X XOTES FOR HU^'TIXG-MEN 



tried, with the result in each case. It is this note- 

 book, which, in a somewhat revised form, I venture 

 to present to the younger generation of hunting- 

 men. The many more experienced than myself, 

 and those fortunate employers of irreproachable 

 stud grooms, will have nothing to learn from it, but 

 may perhaps glean an hour's amusement reading 

 the experiences and views of a less fortunate brother 

 sportsman. There must, however, I think, be 

 many who are starting a stable, as I had to do, with 

 but little knowledge, and with no one at hand 

 willing or competent to give advice. The standard 

 books on the subject— ' Stonehenge,' 'Fitz-Wygram,' 

 ' Hayes,' and others — are excellent, and should be in 

 every sportsman's library ; but they are not, and do 

 not profess to be, written from a purely hunting 

 stand-point. 



Though in a work, based entirely on personal 

 experience, it is almost impossible to avoid the 

 constant use of the first person singular, I beg, 

 once for all, to disclaim any intention of being 

 dogmatic, or of speaking with authority. The 

 more one gets interested in any subject, the more 

 painfully one realises one's own ignorance of it. 



