CHAPTER VII. 



HUNTING KIT AND EQUIPMENT. 



The kit necessary for Otter-hunting is by no 

 means so elaborate or expensive as that worn by 

 sportsmen who regularly subscribe to and follow 

 packs of staghounds, foxhounds, or harriers. It 

 need not cost more than the clothes worn by those 

 who hunt with packs of foot-harriers or beagles; 

 but whereas any old mufti is usually worn for 

 this purpose, except by the hunt officials, it is 

 customary with Otter-hunts for regular subscribers 

 to wear a prescribed uniform, which differs for each 

 hunt. The rules on the subject of who is and who 

 is not entitled to wear this uniform also vary : in 

 some hunts, as the West Cumberland, only mem- 

 bers of the staff are allowed to wear the uniform ; 

 in others, as with Mr. Courtenay Tracy's, a hunt 

 club is formed, to which election is by ballot, from 

 among whose members the officials and committee 

 are chosen, and by whom alone the uniform is worn ; 

 in yet other hunts payment of a fixed minimum sub- 

 scription entitles the subscriber to don the hunt dress. 



