Chapter D (3)

By 31st Henry Eighth, c. ii. s. 2, If any _evil-disposed persons_ shall fish in the day-time, from six in the morning till six in the evening, in any PONDS, STEWS, or MOATS, with _nets_, _hooks_, or _bait_, against the will of the owners, they shall, on conviction thereof, at the suit of the King, or the party aggrieved, suffer imprisonment for the space of three months, and find security for their good behaviour.

By 22d and 23d Charles Second, c. xxv. s. 7, it is enacted, That if _any person_ shall, at _any time_, use any _casting-net_, _drag-net_, _shove-net_, or _other net whatever_; or any _angle_, _hair_, _noose_, _troll_, or _spear_; or shall lay any _wears_, _pots_, _nets_, _fish-hooks_, or _other engines_; or shall _take_ any fish by _any means whatsoever_, in any RIVER, STEW, MOAT, POND, or other water, _or shall be aiding_ thereunto, without the consent of the OWNER of the WATER, and be convicted thereof before a JUSTICE, by confession, or the OATH of _one_ witness, within _one month_ after the offence committed, such offender shall give to the party injured such satisfaction as the JUSTICE shall appoint, not exceeding _treble damages_; and shall, over and above, pay down presently unto the OVERSEERS of the POOR, such sum, not exceeding 10_s._ as the JUSTICE shall think fit: and in _default_ of _payment_, the said penalties to be LEVIED by DISTRESS; and for want thereof, the offender to be committed to the _house of correction_, for a term not exceeding _one month_, unless the party offending enter into bond, with surety, to the party injured, in a sum not exceeding 10_l._ never to offend in like manner.

JUSTICES are also authorized to _take_, _cut_ in _pieces_, and _destroy_, all such articles as before recited and adapted to the taking of fish, as may be found in the possession of OFFENDERS when taken. Persons aggrieved may _appeal_ to the QUARTER SESSIONS, whose judgment shall be _final_. Although this power is vested in a MAGISTRATE, yet the owner of the _water_, or _fishery_, cannot justify such a measure, but can only take them _damage feasant_, as is particularly expressed in various clauses of different acts of Parliament upon this subject. And by the 4th and 5th William and Mary, it is enacted, That no person (except makers and sellers of nets, owners of a river or fishery, authorized fishermen, and their apprentices) shall _keep_ any net, angle, leap, pike, or other engine for taking of FISH.

The proprietor of any river or fishery, or persons by them authorized, may seize, and keep to his own use, any _engine_ which shall be found in the custody of any person fishing in any _river_ or _fishery_, without the CONSENT of the OWNER or OCCUPIER. And such owner, occupier, or person, authorized by _either_, sanctioned by the consent of any JUSTICE, in the day-time, may search the houses, or other places, of any person prohibited to keep the same, who shall be suspected to have such nets, or other engines, in his possession, and the same to seize, and keep to their own use, or _cut in pieces_ and _destroy_.

By the 5th George Third, c. xiv. s. 1, it is enacted, That if any person shall enter into any PARK or PADDOCK inclosed, or enter into any _garden_, _orchard_, or _yard_, belonging to, or adjoining to, any dwelling-house, wherein shall be any _river_, _pond_, _moat_, or other _water_, and, by any means whatsoever, (without the consent of the owner,) _steal_, _kill_, or _destroy_, any FISH, bred, kept, or preserved therein, or shall be assisting therein, or shall _receive_ or _buy_ any such fish, knowing them to be such, shall, upon conviction, be _transported_ for _seven years_. Persons making _confession_ of such offence, and giving evidence against an accomplice, who, in pursuance thereof, shall be convicted, will be entitled to a free pardon.

And by the same Act, s. 3, it is enacted, That if any person shall take, kill, or destroy, or ATTEMPT to take, kill, or destroy, any fish in any _river_ or _stream_, _pool_, _pond_, or _other water_, (not being in any park or paddock enclosed, or in any garden, orchard, or yard, belonging or adjoining to a dwelling-house, but in any other enclosed ground, _being private property_,) such person, being thereof convicted by confession, or the oath of _one witness_ before a JUSTICE, shall forfeit _five pounds_ to the owner of the fishery of such river or other water; and in default thereof, shall be committed to the house of correction for a time not exceeding _six months_.

STEALING FISH in _disguise_ is made FELONY by the 9th George the First, c. xxii. If any person _armed_ and _disguised_, shall unlawfully _steal_, or _take away,_ any FISH, out of any river, or pond, or (whether armed or not) shall unlawfully and _maliciously_ break down the head or mound of any FISH-POND, whereby the fish shall be _lost_ and _destroyed_, or shall rescue any person in custody for any such offence, or procure any other to join him therein, he shall be guilty of FELONY, without _benefit_ of _clergy_.

FISTULA.—Any ulcer having a SINUS or pipe of uncertain termination, the inside of which has acquired _callosity_, and from whence a matter or bloody sanies flows, or may be pressed out, is called a FISTULA. In its more immediate application, it appertains principally to the injury sustained upon the WITHERS of HORSES; _pinched_ by the _saddle_, or _bruised_ by the _harness_; in long and severe chases or journies with _one_, or long continued weight and friction with the _other_. A repetition of the _first cause_ generally lays the foundation of great trouble; some expence, and no small share of anxiety: attended to upon the _first injury_, the inflammation frequently submits (and _sometimes speedily_) to the mildest class of REPELLENTS: a fomentation of hot vinegar _twice_ or _thrice_, for ten minutes each time, or a few applications of strong VEGETO MINERAL, incorporated with a proportion of camphorated spirits, will generally prevent any farther cause of disquietude.

There is no one _disease_, or _injury_, to which THE HORSE is incident, more perplexing to the VULCANIANS of the _old school_ or VETERINARIANS of the _new_, than a FISTULA; the formation and process of which is precisely thus. A repetition of the bruise and friction, or painful pressure upon the wither, having excited inflammation, NATURE makes an _effort_ in her _own_ favour; tumefaction or swelling ensues, and suppuration follows of course. From the bony structure of this particular part, a copious secretion of matter is in the first instance never obtained, or, indeed, to be expected. From the great difficulty of securing poultices so as to retain their situation, the PROGRESS of MATURATION is always tardy, and ultimately both _partial_ and imperfect: the aperture, if _self-made_, is always exceedingly small, from which may be immediately traced with the probe, _one_ or _more_ pipes or SINUSSES in different directions, becoming more and more _callous internally_, according to the length of their standing, or the injudicious mode in which they may have been treated.

Various modes of treatment, and different directions for a certainty of cure, have been laid down by successive writers upon FARRIERY, and frequently with _little_ success. THEORY, it must be admitted, is _one_ thing; the execution in PRACTICE is _another_. The VOLUME of EXPERIENCE opens to the mind of rumination, and professional emulation, a _new page_ every day; that page now demonstrates the _fact_, that the most inveterate and long-standing FISTULA is to be firmly and infallibly cured, and the parts perfectly restored, by a mode easy in execution, and invariable in effect. Let a silver probe be passed in every possible direction, that the SINUSSES may be precisely ascertained; this done, let the probe be properly _armed_ with _lint_, then plentifully impregnated with BUTTER of ANTIMONY, and carefully introduced in such state into _each distinct sinus_, (whichever way they divide or ramify;) when there, give the probe a turn, that every part may be equally affected; artificial inflammation will succeed, the internal CALLOSITY will be _destroyed_, and slough off in a few days from the sound parts. The _vacuum_ may then be cleansed with equal parts of FRIAR'S BALSAM, and TINCTURE of MYRRH, by a long-necked syringe, once in three or four days; and the WOUND being daily dressed with the _precipitate digestive ointment_, insinuated with _lint_ rolled round the _probe_, and when properly inserted, slipt off with the force of the finger and thumb into the wound, and covered with a sticking plaister to keep it firm, incarnation will be gradually promoted, and COMPLETE CURE certainly follow.

FLANK OF A HORSE—is the part lying between the last RIB and the HIND QUARTER, reaching from the part of the LOINS nearest the _hip-bone_, to the bottom of the belly nearest the STIFLE. If a horse is well ribbed up, his flank not _hollow_, but circularly prominent, and his BACK SHORT, he is then called a "good barrelled horse," and is very seldom deficient in other respects which constitute attraction.

FLEAM, the well-known instrument used for BLEEDING HORSES. Lancets are preferred by some with _thin-skinned_ and blood-horses. Different kinds of SPRING-FLEAMS have been invented also; but no one has been produced of sufficient merit or utility to entirely supersede the established custom.

FLESHY-FOOTED.—A horse is said to be FLESHY FOOTED, when that part of the _bottom of the foot_ on each side the FROG (called the OUTER SOLE) is preternaturally prominent, constituting a convexity above the _wall_ or _crust_ of the HOOF, where the shoe should have its proper bearing upon the FOOT of the HORSE. In feet of this description, the outer sole, from repeated bruising and battering in constant work upon hard roads, or from an injudicious and destructive _paring away_ with the butteris, are so exceeding thin as to indent with the slightest impression, and being too weak to resist the membranous expansion within, compulsively submit to the internal propulsion, and are thrown into the projecting form already described. Great care is required in shoeing horses with this defect: the inner part of the web of the shoe should be so completely hollowed as not to admit the least chance of bearing upon the prominent part; if it does, tenderness and disquietude (if not lameness) must inevitably ensue. In cases of this kind, neither the _butteris_ or _drawing-knife_, should be permitted in hand; they only render the REMEDY worse than the DISEASE.

FLORIZEL—was a horse of much _celebrity_ upon the TURF, beating most horses of his time; and was afterwards a stallion in great repute for many years. He was got by _Herod_, dam by _Cygnet_; bred by Mr. C. BLAKE, and foaled in 1768. He was the sire of _Berwick_, _Crookshanks_, _Diomed_, _King William_, _Experiment_, _Fox_, _Ulysses_, _Bustler_, _Dash_, _Fidget_, _Fortunio_, _Hope_, _Lee Boo_, _May Fly_, _Mouse_, _Mulberry_, _Nimble_, _Pig_, _Prizefighter_, _Tongs_, _Hope_, _Spendthrift_, _Tick_, _Tickle_, _Wonder_, _Brother to Fidget_, (who won 2000 guineas in 1791,) _Eager_, _Hopeful_, _Lilliput_, _Nameless_, _Quick_, _Terror_, _Tartar_, _Hermia_, and _William_; all winners; exclusive of others too numerous to recite.

FOAL—is the produce of HORSE and MARE in a general sense, including both male and female; but when a more particular description is required, it is customary to say either a COLT, or a FILLY foal.

FOAM.—See FROTH.

FODDER.—The winter provender for HORSES and CATTLE is so called, and consists of _barley_ and _oat straw_, _peas haum_, the short _rakings_ of the _barn floor_ after threshing the corn, and _previous_ to cleaning it; all which, with good shelter in the most severe and dreary part of the season, constitute no _ill_ accommodation; particularly those FARMYARDS in the country that are well managed, from whence HORSES, after a _winter's run_, frequently come up FIRM in FLESH, and not very _foul_ in _condition_. On the contrary, those who are advocates for the STRAW-YARDS within _ten_ or _fifteen_ miles of the METROPOLIS, had better _cut the throats_ of their HORSES than make the experiment: they barely exist in a state of wretched starvation, are brought up in the months of April and May objects of dreadful emaciation, and commonly occasion more expence to generate flesh, and render them fit for use, than they are afterwards worth. An insufficiency of sweet, good, and healthy FODDER, or even a profusion of _stinking oats_, or _musty hay_, will inevitably impoverish the blood, and lay the foundation of SURFEIT, MANGE, FARCY, and other disorders.

FOIL,—a term used in HARE HUNTING. When, during the chase, a hare, after a _head_ or _double_, runs over the ground she has _ran before_, she is then said to be _running the foil_, and with strict truth, for nothing can so much _foil_ the HOUNDS as a chase of this description. OLD HARES, who have speed enough to break away, and get considerably a-head, almost invariably throw themselves out to the _right_ or _left_, _double_, and QUAT; particularly if a _hedge-row_, _hedge_, _fern_, _furze_, or any _kind of covert_ presents itself favourably for the purpose. The HOUNDS continuing to run the scent to the spot where she made her head, _over-run the hare_, and having no continuance of scent, are of course _at fault_; during which delay of _trying forward_, _trying back_, making a cast to _the right_, then a cast to _the left_, the HARE slips into her _foil_; by repeatedly running of which with the same instinctive sagacity, she as repeatedly saves her life; without which, and many similar _innate shifts_ to avoid their numerous enemies, there would not long be a HARE left in the country.

FOLDING-NET.—See BAT FOWLING.

FOMENTATION—is, perhaps, the most generally useful of all external applications in a great variety of cases, and cannot of course be too well known, or too much encouraged. It is a process but little _prescribed_ or _practised_ by FARRIERS or VETERINARIANS; either because its efficacious property is very little known; or the persevering patience required in the act, is too great for _constitutional indolence_. In all inflammatory _tumours_ and _enlargements_ arising from STRAINS, BLOWS, BRUISES, and various other injuries, the efficacy of hot and persevering FOMENTATION can only be known to those who have repeatedly experienced its salutary effects. In fact, its properties are _twofold_, in as much as it assists NATURE in whichever is her most predominant effort, either for _absorption_ or _suppuration_.

FOMENTATIONS are prepared by boiling three or four double handsful of the different kinds of _aromatic_ garden herbs in _six quarts_ or _two gallons_ of water, occasionally stirring them for a quarter of an hour; then let the part affected be patiently FOMENTED with _sponges_ or _flannels_, alternately dipped in the DECOCTION, as hot as it can be consistently used without _injury_ to the _hair_. If the TUMOUR, or enlargement, does not threaten _suppuration_, the absorption may be assisted by a gentle persevering friction in _hand-rubbing_, previous to the application of such REPELLENT as may be thought applicable to the case: on the contrary, should a formation of matter have evidently taken place, the intention of nature cannot be too expeditiously promoted; an EMOLLIENT POULTICE should _instantly_ follow the FOMENTATION, and both be repeated _once_ or _twice_ a-day, according to the magnitude of the emergency.

The herbs chiefly in use for FOMENTATIONS (and from which any three or four may be selected) are ROMAN and COMMON WORMWOOD, MALLOWS and MARSHMALLOWS, LAVENDER leaves and flowers, ROSEMARY leaves, CAMMOMILE flowers, ELDER flowers, and BAY leaves. These are articles not always to be readily obtained; and as they are in all HUNTING establishments likely to be wanted upon the most sudden emergencies, GENTLEMEN in the country will find the convenience of giving orders for an _annual_ supply to be provided, and properly dried, in the summer, that no disappointment may be experienced in the winter, when their use is more likely to be required. They are kept ready mixed at the BOTANICAL SHOPS in the _different markets_ of the Metropolis, and may always be had in any quantity under the denomination of FOMENTATION HERBS.

FOOT.—The foot of a horse extends from the FETLOCK-JOINT to the OUTER SOLE at the bottom of the _hoof_: it includes the CORONARY-BONE, the NUT-BONE, the COFFIN-BONE, and the inner sole, (or membranous mass,) in which it is deposited; as well as the _frog_ and the _wall_ or _hoof_ surrounding and supporting the whole.—See FEET.

FOOT-FOUNDERED.—A horse is said to be FOOT-FOUNDERED when there is an evident defect in action, and a palpable tenderness, which prevents him from putting his feet _freely_ and _boldly_ to the ground. This malady seems never to have been clearly comprehended, or perfectly explained, by any of those who have written upon the subjects included in the general practice of FARRIERY. It is to be observed, that HORSES labouring under this _infirmity_, have become gradually _contracted_ in the _hoof_, and proportionally _narrowed_ at the _heels_, putting their feet before each other with as much fear and caution, as if they were moving upon a _sheet of red-hot iron_; the RIDER of any such horse, being constantly in the _happy_ expectation of the horse's _pitching_ upon his _head_, and probably breaking the rider's own neck.

The very few reasons hitherto assigned for the origin of this defect, "as being watered when _too hot_, then setting the horse upon _cold_ planks without _litter_;" "heats and colds, which disorder the body, and excite malignant humours, that inflame the blood, melt the grease, and make it descend downward to the feet, where it settles, and causes a numbness in the hoofs;" are so truly nugatory, that they are not for a single moment entitled to SCIENTIFIC disquisition. The only two RATIONAL CAUSES which can be assigned for this disorder (if it can with propriety be so termed) seem never to have attracted professional observation or reflection. That it has its foundation in _long_ and _hard_ riding (or drawing) upon the _hard_ and _hot_ roads in the summer months, will not admit of a single doubt; which foundation once laid, is not only increased by every _repetition_ of the original cause, but a formidable addition made to it by the _shameful_ and _destructive_ practice of fitting _red-hot shoes_, from THE FORGE, to the _foot_ of _the horse_; an unrelenting act of cruelty, constantly and obstinately persevered in at almost every _shoeing-shop_ in the kingdom, by which infernal act alone, _hundreds_ of horses are annually FOOT-FOUNDERED; to crush which evil, THE LEGISLATURE would not find itself _degraded_, by enacting a prohibitory LAW, any more than by _condescending_ to protect the persons of the outside passengers upon a STAGE COACH.

To justify what is advanced upon the subject of FOOT-FOUNDER, let it be recollected, that persevering _friction_ will produce _fire_; of which we have repeated proofs in the number of carriages known to have taken fire upon the roads, and to have been totally consumed. We are convinced a piece of _cold iron_, struck with a hammer five or six times in succession upon an anvil, will quickly afford a communication of _fire_ to a _match_; this being reduced to an incontrovertible certainty, what must be the excess of _heat_ produced by the EFFECT of ATTRITION between the _shoe_ of _a horse_ and the _hardness_ of the _road_ in the summer months, the animal going a FIFTEEN or TWENTY miles stage, at the rate of _twelve_ or _fourteen_ miles an hour?

Why, the effect is precisely this; that, by the time the horse has travelled a _few miles_, the RIDER dismounting, will find, upon _instantaneous_ examination, the shoe has acquired (by the attrition already described) a _degree_ of _heat_ beyond his power to bear with his hand, without being seriously burned. The effect of heat _without_, being the same _within_, acts so powerfully (in proportion to the continuation of the journey, and the state of the road) upon the foot of the horse, particularly those of the weakest texture, and the most susceptible, that the INNER SOLE (or membranous mass in which the _coffin-bone_ is lodged) becomes _in time_, and by _repetition_, partially divested of its moisture, the very source of sensation; upon which contraction of the _internal_ parts, the HOOF losing its means and support of _expansion_, contracts in a corresponding degree, constituting the _impoverished appearance_, _brittle-hoof_, and _narrow heel_, previously described.

Those who have been so exceedingly sparing, or so accidentally _sterile_, in respect to the _causes_ of this DEFECT, have, nevertheless, been sufficiently liberal in directing A CURE. "First, pare all the horse's soles so thin that you may see the quick; then bleed him well at every toe; after which stop the vein with tallow and resin melted together; and having tacked some hollow shoes slightly on his feet, stop them with bran, tar, and tallow, melted together, and poured into the feet as hot as can well be born; repeat this every other day for a week or nine days, after which give him proper exercise daily; or, what is still better, turn him out for six weeks, if it is a proper season for so doing."

Whether this mode, so strenuously recommended, and copied by _one_ writer from _another_, is likely to effect a cure, every reader will enjoy the privilege of judging for himself: it is, however, most likely that those who rely upon any professional exertions for total obliteration, will be disappointed, and that occasional palliation is all that can be reasonably expected. There is, however, no doubt, but frequent and plentiful impregnations of the _whole hoof_, and _bottom_ of the _foot_, with SPERMA CÆTI OIL, made warm over the fire, will contribute as much to the expansion of the hoof, and the regeneration of membranous moisture in its contents, as any other means whatever.

FOREHAND—implies that part of A HORSE extending from the _ears_ to the _withers_; which, to be handsome, should be long, and rise gradually from the upper point of the shoulder-blade to the very extremity of the ear. A FOREHAND of this description adds greatly to the majestic appearance and value of the horse. But a horse _low before_, with a _short forehand_, and _indented crest_, can never become an object of attraction.

FOREHEAD.—The forehead is the front of the horse's head; to observe the _form_ and _effect_ of which, it will be necessary to get before him. It is the space extending from the _roots_ of the _ears_, and between the eyes, which being BROAD and FLAT, having a _feather_ or _star_ in the center, constitutes a degree of beauty, and may be supposed to have a cross of THE ARABIAN in the blood. If a horse, having a wide flat forehead, has the advantage of a full prominent spirited eye, they at the first approach afford no small indication of excellence; and, upon nearer inspection, a corresponding symmetry is expected to follow.

FORE-LEGS.—The fore-legs of a horse begin at the lower extremity of the SHOULDER-BLADE before, and the ELBOW behind: they consist of what are termed the ARMS, (or fore thighs,) which extend to each KNEE; the _shank-bone_ from the knee to the FETLOCK JOINT; the fetlock-bone is continued from thence to the CORONARY-BONE, into which it is _inserted_; the coronary-bone in part fills the cavity, or box of the hoof, being lodged in the COFFIN-BONE, supported by the _nut-bone_ behind; these last are deposited in the membranous mass denominated the INNER SOLE; the whole being terminated by the bottom of the _hoof_, the _frog_, and the _outer sole_. The FORE-LEGS, to be uniform, (in a front view,) should be _wide_ at the upper part next the _breast_, strong and broad in the ARM, bony below the KNEE, free from SPLENTS, a broad sound HOOF, firm SOLE, and a FROG without _thrushes_.

FOREST.—A FOREST is a large tract of land in pasture, many miles in extent and circumference, the property of THE CROWN, mostly well stocked with timber, (from whence the navy is supplied,) as well as with a variety of _underwood_, _furze_, _fern_, &c. for the breeding and preservation of both VENISON and GAME. Forests are of great antiquity, and their immunities are protected by laws peculiarly and solely adapted to their preservation; the execution of which are lodged in principal officers, and their subordinates, as follows; JUSTICES in EYRE, CHIEF WARDENS, VERDERERS, REGARDERS, FORESTERS, WOODWARDS, AGISTORS, RANGERS, BEADLES, and KEEPERS.

A FOREST has its foundation under a commission bearing the great seal of England, and when proclaimed through the county in which the land so appropriated lies, "that it is A FOREST, and to be governed by the LAWS OF A FOREST," it then becomes a forest upon _record_, and the OFFICERS before mentioned are appointed. A forest has its "BOUNDARIES," its "PURLIEUS," its "PROPERTIES," its "COURTS," with a variety of regulations equally uninteresting and unentertaining, except to those who are resident within its precincts; to whom a variety of enlarged particulars will be useful, and may be found in "DANIELS' RURAL SPORTS," a recent publication of merit and celebrity.

There are said to have been SIXTY-NINE FORESTS in England, of which the NEW FOREST, WINDSOR FOREST, SHERWOOD FOREST, and the FOREST OF DEAN, have always been considered the principal. His Majesty's STAG HOUNDS are kept at the kennel upon _Ascot Heath_, in WINDSOR FOREST, where he has for some years enjoyed the pleasures of the chase.

The beasts of forest, in all ancient records, were denominated "BEASTS OF VENERY," and consisted of the _Hart_, _Hind_, _Hare_, _Boar_, and _Wolf_: the complete extinction of the two latter has, however, long since rendered the term unnecessary, if not entirely _obsolete_, and the whole is generally comprehended under the appellation of GAME, and the LAWS enacted to prevent its destruction.

FOREST LAWS—are the laws framed for the protection of VERT and VENISON within the precincts of a forest. It is the business, and the duty, of all _subordinate_ officers, to apprehend offenders of whatever description, and present them to the FOREST COURTS, in order to their being punished according to the magnitude of the offence they may have committed.

FOREST COURTS—are the courts occasionally held for executing the FOREST LAWS. The principal of which is, the Court of the CHIEF JUSTICE in EYRE; this is a court of _record_, and is held only once in _three years_. The Court of SWAINMOTE consists of the verderers, who, in some degree, are the JUDGES; as they receive presentments, and hear evidence, as well as enquire of _offences_ to _convict_, but cannot pass judgment, that power being reserved to the Court of the CHIEF JUSTICE (called "JUSTICE SEAT") alone. The Court of Swainmote can only be held _three times a year_. The COURT OF ATTACHMENT is likewise a meeting of the VERDERERS, and held once in _six weeks_, being called the "FORTY DAYS COURT."

During the time of the great camp upon _Bagshot Heath_, the DUKE of RICHMOND having taken up his temporary residence at the _Rose Inn_, _Wokingham_, in WINDSOR FOREST, where the courts were occasionally held, and seeing the regulations respecting the COURT of ATTACHMENT fixed in the room, his Grace wished to obtain some information upon the subject; but finding none to be derived from the waiter, he desired "a person might be sent up who knew _something of the matter_." In a few minutes appeared the son of the landlady, who most _sagaciously_ informed the DUKE, that the "_Forty Days Court_ was an ANNUAL MEETING, held every _six weeks_;" with which very clear and explanatory account, his Grace condescendingly expressed himself "perfectly satisfied."

FORM—is the spot in which the HARE takes her _seat_ at the dawn of day, to secrete herself, after making her various work in the night (or rather in the early part of the morning) to avoid discovery. When found _sitting_, she is said to be in her FORM. If _shot_ as she sits, without being previously disturbed, she is then said to have been _shot in her form_. HARES vary their sitting according to the _season_, the _sun_, and the _wind_. Soon after harvest they are found in wheat, barley, and oat stubbles, as well as in rushy grassy moors; after these get bare, they retire to _coverts_, _banks_, _hedges_, and _hedge-rows_. After Christmas, and in the spring months, _dry fallows_, particularly those laying towards the sun with an ascent, are seldom without hares, if there are any in the neighbourhood.

FOUL-FEEDERS—See APPETITE.

FOWL.—FOWL, properly arranged, may be classed under three distinct heads; as DOMESTIC FOWL, consisting of cocks, hens, geese, and ducks. WILD FOWL, comprehending, in the general sporting acceptation, only birds of flight and passage, as sea-gulls and geese, wild ducks, widgeon, teal, curlews, plover, woodcocks, and snipes. GAME FOWL, in the earliest Acts of Parliament, for its preservation, were extended to a very long list, including even the "Heron," the "Mallard," the "Duck," and the "Teal:" these, however, seem to be buried in a legal oblivion, and the whole at present to centre in the PHEASANT, the PARTRIDGE, the GROUSE, or red game, and the HEATH FOWL, or black game; the laws respecting which individually, will be found under their distinct and separate heads.

FOWLING—is a term in some degree PROVINCIAL, being used in a different sense in _one_ county to what it is in _another_. In fenny countries, FOWLING applies generally to the pursuit of _water fowl_, and the act of obtaining or taking them with either NET or GUN. In other parts, FOWLING appertains only to the sport of taking partridges with a NET and SETTING DOG. With FARMERS, and the middling class of rustics, particularly in remote parts, _fowling_ and _shooting_ are synonimous terms.

FOWLING-BAG, OR NET.—A bag or net is so called, which hangs by the side of a SPORTSMAN, suspended from a leathern belt passing round the neck over his shoulder, for the purpose of receiving such GAME as he may be able "_to bag_," or "bring to _net_."

FOWLING-PIECE—has been generally used to imply a GUN of _any_ description, so far as it was applicable to the purpose of killing GAME, or, in fact, WILD FOWL of _any_ kind. It is, however, now more properly applied to those of _five_ or _six_ feet in the _barrel_, principally made use of for killing SEA and WATER FOWL, as _Wild_ or _Solan Geese_, _Wild Ducks_, _Widgeon_, _Teal_, &c.

FOX.—The FOX is that well-known native animal of this country whose instinctive _cunning_ has rendered it proverbial: they are common in most parts of the kingdom, (as well as in Scotland,) but vary so much in _size_, that a late writer has extended his description to three different and _distinct_ kinds. He says, "There are three varieties of fox with us, differing in form, but not in colour, except the _cur_ FOX, whose tip of the tail is black: they are distinguished by the names of the GREYHOUND FOX, which is the tallest and boldest, and is chiefly found in the mountainous parts of England and Scotland, and will attack a well-grown sheep. The MASTIFF FOX is less, but his limbs more strongly formed. The CUR FOX is the least, the most common, and is the most pernicious to GAME, approaches nearer to the habitations of mankind, lurks about the out-houses of the FARMER, and destroys all the POULTRY it can get at."

Without descending to a minute examination of this "VARIETY," which probably may arise from the force of a too fertile imagination, or the different _growth_ of FOXES in _different counties_, where the _deficiency_ of food, or the _difficulty_ of _obtaining_ it, may occasion as great and proportional a variation in the _size_ of the ANIMAL, as may be observed with the HORSES of SCOTLAND and WALES, when brought into competition with those produced in a more fertile part of the kingdom; it must suffice to explain his natural history as of _one species_ only.

The FOX, when _tamed_, and subject to nice inspection, is one of the most beautifully formed animals in the creation; and when that _form_ is critically surveyed, the _possibility_ of his persevering _speed_ before such immense bodies of _fleet_ pursuers, for so great a length of time, becomes matter of the greatest admiration. Foxes are in colour of a yellowish red, or rather yellow brown, having on the forehead, the shoulders, as far as the root of the tail, and the outside of the hind legs, a tinge of dirty white or ash colour: the edges of the lips, the cheeks, and the throat, are white; and a stripe of the same runs along the under side of the legs: the breast and belly are a lightish grey: the tips of the ears and feet (sportingly termed PADS) are black: the tail (called BRUSH) reddish yellow, with a blackish hue upon the surface; the tip itself pure white.

The fox in formation has great resemblance to the DOG, but with some variations; his head is larger in proportion to his body; his ears are shorter; his tail thicker, and the hair longer: he has a broad flat forehead, narrowing to a picked nose; ears erect, and sharp at the point; eyes small, and fiery in aspect, by which are easily observed whether he is influenced by AFFECTION, ANGER, or FEAR. His sense of smelling is so instinctively exquisite, that he can _wind_ either his _prey_ or his enemy at a very considerable distance.

The sagacity of this animal, in the pursuit of his prey, as well as his various modes of obtaining it, are almost beyond description: his favourite objects are GAME of every kind, RABBITS, POULTRY without exception, BIRDS, and the smaller quadrupeds. In extreme hunger he will eat _mice_, _frogs_, _snails_, and _insects_: some kinds of fruits and berries also are not refused. HONEY he is remarkably fond of; and, it is said, will even attack the HIVES, and hazard the event of _a battle_, rather than relinquish the chance of so luxurious and delicious a repast. The same sagacity regulates all his proceedings in respect to bodily safety: when laying above ground, it is generally in the most sequestered and unfrequented places, and the most difficult of access; when _at earth_, it is generally in the strong hold of hard ground, exceedingly deep, of which some BADGER has been dispossessed, (by the FOX'S cunning of depositing his excrement there,) or under the roots of trees, by the diverse ramifications of which he is shielded from every chance of extermination.

In his nocturnal depredations, he is in some degree _systematic_, frequently selecting for his concealment those small grassy-bottomed COVERTS near the small _hovels_ and _thatched cottages_ of the labouring poor, where his lurking-place is the least suspected. Here, in his recluse KENNEL, he enjoys the various cackling of the different kinds of poultry, and exultingly anticipates the intentional devastation. When unrestrained, and in a state of liberty, he seizes POULTRY with a rapturous eagerness, and ravenous rapacity, absolutely incredible; his joy in possession is demonstrated by the most inexpressible _twistings_ and _flirtings_ of the TAIL, with other wanton _gesticulations_, indicative of the highest possible gratification. The first and most pressing sensations of present _hunger_ being satisfied, he prudently provides for the _uncertainty_ of the _future_: after the annihilation (or safe deposit) of a _first_, he returns for the _second_; that safely secured, either in a hole dug for its reception, and covered with earth, or secreted in his _kennel_, he comes for _a third_, which is concealed in a similar manner, but not in the same place, well knowing the impolicy of placing _all_ his _treasure_ in ONE BANK, wisely recollecting, that should BANKRUPTCY happen in _one place_, it can prove no _bad maxim_ to have EFFECTS in another.

FORTUNE not always favoring him at the _same points_, he has his ALTERNATIVES: as it is the _misfortune_ annexed to his very NATURE to afford _sport_ to _others_, so, with all the retaliation in his power, he frequently finds _sport_ for _himself_. To the helpless, inoffensive LEVERETS, during the early part of the season, he frequently gives chase, particularly on moon-light nights, with too much success. In this pursuit he vents a sensation of pleasure, partaking more of a _yelping whimper_ than a distinct _bark_: he seizes old HARES in their _forms_; perseveringly digs _rabbits_ out of their _burrows_; is indefatigable in the search after, and discovery of, PHEASANTS and PARTRIDGES upon their _nests_, which he instantly destroys. The fatigue he undergoes by night in quest of prey, occasions him to sleep _much_, and sometimes exceedingly _sound_, by DAY: instances have been frequent of HOUNDS drawing up to, and killing them _in kennel_, without _a drag_; as well as of their being found sleeping in the sunny banks of hedge-rows, and shot by FARMERS, (basking as they lay,) without being previously disturbed.

The naturally rank and offensive smell of the FOX renders it a rich _scent_ to HOUNDS, which they evidently evince when it _lays well_, and they are running BREAST HIGH; at which time the _crows_, _magpies_, and _jays_, (who consider him an invincible and cruel enemy,) give clamorous proofs of his presence, by hovering over him with their screams of exultation at his impending fate, so long as they can keep him _in view_. They copulate (or go to _clicket_, as it is called) in the winter, and produce cubs during the month of April, and the first week in May: they have but one litter a year; an OLD VIXEN frequently bringing from _six_ to _nine_ cubs; a VIXEN of the _first_ or _second_ year not so many. They are known to grow for eighteen months, and to live, even in a _tame state_, for fourteen or fifteen years.

Doubts have arisen, and opposite opinions have been strenuously supported, upon the question whether the FOX and DOG will generate an OFFSPRING to which the _prolific_ powers shall continue in successive perpetuity: this seems to be positively ascertained in the AFFIRMATIVE, with one exception, which is, that the act of copulation will be effected only by the DOG FOX with a _bitch_ of the CANINE SPECIES.

Instances of the extreme _cunning_, and innate _sagacity_, of FOXES, when hunted, and in returning _twenty_ and _thirty_ miles to the coverts where they have been first found, are upon record, and almost innumerable. Their COURAGE, as well as the _strength_ of their _jaws_, are beyond conception: they defend themselves to the last extremity; no blows deter them from their hold: their bite is severe and dangerous, as they make their teeth meet through a strong and thick hand. When caught by the HOUNDS, they are silently resolute even in DEATH; for revengefully _seizing_ upon the _first_ assailant, their hold is never relinquished but with the last gasp.

FOX-HUNTING—has been for time immemorial a favourite sport with the natives of this kingdom, particularly in the prime of life; the pleasing exercise, and bodily exertion, contributing greatly to the PRESERVATION of HEALTH; but the _fatigue_ and _danger_ render it but ill-adapted to the AGED, the INFIRM, and the VALETUDINARIAN. The persevering speed and fortitude of the GAME, the constantly improving high mettled excellence of the HOUNDS, the invincible spirit of the HORSES, and the unrestrained ardour of their RIDERS, have given it a decided superiority over every other FIELD SPORT ever yet known to the people of this country. Its salutary effect upon both the BODY and MIND, has established its enjoyment upon a basis too broad ever to be shaken, even by time itself: the superlative pleasure of every scene, the diversities of the aggregate, and the extacy with which the whole is embraced by its infinity of devotees, have reduced the sport to a system of perfection never before known; and in this some of the most LEARNED, the most EMINENT, and the most OPULENT characters are principally and personally engaged in nearly _every county_, from one extremity of the kingdom to the other.

FOX-HUNTING seems to be possessed of a _charm_, or magical inspiration, within itself, that even the most serious, the most cynical, and the most singular, cannot, with all the firmness of their resolves, summon resolution to withstand. It is the very kind of rapturous gratification to which every effort of the pen becomes inadequate in its attempts at description; it must be _seen_ to be _understood_; it must be FELT to be ENJOYED. A FOX-HUNTING ESTABLISHMENT consists, in general, of what it has done for the last century past, at least with those PACKS most celebrated for the EMINENCE and OPULENCE of their OWNERS. The principal and second HUNTSMAN, the first and second WHIPPER-IN, three horses kept for _each_ of the _first_, and two _each_ for _both_ the _last_; from TWENTY-FIVE to THIRTY-FIVE couple of HOUNDS, _terriers_, _helpers_, _earth-stoppers_, _dog-feeders_, and a long list of _et ceteras_, too numerous for minute description. Those who wish to acquire a _systematic_ knowledge of the SPORT, (so far as it can be obtained from THEORY,) will do well to peruse attentively "MR. BECKFORD'S Thoughts upon Hunting, in a Series of familiar LETTERS TO A FRIEND."—They are so truly the effusions of sound judgment, and so replete with the useful remarks of an experienced sportsman, that there is no room for any thing NEW or ADDITIONAL to be introduced upon the subject.

FREE WARREN.—A FREE WARREN is a term totally distinct from FOREST, CHACE, PARK, MANOR, or WARREN; it is a _franchise_ derived originally from THE CROWN; and the person having a grant of free warren over certain lands, possesses a SOLE RIGHT of _pursuing_, _taking_, and _killing_ GAME of every kind within its limits; although there may be no _one acre_ of land his _own property_ through the whole district where he is possessed of this right. There are instances where a variety of circumstances render manorial rights and privileges so complex, and _seemingly_ indefinite, as to produce litigation without personal enmity, but merely that the RIGHT shall be LEGALLY ascertained. It appears that where MANOR LANDS are situate in, and surrounded by, a FREE WARREN, the owner of such lands may _kill game_ within his _own_ manor, but he cannot introduce even a qualified person to KILL GAME there _also_, without the consent of the owner or possessor of the privilege of FREE WARREN over the whole; if so, the person introduced _killing game_, will be liable to an action for trespass, which action will lie.

A curious cause came on to be tried before a jury at the summer assizes of the present year, 1802, held at ABINGDON, for the county of BERKS, wherein JOHN WESTBROOK, Gent. of the parish of BRAY, (situate in Windsor Forest,) was PLAINTIFF, and a Game-keeper of his Majesty's the DEFENDANT. The action was brought to try the RIGHT of the DEFENDANT, as one of his Majesty's keepers, to KILL GAME within the _enclosed grounds_ of the PLAINTIFF, situate in, and surrounded by, the _wastes_, _commons_, and within the boundaries of the said FOREST. When, without adverting to the LAWS relative to forests _only_, (with which the question was totally unconnected,) the Court held it good, that THE KING, possessing a FREE WARREN over the WHOLE, possessed likewise the privilege of appointing a KEEPER to kill game upon _any_, and within _every_, part of the said FREE WARREN, without the least exception as to _enclosed lands_, the property of _others_; when the jury instantly found for the DEFENDANT, by which the right is fully confirmed.

This being a question of _privilege_, tried on the part of an individual against the prerogative of THE CROWN, it might be fairly considered conclusive upon the subject of FREE WARREN; but as it cannot be too clearly understood, for the prevention of ill neighbourhood, and expensive litigation, another decision is subjoined, which took place about the same time, though in a different county.

On the 12th of July, in the same year, a writ of inquiry was executed before the Under Sheriff at Hertford, in an action wherein HENRY BROWNE, of North Mimms, Esq. was PLAINTIFF, and THOMAS GREENWOOD, the Younger, DEFENDANT. The action was brought for a trespass committed by the DEFENDANT, in _shooting game_ within the FREE WARREN belonging to the PLAINTIFF, who is LORD of the MANOR of North Mimms, and entitled to free warren through the whole of the Manor. It appeared, that the land on which the trespass was committed, and the _game killed_, by the DEFENDANT, was _not, in point of fact_, the land of the PLAINTIFF, but, on the contrary, belonged to JUSTINIAN CASAMAJOR, Esq. However, as it was proved to be within the Manor of North Mimms, and the right of free warren extending over the whole of the Manor, THE JURY, after considering the circumstances of the case, and the defendant's conduct, who persisted in shooting _after being warned to the contrary_, gave a verdict of TEN POUNDS with costs.

FRET.—The disorder which (in the country) is called by this name, is the FLATULENT CHOLIC, and occasioned from a retention of wind, and a rarefaction of air in the intestinal canal. It is immediately discoverable by the fulness and extreme tension of the carcase, the agonizing pain of the horse, the rumbling of the confined air, the partial and very trifling expulsions of wind, the laboured respiration, frequent groaning, suddenly laying down, and as hastily rising, constant looking back to the flank on one side or the other, as if soliciting relief from those who surround him. The great and leading object is, to promote a plentiful EXPULSION of WIND: this is in general followed by excrementitious discharges, by which ease is obtained, and the disorder near at an end. Warm, spicy, aromatic CARMINATIVES, blended with ANODYNES, are the medicines best adapted to this species of CHOLIC, and to which it speedily submits; more particularly if plenty of ASSISTANTS are at hand to bestow the necessary portion of _flank rubbing_, (and belly wisping,) to an unceasing perseverance in which, success is _equally_ to be depended upon with the administration of MEDICINE; as in most cases little is to be expected from one without collateral aid from the other.

FROG,—in HORSES, is the centrical soft kind of horny substance at the bottom of the foot, spreading wide from the heel, having a cleft in the middle, and terminating in a point toward the toe. To the internal parts the lower extremity of the TENDONS are attached, and the FROG is the basis by which their _elasticity_ is supported, and from whence is derived the _deceptive_ reasoning, that the FROG must indispensibly (in action) _touch_ the _ground_. The frog is subject to a defect, called the FRUSH, or THRUSH, and this, when become virulent, is termed _running thrush_: it sometimes arises from internal heat, by standing too much upon _foul hot litter_, (particularly in the livery stables of the Metropolis,) as well as from a STAGNANT state of the FLUIDS in the extremities, for want of _proper exercise_, leg rubbing, and keeping the feet clean.

FROTH.—A HORSE displaying a profusion of FROTH when champing upon the BIT, either in _action_ upon the _road_, or in the FIELD with HOUNDS, may be considered a distinguishing, and almost invariable sign of both good spirit and sound bottom; for a _dull jade_, or a HORSE of the _sluggish cart breed_, is very rarely to be seen with this appearance. It is also no inferior criterion of HEALTH, and may, in general, be considered truly indicative of CONDITION: few, if any, horses of this description _flag_ upon a journey, or _tire_ in the field.

FRUSH.—A disorder or defect in the centrical cleft of the FROG, at the bottom of the foot, was formerly so called; but is now more generally known under the denomination of THRUSH, which SEE.

FUMIGATION—is a most useful PROCESS in all cases where the DISEASES of HORSES particularly affect the HEAD. In recent _colds_, obstinate _coughs_, glandular _tumefactions_ under the _jaws_, STRANGLES, INFLAMMATION of the LUNGS, low fevers, and even in dulness, over-fatigue, or when a horse is off his appetite, and refuses food, it is very frequently of perceptible utility. HORSES may be fumigated by boiling ROSEMARY, LAVENDER, MARSHMALLOW LEAVES, and CAMMOMILE FLOWERS, in a few quarts of water over the fire for a quarter of an hour, then straining off the liquor, and strewing the _hot herbs_ from one end of the manger to the other, fastening the horse's head up with the _rack rein_, by which means he cannot evade the EFFLUVIA. In want of these, or where they are difficult to obtain, a mash made of GROUND MALT, with boiling water, is a very substantial and proper substitute, into which stir two ounces of aniseed, and two ounces of carraway seeds, both fresh, and previously beaten to powder in a mortar. This mash most HORSES will afterwards EAT, when sufficiently _cold_ for the purpose; which, with the effect of the _fumes_ upon the THROAT, the NOSTRILS, the GLANDS, and the HEAD, in general will promote a discharge, and relieve the subject.

FUNGUS—is the too-fast shooting granulations of new flesh during the incarnation of WOUNDS, particularly in HORSES, with whom it is invariably exuberant, and requires some degree of judgment in the suppression: it is too frequently attempted by _Roman vitriol_, _corrosive sublimate_, and other caustics; but they are only productive of disappointment, in constituting _an eschar_ upon the surface, and leaving the cure at a more remote and uncertain distance, than before their application. Slight scarifications, both transverse and longitudinal, with a LANCET or BISTORY, is a far preferable mode of treatment, and that followed by a dressing of lint covered with proper digestives.

FURNITURE HORSE.—In many parts of the United Kingdom, the SADDLE, BRIDLE, CLOTHS, and every other part appertaining to the body of the horse, passes under the denomination of _horse furniture_.

G.

GALLS, OR GALLING.—Lacerations occasioned by the too tight pressure and friction of an uneasy and ill-fitted saddle, or heavy harness, are so called. They are seldom seen with either the judicious or the enlightened; experience having taught _both_ how to appreciate PREVENTION. The prudent SPORTSMAN will never take his horse to the field, nor the humane driver his carriage-horse to the road, till personal examination has convinced him the necessary apparatus is not only _firm_, but proportionally _easy_; and this should become the more predominant in memory, because it is natural to conclude, no man existing would, by neglect or inattention, give _pain_ to the very animal from whose exertions he is to derive his own PLEASURE.

Injuries of this description, if unexpectedly sustained, should be immediately attended to; a repetition, and _that soon_, upon the part so injured, is frequently productive of trouble, expence, loss of time, and disappointment. When the side of a horse is _galled_, as it sometimes is, by the girth-buckle having been most improperly placed upon the _edge_ of the _pad_, it is not unlikely, for want of early or proper attention, to terminate in a SITFAST, and then can only be completely cured by extirpation with _the knife_. The WITHERS being affected in the same way, and the saddle or harness continued in use by which the injury was originally occasioned, the foundation of FISTULA may be laid, and will be likely to ensue. In all slight and superficial galls, two or three moistenings of the part with cold vinegar will allay the inflammation, and harden the surface; but where the long-continued _heat_ and _friction_ has occasioned a destruction of parts, it must be dressed and managed as a wound, which can only be completely cured by incarnation.

GALLOP—is one pace of THE HORSE, well known by that general name; though it will admit of gradational distinctions. A CANTER is the slowest gallop, in which a horse bears most upon his haunches, but lightly on the bit; it is a pace which spirited, good-tempered horses seem to enjoy, and is peculiarly calculated for the accommodation of a lady. A RATING-GALLOP is the increase of action to such pace, as the particular horse may or can go with ease _at his rate_ in common stroke without being exerted _to speed_; and this is the HUNTING GALLOP of thorough BRED HORSES, who will always lay by the _side_ of HOUNDS at it, without being in the least distrest. A BRUSHING GALLOP upon the TURF, implies an increased degree of velocity, but not equal to utmost speed.

GALLOPADE—is a term in the MILITARY MANEGE.

GALLOWAY—is the appellation given to that useful kind of small horse from THIRTEEN to FOURTEEN HANDS high; they are rarely to be seen of exact SYMMETRY, uniform STRENGTH, and adequate ACTION; but, if _well-bred_, their qualifications, and endurance of fatigue, exceeds description.

GAMBLERS—consist of two sets; first, those whose thirst for GAMING, (called PLAY) is insatiate, and who have PROPERTY to LOSE; these are GENTLEMEN, who, possessing a refined sense of HONOR themselves, never meanly descend to suspect the INTEGRITY of _others_. An accurate description of their opponents will be found under the head "BLACK LEGS," where the practices of "_the family_" are more fully explained.