CH. XVII THONG OF THE WHIP 395 



forlorn about a whip without a quill, or a whip held 

 upside down, in which position it can neither be 

 properly caught, nor properly used on a horse. 



The stamp of the maker, which is on the stick 

 above the collar, opposite to the seam and on the 

 same side as the turn up of the quill, indicates the 

 side of the whip which is to be uppermost in the 

 hand. The pleasant feeling of a whip in the hand de- 

 pends largely upon the make of the quill, and a whip 

 is ruined if the quill is allowed to get out of shape. 



Good thongs can be had only from the best 

 makers. The thong terminates in a point, called 

 by whip-makers the lasJi. It is sometimes made of 

 whip-cord, but is much better of the same material 

 as the thong, since the cord, when wet, is apt to 

 wrap round parts of the harness. 



Silk points, of any colour, are entirely out of place 

 on a coach whip, or, in fact, on any whip thong. 



A finished whip should have the following quali- 

 ties : It should feel light in the hand, springy, not 

 as if it were too heavy at the point, and not 'dead.' 

 With the thong caught up (as described further on) 

 it should balance at a point twenty-one and a half 

 inches from the butt, or about one-third of the total 

 length of the stick ; accurately, 36 per cent. If the 

 balancing point is further from the butt, the whip 

 will feel heavy in the hand. 



The spring, or stiffness, must be measured by the 

 feeling, but for the purpose of establishing a nu- 

 merical standard, several whips of the best quality 



