The Sporting Dictionary and Rural Repository, Volume 2 (of 2) / Of General Information upon Every Subject Appertaining to the Sports of the Field

The prudent traveller will never commence a journey of length, without every necessary precaution that can be adopted for general safety during the whole; he will insure to a certainty, by personal examination, the shape, make, fixing, and firmness of his horse's shoes, as the most indispensible prelude to the success of his progress, it being one great step to the prevention of trouble and disquietude. He will observe that every part of his apparatus is sufficiently strong and durable for the purpose, that he may not be likely to encounter the mortification of repairs upon the road; as well as that his BRIDLE is properly adapted to the MOUTH, and the SADDLE to the BACK of the horse. A sore back, or lacerated lips, are sad concomitants in a tedious or a dreary journey. He will also remember at setting off, that the animal he bestrides is formed of materials by no means dissimilar to his own; that he is composed of fibres, nerves, tendons, muscles, flesh, blood and bone; that these are all perishable commodities, liable to accident, sickness, and dissolution; that he has also his passions, his sensations, his appetites, his wants, his pains, and his pleasures. Not possessed of the pleasing powers of communication by speech, it is a duty incumbent upon the rider, not only to speak for, but to take care of (in the strictest meaning of the words) an object so little capable of taking care of itself.

Having all these things in humane recollection, he will advert to the state of the roads, and the season of the year: the mode of treatment, and manner of travelling proper in one, might be improper in the other. Observation should be made upon the constitutional stamen, and innate properties, of the horse, in respect to power and action, that his paces and progress should be regulated in proportion. One may with ease travel EIGHTEEN or TWENTY miles at a stage, with strength and vigour less diminished, than another may twelve; and this it is the more necessary to know and observe, because a horse overworked, or overfatigued, in the early part, very frequently never recovers himself during the whole of a journey. It is a judicious maxim, and should be rigidly adhered to, never to ride or drive horses at an immoderate or unreasonable pace at first setting off in a morning; the carcase being full, brisk action occasions much uneasiness, if not pain; and a horse never goes with comfort to himself till relieved by frequent evacuation. Those who are properly attentive to their own interest in the preservation of their horse, will regulate their pace (as well as the length of their stage) by the HEAT of the WEATHER in SUMMER, or the DEPTH of the ROAD in the WINTER, each having equal and distinct effects upon the strength, and exertion of power, in the horse, as the other.

Much of management at inns depends upon the state a horse is in upon his arrival; none, but fools or madmen, bring them to the termination of a stage in a stream of perspiration; if so, proper attention and treatment cannot be expected, where there are so many to be served beside themselves. Leading a horse about to cool in the WINTER, washing the dirt off by plunging him into a pond, or washing his legs in a stable-yard, are equally destructive, and produce a combination of ills, in colds, bad eyes, swelled legs, cracked heels, and other inconveniences, productive of repentance, when repentance comes too late. Whether the date of perspiration he is in be much or little, the mode of treatment should be proportionally the same. After being permitted to stale, the head and fore quarters should first undergo the ceremony of brisk wisping, or rough dressing, with good clean sweet straw; then turning his head to the rack, (where some sweet hay has been previously deposited,) the hind-quarters and legs experience the same operation; at which time, and not before, the saddle should be taken off, and the general dressing of the carcase and legs should be completed, admitting or excluding external air, according to the season of the year, by which all conditional circumstances must be regulated of course. The examination of the SHOES, the state of the FEET, WARBLES, bowel galls, or injuries by unequal pressure from, or friction of, the saddle, are contingencies too necessary, and too sublime, for the head of an ostler; he leaves possibilities of that kind to be discovered by those whom it more materially concerns; and the principal must therefore look to it HIMSELF, if he expects to be unequivocally satisfied upon those points. Feeding and WATERING depend also upon time, circumstances, and the season; it being the duty of the owner to know whether the horse will eat his corn if he has it; for it is not in the indispensible department of the OSTLER to give a horse an ill name, by proclaiming him a bad feeder. Under which combination of contingencies, dependent upon travelling, it is no bad plan to SEE the horse have his CORN, as well as to KNOW whether he EATS it; for no man can travel with so much judgment and satisfaction, as he who knows the internal support his horse has to work upon.

Horses jaded, and completely fatigued, with long and dirty journies, in dull, dreary, and sometimes tempestuous, weather, are so entirely debilitated, that they prefer REST to FOOD, and can hardly be kept upon their legs, to go through the necessary comforts of dressing and cleaning as an unavoidable prelude to the more substantial relief of the night. In such state they require a little extra attention; an invigorating CORDIAL BALL, so soon as it can possibly be obtained;was a horse of much temporary note a mash of ground malt, and bran equal parts; in want of the malt, a mash of bran and oats, made of boiling water, and six ounces, or half a pound, of honey, may be introduced as a substantial substitute. The water should not be from the pump, but soft, as from a rainy reservoir, or the river, with the chill taken off: if in the winter, the clothing should be warm; the bed plentiful, high, clean, and dry; as well as all such crevices closely stopped as admit currents of air; by which precaution, not only temporary ills, but dangerous diseases, are frequently prevented.

K.

That some idea may be formed of the grandeur of the buildings, and the liberal scale, of the most celebrated hunting establishments, it is only necessary to introduce a few explanatory remarks upon the kennels of eminence already mentioned. The superb edifice of the Duke of Richmond is said (and probably with great truth) to have cost 10,000l. in its erection; to which his Grace contributed no small proportion of personal assistance. He is reported to have been his own architect and builder; to have dug his own flints, burnt his own lime, made his own bricks, and framed the woodwork in his own shops. The DOG KENNEL, abstracted from all other buildings, stands alone, in such part of the park as to form a grand and striking object from the principal rooms of the mansion; the materials are flints, finished at all the angles by a light grey brick, like the Lymington white-stock.

The distribution of the building is into five compartments; two of them 36 feet by 15, and three more 30 by 15; these are called KENNELS, to which are annexed two feeding-rooms, 28 by 15. In each of these are openings at top, for the admission of external air, when necessary; and stoves to qualify the air when too cold. There are supplies of water, and drains into what is termed a stank, a considerable depth below, full of rain-water, from the surface of which to the rise of the arch is eleven feet; so that no inconvenience arises from smell; and the whole can be occasionally cleared off by drains to more dependent depths, and dung-pits, where it becomes contributary to the purposes of agriculture. Round the whole building is a pavement five feet wide; airing-yards, places for breeding, and other conveniences, making a part of each wing. To constitute a uniformity of elegance, neatness, and perfection, the HUNTSMAN and WHIPPER-IN have each a parlour, kitchen, and sleeping-room, appropriated to their own particular purpose.

The Duke of Bedford's is an immense establishment, upon a scale of too much extent for particular description, as it includes TENNIS-COURT, RIDING-HOUSE, &c. &c. in one stone-fronted building, of 266 feet in length; with two wings of stables, containing stalls for 36 hunters; and eleven loose houses, for horses sick or lame. As the DOG-KENNEL, however, is the only part entitled to notice under this head, it will create no surprise that the richest subject should possess the most complete in England. It is in length 405 feet, having the boiling-house in the centre, with feeding rooms adjoining, and a granary behind. On the right of the centre are apartments for two KENNEL-KEEPERS, two long lodging rooms for the hunting hounds, with flues running along the walls, to preserve an equal temperature in the severity of the winter season; spacious yards to each, furnished with a fountain in the middle, for the dogs to drink at; and water-cocks fixed at proper distances, to cleanse the pavement, when it may be required: adjoining to these, are seven hospitals for sick and lame hounds, with yards to each. On the left are divisions for litter, straw, &c. eleven apartments for bitches and puppies, with yards to each; eleven ditto for bitches in pup, with yards also; and a large division for bitches at heat. In the front is a large reservoir of water, which supplies the fountains, and different cocks in the several yards within. Behind the whole is a large airing-ground, flesh-house, and all requisite conveniencies. The huntsman's dwelling-house is a handsome building adjoining. The number of hunting hounds kept in the kennel are usually from sixty to seventy couple.

The kennel of Sir Willim Rowley is by no means equal to the external grandeur of the two already described, but replete with every internal convenience that an establishment upon a somewhat smaller scale can possibly require: it is situate about half a mile from the family mansion, from the garden of which it constitutes a picturesque appearance. It is erected in a valley of the park, a spot well adapted to the purpose, being equally defended from the cutting easterly winds, and the heat of the sun in its meridian, by a thick skirting of park and forest trees. Not having the advantage of a rivulet to water the courts, that want is amply supplied by a pump, which, by means of different cocks, turns the water to every part of the premises; consisting of the HUNTING-KENNEL, or principal lodging-room, which is 20 feet by 18 in the clear, 18 feet high, and paved with flag-stones. The beds, or benches, which cover almost the whole area, are of original and most admirable contrivance, being lathed like some bedsteads, and all made to fold up with joints, for the convenience of washing the floor beneath them. This room, by means of a flue of peculiar construction, is heated to any required temperature; and the hounds, after severe chases, and in wet weather, are rendered dry and comfortable in a much less time than they could be by any other means.

There is also a kennel, or lodging-room, for the young hounds, of the same dimensions as the former, and possessing the same conveniencies, except the flue, which here would have been superfluous. Several small kennels for bitches in a state of gestation; as well as a proportional number for those with puppies. A paved court to the hunting-kennel. A feeding-house; one half of which is open, the other under cover. A paved court to the kennel for the young hounds. A pump, and stone water cisterns. A large grass-yard for airing the hounds belonging to the hunting-kennel, containing about an acre and three quarters; in which are a variety of lime, chesnut, and other trees, forming an excellent shade for the hounds during the summer season. The young hounds have a similar convenience. To these are annexed twelve small kennels for puppies, well constructed for the purpose. The hunting-hounds generally consist of about THIRTY-SIX COUPLE; and the establishment is conducted in such a style of punctuality, order, and excellence, that it is universally acknowledged equal to any, and inferior to none, upon a similar scale, from one extremity of the kingdom to the other.

Next to the choice of a proper spot for, and a judicious, as well as a convenient, construction of the KENNEL, the management of the hounds, when there, becomes a matter of serious consideration, and requires a FEEDER of strict sobriety, indefatigable industry, invariable punctuality, great humanity, personal fidelity to his employer, and a constant attention to the business in which he is engaged; as upon him in a great degree depends the health and preservation of the hounds. Mr. Beckford observes (in great proof of his practical knowledge and personal experience) that no part of a hunting establishment goes on so well, as when the MASTER becomes an occasional SUPERINTENDANT of his own concerns. He says, as the sport in the field depends on the exquisite sense of smelling so peculiar to the hound, so care should be taken to preserve it; and cleanliness is the surest means. The keeping of the kennel sweet and clean, cannot, therefore, be too strongly inculcated, and impressed upon the mind of the FEEDER; if he seems habitually disposed to deviate from which, he is not at all calculated for the office he has undertaken.

The preparation for feeding, as boiling the meat, mixing the meal, and getting it ready at the hours agreed on, is a matter that the HUNTSMAN will of course take care (on his part) never to have neglected; but there are other considerations, equally important, which become entitled to attention. Hounds cannot be properly fed by a single person; two are (for a variety of reasons) unavoidably necessary; and those two should be the FEEDER and the HUNTSMAN; as hounds should be drafted and fed according to their state of flesh and condition. Some are much more voracious than others, and will require a greater portion of food; others look and work well, with half the quantity: the eye of the huntsman should discriminate between the opposite descriptions; in want of which attention, the pack will never be of equal appearance. When any of the hounds are observed to be low in flesh, off their appetites, bad feeders, or kept under by the old and master hounds, it will be matter of advantage to draft them, and let them feed under less restraint. Young and impatient feeders, fall into the very common fault of feeding hounds with their meat too hot: it is both a prevalent and injurious error, that should be totally abolished.

Mr. Beckford is of opinion, that hounds poorer than the rest should be fed again, and that they cannot be fed too often; as well as that those hounds which become too fat, if any, should be drafted off, and not permitted to fill themselves. All hounds (particularly young ones) should be often called over in kennel; their names become more familiar to them; and it teaches them obedience; this lesson is practised, or should be, at the time of feeding. Hounds should all be let out into the airing ground, to empty them themselves after feeding, to prevent an unnecessary accumulation of filth, and consequent effluvia, in the kennel. It may be a custom with some, to shut up the hounds for two or three hours after they return from hunting before they are FED; if so, it is more entitled to contempt than imitation; no plea can justify the practice; they should have their meat ready for feeding immediately on their return; once gratified, they enjoy their rest undisturbed, the best and most natural foundation for a renovation of strength. Plenty of vegetables, boiled in the copper meat, once a week, is a custom in most kennels; as it is also to throw in a pound or two of sulphur, (in proportion to the number,) particularly in the summer season, when there is a greater tendency in the blood to morbidity, particularly to cutaneous diseases.

During the hot months, when hounds do not work, they require but a small proportion of substantial food, compared to what is necessary in the severity of the HUNTING SEASON; flesh may then be given very sparingly; the less it is used in the summer, the less likelihood there will be of seeing that malignant and unwelcome visitor, the MANGE, amongst them. Various opinions have been promulgated upon the best, cheapest, and most nutritious, food for the support of hounds in general; but experience seems to have justified the consistency of occasional changes, according to the different seasons, and the different degrees of work; without adhering too closely to one particular mode, unassisted by such deviations as circumstances may render not only prudent and proper, but sometimes unavoidable. Horse flesh, sheep's trotters, raspings, greaves, bullock's paunches, (in a scarcity of flesh,) oat-meal, and barley-meal, constitute the principal articles upon which hounds are known to subsist; although they are differently prepared, and differently administered, according to the judgment, experience, whim, or caprice, of the parties concerned. It is, however, universally admitted, after a number of fair and impartial trials, that in respect to the two meals, they act much more profitably and advantageously, when used in a mixed state of nearly equal proportions, than when either is given alone.

Mr. Beckford says, his feeder, who was a good one, and of much experience, mixed the meal in equal quantities; that the oatmeal he boiled for half an hour; and then put out the fire, adding the barley-meal, and mixing both together: his reason for boiling one, and not the other, was, that boiling made the oat-meal THICK, and the barley-meal thin; and that when he fed with the barley-meal only, it should not be put into the copper, but mixed up with the scalding liquor, in a proper tub, or hogshead, kept for the purpose. There are many little things within the department of the FEEDER, which, if neglected, become of serious consequence. Nice observation should be made upon the state of the BITCHES at all times; upon the least indication of their going to HEAT, they should be instantly removed; a few hours delay may be the destruction of some of the best hounds in the kennel. After their return on a hunting day, he should observe whether there are any hounds who have sustained injuries in the feet by thorns, flints, &c. in which case a fomentation of warm pot-liquor, (or bran and water,) followed by a washing with cold vinegar, or salt and water, will generally effect a speedy cure. Hounds seriously LAME, or palpably SICK, should be separated from the rest, and placed where they can be more at ease, and have better attention.

In different Acts of Parliament during the reigns of James the First, Charles the Second, and Queen Anne, the landed possessions necessary to constitute a qualification to kill game, (exempt from pains and penalties,) have varied materially, in proportion to the gradual alteration in the value of money, which has continued to diminish in a corresponding degree. The landed qualification established by the 23d Charles the Second, c. xxv. and still adhered to, is the possession of LANDS, TENEMENTS, or other estates of inheritance, of the CLEAR yearly value of ONE HUNDRED POUNDS. Or, for term of life, A LEASE or LEASES for ninety-nine years, or any longer term, of the CLEAR yearly value of ONE HUNDRED and FIFTY POUNDS. Persons not so qualified, either killing, or going in pursuit of game with an intent to kill, and being convicted upon the OATH of one witness, before a Justice of the Peace, forfeits FIVE POUNDS for each offence; half to the informer, and half to the poor of the parish where the offence is committed.

Thus far a line is drawn between the QUALIFIED and the unqualified, in respect to LANDED privilege, upon former Acts of Parliament; clearly defining who possessed a LEGAL RIGHT to pursue and KILL GAME under such sanction, and who were the persons prohibited from so doing, and liable to the penalty before described. In addition to which distinction, it has been enacted by successive Acts in the present reign of George the Third, That every person who shall use any DOG, GUN, NET, or other engine, for the taking or killing of game, (except a game-keeper acting under a deputation duly registered,) shall every year, previous to his using the same, deliver his name and place of abode to the Clerk of the Peace of the county where he shall reside, and take out an annual CERTIFICATE, or licence, bearing a stamp, for which three guineas are to be paid. This licence, when obtained, does not authorize unqualified persons to kill game, but leaves them still liable to the PENALTY of FIVE POUNDS for each offence, as already described. The penalty for killing game without having procured the ANNUAL CERTIFICATE, is TWENTY POUNDS to either the qualified or unqualified; so that the unqualified, prosecuted to conviction, is in a predicament of only five pounds worse than the QUALIFIED, the penalty being twenty pounds with one, and five-and-twenty with the other. Any person in pursuit of game, having his name and place of abode demanded by another, who is possessed of a certificate, and refusing to tell the same, is liable to a penalty of FIFTY POUNDS. See Game-keepers, and Game Laws.

The hunting season commences on Holyrood-Day, the 25th of September, and continues every Tuesday and Saturday till the first week in May; with the exception of Christmas and Easter weeks, when they hunt three times in each. Holyrood-Day, and Easter-Monday, are the two grand days of the year for company, when the field is exceedingly numerous. His Majesty has also a PACK of HARRIERS, which are kept at the Little Park Lodge near Windsor, and with these he hunts constantly in Windsor Great Park, and the surrounding neighbourhood; they are, however, a private concern of his Majesty's, and not included in the regular Crown establishment.

The King's Plate of 100 guineas, given at Ascot, and always run for on the first day, (invariably Whit-Tuesday fortnight,) is only for horses which have regularly hunted with his Majesty's STAG HOUNDS the preceding season, and must have been well up with the hounds, at their running up to, taking, or killing, TEN DEER, as an indispensible qualification, without having which they cannot be permitted to start. At the conclusion of the chase, when the deer is secured, those who intend to qualify for the plate apply to the HUNTSMAN, and a ticket is delivered to the rider, bearing the arms of the Master of the Stag Hounds, and the seal of the royal hunt; when which ten tickets are obtained, the horse has secured his qualification, may then be withdrawn from the field, and is not obliged to appear again till the DAY of ENTRANCE at Sunning-Hill Wells, where and when the tickets must be produced, in confirmation of his being duly qualified to START. For the accommodation of the sporting world at large, horses of all ages are permitted to run, carrying the following weights; four years old, 11st. 2lb. five years old, 11st. 9lb. six years old, 11st. 12lb. and aged, 12st. Mares allowed 4lb. The best of three four-mile heats.

The following Rules are, by his Majesty's command, to be strictly observed by the OWNERS and RIDERS of all such HORSES, MARES, or GELDINGS, as shall run for his Majesty's Plates at Newmarket.

King's Plate Articles.

Every person that putteth in a horse, mare, or gelding, for the said plate, is to shew such horse, mare, or gelding, with the marks, name, and name of the OWNER, to be entered at the King's stables in Newmarket the day before they run, and shall then produce a certificate under the hand of the breeder, specifying his exact age the grass before.

Every horse, mare, or gelding, that runneth, is to start between the hours of one and four in the afternoon; and to be allowed half an hour between each heat to rub.

Every horse, mare, or gelding, that runneth on the wrong side the POSTS or FLAGS, or is distanced in any of the HEATS, shall have no share of the said PLATE, nor be suffered to start again.

The horse, mare, or gelding, that winneth any two heats, winneth the PLATE; but if three several horses, mares, or geldings, win EACH of them a HEAT, then those three, and only they, to run a fourth; and the horse, mare, or gelding, that winneth the fourth heat, shall have the plate.

And each horse, mare, or gelding's place, as he or they come in by the ending-post each heat, as first, second, or third, &c. shall be determined by such judges as shall be appointed for that purpose by the Master of the Horse. And in case any horse, mare, or gelding, shall be then, or after prove to be, above the age CERTIFIED the grass before, the owner or owners of such horse, mare, or gelding, shall be rendered incapable of ever running for any of the King's Plates hereafter.

As many of the RIDERS as shall cross, jostle, or strike, or use any other foul play, as shall be judged by such person or persons as shall be appointed by the Master of the Horse, such rider shall be made incapable of ever riding any horse, mare, or gelding, for any of his Majesty's Plates hereafter; and such OWNERS shall have no benefit of that plate; but such owners may be permitted to run any horse, mare, or gelding, for any other of his Majesty's free Plates in future.

Every RIDER shall, immediately after each heat is run, be obliged to come to the ENDING-POST with his horse, mare, or gelding, then and there to alight, and not before, and there to WEIGH to the satisfaction of the judges appointed for that purpose.

And in case of neglect or refusal thereof, such WINNERS and RIDERS shall be immediately declared incapable of RUNNING or RIDING any more for this or any of his Majesty's Plates in future.

And should any difference arise relating to their ages, or in their running, or to these his Majesty's orders, the same to be determined by such person, or persons, as shall be appointed by the Master of the Horse. And these Articles are to continue in force, unless altered by COMMAND of his Majesty.

For the better and more certain prevention of any fraud, or misapplication, the winner of a King's Plate is to receive from the Clerk of the Course, a certificate signed by the Steward of the Race where such plate is won, countersigned by himself also, which being presented to the Lord Lieutenant of the County, it obtains his signature likewise: when thus sanctioned, it becomes payable at sight to BEARER (if properly endorsed by the winner) at the office of the Clerk of his Majesty's Stables, in the King's Mews, London. The Lord Lieutenant of a county being out of the kingdom, the signature of any person regularly deputed by him is sufficient. The certificate of winning the PLATE at Ascot requires only the signature of the Master of his Majesty's Stag Hounds, instead of the Lord Lieutenant of the County.