340 HUNTING PRELIMINARIES. 



inside the collar, at the back of the neck. " American 

 shoulders " (padded broad shoulders) look so bad that they 

 ought not to be seen in the hunting field. 



Pink (scarlet) is the orthodox colour to go hunting in. 

 Consequently, whether a man belongs to a hunt or not, he is 

 as much entitled to wear a red coat when he follows the 

 hounds, as he is to don a pair of top boots. A black hunting 

 coat might be suitable for a man with a small stable, but 

 not for an owner of a large stud of horses, who ought to 

 be a " red-man," as they say in Leicestershire. 



The members of several hunts wear special collars. For 

 instance, the Pytchley wear white collars ; the Ledbury, 

 brown ; the West Somerset, black ; and the New Forest, 

 green ones, which are similar to the collars of the Tarporley 

 Hunt Club, and the Caledonian Hunt Club, both of which 

 are clubs within hunts. Formerly, many hunts had distinctive 

 colours ; but as far as I can learn, the Duke of Beaufort's 

 and the United are the only ones which now wear hunt 

 livery. The hunt coat of the former is blue, with brass 

 buttons and buff facings, not collar ; and that of the latter, 

 green, which is worn by the hunt servants as well as by the 

 members. The officials of some hunts wear a distinctive 

 dress. In the late Duke of Beaufort's time, the hunt servants 

 wore green plush, which the present Duke changed to green 

 cloth, as being the more serviceable, especially during wet 

 weather, when plush absorbs water like a sponge. The 

 Heythrop servants wear a green plush coat and red waist- 

 coat, and those of the Old Berkeley East and West hunt in 

 yellow. The Master of the O.B.H.W. dons yellow ; and the 

 Master of the East, scarlet. The Master and servants of the 

 Atherstone wear a white collar. 



The practice of wearing during the hunting season a red 

 coat at dinner or ball, instead of a black evening coat, is a 

 matter of local custom and varying fashion. At Melton it 



