Practical hints for hunting novices

r TACTICAL HINTS

iNTiNG Novices.

CHARLES RICHARDSON

WIN'D-GALIi

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PRACTICAL HINTS FOR
HUNTING NOVICES.

CHARLES RICHARDSON

("Shotley"),

Author of ''The English Turf,^' Contributor to the "Badminton

Library," the "Fur and Feather" Series, " Victoria History of the

Counties of England," " Masters of Hounds " <&:c.

LONDON :

HORACE COX,

WINDSOR HOUSE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, E.G.
1906.

LONDON :
PRINTED BY HORACE COX, WINDSOR HOUSE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, E.C.

PREFACE.

The following papers, which by the courtesy of the
proprietor of the Field are now published in book form,
were written chiefly because of the inci'eased difficulties
which Masters of Hounds and Field Masters have
lately found with regard to the management of their
fields. And as much of the want of discipline which is
seen from day to day is the outcome of ignorance on the
part of the offenders, and is by no means intentional, it
appeared likely that a few practical hints as to behaviour
would be of assistance to those hunting people who had
not been in the way of securing what may be called a
hunting education. While the papers were appearing
from week to week in the Field, many of the public
expressed the wish that they should be published in
book form, and this, therefore, has been done. The
author now takes the opportunity of informing his
readers that he has no wish to be didactic, but that
the ideas and suggestions which are conveyed in the
following pages have been gathered during a lengthy
experience acquired in nearly half of the English
hunting countries, and are the result of his own per-
sonal observations.

CONTENTS.

Page.

Chapter I.
The Youthful Beginner 1

Chapter II.
Three-fold Duties 7

Chapter III.
Duties to the Field 13

Chapter IV.
Learning to Ride . . . . . . . . . . 20

Chapter V.
Costume and Equipment . . . . . . . . 27

Chapter VI.
Costume and Equipment {Continued) . . . . 33

Chapter VII.
Costume and Eq-uipment {Continued} . . . . 38

VUl CONTENTS.

Chapter VIII.
Costume and Equipment {Continued) . . . . 45

Chapter IX.
The Hiring Question . . 53

Chapter X.
Buying at Auction . . . . . . . . 59

Chapter XL
Buying Privately . . . . 66

Chapter XII.
Conclusion . . . . .... . . . . 73

)0c=-<-

Practical Hints for
Hunting Novices.

CHAPTER I.
THE YOUTHFUL BEGINNER.

fHE CONDITIONS OF LIVING have so greatly
changed within the last generation or so that
in a majority of hunts the field is largely composed of
men and women who have been brought up in towns
or in suburban districts, metropolitan or provincial,
as the case may be, and who have, therefore, not been
in a position to learn what may be called the rudiments
of the chase. These novices in all that pertains to
matters of venery, unless they are lucky enough to
escape notice, are very likely to be a source of mirth
to their better-informed neighbours. No one likes
being laughed at, and a few hints, if carefully digested,
may quite possibly save a certain amount of heartburn-
ing. As a broad rule the boys and 'girls who begin to
hunt early are country born and bred, and have been
from infancy in a position to know something about
hunting. All of them are not so happily placed, and
there are few hunting people who have not, at some

I PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

time or other, heard the youngsters abused, or at least
blamed, for doing something wrong at Christmas time,
when whole droves of boys and girls help to swell the
field. It is not every hunting field which possesses a good-
natured Master of the " Jovey Jessop " type, nor yet a
" Jug " to pioneer the children and keep them in order
throughout the day. Neither is every small boy when
he begins to hunt in the way of being quietly told what
he should or should not do. He may make his debut under
the auspices of an ignorant groom, who is totally unaware
of the etiquette of the hunting field; or he may be sent
out alone, and have to depend on himself entirely.
And it is the fact that many parents who allov/ their
children to hunt in these days know absolutely nothing
of the sport themselves, and are, therefore, not only
unable to ofiter any advice to their children, but actually
do not know that any knowledge is necessary, thinking
that if their boy can sit his pony without falling ofT he
is fully qualified to go out hunting. So the odd boy
in one hundred is that rara avis who has intuitive
knowledge, and who is far too sharp to commit himself
in any way. But the average boy wants a lot of in-
struction, and if he is not in the way of procuring that
instruction at home he must acquire knowledge by careful
observation and by gradual experience, or he may
profit by the experience of those who have made a life-
long study of the subject.

The relation of an instance which came under my
notice some two or three years ago will serve to show
how necessary it is for youngsters to be introduced
to the sport by a person of experience, or one who will,
at least, obey instructions. A lady who knew nothing

THE YOUTHFUL BEGINNER. 3

of hunting had lately come to live in a hunting country,
and had sent her boy and girl out hunting (for the first
time) in charge of a man who was just as ignorant
as the children. His instructions were that he and his
charges had on no account to leave the road, and the
Master, seeing a big crowd at the meet, and being about
to draw a gorse on a hillside below the village, sent a
second horseman to direct the crowd to a spot where they
were not likely to do any harm. The coachman in
charge of the children, when asked to follow on, replied
that he had only come to the meet, and was at once
going home. The second horseman came on without
him ; hounds found in the gorse, and the fox set out on
a beautiful line ; but as he rose the hill the forms of
the groom and the two children suddenly appeared
drawn up (in a lane) on the skyline, and nicely placed
about twenty yards apart. The fox turned back, and
ran straight into hounds. There was, however, a second
fox in the gorse, and he broke a Httle further along the
hill, pointing for the crest some quarter of a mile from
where the first fox had been headed. It looked as if
he would make his point, but just as he reached the lane
the three spectral figures again appeared, and the fox
dodged back to covert, and resolutely refused to break
again. The children went home highly pleased at having
seen two foxes, and perfectly ignorant of the fact that they
had spoilt the sport ; and their mother, innocently
'enough, for a week or so went about telling all her
friends how sharp her youngsters had been in having
seen two foxes on their first hunting day, while Mrs. B. 's
boy (who had doubtless been in his right place with the
crowd), though he was fourteen "years old, had "come
B 2

4 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

home complaining that he had not seen a fox all day,
and had had no sport.

If boys and girls begin under the care of hmiting
parents, it may be assumed that they will have the best
of advice. Parents who are ignorant of hunting should
secure for their children the services of some one who
■' knows the ropes." Before they are allowed to go
out hunting the youngsters should, at least, be able
to manage their ponies without assistance. A child
who goes hunting in a leading rein is a source of danger
to himself or herself, and very often a nuisance to the
field. The led pony often makes a disturbance, and
nearly always causes a slight block at a field gate.
Boys cannot begin too young, and even the child of five
who goes out on a donkey can pick up something ;
but the donkey must be in charge of a strong and active
man, for donkeys have a way of getting unduly excited
when they see hounds or a field of horsemen, and at such
times they can show extraordinary strength, and take
a great deal of holding, even when a man is leading
them. The child who is too young or too small to
manage his or her pony may be taken to a meet, but
should not be allowed to follow hounds, and, indeed,
all very small ponies are likely to be a nuisance to the
regular followers. Horses which never kick at another
horse will often lash out at a small pony, and ponies
which are perfectly quiet at ordinary times have a
wonderful knack of becoming greatly excited when taken
out hunting. In all Christmas fields there is invariably
some boy or girl whose pony takes charge and does what
ho likes with his tiny rider, and though one seldom
hoars of a serious accident to a youngster, such things

THE YOUTHFUL BEGINNER. 0

are not unknown. For a boy who is anxious to hunt,
the best course is to send him out on foot first, and if he
is of an observing turn he w411 notice all sorts of little
things which he would probably have no cognisance of
when riding. But youth is impetuous, and the boy
who knows how to ride will greatly object to trudging
the country on foot if there is a pony in the stable
which can carry him. The novice should be made to
understand that when he goes hunting he has three-
fold duties to bear in mind — duties to the Master and
hunt servants, duties to the field, and last, but not least,
duties to the farmers whose land he hunts over. And,
if possible, he should before he takes the field have some
knowledge of the various crops. He should know
growing corn and young beans when he sees them, and
he should be initiated into the mysteries of seeds. To
the townsman, and, indeed, to anyone who is in no way
bucolic, seeds are a terrible bugbear. When they
are coming up through stubble the man or woman
who is not well versed in such things recognises the
stubble, and at once thinks that he or she is on fair
galloping ground. The seed question is one to which
too much prominence cannot be given. It is in the eyes
of many farmers more heinous an offence to ride over seeds
than wheat, for it is a very common opinion that, under
certain conditions of weather, w^here the horse puts his
foot down on seeds he leaves a round mark, which, if rain
comes soon, holds the water and rots the young plants.
Even if this is not likely to occur often, it is certain
that young and tender plants must suffer in some
degree from being ridden over, for they have no strength
of root early in life, and are easily kicked out of the

6 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

ground. A boy, or any hunting novice for that matter,
should always reflect what damage could be done to a
kitchen garden by a horse galloping over it, and he
should then bear in mind that some farming is very like
gardening on a larger and grander scale. Old turf,
moorland, rides in a covert, ploughed fields, and stubble
which is free from seeds and about to be ploughed,
are all fair galloping ground, but growing crops should
always be avoided and a course steered along th« head-
land of the field.

CHAPTER 11.

THREE=FOLD DUTIES.

Mention has been made of the three-fold duties
which] the boy or girl novice must bear in mind,
and duty towards the farmers over whose land he or she
hunts was taken first. Assuming, then, that the
youngster — and for the moment I leave out the girls, who
thus early in a hunting career are always in charge of a
friend or groom — knows something of the various crops
and is fully aware that he must not ride over seeds,
growing corn, beans, or turnips (even if he sees others
doing so), he must also be particular that he does no
damage when finding his way across country. Should
his pony not be fast enough to keep up with the rest of
the field, he would do better if he made for the nearest
field road or lane than if he- attempted to follow the line
of the hunt. But this vfill only occur occasionally, for
hounds do not go at top speed every day, and for the
ordinary average run in the ordinary average country
good ponies are quite fast enough. If the boy novice
happens to get into a real quick thing, and cannot go
the pace, he should lool: out for the second horsemen,
and, if possible, join them. It is little Use plodding
on half a mile or so in the wake of hounds when

8 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

thoroughly outpaced, whereas by saving one's mount
there may be a chance of nicking in when hounds take a
favourable turn, or of dropping in for a second some-
what slower run later in the day. It is when he is " left "
that the youngster — very often without knowing it — is
likely to do something which may annoy the farmer.
He may leave the gate of a field in which cattle or sheep
are grazing open, or he may make a considerable gap in a
fence by squeezing his pony through a place which is too
big to be jumped. This question of jumping should,
however, be in some degree decided before the youngster
takes the field. Every boy who wishes to go out hunting
wants to jump. That, I think, may be taken for
granted, but many boys come out perfectly ignorant
as to whether their ponies can jump, promptly ram them
at a fence when they see other people jumping, and very
often, if it is old and rotten, carry a^vay yards of the
obstacle, leaving a gap big enough to drive a coach -
and-four through. It is extraordinary what damage
can be done to a fence by a pony — sometimes even by
a horse^who is keen to get on, and has no idea of
refusing, but has not been properly schooled. He will
dash right into a fairly big place, and fight his way
through, carrying a tangled mass of briars into the next
field with him, and when the farmer comes to the gap
he will not only be very angry, but will reflect that it will
take a man half a morning to repair the damage. Gaps,
of course, will always be made in the hunting field,
and the boy whose pony is incapable of jumping his
fences clean should wait his turn at the one or two
gaps which are being gradually made by the rank and
file of the field, following each other one by one, but on

THREE-FOLD DUTIES. 9

no account must he attempt to make a fresh gap for
himself.

Nor should the beginner ever get off and try to pull
a fence down, but rather he should bear away to the
right or left in search of an easier place, or even go back
the way he has come. If a whole field is shut in, with no
practicable exit, then, as a rule, the Master will give
orders for some place to be pulled down ; but when
that occurs it is long odds that someone is sent to repair
the damage next day, or that the Master knows how to
put the matter right with the owner or tenant. Unfor-
tunately, inexperienced people have seen such an
occurrence and have not grasped its true meaning, and
of this I saw an instance two seasons ago. A couple
of youngsters, rather older than most boy beginners,
were out on a cubhunting day in charge of the family
coachman, when hounds were in a large woodland
through which runs a wire fence dividing two pro-
perties. At a certain place there were slip rails, and
here the Master had arranged for a hunting wicket,
which was actually on the spot on the particular day
I refer to, but had not been put up. During the summer,
however, someone had closed the slip rails by putting
in a couple of upright posts close together, and these
effectually barred the way. The Master, arriving at
the place first, hounds having run a fox through the
wire fence, jumped off his horse, and, being a very
strong man, soon had one of the posts out, and having
liberated the slip rails, led his horse through. Someone
else pulled out the other post, and the whole field went
through. Three months later, at Christmas time,
hounds were running in a stiffly -enclosed country, and

10 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

the same two boys were out in charge of the same
coachman, and were trying as best they could to follow
hounds. One of the ponies would not jump, however,
and the coachman levelled two fences to the ground
before he could get his charges through. A day or two
later the Master received a bill for 155. from the tenant
farmer, " for repairing fences broken by their father
[the family coachman], for two young gentlemen who
did not dare to jump, and had no business to be out
hunting." The Master, being a good-natured man, at
once paid the damage, but when he had an opportunity
he spoke to the coachman, who remarked that he had

seen him (the Master) do the same thing in forest

a few weeks before, so he thought there was no harm
in his breaking the fences.

The beginner's duty to the Master is in a great measure
wrapped up in his duty to foxhunting generally, but it is
most important that he should gradually discover
for himself what are the particular wishes of the Master
he hunts with. This is at times not very easily done,
for Masters vary so much, some being martinets, while
others are too easy-going. Some Masters there are
who encourage the children and give them plenty of
sound advice ; others take no notice of them, but are
quite content as long as the children do not put them-
selves unduly forward. All boys and girls should
cultivate an attitude of extreme respect to Masters of
hounds, and should — unless they know them well —
wait to be spoken to. Nor should they in the holidays
make a great noise among themselves when hounds
are drawing, or when they have checked. This is a very
important point, *for there are times in every hunting

THEEE-FOLD DUTIES. 11

day — which every boy and girl will quickly find out —
M'hen silence is absolutely imperative. There is plenty
of time for talking when hounds are at the meet, or are
going from covert to covert, and the " babbler " in the
hunting field is the most unmitigated bore. If you are
beginning to grasp what may be termed the business of
hunting, and have any information about foxes or
gamekeepers that the Master ought to know, tell him
quietly when an opportunity presents itself ; but do
no force your knowledge on him if you see that he is
indifferent, and on no account tell him anything unless
you know it to be absolutely true. In every hunt there
are often idle tales in the air as to foxes having been seen
in unlikely places, and so on ; and with these you need
not concern yourself, the Master being just as likely to
have heard them as you. As regards the huntsman
and whippers-in, a policy of strict non-intervention
should be observed. Never talk to the hunt servants
while they are on duty. Their minds are fully occupied
from the time they leave kennels until they return
at night, and the less they are interrupted the more
likely they are to do their duty properly. When the
huntsman is casting hounds stand quite still, and do not
speak or move until you see the rest of the field moving.
Never single yourself out from the crowd at checks,
and never attempt to follow the huntsman in his cast.
Never go into covert after hounds on your own account,
but only when you see the rest of the field going on, for
in that case it will be customary with that particular
covert. Never when hounds are drawing move away
from the crowd, even if you see an odd man or so going
off somewhere. The man in question may be the covert

12 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

owner or tenant, or one of the two or three privileged
men there are in almost every hunt who are allowed
to go to certain points for the purposes of viewing
foxes. Never when going from covert to covert go
close to hounds ; ponies are more liable to kick
them than horses, and the Master invariably dislikes
any of the field to ride among the pack. Indeed, when
hounds leave a meet, or are trotting along a lane,
they should be allowed at least a hundred yards before
the field begin to follow, and in this connection you
should remember that even if others press too closely
on hounds, that is no reason for your doing so, and you will
lose nothing in the long run by keeping in your proper
place.

CHAPTER III.

DUTIES TO THE FIELD.

The duty of boys and girls towards the Master and.
his staff when hunting having been alluded to,
mention must now be made of the duty wliich every boy
or girl beginner owes to the rest of the field. And first
of all it may be pointed out in all seriousness that all
observing beginners will quickly find out that many
hunting people of long standing are constantly offending
in some little matter or other. This may be to some
extent confusing, but children must never be carried
away by the idea that it is right for them to do any-
thing and everything which they see their elders doing.
There are, as a matter of fact, some men and women
who have hunted for years and years, and yet who will
not learn the unwritten laws of the sport, or who,
worse still, knowing what may and what may not
be done, choose wilfully to do vrhat they know to be
wrong. Boys and girls must on no account adopt as
their model any particular man or vroman, unless they
know for certain that he or she is one whose actions
can be confidently copied. There are, it need hardly
be said, in most hunting fields certain persons who
constantly transgress. Some of these are actuated

14 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

by ignorance alone, and cannot apparently be taught
the etiquette of hunting. If they are soundly rated
one day, they repeat the offence on the next, and,
indeed, they seem to be incapable of understanding
what is and what is not correct. Luckily, there are not
many so dense, but I have known of some cases which
went on so long that they became standing jokes in
their ovrn locality, and, moreover, no amount of chaff
had any effect. One of these offenders was a girl
who came out in charge of a groom, but neither she
nor her servant seemed to have the least idea of Avhat
to do or where to go. They would block the open
gateway into a covert when the huntsman wanted to
go through with his hounds ; they would follow the said
huntsman round a hundred-acre field when he was
casting ; and, if the top stones of a wall were knocked
off to allow the huntsman egress from the field, the
girl would rush at the gap almost before it was made,
her servant would follow, and, meantime, the huntsman
— who had dismounted to pull the wall down — would be
swallowed up in the crowd, all hustling for the gap,
and many of them quite unaware of what had really
occurred.

When remonstrated with, this girl used to laugh,
and ask why such a fuss was being made about nothing ;
and a few minutes later hounds would run through a
covert, and the field would follow along a ride. Then
our friend w^as in her glory ; she would be first if possible,
and, if there were a dozen in front of her, she would
shove past them all, squeezing them into the ditch
or into the trees, and not caring in the least as long
as she got to the front. As for pulling up to go slowly

DUTIES TO THE FIELD. 15

past anyone who had dismounted, she had no idea of
it, and her groom was just as bad. In many countries
grooms are not allowed to follow their charges across
country, but this was a provincial hunt, vrhere the
fields were small, and the Master had taken no action
in the matter. Beginners should make a strong mental
note of this question of rushing past. When in the
open field he who can go the fastest has a perfect right
to be first. The boy or girl on a pony is at liberty to
pass all and sundry at such times, but when the end of
the field is reached the situation becomes quite different.
There may be a fence in front which can be jumped
any^vhere. If that be the case, choose your own place,
but look right and left, and see that you are giving
plenty of room to your neighbour on either side. If you
are following a leader, give him plenty of time to jump.
Get your pony well in hand, and do not let him go at the
fence until your pilot is well over and galloping on, at
least a dozen yards from the far side. If the fence is
a big one, and the field are follomng each other through
a gap, get there with what speed you may, but pull up
as you reach the crowd, and take your proper place,
in the order of your arrival. Do not on any account
attempt to shove past anyone who may have reached
the gap before you, and when your turn comes let
whoever is immediately in front get well through before
you go. If you have gone for a gate, observe the same
rules as to turns, and if you should happen to be last
at a gate which someone has opened, take great care
to shut it behind you. When going from covert to
covert, along a narrow lane, for instance, keep in your
place, when you can. There is at such times no

16 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUXTING NOVICES.

particular reason why you should be forward, but if you
want to join anyone vrho is in front, go quietly past,
with a " beg pardon," if there is plenty of room. Other-
wise you should remain where you are until the road
widens, or until you find yourself in an open field.
When going through a covert, never attempt to pass
the man in front. If he is going too slowly, and a gap
is being opened out between him and the man he is
following, you can ask him to quicken up, and he will, of
course, trot on, and this rule applies equally whether
hounds are running or not. If a covert has to be
traversed in the course of a run, you cannot exercise
too much care, and the first thing you must think of is
to have your pony well in hand. Two years ago I
saw some horrible confusion caused under these circum-
stances. Hounds were running hard in a grass country
when they came to a belt of covert near a great house.
There was a ride across the belt — which was about
a hundred yards wide — and a hunting wicket at either
end. The run had only been ten minutes in progress,
and there was a large field out. The first who reached
the gate opened it and v»'ent through, and the field
crowded in one by one, pressing on far too closely.
Unfortunately, the far gate was locked, and a delay took
place, and those behind, not knowing what had hap-
pened in front, kept shoving on, and caused the ride to
be blocked up with horses. All of a sudden one horse
lashed out, and a moment later half a dozen horses
which had never kicked before were all trying to do
the same thing. Luckily, the horses were so jambed
together that few of them had rooin to kick freely ;
but one man was rather badly hurt, and, if the gate

DUTIES TO THE FIELD. 17

had not been very quickly lifted off its hinges, there
would doubtless have been a serious accident.

Then, again, you should never attempt to pass anyone
when the field is proceeding at single file along the ride
of a covert or in a lane where there is a lot of mud.
You and everyone else can slow down when a bit of
really deep or boggy ground is reached. In such
going the best horse in the world may fall if when
galloping fast he hits a stone which is concealed in the
mud, and, even putting aside the fact that galloping
in such ground is extremely dangerous, it is almost
certain that, if you go fast through such a place, you
will plaster with mud whoever is coming behind you.

Another matter about wliich you must be careful is
the dismounted man. If when hounds are running you
see a man off his horse and in your direct line, you must
pull up to a slow pace and walk or trot slowly past,
for if you gallop past at top speed you may cause his horse
to break away, or, if he retains his hold, to set about
playing the fool. The man may have dismounted
to do something for the common good of the field, or
he may have dismounted on his own account or
because his horse has become lame ; but, anyhow, you
may take it for granted that he has not got off during
a run without good reason, and you will not be any the
worse off for slackening speed for a few moments.
Then, again, if someone gets of? to open a refractory gate,
and you are first through, give him time to get on again
before you go on, even if hounds are running hard in front.
This is a matter on which hunting etiquette is very
strict, and only a huntsman is allowed to go on without
waiting, and when a run has been in progress some

c

18 PEACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

time even a liiiutsman will often wait for the man
who has opened a difficult gate for him. And as early
as possible you should learn to catch a loose horse,
though in your pony days this will not be an easy matter.
It may be against the grain to pull up or to go out of
your course in an endeavour to catch the horse of
someone who is down ; but there is a give and take
in the hunting field as there is elscAvhere, and the man
who makes no attempt to catch a loose horse should
remember that he may want one caught himself some
day, and that his duty towards his neighbour is as clearly
defined in hunting as in any other condition of life.
If you see anyone in difficulties, go at once to his assist-
ance, even if you lose your place thereby. Such very
simple things occur that are difficult for a single man
or woman to put right, but which can be arranged
in a moment by two people. A saddle slips back,
owing to the girths having become loosened (some horses
maintain a fairly even girth all day, and others require
their girths to be taken up three or four holes after they
have been out two or three hours), the rider dismounts,
but cannot jiut the saddle back because his horse
will not stand. But if someone comes up to hold the
horse the matter is arranged in a moment. So, too,
a man may jump a fence, and afterwards perceive a
thorn sticking into his horse where he cannot reach it.
He has to dismount in order to pull it out, and the horse
will not stand still. Half a minute of willing assistance
at such a time is most valuable, and you should always
remember that horses which are quiet enough at ordinary
times become greatly excited when hounds are running,
and will seldom stand still when dismounted in the

DUTIES TO THE FIELD. 19

middle of a field, and while other horses are galloping
on. There are, in fact, as you will find out for yourself,
many occasions during every season when you can help
your neighbour, and these you should on no account
neglect, for even the assistance of a boy on a pony
is most welcome at times, and you would naturally
like to grow up with the reputation of having been
a good sportsman from early youth.

c2

CHAPTER IV.

LEARNING TO RIDE.

Every season produces whole batches of recruits to
hunting who are of mature years, and such people are,
as a rule, more in need of advice as to their conduct
than are the infantile beginners. The older novice class
takes a very wide range indeed. Some parents will not
allow their boys and girls to hunt until the days of
education are over, and thus one constantly sees young
folk who make their first appearance when somewhere
between eighteen and twenty years of age. As a
rule, those who begin at this time of life have learnt to
ride before they attempt to follow hounds, but there
are exceptions even to this rule, and not long ago I saw
a midshipman at home on leave out hunting for the first
time, who candidly admitted that he had never ridden
anything but a donkey before, and that only when he
was quite a child. He appeared at the meet on a well-
bred hack of sedate manners, but his seat was not elegant,
and he held his reins clubbed together in a bunch. He
was, however, supremely confident, and all went well
until hounds were just about to be put into covert,
when the field one by one hopped over an 18in. rail
into an enclosure adjoining the gorse which was being

LEARNING TO RIDE. 21

drawn. The sailor's turn came soon, but the sedate one
was a flippant jumper, and she put her loosely -sitting
rider well over her head. He was quickly in the saddle
again, and hounds found and went away. The middy
did as he saw others do, but, having no knowledge
of how to sit and grip, he was put of! every time he
jumped.

After some half-dozen falls (all voluntaries), he made
A dash at the saddle to get on again ; but the girths
had never been tightened, and he pulled the saddle
right round, and was last seen chevying his mount
across a field, her saddle being underneath her instead
of on her back. Luckily, the sailor was no worse for
his adventure, and because he was a sailor his per-
formance only gave rise to good-humoured mirth ;
but had he been the ordinary novice his debut in such
inglorious fashion might have been seriously against
him.

The moral, however, of the sailor's story is that no
one should go out hunting until they have learnt to ride.
This, one would think, most beginners would consider
to be essential, but the fact remains that many people
take to hunting, or rather attempt to hunt, before they
have mastered even the rudiments of horsemanship,
and when this happens the novice is not only at once
betrayed, but very likely starts his hunting career
with several black marks against him.

It need hardly be mentioned here that a love of sport
is inherent in many people, and those who have the
desire to hunt will almost invariably attempt it as soon
as their circumstances will permit. A man may long
to hunt throughout his boyhood, but not be able to

22 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

satisfy his ambition until he is well on in years. Instances
of men who began at thirty, forty, and even fifty years
of age are not unknown, and it should be added that
when men of what may be called mature age take to
the sport they very rarely commit themselves. Their
general knowledge of life has taught them so many
lessons that they have postponed their appearance in
the field until they knew they were what the actors
call letter-perfect. Though unable to hunt as young
men, they — having all along had an intuitive desire to
hunt — have followed the sport in the papers, have
kept themselves abreast of what has been going on
in the hunting world, and have most likely fed them-
selves up on the works of Whyte Melville and Surtees.
They may have even dipped into Beckford, Vyner,
Capt. Cook, or Delme Radcliffe, the classic authorities
of the sport, but anyhow they have, as a rule, made
themselves very fully acquainted with all the ins and
outs of hunting, and most certainly they have become
passable horsemen before they took the field. To this
class of man little need be said, but there are still a few
middle-aged novices who have or have not a lot to learn,
and I can think of two specimens of the class, one of
whom was a good and the other probably the most
aggravating novice ever known. The good novice
had hunted a little — a very little — as a boy on a pony,
but from his childhood until he was about fifty he had
never seen a hound, and had ridden very little. Indeed,
he had spent some five -and -twenty years in India,
and then came home to live at the family place which
ho had inherited. He at once sent a subscription
to the hounds, and shortly afterwards appeared at the

LEARNING TO RIDE. , 23

covert side, faultlessly got up, and well mounted. He
looked as if he had been hunting four days a week all
his life, and when hounds ran, without being an absolute
thruster, he took a good place and kept it. In fact,
no one for a moment could have imagined that he was
hunting for the first time since he was about fourteen
years old ; but such was actually the case, and it is
quite certain that he had profited by and remembered
what he had learnt in early youth. The antipodes
of this case was a Londoner who came into a large
country estate when about fifty-five years of age. He
was a horsey-looking man, with a capital seat on a
horse, who looked the middle-aged country squire
of sporting tastes to the life. His appearance created
a most favourable impression, but he was a perfect
ignoramus in all matters connected with hunting, and
yet it took several weeks for the field to find it out,
so much did his appearance belie him. Thus, when he
holloaed a hare it was thought he was short-sighted ;
when he charged a man who was walking through a
gap and knocked him out of his saddle, it was said
that his horse had bolted ; but when the Master suggested
drawing his coverts, and asked where he would like
the meet to be, his answer of " Will you want meat for
the hounds as well as luncheon for yourselves ? "
fairly gave him away. He did not hunt for long, and
the last the writer heard of him was a complaint that
the hunt " had invaded the privacy of his private
domain, had frightened his swans, and done consider-
able damage to his ornamental shrubs."

About this learning to ride there are nowadays so
many opinions and ideas that advice and suggestion

24 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

are more difficult to make than they are with regard
to any other matter connected with hunting. To
presume, then, that the aspirant to the hunting field,
of either sex, has never learnt to ride until he or she
is well advanced in his or her teens. The thousand
and one books which have been written on the subject
will for the most part suggest the riding school, and
though much has been taught in the schools in the past
that is of little value in the hunting field, it cannot be
denied that the schools have turned out many good
riders.

The fact is, there are apt and inapt pupils,
whether they learn in the schools or out of doors, and the
former class soon pick up a good deal of knowledge,
while the stupid beginners muddle on for long enough,
and seldom become even moderate horsemen. Broadly
speaking, the schools may be recommended for townsmen,
and the open country system for those who live in the
country. The average townsman has, indeed, little
chance of learning to ride except in a school. He cannot
well take his first lesson on horseback in a public street,
and, moreover, most grown-up men do not like being
laughed at when they attempt anything new, and there
is less chance of this occurring in the privacy of a
riding school than there is on a public road. If the
would-be himting man lives in the country, his best plan
is to buy a thoroughly steady, qui-^t horse, who does
not pull or shy, and who may be trusted to do exactly
what is wanted ; or, if he knows of such a horse, he
might borrow or hire him before he buys for himself ;
but under any circumstances he must not attempt
to ride until he has secured the services of someone

LEARNING TO RIDE. 25

who is willing and able to instruct him what and what not
to do, A quiet cob in a country lane, where there is
no fear of interruption, is perhaps as good a beginning
as can be suggested ; but in these articles it is not
intended to offer instructions as to learning to ride,
but rather at the moment to suggest that no one should
go out hunting until he has learned to sit his horse,
and is able to keep him in perfect control. The novice,
too, should always remember that horses " which a
child could ride," and which are as quiet as a lamb
if taken out hacking, are very often quite different
in the hunting field. Many horses, possibly most
horses, who have not an atom of vice about them will
to some extent alter their manner and character during
the early part of a day's hunting. The quiet hack
who trots along the road quite sedately, and takes
no notice of anything unusual on an ordinary day,
will prick his ears and fidget when hounds and a crowd
of horses are in his vicinity, and even the lightest
mouthed nag will often pull a little at the beginning of a
run.

Some otherwise quiet horses, too, will give a few
playful bucks at starting, and I once possessed a good
hunter who, on hunting days, kicked freely half a dozen
times when he first got on to grass. He never kicked
at other horses, but merely lifted his heels in exuberance
of spirits when he first felt the grass underneath him,
and he never repeated the kick later in the day. Yet
in all other respects his manners were perfect. The
novice, then, should remember that a horse in the
hunting field is a different animal to a horse that is
being quietly ridden along a road, and be prepared

26 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

for some extra ebullition of spirits. If he feels that he
has the upper hand of his mount, that he can puD him
about at will, that he can sit on at the jumps, and that
there is no fear of his horse getting out of hand, then he
is, as far as horsemanship is concerned, in a fitting
condition to go out hunting.

CHAPTER V.

COSTUME AND EQUIPMENT.

There is possibly no matter connected with hunting
in which the novice so often faiJs as in dress and equip-
ment, and, though things have improved in this respect
during the last five-and-twenty years — owing, probably
to the fact that people go about more than they did,
and that the average tailor is a little broader-minded,
as regards hunting clothes, than he used to be — one
still occasionally sees veritable figures of fun among the
novice class. And, first of all, a very strong point
must be made of neatness. Every boy and girl, and
every man and woman, who hunts should be as neat
as a pin all over. No buckles or straps should be
allowed to fly out either from saddle, breastplate, or
bridle, and no loose strings or tags should be visible
about one's person. And, to begin with the children,
some of whom are endowed with the bump of neatness,
wiiile others are equally untidy. What the children
must first of all thoroughly understand is, that huntings
from the earliest days of childhood, demands the closest
attention in the matters of toilette and equipment.
Children who are going to begin hunting must never
think that because they are about to spend the day

28 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

in the open air — possibly in scrambling across a rough
country on a shaggy pony — any old clothes will be
suitable for the occasion. Let them rather under-
stand that hunting on horseback, as apart from hunting
on foot, demands an appropriate costume and extreme
neatness of attire. Any old clothes will do to g<»
rabbiting in, but when a long day has to be spent on
horseback, both underclothes and the garments which
are visible to the eye require the closest attention.
Everyone who goes hunting should wear flannel oi
wool underwear, because during a run one is apt to
become very hot, and there may be a considerable
amount of standing about or slow work afterwards.
It is then most necessary to be warmly clad, except,
perhaps, in the early days of cubhunting ; and many
who have studied the question prefer to secure warmth
by wearing thicker underclothes than at any other
times, urging that they carry less weight by adopting
this plan. This, however, may be left to individual
taste, but boys and girls alike should cultivate flannel
clothing for hunting, even if they are not in the habit
of wearing it at other times.

For boys the best possible costume to begin hunting
in is a suit of dark whipcord cloth — thick, stout cloth,
that will turn a lot of rain. Jacket, waistcoat, and
breeches of this material should be secured, and, if pater-
familias objects to paying for a suit which can only
be used for hunting, have the jacket and waistcoat
cut in the style of an ordinary lounge jacket, so that
they can be used for general wear during the winter.
Breeches are indispensable, both as regards comfort
and appearance, and it may be almost taken for granted

COSTUME AND EQUIPMENT. 2^

that the father or mother who allows their boy to
hunt in these days will let him have a pair of cloth
breeches ; other^yise a suitable appearance is impos-
sible. There is nothing so unsporting to look at, or so
uncomfortable to the wearer, as a pair of trousers
stufied into leggings, and yet a generation or two ago
most small boys who hunted during the Christmas
holidays were turned out in this fashion. It was
not thought necessary to provide breeches for youngsters
who had only the chance of a few days in the season^
and thus in the average Christmas field some of the
boys wore trousers and leggings, while others sported
knickerbockers of the old-fashioned sort, and the odd
boy who possessed a pair of breeches was an object of
envy to all the other boys. On one of these occasions
I saw a novice clad in white flannel cricketing trousers,
which had been thrust into shiny black leggings. Their
wearer thought that they were a good imitation of
white breeches, but he found out his mistake when it
began to rain. Another boy, whose father objected
to his son ha\ang breeches, on the ground that he would
grow out of them before he had half-worn them out,
was much cleverer. It was in the days when trousers
were worn tight, so he got his of the right stuff, whip-
cord cloth or Bedford cord, and had them made as
tight as a friendly tailor would agree to. He then
secured some smaU buttons, and on hunting days he
had four of these sewn on to each knee, to come just
above his leggings, and the result was quite satis-
factory. But this matter of early breeches, and boots,
too, is one for parents, and not altogether for the
children themselves, so it will be sufficient if it is said

30 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

that whipcord breeches and black jack boots (if possible)
are the best and neatest leg wear for the boy of ten or
twelve, and upwards — until the dignity of proper
hunting clothes is arrived at. If riding boots are
out of the question, leggings are within the reach of
every boy, and now there is so much choice in these
garments that it is no easy matter to advise. But
neatness must be attained at all hazards, and the fewer
straps and buckles a legging has the neater it looks on
horseback. Boys should remember that the legging
for shooting and the legging for riding are not alike.
A legging which has to be walked in must be com-
fortable and not too tight, but a riding legging must
fit closely, and must be strongly made. In hunting
the lower part of the leg should be to a certain extent
protected, so that a blow from a swinging gate or the
swish of thorns is minimised, and leggings of stout
leather have quite as much resistive power as riding
boots. Then, again, it is necessary to have the leather
of the legging well down over the top of the boot in
front, because in a long day's riding the top of the
stirrup is apt to make the ankle sore, if it is not well
protected.

Little girls, as a rule, hunt much more frequently
than their brothers, because so many of them are
educated at home. Thus one sees them once a week or
so throughout the season, and with some of them
hunting is so regular a thing that they must of necessity
have a proper costume. And here I come to rather
delicate ground, because the vexed question of riding
astride crops up. But, personally, I strongly favour
the man's saddle and the man's seat for all girls, say.

COSTUME AND EQUIPMENT. 31

until they are sixteen years old. WTiere I mostly
hunt all the little girls have ridden astride for the last
eight or ten years, and now some of them who are grown
up and " out " have taken to the side saddle. Yet these
one and all declare that riding astride is the most
comfortable, and that in a man's saddle they have more
command of their horse. There I leave it. It is a
matter for fathers and mothers to decide, but when
girls begin on a man's saddle they must have breeches
and boots and a long coat, rather tight at the waist, and
with big, deep skirts meeting the top of the boots ; this
looks smarter and better than the divided skirt arrange-
ment, which some big girls affect, because it leaves
the horse's or pony's back and loin free of covering,
while the divided skirt to a considerable extent covers
the horse's back, and has a rather untidy appearance.
In the matter of hats and hair girls cannot be too
particular. Even the smallest girls look better with
their hair loosely confined by one or two knots of
ribbon, and, when the girl is old enough for a pigtail,
she will find that form of wearing her hair more com-
fortable when hunting than having it loose about her
shoulders. The girl who is only a child should wear a
" tammy " (as I believe they are called), and not a pot
hat until she is into her teens. The latter makes her
look older than she is, and need not be worn until the
general costume has got beyond the childhood stage.
And to girls a little older it may be suggested that
frisettes (I believe that is the right word, but what
I want to signify is really " stuffing ") are fatal in the
hunting field. I may be told that no girl uses such things
when hunting, but that is not correct for I have noticed

32 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

them on what I have considered an untidy head, and
I have seen a grown-up girl's hair come down during
a day's hunting, and was told — by another girl — that it
was because she would use frisettes. A close, neat head
looks sporting, and, when the pot hat or " billycock "
stage has arrived, great care should be exercised, and,
if possible, the hat should be big enough to take the
head inside it, as a man's hat does. This is, by the way,
somewhat difficult for a mere man to explain, but what
I want to get at is that some girls Avear pot hats perched
on the top of their heads, while others, by arranging
their hair low on the neck, wear their hats as they were
meant to be worn, and the latter arrangement is not
only much neater than the other, but the hat is far
less liable to come off. Veils, too, are unsightly on
children, and possibly unhealthy as well. Those girls
who are always thinking of their complexion ought
not to attempt to hunt, for they do not understand
that the finest complexions in the kingdom are those
which are due to plenty of exercise in the open air.
Yet one sees at times little girls hunting with their faces
smothered up in veils, because a non -hunting mamma has
not grasped the fact that fresh air, winter sunshine
(which has not a freckle in it), and occasional rain
are the best possible promoters of a healthy and whole-
some complexion.

CHAPTER YI.

COSTUME AND EQUIPMENT (continued.)

With regard to what was written in the previous
chapter in connection with hats and hair I have heard
several opinions expressed. Among other things, I
should, I learn, have used the word " frame " instead of
frisette when I wrote of an untidy head. I may, how-
ever once again urge that hair should be worn close
and neat on hunting days, and that there should be no
fluffy arrangements above the ears. Neatness, combined
with a sporting appearance, is what a girl should strive
to attain, and the hat should come as far down in front
as possible. Not so long ago a lady made her appear-
ance in a certain hunt to which she was a stranger.
Her reputation as a fine rider to hounds had preceded
her, and at the meet she was pointed out to the Master.
That individual was a man of few words, and little
given to taking note of his field ; but he looked her over
with a critical eye and observed, " She's neat, by Jove !
Looks just like a smart hunt servant." It was a some-
what rough way of expressing approval, but the lady —
who, of course, was told of the incident — took it as a
compUment ; and, as a matter of fact, it was very true.
But this matter of sporting appearance is to some extent

D

34 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

a gift of nature, both to men and women. A certain cast
of features carries with it a knowing, sporting look,
while a round or broad face can hardly be made to look
sporting, even when all the accessories of costume are
perfect. And in the matter of hat wearing something
very similar exists. Some people are natural hat
wearers, and look well in any hat they may choose,
while others, their heads being differently shaped,
can seldom find a hat to suit them. So, then, it comes
to this, that no hat should be chosen until it has been
approved by someone else, and in the matter of shape
the novice should never be tempted to buy anything
that is unusual and likely to be conspicuous in the field.
The question of riding astride seems also to be matter
for anxious debate. A little girl of about eleven once
informed me that, though she liked riding astride,
she could sit her pony best at a jump when in a side
saddle. Another declared that she did not like the
man's seat so much as the side saddle, though she
added, " When I ride sideways mother will not let me
use spurs." I am afraid that mother was too easy-
going, for spurs should on no account be used by children
of either sex. A boy's seat is always more or less loose
for some time after he has begun to jump fences, and
if he puts on spurs before he has learnt to sit quite
tight, he is extremely apt to spur his pony in the shoulder
as it lands over the jump. I have seen this happen,
and the pony has instantly bolted and rushed through
another fence which was close at hand before its rider
could pull it up. Boys should not wear spurs until
they have ridden for some years, and have had at least
three or four spells of Christmas holiday hunting.

COSTUME AND E9UIPMENT. 35

The average schoolboy can hardly get more than five
or six weeks of hunting in any one season, and those
who have only one pony will be lucky if they get eight
or ten days during the holidays, and that can only be
achieved if there, is, no stoppage from frost or snow.
Therefore, the boy who hunts regularly every Christmas
holidays will at. the end of his schooldays have had a
total of hunting which would hardly equal one regular
season, and his hunting will have been spread over
several years. Each winter he will be to some extent
a beginner again, and, whereas he might have become
proficient as a horseman, and possessed of much hunting
knowledge, could he have managed three or four months
of hunting straight on end, he has had in reality only
a few short spells of sport, with long intervals of no
hunting between. Let him therefore desist from wearing
spurs until his schooldays are over and he is a free agent
in all matters connected with hunting.

To trust a little girl with spurs is to court accident,
for the average pony is unaccustomed to be ridden
in spurs, and a touch of the steel will often make him
bolt, and when a pony bolts with a girl the chances
of an accident are greater than they are with a boy.
Few girls have the wrist power which boys of the same
age possess, and a girl's habit may be caught in a fence
or on a half-open gate. Indeed, I have mentioned a
half-opened gate because I saw a girl come to grief
many years ago in this identical fashion. She was
quite a young girl, and was riding a tall horse, and she
wore a spur. Hounds found, and a big field began to
gallop in a cramped country, where there was a high
park wall. Hounds got through or over, and the field
D 2

36 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

all made for some farm buildings, where there was a gate
into the park. There was a tremendous rush up a
narrow lane, the girl's horse became unruly, and bucked
several times. As a matter of course, she touched it
with the spur, and it bolted up the lane to where there
was a farm gate, opened about 4:ft. The horse made a
dash and got through ; but the girl's habit — habits were
worn much longer then — caught in the fastener of the
gate and was torn from top to bottom, pulling its wearer
off. She, luckily, was not hurt, but she dropped into
a pool of liquid mud, and had to go home in the
farmer's cart rigged out in the clothes of the farmer's
wife. This came of wearing a spur, and much more
recently I saw a great weight -carrying hunter bolt
down a muddy lane with a lady, who did not join the
hunt again for an hour or two. Her horse had stopped
after a while — as some runaways will do when they
find themselves alone — but the man who went after her
found her trying to take of! a spur, and she has never
worn one since.

Spurs are very much a matter of fashion, and are
only necessary for horses that are stubborn and inclined
to refuse. A really willing hunter who will do his
utmost does not require a spur ; but men all use them,
and many acquire the art of moving their horse about
with the slightest touch of the spur. But such men
never by any chance hurt a horse with the spur, unless
they do it by accident in a fall. Women, on the other
hand, can only wear one spur, and it is no finish to the
toilette, because it is generally hidden. And the side-
ways seat does not allow the foot on which the spur is
worn to be in quite the proper place for spurring, so that

COSTUME AND EQUIPMENT. 37

it is, broadly speaking, inadvisable for any woman to
wear a spur, while the novice should never dream of
such a thing. A neat, light crop, with a short thong,
can, on the other hand, be used by everyone — even by
children. Children and girls should exercise as much
care in the choice of a crop as they should in the matter
of hats. The crop should be light and of cane, and not too
thick, while it should have a good long horn handle or
crook, with a stump at the bottom, or, if the handle
is flat, with a big screw turned outwards. Girls generally
have gates opened for them, but this does not always
happen, and, anyhow, they have to put^out their whip,
and, if they can manage it, hold the gate for the next
comer. This is what the horn protuberance or the
screw is for, and the long handle is, of course, necessary
for insertion below the latch of the gate. The thong
is a matter of smartness and not of necessity for girls.
It gives, however, a finish to the general get-up, but
it should not be too heavy, and it should be short,
otherwise the end often becomes dirty and wet. And
the crop should not be clutched by the handle (in a
fashion which seems to be very general v\dth the novice),
but carried ^Yith the head down and the thong once
looped.

CHAPTER VII.

COSTUME AND EQUIPMENT (continued).

One might have thought that enough had been
written concerning the costume of boys and girls when
they commence to hunt ; but inquirers are still
numerous, and one wishes to know what sort of hat or
cap a boy should wear. If he is a little boy of nine or
ten a cloth cap is the best headgear ; but nowadays
great care must be exercised in the choice of this article,
for nothing in any way approaching the motor cap
looks well out hunting, and there are hatters who have
no great discrimination between the two types. The
proper hunting cap for a boy is rather difficult to
describe, though it can be picked from a bunch of caps
in a moment. It should have a peak, covered with
cloth, all in one piece with the rest of the cap, and not
glazed like the motor cap, and it should be fairly ful
at the sides in front, and close-fitting behind. The
fact is that the popular motor cap is a gross exaggeration
of the cap which has been worn, say, with ratcatcher kit
on cubhunting days for many years past, and pains
must be taken so as to get what may be called the
original cap, without the motor exaggerations. A
leather band inside is a great advantage, and holes

COSTUME AND EQUIPMENT. 39

should be perforated round the crown and properly set
with " eyes " worked in, which will prevent them
closing up. Boys of tender age can wear this cap for
all hunting, but when the boy reaches the stage of
breeches and boots the " pot " hat, now commonly
known as a " bowler " can take the place of the cap,
and on no account must the hat string be forgotten,
as a bowler is almost as likely to be swept off when
going through a covert as a tall hat is. And bright-
coloured hat strings look a trifle loud, and are even
vulgar. A scarlet or a gold-coloured hat string on dark
clothes is an abomination, and though those made of
grey or brown are not so bad, black is undoubtedly in the
best taste. Gloves should be of leather, and of the best
which can be bought. Cheap gloves, Hke cheap boots,
are always more or less of a fraud, and a pair of really
good ones will last far longer than half a dozen pairs of
cheap ones, the latter often splitting the first day they
are worn. It should be borne in mind, too, that, for
riding, gloves should always be rather loose — so loose,
indeed, that there is plenty of room for the hand to
move inside, and so that they can be pulled on and ofE
in a moment. One day's hunting in tight gloves will
alter and correct the idea of any girl who may think
it necessary for her to show how small her hand is when
out hunting, and girls should also know that if gloves
are worn when riding of which the fingers are filled to
the end, the ends will most certainly split. The fingers
of gloves which are ridden in should always curl over a
trifle, if comfort is to be achieved, and girls, like boys,
should wear strong leather gloves, and eschew kid
altogether. Buckskin gloves are difficult to manage,

40 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

and often shrink after they have been cleaned ; but
knitted gloves are very comfortable in cold weather,
though a horse which pulls will wear them into holes in
an hour or two. I have had this glove question on my
mind nearly all my life, because when I was a very small
boy, riding a pony to covert, my father noticed that I
had no gloves, and instantly sent me home again to
get them. In consequence, I never found hounds until
two o'clock, when the best sport of the day was over.
That is the sort of lesson which one remembers, and
I have always been particular about gloves since then.

And now as to the costume of the novice of riper
years, a matter which is really of greater importance
than the general turn-out of the boy or girl, because
what will be overlooked in children may easily be made
the subject of unfavourable comment where a man
or w^oman is concerned. And, with regard to ladies
who begin to hunt, much that has already been written
concerning children also holds good, more especially the
remarks which treated of neatness of hat and head,
and tidiness of person. And I am not going to commit
myself on the subject of ladies' hunting clothes. Fashion
in habits changes every year, probably is changed by
enterprising tailors, who do not care for one particular
style to remain long in vogue. With that I have
nothing to do, but advise all ladies who are about to
hunt to go to a tailor and to a hatter who are accustomed
to make hunting clothes and hats. The tailor who has
no trade of this description should be avoided, no matter
how good he may be in the " coat and skirt " line of
business, for he is almost certain to be behind the times,
and might turn his customer out in the hunting costume

COSTUME AND EQUIPMENT. 41

of ten years ago. How distressed any lady novice
would be were she to find that her costume was of a
byegone date, unlike all the others in the field ! This,
however, is what might happen if she did not go to the
right place for her hunting rig- out, and this I know has
occurred. My advice to lady novices as regards costume
is that they should go to the best places for everything ;
but on one point, and one only, should the tailor be
ignored, and that is on the stoutness of the material.
It is, as a matter of fact, just as important for a woman
when hunting to wear strong and warm clothing, vrith
great power of resistance, as it is for a man. Women
are just as likely to feel cold and the effects of heavy
rain as men are, yet the latter almost invariably wear
thicker and more waterproof clothes out hunting. In
the winter it is generally cold at some period of the day,
either first thing in the morning or during the ride
home, and I have heard countless complaints from
women who could not keep warm on the days of east
wind, or when there was a lot of rain. And over and
over again I have solved the riddle by a single glance
at their clothes. They were wearing the latest things in
hunting costumes, sometimes diagonal cloth, sometimes
thin whipcord, but never by any chance the thick and
almost waterproof cloth of which the man's scarlet
or black hunting coat is made, and which is, as a rule,
stout enough to defy all the cold and nearly all the vret
one is likely to encounter in a day's hunting. If you will
take my advice then, ladies, you will eschew all these
light-made fancy garments in favour of the genuine
thing ; or, if you think the usual cloth that man wears
is too sombre and heavy, have your habit bodice (is that

42 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

correct ?) doubly lined with flannel. Warmth you
must have at all costs, for though you may get heated
when hounds run hard and you have to gallop fast,
there is the cooling process afterwards, and when this
is taking place warm garments are an absolute
necessity.

Men who have not hunted before should begin so
quietly dressed that they will attract no notice — at least
on this account. A black or iron-grey frock coat—
with the former cloth breeches slightly Hghter in colour,
and with the latter breeches to match — black jack
boots, and a tall hat or a bowler, the first named preferred.
No novice should begin with scarlet and leathers, and
at least a season should be passed in the costume I have
described. Then, if everything is couleur de rose, if the
novice shall have satisfactorily served the first period
of his novitiate, he may be advanced to white breeches
and top boots, and a year later, if all has gone well
with his himting, to scarlet. And the novice who
begins some time after he has reached the years of dis-
cretion must not be surprised or envious if he sees
men much younger than himself wearing scarlet. Such
men have probably been brought up to hunting, and
naturally take to the full uniform as soon as they are
old enough to wear it. It used to be an old saying that
all men should ride three seasons in black before they
began to wear scarlet ; but this hardly applies in these
days, when everything goes so rapidly, and in a general
way two seasons is a long enough period for a man
to find out whether he really likes hunting, whether he
intends to go on with it, and whether he feels that he
has sufficiently mastered the subject, so as to be able

COSTUME AND EQUIPMENT. 43

to hold his own mth others in knowledge of the spor
and ability to ride across country. But the intending
foxhunter usually (and always if he is wise) makes his
dehut during the period of cubhunting, and here the
matter of costume is not the grave affair it is on and
after Xov. 1. Indeed, some of the cub-hunting costumes
one sees in these days are really grotesque, especially
in late summer, when the weather is still warm. A
straw hat, flannel jacket, white polo breeches, and
brown jack boots ; a Norfolk jacket, knickerbockers,
and shooting boots ; white breeches and puttees under a
long black morning coat, and a motor cap. All these
and sundry others of an equally curious kind were seen
during the present autumn, and my advice to novices
is that they should in no way make themselves con-
spicuous, but wear not too light-coloured clothes, with
cloth breeches, and either jack boots or leggings, as
the fancy takes them. A cloth cap can be worn, too,
with this undress costume ; but the appointments of
the horse should be as carefully attended to as in the
regular season, and, even if one has to turn out in the
middle of the night, saddle, bridle, bit, and spurs should
be as clean and bright as it is possible to make them.
A hunting whip should be carried, too, for there are
always gates to open or to hold open for others on cub-
hunting mornings, and the crop is a necessity for this
business, and, by the way, nothing looks so lonely and
bald as a crop without a thong attached. And before
I close this paper I may just remind the lady novice
that the old-fashioned cutting whip of a former period
is quite out of date, and has been for many years.
Indeed, this riding whip was only intended for park

44 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

riding, and is useless in the hunting field, being far too
weak to hold a gate, and very liable to slip through
the fingers. I should hardly have mentioned the old-
fashioned whip but for having seen one a day or tv\'o
ago. It was a pretty Httle affair, gold mounted, and
with a blue silk tassel, and its possessor was a tiny child
of five, who was beginning her riding career on the
family donkey, and who showed me what mother had
given her with all the pride of possession.

CHAPTER VIIL

WHERE TO HUNT.

To return for a moment to the use of spurs by ladies,
a correspondent writes stating that he agrees very
thoroughly with me that, " broadly speaking, it was in-
advisable for women to wear spurs." He states that he
saw a lady not long ago galloping over a field of high
ridge and furrow, and that her horse lost its action,
with the result that she half lost her seat, this causing
her horse to bolt. The unfortunate rider said after-
wards that when the horse began to flounder, making her
bump in the saddle, she was unable to prevent herself
spurring him hard, and this it was which caused him to
bolt. Another correspondent points out that spurs
sometimes get caught in the habit skirt, and that
when a lady wearing a spur has a fall she is liable to
become entangled from the same cause. A third
hunting man cordially approves of women wearing
spurs, and thinks they give a finished appearance to their
toilets, and help them to keep their horses up to the
bit in heavy going. Doubtless really finished horse-
women are as much at home with spurs as men are ;
but my hints are written for novices, and for a novice
the spur is most dangerous. Then as regards the

46 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

finished appearance to the toilette, this is a matter
of opinion. It is quite certain that a top boot on a
man looks lonely without a spur, but the one boot on
which a woman wears her spur is only half visible,
and probably few people regard the spur as a necessary
adjunct of the toilette. It comes to this, in fact, that
only really fine horsewomen ought to wear spurs,
and the rank and file should avoid them. I am
also asked to be more definite as to the colour of
ladies' habits, but I have already stated that I am
not going to commit myself on this point, but I may
say that dark colours are in better taste than
light ones. Dark grey and black are, perhaps, the
most sporting, but light brown and drab are con-
spicuous and become shabby much sooner than the
dark colours. I have seen a habit the colour of which
was more like mignonette than anything else — green
with white spots all over it — and not long ago I saw a
girl in a purple hunting costume ; but my advice is to
stick to the dark, quiet colours, and this especially
applies to novices, who most certainly should not
attempt to attract attention until they are quite
sure of themselves, and feel that they can get
through a day's hunting as if they had been at it all
their lives.

Doubtless the question mil arise in the minds of
many as to where the novice is to go when he wishes
to commence his hunting career. If the man who
wishes to hunt lives in the country, his course is clear
enough. He may first subscribe to and then go out
with the local pack ; but as regards the townsman
the case is different. He may be a man of large means

WHERE TO HUNT. 47

and willing to subscribe and hunt with a fashionable
pack, and he may be so situated as to be within easy
reach of several such packs. To all, however, one
piece of advice may be given, viz., that they choose
some small, unfashionable country in which to disport
themselves at first, so that they may pick up experience
before they (metaphorically) fly at higher game. A
beginner should never go where fields are really large —
firstly, because he will be in such a crowd that he will
probably find himself unable to see anything of the
sport, and, secondly, because he will have so many
bad examples before him. It is a sad thing to have
to say, but it is none the less true, that in all big fields
of the present day there is far too much " riot " on
the part of the followers, and that the worst offenders
are often men and women who when they do wrong
must be perfectly aware that they are giving cause for
offence.

In some hunts the continual getting forward
and the constant overriding of hounds are little short
of a scandal, and this is proved by the fact that nowa-
days so many Masters find it necessary to issue
strong remonstrance to their fields, sometimes verbally,
but generally in the form of a written appeal, which is
published in local newspapers or sent to the members
of the hunt. This, unfortunately, being the case,
it stands to reason that the novice must not learn his
first lessons of foxhunting in such company, for, if he
does, and he ever goes amongst a smaller field of real
sportsmen, he will be quickly undeceived. I once
had a " week-end " in Leicestershire, which included
a day with the Belvoir on Saturday and a day with the

48 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

Quorn on Monday, and the overriding on both days
was enough to try the patience of Job, and, indeed, one
of those particular days was very severely commented
on by a Field correspondent at the end of the
week.

On the Saturday of the same week I hunted with what
may be called almost a metropolitan pack — the Burstow,
to wit. It was a popular meet, and though the field
was small in comparison with what I had seen a few
days before, there were something like one hundred
and twenty horsemen and women all riding in a cramped
country of small enclosures. Hounds found and went
away, and about the third field was young wheat.
Someone shouted " Ware wheat ! " and as soon as they
jumped the fence every man and woman turned down
the headland, and rode in single file halfway round the
field before they jumped out again. I was much im-
pressed with the occurrence, and, though some of the
southern hunts may have been cockney fied when Surtees
made such sport of the Old Surrey, some seventy years
ago, I am quite certain that a modern field of hunting
men and women who are practically Londoners know how
to behave when hunting far better than the fields of
some of the ultra fashionable packs. The novice, then,
whether he intends to hunt with a provincial pack or
aspires to the Shires, should first of all go to a small
but sporting country, and learn all that he can. Careful
study of " Baily's Hunting Directory " will afford him
many particulars of the various countries. It will
show him where they are situated, which are the nearest
towns, and of what nature and size the country is,
and what sort of horse is suitable for it. He can then

WHERE TO HUNT. 49

make his ow^n choice of a district, and when he feels
thoroughly equal to it make his debut where a stranger
will at once be noticed, and probably made welcome.
If a newly beginning stranger goes to the Shires or any
of the second rank of important countries, his presence
will not be noticed, unless he commits himself ; but
if he goes to a small and quiet hunt, his appearance will
give rise to comment, and it is good odds that, if he
conducts himself properly, the hand of fellowship
will quickly be held out. The best thing, however,
is, if possible, for the novice to begin his hunting career
under the charge of a hunting friend. If he has a
friend who knows the ropes, he will learn more from him
in a day than he will in a month of personal observation,
and it is always as well to be properly introduced ;
possibly, indeed, this is a more important matter in a
quiet country than in a large one.

If the beginner hails from London, he can make
choice of a dozen or more of what may be termed
metropohtan packs, metropoHtan because of the fact
that nine-tenths of the field is regularly composed of
Londoners. Not necessarily people who hunt by train
from London, for, as a matter of fact, hunting from
London is almost a thing of the past, the average
hunting Londoner having his hunting quarters some-
where not far from town, and in the country where he
hunts. Nevertheless, these men are Londoners, most
of them having business in town on three or four days
of the week, and hunting on the other days. As a
rule, too, they know what they are about in the hunting
field almost as well as the men who have lived in the
country all their lives and have been entered to sport

E

50 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

from an early age. The latter class novradays are much
inclined to take for granted that they know all about
hunting, simply because they have been brought up in
the country, and have hunted from boyhood ; but the
hunting Londoner, whose youth has been spent in London
itself, or in the suburbs, perforce goes through the
novice stage, and, as a matter of fact, he is from the
first far less of the novice than the provincial novice,
because he has early recognised the fact that he is
ignorant, and has taken every opportunity of acquiring
such knowledge as has come within his reach. Indeed,
whilst writing these letters I have often thought that,
if all novices were Londoners, there would be little
need for any advice, and though there are, of course,
exceptions, I have seen far more funny episodes and
ridiculous appearances among country folk than I have
in the countries adjacent to town, where the field,
as a rule, seems to pride itself on its knowledge of what
is correct and fitting, and where everyone is extremely
careful not to offend against the unwritten canons
of the sport. All round London there are fox-
hounds. Li Essex alone there are four packs ; there
are two in Hertfordshire, and a double pack in Herts
and Bucks, three more in Berks, three in Surrey, and
one in Kent, all of which are within easy reach of town,
so that the beginner can make choice of the country
he would prefer to be in, and arrange accordingly. The
packs referred to are what may be called the inner
circle of hunts near town ; but there are quite a dozen
others in the home and southern counties, which,
if a little further afield, are still well within reach of
London, and have, indeed, their fields to a considerable

WHERE TO HUNT. 51

extent made up by Londoners. And in these metro-
politan hunts there is every variety of country except
grass. Grass there is in some degree, because of the
dairying which is carried on near all big centres of
population ; but nothing like the great grazing grounds
of the Midlands or of some nothern hunts wall be found,
and, as far as the beginner is concerned, this is all for
the best. In the average country near town there are
many big woodlands, in some, steep hills involving
careful climbing, both up and down. In all a good
deal of plough land, and amongst them every variety
of fence, except, perhaps, the stone wall. Thus a
beginner in any one of these districts will have oppor-
tunity of learning something about crops, of how best
to go up or down a steep hill, of when to creep and
when to gallop or trot up to a fence, of how to travel
through a covert or up and down a gill, and of how
to pick his ground. He will, too, have a far better
chance of seeing hounds work and of learning to under-
stand what they are doing than if he was one of a huge
field in a quick grass coimtry, and he will, in brief,
have the best possible chance of acquiring knowledge
of the sport.

An apprenticeship to foxhunting should be served
in a country of great variety, and not on a
monotonous plain, where the sport is much the same
from day to day. The novice should, if he can so
arrange it, go to a hunt where hounds are one day
in the woodlands, a second in the vale, and a third
amongst the hills. He should then take careful note
of all that he sees. Let him watch the huntsman, the
Master, or anyone of the field whom he knows to be a

E 2

52 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

fit person to be copied. Let him study the hounds
and their various styles of running to the best of his
abihty, and very shortly he will begin to find that
he knows when scent is good or bad, whether he is in a
fair run or a very moderate one, and whether, in fact,
the sport is good or indifferent.

CHAPTER IX.

THE HIRING QUESTION.

Probably there is no question connected with his
early hunting which troubles the novice so much as
that of horses. It may happen, of course, that he is of
a horsey turn of mind, that he has been in the habit of
riding, and that it is merely the change from hacking to
hunting which is new. When this is the case the new
beginner probably knows where to find the horse he
requires ; but, as has been already stated, there is
more than one class of novice, and the townsman
who has learnt the art of equitation in a riding school
will, in nine cases out of ten, be hopelessly at sea if he
makes his clehut in the hunting field on an unsuitable
horse. And it must be borne in mind that there are
far more unsuitable horses to be bought or hired than
satisfactory ones ; but the beginner is much more
likely to find a good hireling than he is to secure a fair
hunter at his first deal. This leads up to the question
of hiring, and I am most strongly of opinion that the
novice is more likely to achieve early success if he
hires than if he buys. In nearly every hunting country
of note there are respectable men who are engaged
in the business of letting out hunters on hire, and

54 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

many of these men take infinite pains and trouble
over their customers, especially when they see that
they are being trusted. Of course, the question of
luck enters in some degree into this matter of hiring.
The new beginner may chance to pick the one bad-
mannered horse of a stable of twenty, or he may find
himself on a horse which pulls too hard, but is in other
respects a good hunter. Again, he may have very
heavy hands, and may quickly convert a light-mouthed
horse into a runaway, or he may fret a sober animal
until it becomes restive and difficult to ride. These,
however, are questions of horsemanship, and, as every-
one knows, " hands " are to a great extent a gift,
though bad hands can be greatly improved if the pupil
is willing to learn.

Quite the best thing which the novice can do when
about to make his first appearance in the hunting field
is to go to a respectable man who lets hunters by the
day, month, or season, and put himself entirely in the
livery stable keeper's hands. It is no use attempting
to conceal the fact that he is a beginner, and it is even
sillier to try to pose as being experienced in the hunting
field. No amount of plausibiHty will go down with the
man who has been concerned with horses and hunting
all his life. In two minutes he will have reckoned
his customer up, and will have arrived at a very true
estimate of what that gentleman knows about horses
and hunting. And, if he thinks that the novice is
trying to humbug him, he will naturally be less inclined
to interest himself in the business or to of!er
advice.

if, on the other hand, the would-be customer is

THE HIRING QUESTION. 55

perfectly frank, and states that he wants to hunt, but
knows little about it as yet, he will probably — indeed,
almost certainly — find that the hack owner will meet him
more than halfway, and that he is put on to some-
thing which will give him no trouble. The most awful
thing which can happen to a new beginner is for him
to make his debut on a horse which he cannot ridei
Instead of being able to look about and gain experience
from all he sees, his whole time and attention is occupied
with his horse, and he is exceedingly likely to offend
against some of the unwritten laws of hunting etiquette.
And, a propos of beginning on queer horses, the novice
should never be tempted -into going out hunting on a
harness nag, even if he is offered the loan of one. Of
course, there are harness horses who are good hunters
as well, but the average harness horse is quite likely to
go half mad with excitement when he sees hounds and
a crowd of galloping horses, and when this happens
he will very probably lose his head altogether and
bolt.

I remember once going to stay with the owner of a
large stud, who hunted in the grass countries. Overnight
we went round the stables, and horses were fixed for the
following day. My friend placed two at my service,
one a good hunter which I had ridden before, the other
a very sporting looking horse which he (the owner)
stated he knew little about. He had gone leader
in a team during the summer, and during the autumn
he had been driven in a dogcart and used as a covert
hack, but had not been hunted, because he was not up
to his owner's weight. However, he v/as a hunter
all over to look at, and I mounted him with some

56 PEACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

confidence on the following morning, and was never
carried to covert more comfortably. But when hounds
went to draw he was quite another animal, and for the
next two hours I was the most miserable man in the
field. The horse tried to bolt, backed, kicked and reared,
and it was more owing to good luck than anything else
that I did not have a nasty accident. About one
o'clock I found the second horses, and with them was
my friend's stud groom on a pony. I told him what I
thought of the horse I had been riding, and he, in
somewhat supercilious tones, hinted that there was
nothing wrong with the horse, but that I could not ride
him. Well, I frankly admit that he was too much
for me, but, still, he had not bolted or got rid of me in
two hours, and so I suggested that the stud groom
should take him in hand himself. He at once fell in
\\ith the suggestion, and changed on to the horse just
as hounds were crossing the lane where we stood. In
a moment the horse was oft' with him, and I have a
recollection of standing on an eminence and watcliing
the pair go out of sight nearly a mile off, and no more
of the stud groom was seen that day. Similar instances
of harness horses being bad hunters I could give by
the score, and, on the whole, I am greatly inclined to
think that the new beginner should avoid them at a
costs, unless, indeed, he knows that some particular
harness horse is really quiet when taken out
hunting.

To secure even a small measure of enjoyment in his
earliest hunting days the novice must be mounted
on a quiet nag, and this he is most likely to find in a
livery stable. If he is quickly suited and gets through

THE HIRING QUESTION. 57

his first day or two in comfort, he should instantly
bespeak the horse for a month, or even for the whole
season, and, if his arrangements allow of it, he should
try to hunt this horse twice a week, or at the least three
days a fortnight. If he should happen to give the
horse one or two heavy days close together, he may
then rest him for a day or so, but a new beginner will
find that, as a rule, the hireling can stand two ordinary
days a week, and that, indeed, he is better if he hunts
twice in every seven days than if he had six days of
idleness. Of course, the proviso that the horse remains
soimd is understood, but the fact is that four -fifths
of the hunters in the kingdom are, when in really good
condition, quite fit enough to hunt twice a week, and
if some of them came out a little oftener than they do
there would be less of the bucking and pulling which is so
often seen in the early part of a day. Then the novice
should bear in mind that livery stable horses are always
in good, hard condition, whereas many horses from
private stables are often too gross and highly fed, too
full of life at the beginning of a day, and too helpless
in the afternoon. It does not pay the owner of hirelings
to keep them in anything but hard, working condition,
and the present writer has known a hireling last to
the end of a long day, when he was the only one of
six horses to finish a great run, who had been hunting
all day, the other five being second horses. And having
established friendly relations with a respectable owner
of hirelings, the beginner should not forget to be on
good terms with the stable staff. The head man of the
yard and the man who looks after Mr. Novice's horse
should be tipped, more especially if the hirer is using

58 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

his own saddle and bridle on the hireling. If relations
are smooth with the staff of the yard, the hired horse
and his tackle will be turned out almost as smartly as if
they came from a private stable, and if the hirer wants
his horse to meet him at a certain place or to be met
again after hunting, there will be no trouble about it.

CHAPTER X.

BUYING AT AUCTION.

T}| E case for the hireling having been put, the question
of purchase comes next, and here the field is a wide
one, involving all sorts of conditions. Thus the rich
novice who intends to hunt several days a week has
merely to place an order with a dealer, or with some
reliable commission agent, and in all probability he
will secure three or four useful, handy mounts if he buys
a dozen horses. But these hints Jare not written alto-
gether for the benefit of wealthy men, to whom it is of
small moment whether a loss is made on any particular
horse ; they are more particularly intended, to help the
modest beginner, who purposes to take the field — at
first, at all events — with a single horse, or two at most.
And though hiring at first has been strongly recom-
mended, it must be borne in mind that nine men out of
ten would sooner hunt their own than other people's
horses, and even the beginner who makes his debut
on a horse from the livery stables will after a while
wish to possess a horse of his own. If he is wise he
will stick to the hireling during his novitiate, jobbing a
horse v/hich he likes and can ride comfortably by the
month or the season, but if at the end of this period

60 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

he still likes hunting, and intends to go on with it,
he will in all probability wish to ride his own horses,
and then, unless he has a natural aptitude for the game
of dealing, his troubles will begin. The one-horse
man who tries to get a useful hunter at a price ranging
between £50 and £100 cannot have the pick of the
market, but he ought to be able to procure what he
wants if he will only exercise patience, and not allow
himself to be carried away by what he is told. Countless
volumes and treatises have been written on this subject
of buying horses, and much good and some bad advice
has been given, and I am not going to add to the mass
of literature which horse dealing has brought forth ;
but the very few practical hints I shall give are the
result of experience, and should therefore be of some
value. And it must be understood that I am not
writing for the horsey man, even though he may be
a hunting novice, but rather for the man who is as
ignorant about horses as he is of hunting, and who has
everything to learn in connection with both. Firstly,
then, it may be said that no absolute novice should
think it necessary that he should own a horse before
he begins to hunt. If he happens to have a horse,
and the horse is a suitable one, so much the better for
him ; but when he goes to market for the first time he
will be in a far better position if he has already gained
some experience in the hunting field on a hireling or a
borrowed horse.

Next comes the question of whether the intending
purchaser is a townsman or a countryman, for whilst
the former is almost compelled to buy at an auction,
or from a dealer's yard, the latter is often in a position to

BUYING AT AUCTION. 61

hear of, and very often to try, some likely horse, about
which he may possibly be allowed a day or two, or even
longer, to make up his mind. The townsman who
has decided to have a hunter of his own may have a
friend who is a good judge of horses, and VilHng to give
the benefit of his knowledge. If so, the novice should
consult him, and if possible, take the horsey friend
with him when he attends a sale or visits a dealer's
yard.

And here it may be mentioned that in the case
of dealers it is generally inadvisable to attempt to buy
a hunter from a man whose business chiefly lies among
harness horses and general utility nags. Such men
very often incline to knee action and a suspicion of
hackney blood, and some of them, even if they are
fine judges of harness horses, know little or nothing
about a hunter. Besides which, there is the very
real danger that the so-called hunters which are on
sale at the stables of the man who deals chiefly in
harness horses are nags which have declined harness,
or which are not up to the dealer's standard when in
leather. " Anything which is not good enough for
harness will make a hunter, I reckon," I once heard a
celebrated West-end dealer declare, and though the
remark sounds a little extravagant I have not the
least doubt but that it was a genuine sentiment on the
part of a man who preferred a trapper to a hunter,
and whose business was with the very best of the
former class. When in search of a hunter, then, avoid
the dealer in harness horses, imless, indeed, he be an
ordinary small country dealer, who buys and sells
whatever he can turn a penny by. In this case the man

62 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

is quite likely to have a genuine hunter in his stables
occasionally, but it will hardly be a high-class one,
and may have some fatal " crab," so that, on the
whole, if the novice decides to buy from a dealer, he
should go to a man whose business lies among hunters,
and who, whether he be in a large or a small way,
knows what a hunter is like and what is required of
him.

But for a first horse the novice is likely to do better
at an auction than he is at a dealer's, because thousands
of " made " hunters are sold at auction every year,
whereas the inmates of a dealer's yard are for the
most part young horses who are only half made. Not
only are the well-known hunters of individual men
sold by auction in half a dozen different parts of the
kingdom every week, but at the end of the season
great numbers of hunt horses are always disposed of,
and concerning these it is generally an easy matter to
learn some details. Moreover, the horses which have been
carrying hunt servants often go far below their value,
yet the majority of them are clever hunters, in hard
condition, who, if only they are sound, are likely to do
a great deal more work. Of course, these hunt servants'
horses are seldom up to much weight, and that is one
reason why they fetch so Uttle ; but if they come up
for sale described as " good hunters " they are sound
in wind and eyesight, and are practically warranted
to go over a country. As regards limb soundness
this has to be taken on trust at all horse auctions, but
the novice will probably look them over before the sale in
company with someone who is likely to detect anything
palpably wrong, and moreover he must remember that

BUYING AT AUCTION. 63

if he buys cheaply he is, of course, taking a risk. At a
sale of the Bicester cubhunters I once saw a chesnut
horse knocked down for £40 who a few months later was
winning steeplechases all over the country, and at a
Dublin sale a certain horse (a five-year-old) brought £36,
and, after doing a season's hunting for its new owner,
won a point to point and a hunt steeplechase, and went
into a rich man's stable at £350. The novice must
disabuse his mind of the common idea that every horse
sent up for sale is a " wrong 'un," and understand
that the buyer who knows nothing of the horses which
are being sold is embarking in a sort of lottery. Many
Masters of hounds and many ordinary hunting folk
sell their entire stud every spring, and it stands to reason
that a big majority of these horses are very genuine
hunters.

In nearly all horse deaUng there is a certain amount
of luck, and a man may turn up trumps with the very
first horse he buys, or may purchase half a dozen before
he finds one to suit him. But a new beginner will, as
a rule, find himself best carried if he buys what used
to be called a " seasoned " hunter, but which is now
generally spoken of as a " made " horse. It is for this
reason that I suggest buying at auction rather than from
a dealer at first. At auction one gets the finished
article, from a dealer the young horse, who may be a
perfect fencer in the dealer's field and still has had little
experience in the hunting field. What the beginner
wants is a horse with some manners, and such horses
can best be procured, at a comparatively low price, at the
auctions. Blemishes, unless very unsightly, are of little
account, but, as the novice generally requires a horse

64 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

which is easy to ride, it is most necessary that he should
buy a horse of experience. It is, therefore, perhaps,
better to begin with a horse who is past mark of mouth,
or, in other words, over eight years old. Such horses
have probably been hunted for two or three seasons
or more, and they know their business, and are less
likely to turn out difficult to ride than younger horses,
no matter how fresh-looking the latter may appear
to be. Moreover, it takes a long time to get real hunting
condition on to a horse, and the well-cared-for hunter,
who keeps sound and is of good constitution, is at his
best from eight to twelve, and very often an awkward
horse in his first, or even in his first two seasons. Not
so many months ago I knew a beginner who wanted
a couple of horses for the present season. He was told
to go to the sale of the Blackmore Vale hunters, and
some half-dozen of these were recommended as likely
to suit him. One he bought, but he did not like the
others, and, after spending many hours among the
dealers, he bought a second horse privately. The
Blackmore Vale horse has carried him well, three
days a fortnight up to now ; but the other horse ran
away with him, and was then sent to a roughrider,
and got so badly cut by wire that he has not worked
since, and he will be no good this season. This I quote
as illustrative of what I have written, but, of course,
there is no golden rule in any matter connected with
buying horses, and one man may secure a bargain in
lot one, while the purchasers of lots two and three
may do just the reverse. Judgment, brains, common
sense, and knowledge of horses and horsey matters
will, of course, go a long way, but the real novice should

BUYING AT AUCTION. 65

never attempt to buy at auction without competent
advice, and should not bid himself (unless he is accus-
tomed to bid at auction), for if he is observed to be
keen on the horse he will most certainly be run up by
someone who is interested in the sale.

CHAPTER XL

BUYING PRIVATELY.

There are some men who have a prejudice against
buying horses at auction, on account of the bustle and
quickness of the transaction. Such men are not in
the habit of making up their minds in a hurry, and
cannot bring themselves to decide in a moment whether
they like a horse or not. Possibly they have only
looked it over amongst a lot of others prior to the com-
mencement of the sale, and possibly, too, they have
been unable to procure any reliable details as to its past
history. Whether a man can and will buy at auction
depends greatly upon his temperament, and a man
in quest of his first hunter must necessarily be some-
what at sea if he attempts to secure what he hopes
will be a satisfactory mount in this way, unless, indeed,
he relies entirely upon the judgment of someone more
experienced than himself. Besides, it is not always that
a trial of any particular horse or horses can be arranged
for previous to a sale by auction, and most men of no
great experience dearly love a trial. It is plain, then,
that such individuals should buy privately, either
from anyone who happens to have a horse to sell,
or from a dealer. And to the novice there is, perhaps,

BUYING PRIVATELY. 67

more risk in the former than there is in the latter mode
of buying. There is no secret so close as that between
the rider and his horse, and a horse which appears
to be a fairly useful hunter may have some bad fault
which its owner has been able to hide, and which he is
not likely to disclose to a possible purchaser. Many
good-looking horses are tremendous flatcatchers, and
possibly there is nothing so irritating as to give a fair
price for a horse which seems suitable in every way,
and yet is likely to shut up after galloping over four
fields. And yet there are many horses of this class,
and one I knew of who went into four different countries
at big figures in a single season before his real character
became known. He was a big-boned and very handsome
horse, had perfect manners, and always carried a lot of
condition. He had won many hunter prizes as a four
and five year old at country shows, and his breeder
sold him for a long price to a man who had a bad fall
(from another horse) immediately afterwards. The
upshot was that this horse had an easy time of it during
what should have been his first regular season, and his
new owner was never on his back until late in the
spring. He then rode him on one or two days of poor
sport, entered him for a point to point, and offered me
the mount. I said I would like to try the horse first,
and he was sent to a certain meet of hounds, w^here I
got on to him just as hounds went away from a small
gorse. Immediately in front was a fine grass country,
and no covert for a couple of miles, but hounds ran
very hard, and the show horse was in difficulties after
going for less than ten minutes. I was glad to get rid of
liim at the first check, and I afterwards told the owner

F 2

68 PEACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

that his horse was both slow and soft, and would never
stay a point-to-point course. Later I heard that
another man had ridden him and had formed the same
opinion as I had, and then he was sold, and again
went the round of a lot of country shows, winning
several prizes as a weight-carrier.

In the following season a very hard man bought him,
but pajsed him on after riding him once, and then he
went to a Master of hounds, who, of course, discovered
his peculiarity immediately, and lastly he was sold to a
veteran sportsman whose hard-riding days were over,
and this man he suited exactly, as he was not asked
to do more than canter along the field roads and lanes.
There are various other types of flatcatchers, too, but the
soft horse is perhaps the most difficult to detect, as
he has to be bustled beyond the limits of an ordinary
trial before his weak spot is detected, and if he slows
down when an intending purchaser is galloping him,
the seller can so easily say that he is not quite in hard
condition, or that he is lazy — as some really good
horses are — when galloping alone, and that out with
hounds he will show in very different form. Then^
again, there are many horses who go quietly enough
when trotted out, or even when galloped or jumped over
fences in cold blood, which in the hunting field are very
difficult to ride, and quite beyond the powers of any but
a really experienced horseman. Some horses, too,
take far longer than others to learn their business as
hunters, and are only fit to be ridden by a rough rider
at first. As a rule, however, these badly broken or
raw and excitable horses will reveal at least a portion
of their true character when they are tried ; but such

BUYING PRIVATELY. 69

are generally to be found in dealers' stables only,
whereas the odd horse Avhich is on sale by some private
indi^ddual is very often pretty well known in his own
district. The novice should beware of the man who
is not a regular dealer, but who is always chopping
and changing ; he may, of course, secure a bargain
from such a man, but he is also very likely to be taken
in, for he may be offered a horse which the owner
has had only a week or two and really knows nothing
about. On the other hand, there are many reliable
amateur dealers in various parts of the country, men
who are good horsemen, and who profit by their knov/-
ledge and skill, selling horses at a fair advance over
their cost to them. When the novice knows of such
a man and finds in that man's stables something which
is likely to suit him, he may easily secure just what he
wants, provided he intends to hunt in the same country
in which the amateur dealer lives. The last named,
if he has anything of a business, is not likely to jeopardise
it by " planting a wrong 'un " on to a new beginner,
and he is also more likely to tell the truth about a
horse which he wants to sell than is the chopper and
changer, who is always bupng and selling, and who is
probably taken in as often as he takes in others. What
the beginner should bear in mind is that when buying
or trying to buy a hunter from a private individual
he should only purchase a horse which has been fairly
hunted, which he himself has seen going with hounds,
or about which he has absolutely reliable information.
If he asks whether a horse he is looking at has done
much hunting, he should never be put off with such a
doubtful answer as, " No, not much, he's quite a young

70 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

horse ; but look how he is made. Did you ever see
a more hunter-Hke horse ? " That may be true enough^
but the novice wants a horse who is a real hunter, and
not an embryo one. In early deals the young horse
and the veteran should both be avoided. The first
named is possibly only half made, and has most of his
business to learn, while the veteran may have been got
up for sale, and be really so worn out that a heavy day
or two will bring on lameness. As regards age, horses
of from eight to eleven, in the prime of life as hunters,
are far the most likely to give satisfaction. If a hunter
is not made at eight he never will be, and a beginner
should if possible secure one between the two ages
named, though it need hardly be said that even now
it is no easy matter to determine a horse's age after
he has passed mark of mouth, very few people having
really studied the signs.

If the beginner goes to a dealer in hunters he should
have fair confidence in his own ability as a horseman,
and he should bear in mind that it is far harder to buy
a single horse from many dealers than three or four,
or even more. There are, however, many honest
dealers, who will always do their best by their
customers, and such men will generally say which of
their horses can be ridden by anyone on a thread,
and which require a finished horseman. Beware
of the horse which is spoken of as " bold," for the
dealer's bold horse is often a very hard puller, who will
be with hounds if he can. Keflect, too, that, in a
general way, it is better to buy from a dealer (a hunter
which is intended for the following season) during the
spring or early summer than in the autumn just before

BUYING PRIVATELY. 71

the season opens, for dealers must necessarily pass
horses on as quickly as possible, and many horses
which come out of dealers' yards are far too fat, and
quite devoid of condition. Some, indeed, bought quite
early in the autumn are not fit to hunt before Christmas,
and others, having been fattened up on soft food, go all
wrong for a time when put on to hard food and on a
system of regular work. At most dealers' establish-
ments a would-be purchaser has the option of a trial,
and can, if he so desires, jump the horse he tries over a
variety of fences, while he can always gallop him, and
ascertain for himself whether the horse has comfortable
action. But the man who is quite new at buying horses
should always take an expert with him, and, if the expert
approves of a certain horse which the novice also Hkes,
there is little more to be done beyond the veterinary
examination, and in this I have very little faith. If
a horse is galloped for his wind, and it is ascertained
that he is clear in his pipes, the matter of limb sound-
ness must be more or less a question of observation,
unless the horse has some very palpable fault. If a
horse is sound in all his paces it is, in my opinion,
little use suggesting that this formation suggests side
bones, and that formation suggests spavin or curbs,
for these suggestions are almost invariably made,
and yet so often come to nothing. At the moment
I know of two valuable weight-carrying hunters, on
which a well-known sportsman hunts hounds every
week, and one was rejected by several veterinaries for
incipient side bones five years ago, whilst two veterin-
aries pronounced the other a roarer when he was five
years old. The last-named horse has done eight seasons

72 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

since then, and is still clear -winded, but he could not
" pass the vet." w^hen a young horse, and this failing
to satisfy an expert is very common indeed. Still, if the
novice wishes to be on the safe side, he should take
a professional opinion, as many clever buyers will
miss an incipient cataract or some semi-hidden fault
which a skilful veterinary would detect. The beginner
should, before he buys a horse, have made up his mind
what he wants, especially in the matter of size. A
little man on a very tall horse looks like a robin on a
rail, and a heavy man palpably underhorsed is almost
as ridiculous. For the average man, whose height
is not more than 5ft. 9in., a horse of 15.3 is about right,
and, as a rule, medium -sized horses have smoother
action than very big onews. Colour is not of much
moment, but a beginner, if at all doubtful of his own
capabilities, should avoid a very gaudy horse, which
would render him conspicuous in the field« '

CHAPTER XIL

CONCLUSION.

Just lately I have observed that hunting field manners
are far worse than they used to be, and, though some of
the biggest offenders are anything but novices, it is
nevertheless a fact that many of the beginners are in
these days quite a nuisance during their period of
novitiate. It would appear that the veneration and
respect which a former generation of boys and girls — and
of older people who were new to hunting — used to
possess have entirely departed, and now the beginner
often bustles and squeezes in the unfairest manner,
with almost a total disregard not only of ordinary
civihty, but of the established customs of the hunting
field. There are, of course, well-behaved children
and plenty of novices who would on no account offend
against the canons of sport, but, at the same time,
nearly every hunt has just now what may almost
be termed a rough element — men, and sometimes I
am sorry to say, women, who push and squeeze when in
a crowd, who cut in at a fence and force their way
past at a gateway without the slightest apology, who
often fail to hold the gate for the next comer, and who
are at times totally deaf to loud-shouted warnings

74 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

mth regard to seeds or wheat. The same people are
by no means deaf when wire is shouted instead of wheat,
so that there is really no excuse for them. Though
the rough element is not composed of novices, the bold
novice who is not frightened of a big obstacle may be
easily drawn into it, and it is most important that every
beginner should closely observe which section of the
hunt is the right and which the wrong one, which, indeed,
he should copy and follow, and which he should avoid.
He should have no difficulty whatever in finding this
out for himself if he watches closely what takes place
when hounds are running on a weak scent, and he will
be well advised if he keeps back on such occasions.
When hounds really travel fast he will have ample
opportunities of showing what he is made of, but if he
presses on when hounds are constantly checking he
will soon incur the wrath of the Master, and might easily
gain a bad character, when in reality he has erred
through ignorance alone.

With regard to equipment, I may be excused for
returning to two points, viz., the wearing of spurs by
women, and the wearing of scarlet by men. As regards
the former, I have lately heard the strongly-expressed
opinion of a Master of hounds of nearly twenty years'
standing who in his younger days was a well-known
performer between the flags. This authority is most
emphatic in his dislike of the spur, urging that in the
hunting field only horses which are given to refusing
require a spur at all, and that confirmed refusers should
not be taken out hunting. A spur, he says, is all very
well in a race occasicnally, and is useful for a rough
rider who is schooling a horse, but he maintains that

CONCLUSION. 75

they are not wanted in the hunting field, and he further
tells me that he has worn no rowels in his spurs for a
dozen years. To all appearances he is, of course,
^Tearing spurs like anyone else, but his idea is that the
steel shell in which the rowel is inclosed is all that is
wanted, and that a sharp rowel is often a source of
danger and of very little use. And doubtless there is
much truth in this remark, for a rider who is accustomed
to move his horse about with a touch of the spur can do
so well enough by touching him with the outer shell,
and men thus equipped have no chance of giving their
horses those long, railway -like lacerations which we so
often see. Not so long ago I was looking over some hunt
horses at Tattersall's which were to come up for sale on
the following day, and one particular horse bore a high
character, and greatly attracted a Master of hounds
who was with me. On removing the sheets, however,
no fewer than seven old spur lacerations or stripes
were visible, and my friend at once decided not to bid,
because he thought the horse must have fallen far too
often. In this particular case, therefore, the value of the
horse would appear to have been discounted because
of the spur marks, and even the knowledge that the
horse had been the frequent mount of a hard-riding
first whipper-in did not cause the M.F.H. to waver
in his opinion. For those who do not care to use sharp
rowels threepenny -bits may be recommended. An-
other correspondent writes that his daughter persuaded
him to allow her to wear a spur, and that shortly after-
wards she fell, owing to a rotten bank giving way
under her horse ; luckily, she was not hurt, but her
habit was split by her spur from top to bottom. This

76 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

is an almost similar accident to one I have before
described, and is quite the commonest form of danger
which the vrearing of the spur by ladies is likely to
bring about. On the other hand, I had an oppor-
tunity recently of discussing the matter with a first-class
horsewoman who invariably wears a spur. She often
rides young horses, and always rides her own line
in the two countries where she hunts. She is, indeed,
an exceptional performer across country, and, of course,
she falls at times, especially when riding young ones ;
but she assures me that she has never yet found the spur
an inconvenience, and that it has never been caught up
in her habit when she has come to grief. This rather
upholds my original contention about really fine horse-
women wearing spurs ; but, all the same, I shall stick to
my text, and will again suggest that the wearing of
spurs is inadvisable for women.

In a previous chapter I stated that the novice might
begin in dark clothes, and that a year later he might ap-
pear in white breeches and top boots, and that in his third
season " if all had gone well with his hunting," he
might be advanced to the full uniform of scarlet and
leathers. It must be understood, however, that this
was an individual view of a matter about which there
is no fixed rule, and doubtless there are many who
think that every beginner should ride for at least three
seasons in black before he dons the scarlet coat. And
in suggesting what I did I was, of course, taking it for
granted that the novice had become a member of the
hunt, and was qualified, as far as subscription goes, to
ride in whatever costume he preferred. On all sorts of
points there must be diversity of opinion about wearing

CONCLUSION. 77

scarlet, and the custom varies greatly in many parts
of the country, some hunts having a far greater per-
centage of scarlet wearers than others, while in the
small, very provincial hunts it is sometimes hardly
worn except by the Master and hunt servants. A
novice who began his hunting career in scarlet would
doubtless come in for the sneers of some of the field,
but a novice who was clever enough to adapt himself
to hunting manners and customs in a very short space
of time would hardly be noticed, especially if he hunted
where there was a large field. Indeed, I once saw
a man have his first day's English hunting in scarlet
and leathers, but he had learnt to ride in the Australian
bush, and the only question asked about him was as to
which hmit he came from.

To turn to yet another subject, the novice Avould do
well to study some of the great amount of hunting
literature which has appeared at intervals since Beck-
ford wrote his "Thoughts on Hunting." This book, it
need hardly be said, is the great classic of the sport, and,
though it was written a good deal more than a hundred
years ago, there is, allowing for the changed condition
of the country and ergo of the sport of foxhunting,
very little in it which is not applicable at the present
day. It deals with hunting from its very root, and those
novices who wish to possess a real command of the
subject, and who even dimly aspire to the dignity of
mastership at some future date, would do well to make
themselves thoroughly acquainted with it. Then all
Surtees's books may be read with advantage, for it is
just as well that the comic side of hunting should be
studied, and in these particular books there is immense

78 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES.

variety, so that a student of the whole series will be able
to learn what really serious hunting is, while at the
same time his sense of humour is being appealed to.
The real teacher in all matters connected with hunting
is experience, but a beginner can, of course, learn a great
deal from books as well, and when he takes the field he
will find his reading — if he has thoroughly understood
and taken in what he has read — of great assistance.

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Advertisemenis.

THOMAS 9l sons

Hunting Ouffitfers and Breeches Makers.

Inventors of most of th^ Improvements in Breeches

and Hunting Attire that have been introduced

during the last 20 Years.

Pink, Black,

and
Oxford

Melton
HUNTING

COATS
fitted with

THOMAS
& SONS'

Patent
Washable
Waterproof

Skirt Linings
without

Extra Charge.

HARRIHR

COATS
in Cloth and
Plush.

LEGGINGS

of every
Description.

THOMAS AND SONS.

Sporting and Military) Tailors and Breeches Makers,

32, Brook Street, W.

(COENER OF SOUTH MOLTON STREET.)

TelegrapLiic Address :

" Sportinglt, London."

Telephone Number :

4652 Gerrard.

Publishers of Thomas and Sons' Hunting: Diary. Price 2s. 6d.

Published Annually. Free to Customers.

H

Advertisemenis.

MONTAGUE SMYTH,

LiLdies' Jailor, Habit Maker, and Furrier,

22 & 24, MONMOUTH ROAD, WEST-
BOURNE GROVE, W.

Is now making Smart Habits from 4- Gns., Safety

Skirt 10/6 extra; and in his Princess Cloth,

specially prepared for Colonial wear, at the

same price.

Cloth and Tweed Gowns ...from 4- Gns j

Evening Gowns ...
Covert Coats

m

Kiding Trousers .
Kidmg Hats

Perfect Fit from Pattern Bodice or
Measures.

Pattt'r/11 (iii'.l SkcfrJiex Si'td on AppUcn'ion.

Telepiiona No. 621- W stern.

- - AND AT - -

3. ONSLOW PLACE, SOUTH
KENSINGTON.

6 Gns
2 Gns
12/6
1011

BARKER'S PATENT SPORTSMAN'S PATHFINDER.

As
supplied

Tlie test contrivance for drawing- for
places at shooting: parties.

PRUE.S,

ForSGuns. For 10 Guns

Sterling Silver £S S 0 i3 10 0

Also in Gold.

ALBERT BARKER, Ltd.,

Inventors, Puteutees, ;iud
Sole Manufacturers,

Silnrsmiths In/ ai<im\iitmeni to Their
Majesths tlifKiiKj ,ni,l QiinH Alixaiidra,

THE "FOOTPRINT"

BARBED WIRE CUTTER

in case for HUNTING MEN.

A Nicki'l-platoil Steel Cutter, T.'iu. long, to

•nt iron wire up to <> gauge. Fitted into a

" S Hl(ller-ma<le " Cas^\ witli fittings, to attacli

a Inmting s iddle. To be liad «)f all respcct-

le Ironmongers. Price complete, 10 6.

WriU- for Ltst of Spccialltiix.

.Makkk TTlxosi. 3E=l. DESlliu,

Footprint Works, SHEFFIELD.

Advertisements.

THE ^^ JOCKEY^' TOP BOOT

OLD STYLE. NEW STYLE.

G. F. Twist's Patent, No. 6705.

Simple ail';! effective, riding" tlie boot smoothly into place; no hnatinsr or
military man ■^lionld be without one.
Sole Agent - I*^ice 4/6 e.ich, post paid.

J. SIDNEY CLARKE, 6, Much Park St., Coventry.

Cv through anv Bootiniker.

74, Jermyn Street,

GENTLEMEN'S SILK
HUNTING HATS.

James's, S.W.

Directions for
tiliing Size of Head.

Cut piece of card or sticks

for length and breadth, as

shoAvu in dotted line.

VELVET HUNTING CAPS

Also made Light for Harriers and Beagles.

Advertisements.

THE COUNTRY GENTLEMAFS NEWSPAPER.

Published every Saturday, price Sixpence.

"GOLF."

REPORTS of Golf Contests, Descriptions
of Links. 4c.

" ARCHERY."

ALL the principal Matches throughout
the United Kingdom are reported
during the season.

LEADERS

ON interesting Sporting subiects are
given every week in THE FIELD.

"COURSING."

REPORTS of all Meetings are given
• weekly for the duration of the season.

"SHOOTING."

CONTENTS: Original Articles and Cor-
respondence on Shooting Adventures,
Game Preservation, New Guns, Cartridges,
and all the paraphernalia of a sportsman.

"ANGLING."

ARTICLES and Correspondence on
Fishing, Reports from the Rivers,
Fish Preservation and Culture, and all
matters connected with river, lake, or sea
Ashing.

" HUNTING."

DESCRIPTION of Hunting Countries,
reports of Runs with the various
Packs of Hounds, Hunting Appointments,
Visits to the Kennels, Notes from the
Shires, Ac, ai-e given during the season.

"THE TURF."

REPORTS of all the principal Race and
Steeplechase Meetings are given, to-
gether with Notes and Anticipations on
Future Events, Sales of Blood Stock, Ac.

"DOGS AND HORSES."

ARTICLES and Correspondence on tlie
above subjects. Reports of Horse and
Dog Shows, Ac.

'THE VETERINARIAN"
I IVES full and practical instruction for
the management of Cattle in health
and disease.

G'

" THE COUNTRY HOUSE."

UNDER this heading will be found
Articles, Notes, Queries, Ac, on all
Subjects and Inventions that concern the
Country House.

"POULTRY AND PIGEONS."

ARTICLES on their management, ac-
counts of Pigeon Races, Ac.

"CYCLING, MOTORING, Ac."

REPORTS of the principal Races,
Descriptions of New Machines, Ac-
counts of Tours, Ac.

A CHESS PROBLEM

18 given constantly, with annotated
Games, and Chess news.

R'

"LAWN TENNIS."
I E PORTS of all the principal Matches,
and Notes on the Formation of
Courts, Ac.

" SWIMMING."

FULL REPORTS of all the principal
Contests of the Season.

"YACHTING."

ARTICLES on Yacht Building, Reports
of Matches, Accounts of Cruises, Cor-
respondence, Yacht Intelligence, Ac.

"ROWING."

1)EP0RTS of Matches and Regattas,
i Articles on Training.

"ATHLETIC SPORTS"

ARE fully reported every week during
the season.

" FOOTBALL."

REPORTS of Association and Rugby
Matches during the season.

"CRICKET."

FULL and accurate Reports of all
Matches of interest are given during
the season.

"TRAVEL AND COLONISATION"

CONTAINS Articles upon Explorations
in little known parts of the world,
their capabilities for coloni^ation, stock-
raising, sport, Sic.

"THE FARM"

GIVES practical advice for the proper
management of Farms (both arable
and pasture) and Farm Stock, Reports ot
Agricultural Shows, Sales of Shorthorns.
Ac.

"THE GARDEN."

PRACTICAL instruction for laying out
and managing Flower and Kitchen
Gardens, Grape Houses, Orchard Houses.
Forcirn-' Beds, Ac, are given.

^^

7 HIST Hands illustrated with Notes
on oilier Games.

Alao Articles relating to "TUB NATURALIST.' "FOREIGN FIELD SPORTS,"
"HACQUKTS," "BILLIARDS." &c., Ac.

SuBSCRiPTiON—Cuarterlj', Vs.; Half-Yearlj', lis.; Yearly, ^1 88.

WIXPSOR HOUSE, bream's BPTLDTNGS, LONDON E.C.

A dvertisements.

Dowie &
Marshall

Established

1824.

BOOTMAKERS ^^P^^^^^^B^^^g^

(C/4o Y) LIGHT WALKING BOOT.

Light Shooting Boots, Golf, Alpine, and
Ski Boots a Speciality.

Illustrated Qatahgues gratis.

ALPINE OR

HEAVY ^^'^^^^P^^^PS^

SHOOTING

^''''^' ^^^^^^^^^»^ Testimonials

^^H

^^HHJ^^^^^^H^^^^^k from

^ffi

^^^^^^^^^^^^^mH Eminent Men.

^P^^^^

^^^^^^^^fl^^^^^^^^^^^^^^M

Departments for Ladies, Qentlewen, and
Children.

455, WEST STRAND, LONDON.

Advertisements.

Z AIR'S

HUHTINfi CROPS

are unequalled for

QUALITY,

STYLE,

DURABILITY.

Every Crop branded "ZAIR" is guaranteed.
SOLD BY ALL SADDLERS.

Manufactory ; BIRMINGHAM.

BRECKNELL'S [mhoaJ

Used in the Eoyal
Stables ; by His
Majesty's Cavalry,
Foreign Armies,
and in Hunting
Establishments.

SADDLE

The best thing

made for ^ ^\ Jk K)

Cleaning Saddles w\^#%B ■

" You can use nothing better than the Saddle Soap made by Brecknell & Co.,
Haymarket, London. Do not be led into the mistake of constantly oiling Harness
with a view of keeping it supple. If your groom treats it properly, and uses the
f^oap according to direction, the Harness will always look well."— /Tie Field,
Feb. 8th, 1890.

"Your Soap is the best I have seen, and keeps the Leather in excellent con-
dition,"—Bichd. OwiN, A.D.C. to H.E. the Command«r-in-Chief in India.

Sold only in Tins, ready for use, labelled as above.

Also BRECKNELL'S ROYAL HOOP OINTMENT

as used In His Majesty's Stables. In Tins only.

BRECKNELL TURNER. & SONS, Ltd., HAYMARKET. LONDON, S.W.

H. MAXWELL & CoY.,""'^.tz:"'

161, PICCADILLY. LONDON, W.

Established - . 1800

By appointment to :

H.M. Kiug George IV.

H.M. KiDg William IV.

\

H M. Queen Victoria.

\

H.M. King Edward VII.

\

H.E.H. The Prince of

\

Wales.

Hon. Mention, London

. I85I

Prize Medals, London

- 1862

Prize Medals, Paris -

- 1878

Gold Medal, Paris -

- 1900

Gold Medal, London

- 190 1

HUNTING, RACING,

POLO,

AND MILITARY SPURS.

HUNTING, RAGING, POLO,
AND NEWMARKET WHIPS.

SPECIALITIES

The "SHORT STOCK"

Crop, covered either
with Leather or Gut.

The "BULL DOG" or

short-necked Hunting

Spur.

Both of these Specialities are
Stocked In a Variety of Patterns.

STAAB LANSDQWN & COMPY,

(Es-fca-blished si Oentury),

HUNTING AND MILITARY BOOTMAKERS,
161, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W. ^

HUNTING, RACING, POLO, SHOOT
ING, AND MILITARY BOOTS.

Speciality :

Hunting and Butcher Boots
cut with high counter,
bringing the spur well up.