The Language Of Field Sports , livre ebook

THE LANGUAGE OF FIELD SPORTS
BY
C. E. HARE
PARTRIDGE SHOOTING From The British Sportsman by William Augustus Osbaldiston, 1792
CONTENTS

I NTRODUCTION
P REFACE
PART I. HUNTING TERMS (ANCIENT AND MODERN)
I. B EASTS OF V ENERY , C HASE AND W ARREN
II. A LL M ANER D ERE
III. T HE W ILD B OAR, THE B EAR AND THE W OLF
IV. F OXHUNTING AND C OURSING
V. H ARRIERS , B EAGLING AND O TTER H UNTING
VI. S HOOTING
VII. F ISHING
VIII. H AWKING
IX. V ERMIN
PART II. PECULIAR TERMS
X. T HE P ROPERTIES
XI. T HE M USIC OF THE C HASE
XII. M ALE AND F EMALE
XIII. T HE Y OUNG OF A NIMALS
XIV. F OOTPRINTS
XV. A NIMALS RETIRING TO R EST
XVI. T HE D ISLODGMENT OF A NIMALS
XVII. O RDURE OR E XCREMENT
XVIII. T AILS OF A NIMALS
XIX. C RIES OF A NIMALS
XX. T HE M ATING OF A NIMALS
XXI. B REAKING AND D RESSING
XXII. T HE H ORSE
PART III. GROUP TERMS
XXIII. B IRDS
XXIV. A NIMALS
XXV. F ISHES AND I NSECTS
PART IV. BIBLIOGRAPHY
XXVI. T HE A UTHORITIES
XXVII. T HE B OOK OF S T . A LBANS
APPENDICES
I. A D IGRESSION
II. S OME D UTCH T ERMS
III. P ET N AMES , P HRASES AND O RIGINS
IV. T ABLE OF T ERMS WITH SEVERAL M EANINGS
I NDEX TO S PORTING T ERMS
I NDEX TO A NIMALS , B IRDS , F ISHES , I NSECTS
INTRODUCTION

T HIS B OOK owes its birth to a habit of the author-a habit of collecting. The subject was the simple one of the proper term for a gathering of the various animals or birds. For twenty years there was no time except to add to the little list as information came his way. Then leisure permitted research, interest deepened, the scope of enquiry widened, until Group Terms became but the scut to the hare of Hunting Language.
Sport is inevitably kindled from Nature; Smith tells us, and truly: a man cannot be a true sportsman who is not also a true naturalist. Thus was the book and its title born.
Some young men-and here the author has memories of his own youth-naturally fond of sport themselves, do not happen to come of a sporting family. They lack the advantage of a relative or friend who could put them wise on such matters as the object, rules, etiquette, and peculiar language of, say, fox-hunting. Such men are shy of asking for fear of appearing foolish or ignorant, and they do not know where to look for their information. And ladies, too-though perhaps they are not so fearful of dropping a brick .
It was found impossible to present the language of hunting in a suitable form without giving a short description of the several histories of the chase. But these accounts are necessarily brief; those who would go deeper into the matter and who desire a comprehensive and consecutive story are referred to vol. xxiii of the Lonsdale Library, to Bridleways through History , by Lady Apsley (1936), and to the Authorities mentioned in Chapter XXVI .
Strict accuracy has been aimed at and, it is hoped, attained; but the author will welcome authentic additions and criticism. The subject is inexhaustible: the more one reads the more one learns. So the pack is laid on, and they are away in full cry. Sohowe!
The term hunting meant the chase of a wild animal in its natural haunts. Primitive man was a hunter-for his food and his clothing-and his sport was attended with far more difficulty and danger than is ours. But hunting would not be what it is if there was not an element of danger, even if that is only represented to-day by personal inconvenience and discomfort (Lady Apsley).
The same spirit has prevailed through the ages. Nimrod, the first King of Babylon (about 2000 B.C .), was a mighty hunter before the Lord . The Assyrians were passionately fond of hunting, and of the Persians it was said that they taught their children to ride, to shoot, and to tell the truth . The Persians used to attack on foot, and ride down, wild animals in large enclosures called paradises . Men of every race have hunted, and for their hunting have evolved their own peculiar terms. And among the peoples of the British Isles the predominant characteristic which has persisted through the centuries is their love for Hunting.
[Since this work was started, public interest in the history and language of sport has been confirmed by the widespread popularity revealed for the recent Sports Competitions inaugurated by the British Field Sports Society.]
PREFACE

L ET US hope , wrote Folkard nearly eighty years ago, that the character of the English sportsman is not so far degenerated, or the respect he owes to ancient diversions so far forgotten, as to permit him any longer to persist in such cramped and improper slang as to use the inapplicable term flock to every, or any, description of wild-fowl. It should be borne in mind that, as we derive our laws and our purest sciences from the ancients, from the same source sprang our national sports; and the arts, systems and terms in connection with such have been handed down to us from generation to generation, because none other express so faithfully the meaning intended to be conveyed.
There are terms inapplicable to many varieties of birds besides wild-fowl, as well as of animals and fishes. It is in the belief that the modern sportsman will be sufficiently concerned to use on all occasions the proper term that this book is offered. That there is a widespread interest in the subject has been proved to the writer by the number of letters, offering help and advice, he has received from all parts of the world.
Correct speech or perfect manners do not, of themselves, make a true sportsman. I am sensible , said Abraham Markland, in his Pteryplegia, or The Art of Shooting Flying , there is no becoming Sportsman by Book. You may here find the Rules and proper Directions for that End; but Practice alone can make you Masters. Bare Theory may as soon stamp a General , as a Marksman. The writer perceives the limitations of this work. But, just as perfect knowledge does not of itself produce practical perfection, so would no true sportsman, however expert in the field, desire to be ignorant of, or fail to use, the correct hunting language , by the use of which thereby, in a manner, all men of worth may discover a gentleman from a yeoman, and a yeoman from a villain (Mallory).
This work has been a labour of love; its original object was to give in a correct and convenient form the proper terms for the various flocks of birds, herds of animals, shoals of fish and swarms of insects, as applied to their several species ( Part III ). Strictly, all terms should be company terms, or nouns of assemblage-that is, words which actually mean a gathering together . But it is not always so. Some terms owe their origin to the characteristics of the birds or animals, or to their cries, or refer to their progeny. Others have been copied wrongly by scribes or printers, and are now commonly employed in a form quite different from the original.
The most important ancient list of terms is the one headed Compaynys of beestys and fowlys in The Book of St. Albans . 1 The terms were in no sense company terms, as was believed by many authorities for several centuries, but just proper terms to be used by gentlemen and those curious in their speech . An attempt has been made here to group the terms in a logical sequence. In all cases where the term occurs in the St. Albans list, that rendering has been given; in addition the earliest authority for each term has been noted. The special method of numbering was adopted to facilitate quick reference, and to allow room for additional terms. The Notes are numbered to correspond with the terms to which they refer, and endeavour to show their original or intended meaning.
Many of these group terms might well be revived: a trip of geet, a sord or sute of mallard, a host of sparrows, a pace of asses, a clowder of cats, a rag of colts, and a harras of horses.
The writer has found his work grow upon him, and it has been expanded considerably beyond its original scope. Some particulars, which he did not intend to touch upon, were found to be so intimately blended with the main purport of this book, that their omission would have rendered it defective. It was found impossible, for instance, to omit references to such subjects as folk-lore and proverbs, though, as these form a gold-mine in themselves, only a few nuggets have been offered. He feels, as did Strutt, that he must entreat the reader to excuse the frequent quotations that he will meet with, judging it much fairer to stand upon the authority of others than to arrogate to (himself) the least degree of penetration . And here he would like to take the opportunity of thanking the numerous correspondents for their valuable assistance, and to tender his apologies should any source of information remain unacknowledged.
The Notes on the Authorities, besides helping to explain the nature and origin of the terms, will, it is hoped, lure readers (as the writer has been lured) to dip into the pages of some of these most fascinating works, most of which can be seen in Clubs, Public Libraries or the British Museum. Although the original intention of the writer was to deal only with sporting terms, it is felt that the work would be incomplete without a reference 1 to the terms for Persons and Objects, since such terms occur in all the old lists, and in fact are often indiscriminately mingled among those for birds and animals.
There is an old saying about all work and no play . The writer has broken bounds and let his fancy (and that of others) wander freely in A Digression . He trusts that readers will find relief and amusement therein, and perhaps be tempted to exercise