HACK.—Any horse appropriated to every kind of purpose, (and upon which
no great estimation or value is placed,) it has been the custom for time
immemorial to distinguish by the appellation of HACK. Custom, however,
has permitted a slight deviation from a practice of long standing, and A
HACK is now generally understood to imply the idea of a _hired horse_;
that is, a horse the property of a HACKNEY-MAN, JOB or POSTMASTER, who
lets out horses by the _day_, _week_, or _month_, and who is obliged to
take out an annual licence for permission so to do, paying FIVE
SHILLINGS for the same: doing which _without_ A LICENCE, renders him
liable to a penalty of TEN POUNDS.
HACK HORSES, whether for _riding_ or _drawing_, used in travelling post,
are individually liable to a duty of _one penny halfpenny_ per mile, for
as many miles as such horse shall be engaged to travel within a day, or
any less time; but where the distance cannot then be ascertained, _one
shilling and ninepence_ shall be paid for each horse so hired. This duty
is demanded by the person letting the horse or horses to hire, who, upon
receiving such payment, shall deliver to the person so hiring, one or
more STAMP-OFFICE TICKETS, under a penalty of TEN POUNDS.
HACKNEY,—in the general acceptation of the word with the SPORTING WORLD,
is a horse superior to all others upon the SCORE of UTILITY; being
rendered subservient to every office of exertion, speed, and
perseverance, or, in other words, to all the _drudgery_ and _labour_ of
his situation, from which his cotemporaries, the RACER, the HUNTER, and
the CHARGER, by the _imaginary_ superiority of their qualifications, and
pampered appearance, are always _exempt_. It is the peculiar province of
the HACKNEY to carry his master _twelve_ or _fifteen_ miles in an hour
to covert, (where the HUNTER is in _waiting_,) and sometimes to bring
back the GROOM with still greater expedition, whose _engagements_ may
probably have occasioned him to be much more in _haste_ than his MASTER.
It is in the department of the HACKNEY to encounter and overcome
emergencies and difficulties of every description: his constitution
should be excellent, and his spirit invincible; he must be enabled to go
_five-and-twenty_ or _thirty miles_ at a stage, without _drawing bit_,
and without the least respect to the _depth_ of the _roads_, or the
dreary state of the weather; and if he is not equal to _any weight_, in
these _trifling exertions_, he will be held in no estimation as a
HACKNEY of FASHION.
HACKNEY-MEN.—Those so called are the proprietors of COACHES, CHAISES,
and HORSES, for the accommodation of the public, and of whom may be
obtained vehicles of such description for any length of time required.
They are subject to a LICENCE ANNUALLY, and various duties upon the
different carriages, all which are clearly explained in concise
abstracts (called "TAX TABLES") from the Acts of Parliament upon this
particular subject.
HAIR,—with which the frame of the horse is so completely covered, and
more familiarly termed COAT, is, in general, indicative of the _good_ or
_ill_ state of the horse; not only in respect to health, but to his
CONDITION, for whatever work he may be designed. If the subject is sleek
in his coat, with a glossy shining surface, soft and pliable in the
skin; not tight upon the ribs, as if firmly adhering to the side; no
enlargements upon the lower joints of the legs, nor any _profuse_ and
_faint_ perspiration upon moderate work, the BLOOD may be pronounced in
a HEALTHY STATE, and the horse in fair and GOOD CONDITION.
If, on the contrary, the coat is rough, hollow, staring different ways,
of a variegated hue, with a tinge of dust or scaly scurf beneath the
surface, the perspirative matter has been thrown upon the circulation by
a collapsion of the porous system, the blood is become sizey, and
disposed to morbidity, in proportion to the preternatural weight by
which it is overloaded, and the obstructions it has to encounter in its
passage through the finer vessels, occasioned by the languor of the
circulation.
It is no uncommon thing for HORSES in tolerable GOOD CONDITION to go
_all to pieces_, particularly in the autumn months, without the least
cause to be assigned, the least reason to be suggested, by either MASTER
or GROOM. Certain it is, that to two successive acts of indiscretion,
(or error in judgment,) this very prevalent defeat may be attributed,
without the least fear of being at all _wrong_ in the conclusion. GROOMS
and COACHMEN, in general, totally unmindful of the _great heat_ of their
stables during the night, throw open the doors immediately upon coming
in the morning, (regardless of even _frost_ or _snow_,) and frequently
so continue during the whole ceremony of "mucking out" and carrying away
the dung, if not with the addition of _stripping_ and _dressing_ the
horses into the bargain.
That the measure of indiscretion may be complete, the ceremony not
unfrequently terminates in a three or four gallon pail of _hard cold_
water from the PUMP in the _yard_ or _mews_; immediately after which, a
judicious observer will perceive
"Each particular hair to stand on end,
"Like quills upon the fretful porcupine."
This prevailing practice has frequently laid the foundation of various
ills, not one of which were ever attributed to the right cause. Such an
accumulation of _chilling frigidity_ immediately succeeding the extreme
heat of the night, has often produced diseases _without end_, at least
those which _ended_ only with _life_. COLDS, COUGHS, FEVER, (original or
symptomatic,) INFLAMMATION of the LUNGS, BAD EYES, BROKEN WIND, SWELLED
LEGS, CRACKED HEELS, DROPSY in the _chest_, with a long list of _et
ceteras_, or even death itself, may be occasioned by circumstances which
in themselves appear so _trifling_, yet they sometimes prove of
considerable magnitude, and would attract the necessary attention of any
humane man looking after his _own_ horses; but in the present age of
_duplicity_ and _deception_, are very little likely to affect the
_sensibility_ or _integrity_ of those looking after the horses of
_others_.
Where a loss of hair has been sustained by some injury, as in broken
knees, wounds after being healed, blistering or firing, the growth may
be promoted (particularly in slight cases) by reducing three drachms of
CAMPHIRE to _fine powder_, then letting it be well incorporated with
_two ounces_ of SPERMA CÆTI OINTMENT upon a marble slab, and a small
portion of it well rubbed into the part affected at least _once_, but it
will be better if persevered in _twice_ a day.
HALTER—is that well-known convenience by which a horse is fastened to
the MANGER when confined in a STABLE. Halters are of two kinds; the one
prepared of _twisted hemp_, the other made of LEATHER, having
head-stall, throat-straps and buckles, nose-band, &c. and are called
double-reined hunting-collars. These are the safest in every respect,
and, although the most expensive at first, are proportionally durable,
and consequently cheapest in the course of time. HEMPEN halters are
sometimes injurious, in forming _swellings_, or _lacerations_, upon the
upper part of the head, behind the ears, by the friction of the
_hard-twisted hemp_ upon a part naturally tender and easily susceptible.
They are, however, now but very little used, except in the stables of
inferior inns, and of indigent rustics.
HALTER-CAST.—This is an accident to which horses are constantly liable,
and it very frequently happens; but, in general, from the inadvertency
of leaving the rein of the halter of _too great a length_ on either one
side or the other: for when the horse is lying down, and has occasion
(from itching, or some other cause) to rub his neck or head with the
hind foot, it is no uncommon thing to have it get entangled in the
halter-rein; which encircling the _cavity_ of the _heel_, renders it
impossible for the animal to extricate himself, unless the halter breaks
in his favor; and during these struggles, the heel is sometimes so
terribly excoriated, as to become not only a WOUND of much _trouble_,
_anxiety_, and _loss_ of _labour_, but often leaves a very vexatious
blemish, never to be removed. It is, therefore, a truly necessary part
of stable circumspection, to have an occasional eye to a circumstance in
itself so seemingly insignificant, when it is recollected, that its
omission may be productive of much mortification.
HALTING—may be considered _a limping_, or slight impediment to FREE and
EASY ACTION, implying some kind of perceptible _defect_ or
_disquietude_, not amounting to absolute LAMENESS. Whenever this
irregularity in motion is first observed, and that the legs do not move
in corresponding uniformity, or, in other words, as if they _were not
fellows_, an accurate examination should be immediately made to
ascertain the CAUSE, that it may be _speedily_ relieved; upon a very
fair presumption, that what might produce only a _limping_ or _halting_
in the first instance, might probably become a confirmed LAMENESS by a
perseverance in use, without adverting to the proper means of
alleviation upon the original discovery of something amiss.
HAM, HOUGH, OR HOCK,—is the joint in the center of the hind leg behind;
and although so wonderfully united for STRENGTH and ACTION, is
nevertheless the seat of serious injuries, as BLOOD and BONE SPAVINS,
CURBS, &c. the major part of which originate much more in improper
treatment, by short turns, sudden jerks, or twists, upon the road, or in
the stable, than by any accidents or fair mode of usage whatever.
HAMBLETONIAN;—the name of A HORSE whose performances have ranked him in
an equal degree of retrospective celebrity with _Eclipse_, _Highflyer_,
_Diomed_, and the most famous runners of the past or present day. He was
bred by MR. HUTCHINSON, of Skipton, near York, and foaled in 1792; was
got by _King Fergus_; dam by _Highflyer_; grand-dam by _Matchem_.—1795.
May 5, when three years old, he won a stakes of fifteen guineas each,
over Hambleton, (five subscribers,) beating _Sober Robin_, _Tarquin_,
and another. At York, May 20th, he won a sweepstakes of twenty guineas
each, four subscribers. He was then purchased, with all his engagements,
by SIR C. TURNER, Bart. in whose possession he won, on the 27th of
August, at York, a sweepstakes of 100 guineas each, (six subscribers,)
beating _Benjamin_, _Minus_, and _Maximus_. Two days after he won a
sweepstakes of fifty guineas each, four subscribers. At Doncaster, the
22d of September, he won the St. Leger stakes of twenty-five guineas
each, twelve subscribers. The next day he won the GOLD CUP of 100
guineas value, four miles, beating _Governor_, _Capsicum_, and
_Bradamant_.
1796. At the York August meeting he won a subscription purse of 227_l._
10_s._ beating _Spread Eagle_, _Sober Robin_, and another. The next day
he won the ladies' plate, beating Lord Darlington's _St. George_. At
this period of his uninterrupted success, he was purchased by SIR HENRY
TEMPEST VANE, Bart. and at Doncaster, September 28, won the GOLD CUP of
100 guineas value, beating _Sober Robin_, _Ambrosio_, and three others.
In the Newmarket Houghton meeting, November 2, he beat Mr. Tatton's
_Patriot_ (who was got by _Rockingham_) over the Beacon Course for 1000
guineas.
1797. Monday in the Newmarket Craven meeting, he won the Craven stakes
of ten guineas each, beating _Sober Robin_, _Bennington_, _Paynator_,
_Hermione_, _Parisot_, _Cymbeline_, and five others. The same day he
received 250 guineas forfeit from _Spread Eagle_. On Thursday, in the
same week, he beat Lord Clermont's _Aimator_, Beacon Course, 300
guineas. At York, August 23, he won one third of the great subscription
of 25 guineas each, (25 subscribers,) to which was added a 50_l._ plate
given by the city. The next day he won another third of the same
subscription, with an additional 50_l._ plate by the City, beating
_Beningbrough_, _Trimbush_, and _Brilliant_. At Doncaster, the 27th of
September, he won the stakes of ten guineas each, (ten subscribers,)
with twenty guineas added by the Corporation; and on the 29th received
100 guineas forfeit from Mr. Sitwell's _Moorcock_.
In 1798 he was slightly lame, and never started.
1799. Monday, in the Craven meeting at Newmarket, he beat Mr. Cookson's
famous horse _Diamond_, over the Beacon, for 3000 guineas, with the odds
of _five_ to _four_ in his favour, on account of his superiority in size
and strength; it being jocularly observed by the rider of _Diamond_ at
_starting_, that it seemed "a little like a race between a mare and her
colt." This match was the greatest in popularity ever known from one
extremity of the kingdom to the other, and was decided before one of the
fullest meetings ever seen at Newmarket. It was won by no more than
_three parts_ of a _length_, to effect which the winner had felt the
utmost force of the spur; and, it was generally believed, if they had
then one hundred yards farther to have ran, _Diamond_ would have been
_the winner_; in proof of the justice of which opinion, MR. COOKSON
challenged a repetition of the match, which was declined.
At Doncaster the same year, he won the renewed stakes of ten guineas
each, (fourteen subscribers, with twenty guineas added by the
Corporation,) beating _eight_ of the best horses in the north of
England. In 1800 he won the great subscription at York, with 50_l._
given by the City, which was the last time he started. He once ran out
of the Course, _soon after starting_, when running three miles over
York, 1797, for a sweepstakes of 100 guineas each against _Deserter_ and
_Spread Eagle_; and paid one forfeit to _Sterling_ (from being amiss in
1792) at Newmarket; but NEVER WAS BEAT. He is now a stallion in high
repute near Leeds, in Yorkshire, at TEN GUINEAS, and half a guinea the
groom.
HAND—is the term for a mode of measurement by which the height of A
HORSE is ascertained. A HAND (so called originally from its breadth) is
_four inches_; three hands is consequently one foot; and A HORSE OF
FIFTEEN HANDS is exactly _five feet high_; and so above or below in
proportion; as thirteen hands three inches; fourteen hands and a half;
or fifteen hands three inches and a quarter; as the measure may be.
This, at the entrance of horses for GIVE and TAKE PLATES, is regulated
to a most scrupulous nicety by means of a STANDARD, so curiously
constructed, as to ascertain the exact height to the _eighth_ of _an
inch_, where horses are MATCHED to carry WEIGHT for _inches_.
BRIDLE-HAND: the left hand is so termed, in contra-distinction to the
right, which is called the WHIP-HAND; and the most experienced jockies
in racing, always take the whip-hand, if possible; it being considered a
point in their favour; that is, because they have not only an advantage
in the turns of the course, but their adversaries circumscribe a _larger
circle_ of many lengths in a FOUR MILES race, exclusive of their having
an unrestrained use of THE WHIP, should it come to a _severe push_ at
the run in.
There are many _sporting phrases_ in which the word HAND becomes
particularly emphatic. To say a horse is LIGHT in HAND, implies his
being playful, lively, champing his bit, firm upon his haunches, and not
dwelling upon the ground with his fore feet. A horse is HEAVY in HAND,
when, bearing his weight upon the bit, and lifting his fore legs with
reluctance, he goes _boring on_, with no other sensation to the rider,
than an eternal fear of his pitching upon his head. A vicious horse,
breaking away with his rider, seems a dreadful sight to a spectator, but
can never be attended with misfortune, if the rider is a good HORSEMAN,
and has him "well in hand," which is, in fact, the power of "gathering
him together," or stopping his career at pleasure.
Although the _left_ is technically termed the BRIDLE-HAND, yet a good
horseman, or experienced sportsman, will use either _right_ or _left_
with the most perfect ease and dexterity; to effect which with the
greater freedom, young horsemen should constantly practise an exchange
of the reins from one hand to the other in their daily excursions. The
hand should be delicately alive to every motion of the horse; for it is
the judicious management of one, that is to constitute entirely the
_good_ or _bad_ mouth of the other. A horse is supposed to gallop
awkwardly (if not unnaturally) when he strikes into that pace with his
_left leg_ foremost; to prevent which, bear the rein to _the left_, with
the bridle-hand, and the horse invariably sets off with the _right_ leg.
HAND-GALLOP is that easy kind of pacing adapted to the aged and infirm,
who wish to obtain every possible degree of motion, most consonant to
bodily ease; it is the degree of equestrian action synonimous with, and
more universally known by, the denomination of CANTER; which is, in
fact, the slowest, or most contracted gallop, and can only be enjoyed by
those who possess horses of good temper, and well broke for the purpose.
A COLT said to be "taken in hand," implies his being brought from his
wild state of nature, to be _handled_, _quieted_, _led_ about, and
_stabled_, previous to his being _broke in_ for the SADDLE or HARNESS.
A horse's FORE-HAND includes the fore quarters, from the withers upwards
to the tip of the ears; the principal beauty and attraction of which
depend entirely upon the length and curvilinear form of the neck, which
increases or diminishes his _marketable value_, in proportion as it is
_well_ or _ill_ formed.
HANDICAP—is a sporting term, applicable to either MATCH, PLATE, or
SWEEPSTAKES, in the following way:
A, B, and C, put an equal sum into a hat. C, who is the handicapper,
makes a match for A and B, who, when they have perused it, put their
hands into their pockets, and draw them out closed; then they open them
together, and if both have money in their hands, the match is confirmed;
if _neither_ have money, it is no match: in either of these cases, the
handicapper C draws all the money out of the hat: but if one has money
in his hand, and the other _none_, it is then no MATCH; and he that has
the money in his hand, is entitled to the whole deposit in the hat.
A HANDICAP PLATE is the gift of an individual, or raised by
SUBSCRIPTION, for which horses are generally declared the day before
running, at a certain hour, by written information privately delivered
to the CLERK of the COURSE, whose province it is to make out the list,
and hand it to the STEWARD of the RACE; when the weight each horse must
carry is irrevocably fixed, (by whoever the steward may appoint), and
appears in the printed lists of the following morning. Horses thus
entered, and declining the weight appointed for them to carry, are of
course permitted to be withdrawn, without any forfeit or loss.
HANDING—is sometimes used to express the HANDING of a COCK during his
battle in the pit. It is, however, considered merely provincial, and
peculiar only to some particular parts of the country; the _hander_ of
the _cocks_ being now more generally known by the denomination of a
SETTER-TO.—See COCKPIT ROYAL.
HANDLING,—a term applied by COCKERS to the judicious handling of a COCK,
when brought up from his _walk_, to ascertain whether he is in proper
condition to be placed in the PENS, and prepared to fight in either the
MAIN BATTLES, or the _byes_. This is done by a particular mode of taking
the girt of the body by grasp, to discover the shape and substance, the
bone, the probable strength, as well as the firmness or flaccidity of
the flesh; upon the aggregate of which so much depends, that in
proportion to these qualifications, he is ACCEPTED or _rejected_
accordingly.
HARBOUR—is a sporting term, applicable solely to DEER, and used only in
STAG HUNTING; when going to covert, and drawing for an out-lying deer;
upon finding, it is customary to say, We UNHARBOUR a stag, (or hind.) As
with HARRIERS, We _find_ or _start_ a HARE; or with FOX HOUNDS, We
_unkennel_ a FOX.
HARE.—This small, harmless, inoffensive animal affords a greater
diversity of sport in the field, and a greater degree of luxurious
entertainment upon the table, than any species of GAME in this, or,
probably, in any other country. The form, shape, and make of the HARE is
too universally known to require description; but the most curious
naturalists describe, and _affect_ to believe, there are _four kinds_ of
_hares_ in different parts of the kingdom. The fact is not so; the
species is strictly the same; but they are known to differ in size,
speed, substance, and somewhat in colour, according to the soil,
climate, fertility, or sterility, of the country where they are bred.
HARES in hilly and mountainous countries are smaller, but more fleet
than any other; those who are the natives of low, wet, marshy ground, or
moors, are larger, but less firm and delicious in flesh, as well as less
nimble in action. Hares bred in open countries, diversified with woods,
parks, and arable lands, are in size between both, and afford the best
_coursing_ before GREYHOUNDS, as well as the longest _chases_ before
HOUNDS. Every part of the hare is admirably formed for the promotion of
speed; which, in conjunction with other natural advantages, greatly
enables her to evade the pursuits and stratagems of her numerous enemies.
The sense of SMELLING, as well as of HEARING, the hare possesses in a
more exquisite degree than any other animal; the latter of which may be
justly attributed to the great length, and singular formation, of the
ears, so well adapted to receive the slightest vibration of sound, which
even the earth is so well known to convey. Its sense of smelling is so
incredibly nice, that the hare can _wind_ an _enemy_ (either man or
beast) at a considerable distance, particularly in the stillness of the
night; this is evidently occasioned by the elastic formation of the
nostrils, and the depth of the division between both, from whence has
arisen the appellation of _a hare-lip_, with which defect some of the
human species are afflicted, in consequence of fright to the mother
during the early months of pregnancy. The ears seem to be the regulators
of almost every action; for during the chase _one_ is always _erect_,
the other _horizontal_; unless in suddenly coming upon an unexpected
object, when they are for a moment both erect; but, upon turning and
renewing her speed, they invariably resume their former position.
The EYES of the HARE, from the peculiar prominence of their formation,
enable her to distinguish objects in almost every direction, without
altering the position of either her head or her body; and it is
remarkable, that their sight in a straight forward line seems less
perfect than in any other. The natural timidity of the hare is
excessive; she exists in perpetual fear, and is tremblingly alive to
every breeze that can possibly produce alarm. Formed entirely for
RUNNING, she either possesses no power, or makes no attempt _to walk_,
but in her slowest motion proceeds by JUMPS. The food of the hare varies
with the season, and consists chiefly of young clover, green wheat,
short sweet grass in parks or upon lawns; and in the winter, parsley,
turnip greens, and other succulent plants. During severe frosts, or deep
snow, they make no small havock amongst young fruit-trees and fragrant
shrubs, by nibbling the bark, thereby retarding their growth, if not (as
is frequently the case) promoting their destruction. It is asserted by
MR. DANIEL, in his publication called "RURAL SPORTS," that the
plantations of a GENTLEMAN in the county of SUFFOLK, had suffered so
much in this way, that, in defence of his improvements, he felt himself
under the necessity of destroying his HARES, when no less than _five
hundred_ and _forty brace_ fell victims on the occasion.
The almost perpetual and incredible _destruction_ of HARES, by HUNTING,
COURSING, SHOOTING, and the nocturnal _net_ and _wire_ of the _poacher_,
(as well as the infinite increase to supply that destruction,) having
occasioned suggestions, that they possess the property of SUPERFŒTATION,
it becomes immediately applicable to introduce a remark or two under
that head. We are told by MR. DANIEL, that "Sir Thomas Brown, in his
Treatise on _Vulgar Errors_, asserts this circumstance from his own
observation: and BUFFON describes it as one of this animal's peculiar
properties, introducing an idea of hermaphrodite hares; as well as that
the males _sometimes_ bring forth young; that they are alternately MALES
and FEMALES, occasionally performing the functions of _either_ sex."
Nothing can be more contemptible and ridiculous than such conjectures;
they are the very essence of mental fertility; and it must suffice to
admit, that SIR THOMAS BROWN and BUFFON were not inquisitive sportsmen,
or not scientifically acquainted with the parts necessary to generation.
For want of information so very easily to be obtained, some one of these
speculative writers promulgated an erroneous assertion, every day liable
to the most palpable confutation; "that in the formation of the genital
parts of the MALE HARE, the testicles _do not_ appear on the _outside_
of the body, but are contained in the same cover with the intestines."
It should seem these authors write more to SURPRIZE than to INSTRUCT, or
that they knew little of the subject they wrote upon; as nineteen
sportsmen out of every twenty, who have handled hares in the field, or
taken them up before the hounds, can demonstrate the contrary; as the
testicles, when the hare is full grown, are not only prominently
perceptible _externally_, but of considerable size for so small an
animal.
The natural fecundity of HARES almost exceeds belief; they continue to
breed for nine months out of the twelve; and leverets (young hares) are
frequently found and chopped by the hounds in _January_, when the winter
has been _mild_. The doe hare goes a month after conception, and at her
_first_ produce seldom brings forth more than _two_, afterwards _three_,
and sometimes _four_. Whenever the number exceeds two, it is a received
(and generally believed just) opinion, that each of the young has a
white star in the forehead, which, however, is gradually obliterated as
they approach maturity. The dam is supposed to suckle them about
one-and-twenty days; but takes care to separate them before that time,
and deposits them individually in such _forms_ as she has previously
prepared for their reception, at a considerable distance from each
other; but so situate, that she can afford maternal protection to the
whole. Their prolific powers, and perpetual increase, will create no
surprise, when we are respectably informed, that a brace of hares, (the
doe pregnant when shut up) were inclosed in a large walled garden, and
proper aliment supplied for their sustenance; when at the expiration of
TWELVE MONTHS the garden was searched, and the produce was _fifty-seven_
hares, including the original brace turned down: this fact alone
demonstrating the certainty, that the females begin to breed when, or
before, they are six months old.
The length of a hare's natural life is limited to six or seven years,
and they reach their full growth in eight or nine months. The male is by
much the smallest, seldom exceeding in weight _five_ or _six_ pounds;
but the females, particularly in some very rich and fertile counties,
weigh from seven to eight: some few instances have been known of their
weighing _nine_ pounds, after being _paunched_. The hare is supposed to
be in gentle motion all night during the summer months, and a great part
of it in the dreary nights of winter; during the length of which _their
works_ are of such immense perplexity, (in _heads_, _doubles_, and
_circles_,) that little expectation is entertained of finding a hare by
_the trail_, unless the field is taken early in the morning, soon after
she is gone _to seat_; which is seldom, if ever, before the dawn of day;
and in the summer months, very frequently not till long after day-light.
The HARE till full grown is called A LEVERET, and at any age is very
difficult to be found _sitting_; so nearly does the downy fleak (when
close contracted) approach the colour of the ground. In this position
the old and experienced SPORTSMAN will declare the gender of the hare
_before_ it is started. The head of the male is short and round, the
whiskers longer, the slit in the nose wider, the shoulders more ruddy,
and the ears shorter and broader, than those of the female; the head of
which is long and narrow; the ears long, and sharp at the tip; the fur
of the back of a dingey hue, inclining to black, and of superior size to
the male. When a hare is observed in its FORM, it may be easily
ascertained, by the _ears_ only, whether it is a BUCK or DOE; and this
is a useful kind of knowledge, particularly at the latter part of the
season, when no man, but a hardened poacher, or _pot-hunting_ sportsman,
would turn out a _female_ hare before either HOUND or GREYHOUND, where
there is a chance of destroying _a leash_, or _two brace_, by the wanton
destruction of one.
If the hare found sitting is A BUCK, the ears will be seen drawn close
in a parallel line with each other, directly over the shoulders,
pointing straight down the back; but if A DOE, the ears are distended on
each side of the neck, having a space between them in the centre. In the
chase, a _Jack hare_, (as the male is sportingly termed,) after the
first ring or two, particularly in the spring months, flies his country,
goes straight forwards, and affords a good run, but generally falls a
victim to his own fortitude at its termination. The female hangs closer
to her native spot, depending more upon her instinctive efforts, in
_heading_, _doubling_, _soiling_, and _squatting_, than speed for her
preservation.
Hares bred upon the downs, or in hilly countries, are always the
stoutest, and best enabled to escape from GREYHOUNDS; of which they are
so conscious, that they always make for the nearest rising ground, so
soon as started. When so severely distrest that they plainly perceive
there is no other means of escape, they will take to a brick or wooden
drain for security, or even _run to earth_, if one should luckily
present itself in the emergency. They are thought to foresee a CHANGE in
the WEATHER, and to regulate their _sitting_ accordingly. After harvest
they are found in stubbles, banks of hedges, woods, and thickets; during
the fall of the leaf, they seat themselves more in open fields; and when
the severity of winter begins to decline, warm, dry, hilly fallows are
hardly ever without them. As one species of GAME, they are held in high
estimation; and, notwithstanding the utmost efforts, by every degree of
interdiction, with all the _pains_ and _penalties_ that successive
parliaments could devise, from RICHARD the Second to the present day,
for their preservation, and appropriation to the use of the superior
classes, yet no laws ever proved more fallacious or deceptive; for the
infinity of POACHERS, with which every rural district abounds, and the
alacrity with which STAGE COACHMEN and COUNTRY HIGLERS supply their
_friends_, will never let any inquirer be in want of A HARE, who has his
_five shillings_ in hand as a means of retribution. This INSUFFICIENCY
of the LAW to check nocturnal depredation, and progressive infamy, is
most sincerely to be regretted; but experience has long held forth ample
conviction, that regret cannot produce redress.
HARE-HUNTING—is a well-known sport, of very ancient and enthusiastic
enjoyment, reported, by the most celebrated ANTIQUARIES, to have been
established more than _two thousand_ years before the CHRISTIAN ÆRA.
Various opinions have been occasionally promulgated, and perseveringly
supported, (by cynical rigidity, and religious severity,) upon the
"cruelty of the chase;" which, however, is now _never_ likely to be
shaken in either _theory_ or _practice_, as to almost every PACK OF
HOUNDS in the kingdom there are clerical devotees, who are by no means
unworthy MEMBERS of the CHURCH.
HARE-HUNTING, though universal in every part of England, Ireland,
Scotland, and Wales, is in the highest estimation in those open and
champaign counties where, from want of covert, a STAG or FOX is never
seen. Here the hares are stouter, more accustomed to long nightly
exercise, more frequently disturbed, more inured to severe courses
before GREYHOUNDS, and hard runs before hounds; consequently, calculated
to afford much better sport than can be expected in either an inclosed
or woodland country. There are three distinct kinds of hounds, with
which this particular chase is pursued, according to the soil and
natural face of the district where it is enjoyed. The large slow
SOUTHERN HOUND is adapted to the low swampy, marshy lands, so
conspicuous in many parts of Lancashire; as well as those in Norfolk,
and various others bordering upon the sea. The small, busy,
indefatigable BEAGLE seems appropriated by nature to those steep, hilly
and mountainous parts, where it is impossible for the best horse and
boldest rider to keep constantly with the hounds. The hounds now called
HARRIERS, and originally produced by a cross between the SOUTHERN HOUND
and the DWARF FOX, are the only hounds to succeed in those open
countries, where, for want of covert, the hare goes five or six miles an
end _without a turn_; as is frequently the case in many parts of
Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Wiltshire, Hampshire, and other counties;
constituting chases _very superior_ to many FOX HOUNDS, hunting beechen
coverts and woodland districts.
HARE-HUNTING, when put in competition with the pursuit of STAG or FOX,
is much more gratifying to the ruminative and reflecting mind, than
either of the other two; as it affords a more ample field for minute
observation upon the instinctive sagacity of the GAME, and the patient,
persevering fortitude of the HOUND, in the various _heads_, _turns_, and
_doubles_, of the chase. Hence it is that hare-hunting is principally
followed, and most enjoyed, by sportsmen in the decline of life; but
with the younger branches it is held in very slender estimation, as they
in general appreciate the _excellence_ of _sport_ more by the difficulty
in pursuing it, than by its duration. Hare-hunting, in a woody or
inclosed country, is such a perpetual routine of repetition within a
small sphere, affording no more than a continual succession of the _same
thing_, that with a zealous rider, and a high-mettled horse, it soon
palls upon the appetite of both. Young men, from emulative motives,
(naturally appertaining to their time of life,) feel a pressing
propensity to encounter obstacles, and surmount difficulties, where the
effect of vigour and manly courage can be displayed, and consequently
prefer the kind of chase where personal fortitude, and bodily exertion,
are brought more to the proof; and where, by covering a larger scope of
country, and with a much greater proportional rapidity, a more pleasing
and extensive variety is obtained.
Another cause of mortification constantly presents itself to young
sportsmen with HARRIERS, or BEAGLES, in the field: a valuable horse, or
a bold rider, are equally unnecessary in HARE-HUNTING, and this is
eternally brought to an incontrovertible proof; for after a burst of
five minutes, in which a perfect hunter has an opportunity of displaying
his speed, and, after _clearing_ some dangerous _leaps_, a sudden turn
or _double_ of the HARE, brings him by the side of a rustic upon a poney
of _five pounds value_, who is _nine_ times out of _ten_ as forward as
himself. The infinite time lost in _finding_, where hares are not in
great plenty; the frequency of _faults_; the persecuting tediousness of
_cold hunting_; and the injury done to HORSES in drizzling dreary days,
during hours of slow action, are great drawbacks to the pleasure this
species of hunting would otherwise afford.
MODERATE SPORTSMEN will never avail themselves of _immoderate_ means to
occasion a contraction of their own sport, by a wanton or unnecessary
destruction of hares; too great a body of hounds should never be brought
into the field, or any _unfair_ modes adopted during the chase:
_pricking a hare_ in the paths, or upon the highways, as well as placing
emissaries upon _the soil_, are paltry, mean, and disgraceful artifices,
that no genuine, well-bred, HONEST SPORTSMAN, will ever permit; but
candidly acknowledge, if the HOUNDS cannot _kill her_, she ought to
ESCAPE. In respect to numbers, _less_ than TWELVE, or _more_ than
EIGHTEEN couple ought never to be brought from the kennel to the chase;
nor, indeed, seldom are, unless with those who think much less of SPORT,
than of personal _pride_ and _ostentation_.
MR. BECKFORD, who is a perfect master of this subject, has so completely
investigated, and minutely explained, every particular appertaining to
the _chase_ of both HARE and FOX, that as it is absolutely impossible to
suggest an _idea_, or communicate a _thought_, but what must carry with
it the appearance of plagiarism; it will be more candid, (evidently more
honest) to introduce occasional passages in his own words, as language
more expressive, by which they will be infinitely better understood. He
says, "By inclination he was never a hare-hunter; but followed the
diversion more for air and exercise than amusement; and if he could have
persuaded himself to ride on the turnpike road to the three mile stone,
and back again, he never should have thought himself in need of a pack
of harriers."
He then apologizes to "his brother HARE-HUNTERS for holding the sport so
cheap, not wishing to offend; alluding more relatively to his own
particular situation in a country where hare-hunting is so bad, that it
is more extraordinary he should have persevered in it so long, than he
should have forsaken it then." Adding, "how much he respects hunting in
whatever shape it appears; that it is a manly and a wholesome exercise,
and seems by nature designed to be the amusement of a Briton." He is of
opinion that more than twenty couple of hounds should never be brought
into the field; supposing it difficult for a greater number to run well
together; and a pack of harriers can never be complete who do not. He
thinks the fewer hounds you have, the less you soil the ground, which
sometimes proves a hindrance to the chase.
Custom has greatly varied in the practice of HARE-HUNTING during the
last thirty years: at that time the hounds left the kennel at day-light,
_took trail_ upon being _thrown off_, and soon went up to their GAME;
which having the pleasure to find by their own instinctive sagacity,
they pursued with the more determined alacrity: a brace or leash of
hares were then killed, and the sport of the day concluded, by the hour
it is now _the fashion_ for the company to take the field. As the
_trail_ of a hare lays both partially and imperfectly when it gets late
in the day, so the difficulty of _finding_ is increased, in proportion
to the lateness of the hour at which the hounds are thrown off; hence it
is that HARE-FINDERS, so little known at that time, are now become so
truly instrumental to the sport of the day.
Although their services are welcome to the eager and expectant
sportsman, yet it is on all hands admitted, they are prejudicial to the
discipline of hounds; for having such assistance, they become habitually
_idle_, and individually _wild_: expecting the game to be readily found
for them, they become totally indifferent to the task of finding it
themselves. HOUNDS of this description know the hare-finder as well as
they know the HUNTSMAN, and will not only, upon sight, set off to meet
him, but have eternally their heads thrown up in the air, in expectation
of a view HOLLOA!
With all well-managed packs, they are quietly brought up to the place of
meeting; and when _thrown off_, a general silence should prevail, that
every hound may be permitted to do his own work. Hounds well bred, and
well broke to their business, seldom want assistance. Officious
intrusions frequently do more harm than good: nothing requires greater
judgment, or nicer observation in speaking to a hound, than to know the
critical time when a word is wanting. Young men, like young hounds, are
frequently accustomed to _babble_ when newly entered, and, by their
frivolous questions or conversation, attract the attention of the
hounds, and insure the silent _curse_ of the HUNTSMAN, as well as the
contemptuous indifference of every experienced sportsman in the field.
Whenever a hare is turned out of her form, or jumps up before the
hounds, a general shout of clamorous exultation too frequently prevails,
by which the hare's intentional course is perverted, and she is often
_headed_, or turned into the body of the HOUNDS to a _certain death_;
when, on the contrary, was she permitted to go off with less alarm, and
to break view, without being so closely pressed at starting, there is no
doubt but much better runs would be more generally obtained. Individual
emulation, or individual _obstinacy_, invariably occasions horsemen in
hare-hunting to be too near the hounds, who, being naturally urged by
the rattling of the horses, and the exulting zeal of the riders, often
very much over-run the scent, and have no alternative but to _turn_ and
_divide_ amidst the legs of the horses, so soon as they have lost it;
and to this circumstance may be justly attributed many of the long and
tedious _faults_ which so frequently occur, and render this kind of
chase the less attracting.
Gentlemen who keep HARRIERS vary much in their modes of hunting them;
but the true sportsman never deviates from the strict impartiality of
the chase. If a hare is found _sitting_, and the hounds too near at
hand, they are immediately drawn off, to prevent her being _chopped_ in
her _form_: the hare is then silently walked up by the individual who
previously found her, and she is permitted to go off at her _own pace_,
and her _own way_. The hounds are then drawn over the spot from whence
she started, where taking the scent, they go off in a style of
uniformity, constituting what may be fairly termed the consistency of
the chase. Others there are who never can, or _never will_, resist the
temptation of giving _the hounds a view_, and never fail to tell you,
both HARE and HOUNDS run the better for it. In addition to this _humane_
method of beginning the chase, every advantage is taken of the poor
affrighted animal's distress, amidst all its little instinctive efforts
for the preservation of life. The hounds, instead of being permitted to
run the soil, and kill the hare by dint of their own persevering labour,
are constantly _capped_ from _chase_ to _view_; and the object of the
sport most wantonly and uncharitably destroyed; for nothing less than a
miracle can effect its escape.
Those of nicer sensations enjoy the sport, but enjoy it much more
mercifully; and would rather see their own hounds occasionally _beaten_,
than, by any unfair or unsportsman-like introduction, kill their hare.
These never permit a profusion of vociferous assistance from the
huntsman, who is enjoined to an almost silent execution of his own duty,
that the hounds may not be prevented (by _his noise_) from a strict and
attentive performance of theirs. If they _throw up_, upon a dry or
greasy fallow, a footpath, a highway, or a turnpike-road, a thousand
busy bustling endeavours are to be self-made for a recovery of the
scent, before any one effort is permitted to assist in _lifting them
along_; and even then, not till every patient and persevering struggle
has failed of success. The sportsman of this description admits of no
device, stratagem, or _foul play_ whatever; the HOUNDS must _hunt_ the
hare; they must go over every inch of ground she has gone before them;
they must _hit off_ their own checks, recover their _faults_; and, by
cold hunting, _pick it along_, where, in passing through a flock of
sheep, the ground has been foiled, and the chase proportionally
retarded. Early and extensive _casts_ are unjust, unless upon some
unexpected or unavoidable emergency; as the repeated interventions of
sheep, or intersections of roads, or fallows in a dry season; when it
would be impossible to make the least progress in getting the hounds
along without assistance.
When hounds come to a check, not a horse should move, not a voice should
be heard: every hound is eagerly employed, exerting all his powers for a
recovery of the scent, in which, if not officiously obstructed, they
will most probably soon succeed. At such times there is generally, and
unluckily, some _popinjay_ in the field, who, unfortunately for himself,
never speaks but upon the most _improper_ occasion; rendering, at such
moment, the judicious observation of MR. BECKFORD truly neat and
applicable, that "when in the field, he never desires to hear any other
_tongue_ than a HOUND." Whenever assistance to hounds is become
unavoidably necessary, and the chase cannot be carried on without, sound
judgment, and long experience, are necessary to speedy success. Casts
cannot be made by any fixed, certain, or invariable rules, but must, at
different times, be differently dependent upon the _chase_, the _soil_,
the _weather_, and the _kind_ of _country_ you are hunting in. It may,
in one instance, be prudent to try _forward_ first; in another, to try
_back_; as it may be judicious, or necessary, to make a _small_ circular
cast at one time, and a much _larger_ at another; and although to one of
the field, circumstances may appear, in _either_ instance, to have been
nearly the same, yet they have not been so in the "mind's eye" of the
HUNTSMAN, (or the person hunting the hounds,) upon whose superior
knowledge, or circumspection, the _good_ or _ill_ effect of the
experiment must depend.
None, but weak or inexperienced sportsmen, ever presume to obtrude their
opinions when hounds are _at fault_; those who do it, soon find the
interference is _ill-timed_, and that it only excites a contemptuous
indifference. Strangers cannot be too cautious and circumspect in the
field, if they wish to avoid just reproofs, and not to encounter
rebuffs: some there are, whose hard fate it is to become conspicuously
ridiculous upon every occasion that can occur, and to such,
unfortunately for them, occasions are seldom wanting. During the chase,
they are riding _into_, _over_, or _before_, the HOUNDS; and at every
_check_, asking some vexatious, trifling question of the HUNTSMAN; or
entering into a frivolous conversation with what seems _to them_ the
most vulnerable subject of the company. Officious individuals of this
description, whose error too frequently originates in a certain degree
of personal pride, and unbounded confidence, should learn to know, that
"the post of honour is a private station;" as well as that an _old
pollard_ in a painting, might be admirably calculated to form a
respectable object in the back-ground, but never intended by the artist
to become a principal figure in the front of the picture.
HARE NETS—are of two sorts, one of which will be found described under
the head "GATE-NETS;" the other are called PURSE-NETS, and are exactly
in the form of cabbage-nets, but of larger and stronger construction.
These occasionally afford collateral aid to the former; for being fixed
at the different meuses (either in hedges, or to paling) where HARES are
expected to pass, and the ground being scoured by a _mute lurcher_, as
there described, the destruction is certain. These nets are the
nocturnal engines of old and experienced POACHERS, doing more mischief
where hares are plenty, in _one_ _night_, than the _wire_ manufacturers
can accomplish in a week.
"HARK FORWARD!"—is a sporting exclamation, well known in the practice of
the field, and affords to every distant hearer, authentic information,
that the hounds are _a-head_, and going on with the chase. It sometimes
happens, that, in very large and thick coverts, no man or horse existing
can be in with the hounds; at which times (particularly in stormy
weather) recourse must be had to every means for general accommodation.
The best sportsmen are often thrown out _for miles_, and not
unfrequently for _the day_, by various turns of the CHASE in COVERT, and
then breaking _up the wind_ on a contrary side, leaving every listening
expectant in an awkward predicament, if not relieved by the friendly
communication of "HOIC FORWARD!" from one to another, enabling the whole
to continue the sport.
HARE-PIPES—were instruments so curiously constructed, to imitate the
whining whimper of A HARE, that, being formerly found a very destructive
nocturnal engine in attracting the attention of hares, and bringing them
within the certain possession of the POACHER, their use was prohibited
(by particular specification) in every Act of Parliament for the
preservation of game, from the reign of Richard the Second, to the
present time; although it is natural to conclude, there is not _now_
such an article to be seen, or found in the kingdom.
HARRIERS—are the species of hound appropriated solely to the pursuit of
the HARE, and from thence derived their present appellation. The
breeding experiments so long made, and the various crosses so repeatedly
tried, by the best judges in the kingdom, seem at length to have
centered between the old southern and the dwarf fox hound. MR. BECKFORD,
whose "Thoughts" no sensible man, or judicious sportsman, will presume
to dispute, was entirely of this opinion, and proved it by his practice;
for he says, "his hounds were a cross of both these kinds, in which it
was his endeavour to get as much bone and strength, in as small a
compass as possible. It was a difficult undertaking. He bred many years,
and an infinity of hounds, before he could get what he wanted, and had
at last the pleasure to see them very handsome; small, yet very bony:
they ran remarkably well together; ran fast enough; had all the alacrity
that could be desired, and would hunt the coldest scent. When they were
thus perfect, he did as many others do—he parted with them."
Notwithstanding the criterion of excellence thus laid down, the same
sort of hound (as a harrier) is by no means applicable to every soil:
the southern hound will be always in possession of THE SWAMPS, as will
the beagles of the mountainous and hilly countries. Those who delight in
seeing hounds bred and drafted to a certain degree of uniformity, in
_size_, _bone_, _strength_, and _speed_, strictly corresponding with the
opinion of MR. BECKFORD, will not find it time lost, to take the field
with the _harriers_ of his MAJESTY, kept at Windsor: they are, as they
ought to be, the best pack, and the best hunted, this day in the
kingdom. See the Frontispiece; where every MAN, HORSE, and HOUND, is
individually a portrait.
HART—is the sporting term synonimous with STAG, (which SEE,) and was, in
all forest laws and records, constantly in use to signify the same. At
present, however, it is considered almost obsolete, and never so
expressed in sporting report, or conversation.
HART ROYAL.—A stag hunted by KING or QUEEN, obtaining his perfect
liberty by beating the hounds, was formerly called a hart royal; and
proclamation was immediately made, in the towns and villages of the
neighbourhood where he was lost, that he should not be molested, or his
life attempted by any farther pursuit; but that he should continue in a
state of unrestrained freedom, with power to return to the FOREST or
CHACE from whence he was taken at his OWN FREE WILL. This ceremony is,
however, discontinued, and bids fair to be buried in a perpetual
oblivion; as two instances have recently occurred worthy recital: one in
the neighbourhood of HIGH WYCOMBE, where the STAG was killed before the
hounds, by a rustic, during the heat of the chase, in which the KING at
the time was personally engaged. And another at MAPLEDURHAM, near
READING, where the deer was wantonly shot, as he lay in a willow bank
near the Thames, two days after he had beaten the hounds; yet it is
publicly known, that no steps were taken to prosecute the offenders,
which probably originated in his Majesty's clemency.
HAUNCH AND HIP—of a horse, have been hitherto (but not with strict
propriety) used in a similar sense: nice observers might say one begins
where the other ends, or that one immediately succeeds the other. The
haunch is that part of the hind quarter extending from the point of the
hip-bone, down the thigh to the hock; but as it is a part well known,
and but little subject to partial disease or accident, it lays claim to
no particular description. The term of "putting a horse upon his
haunches," implies the making him constantly fix the principal weight of
the frame upon his hind quarters, by which practice he bears less upon
the bit, and becomes habitually light in hand. Horses hard in mouth, and
heavy in hand, frequently undergo the ceremony of being put upon their
haunches in the trammels of a RIDING SCHOOL, where, by too severe and
inconsiderate exertions, sudden _twists_, _distortions_, and _strains_,
are sustained in the HOCKS, which terminate in CURBS and SPAVINS never
to be obliterated.
HAUNCH OF VENISON—implies the hind quarter of a FALLOW DEER, (either
buck or doe,) cut in a particular form for the table. The hind quarter
of a STAG, or HIND, also passes under the same denomination; but it is
more applicable to form a distinction, and call the former a haunch of
venison; the latter, a haunch of red deer.
HAW.—The haw is that cartilaginous part of a horse's eye, plainly
perceptible at the inner corner next the forehead, which internally
constitutes a circular groove for the easier acceleration of the eye in
its orbit. When confined within its natural and proper sphere, it is but
just in sight, when taking a front view of the horse; but when it has
acquired a preternatural degree of enlargement, it protrudes over part
of the orb, partially obstructs the sight, particularly in that
direction, and constitutes no small disfiguration of the horse.
Ingenuity heretofore suggested the possibility of extirpation with the
knife, which operation has been frequently performed, but with too
little success to justify a continuance of the practice. It having been
found, that when the haw was taken away by a regular process, and by the
hand of the most expert OPERATOR, yet the eye, for want of its former
support, was observed to become contracted in the socket, and a total
deprivation of sight to follow, evidently demonstrating "the REMEDY
worse than the DISEASE;" as well as to convince us, it is sometimes more
prudent
"—— to bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we know not of."
HAWKS,—as birds of prey, are divided into two sorts, called long and
short winged hawks: of the former there are ten, and of the latter
eight; but their names, and particular description, is so remote from
the language and manners of the present time, and their use so nearly
obsolete, that the least animadversion would prove entirely superfluous.
HAWKING—was some centuries since a sport of much fashion and celebrity;
the HAWKS being as regularly broke and trained to the pursuit and taking
of game, as are the best SETTERS and POINTERS of the present day. It is,
however, so completely grown into disuse, and buried in oblivion, that
there does not appear the least glimmering of its ever attaining a
chance of SPORTING resurrection.
HAY—is the well-known article of grass, cut in its most luxuriant and
nutritious state during the months of JUNE and JULY; when the succulent
parts, tending most to putrefaction, being extracted by the powerful
rays of the sun, it acquires (if the season should prove dry, and
favourable for the operation) a degree of fragrancy nearly equal to a
collection of aromatic herbs. HAY, in this state, is a most attracting
sort of ALIMENT to horses of every description, and is so truly grateful
to the appetite, that it is often accepted when corn is refused. Of hay
there are different kinds; as MEADOW hay, CLOVER hay, and SAINFOIN. The
first is called natural grass, as the spontaneous produce of what is
termed pasture land: the two latter are deemed artificial, as being
cultivated upon arable land, and affording crops of only BIENNIAL and
TRIENNIAL duration; when the fertility of which is so far exhausted, as
to render a crop of the ensuing year an _unprofitable_ prospect, the
land is ploughed up, to undergo its regular routine of cultivation, when
crops of this description are renewed, by sowing the seed previously
preserved for the purpose.
Fine, rich, short, fragrant meadow hay, has by much the preference with
the SPORTING world; as well as with all those who employ horses in light
work, and expeditious action: it varies much in its property; not more
in respect to the manner in which it is made, than to the soil it is
produced from. Those who are anxious for the HEALTH and CONDITION of
their horses, are always as judiciously circumspect in the choice of
their hay as their corn; experimentally knowing, as much depends upon
the excellence of one as the other. Hay produced from rushy land, or
mossy moors, is always of inferior quality, and impoverishes the blood
of the horses who eat it, in proportion to its own sterility. Those who
inconsiderately purchase _cheap hay_ upon the score of economy, will
have to repent their want of liberality. Whether it is _coarse_, and
barren of nutritious property, or _ill-made_, _musty_, and repugnant to
appetite, the effect sooner or later will be much the same; and those
who imprudently make the experiment, will soon find, that horses
ill-kept, and less fed than nature requires, for the support of the
frame, and the supply of the various secretions by the different
emunctories, will soon display, in their external appearance, a tendency
to disease.
CLOVER HAY is produced in most counties in the kingdom; it is generally
sown with BARLEY, sometimes with OATS, and least of all with WHEAT: it
constitutes, upon dry ground, a profitable and convenient pasture in the
autumn, and affords its general crop the following season. If luxuriant,
it is mown twice in the same summer; but the second crop is not
considered equal in value to the first. This hay is said, by those who
ought to be the best enabled to judge and decide, superior to every
other as to its nutritious property: this may be admitted in a certain
degree, so far as its increasing the crassamentum of the blood, and
proportionally promoting its viscidity; rendering horses who are
constantly fed upon it (for instance, farmers horses) fuller in flesh,
duller in action, and thicker in the wind, than those who are supported
upon food of a lighter description. Although well calculated for slow
and heavy draft horses, it is by no means adapted to those of
expeditious action; for the blood thus thickened, becoming more languid
or tardy in its circulation, would, when propelled through the vessels
with great and sudden velocity, in hunting, or journies of speed upon
the road, inevitably lay the foundation of different inflammatory
disorders.
SAINFOIN is rather an article of necessity than choice, and very little
known in some parts of England, where nature has been more liberal in
her diversity of vegetation: it is principally cultivated in the upland
counties, where neither a meadow, stream, or rivulet, is to be seen for
a great number of miles in succession. Many very extensive farms in the
lower counties west of the metropolis, feel the want of pasture land,
not having a single acre of meadow or natural grass in possession.
Necessity, the mother of invention, has, however, so amply furnished a
variety of substitutes, that their horses, and stock of every kind, seem
equal, upon the average, to what is produced in any other part of the
kingdom.
HAYS—are a particular kind of nets for taking RABBITS and HARES, the use
of which are proscribed in almost every Act to be found in the penal
statutes for the PRESERVATION of GAME. They are made from sixty to one
hundred and twenty feet long, and six feet deep; constituting the most
destructive engine of any ever yet invented to _strip a country_, by the
mode in which they are used. They are only in the possession of POACHERS
of the first magnitude, (in the neighbourhoods of PARKS, HARE WARRENS,
and PRESERVES,) by whose desperate and determined _nocturnal_ exertions
the WHOLESALE trade of the metropolis is invariably supplied.
HAYWARD—is a manorial parochial officer, appointed to preserve the
privileges, and protect the rights, immunities, and cattle, of those who
are entitled to commonage of certain lands, wastes, &c. He derives from
his appointment, authority to drive his district at stated periods, well
known in its vicinity; to impound strays, and to prevent nuisances of
diseased cattle; or any other impropriety of cattle breaking bounds, and
destroying fences, of which it comes within the intent of his office to
take cognizance. To all which there are certain local fees appertaining,
according to the custom of the country, for the support of an office
very wisely instituted to prevent trifling law-suits and paltry
litigations.
HAZARD—is, beyond a doubt, the most fashionable and fascinating GAME
ever yet invented for the expeditious and instantaneous transfer of
immense sums from one hand to another. It is a GAME of CHANCE; and, when
_fairly_ played, is the FAIREST upon which a stake can possibly be made,
from _one_ guinea to a THOUSAND, or to any amount whatever; the winning
or losing of which is decided with so much rapidity, that the adventurer
can never be more than a few moments in _suspense_, although he may be
many years in REPENTANCE. Hazard is the game of _nocturnal_ celebrity,
by which the best estates have been impoverished, and immense property
destroyed: it is played with a box and pair of dice, and is of
considerable antiquity, as noticed by SHAKESPEARE in Richard the Third,
whom he has made to say,
"Slave, I have set my life upon a CAST,
"And I will stand the HAZARD of the DIE."
The person holding the BOX is called the CASTER, who having been _set_
as much money by the surrounding company (or any individual) as he
proposes _to throw for_, and the STAKE or STAKES being deposited within
a centrical circle upon the table, he then throws the _dice_ from the
BOX, and whatever number appears upon the surface is termed "the MAIN;"
and so vociferated loudly by a person called the GROOM PORTER, who
stands above the rest, and whose business it is to call the _main_ and
_chance_, furnish fresh _dice_ when demanded, and to receive the money
for a _box-hand_ when due. So soon as the _main_ is declared, which, in
fact, is the number by which the Caster's opponents must abide for
themselves, the Caster throws a second time, and this number is called
the _chance_, being his _own_ chance against the _main_ previously
thrown; and so named, because it is the number of the MAIN of the
PLAYERS against the _chance_ of the _individual_ who is the CASTER, and
makes stakes against the whole, or any part of the rest.
The _main_ and _chance_ being proclaimed by the GROOM PORTER, odds are
generally laid between the throws (upon the termination of the event)
according to the numbers opposed to each other, and according to the
scale by which all _bets_ upon the game are regulated, and strictly
observed. The Caster may, or may not, engage in any of these bets, which
he very frequently does, as a hedge (or fence) to his own stakes, when
the odds are _six_ to _four_, or TWO to ONE, in his favour: at any rate,
he continues to throw the dice in succession, till either the _main_ or
_chance_ appears: if the main is _first_ thrown, those who "set the
Caster" draw their money; the Caster is then said to have "thrown out,"
and passes the box to his next neighbour: on the contrary, should he
have thrown his _own chance first_, he is then the winner, and of course
not only draws all the money he _staked_ and _betted_, but continues to
HOLD the BOX, and throw a "new main" for _any sum_ he wishes to be
_set_, in which a Caster is never known to be disappointed.
When a CASTER has _thrown in_ (that is, has won) three times in
succession, it is termed "a BOX HAND," and he then pays _half a guinea_
to the GROOM PORTER, for the privilege of playing, the use of box and
dice, negus, &c. provided for the accommodation of the company. The box
continues in the Caster's possession so long as he continues to _throw
in_, (paying an additional half guinea every _third_ time of winning;)
but the first time he loses, he resigns the box to the player sitting
next to him, unless he requests, and is permitted to renew his _own
play_, which is then called taking "a back hand." There are more minute
distinctions, as well as a fixed table of the odds during the play; but
they are too long for insertion; and could not be so clearly
comprehended by theory, as understood by practice.
HEAD.—The correct formation of a horse's head is so indispensibly
necessary to the striking symmetry and corresponding uniformity of the
whole, that its make should never be inadvertently overlooked in a hasty
purchase. The head, the crest, the curve of the neck, and the entire of
the forehand, are what may be termed the predominant features, or
distinguishing traits, which _alone seen_, hold forth, in general, a
tolerably just idea of what may be expected to follow. In the present
state of equestrian improvement, the beauty of a horse's head is too
well known to require a literary description: nor would the word itself
have been introduced, but to remind every class of sportsmen, that those
who purchase a horse too _thick in the jole_, or a head _too large_ for
the BODY, must never expect to be complimented upon the beauty of the
acquisition.
HEAD, PAIN IN.—Horses, it is supposed and admitted, may be subject to
pains in the head; and that such pains may proceed from causes it is
impossible to explore. As, therefore, every attempt at definition must
rest upon conjecture, it is evidently better not to advance opinions
founded upon uncertainty, by which _many_ may be _misled_, none either
INSTRUCTED or ENTERTAINED. For symptoms, see EARS.
HEAD OF A DEER. See ANTLERS.
HEAD-STALL—is the part of a caveson, bridle, or hunting-rein halter,
which passes round, and on each side the head of the horse, and to which
the reins of either are affixed, for use in the field or on the road,
and for safety in the stable.
HEATH-FOWL—are a species of GROUSE, (passing under the denomination of
BLACK GAME,) of which there are different sorts, individually expressed
in the various acts of successive Parliaments for the preservation of
the game; as "GROUSE, HEATH-COCK, MOOR-GAME, or any such fowl." To
prevent the general destruction that must evidently follow, if game of
this description was pursued and taken at all seasons of the year
without restraint, the Legislature has wisely provided a remedy by the
following prohibition, exclusive of the penalties annexed to other Acts
for killing without the necessary qualifications.
By the 13th George Third, c. lv. s. 2, No person shall _kill_,
_destroy_, _carry_, _sell_, _buy_, or have in his _possession_, any
HEATH-FOWL, commonly called _black game_, between the _tenth_ day of
_December_ and the _twentieth_ day of _August_; nor any GROUSE, commonly
called _red game_, between the _tenth_ day of _December_ and the
_twelfth_ day of _August_; nor any BUSTARD between the _first_ day of
_March_ and the _first_ day of _September_, in any year, upon pain of
forfeiting, for the FIRST OFFENCE, a sum not exceeding TWENTY, nor less
than _ten pounds_; and for the SECOND, and every _subsequent_ offence, a
sum not exceeding THIRTY, nor less than _twenty pounds_: One moiety
thereof to go to the INFORMER, the other to the poor of the parish.