30 PRACTICAL HINTS FOR HUNTING NOVICES. 



that whipcord breeches and black jack boots (if possible) 

 are the best and neatest leg wear for the boy of ten or 

 twelve, and upwards — until the dignity of proper 

 hunting clothes is arrived at. If riding boots are 

 out of the question, leggings are within the reach of 

 every boy, and now there is so much choice in these 

 garments that it is no easy matter to advise. But 

 neatness must be attained at all hazards, and the fewer 

 straps and buckles a legging has the neater it looks on 

 horseback. Boys should remember that the legging 

 for shooting and the legging for riding are not alike. 

 A legging which has to be walked in must be com- 

 fortable and not too tight, but a riding legging must 

 fit closely, and must be strongly made. In hunting 

 the lower part of the leg should be to a certain extent 

 protected, so that a blow from a swinging gate or the 

 swish of thorns is minimised, and leggings of stout 

 leather have quite as much resistive power as riding 

 boots. Then, again, it is necessary to have the leather 

 of the legging well down over the top of the boot in 

 front, because in a long day's riding the top of the 

 stirrup is apt to make the ankle sore, if it is not well 

 protected. 



Little girls, as a rule, hunt much more frequently 

 than their brothers, because so many of them are 

 educated at home. Thus one sees them once a week or 

 so throughout the season, and with some of them 

 hunting is so regular a thing that they must of necessity 

 have a proper costume. And here I come to rather 

 delicate ground, because the vexed question of riding 

 astride crops up. But, personally, I strongly favour 

 the man's saddle and the man's seat for all girls, say. 



