RIDING WHIPS. 279 



point." Duke of Beaufort. "The stick should be pliable, not stiff, yet 

 strong enough to use in a gale of wind and the thong made of the best 

 horsehide to match the weight and the strength of the stick." Major 

 Dixon, " Driving" p. 98. 



Edward Corbett, in " An Old Coachman's Chatter," makes 

 the following remarks on whips : " Some preferred, I think 

 most professionals did, a stiff crop and a light thong, but 

 others, especially amateurs, were in favor of a supple stick 

 with a heavier thong. The latter are no doubt easier to 

 manage in a high wind and can also be caught up with 

 greater facility ; but in my humble opinion, the former are 

 far preferable for general use, a supple stick and a heavy 

 thong being insufferable in wet weather." p. 123. 



The same writer goes on to say that " In the selection of 

 a whip it is easy to observe whether the person selecting is 

 an old hand or not. If he is he would pick out a crop with- 

 out knots or with as few as possible, whereas the tyro is 

 nearly sure to take the knotty one. The large knots, of 

 course, tend to keep the thong from slipping down towards 

 the hand ; but it ought to be caught tight enough to stay in 

 its proper place without them, and sticks always break first 

 at the knots." /. 123. 



RIDING WHIPS. 



Riding whips may be divided into two classes, the orna- 

 mental and useful. The former are usually either bone 

 handled with a malacca or bamboo stick, at the end of which 

 a loop of buckskin is bound (see Figs. 150 and A, B, 151) or 

 a simple bamboo or wangee cane made lighter and shorter 

 than a walking stick and with a crook at the end of the 

 hand-piece. The whips of a useful order are made of bone 

 covered with plaited gut ; the ends may terminate in a loop 



