524 



COURSING 



admirable essay by Mr H. Traill in the Fortnightly 

 Bevieiv of February 1877. 



Couriers are persons hired to accompany 

 travellers abroad, whose special duty is to make 

 all arrangements for the journey, and relieve their 

 employers as far as possible of all anxiety about 

 passports, exchange of money, hotel negotiations, 

 and the like. The speaking of several languages is 

 one of many important qualifications in a good 

 courier. King's or Queen s Messengers are some- 

 times calted Foreign Office couriers. 



Courlan, an American wading-bird of the 

 genus Aramus, usually placed among the Rails 

 (q.v.). The North American courlan or crying- 

 bird (A. giganteus) is 274 inches long, with long 

 bill and short wings, is a rapid runner, and has a 

 cackling note. It inhabits Florida and the West 

 Indies. The nest is usually attached to reeds. 

 The flesh of the young is good eating. The South 

 American courlan (A. scolopaceus) is larger. 



Courland, or KURLAND, a Russian govern- 

 ment, and one of what are called the Baltic 

 provinces. It was formerly an independent duchy 

 properly, indeed, consisting of two duchies, Cour- 

 land and Serngallen and belonged, along with 

 Livonia, to the Teutonic Knights. The difficulty 

 of resisting the Russians led to the acknowledg- 

 ment in 1561 of the feudal sovereignty of 

 Poland. The country was long distracted by the 

 contentions of two parties, one Russian and the 

 other Polish ; and after bein<* for some time very 

 completely under Russian influence, it was finally 

 united to Russia in 1795. Biron ( q. v. ) was made 

 Duke of Courland in 1737. It contains about 

 10,540 sq. m., with a population in 1895 of 713,800, 

 mostly Protestants. It is generally a level country, 

 with ranges of low hills, and contains many lakes, 

 bogs, forests, and sand-dunes, but some parts have 

 a very fertile soil. Cattle-breeding is on the 

 increase ; game abounds ; and bears, boars, elks, 

 and wolves are met with occasionally. The pro- 

 prietors of land are mostly German ; the peasantry, 

 who constitute the bulk of the population, of Let- 

 tish extraction, are chiefly engaged in husbandry. 

 The Russians do not amount to 2 per cent, of 

 the population. There is little manufacturing 

 industry, but trade is rather increasing. The 

 capital is Mitau, but the most flourishing town is 

 Libau. 



Courses. See SAIL. 



Coursing is defined by Dr Johnson as 'the 

 sport of hunting hares, foxes, and sometimes deer 

 with greyhounds. ' From the sportsman's point of 

 view foxes and deer must be eliminated from the 

 definition, for coursing is now understood to be the 

 pursuit of hares by a brace of greyhounds. The 

 saying that ' a gentleman was known by his hawk, 

 his horse, and his greyhound,' is a very ancient 

 one ; and King John is recorded to have accepted 

 greyhounds in lieu of a money fine ; but in those 

 times it was generally deer that were coursed. In 

 Elizabeth's reign the sport attained a fashion and 

 celebrity previously unknown, and has since that 

 time been followed up with undiminished zeal. 



Late in the 16th century we have a record of 

 some laws of the leash framed by the then Duke of 

 Norfolk on principles which have been largely 

 adhered to since. To Lord Oxford, the lord- 

 lieutenant of Norfolk, the sport of coursing is 

 much indebted. Indeed, by some he is called ' the 

 father of modern coursing;' and he it was who 

 founded the first society, as it was then called, in 

 1776 at Swaft'ham in Norfolk. Other clubs were 

 f.oon organised, Lord Craven founding one at 

 Ashdown Park in 1780, and this was followed by 

 the Malton Club in Yorkshire and the Bradwell 

 and Tillingham Club in Essex, besides many others 



starting soon after the opening of the 19th cen- 

 tury. 



After the passing of the Game Laws in 1831 

 coursing became much more general, and the sport 

 was taken up by the public, meetings prior to that 

 time being principally supported by members of 

 clubs, of which there were a large number spread 

 over the kingdom. From that date up to 1875 the 

 growth of coursing was very great, and all the 

 chief meetings throughout England, Scotland, and 

 Ireland were attended not only by those who 

 owned dogs, but also by many who simply went 

 for the love of the sport. It was feared by many 

 that the Ground Game Act of 1880 would greatly 

 interfere with public coursing, and this fear 

 naturally caused coursers to follow the example of 

 Mr Case, of Plumpton, who originated the inclosed 

 system, the first ground being made over his farm 

 in Sussex. Up to this time coursers as a body had 

 looked rather askance at the new method of carry- 

 ing on the sport ; but the Ground Game Act caused 

 more inclosures to be formed, and then the fact of 

 their being so easy of access added greatly to their 

 popularity. 



The real sport of coursing can only be obtained 

 at the open meetings, so called in distinction to the 

 inclosed, notwithstanding that these latter fixtures 

 have been for a time in favour with those who 

 prefer the 'ease and comfort' obtained from 

 commencing the day some time between eleven 

 and twelve and finishing at four, whilst all the 

 courses run can be witnessed from a grand-stand. 

 At the inclosed fixtures the betting as a rule is far 

 higher than when the coursing takes place in some 

 open country where the slipper and dogs have to be 

 followed from one end of the day to the other, for 

 this would be far too much work for the ordinary 

 betting-man. 



At a coursing-meeting two Greyhounds (q.v.) 

 are slipped together, and the judge who has been 

 appointed by the committee or by the votes of the 

 nominators decides which is the winner of the trial 

 upon the one uniform principle that the greyhound 

 which does most towards the killing though he 

 may not actually kill is to be declared the winner. 

 The judge has a recognised code of points to go by, 

 these points being speed, for which one, two, or 

 three points may be allowed ; the go-bye, two or 

 three points ; the t^lrn that is, bringing the hare 

 round at not less than a right angle one point ; 

 the ivrench bringing the hare round at less than 

 a right angle half a point ; the kill, one or two 

 points or even less ; and the trip where the hare is 

 thrown off his legs one point. 



Those fixtures held over the downs have always 

 been looked upon as amongst the very best of the 

 open meetings. The Amesbury meeting has always 

 been held over the splendid range of Wiltshire 

 downs belonging to the Antrobus family. The 

 village of Amesbury, which is the headquarters 

 for this fixture, is 7i miles north of Salisbury. 

 The Ashdown Park Club was established by the 

 then Earl of Craven in 1780, and the stakes up to 

 1850 were confined to its members ; but since that 

 date open meetings have taken place in addition to 

 others held by the South of England Club. The 

 Berkshire village of Lambourn is the headquarters 

 for the Ashdown meetings. Another favourite 

 meeting is held over the Stockbriclge Downs, a 

 short distance from the Avell-known racecourse. 

 The Waterloo Cup meeting takes place over the 

 so-called Plains of Altcar ( belonging to the Earl of 

 Sefton) in Lancashire, and here, too, the Altcar 

 Club holds its fixtures. The Ridgway Club meet- 

 ing is another of the large and old-established 

 Lancashire fixtures, but the running there is 

 confined to members. The Clifton Arms Hotel 

 at Lytham is the headquarters. Two meetings 



