 24 4i6 COURSING AND FALCONRY Buinaby, 21, 114, 151, 153 Burton's ' Falcon^ in the valley of the Indus,' on sacres, 325 Butcher birds, 282 Bute, Marquis of, 304, 345, 346 Button Park, 29, 30, 33 Byes in coursing, 403 Cabra (hawk), 361 Cadge, the, for hawks, 248, 251, 298, 372 Cafley, J., 19, 1 39 Cagliostro, 53, 149 Calix, 56 Cambridgeshire, rook hawking in, 294 Camerino, 32 Campbell, Ivie, 136 Campbell, on falconry, 238 Canaradzo, ii, 126, 127, 133, 147-149 Cangaroo, 114, 115 Canteleu, Count le Couteulx de, 363 Cardinal York, 148 Carmarthen, Lord, 344, 349 Carmichael coursing ground, 157 Carpenter, Admiral, -214 Carrion crows, 372 n. Carruthers, G., 158 Case, T. H., iii, 113, 120 Cashier, 148, 161 Castings, 251 Castlemartin, 28 Catterick Coursing Meeting, 217 Cauld Kail, 58, 138, 161 Cavalier, 138 Celebrated, 139 Cerito, 10, 124, 135, 136, 147 Champagne Hawking Club, 304, 346, 363 CLU Champion Stakes, Kempton, 116, 117 Character, 30 Charioteer, 42 Charles I., public coursing in his reign, 6 Charming Belle, 198 Charming May, 13 Cheer Boys, 190, 196 Chesterfield, Lord, 357 Chloe, II, 103, 125, 147, 148 Chock, 46 Cioloja, II, 126, 127 Cissy Smith, 46, 47 Clamor, 56 Claret, 158, 159 Cliffe and Hundred of Hoo As- sociation for the Preservation ■ of Hares and Wildfowl, 181, 200; its meetings, 201 ; head- quarters, 202 ; character of the coursing ground, 203; the sport, 204, 205 ; anecdote of the rail, 205, 206 Clifton, Talbot, 222 Clive, II, 125 Cloudy Night, 35 Clubs, coursing, early, 179; rules of membership, 180; members of the Malton in 1828, 180 ; foundation of the Altcar, 181 ; supersession of its club gatherings by open meetings, 181 ; modern asso- ciations, 181 ; position of the Altcar, 182, 231 ; this club's matches and meetings (i860, 1864), 184-196 ; the Bothal, 197-200 ; the Cliffe and Hundred of Hoo, 181, 200- 205 ; the Eastern Counties, 231 ; the Essex, 207-211 ; the Lichfield, 211, 212; the INDEX 417 CLU North of England, 213-218, 231 ; the Ridgway, 218-222, 231 ; the Sleaford, 223-225 ; the South of England, 225- 227 ; the Stock Exchange, 231 ; the West Cumberland, 228-231 Clubs, hawking, 314, 3^6, 34^, 352-364 Clyto, 54, 55> 148, 161 ClytoIV., 55 Cock Robin, 13 Code of Rules of the National Coursing Club, 400-412 Cod liver oil, use of, for dog's disorders, 85, 91 Coke, Archie, 156 Coke, J., 30, 47, 156 Collars, to be worn by dogs of same colour, 405 Confederate Hawks of Great Britain, 353, 354 Conster, 1 1 1 Contango, 137, 148, 161 Coomassie, 17- 19, 139, I47 Coot hawking, 334 Corbet, W., his hawking estab- lishment, 365 Corbett, V. W., 214 Corby establishment, 41 Cornwall, seagull hawking in, 302 Cosgrave, E. (falconer), 352, 364 Cottage Girl, 198 Countryman, 44, 141 Coursers, opinions of, on grey- hounds, 145-168 ; penalties on fraudulent, 411 Coursing, antiquity of, 3 ; Arrian quoted on, 4 ; Queen Eliza- beth's ' Laws of the Leash or Coursing,' 4-6 ; in Charles BAR L's reign, 6 ; the points of a course, 7, 406 ; the Waterloo Cup and its winners and run- ners-up, 8-49 ; on breeding, 50-59 '■> pedigree tables of celebrated dogs, 60-73 ; practical greyhound breeding, 74-89 ; treatment of saplings 90-97 ; the greyhound's train- ing, 98-100 ; enclosed cours- ing, 1 1 1- 1 23 ; celebrated grey- hounds of the past, 124-144; opinions of noted coursers on greyhounds and their per- formances, 145-171; descrip- tion and points of a grey- hound, 172-178 ; clubs, 179- 231 ; officials of clubs and courses, 39i-395» 397-399; public trainers, 396 ; code cf rules of the National Coursing Club, 400-412 ' Coursing Calendar,' quoted, 139 Crabbe, Major Bingham, 352 ; hawking establishment of, 365 Crawford, Stirling, 357 Creole (passage falcon), 269 Crocus (falcon), 316 Cross, E. M., 229 Croxteth Stakes, 44 Cui Bono, 55, 56 Curiosity, 134, 142 Czarina, 158 Daams, Frank (falconer), 348 Daams, Jan (falconer), profes- sional career of, 348 Daankers, J. L. (falconer), 348 Dagmar, 148 Daintree, Captain, 159 Daniel, on coursing, 6 Dark Rustic, 1 1 1 E E 4i8 COURSING AND FALCONRY DAV Davenport, Mr., i8o David, 147, 148, 158, 160 Deacon, 1 1 Dear Eleanor, 28 Death of a subscriber (coursing), 403 Deceit, 112 Defaulters, coursing, 411 Definition of points in coursing, 406 De Grey Cup, 44 Dent, Edward, on coursing, 29, 150, 152, 154, 155, 165, 168 De Ruyter (falconer), 356, 357 Dervock, 130 Desert falcons, 324 Destiny (tiercel), 362 n. Devastation, 19 Dhuleep Singh, Maharajah, 304, 311, 345, 346, 358 Dhuleep Singh (tiercel), 274 Dickens, Charles, and the Bull Hotel, Rochester, 202 Didlington, Norfolk, hawking at, 291, 348, 349, 355 Dillon, 30 Diseases of greyhounds, 83-88, 91 ; of hawks, and their treat- ment, 383-389 Disguise, 228 Distemper, 85, 87, S2, Dixon, Anthony, 228, 229 Dixon, Thomas, 229 Dobson, F., 165 Dogs, use of, in hawking, 263, 264, 266-268 Donald, 17 Doncaster coursing ground, 119 Dovrefeld, the, falcon-catching huts on, 316 Downes, Mr., of Gunton, 349 Downpour, 22, 47 ENC Druid (eyess tiercel), 297, 359 ' Duck-killer,' the (passage hawk), 286 Dugmore, Captain F. S., 346, 347, 363 Duke Macpherson, 21, 153, 154 Duncombe, Hon. Cecil, 297, 357 Dunmail, 228 Dunn, Nathaniel, of Newcastle, 197, 199 Dutch bells for hawks, 248 Dutch falconers, 240, 241, 28 1- 286, 312, 348-350 Dutch hoods for hawks, 243- 245 Dwyer, E. (falconer), 352, 365 Early Morn, hi East, Joshua, 226 East Kent Coursing Club, 118 Eastern Counties Coursing Club, 231 Eczema in dogs, 78, 79, 90 Eden, Sir William, 214 Edwin Greentick, 56, 76 Eglinton, Earl of, 343 Elizabeth, Queen, her ' Laws of the Leash or Coursing,' 4-6 Elkington, Messrs., of Regent Street, 208 Ellis, Hon. W. C, 197-199, 196, 214 ^EUis, William, 149, 165 Elsa (passage falcon), 304, 360 El Soudan, 198 Elveden, gerfalcons at, 313 Empress (falcon), 360 Enclosed coursing, 1 1 1 ; Plump- ton, hi; its patrons, 112; effects of the Ground Game Act, 112; Grand Produce Stakes, 113; Gosforth, 113; winners and runners-up at INDEX 419 ENC Gosforth frcm 181 1 to 1889, 114-I16; winners and runners-up of Champion Stakes, Kempton, 116, 117; Haydock Park, 117; Wye Racecourse, 118; Four Oaks Park, 118; Doncaster Cours- ing Company, 119; Mourne Park, r20 ; Purdysburn, 120 ; Trabolgan, 120; Holestone, 122 ; effect of repeated run- ing in enclosed grounds on greyhounds, 122 ; evils of, 164-166 ' Encyclopaedia Britannica,' the^ on falconry, 242 England Yet, 150 English falconers, 350-352 Entries, coursing, 400-402 Entry money, payment of, on nominations, 402 Epsom Downs, hawking on, 314, 363 Eslington Coursing Meetirg, 216 Essex Coursing Club, the, 207 Evans, Mr., of Sawston, Cam- bridgeshire, 347 Everley, Wiltshire, hawking at, 237 Ewen, Mr., of Ewenfield, Ayr, 269, 344 Faber Fortun/e, 41, 46 Fabulous Fortune, 34-43 P'air Floralie, 34, 37, 41 Fair Floraline, 119 Fair Fortune, 36, 37 Falcon, definition of a, 252 ; breeding-places, 254 Falconer, 31-35. 47 falconers' Club {'The Con- federate Hawks of England '), 316 ; Lord Orford and Colonel FAL Thornton managers, 353 ; advertisement of, 353 ; pre- sentation of silver urn to Colonel Thornton, 354 ; mem- bers of the club, 354, 355 ; Lord Berners manager, 355 ; wind-up of the club, 356 Falconers, Dutch, 240, 241, 281-286, 312, 348-350 ; Eng- lish, 350-352 ; Scotch, 240, 242, 343-347 Falconry, causes of its deca- dence, 235 ; suitable country for hawking, 236 ; the most ancient of sports, 237 ; Eng- lish works treating of, 237- 239 ; Queen Elizabeth's inte- rest in, 237 ; extract from Shakespeare on, 238 ; foreign works on, 239 ; ancient and modern falconers contrasted, 240, 241 ; management of passage hawks, 241 ; eyesses or nestling hawks, 242 ; hack- ing, 242 ; true falcons and short-winged hawks, 242, 243 ; Dutch and Indian hoods, 243-245 ; rufter hoods, 244, 245 ; jesses, 246, 252 ; bells, 247 ; the cadge and brail, 248, 251 ; the lure, 249 ; the falconer's bag, 249 ; European and Oriental fashions of carrying hawks, 249 n. ; use of the voice in training, 250 ; glossary of hawking terms, 251-253 ; breeding-places of the pere- grine falcon, 254 ; taking the young from the nest, 254 ; hawks at hack, 256 ; rearing, 256 ; Ballantine's method, 257 ; feeding, 259 ; use of E E 2 420 COURSING AND FALCONRY FAL the bow-net, 259 ; training, 260 ; breaking to the hood, 261 ; introducing the lure, 262 ; early essays in killing, 262 ; setting at pigeons, 263 ; at wild game, 263 ; dogs in aid, 263, 264, 266-268 ; making-in to hawks, 264 ; limits of date in killing, 264 ; effects of hawking on game, 265 ; at grouse, 266 ; flushing game with setters, 268 ; at partridge, 268 ; Old Hawking Club's records of game killed, 269, 270 ; putting the hawk up beforehand, 270 ; wild- duck sport, 271 ; falcon at woodcock, 272 ; snipe, phea- sant, and blackgame, 272 ; hares, 279 ; magpie hawking, 274-276 ; superiority of the passage hawk to the eyess, 277 ; its temper, 277 ; where and how to catch wild falcons, 280-286 ; handling them after capture, 286 ; coaxing them to eat, 287 ; entering to the lure, 288-290 ; entering to the quarry, 290 ; heron hawk- ing, 290 ; at Didlington and Loo, 291 ; method of con- ducting the sport, 292, 293 ; kite hawking, 294 ; rook hawking, 294 ; the best flights at rooks, 295 ; hawks slipped dead up wind at rooks, 295 ; distastefulness of the rook quarry to the hawk, 296 ; how Bois-le-Duc was induced to fly at rooks, 296 ; eyesses and tiercels at rooks, 296 ; instructions for conducting this sport, 298 ; description of a flight at rooks, 299-301 ; sea-gull hawking, 302 ; dis- taste of hawks for the flesh of this quarry, 303 ; difticulty of taking lapwing or green plover, 303 ; Norfolk plover, stone curlew, or thicknee, 303 ; John Barr's report of the marked excellence of passage hawks at grouse, 304 ; haggards, 304 ; early fitness of passage hawks after catch- ing, 305 ; differences in size, colour and appearance be- tween peregrines, 305 ; re- covering lost hawks, 306-309 ; varieties of gerfalcons, 310- 317 ; their liability to asthma, 311 ; merlins, 317-322; mer- lins at larks, 319-321 ; at pigeons, 321, 322 ; the hobby, 322, 323 ; hobbies mobbing off" tiercels, 325 ; sacres, 324, 325 ; lanners, 325 ; Barbary falcons, 325 ; the shahin, 325 ; the lugger, 325 ; passage gos- hawks, 328 ; training of short-winged hawks, 329-332 ; entering to quarry, 332 ; at rabbits, 332 ; at hares, 333 ; various quarry killed by gos- hawks, 334 ; their determina- tion, 335 ; antagonism of gos- hawks to other hawks, 336, 337 ; the sparrow-hawk, 338- 342 ; its liability to fits, 341 ; hawking on racecourses, 345 ; celebrated Scotch falconers, 343-347 ; famous Dutch fal- coners, 348-350 ; English falconers, 350-352 ; clubs, 352-366 ; private establish- ments, 364-366 ; the manage- INDEX 421 FAL ment of the mews, t^S"] ; ventilation, 367 ; perches, 367, 368 ; garden blocks for hawks weathering, 369 ; the bow -perch, 369 ; Captain Salvin'siron perch, 370, 371 ; guarding hawks from bad weather, 370, 371 ; foes to hawks, 372 ; bathing, 372 ; on the cadge, 372 ; getting in condition, 373-378 ; diet and feeding, 374, 375 ; rangle as a conditioner, 375, 376 ; administration of castings, 376 ; an Indian recipe, 377, 378 ; keeping the feathers in good order, 378 ; imping, 380, 381 ; coping, 381 ; the moulting period ; 382, 383 ; treatment of diseases, 383 ; croaks or hecks, 384 ; frounce, 384 ; inflammation of the crop, 384 ; cramp, 385 ; swelled feet and corns, 385 ; Captain Biddulph's improve- ment on the ordinary perch, 386 ; inflammation of the lungs, 387 ; blain, 387 ; para- sites, 388 Falconry Club, the, 314 ; organ- ised by Captain Dugmore, 346 ; its inception and failure, 363, 364 * Falconry in the British Isles,' quoted, 239, 242, 244, 269, 274, 292, 337, 343, 372 Fallen Fortune, 34 F^armer's Folly, 44 Faster and Piaster, 25, 36 Fawcett, Messrs., 29, t,!, 36-39, 41, 44, 155 Penning, Mr. H., 33, 34 Fermoy, Lord, 120 FRO Fertile Field, 36 Fewterer, the, 4 ' Field Quarterly Magazine and Review,' quoted, 8 Fiery Furnace, 44 Fine Night, 29, 30, 44 Fine Sport, 32, 34, 36 Fisher, Major Hawkins, hawk- ing record of, 270 ; his hawk- ing establishment, 365 FitzFife, 25-27, 29, 30, :iz^ 36 Fitzwilliam, Hon. C-, 357 Five by Tricks, 41-44, 47 Flag stewards, coursing, 399 Fleming, Mr. (manager of the Renfrewshire Subscription Hawks), 343, 352 Fletcher, Mr., 29, 32, 36, 44 Follicular mange or eczema in dogs, cure of, 78, 79 Follow Faster, 31-33 Forges, M. de, 348 Fortuna Favente, 34-37 Forum, 36 Four in Hand, 32 Four Oaks Park coursing ground^ 118 Fox, Hon. C- L-, 357 Frederick, Prince, of the Nether- lands, 356 Free Flag, 114 Free Kick, 31, 32, 34 Freeman, Rev, G. E., his ' Falconry : its history, &c.,' 239» 321 .; (' Peregrine '), 366 Freshman, 32, 44 Frost, Alfred (falconer), 352, 365 Frost, Charles, 364 Frost, John (falconer), 314 ; professional career of, 351, 352 ; death of, 359 Flounce, 252, 311, 314, 384 422 COURSING AND FALCONRY FUD Fudge, 125, 160 Fugitive, 143 Full Captain, 28 Fullerton, 22-30, 33, 36, 40, 43, 44, 47, 56, 117, 124, 146- 151. 153-155 Fusilier, 124, 144, 148, 162 Gallant, 35, 39-44, 47 Gallant Foe, 33, 44, 52, 140, 162, 198 Gay City, 53, 118, 147, 150, 151 Gazelle hawking, 325 Genitive, 47 George IV., presented with a cast of falcons by the Duke of Atholi, 344 Gerfalcons (gyrfalcons), charac- ter of, 310 ; liability to asthma, 311, 312; their faults, 314, .346 Ghillie Galium, 14 Gibbs, Peter (falconer), 352, 365 Gladstone, Mr., 155 Glen Islay, 113 Glenkirk, 115 Glenlivet, 44 Glenmahra, 118 ^los=:ary of terms used in hawk- ing, 251-253 Go-bye, the, in coursing, 406, 407 Golden Star, 119 Goodlake, General, 47, in, 112 Goodlake, Mr., 180 Gorton, Mr., 12 Gosforth Gold Cup, 114, 115 Goshawks, 243, 269, 273, 283, 291, 325 ; passage, 328 ; train- ^rigj 329-332 ; entering to quarry, 332 ; at rabbits, 332 ; at hares, 333, 365 GRE Graham, Mr. D., 47 Graham, Thomas, 40, 41, 43, 44, 162 Grand Produce Stakes, Plump- ton, 113 Grandmaison, Vicomte de, 363 Granny (haggard falcon), 304 (iraves, F., 165 (ireat Fly, 24 Gr-^at Southern Cup, Plumpton, III Greater Scot, 30, 51, 124, 149- 151 Green, E., 356 Green Cherry, 30 Greenland gerfalcons, 310, 3 II Green plover hawking, 303 Greentick, 35, 43, 44, 50, 53, 56, 57, 70-73. 114, 118, 124, 144, 149, 150, 161 Grey Crow, 31, 32 Grey de Wilton, Lord, 8 'Greyhound Stud Book, The,' on coursing, 6 Greyhounds, celebrated, of the past, 124; Judge, 125 ; Can- aradzo, 126 ; King Death, 127 ; Brigadier, 128 ; Lobelia, 129; Master McGrath, 130 ; Bab-at-the-Bowster, 132 ; Sea Cove, 134; Bed of Stone, 135 ; King Cob, 136 ; Cerito, 136 ; Misterton, 137 ; Honeywood, 138; Coomassie, 139; Prin- cess Dagmar, 140 ; Snow- flight, 142 ; Herrera, 143 ; Macpherson, 144 Greyhounds, description and points of, 172-177 ; scale of points, 177 ; trainers, 396 ; entries, 400, 401 ; alteration of name, 402 ; guarding, 403 ; control in slips, 405 ; collars GRE worn when of same colour, 405 ; points in coursing, 406, 407 ; accident allowances, 407 ; penalties, 408 ; objec- tions made to, 410 Grey Morn, 39 Ground Game Act, effects of, on coursing, 112, 197, 225, 238 Groupie hawking, 264-270, 334 Guarding greyhounds, 403 Gulnare II., 51 Gunshot, 159 Gyr-falcons. See Gerfalcons Habeas Corpus, 52 Hacking hawks, 242, 256, 259 Hale, Mr. T. P., 40 Hales, Mr. M. G., 43 Hall, Colonel, of Weston Col- ville, 349 Hall, Lowingham, 229 Hamilton, Duke of, 112 Hamilton, Lord C, 356 H-ippy Omen, 34 Happy Relic, 34 Happy Rondelle, 1 56 Happy Sight, 43 Hardy, Mr. H., 44 Hare hawking, 272, 314, 316' 333 Harfagar, 51 Harpstring, 44 Harting, J. E., 314, 329, 3^4 Have a care, 51, 156 Hawking. See Falconry Hawking terms, glossary of, 251-253 Haydock Park coursing ground, 117 Hayward, Mr., 156 Hedley, James, 16, 21, 26, 45, 151. 156, 215, 225 INDEX 425 HUN Henry, Prince, of the Nether- lands, 356 Heron hawking, 239, 278, 290- 294, 356, 357 Heronries, in England and Holland, 291, 295 Herrenhausen, 51 Herrera, 143 Herring gull hawking, 302 Herschel, 20-22, 30, 3 1> 33-37, 44, 118, 124, 147 Hervey, G. H. W., 224 Heuvell, Frank van der (fal- coner), professional career of, 348 High Ash (Hawking) Club, 291 High Gillerspie, in Hobby, the, 243 Holestone coursing ground, 122 Holland, trapping falcons in, 278 ; heron hawking in, 291 Holmby, 117, 118 Holmes, Mr., 39-43 Honey Deer, 36 Honeydew, 143 Honeymoon, 17, 128, 147, 148, 151 Honey wood, 19, 138, 147 Hoods for hawks, Dutch and Indian patterns, 243 ; use of, 252 ; breaking hawks to, 260, 261, 288 Hope-Johnstone, W. J., 152 Hornby, T. D., 155, 185, 186, 188, 189 Hornpipe, 20 Horses, use of, in rook hawking, 298 Huic Halloa, 1 15, 117 Humming Bird, 138, 160 Humphery, A. J., 165 * Hunger traces ' in the hawk, 259 n. 424 COURSING HUR Huron, ill Hyde, S. H., ii6 Hyslop, Messrs. , of Denton, 229 Iceland gerfalcons, 310-314, 346 Icelanderkin (gerfalcon), 316 Ilsley Coursing Club, 170 Imperatrice, 135 Imping hawks' feathers, 379^ 380, 381 Imping-needles, 380 Impugning the decision of a judge, 409 Inbreeding, 57 India, hawking in, 324 326, 337 Indian bells for hawks, 248, 347 ; falconers, 241 ; hoods, 243, 244 ; jesses, 247 Ion, 136 Ireland, coursing in, 120 ; hawk- ing in, 274, 359, 361 Ivan the Great, 24, 32 Jacob, 195 Janet's Pride, 118 Japan, hawking in, 337 Jardine, Mr., 11 Javelin (gerfalcon), 316 Jefferson, Robert, 229 Jeffery, 157 Jenny Jones, 21 Jerningham, Mr., 356 Jesses for hawks, 246, 247, 252, 330 Jester, 33, 34, 52, 53, 148, 149 John Bull, 125 Jones, B. H., 326 ;?. Judge, II, 58, 125, 148, 160, i6i Judges, coursing, 397 ; election of, 400 ; duties of, 405, 406 ; AND FALCONRY LAT when decisions are impugned, 409; when interested in stakes, 411 Juggernaut, 38, 39 Kate, 136 Kempt on coursing ground, 116 Kennet, G., 118 Khorsabad, bas-relief of falconer at, 237 Kildare, hawking in, 274 Kilkenny, 11 1 Kill, the, in coursing, 406, 407 Kilmorey , Earl of, 1 20 Kilrosa, 35 King Cob, 58, 128, 131, 133, 134, 135, 136, 159, 160 King Death, 11, 127, 148 King Lear, 11 Kite hawking, 294, 315-317, 324 Knight, Mr., 356 Lace, Dr., of Frizington, 231 Lady Jane Grey (falcon), 365 Lady Lyons, 15 Lady Sarah, 120 Lady's Fan, 31 Landseer, Sir E., his sketches of hawks at Didhngton, 355 Lang Syne, 46, 47 Langwell moors, Caithness, 266, 270 Lanner, the, 243, 325 Lapwing hawking, 303 Lara, 113 Lark hawking, 319-321, 323, 357 Lascelles, Gerald, 358 Latha, 113 Latham, vSymon, his ' Faulcon's Lure and Cure,' 237 ; quoted, 277 ; on the gerfalcon, 311 INDEX 425 LAU Lauderdale, 148, 149 I^aurel Leaves, 41, 43 Lawley, Sir Robert, 348 Lawson, Sir John, 214 Lawson, William (falconer), 350 Layard, Sir A,, quoted, on falconry, 237 Leash, for hawks, 346, 252 Ledger, Horace, 165 Leeds, Duke of, 41, 43, 46 ; record of hawking bag, 268, 312, 349, 356 Letcombe Bowers Coursing Club, 180 Lichfield Coursing Club, 211 ; meetings, 211 ; its coursing ground, 212 Lightfoot, E. R., of Cowley, 208 Likeness, 23 Lilac, 129 Lilford, Lord, 311, 314, 350, 352, 362 ; his hawking esta- blishment, 364 Lina, 137 Lingo, 136 Lister, Mr. T. T., 13, 103 Little Robin, 33 Lobelia, 12-14, 126, 129, 147 Loch Eil, hawking at, 270 London, 149 Londonderry, Marquis of, 214 Long, W., 185, 186 Long's David, 160 Loo Hawking Club, 348-350 ; Mr. E. C. Newcome secre- tary, 355 ; hawks in its pos- session, 356 ; members, 357 ; end of the club, 357 Loo, Holland, heron hr.wking at, 239, 291, 293 ; gerfalcons trained at, 312, 314 MET Louth Coursing Club, 180 Lubbock's ' Fauna of Norfolk,' quoted, 315, 348 n. Luggur, the, 325 Lundy Island hawks, 365 Lure, the, for hawks, 244, 249, 262, 266, 288 Lurgan coursing ground, 157 Lurgan, Lord, 8, 15, 112 Lynn, Mr., his nomination, Melanie, wins Waterloo Cup in 1836, 9 Macpherson, 52, 54, 66-69, 124, 143, 144, 148 Maggie Miller, 23 Magnano, 16 Magpie hawking, 236, 274-276, 361 Maid of the Mill, 125 Major, 159 Malton Coursing Club, 180 Manager, 216 Mange in dogs, 78, 79, 90 Mann, T. J., 352 ; his hawking establishment, 365 Markham, 114 Marshal McMahon, 114, 119 Mary Mole, 44 Massareene Park, Oaks at, 44 Master Banrigh, 1 1 1 Master McGrath, 12-16, 47, 130, 131, 146, 149, 150, 172^ Master Sam, 17, 144, 148 Maxwell, Sir John, of Pollock, 352 Maynard, Hon. C, 357 Meg, 158 Melanie, 9 Mellor-Moor, 32, 39 Merlins, 243, 283, 317-322 Mespilus, 149 Meteor (eyess tiercel), 274, 361 426 COURSING AND FALCONRY MEW Mews, private, 364-366 ; man- agement of hawks in, 367-388 Michel, E., training merlins to fly larks, 323 Middleton, Lord, 348 Milbank, Frederick, 357 Miller, H. G., 155, 156 Millersdale, 28 Mills, Hon. C. W., 352 ; his hawking establishment, 365 Mineral Water, 20, 114, 115 Mischief, 132 Miss Glendyne, 20, 21, 44, 53, 105, 147, 148, 150, 152, I53» 169, 170 Miss Staton, 119 Misterton, 19, 31, 40, 60-65, 136, 137, 147, 148, 155 Mock Modesty, 190 Mocking Bird, 147, 160 Mollen, Adrian (falconer^*, 281 ; his mishap with and subse- quent capture of the ' Duck- killer,' 284 ; his system of feeding freshly-caught passage hawks, 288 ; discrimination of Aurora's points as a falcon, 304 ; training gerfalcons, 312; training sacres, 324; profes- sional career of, 349 Mollen, Paul (falconer), profes- sional career of, 350, 364 Molyneux, Lord, 9, 182 Montebello, Comte de, 363 Moors, hawking, 266 Morfe Coursing Club, 180 Mojrock (ger-tiercel), 357 Morpeth Coursing Club, 197 Morton, Earl of, 344 Moulting period with hawks, 382,383 Mourne Park coursing ground, 120 NOR Mugliston, Mr. (secretary of the Ridgway Coursing Club), 218 Mullingar, 51, 52, 115 Muriel, 16, 17 Murles, Mr. C, 39 Myra Ellen, 118 Names of greyhounds, alteration of, 402 National Coursing Club, Rules of the, 7, 400-412 Netherby Cup, 33 Neville, 1 1 Newmarket Champion Puppy Stakes, 33 * New Sporting Magazine,' early record of the Waterloo Cup, 9 Newall, A., 366 Newbury Coursing Club, 180 Newcome, E. C, trapping ger- falcons in Norway, 312, 316 ; *^nt Elveden, with Iceland fal- cons, 313, 314; his method of training merlins, 319 ; lark hawking with same, 320, 321 ; secretary of the Loo Club, 355» 356 ; maintenance of falconry by him in England, 357 ; death of, 358, 364 Newcome, Mr,, of Feltwell, Norfolk, 351 Newcome, Rev. W., 356 Newmarket Coursing Society, 180 Newsboy, 113 Newton, Professor, quoted, on falconry, 315 'No course,' a, 408 Nolan, 150 Norfolk plover, 303 Norfolk, Thomas, Duke of, ' Laws of the Leash or Cours- INDEX 427 NOR ing' allowed and subscribed by him, 4-6 North, Colonel, 21, 23, 24, 29, 149, 152-155 North of England Coursing Club, 181, 198 ; early days of its institution, 213; mem- bership and present patrons, 214; the Rainton Meeting, 214 ; a singular incident of ■ sport, 215 ; early hour of meeting, 216; the Eslington Meeting, 216 ; at West Rain- ton, 217 ; minor meetings, 217 ; non-members' nomina- tions, 218 ; new patron and new ground, 231 North Seaton coursing ground, 200 Northamptonshire, trapping of passage hawks in, 280, 364 Norway, 47 Norwegian gerfalcons, 310-312, 3H Not Out, 149 Oaks at Massareene Park, 44 Objections made to greyhounds in coursing, 410 Offement, Baron d', 349, 355 Officials of clubs and courses, 391-395. 397-399 Old Hawking Club, headquarters of, 238 ; record of game killed, 269, 279 ; sport in Ireland, 274 ; in possession of ' The Duck -killer,' 286;- score of rooks and crows taken in the spring of 1887, 302 ; owners of Sibyl, Bacchante, and Elsa, 304 ; fate of their Norwegian gerfalcons, 314; Barbary fal- cons, 325 ; record of sport by OXE two members in Meerut, 326 ; Robert and John Barr in its service, 345, 346, 358; mem- bers in 1864, 358; reorganisa- tion in 1872, 358 ; Mr. Gerald Lascelles manager, 358 ; re- turn of head of quarry killed in 1887, 359; and in 1890, 359; famous hawks in its possession, 359-361 ; mem- bers in 1890, 362 ; objects of the club, 362 Oliver Twist, 125, 160, 162 Opinions canvassed of noted coursers, 145 ; on the twelve greatest greyhounds of the century, 146 ; the best ever run, 147 ; twelve most suc- cessful stud dogs of the last thirty years, 147 ; the best stud dog of the day, 148 ; six best-looking dogs and bitches within memory, 148 ; the most exciting and best con- tested courses, 149-152 ; the most successful of coursers, breeders, and trainers, 152- 156; judges, 156; sHppers, 157; merits of the coursing grounds, 157; most success- ful sires within the last thirty years, 157- 163 ; the question of the improvement or dete- rioration of greyhounds, 163- 167 ; on the running of sap- lings, 168 Orford, Lord, 158, 179, 315, 316, 348, 353, 354 Oriental falconers, 241 Oswald, Mr. (Auchincruive), 344 Owen, James, 122 Oxer, George (falconer), 352, 362 n., 364 428 COURSING AND FALCONRY Pantas (lung disease common to falcons), 311, 314 Parachute (eyess falcon), 269, 272, 279, 361 Parasites in dogs, 83-85, 90, 91 ; in hawks, treatment for, 388 Paris, 33, 34, 52, 53, 148, 199 Parrish's Chemical Food, for dogs, 65, 71, 97 Partridge hawking, 236, 264, 266, 268-270, 334 Passage hawks, 241 ; superiority of, 277 ; how caught, tamed, and trained, 280-290 ; John Barr's testimony to their ex- cellence, 304 ; early fitness after catching, 305. See Fal- conry ' Paston Letters,' quoted on the goshawk, 329 Patent, 147, 148, 161 Patrick Blue, 24, 30 Pearl (falcon), 344 Peasant Boy, 16 Peels, Jan (falconer), profes- sional career of, 348 Peewit hawking, 346 Pells, John (falconer), 311, 344 ; professional career, 349, 351 Penalties on hounds in coursing, 408 Penelope II., 20, 153 Pennegant, 31, 34 Perches for hawks, 367-371, 386 Peregrine Pickle, 47 Peregrines, 343 ; breeding places of, 254 ; differences in size, colour, and appearance between, 305. See Falconry * Perfect Booke for Kepinge of Sparhawks, The,' 329 QUO Pheasant hawking, 272, 333 Phoebus, 117, 150 Pichot, Pierre, 363 Pigeon hawking with merlins^ 321, 322 Pilkington, Mr., 35 Pinkerton, 118 Pleasant Nancy, 24 Plenipotentiary (passage tiercel), 298 Plover hawking, 303 Plumpton coursing ground, 1 1 1 Plunger, 19 Points of a course, 7, 406, 407 Points of a greyhovmd, 173; head, 174 ; eyes, 175, cheek, 175 ; neck, chest, and shoul- ders, 175 ; back, 175 ; quar- ters, 176; thighs, stifle, gaskins, 176 ; tail, 176 ; forelegs, pasterns, and feet, 176 ; quality, 176 ; colour, 177 ; scale of, 177, 178 Polly, 44 Porter, J. Porter, quoted, 164 Portland, 135 Portland, Duke of, 214 Postponement of coursing meet- ings, 404 Pretty Nell, 44 Prince (setter), 268 J'rincess Dagmar, 19, 33, 52, 140, 141, 147, 148, 150, 199 Ptarmigan, 33, 34, 52, 140, 148, 162 Puddletown, 117, 118 Purdystown coursing ground, 120 Quaver, hi Queen, 139 Quicklime, 119 Quorn, the, 35 INDEX 429 RAB Rabbit hawking, 332 Racecourse, 24 Rainton Coursing Meeting, 196, 215 Randell, Mr., 189, 190 Rangle for hawks, 253, 375, 376 Raper, Tom, 157 Ratcliffe, Col. Delme, on fal- conry, 242, 331 ; list of the quarry at which he has flown goshawks, 337 Raven, 31 Ravensworth, Earl of, 214 Realism, 41 Real Lace, 38, 41 Real Point, 39 Real Turk, 47 Rebe, 11, 147 Reception, 38-40 Red hawks, 253 Reed, J. L., 165, 168 Renfrewshire Subscription Hawks, 343, 352 Restorer, 34, 38, 41 Retford, James (falconer), 352, 365 Ilheda Coursing Meeting, 229 Rhoda, 159 Rhymes, 23, 24 Richardson, Dr., of Harbottle, 197 Richardson, Frank, quoted, 164 Ridgway Coursing Club, the, 181, 182, 218 ; Mr. David Brown's researches into its history, 218-221 ; local testi- mony as to its origin, 221 ; its position, 221 ; present membership, 221 ; meetings, 221 ; coursing ground, 222 ; Little Plumpton, 222 ; pre- sent position, 231 SAI Ridgway, Thomas, 221 Riding over a greyhound, 418 Riley, E,, his record of sport with goshawks, 334, 335 ; manner of flying the sparrow- hawk, 340, 341, 366 Riot, 147 Ripon, Marquis of, 214 Rising Star, 194 Rivers, Lord, 180 ' Robin Hood,' quoted, 8,9, 11, 12, 152 Rook hawking, places suitable for, and mode of conducting, 236, 278, 294-302 Rosewater, 119 Rosy Morn, 184, 192 Rota, 52, 56 Rouge Croix, 41 Royal Seal, 12 Royal Stag, 116 Royston, 41 Ruby, 56 Rufter hoods, 244, 245, 253, 284 Rules of the National Coursing Club, 400-412 Russell, Mr. James, 38, 39, 47 Russell, W. D., 214 Ryde, 46 Sackcloth, 10, 124 Sacres, 243 ; set at kite, 324, 350 Sadler, Sir Ralph, Queen Elizabeth's chief falconer, 237, 238 St. Albans, Duke of, 349 St. George, 195 St. Quintin, Mr., his breed of setters, 268 ; record of game killed in hawking, 269 ; sea- gull hawking, 302, 352, 359, 430 COURSING AND FALCONRY 362 n. ; his hawking estab- lishment, 364 St. Vincent, Lord, 112 Salisbury Plain, rook hawking on, 294 ; lark hawking on, 321, 357, 358, 359 Sally Milburn, 40 Salter, Dr., 207 Salvin, Captain, 239, 274, 345, 365 ; his perch for hawks, 370, 371 Sam, 160 Sands, J., 112 Sans Quartier (gerfalcon), 316, 317 Saplings, treatment of, 88-97 > running of, on enclosed grounds and in the open, 168- 171. See under Breeding Saucebox, 12 Scarisbrick Cup, 30 Schlegel, Professor, on falconry, 239, 291, 324, 347 Scorton Coursing Meeting, 217 Scotch falconers, 240-242, 343- 347 Scotland Yet, 58, 126, 130, 137, 141 Scottish National Coursing Clul), 181 Sea Cove, 15, 134 Sea Foam, 126, 127, 129 Sea Pink, 126, 127 Sebright, Sir John, on falconry, 238, 246 ; on • hunger traces ' in hawks, 259 ;/. ; quoted, 348-350 Secretaries of coursing clul)s, 391-395 Sefton, Earl of, 8, 9, 125, 182, 185, 186, 188 Selby, II Senate, 10, 124, 160, 161 Serapi?, 11 1 Setters, use of, in hawking, 268 Shahin, black (F. peregrinator), 325 ; red-naped (F. Baby- lonicus), 325, 326 Shakespeare quoted on falconry, 238, 240 Shamrock (eyess tiercel), 361 Shaw, J. T., of Northallerton, 139, 165 Shepherdess, 149 Shillelagh (eyess tiercel), 361 Short Flatt Tower, Northumber- land, 29 Shrikes, grey, 282 Sibyl (falcon), 284 Silver Lace, 47 Simonian, 147, 154 Sirius, 17 Sir Magnus, 1 1 1 Sir Sankey, 30 Sleaford Coursing Club, the, 181, 223-225 Slingsby, Sir Charles, 340, 341 Slippers, coursing, 398, 405 ; when interested in stakes, 411 Slip stewards, duties of, 399, 404 Slips, taking dogs to, 404 ; control of dogs in, 405 Smith, Charles, of Sleaford, 224 Snipe hawking, 272 Snowball, 158, 159, 180 Snowdon, Thomas (Secretary of North of England Coursing Club), 45, 199, 213, 216,217, 229 Snowdrop, 129 Snowflight, 19, 20, 141, 142 Southern Cup, Plumpton, 1 1 1 South of England Coursing Club, 181 ; formation of, 225 ; members, 225 ; meet- ings, 226, 227 INDEX AZ\ sou Southminster Coursing Meeting, the, 207-211 Southport Meeting, 30 Sparrow hawking, 339 Sparrow-hawks, 243, 325 Spratt's treatment for mange or eczema in dogs, 79 ; Locuriura for cuts in dogs' feet, 100 S. S., 15 Stakes not run out, 409 Stevenson's 'Birds of Norfolk,' quoted, 353 Stipplefield, 37 Stock er, Mr., 12 Stock Exchange Coursing Club, 231 Stockbridge Coursing Meeting, 226 Stone curlew, 303 ' Stonehenge ' on the selection of choice whelps, 82 ; on worms in dogs, 84 ; on preparing greyhounds for matches, 100 ; on galloping greyhounds, 105 Stott, John, of Coney garth, 197 Strange Idea, 134, 162, 198 Strathmore, Lord, 357 Street Place Stakes, the, 1 1 1 Stroganoff, Count, 31, 33, 34 Studley Royal (Ripon) meeting, 44 Suffield, Lord, 356 Sultan (falcon), 356, 357 Sumner, Messrs., 224 Sunbeam, 1 1 Swafifham Coursing Club, 179 Swayne, Dr., 202 Sweetbriar, 184, 192 Swivels for jesses, 247 Tasmania, 34 Taylor, J., 165 TOB Terms used in hawking, glossary of, 251-253 Texture, 25, 30-35 Thacker, quoted, 159 The Doctor (passage hawk), 361 The Earl (passage hawk), 361 The General (tiercel), 269 The O'Donoghue (tiercel), 274 The Shadow of Death (gos- hawk), 365 The Squatter, 11 1 Theatre Royal, 194 Thetis, 35 Thistleton, 32 Thompson, Messrs., of High Thorneyburn, 33, 35 Thomson, Messrs., 155 Thornhill, Mr., 357 Thornton, Colonel, anecdote from his ' Northern Tour ' on kite hawking, 316 ; on train- ing the goshawk, 328 ; quoted, 348, 350, 353 Thoughtless Beauty, 34-37, 39, 40 Tiercel, a, definition of, 253 ; anecdote concerning, 258 n. \ limit of date in killing wild game, 264 ; at partridge, 268 ; The General, 269 ; at wild duck, 272 ; at snipe, 272 ; at magpies, 274 ; capture for hawking purposes, 280 ; at rooks, 297 ; at seagulls, 302 ; at lapwing or green plover, 303 ; passage, 305 ; haggard gerfalcon, 314 ; drawing the hobbies, 323 Tinsel, 33, 34 Tipperary, hawking in, 274 Tobin tube for ventilating mews, 367 432 COURSING AND FALCONRY ToUwife, 256 Townend, 36 Trabolgan coursing ground, 120 Trainers of greyhounds, 396, 397 Training of greyhounds, 98 ; dangers of forced preparation, 98 ; treatment after road exer- cise, 100 ; feeding, 100 ; the question of gallops, 101-104 ; the question of weight, 104 ; exercise of discrimination in the constitution and tempera- ment of hounds, 105 ; judg- ment in the administration of animal food, 106 ; letting a dog down, 106-108 ; variety in feeding, 108 ; bitches and their drawbacks, 109 Training of hawks. See under Falconry Trautmansdorff, Prince, 324, 350 Trevor, Mr, (secretary of Lich- field Coursing Club), 47> 212 Trip, the, in coursing, 406, 407 Troughend, 22, 27, 56, 153, 154 Tuberville's ' Booke of Falcon - rie,' 237 Turn, the, in coursing, 406, 407 Under the Globe, 41, 43> 46 Upper Nithsdale meeting, 33 Utopia, 39 Valkenswaard, origin of the name, 281 ; capture of passage hawks at, 281 ; gerfalcons trapped at, 310, 314 ; passage goshawks taken at, 328, 348, 349 ; Dutch falconers at, 348- 350 Yarvels, 247, 253 Vengeance, 158, 159 WID Ventilation in hawks' mews, 367 Vesta (eyess falcon), 269, 279, 360 Virginia (eyess falcon), 269 Walks, 86 Wanton, 136 Ward, F., of Quarrington, 223, 225 Ward, Mr. W., of Blackburn, 30 Warwick, Mr. (judge), 16 Watchful Duchess, 36 Waterhen hawking, 334 Waterloo, 161 Waterloo Cup, the, foundation and beginnings of, 9 ; some of the more remarkable winners, 10-27 5 tables of winners and runners-up, &c. , from 1836 to 1892, 48, 49 Waterloo Plate, 9, 10 Waterloo Purse, the, 10 Waters, Mr., 44 Watson, Col., his hawking establishment, 365 Watson, F., 112 Weatherwise, 37, 41 Wee Nell, 128 Weighing-machines for dogs, 104 Welsh Harp, Hendon, hawking at, 346 Werle, Alfred, 363 West Cumberland Coursing Club, 228-231 West Rainton Coursing Meet- ing, 217 Wet Day, 44, 47 Wexford, hawking in, 274 Wharfinger, 15 Widgeon at Southrainster, 218 INDEX 433 WIL Wild-duck hawking, 271 Wild Geranium, 12 Wild Hornet, 29 Wild Mint, 20 Wild Night, 44, 46, 47 Wildfire IL, 41 Wilkinson, Tom (slipper), 18, 157 William II., King of the Nether- lands, 356 Williams, G. M., quoted, 151, 165 Willimott, Rev. W., 302, 366 Wilson, CdI., of Didlington, 348, 355 Wilson (slipper), 15 Wiltshire Champion Coursing Meeting, 1864, 186, 193 Wiltshire Downs, hawking on, 358 Wiltshire, trapping passage hawks in, 280 Winchester, 119 Winfarthing, 118 Winners of stakes running to- gether, 410 Wintry Weather, 44 Witchery, 119 Withdrawal of a dog, rule on, 409 Wolf Hill, 39, 40 Woodcock hawking, 270-272, 344 Woodland King, 112 Word of Honour, 36 Worms in dogs, 83-85, 90, 91 Wortley, Stuart, 355 Wrench, the, in coursing, 406, 407 Wright (slipper), 18, 34 Wye Racecourse coursing ground, 118 Wynken de Worde on coursing, 6 Yarak, 253 Yorkshire Coursing Club, 181 Yorkshire Wolds, the, seagull hawking on, 302 Young Fullerton, 43 Zazel, 18, 19 PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODK AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE LONDON F F THE BADMINTON LIBRARY. Edited by the DUKE OF BEAUFORT, K.G. assisted by ALFRED E. T. WATSON. ARCHERY. By C. J. Longman, Col. H. Walrond, &c. With 19s Illustrations and 2 Maps. 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