Related article: the time, so as Order Imuran to enable the men to dig down to the pipe (a west- country term for one or other of the badger's dwelling-rooms), and also to keep him from digging. In sandy soil it is an acknow- ledged fact that a badger can bury himself quicker than three or four men can dig over him. In all we used seven dogs in turn before we were near to our quarry, having dug some 7 to 8 feet through chalk. Then came a piece of science, where a knowledge of otter hunting was useful, viz., in 41 tailing " the badger. My worthy host, with the aid of a spade, managed this feat admirably, bringing up a badger which weighed about 30 lbs. Without more ado we put this gentleman down, giving him some 100 yards law in the open, and slipped a dozen terriers, most of them the wire-haired variety. To my astonishment I found that the badger, snapping from right to left, inflicting severe Generic Imuran punishment, was getting away from the terriers without a scratch, until one of the men running up hit him over the snout with a crow-bar, giving the coup de grdce. It was pointed out to me afterwards that there is practically only one vital spot in the badger at the mercy of dogs, and that even a pack of fox-hounds will not roll one over unless there might be one who had tackled the same before. The badger's skin is like parchment, and practically impenetrable to a terrier's teeth. An old sheep dog of the true breed is about . the only dog who can Buy Imuran neatly turn him over, fixing the belly, which is the only vulnerable part. Having an impression of the foulness of the badger's habits, I was agreeably surprised, on ex- amining the earth, to note his I899-] THE HUNT BALL. 19 cleanly ways, each " pipe " being used for different purposes. A dozen badger skins, properly dressed, make a splendid carriage rug, impenetrable even by a Scotch mist. It seems a pity that a war of extermination should be carried on against this interesting animal. Purchase Imuran Online Naturalists now admit that he is more sinned against than sinning, being an inveterate enemy to mice, rats, moles and hoc omtu genus. Consequently a friend to the farmers. It would be interesting to learn in how many English counties the badger still exists. In Scotland he Imuran Online is believed to be almost extinct, owing to the bitter and prejudiced action of the gentle- men in velveteen, doubtless with the consent of their employers. Philocunos. The Hunt Ball. It is curious to note that in Voveran Sr 75 the otherwise comprehensive " Bad- minton " volume concerned with dancing, no mention is made of that essentially English insti- tution, the Hunt Ball ; possibly, therefore, a few words concern- ing the origin and evolution of these important social fixtures will not be out of place at this time of year. Like the sport which suggested them, the date of their systematisation would ap- pear to be extremely obscure, although as early as Buy Imuran Online 161 7 Hey- wood's play, "A Woman Killed by Kindness," mentions as Voveran Sr 100 a favourite dance one entitled " Hunting of the Fox," which may, possibly, have had some- thing to do with the convivial evenings indulged in by our seven- teenth century fox-hunters. To come to more enlightened times, viz., the commencement of the present century, it is evi- dent that the hunt ball was no- thing more than a piece of courtesy extended by the master of a pack, at his own private expense, as a kind of quid pro quo to the farmers and small proprietors over whose land he rode, being, in fact, a festive gathering for all the humbler followers and dependents of the hunt, where the wives and daughters of the squireens, farmers, yeomen, and sporting tradesfolk, &c, had an oppor- tunity given them of airing their fine feathers, and of partaking in all the enjoyments of a real dance, unaccompanied by the frigid eti- quette and atmosphere of exclu- siveness that characterised most of county balls a hundred years ago. For those, it should be remembered, were the palmy days of Almack's, when, it is said, three-fourths of the nobility knocked at its doors in vain ; and when also, all over the country, foolish attempts at aping the manners of the grand London ball-patronesses were being per- petuated. But there can be but little doubt that the hunt ball, as it is now known, was the direct outcome of the institution of convivial clubs in connection with various hunts, the leaders of which had inaugu- rated distinctive dress uniforms that grew more elaborate as the century advanced. The very first of these was the " Stratford-on- Purchase Imuran 20 BAILY S MAGAZINE. [January Avon," afterwards the " Warwick- shire Hounds," which club, as early as the year 1801, chose for its evening uniform, " black stock- ings, breeches and waistcoat, and a scarlet coat with handsome gilt buttons, with the letters ' S.H. 1 Order Imuran Online upon them, and a black velvet collar," the latter appendage gain- ing for the members the name of " Black Collars." For many years, however, these striking evening toilets (where they ex- isted) blushed unseen ; that Buy Voveran Sr is to say, no general inclination was as yet evinced to follow up in the relaxation of the after - dinner hours the effect produced by the red-coat of the morning. The fox-hunting men of the period were, as a rule, averse to going out in the evening; the winter months being regarded by them as too precious and fleeting Buy Cheap Imuran to be impregnated with the observance of social duties. Hence it was that not until trie rise of various fashionable spas in the heart of