HUNTING WHIPS. 



213 



the upper side of the inner end of the handle. On rare 

 occasions the handle has the form of a hammer, which is an 

 arrangement that appears out of date, because it suggests 

 acts of demolition that would not generally be tolerated by 

 the present race of farmers. Also, it makes the whip un- 

 necessarily heavy to carry. A hunting whip, besides being 



the correct kind of whip with which to follow the hounds, 

 is the only one that is thoroughly efficient in opening gates, 

 which in the Shires is often an indispensable procedure for 

 maintaining one's place even in the first flight. Accord- 

 ing to hunting etiquette, the crop should always be accom- 

 panied by its thong, which is a certain encumbrance 

 when handling the reins, and which an ordinary member ot a 



