Those who have enjoyed the very doubtful pleasure of hunting at the Cape, know something of the perils of the Mimosa tree, which grows there in such deadly luxuriance. A similar danger-trap exists in the stag-hunting districts of America, the long sharp thorns proving terribly destructive to the flesh of man and beast.
It is almost impossible to escape these trees. They grow singly and in groups, with long, light, swaying branches, treacherously outstretched; and if an excited steed, or an unwary rider comes too near to one of them, no close-set company of razors could do more cruel injury, nor make greater havoc of saddlery and clothing.
When we come to regard the question of district hunting in a comparative light, few will hesitate to admit that in spite of all the drawbacks consequent upon wire-fencing, fox-trapping, and hound-poisoning, there are worse countries to hunt in than dear old England; and we who know the sweet delights of a good gallop over rich grass-lands, dotted picturesquely with the harmless beech or elm, and with nothing more dangerous to negotiate than fair broad fences and five-barred gates, need never sigh for the yawning ravines of foreign hunting-grounds, with their treacherous boulders and dangerous Mimosas.
CORRESPONDENCE.
Ladies on Horseback.
To the Editor of The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News.
Sir,—I have read with keen interest the article on "Ladies on Horseback" in your last number. I find several things in it which differ from my preconceived ideas, but it is impossible not to perceive that the writer, Mrs. Power O'Donoghue, speaks from an experience which makes her an undoubted authority. With reference to safety-stirrups, for instance. I have always seen that the ladies of my family were provided with them, and your contributor's objection seems not to be based upon the mechanism of the stirrup when in proper order, but on the circumstance that it is "almost invariably stiff," through neglect. I must admit that I have seen a lady hung up in a safety-stirrup; but surely it is possible to see that the stirrup will work before setting out for a ride or a day's hunting, and if the iron is large enough, so that "the padding over the instep" will not "cause the foot to become firmly embedded," are we to understand that the safety-stirrup is objectionable? Mrs. Power O'Donoghue has a poor opinion of "John the coachman, and Jem the groom," but I am lucky in having trustworthy people in my stable. What stirrup would your contributor have instead of the one with which so large a proportion of ladies ride? Another thing that I should like to know more about is the saddle recommended in the article. "Accustom yourself from the beginning to the use of a properly constructed saddle, made as straight as a board, no dip whatever," this writer says. Now I have never, so far as my recollection goes, even seen such a saddle, and may I ask what are the advantages of a thoroughly straight saddle, and what are the disadvantages of the inevitable slope or dip? I ask purely for information, for I am perfectly ready to submit my judgment and hitherto received notions to the dictum of a lady who is clearly so competent to treat the matter as your contributor. Would the lady have straight saddles also for men? is a question which incidentally occurs to me. I am far from supposing that a thing must be right because it is in general use, but there seem good reasons for the adoption of the ordinary shaped saddle, and I should be very glad if your contributor would let us know her reasons for departing from custom.
Before concluding, let me thank you for a series of articles which cannot fail to be of value to those for whom they are intended.