HUNTING EXPRESSIONS. 349 



tion. Hunting men of the Midlands apply it as a rule to the 

 districts hunted by the Quorn, Belvoir, Cottesmore, Mr. Fernie's 

 and the Pytchley ; and not to particular counties. Thus, 

 although Lord Harrington's hounds hunt in Nottinghamshire, 

 a portion of which county is in the Quorn district, they are 

 regarded as a provincial pack. Again, the Blankney is not 

 in the Shires ; although several of the meets of the Belvoir 

 are in Lincolnshire, which furnishes a portion of the 

 Blankney territory ; the remainder being in Notts. 



" The Provinces " include all districts not in the Shires. 



" High Leicestershire " is the high and hilly country from 

 Keythorpe to Owston, Launde, Wardley and Allexton. 



In England, calling fox-hounds " dogs," except when 

 making a sexual distinction, is regarded as a proof of gross 

 ignorance of hunting. In Ireland, uneducated hunting men 

 are not very particular on this point of hound language. 

 Also, they often make the mistake of using the plural 

 instead of the singular, when speaking of the Meath, Kil- 

 dare, etc. Incorrect terms are current in all countries. In 

 Leicestershire and in the South of Ireland, a dyke means a 

 ditch, although English dictionaries tell us that it is a 

 stone-wall fence. The word is correctly used in Scotland. 



The late Duke of Beaufort wrote against the use of the 

 abbreviated form of " whipper-in," and said that a whip is 

 a thing one carries in one's hand, and not a mounted servant. 

 I think this ruling applies only to formal speech or serious 

 writing. In fact, a friend tells me that the last time the 

 late Duke spoke to him, his Grace used the word " whip " 

 while speaking about one of the hunt servants ! The employ- 

 ment of this monosyllable in casual conversation is certainly 

 not regarded as a breach of decorum by even the best class of 

 hunting men. Some veterinary surgeons object to the term 

 '* vet." ; but no lieutenant in the Army would mind being 

 called a " sub." 



