CH. XVII BALANCE OF THE WHIP 397 



Nos. II. and III. may be considered standard 

 whips. 



No V., a light rabbit-bitten whip with no handle, 

 T 5 o 2 oths of an inch in diameter ten and a half inches 

 from the butt (the place of the collar), had a de- 

 flection of nine and a half inches. This is an 

 extremely pleasant whip to handle with a properly 

 proportioned light thong. It is really a tandem 

 whip. 



Nos. VI. and VII. are jointed whips made to 

 carry on a board, as spare whips (Fig. 160), and 

 such whips, owing to the screwed joint, are apt to 

 be less springy than an ordinary whip ; these two 

 examples, however, are very good. On them, the 

 point of attachment of the ten-ounce weight came 

 somewhat above the knot on the quill, owing to the 

 shortness of the stick. 



The pressure upon the thumb, of even a well- 

 balanced whip, is considerable, at least as much as 

 twenty ounces when the stick is held at the collar, 

 owing to the centre of gravity of the whip being 

 twice as far from the butt as is the collar. The 

 twisting strain on the hand is caused by this lever- 

 age, of ten inches against the breadth of the hand, 

 which is only four. This strain is usually severely 

 felt by the beginner, for which reason a light whip 

 is desirable. If the butt-cap is weighted to im- 

 prove the balance it makes the whole whip too 

 heavy. 



In buying a whip, the beginner should avail him- 



