shioned habits, great care was taken that nothing could become
displaced, to spoil the effect, as an old lady friend puts it, of "the
beautiful gliding motion of a ship in full sail." I fear now-a-days we
allow our sails to flop about far too much, and destroy that "beautiful
gliding motion." What could be more ugly than a coat with tails which
reach nearly to a horse's hocks, and no front covering whatever to
protect the knee in bad weather? Wind, which is no respecter of persons,
seizes these long tails and hurls them over the back of the rider's
head, as she stands in a wild blast at the covert side looking very
"tailly" and cold. Besides covering the right knee, the coat should have
a collar that will turn up and fasten at the throat with a button and
strap, to keep out wet, and cuffs that will turn down over the hands.

[Illustration: Fig. 60.--Back view of good riding coat.]

Clad in a sensible garment of this kind, which should be smart and
well-fitting, we can defy the elements without running any undue risks.
Fig. 59 shows a coat which is made to cover the right knee. Fig. 60
gives the back view, and is a useful length. Fashion, whoever he or she
may be, invents more or less fearful and wonderful coats, which appear
every season in the hunting field; but these curiosities "go out"
suddenly, and the end of the season generally sees us all garbed in the
old motley; for the newcomers have been tried and found wanting.

The best way to clean a mud-stained habit is to dry it thoroughly and
brush the mud off. Any white marks of perspiration from the horse which
may remain after a skirt has been thoroughly brushed and beaten, may be
removed by benzine collas, or cloudy ammonia diluted with water, or they
may be sponged with soft soap and water, care being taken to remove all
the soap from the cloth.

For riding during the hot weather in India and other tropical countries,
a very useful garment is a Norfolk jacket in cream stockinet, which can
be purchased ready-made. It fits the figure closely, and has three
pleats in front and behind, which are sewn to the garment, the buttons
being concealed under the front pleat (Fig. 61). The best kind of belt,
I think, for wearing with this jacket is one made like a girth, of
ordinary cream girth webbing, as it is easy to wash when soiled. Jackets
in white drill, which may be worn open with soft-fronted shirts (Fig.
62), are also to be commended, as they wash well and always lo