192 OLD WEST SURREY 



content with passing the ends through the holes and putting 

 a knot in the end of the cord, but they were stopped with 

 neat wooden plugs driven tight into the holes by the side 

 of the cord. 



When the harvest bottles were large and too heavy to 

 drink from in comfort, a mug was used, often a horn one. 

 No doubt these horns were the ordinary drinking vessels of 

 the old-time labouring folk. They may still be had, and a 

 thin-lipped horn is a favourite beer-mug with some old- 



Horn Mugs 



fashioned people, though their general use has long gone 

 out in favour of glasses. 



The horn mug is a section of bullock's horn, cleansed, 

 scraped, and polished, and pared away inside at the top to 

 make a fine-edged lip. A groove was cut all round inside, 

 about a quarter of an inch from the bottom, and a flat disk 

 of horn was fitted tightly to the opening just below it. The 

 edge of the disk was pared to fit into the groove, softened by 

 heat, and then partly forced and partly sprung into its place, 

 making a perfectly water-tight joint. 



The largest of the mugs shown must have been cut from 

 a horn of unusual size. It is nearly four inches across, and 

 stands four and a half inches high. The ordinary size is 



