COURSING. It is known that coursing is one of the most ancient of British sports, and there is evidence to show that it must have been practised in other countries before the history of Great Britain began; but its actual origin is lost in obscurity. In its earliest stages it apparently comprised the hunting of various animals with dogs bearing a strong resemblance to the modern greyhound, which confines its hunting to the hare. The sport became very popular during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and at some time in this period the first known set of rules was drawn up by the duke of Norfolk. The "Laws of the Leash," as they were called, were 16 in number, and apart from their quaint phraseology they laid down very clearly and simply the principles upon which the sport has since been based. In 1776 the first known club came into existence at Swaffham, through the enterprise of Lord Orford. This was followed by the Ashdown Park club in 1780 and the Malton club in 1781; but there appear to have been no others until the beginning of the 19th century. Then a con siderable number sprang into existence, including the Altcar club (1825), founded by Viscount Molyneux on the estates of his father, Lord Sefton, near Liverpool, where regular meetings have been carried on ever since. With clubs increasing rapidly the need of an authoritative governing body was felt, and when in x858 the National Coursing Club was formed for this purpose it received the ready support of all classes of coursers. It was composed of two representatives from every club which had not less than 24 members, and its constitution remains practically the same to-day. It drew up revised laws, and its rulings were universally accepted; though in 1923 the Irish Coursing Club severed its connection with the parent body and established itself as a separate govern ing body for Ireland.
Coursing received a somewhat serious setback with the passing of the Ground Game Act in 188o, which led to the number of hares being so depleted in some districts that many of the smaller clubs were driven out of existence. This gave a stimulus to enclosed coursing, which had been introduced at Plumpton in 1877, and it enjoyed some popularity for a few years. It has long since died out in England but has remained in Ireland, chiefly owing to the difficulties of preserving hares there. Scotland used to boast many notable clubs, but since 188o the sport has de clined until it has almost disappeared. On the other hand, coursing has flourished in Australia and other British territories, as well as in many foreign countries.
The coursing season lasts about six months, beginning in the middle of September. Before any grey hound may be entered for a meeting under National Coursing Club rules, it must be registered, with its pedigree, in the Greyhound Stud Book, which was instituted in 1882. Irish dogs were included in the Stud Book until 5923, when a separate Stud Book was established by the Irish Coursing Club. Meetings usually extend over one, two, or three days; and the number of stakes to be competed for, and the number of entries to be accepted for each stake, will vary according to local conditions. The dogs are run in couples which are drawn by lot. The winner of the first course meets the winner of the second, and so on until the last two dogs left in compete for victory ; but if two or more dogs belong to the same owner, they are "guarded" (that is, kept from competing against one another, by re-arranging the ties) as far as possible. The hares may be either driven by a staff of beaters towards a pre-arranged running ground, as in the Waterloo Cup and other big meetings, or the dogs may be walked over a selected area until a hare is disturbed naturally, as at meetings of most of the smaller clubs. In any case the hare must be given a clear run of not less than from 6o to 8o yards before the dogs are released. The slipper releases them simultaneously by means of specially devised slip collars attached to a single lead.
In the years immediately prior to the outbreak of the World War, coursing had shown a remarkable increase of pros perity and popularity, and in 1914 the number of registrations in the Greyhound Stud Book, 5,443, was the highest recorded since 1883, the year of ter the Stud Book was founded. The sport was kept alive by a few clubs throughout the war but breeding was badly affected, with the result that there was a shortage of high class greyhounds when the war ended, and extraordinary competition for them took place at public sales. Prices soared to previously unheard-of• heights, and at a sale in April 1920 a first season dog named "A," which had reached the semi-final round in the Waterloo Cup that year, was sold for 62o guineas, only to die from distemper shortly after reaching the kennels of his purchaser, Sir Woodman Burbidge. These prices were further enhanced in 1927 by the sudden popularity of greyhound racing with a me chanical hare.
The Waterloo Cup meeting, held usu ally in February, is the Derby of coursing, and, like the Derby, arouses annual interest among many thousands of people who in the ordinary way take little account of coursing. Named from the Waterloo Hotel, Liverpool, where the first promoters met, the event was first held in 1836, when eight greyhounds competed for the Cup. From that modest beginning the meeting grew rapidly in importance. In 1837 the number of entries was increased to 16, and in 1838 to 32. In 1856 the number was again doubled, and there have been 64 entries each year ever since. The only break in the continuity of annual meetings occurred in 1917, when the event was discontinued until 1920 owing to the war. To be elected as one of the 64 nominators of dogs to run for the Cup is in itself regarded as an honour by greyhound owners, and the meet ing has a very large influence in the propagation of the best blood in breeding. For the best type of greyhound the competition provides a very exacting test, and generally speaking luck plays a bigger part in it than in most other sporting events. It is note worthy that very few dogs have succeeded in winning the Cup more than once ; but two famous winners stand out in the history of the event—Master M'Grath, which won the trophy in 1868, 1869 and 1871 ; and Fullerton, which divided the honour of victory with another dog belonging to the same owner, Col. J. T. North, in 1889, and went on to win outright in 1890, 1891, and 1892. The Waterloo Cup of 1927 provided something of a record, for Golden Seal, the winner, was the youngest dog ever to have won the trophy, being a puppy less than 20 months old, whelped late in June, 1925.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Coursing was fully described in Arrian's CyneBibliography.--Coursing was fully described in Arrian's Cyne- geticus, translated by the Rev. W. Dansey (1831) ; and among the earlier books were T. Goodlake, Courser's Manual (1828) , containing a history of the sport and chief clubs, and records of greyhounds; T. Thacker, Courser's Companion and Breeder's Guide (1835) ; T. Thacker, Courser's Annual Remembrancer
; D. P. Blaine, Encyclopaedia of Rural Sports (3rd ed. 187o) ; and J. H. Walsh's, The Greyhound (3rd ed. 1875) . Other books include the Coursing Calendar (since 1857), the official record of the season's results; Coursing and Falconry (Badminton Library, 1892) ; The Hare ("Fur and Feather" series, 1896) ; and The Greyhound Stud Book (since 1882) ; L. Hall, Fifty-six Waterloo Cups (1922) containing recol lections of Waterloo meetings from 1863 to 1921. (F. I. W.)
