PREFACE 



T^HE Author of the following work believes it will 

 be generally observed that the sporting mania 

 has greatly increased of late years, though the 

 followers of the chase have not increased in the same 

 proportion as the patrons of the " turf," the " leash," 

 and other money-mixing amusements. This perhaps 

 may be attributed to an erroneous idea that hunting 

 cannot be enjoyed at other than serious cost, while 

 some few attempt to make "both ends meet" by 

 horse-dealing, steeple-chasing, and hurdle-racing. 



To correct the idea relative to expense, to repress 

 the over-riding spirit engendered by steeple-chasing, 

 and to encourage a fair and generous spirit of sport- 

 ing enterprise and social intercourse, are the objects 

 mainly aimed at in the following examination of the 

 component parts of a hunting field. 



The man with one horse will here be found as 

 welcome as the man with ten. The man with ten 

 will not be able to make a better fight than the man 

 with one ; while the mere tricky pretender is treated 

 as such gentry generally are. In short, the volume is 

 written with a view of upholding the great national 



