Chapter I: Preface (1)

The variety of Publications annually announced under SPORTING TITLES, with which the contents, upon examination, are found so ill to accord, first suggested to the Writer, the idea of forming an aggregate of information, from whence both entertainment and instruction (to the young and inexperienced) might be derived. From a review of the works now extant, under titles nearly similar, it was found they were the productions of more than a century past. These having been repeatedly re-copied, and repeatedly transmitted from one generation to another, are replete with matter nearly _obsolete_, and sports long since _buried in oblivion_. From these facts may be inferred, the very trifling utility such books are of in the improved sports and refined polish of the present time; more particularly when one just and emphatic remark from the pen of a most popular writer is adverted to, that there is no subject upon which so little has been judiciously written, as upon the SPORTS of the FIELD; and what has issued from the press under titles of attracting similitude, have been much more the efforts of theoretic lucubration, than the result of practical knowledge, or personal experience.

To compensate for such deficiency, is the professed purport of the present Work; calculated to recommend itself to public attention upon no other ground than its originality, and the great variety of useful information it will be found to comprehend. Numerous and diversified as the subjects are, they will be found largely treated on, and satisfactorily explained: not as has been too much the case in former publications, by the effusions of _literary fertility_, but clearly demonstrated upon the practical knowledge, and individual experience, of the AUTHOR; who, disdaining the subservient _trammels_ of _imitation_, has not presumed to enter into a diffuse disquisition upon any SPORT or SUBJECT in which he has not been personally and principally engaged. If the mind of man can be candidly admitted to derive some gratification from its universality of rational attainment, so it is the greatest and most consolatory ambition of his life, to have engaged in every sport, and to have embarked in every pleasure, upon which these Volumes will be found to treat; without a deviation from the line of consistency, a debasement of dignity, or a degradation of character.

It is a long standing and universally acknowledged axiom, that the art of life consists as much in knowing what to avoid, as what to pursue; and this cannot apply with more force or propriety, than to those who throw themselves unthinkingly upon the fascinating prospects, and _uncertain chances_, of the SPORTING WORLD; the necessitous and determined dependents upon which are replete with numerous barbed and unerring instruments of depredation. To juvenile adventurers, who feel themselves inadequate to the talk of self-denial, and who cannot resist the predominant temptation of engaging in scenes of such _duplicity_ and _danger_, is earnestly recommended an occasional reference to those heads in the following Work, which are fully fraught with precautions they may probably stand much in need of; amongst these, BETTING, COCKING, GAMING, HAZARD, and the TURF, will not be found the least conspicuous; the delineations of which are taken with so much accuracy, that the most _tenacious_ professor of _the arts_ cannot feel himself materially affected by the correctness of the description.

Professed SPORTSMEN of every other description will find no unfair restraint laid upon their distinct or separate inquiries, or investigations. The HORSE will be found very fully expatiated upon in all its _states_ and _stages_, as well in SICKNESS as in HEALTH. The CHASE, of every particular kind, will be found to have undergone the most minute description; and its numerous appendages proportionally explained. The existing GAME LAWS are simplified, and reduced to one comprehensive _single_ point of view. LOVERS of the TURF will find themselves gratified with a recital of its past and present state; as well as with a correct account of the recent racing performances of some of the most celebrated horses of the present time. That there will be discovered some traits not perfectly pleasing to every individual must be presumed; but as they are not written by the pen of prostitution, no apology can be necessary for the unavoidable introduction of TRUTH, particularly under the scholastic retrospection of

"Vain his attempt who strives to please ye all."

THE SPORTING DICTIONARY.

A.

AUTHORS,—who have dedicated much time and labour to the infinity of subjects which these Volumes will contain, have been both numerous and respectable; and to those who are accustomed to see things through a single medium, it will seem matter of surprise, that any thing NEW, INSTRUCTIVE, or ENTERTAINING, should be still left worthy of public attention; but when the unceasing influence, and decisive dictates of fashion; the abolition of old sports, and introduction of new; the various regulations in, and increase of, the penal laws for the preservation of GAME, and the privileges of _killing_; in addition to the great and unprecedented national exertion in the reformation of FARRIERY, since the publication of the present Author's STABLE DIRECTORY, are taken into the aggregate; it will be found, by the judicious and enlightened part of the SPORTING WORLD, that a more modern, comprehensive, and explanatory work, has not been _too soon_ obtruded upon PUBLIC PATRONAGE. To enumerate individually here, those Authors, of the greatest celebrity, whose endeavours or productions have stood the highest in general estimation, would prove not only unnecessary, but superfluous, as they will of course be occasionally adverted to, and remarked upon, under different heads in the progress of the Work.

ARTISTS—are gentlemen, the aid of whose pencils, in the decorative department of sporting publications, is considered so immediately necessary (particularly with the younger branches) in all matters of minutiæ requiring accurate representation, that the success is frequently considered doubtful and uncertain without the attractive influence of their professional exertions. It has been observed, and must be freely admitted, that, till within the last third of the last century, HORSES, DOGS, and GAME, have appeared less upon canvas (in proportion to the progress of the art) than any subjects whatever: whether they were thought less worthy the study and pencil of the master, or productive of less emolument, it may not be possible, nor is it much to the purpose, to ascertain. Certain it is, they have never, at any former period, so nearly approached the summit of perfection as at the present moment; never were artists known more emulous; never were finer pictures produced by the foreign pencils of fertility, than are now exhibited by the natives of our own island; nor ever were artists of this description so largely patronized, or so well rewarded.

ELMER, whose paintings of GAME excited the astonishment and admiration of every beholder for forty years past, has lately paid his last debt, with one of the best and most unsullied characters that ever accompanied man to the grave: but what is equally to be regretted, is the total destruction and loss of his very valuable collection (soon after his death) by an accidental fire near the Haymarket, where they had been but lately deposited and arranged for exhibition; constituting an irreparable misfortune to those whose property they were become by his decease, and no small disappointment to CONNOISSEURS, amongst whom they would most probably have been divided at some future period by public sale.

The PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS, or, as they are now more familiarly termed, _animal painters_, who derive present advantage from public protection and personal popularity, are not numerous, but truly respectable; each enjoying the happy effect of his own peculiar excellence, in the gradations of favour, a discriminating and indulgent public is always so truly ready to bestow. Of these, the names of STUBBS, GILPIN, MARSHALL, GARRARD, and SARTORIUS, appear the most prominent. Others there are, but of much inferior note, who do not at present promise (by the specimens they have displayed) to soar above the planetary influence of mediocrity. Various productions of the rest of those just mentioned, have for years in succession graced the exhibition of the ROYAL ACADEMY at SOMERSET HOUSE, where they have been as repeatedly honoured with ROYAL as with general approbation: but whether it is owing to a superiority of good fortune, or to a superiority of his genius, MARSHALL is the only instance of an artist's having so early in life, and with so much rapidity, reached the summit of princely patronage, as well as the very zenith of professional celebrity, without having once submitted a single production of his pencil to the caprice of public opinion at the shrine of fashion, hitherto considered the only possible and direct road to FAME and FORTUNE.

ABSCESS.—An abscess (in either man or beast) is an inflammatory tumour, constituting a progressive formation of matter from some serious injury _previously_ received by blow, bruise, or accident. It may also proceed from plethora, or gross humours originating in a too viscid (or acrimonious) state of the blood; as well as a morbid disposition of the fluids; and many degrees of latent ill usage, to which HORSES are incessantly subject, from the too well-known and irremediable inhumanity of the lower classes, to whose superintendence and management they are unavoidably, and must inevitably, continue to be entrusted. From whatever cause an abscess may proceed, judicious discrimination should be expected and enjoined from the practitioners employed; many of whom (particularly of the old school) possess, and indulge in, the unhappy fatality of endeavouring to counteract Nature, and to set all her powerful efforts at defiance. Under this mistaken notion of _scientific practice_, in such and similar cases, great difficulties frequently arise; not more in respect to the very evident ill effect of erroneous treatment, but in the disappointment occasioned by a procrastination of cure.

The very basis and foundation of an abscess being a cavity continually enlarging internally by the propulsive force of matter collecting within, will sufficiently demonstrate the inconsiderate folly, and extreme obstinacy, of endeavouring to repel, by the interposing and improper power of spirituous repellents, or saturnine astringents, what Nature is making her most strenuous efforts to discharge. In all slight and superficial appearances of tumefaction, where there are no immediate or strong signs of suppuration, the use of moderate repellents may be adopted with judgment, and in most cases with success; but when the predominant, and almost invariable, symptoms of increased swelling, great heat, with pricking and darting sensations, (in the human frame,) or visible increase of the enlargement, and palpable pain upon pressure, in the HORSE, denote the formation of matter to be going on, all attempts at repulsion must be instantly laid aside; not only as nugatory, but as tending to mischief in the extreme. Such treatment persevered in, would evidently not only retard, but positively _destroy_, every chance of ultimately effecting a purpose, for which alone the experiment could have been made. The consequence would soon prove decisive, by a termination in either an indurated tumour, a fixed schirrus, a partial and imperfect suppuration, a fistulous wound, or an inveterate and ill-conditioned ulcer. As, however, it is not intended to extend the Work to a complete system of ANATOMY, SURGERY, PHYSIC, or FARRIERY, but to render its utility more general and diffusive, reference must be occasionally and necessarily made to the professors of either, or to the books particularly appropriated to the subject of each.

ACADEMY,—which for time immemorial has been in use to signify a seminary for youth only, has at length acquired, by the refinement of _fashion_, the honour of giving more dignity to what has hitherto passed under the denomination of A RIDING SCHOOL; now transformed, by the sublimity of the superior classes, into an "EQUESTRIAN ACADEMY;" of which more will be found under the proper and distinct heads of MANEGE and RIDING SCHOOL.

ACCLOYED—is almost obsolete, and will be buried in oblivion with the last FARRIER of the _old school_. It has been formerly used to signify an injury sustained in the foot by shoeing; as when a nail had swerved from its proper direction, and punctured (or pressed too close upon) the membranous mass so as to occasion lameness, the horse was then said to be "accloyed:" but no well-founded derivation is to be discovered for a term of so much ambiguity.

ACHE;—pain arising from different causes, originating in blows, wounds, inflammations, and colds; as for instance, the CHRONIC RHEUMATISM, which may be termed a CONTINUAL ACHE.

ACRIMONY—is a state of the blood disposed to only _certain_ degrees of disease, by the quantity of serum becoming too great for the proportion of crassamentum, with which, in its state of _active fluidity_, it is combined for the purpose of regular circulation, so invariably necessary to the standard of health. BLOOD thus divested of its adhesive property, soon displays in HORSES a tendency to what are termed _acrimonious_ diseases, originating in, and dependent upon, the impoverished state to which it is reduced. Hence arises a train of trouble and disquietude more vexatious than alarming, more troublesome than expensive; as _cracked heels_; _cutaneous eruptions_ of the _dry_ and _scurfy_ kind; a dingy, variegated, _unhealthy_ hue of the _coat_; and frequently a seemingly _half starved_ contraction of the CREST. These palpable effects of acrimony in the blood, are produced much more by the penury and indifference of the master, (or the _neglect_ of his servant,) than any disposition to disease in the horse. Experience has sufficiently proved, that a sufficient quantity of proper and healthy food is so indispensably requisite for the support of the frame, and every office of the animal œconomy, that a want of such due supply must be productive of acrimony in a greater or a less degree; to obtund which, and counteract its effects, recourse must be had to alimentary invigorants and antimonial alteratives, as will be found more medically explained in "_The Gentleman's Stable Directory_;" or, "_Taplin's Compendium of Farriery_."

ACTION—is a word in constant use with the SPORTING world, and horse-dealing fraternity, to express the peculiar property of a horse by his _good_ or _bad_ action: speaking of him as a subject possessing superior powers, he is called "a horse of exceeding fine action;" meaning it to be understood, he is not to be found fault with; that he is calculated to make a very valuable roadster, "as he trots within himself (that is, with ease to himself) _fourteen_ or _fifteen_ miles an _hour_;" implying an unequivocal proof of his speed in that pace: that he goes in _high_ style, "well above his ground;" meaning, that he lifts his legs light, quick, and freely, without dwelling or _tripping_, so as to be entitled to the degrading appellation of "a daisy cutter," by going too near, and of course always liable to fall.

ADDER STUNG,—a term indiscriminately applied to the bites or stings of venomous animals and insects without distinction; and this probably arose from the frequent discovery of such accidents, without being able to ascertain the cause, or from what enemy the injury was sustained. HORSES, as well as DOGS, are sometimes bit by the VIPER, (called _an adder_,) slow-worm, or eft; but much more frequently stung by hornets, wasps; a large gold-coloured, long-bodied, glittering fly, called, "a horse-stinger;" or other poisonous insects, with which, in the summer months, the sunny banks of pastures so infinitely abound. In all injuries of this kind, bleeding (pretty freely in respect to quantity) should precede every other consideration; as instantly unloading the vessels must greatly contribute to the intent of reducing present and preventing farther inflammation. For some generations, unctuous and oily applications have been in general use, without any well-founded reason, or established proof, of their being either infallible or efficacious; but in the present and enlightened state of much-improved practice, frequent fomentations of warm vinegar, an aqueous solution of sal. armoniac, or the vegeto mineral water of a pretty strong consistence, may be safely and advantageously preferred; assisting the general effort with small doses of _nitre_ and _gum arabic_, to allay inflammation, and attenuate the blood.

ADULTERATION—is the too prevalent custom of lowering the strength of spirits by the profitable addition of water, thereby reducing the quality by increasing the quantity; or, in words of less paradoxical import, by a most deceptive prostitution of integrity on one side, and an equally shameful imposition upon friendly confidence on the other. This species of lawless tergiversation, bad as it is, cannot be considered so truly unprincipled, so strictly iniquitous, or so cruelly destructive, as the adulteration of medicine: this has been for a long time past the _purest privilege_ of the profession, and may be candidly concluded the most predominant and best-founded reason that can be assigned for the unprecedented increase of CHEMISTS and DRUGGISTS in every part of the kingdom. The superior art of adulteration consists (with the adept) in so securely incorporating the cheap and inferior substitute with the genuine and higher priced article of the Materia Medica, as to insure the additional profit, and (secundum artem) escape detection. To this _purity_ of principle, this species of professional privilege, it is, that individuals of opulence and liberality stand indebted for the disappointments they have experienced in the expected efficacy of "prescriptions _faithfully_ prepared."

AGE.—The age is generally a leading question respecting any horse offered for sale; and this is at all times to be ascertained with more certainty by the state of the TEETH than any other means whatever; unless he has undergone the _secret_ operation of a DEALER, known by the appellation of "_bishoping_," which will be found described under that head.

When a horse is more than six years old, he is then termed an _aged_ horse; from which time till _seven_, the cavities in his teeth fill up; and from _seven_ to _eight_ years old, (varying a little in different subjects,) the mark is entirely obliterated, by which his age can no longer be perfectly known. Deprived of this criterion, general observations must be resorted to, upon which only a tolerable (though sometimes an uncertain) opinion may be formed. If the teeth are very long and discoloured, ragged at the edges, with either the upper or lower projecting beyond the other; the fleshy ridges (called bars) of the upper jaw become smooth and contracted; the tongue lean and wrinkled at the sides; the eyes receding from their former prominence, and a hollow and ghastly indentation above the orb; the knees projecting beyond the shank-bone, and overhanging the fetlock, as well as a knuckling or bending forward of the lower joints behind; little time need be lost in looking for farther proofs; old age is approaching very fast. For age by the teeth, see COLT.

AGUE,—a fever of the intermittent kind, which was for many years a matter of doubt and controversy, whether fevers of this description existed in the horse, or merely in the _brain_ of the FARRIER; when, after long investigation, strict attention, and steady observation, by practitioners of the first eminence, the point is at length acceded to; and it is admitted that HORSES are subject to, and attacked with, INTERMITTENTS, bearing an affinity to the _quotidians_, _tertians_, and _quartans_, of the human species.

ÆGYPTIACUM—is a well known and long established external application in veterinary practice, and is thus prepared.

Take of verdigrease, finely powdered, five ounces; honey, fourteen ounces; the best white wine vinegar, seven ounces; mix and boil them over a gentle fire to the consistence of treacle or honey.

This article, which has so long passed under the denomination of an ointment, and was so called in the London Dispensatory of the College of Physicians, produces, without any additional process, (but merely by standing, and depositing its sediment,) _another_ name for a _part_ of the _same_ preparation in this way: the grosser parts subsiding, constitute a more substantial consistence at the _bottom_, which is the article termed ÆGYPTIACUM: the fluid or thinner part, floating upon the surface, is the mildest in its effect, and called, by medicinal practitioners, MEL ÆGYPTIACUM. The property of both (one being a degree stronger than the other, and may be used separately, or shaken together, according to the effect required) is to assist in cleansing inveterate and long-standing ulcers; to keep down fungous flesh; and to promote the sloughing off of such foul and unhealthy parts of the surface, as prevent new granulations from arising to constitute the incarnation necessary to a sound and permanent restoration of parts. They are articles of acknowledged utility in the hands of judicious and experienced practitioners; but the furor of folly has sometimes rendered them _medicines of mischief_ with those who have never heard, or do not condescend to recollect, the trite but expressive adage, that "the shoemaker should never go beyond his last." This is the case when the lower classes of _farriers_, _smiths_, _coachmen_, and _grooms_, attempt to cure the grease, cracked heels, &c. with the articles described, constituting to a certainty, "the _remedy_ worse than the _disease_."

AIR—is the element in which we breathe; a floating (or fluctuating) fluid, with which we are imperceptibly surrounded, and by whose elastic property we are enabled to exist. A philosophic enquiry into, or definition of, the very air itself, is not to the purpose here; nor, indeed, without a demonstrative and practical apparatus, can its wonderful properties be perfectly understood.

Its various effects upon both the body and the mind of man, as well in sickness as in health, cannot be lost even upon the least sensible and least ruminative observer; who is in the constant enjoyment of those great blessings, _air_, _health_, and _exercise_; for he finds himself affected (and frequently like POPE'S rustic hero, who "whistled as he went for want of thought") in different ways, and by every breeze, without knowing _why_: he _meltingly_ submits one day to the SUN; he _shrinks_ another from the cold: he is depressed, even to melancholy, with the heavy gloom and dense atmosphere _to day_; and elated, almost beyond the power of expression, by the exhilarating, temperate, clear and lucid sky of _to-morrow_. If then the spirits are thus not only fairly considered, but fully proved, the thermometer of mental sensations, upon which the air (or rather its change) is found to operate with so much palpable effect; who shall presume to doubt its physical influence upon the human frame, so far as is applicable to the introduction of disease, or the re-establishment of health?

Thus much it has been unavoidably necessary to introduce by way of proof, that the human frame being so affected by the extremes of _heat_ and _cold_, _damps_ or _dryness_, such proportional effects (though not probably in directly the same way) may be produced by the same means upon the ANIMAL world, who possessing no power of communication, we cannot derive information but by means of observation upon the _original_ cause and _relative_ effect. As for instance; if the air is too much impregnated with cold, moist, damp particles between the chilling showers of hazy weather, the body (particularly of invalids and valetudinarians) is much more disposed to, and susceptible of, morbidity, than in a more temperate and settled state of the atmosphere. This, proceeding from a collapsion of the porous system, occasions slight indisposition with thousands, who are sensibly affected by lassitude and disquietude, not reaching disease; whilst in others more irritable, it is soon productive of coughs, sore throats, fevers, inflammations of the lungs, and various other disorders. North winds are considered bracing, healthy, and invigorating, to good, sound constitutions; though they are always complained of by those of delicate and tender habits; and there can be no difference of opinion upon the fact, that dry seasons are more conducive to health and spirits than those of a contrary description.

AIR,—a technical term in the MANEGE, which can be but little explained in theory; a perfect knowledge of these terms can only be acquired in the practice of the schools.

AIRING;—the taking of horses from the stable to the enjoyment of AIR and EXERCISE.

ALE,—the good old healthy English beverage, brewed from malt, hops and water, _alone_, with no intoxicating or deleterious articles of adulteration. It is an excellent extemporaneous substitute for _gruel_, in cases of emergency with horses, where it is required as a vehicle in which to dissolve and administer medicine to prevent delay, as in _cholic_, _strangury_, &c.

ALOES—is a resinous gum, extracted from the tree whose name it bears, and is brought to us chiefly from the island of Barbadoes. The shops produce two sorts, called SUCCOTRINE and BARBADOES; the former of which is the _mildest_; but the latter most in use, to insure the certainty of operation. It is the principal ingredient in purging balls for horses.

ALTERATIVES.—Medicines are so called which constitute an effect upon the system, or an alteration in the _property_ of the _blood_, without any sensible internal or visible external operation. Upon their introduction to the stomach, they become incorporated with its contents; and their medical properties being taken up by the chyle, is conveyed through the lymphatics to the blood-vessels, where it becomes a part of the blood itself, which being fully impregnated with the neutralizing property of the article administered as an alterative, possesses the power of obtunding acrimony, and restraining tendency to disease.

Of all the classes of medicines, none can be more proper or applicable than alteratives, to those who cannot make it convenient to let their horses undergo a regular routine of purgation at the accustomed seasons; as during the administration of alteratives (mercurials excepted) a horse may go through the same occasional work, and diurnal discipline, as if he was under no course of medicine whatever. The alteratives most deservedly esteemed, are antimony, sulphur, nitre, (in small quantities,) cream of tartar, Æthiops mineral, and the antimonial alterative powders of the Author, to be found in the list of his medicines at the conclusion of the Work.

ALUM—is an article too well known in the shops, to require farther description, than its medical utility, when, upon any emergency, it may be advantageously brought into use. Reduced to fine powder, and applied as a _styptic_ to the mouths of divided vessels, to stop the effusion of blood, it will be found very efficacious. Dissolved in water, the proportion of _one ounce_ to a _pint_, it is an infallible cure for the foul white specks, or little watery pustules, so frequently seen in the mouths of horses, (and supposed to arise from internal heat,) the parts being twice or thrice touched with a piece of fine sponge, properly moistened with the solution. Burnt alum, finely powdered, and sprinkled, very lightly, upon the fungous flesh of old or foul wounds, will speedily reduce it, and promote the cure.

ALIMENT—has, in general acceptation, been received as a word strictly synonimous with food; and, like that term, been intended to imply support of any kind, in either a _solid_ or a _liquid_ form. One of the publications with which the press so frequently teems, from the fertile pens of juvenile veterinarians, says, "By ALIMENT, some understand only the _nutricious part_ of the food; but this is a nice and useless distinction. MR. TAPLIN uses the word _aliment_ in both senses."

To set this upon better ground, for the comprehension of all matters relative to bodily sustenance, the animal œconomy, its natural secretions and evacuations, it is necessary a criterion should be fixed, by which its intentional meaning should be generally understood. It has been hitherto used in the previous Works of the present Author, not as synonimous with either FOOD or NUTRIMENT, but in a sense directly _between both_, and for this reason. Food may feed a frame, and prolong existence; though, from its weak, improper, or impoverished quality, it may not possess the essential property requisite to generate blood, create flesh, or promote strength.

The word ALIMENT seems intended to convey an idea somewhat _superior_ to the meaning expressed in the term _food_, and yet not extend so far as the mind may lead us, in the comprehensive view of the word NUTRIMENT; for, although mouldy hay, or musty straw, may be taken by an animal, in a state of hunger and necessity, to support life, it does not follow that from _such food_ a proper portion of nutriment can be conveyed to the frame. ALIMENT, therefore, upon every occasion, in which it will be found necessary to introduce it during the course of this Work, must be considered as a term intended to convey an idea of support (in any way whatever) adequate to health, and a state of useful service; in the direct line of mediocrity between the _starving existence_ of a "winter straw yard," near the metropolis, and the nutritious and invigorating system necessary for the invalid recovering from a state of emaciation, or the severity of disease.

AMBLE,—the pace in a horse, almost peculiar to country people, with poneys and galloways bred upon commons: its ease renders it convenient to women, and pleasing to children; but it is in very little use with any other part of the world.

AMBURY, or _Anbury_,—is a complicated excrescence, bearing the appearance of a _warty_ wen. Various have been the modes of cure; to prevent an unnecessary enumeration of which, will be to observe, that they may be safely extirpated, and completely cured, by carefully moistening the surface, once in every three or four days, with the _butter_ of _antimony_, till they are obliterated; and this will certainly be effected, whatever may be their size or magnitude.

AMPHIBIOUS—animals, are those capable of living both upon land and in the water, as the otter, the water rat, the eft, &c.

AMPHITHEATRE—is an elegant and commodious structure, either circular or oblong, for the display of feats of horsemanship, poney races, fox hunts, and the exhibition of pantomimes. MR. ASTLEY's, near Westminster Bridge, has for many years been a favourite resort with the public; but he now finds a powerful rival in the CIRCUS. Mr. Astley's skill in the military art of _attack_ and _defence_, as well as his superior style of teaching in the MANEGE, have jointly increased his reputation, and encouraged him to transmit to posterity, "A System of Equestrian Education."

ANATOMY,—the study and knowledge of the structure of the human frame in all its component parts; an accurate knowledge of which can only lead the practitioner in surgery to the most distant hope of eminence in his profession, or celebrity in his practice. A proficiency in the anatomical formation of the horse, is every way as necessary to the success of the veterinarian, as the utmost efforts of skill to the surgeon.

ANGLING—is the art of catching fish by rods and lines, of different construction, with baits, _natural_ and _artificial_, according to the season of the year, and the fish intended to be caught. As this _sport_ (if it may with consistency be termed one) is not very eagerly sought, and enjoyed but by _few_, it will not be much enlarged on here; more particularly as those who enter into the minutiæ of enquiry, and _spirit_ of the _practice_, will find whole volumes appropriate to this particular purpose. A writer of no small celebrity, in alluding to this subject, says, "FISHING is but a _dull_ diversion, and, in my opinion, calculated only to teach _patience_ to a PHILOSOPHER;" and this most likely is the echoed opinion of every _fox-hunter_ in the kingdom; for it should seem that the simple sameness of _angling_, and the more noble, healthy and exhilarating sports of HUNTING and SHOOTING, were, in a certain degree, _heterogeneous_, as it has been but very rarely or ever known, that the enthusiastic admirers of _one_ were ever warm or anxious followers of the _other_.

The kinds of fish which mostly attract the attention of anglers in the principal fresh water rivers and trout streams of the kingdom, (whether for the sport of killing, or the supply of the table,) are _salmon_, _trout_, _pike_, _barbel_, _chub_, _perch_, _roach_, _dace_, and _gudgeon_: CARP and TENCH may also be taken into the aggregate, upon the score of _attraction_; but instances are few where any great quantity has been taken in this way, as they are, in general, particularly in ponds, motes, and still waters, too shy and cautious to become the hasty victims of human invention.

Upon the subject of ANGLING, it may not be inapplicable to term it a most _unfortunate_ attachment with those classes of society who have no property but their _trades_, and to whom _time_ alone must be considered a kind of freehold estate: such time lost by a river side, in the frivolous and uncertain pursuit of a paltry plate of fish, instead of being employed in business, has reduced more men _to want_, and their families to _a workhouse_, than any species of sport whatever. Racing, hunting, shooting, coursing, and cocking, (destructive as the latter has been,) have never produced so long a list of _beggars_ as the sublime _art of angling_; in confirmation of which fact, the eye of observation need only turn to any of those small country towns near which there happens to run a _fishing stream_, when the profitable part of the pleasure may be instantly perceived by the poverty of the inhabitants.

ANISEEDS—are the produce of a plant cultivated much more in France, Spain, and Germany, than in any part of England. Those from Spain are preferred; they have a fragrant smell, a warm pleasant taste, with some degree of sweetness. When reduced to powder, they form a principal and efficacious ingredient in the preparation of the pectoral cordial balls for horses, where their virtues are fully admitted. They yield, by expression, an aromatic essential oil, containing all the medical property of the seeds, and is mostly imported to us from other parts ready prepared. Being an article of some expence, it is very much adulterated with sperma-cæti, and other articles, for the profitable purposes of retail, by the _secundum artem_ abilities of the parties concerned. Those who expect any efficacious effects from the aniseed powder, should grind (or see ground) the seeds themselves; for the article sold in the shops under that name, is neither more or less, than the _aniseed cakes_ reduced to powder in the common stock mill of the druggist, from whence the essential oil has been previously extracted.

ANTIMONY—is, in its original state, a mineral, extracted and separated from different ores by a peculiar process of eliquation; the various medical preparations from which, in the present state of hourly increasing improvement, absolutely excite both surprise and admiration. This article, now known and proved of such general utility, was alternately received into, and rejected from, a respectable rank in medicine, by both the ancients and moderns, till the more judicious and persevering speculatists established its estimation upon a basis too firm ever to be again shaken by the attack of whatever new opinions may be introduced for its degradation.

The crude antimony, when reduced to a fine and impalpable powder, is in many disorders full as efficacious as its more subtle and elaborate preparations; this observation appertaining to its effects upon the human frame, to which it is administered in all forms, by the most learned and eminent physicians in every part of the enlightened world. In respect to its corresponding effect upon one of our most useful animals, the HORSE, experience has proved it to be a safe and certain medicine to obtund acrimony, promote the secretions, open the pores, refine the coat, and finally ensure condition; hence it stands the principal ingredient in the well known advertised "ALTERATIVE POWDERS" of the Author.

ANTLERS,—used under different significations to explain the various branches of what is called the head (but divested of technical terms, the _horns_) of a deer. Except with the huntsmen of stag hounds, the keepers of parks, and out keepers of forests and chaces, the infinity of old terms and distinctions are become nearly obsolete; and ANTLERS amongst sportsmen, as well as sporting rhymesters, are now conceived to imply the whole head (alias the horns) of the deer.

APERIENTS—are medicines which mildly soften the contents of the intestines, and gently promote moderate evacuation, without producing the strong and repeated effects of physic, given with an intent to purge.

APERTURE;—a term in farriery, applied to the orifice or opening of a tumour or abscess, whether made by Nature, or by perforation with the instrument of the operator: in either case the principal consideration must be, to have it sufficiently large for the transpiration of the offending matter for which the effort was made; if in that respect it is deficient, relief must be obtained from the hand of the VETERINARIAN.

APOPLEXY,—in horses, a paralytic affection of the brain, from too great or sudden flux of blood to the part, too powerful exertions of strength in drawing substances over heavy, or some pre-disposing tendency to inflammation.

APPUI—is a term used in equestrian education; a perfect knowledge of which, Mr. Astley is of opinion, "can only be acquired in the MANEGE, by great practice, under judicious, experienced and able professors."

APPETITE,—if good, in either man or beast, ought to be, and in most cases is, a clear criterion and proof of health. However, instances are not wanting, where a rule so seemingly just is sometimes subject to exceptions. The quantity of good and healthy food taken into the frame, is by no means an infallible proof of strength, or of what work the subject is, or ought to be, equal to: some horses are the greatest _slugs_ in nature, though _always feeding_; while others, who undergo thrice their labour, do not consume even a moderate share of what is placed before them. This is probably one of the latent operations of NATURE, upon which it should seem human penetration is not permitted to define, at least to a degree of certainty, in respect to both origin and effect. Scientific aid, and industrious investigation, may do much; but when done, the enquiry will rest upon no better grounds than undefined hypothesis, and unconfirmed conjecture.

Here, then, appears most forcibly, the inutility of going into an enquiry where no _certainty_ of information can be obtained: the labyrinth of perplexity is better _unentered_, than to explore its most difficult passages in the _dark_, without even a _chance_ of extrication. We have, indeed, been informed by a publication of late years, that "_Appetite is a painful sensation of the stomach, always accompanied with a desire to eat_." It might, perhaps, have been less "caviar to the multitude," and much nearer the truth, if appetite had been defined, a _pleasing_ sensation, and _hunger_ a _painful_ one; particularly if (for the sake of a paradox or an iricism) "accompanied with _nothing_ to eat." Waiving, therefore, for the foregoing reasons of uncertainty, any intent of going into a farther disquisition of _why_ the appetite is _good_ or _bad_, it becomes necessary to proceed to the facts which are known, and to point out the proper remedies to insure relief.

When the appetite of a horse is seemingly never satisfied; when he displays an immoderate and impatient desire for food at all times; when, in failure of repeated supplies of _hay_ and _corn_, he is constantly consuming his litter, (although it is none of the cleanest;) such a horse is generally, and with strict justice, denominated a _coarse_ and _foul_ feeder; the result of which frequently is, that he soon becomes as foul in his _blood_, his _coat_, and _condition_, as he has previously proved himself in his inclination. The ready road to relief in a case of this kind, is to unload the frame of its accumulated rubbish by a course of physic; the _rack rein_ and the _muzzle_ are then such easy alternatives, that those who do not chuse, or are too indolent, to adopt them, must sit down easy under the defect.

Some there are who attribute the voracious dispositions, and strong digestive powers, of such horses to their being affected with _worms_. Such reasoning may, with more propriety, be attributed to the fertile imagination of those advocates, than to any effect (of the kind mentioned) in the worms themselves. That (worms being there) disquieting or painful sensations, from some remote or internal cause, may occasion a horse to pull out and disperse his hay, to _pick_, _scrape_, and _disorder_ his _litter_, in proof of disorder or discontent, may readily be conceived; but that absolute pain from the corroding misery of living insects, _preying_ upon the very _vitals_ of an animal, shall give him an _increased appetite_ to _eat_, is a doctrine that cannot be so readily believed.

Horses of a contrary description, who labour occasionally under a _loss of appetite_, is no such matter of ambiguity as what has been just described; but may with certainty be ascribed to its proper cause, by minutely attending to such signs, and predominant symptoms, as present themselves to the eye, and to the touch of the diligent enquirer. A loss of appetite in horses whose constitutions are generally good, and who have not been remarked for refusing their corn, or being _off their feed_, sufficiently indicate some tendency to either slight and temporary indisposition, or impending disease; as _cold_, _cough_, _febrile heat_ from the fatigue of a long journey on the road, or exertion in the field; intestinal disquietude, from flatulent affection, or pain in the _kidnies_; as well as a stricture upon the _neck of the bladder_, proceeding from a preternatural retention of _urine_, in having travelled too far "_without drawing bit_." This is the exulting practice of too many _unthinking_ masters, and _indiscreet_ servants; it, however, holds forth no proof of the goodness of the _head_ or the _heart_ in either one or the other. This defect, proceeding from whatever cause, cannot be too soon properly attended to: early and attentive investigation should be made as the first and most necessary step to the acquisition of relief. Admitting it to have originated in any of those causes already described, there is very little doubt to be entertained, but a moderate _bleeding_, a _cordial ball_, a mash of _ground malt_ and _bran_, equal parts, with warm soft water, and a little nursing, if expeditiously proceeded upon, will soon set all to rights again.

Not so with those whose defect is constitutional, proceeding from an inexplicable degree of irritability, so generally and palpably evident in both _attitude_ and _action_; in the stable, or out, they never appear perfectly at ease; the eye, the ear, seeming alarmed with every sound, as if in perpetual search of new causes to keep up the unceasing spirit of discontent and eternal disquietude. Upon the road in company, or in the field with hounds, they invariably and impatiently court competition, making the most violent exertions to prove their great, passionate, and ill-tempered desire for superiority; so that horses of this description, after a journey of some length, or a chase of severe duration, are not only off their appetites for _two_ or _three_ days, but hardly fit to be seen again for _a week_. They are mostly light, and what is termed _fluey in the carcase_; carry no flesh, with or without work; and for that reason, do no credit _in appearance_ to their master. Yet, strange as it may appear to those unacquainted with the fact, horses or mares of this restless, unsettled disposition, are almost so invariably good and persevering in nature, that they will continue to exert themselves, till, becoming totally exhausted, they must sink under fatigue, rather than permit themselves to be restrained; a palpable contrast _in spirit_ to those voracious, gummy-legged gluttons, who, after an insatiate series of gormandizing and rest, absolutely tire (or "_knock up_") in the second stage, or _first twenty miles_, of a journey.

This defect, (or more properly deficiency in appetite and disinclination of food,) whether proceeding from the fiery volatility of temper impatient of restraint, or a peculiar laxity of the parts necessary to strong digestion, is so clearly inherent, so truly constitutional, that a well-founded expectation of permanent relief, or total eradication, is not to be formed upon any change that can be made in food, or improvement in attention. Such horses, however, if their paces are good, and they are desirable in other respects, should not be too _hastily_ disposed of; instances having been very frequent, where horses of such irritable habit, and fretful disposition, when young, have, when accustomed to the same stable, gentle usage, and to one rider only, become as settled feeders, good goers, round carcased and firm fleshed horses as any in the kingdom. Some inducement to feed after the fatigues (or _frettings_) just recited, may be attempted by the means before described; few occasions will occur where the malt mashes will be refused; the novel fragrancy attracts attention, and when once taken, its invigorating property soon appears. In cases where the stomach continues weak, the carcase thin, and appetite not restored, an occasional use of the _pectoral cordial balls_, once or even twice a day, is the proper substitute for aliment, and will seldom or ever fail to produce the desired effect.

AQUATIC,—appertaining to water. Fish are an aquatic production. Aquatic herbs take root in the soil beneath, and vegetate as well _below_ as upon the _surface_ of the water. An _aquatic excursion_ is a party of pleasure upon the water.

ARABIC GUM,—is a most useful article to dissolve with water or gruel in the sickness of horses. _Nitre_ should never be given without half its quantity of Gum Arabic.

ARSENIC,—is a most certain and destructive poison, mentioned here only to demonstrate its utility in clearing premises of _rats_, which it will infallibly do, if made use of in the following manner. Take (in the season when they are to be obtained) a dozen large apples; let them be pared, and the cores extracted; then chop them exceedingly fine, till they are almost a paste; to which add half an ounce of arsenic, reduced to powder, and two ounces of coarse sugar; mix well, and let this be distributed in their _usual haunts_, remembering to let earthen pans be set with _plenty of water_ within their reach; and the sudden thirst they are seized with, after eating the smallest quantity of the composition, is so violent, that they drink till unable to move from the spot; and if the preparation is made over night, and the rats are plenty, they will be found in the morning swelled to the utmost extent, and lying dead in different parts, as if they had fallen victims to a fashionable dropsy.

ARM—of a horse, is so called (though it is properly the fore-thigh) from the elbow immediately under the chest, downwards to the junction at the knee: this should be uniformly strong and muscular, being wide at top, and narrowing proportionally to the bottom: if it is not so, but mostly of a size, it is an evident proof of weakness.

ART VETERINARY—is the present improved state of FARRIERY, as taught at a newly established institution, called the VETERINARY COLLEGE at Camden Town, in the parish of Saint Pancras; where the pupils attend LECTURES upon _anatomy_, _physiology_, and _medicine_, under a PROFESSOR of the first eminence, as well as the practical part of the business at the _forge_ and in _farriery_, till, being properly qualified, they pass the necessary examination before a committee of surgeons, when they receive their diploma, and embark for themselves as VETERINARY SURGEONS in the service of the public; or possess the privilege of an immediate appointment in his Majesty's service, under the patronage of his Royal Highness the Commander in Chief, at a stipend which does honor to the institution, as will be found more fully explained under its proper head, VETERINARY COLLEGE.

ASCARIDES—are a species of worms, to which horses are frequently subject, from two to three inches long: they are not larger in circumference than a common knitting needle, have a flat head, and in some degree not unlike the millepedes, at least in respect to their number of legs. They are in general voided with the dung, where they may be seen twirling and twisting about with wonderful rapidity, not unlike a grig, or small eel, when thrown out of his own element upon the grass. Horses persecuted with these painful and troublesome companions, are generally relaxed in the intestines, and throw off their dung in a _loose state_, affording, by that circumstance alone, sufficient proof how much they irritate internally, as well as why horses affected with _worms_, are not only low in flesh, but rough in coat, and almost every way out of condition.

ASTHMATIC.—Horses are considered _asthmatic_, or thick-winded, who have acquired a difficulty of respiration, and a short husky cough, from blood originally dense and sizey having been permitted to become proportionally _viscid_, from a want of _evacuants_ and _attenuants_ in time to have prevented the obstructions which lay the foundation of this troublesome defect. The viscidity of the blood constituting obstructions in the finer vessels, produce tubercles in the lungs, which, rendering their action partial and imperfect, occasions the difficulty of breathing, and repetition of cough, so constantly observed during the increased circulation of the blood, when the horse is brought into use. Frequent _bleedings_, and a course of the Author's PECTORAL DETERGENT BALLS, are the best means of alleviation and cure.

ASTRINGENTS—is rather a medical than either a general or sporting term, and implies any article in food or medicine, possessing the property of restraining a too great flux of excrement after physic, or a too lax state of body, (denominated looseness,) proceeding from a previous fulness, or from intestinal acrimony, where the discharges have been a mere effort of Nature to relieve herself from the load, and not in consequence of any purgative whatever. In such flaccidity of the intestines, proceeding from whatever cause, a cordial ball occasionally, small quantities of liquid laudanum in gruel, and an ounce of gum arabic dissolved, and given night and morning in the water, will soon restore them to their proper state.

ATTACHMENTS—Court of, a ceremony or court peculiar to the laws of a forest, and necessary to be known only by those who reside therein. The officers of this court do no more than receive the _attachments_ of the _foresters_, and enrol them in the VERDERERS' rolls, that they may be ready for the court of _swainmote_ when held. This court of attachments having no power to determine upon cases of offence or trespass beyond the value of _fourpence_, all above that sum must appear in the verderers' rolls, and be sent by them to the court of swainmote, there to be tried according to the forest laws, which are replete with peculiar privileges, immunities, and what are termed royalties, appertaining to the Crown itself.

ATTAINT—has been used, by members of the old school in farriery, for blows, bruises, cuts, and wounds, sustained in any one leg by injuries from the other. As it is, however, nearly obsolete, and may probably never be heard again, farther exposition becomes unnecessary.

ATTRACTION—is positively, in some respects, the best property (if it can be so termed) a horse can possibly possess, at least so far as it is admitted to exceed every other qualification in its effect upon the mind of the owner during the time he is in possession; as well as no inconsiderable gratification of pecuniary expectation when the horse comes to be sold. The great advantage arising from _attraction_ in a horse is, that, however vexatious his defects in respect to temper and action may be, he will never hang upon hand, or the owner be long in want of a customer, if external figure and good colour do but afford _attraction_ in any tolerable degree. There are always those in pursuit of horses for purchase, who more know what constitutes _figure_ at _first sight_, than what constitutes _good points_ after a week's examination. Two good ends (as the dealers term them) _well set on_, and _both up_, go a great way in the fashionable work of attraction; without one or both of which, a horse can never become a commanding figure, either before or behind; and, strange as it may be thought by the young or inexperienced, there are numerous instances of horses bearing, in their general appearance, a kind of _attracting uniformity_, that, upon critical investigation, are found not to have any distinguishing point of excellence about them. Those, however, who have the prudence to bear in memory the effect of _attraction_, and to secure it when they _buy_, will never be at much loss when they _sell_: it will be also by no means inapplicable to have it equally "in the mind's eye," that many horses without attraction are _too dear at nothing_.

ATTIRE—of a deer. See ANTLERS.

AVIARY—a receptacle for singing birds of different denominations, more adapted to the pleasures of the ladies, than any systematic pursuit or enquiry of the sportsman.

B.

BABBLER—is a hound upon whose tongue no firm reliance is to be made, either in _drag_, upon _trail_, or the recovery of a fault during the _chase_; so strictly true is the well known adage, that "a liar is not to be believed although he speaks the truth."