SCIENCE OF FOXHUNTING. 



187 



a sportsman. The hunting. cap has its advantages 

 as well as disadvantages ; the head is better pro- 

 tected from external injuries by its shape and 

 stronger manufacture than that of hats, or the 

 numerous skull- defenders now in vogue. A blow 

 from the bough of a tree, which would knock your 

 hat off your head, and nearly your head off your 

 shoulders, would strike harmless against the firm 

 texture of the cap ; and in a fall you are less liable 

 to injury. The drawbacks to it are, that the sides 

 of your face and nape of your neck are more 

 exposed to the pitiless peltings of rain and sleet. 

 The cut and colour of a foxhunter's coat are matter 

 of taste, opinion, or profession ; scarlet has been 

 ever considered the most appropriate, as patronized 

 by royalty some centuries ago, and it certainly 

 gives a gay and cheerful aspect to the hunting-field. 

 Green is also assigned to the hunting of deer and 

 hares ; but as it has been said that a good horse 

 cannot be of a bad colour, a good rider is certain 

 to make himself conspicuous in whatever cloth he 

 may appear ; and we have remarked that a " gen- 

 tleman in black " can hold his own across country, 

 and compete with his brothers in brighter hues. 



Some years ago we were almost reconciled to 

 the yellow plush worn by the brothers Oldacre, 

 from their superior management of the old Berkeley 

 foxhounds, as huntsman and whippers-in. By the 

 foxhunters of the old school, a few little extras 

 were considered requisite to complete their equip- 

 ment for the field. The loose shoe was generally 

 attached to the saddle, in case of losses of 'this 



