anachronism." The objections are quite correct and are fully admitted: it were better far to follow the cock-salmon, than to brush the covers in quest of woodcocks at this season of the year. About the latter end of March, however, it was my lot to encounter a batch of gentlemen preparing to set forth on a cock-shooting excursion, all fully equipped with guns, gaiters, and fustian, a brace or two of spaniels, and a fly ("au risum teneatis") drawn up at the College gates; three "precious souls and all agog" to rush into the field. per crassum et per rarum," and to carry death and destruction to the few straggling cocks that had not departed from the country: poor cocks! one "flush," and it was their "last flight."

Conceive, gentle reader, a dirty, straw-bellied, yellow insect, crawling up to the cover side, and disgorging-like the great horse that was slocked into Troy-its host of tirailleurs (don't pronounce it tailors, an you love me); conceive, too, the recklessness, yea, the dare-devilness of these men, committing themselves voluntarily to such keeping; Waterton's ride, when he mounted the Cayman, was a joke to it to be sure they had no small families to think about, and they had all probably been to chapel that very morning, ere they jeoparded their lives on such an expedition, and which in some mea

sure would account for this otherwise unaccountable rashness. However, behold them all safely landed, and congratulating each other on the hitherto successful termination of the adventurous passage; the several marking-irons turned out by Messrs. Moore, Forsyth, and Field are charged and capped (no, Moore's is a tube gun), the spaniels are uncoupled and hied into cover; a cock is flushed and marked down; again the flip of his wing is heard, and "Field" is elevated to a deadly level, bang!- -"he a'nt touched never a feather," says the fly-man, who was always proof positive when starting from the walls of hospitable- College; nor had he, for the cock winged his way unscathed through the forest trees, and in lieu of him, both barrels of Field were prostrate on the ground, biting the dust. The stock had broken off like a carrot in the gunner's grasp, and there he stood, certainly not in his glory, but exhibiting a signal monument of the misery that, first or last, always overtakes the wicked.

The result of bag was, one cock, two or three couple of snipe, and a rabbit or two.

Having said so much on one side, I must not allow the reader to depart with an ex parte view of these gentlemen. Notwithstanding the violation of nature, against which I have just been declaiming, and to correct which is the sole object of my pen, our friends are all keen and practical sportsmen, having a better knowledge of the north, not only of Britain, but of Europe, than most travellers; their several diaries of deer-stalking, salmon and sea-trout fishing, of capercailzie and ptarmigan shooting, would be devoured by any lover of woodcraft, and their society, "in bottle or wood," such as would be courted by the best of their fellow-creatures.

THE FIELD AND ITS ASSOCIATIONS.

BY AN OLD ENGLANDER.

(Continued from page 242.)

BAD FEEDERS

Is a term commonly applied to those horses which are of a delicate constitution, and require several days to bring them back to their regular appetites, after every day of unusual exertion, especially that caused by following hounds. It is a defect which, unfortunately for those who have small studs, is by no means uncommon; but at the same time they have this consolation that the remedy, to a very considerable extent, lies in their own hands. There are many degrees of this weakness of constitution-some only declining their feed after unusually hard days; with others the mere excitement consequent upon having been with hounds is sufficient to prevent their feeding that night, while with others it depends on the length or fatigue of the day. Some will cease to be affected as they become more used to the business, or improve in their condition, and of course no farther trouble need be taken with them; but with others nothing ever appears to produce any permanent benefit. Some one may say "Give them a cordial ball." I admit that by this means a temporary appetite may, in most instances, be obtained; but if persisted in, the stimulus, to be of any service, must continually be increasing; besides which, we cannot always be giving cordial balls. I have invariably found it to be the best plan to keep such horses excessively quiet, being more than usually particular that they shall be out of hearing of any dogs, which commonly, for obvious reasons, disturb them more than any other noise; at the same time, their groom can easily perceive what part of their food they are most partial to, and, by paying attention to this, they may be induced to eat more than they otherwise would have done. I have not unfrequently known instances of their refusing the oats, and picking out the beans. The plan here is at once obvious increase the quantity of the favoured grain, and diminish that of the rejected; and by having the beans well split or bruised, they mix better, and make it more difficult for them to be separated from the oats. Some horses are passionately fond of white peas, and when this is the case, it will be found of great assistance, as, from their size, they mix easily with the oats, and by so doing may frequently be made the means of carrying down a good feed. These animals should always be fed in small quantities at a time, and

what they leave in their mangers must be taken out, so as not to cause disgust. I have met with instances where they would eat with avidity directly their corn was wetted, though they would not touch it in a dry state. It frequently happens that although they may refuse every thing which is put before them by day, they will dispose of a good portion by night. When this is the case, by keeping the stable dark during the day they may be cheated into a pretty regular appetite. With a small stud, however, I should recommend those horses, which are either known to possess this defect, or whose forms indicate a delicacy of constitution, to be avoided. They must be very brilliant hunters indeed to make amends for the number of times they will be unable to come out in their turns during the hunting

season.

BANGS AND BLOWS.

These, from the nature of the work, must always be of common occurrence with hunters, especially with those ridden in strong countries. Some horses, however, are so clever as rarely to meet with any thing serious in this way, whilst others are equally unfortunate. Of course, frequent and long-continued fomentations must be had recourse to, in the first instance, as they will best tend to reduce inflammation, which is certain to be found more or less about the part. Should they prove bad, rest for a considerable time will be necessary, and as soon as the inflammation has in some degree subsided, strong chalk and water will, I believe, prove the best remedy. Should this, or with the addition of a little vinegar, not prove sufficient, recourse to a veterinary surgeon will, nine times out of ten, be the shortest plan, as the injury has probably extended to some of the sinews, which anatomical knowledge will be necessary to discover.

COLD AND COUGH.

This is another ailment to which hunters are, perhaps, oftener subjected than most other descriptions of horses, as they are always liable to be kept standing in exposed situations, after having been heated with exercise; indeed, fatal effects have not unfrequently proved the result of chills caught in this manner. I have, however, never suffered any bad effects from their influence in my own stable, nor do I think there is much fear from it, where proper care is taken. I attribute my good fortune, in this respect, in a great measure, to two simple causes: first, having always been very particular not to suffer my horses to stand still after a burst with hounds; and, secondly, having invariably paid attention to the earliest symptoms, so as to prevent bad consequences. I have always borne in mind the speech of some eminent physician, who, upon being told by any of his patients that they had only a cold, asked them if they would wish to have the plague. It should be remembered that, with horses in high condition, inflammation is always at hand. I have never found the common remedy of one or two bran mashes, given at night instead of the last feed, and as hot as the horse will take them, with the addition of an ounce of nitre in each, fail, when given upon the very first symptoms showing themselves; and when the stable is not

a warm one, an extra rug will be advantageously employed at night. Nitre, however, should always be given with rather a sparing hand, on account of its strong diuretic properties; and by placing the bucket containing the mash on the ground instead of in the manger, a considerable discharge from the nose may frequently be obtained, from which relief will be experienced. When permitted to go beyond the first stage, of course more vigorous measures will be needed, such as bleeding and lower diet. It should never be forgotten that neglected colds not unfrequently degenerate into chronic cough, which is one of those diseases for which no cure has yet been discovered, but at the same time is one which admits of so much palliation, as to prevent its coming much, if indeed at all, against a horse in his work. Horses of this description will derive the greatest benefit from being precluded the use of long hay. Indeed, so much does this operate upon them as, in some instances, to be no less than the difference between the presence or absence of the cough. The only method with which I am acquainted of successfully combating this disease, is to pay more than common attention to the state of the bowels, to keep the horse in strong work, nor should he be suffered to be quite so full of flesh as if nothing was the matter; give frequent slight sweats, as little water as possible, and have all the hay cut. I had in my stable, a few years since, a most excellent hunter, which I picked up by chance, as he had been labouring for some years under a most violent chronic cough, and had consequently been put to all sorts of rough and hard drudgery, but by a steady perseverance in this mode of treatment, the cough was never heard for the last two months of my possessing him, and never appeared to come against him in the least. How long this state of things might have continued I cannot say, as he died by breaking his neck in a fall. I should add that, in the case of this horse, one feed of long hay was always sufficient to cause a temporary return of the cough. As he was in very poor condition when I first became possessed of him, I administered a very considerable quantity of Peruvian bark (an ounce a-day in his corn for about a month) from which I experienced the best possible result, and I have always been of opinion that by giving a tone to the constitution, it exercised a beneficial influence over the cough.

CORNS

Are rarely experienced on the feet of those horses which receive a fair share of attention; indeed, I should almost feel disposed to say that, when they do make their appearance in the stable of a gentleman, something is not right. As far as my small experience of this complaint goes, I have never encountered much difficulty in effecting a cure, though, when they have been suffered to become thoroughly established, it is rather a work of time. I have frequently heard it asserted that shoes which are made to fit close at the heel are a fertile source of corns, but experience has satisfied me to the contrary. Indeed, with hunters it is absolutely necessary that they should be as short as possible, otherwise in deep countries the strain on them will

be so great as to cause a never-ending annoyance from their being pulled off. If, therefore, this was a source of corns, hunters could rarely be free from them; but the fact is, it has nothing to do with it. Provided the shoes are not permitted to remain on long enough to become embedded in the hoof, no bad consequences will ever ensue. However, supposing any one so unfortunate as to be plagued with them, the remedy is simple enough, unless they have been suffered to run on to a very great extent. The shoes must never be left without removing, longer than is absolutely necessary to give the horse sufficient time to afford fresh hold for the nails. The seat of corn should be thoroughly well pared out at each shoeing, and a dressing of tar applied. A shoe somewhat wider at the heel than usual should be adopted, which will equalize the pressure, and serve, in some measure, to ease the affected part. Some persons have the shoe "seated" for this purpose, which, perhaps, in the worst cases, is no bad plan. Of course, a bar shoe is the greatest protection of any thing; but that can hardly be adopted with hunters. In purchasing a horse affected with corns, care should be taken to ascertain that nothing worse is the matter they are occasionally no bad excuse for grogginess.

CUTTING,

Or what by some persons is termed "interfering," is no uncommon annoyance to the possessors of studs. It may generally be considered a sign either of weakness or defective formation. There is no end to the different plans which imagination has devised for its prevention; but I believe, in most instances, especially with hunters, the best plan is to have immediate recourse to a boot. Some horses only do it when on the road on their way to covert: with them, of course, any sort of defence will do; but when it is necessary that it should be kept on during the whole day, nothing will answer the purpose like the India-rubber rings. From their elasticity they can never interfere with the action of the limb, and, from their being the same size all round, the injured part can never be left unprotected by their being turned round, which will always be very liable to happen in going through any thick covert. I have tried having the inside of the shoe rounded, or bevelled off as much as possible, without weakening it too much, but never experienced any permanent benefit from it. As to the system of making the inside of the shoe lower than the outer, I can only say that, even supposing it should have the desired effect, the remedy is likely to be fully as bad as the disease. The plan of allowing the hoof to project beyond the shoe may, I dare say, answer well enough, where the work is of such a nature as to admit of the inside nails being omitted; but this again will not do with hunters.

GROGGINESS.

Here again we come to a disease which will only admit of palliative measures. Nerving will, no doubt, produce almost certain relief; but we must recollect that with hunters, which have to tread on all descriptions of ground, varying suddenly from rough to smooth, and from smooth to rough, it is hardly safe to deprive the foot of sensa