350 HUNTING 



APPENDIX C. 



HUNTING TERMS. 



Babbler : a noisy hound, one given to babbliftg., or flinging its 



tongue without cause. 

 Bay : the second point, counting from the skull, on the main stem 



of the stag's antler. 

 Beam : the stem of the antler. 

 Billet : the dung of the fox. 

 Blanched : a stag when turned, or headed from its line is said to 



have been bhuiched^ but the term is rarely heard nov/-a-days. 

 Blank : void, empty ; a bla7ik day, to draw a cover blank. 

 Brocket : the male of the red deer up to three years old. 

 Brow : the first point of the antler, springing from the beam close 



to the skull. 

 Brush : the tail of the fox. 

 Bullfinch : a high and hairy hedge, impossible to get over and 



difficult to get through, whence perhaps the name, as of a fence 



impervious to a bullfinch, or any other bird. It might, however, 



be a corruption of ' bull fence,' a fence to keep the cattle in 



their pastures, as it is most common in the grazing countries. 



It has a ditch on one side or other, sometimes on both, and 



altogether is a disagreeable obstacle. 

 Burrow : the underground home of the rabbit. 

 Burst : the first and, generally, the fastest part of the run, when 



fox, hound, horse, and man are at their freshest. 

 Calf : the young of the red deer whether male or female. 

 Carry : to carry a good head is said of a pack of hounds all pressing 



and crowding to a hot scent. 

 Cast : the spreading of the hounds in search of a lost scent, either 



a natural movement or promoted by the huntsman ; also used 



as a verb, to cast. 



