GLOVES.
Antelope-skin or dog-skin gloves are, I think, the best for hunting. I prefer the former, as they are very soft and pliable. Whatever kind of gloves are chosen, care should be taken to have them sufficiently large to allow perfect freedom to the hands; for tight gloves make the hands cold, and greatly impede their action in the management of the reins. In selecting gloves, a careful measurement of the fingers should be taken, so that they may not be too short. Although gloves of the best quality are somewhat expensive, they are well cut, they wear better and are altogether more satisfactory than cheap imitations. On very cold days, I prefer white woollen gloves to any other kind. In wet weather they are indispensable, for a better grip of slippery reins can be got with them than with leather ones. I agree with Jorrocks that “Berlin gloves are capital for ’unting in, they keep your ’ands warm, and do to rub your nose upon in cold weather,” though I have not tried their effect in this respect! During a winter which I spent in Russia, I derived the greatest comfort from the use of woollen gloves, which I found far warmer than any other kind. For the tropics, kid or suède gloves may be worn in the cold weather, but in the hot months I found white cotton the most comfortable kind, as they are cool, thin and soft, and wash and wear better than silk, which the reins quickly destroy. Perspiration from the hands will show through leather gloves, which, on drying, will become as stiff as a board. It should be remembered that rings worn when riding, especially those containing stones, hamper the action of the fingers, and are very destructive to gloves.
RIDING UNDER-BODICE, HUNTING-TIES, COLLARS, CUFFS AND TIES.
A garment which I have thought out, and which I believe will fill a want, is a riding under-bodice with long sleeves and wristbands, to which cuffs can be attached, and also a stud at the throat for the attachment of a hunting-tie or collar. This bodice is in stockinet, and fits closely, without, as in the case of ordinary shirts, any superfluous material marring the outline of the figure (Figs. [65] and [66]). Ladies generally have so much difficulty in fastening cuffs, that they will doubtless welcome a close-fitting garment of this description, and it will do away with the tiresome habit-shirts and dickeys which have an irritating trick of following one’s neck about, instead of remaining in a fixed position. Besides, collars which cannot be kept firmly in place generally necessitate the use of pins, which should never be employed with any article of riding attire.
