. MEMCXtlAt lJiN*RY * •mvtUSITY OF P«TtSBII«9H UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH D arlincton gto Mo lal Liibr Digitized by tine Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from. University of Pittsburgh Library System http://www.archive.org/details/farmerslibraryan01mart LONDON: CHARLES KNIGHT. •^m^ LONDON : VIZETELLY BROTHERS AND CO. PRINTERS AND ENGRAVERS, PKTERBOROUGU COURT, FLEET STREET. TABLE OF CONTENTS. THE OX. I.— VARIOUS SPECIES OF THE OX TRIBE II.— VARIOUS SPECIES OP THE DOMESTICATED OX . . . III.— STRUCTURE, SENSES, AND FOOD OF HORNED CATTLE . IV.— BREEDS AND HABITS OF THE EUROPEAN OX . . . v.— BREEDS AND VARIETIES OF THE ENGLISH HORNED CATTLE VI.— MANAGEMENT OF HORNED CATTLE VII,— CHEMICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE FOOD OF CATTLE -VIII.— DISEASES OF CATTLE, AND THEIR TREATMENT MEDICINES EMPLOYED IN THE TREATMENT OF CATTLE PAfiE 1 19 30 46 88 106 118 177 THE HORSE. I.— EARLY HISTORY OF THE HORSE 188 II.— FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES 198 III.— HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE 2-U IV.— DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES 233 <^ v.— THE ZOOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE HORSE ... 262 VI.— THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION 264 O VII.— INJURIES AND DISEASES OF THE SKULl^THE BRAIN— THE "*• EARS— AND THE EYES 283 ** VIII.— ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH . 307 ^ IX.— AJ^ ATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NECK AND NEIGHBOURING ^ PARTS 336 ^ X.— THE CHEST 344 ■O XL— CONTENTS OF THE CHEST 351 XII.— THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM 364 XIIL— THE ABDOMEN AND ITS CONTENTS 389 XIV.— DISEASES OF THE INTESTINES 398 "^ XV.— BREEDING ; CASTRATION 411 ^ XVI.— THE FORE LEGS 417 rs. XVII.— THE HIND LEGS 437 tfj XVIII.— THE FOOT 451 to XIX.— DISEASES OF THE FOOT 456 XX.— FRACTURES 473 9 XXL— ON SHOEING 483 XXII— SURGICAL OPERATIONS 492 XXIII.— VICES 499 XXIV.— GENERAL MANAGEMENT . 510 XXV.— THE SKIN AND ITS DISEASES 522 XXVL— ON SOUNDNESS, AND THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF HORSES 528 XXVII.— MEDICINES— THEIR NATURE AND USES 536 A TREATISE ON DRAUGHT 553 ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME L THE OX. COLOURED PLATES. 30. Teeth, at Eight Months . . Page 32 Cliillingham Wild Cattle . Frontispiece. Jungly Gau .... to face Page 5 Aurochs, or European Bison . . „ 8 31. 32. 33. 34. ,, at Eleven Months ,, at Fifteen Months at Eighteen Months at Two Years 32 33 33 32 35. „ in Third Year 33 ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD. 36. „ in Fourth Year 33 1 . Head of the Ox . . . in Title. 37. „ in Fifth Year 33 2. Teeth of the Ox . . . Page 1 38. „ in Sixth Year 33 3. HeadofGyall 4 39. „ in Tenth Year 33 4. Domestic Gayal 4 40. Larynx of Horse 38 6. Wild Gayal, or Jungly Gau 5 41. Larynx of Ox . 38 6. Head of As'l Gayal, Seloi, or Gour 5 42. Long-horaed Bull 58 7. Homs of Gour 5 43. Long-homed Ox 59 8. Horns of Amee 6 44. Devonshire Bull 62 9. Aurochs .... 8 45. Devonshire Ox 63 10. Homof Ulphus ... 9 46 Hereford Bull 66 H. Pusey Horn 9 47. Hereford Ox 67 ] 2. Skull of European Aurochs, Young 13. Ditto, Old 10 10 48. 49. Sussex Ox Pembroke Ox . 68 69 14. Bison Bull .... 11 50. Glamorgan Ox 70 15. Skull of Young Female Bison . 11 51. Kerry Cow 71 IG. Skull of Old American Bison 11 52. Irish Ox 72 17. Musk Ox .... 11 53. Argyll Ox 73 18. Cape Buffalo .... 12 54. Ayrshire Cow . 75 19. Skull of Cape Buffalo 12 55. Galloway Ox . 77 20. Skull of Fossil Aurochs . 16 56. Norfolk Bull and Co-( V 79 21. Bull of the Campagna of Eome . 17 57. Suffolk Cow . 80 22. Large Zebu, or Brahmin Bull . 19 58. Short-honi Bull 83 23. Dwarf Zebu .... 19 59. Short-horn Cow 84 24. Skeleton of Cow 30 60. Durham Ox 85 25. Hind and Fore Feet of Ox 31 61. Aldemey Cow 87 26. Teeth, at Birth 31 62- —65. Dutch Cow-house and Dairy — 27. ,, in Second Week 31 Elevation, Sections, and Plan 95 28. „ in Third Week 31 66. Stomachs of the Ox U5 29. „ in Fourth Week . 32 67. Intestinal Canal of th e Os 145 THE HORSE. 1. Head of the Horse 2. Horses on the Frieze of the Temple of Minerva 3. The Godolphin Arabian 4. Arab Mare and Foal' 5. Bay Arabian 6. Cossack Horse and Soldier 7. The Colonel 8. Flying Childers 9. Eclipse 10. Fleur-de-lis H. The Hunter 19. The Hackney 13. The Coach Horse 14. The Suffolk Punch 15. The heavy black Horse . 16. The Shetland Poney . 17. The Skeleton of the Horse 18. Skeleton of the Head . 19. Section of the Head 20. Diagram of part of the Temporal Bone 21. Lower part of the Head 29. Nerves of the Spine 23. Section of the Eye 24. Muscles of the Eye 25. Horse suffering from Tetanus 26. Nerves of the Leg 27. Vessels of the Nose 28. The muscles, nerves, and blood vessels of the head and upper part of the neck 29. The Palate . 30. The Glenoid Cavity m the Tiger and the Horse . 31. Teeth, at Birth . 39. „ in Sixth Week 33. „ at Twelve Months 34. A Grinder, sawed across 35. Teeth, at Two Years . 36. ,, at Three Years . 37. „ in Fourth Yeai- . 38. ,, at Five Y''ears 39. „ at Six Years 40. ,, at Seven Years . 41. ,, at Eight Years . 42. Neck of a Horse . 43. The Chest . . 44. The Stomach 45. The Termination of the Esophagus 40. Cut of the Bot . 47. The Intestines 48. The Ccecum . 49.' Entanglement of the Bowels CO. A Straight and Curved Catheter 51 Title. 189 199 909 903 291 233 234 235 249 244 249 253 956 958 961 963 266 269 269 270 279 277 289 999 299 308 309 393 324 395 395 396 396 396 397 397 398 329 399 329 337 344 389 390 399 395 396 404 411 Section showing position of the Shoulder 418 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 69. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 79. 73. 74- 78. 79. 80. 81, 83. 84. 85— 99- 95. 96. 97- 109. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107, Diagram exemplifj-ing the power of the Muscles of the SJjoulder Muscles on the outside of the Shoulder Muscles on the inside of the Shoulder The Pasterns The Pasterns Section of the Leg Lamenesses to which the Fore Extremities are subject A few of the Muscles of the Hinder Extremities Muscles of the Outside of the Thigh The Haunch and Hind Legs . The Hock .... The Hoof .... The Base of the Foot . The Coronary Ring Suspensorj' Apparatus . Horse-shoe .... Hoof and Shoe Ditto . ... Horse Sandal Ditto .... Diagrams showing the principle of Traction .... Progression of Feet in a Horse' Walking .... -77. Diagrams illustrative of the principle of Traction . Figure illustrative of Propulsion Diagram of the Wheel . Figure illustrative of Misapplication of the Traces 89. Grecian mode of Harnessing Horses Ditto of Outer or Third Horse Sections of the shoulder, to show the proper position of the Trace i. Diagrams illustrative of the principle of the Cylinder or Roller .... 570, -91. Diagrams showing the trans- portation of a heavy stone . 571, -94. Figures . showing the approxi- mation of the Cylinder to the Wheel Ancient Pole and Axletree Diagram of Wheel and Axle . -101. Forms and Positions of Wheels .... 576, Motion of Conical Wheel Diagram of the Motion of a Cone . Figure of Cylindrical Mill-stone Proper Form of Wheel Figure of Chariot 108. Figm-es of Curvatures of Roads and Wheels .... 419 490 422. 432 435 435 436 438 439- 44.0 443 451- 451 452 473 487 488 488 491 491 558 559 563 564 564 505 565 566 567 571 579 572 573 574 577 577 578 578 578 581 585 THE OX. BY W. C. L. MARTIN, I.ATE ONE OF THE SCIENTIFIC OFFICERS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. THE OX. CHAPTER I. Among the various orders of mammalia, from which man has reclaimed aud domesticated certain spe- cies— species, the possession of which, in a state of subjection and dependence, contribute essen- tially to his welfare — that of the Ruminantia, or ruminating animals, affords him the greatest num- ber ; and those not of the lowest importance. To this order belong the camel, the llama and its allies, the different species of the ox, the sheep, and the goat. Since the remotest periods of his- toiy, the ox and the sheep have been regarded in the light of property ; nor is their intrinsic value less appreciated after a lapse of ages. Who does not know how intimately the well-being of a nation is connected with its agrarian produce, whether animal or vegetable ; aud how closely the interests of commerce and of agriculture are inter-blended together ? It has been said by some one, that he who makes two stalks of com grow where only one grew before, is a benefactor of his countiy ; and by a parity of reasoning, he who im- proves the breeds of domestic cattle, feeds two on the land which before only supported one ; and he who devises superior modes of management with regard to the extension of their utility, also serves the interests of the community. On topics like these, however, we need not insist ; let us at once to our subject. The O.v, then, is one among the ruminating order of qnadrupeds. All the animals of this order have certain characteristics in common, which dis- tinctly mark the differences between them and the animals of all other orders. They have cloven hoofs; and they are destitute of incisors, or cut- ting teeth in the upper jaw. With regard to the hoof we may observe that, as in the horse, the terminal bone of the toe is incased with horn ; but the horse has only a single series of jihalan- gal bones, the ruminants two ; and hence the ex- pression— cloven. But besides these there are, in some groups, as the deer, an extralateral toe on each side, consisting of three minute phalangal bones, supported by a small stylet. As in the horse, the canon-bone is single, but generally shows, more or less by a longitudinal furrow, that in an early stage it consisted of two portions, first coalescing, and at length becoming ossified into one. With respect to the teeth, thoiigli there are no | incisors in the upper jaw, the gum is hardened, forming a fibrous and ehistic pad, fitted to sustain the pressure of the lower incisors, eight in num- ber, tlie position of whicli is rather obhque than vertical. The molars are six in number on each side, above and below. Of these the first three are preceded by milk, or deciduous teeth ; the three posterior are originally permanent. Their surface is marked by two pairs of crescentic ridges. In the lower jaw, their crescents have the con- vexity outwards ; in the upper jaw, the reverse. These creecents, as they wear down by use, show a centre of bone surrounded by a coat of enamel. In general, there are no canine teeth ; these exist, however, in the upper jaw of the camel, the llama, the male of the musk-deer, and chev- rotains, and the male of many true deer. The act of rumination, or chewing the cud, supposes a 23eculiarly complicated structure of the stomach, to be more fully explained hereafter. We may, however, observe, that the four distinct cavities, or receptacles, are so arranged that the coarselj'-ground herbage received into the first large cavity, or paunch, is thence gradually pro- pelled into the second ; viz., the hood, or honey- comb, through a valvular communication. Hei'e it is compacted into small balls, which, while the animal reposes at its ease, and in evident enjoy- ment, are returned seriaiim to the mouth, bj' a sort of spasmodic action, and are thoroughly re- masticated. The aliment thus finely ground is re-swallowed, but instead of being carried into the paunch, it is turned aside in its passage down the gullet, or oesophagus, by a voluntary closure of the muscular edges of the entrance into the paunch, and so carried into the third, or plicated compart- ment, termed mauyplies, or manyplus, whence, after compression between the foliations of that receptacle, it passes through a valvular orifice into the fourth ; viz., the rud, or abomasum, which is the true digestive stomach. Now, the suckling calf does not ruminate ; for, while nourished by the mother's milk, the process cannot be accomplished, and is not requi- site. The proportion which the different com- partments of the stomach, at this early age, bear to each other, is consequently, veiy different to that which afterwards obtains, when the aliment is changed from milk to herbage. The huge paunch, for instance, is, at this early period, far less capacious than the fourth stomach, or rud, which is indeed, at this time, the largest of the compartments, and receives at once the milk as it is swallowed : hei-e, by the action of the gastric juice, the milk is curdled previously to digestion. It is 'the inner membrane of this portion of the stomach which is salted and dried, and, under the name of rennet, used in making cheese : its effect resides in the gastric juice with which it is imbued. These general details apply to all the Panni- n '.ntia ; but in other respects the various orders, or groups composing this class, differ from each other in many well-marked peculiarities, and in according habits. The camel, tall, gaunt, and angular, wends his way over the deserts of the east, with measured steps, slowly and silently pursuing his course from Aleppo or Bagdad, to Mecca or El-Basrah, laden with bales of merchan- dise. The llama and vicugna scale the rugged and precipitous Cordilleras of Peru and Chili. The light-limbed antelope scours the desert, and the wide karroo. The s^vift deer rejoices in the glades of the forest. But from these ruminants, and others, the true Ox tribe, or the genus Bos, is at once to be discriminated, though it must be confessed, that some of the huge and heavy (so called) an- telopes of Africa — as the koodo, the hartebeest, and the bekr-el-wash of the Arabs (the bubalus of the ancients) — in some respects approximate towards it. The genus Bos, has been subdivided by naturalists into several subgenera ; but ^vith these sub-sections, which naturalists of the present day cany out to an unwarrantable excess (as if science consisted in pushing analysis to an ex- treme), we shall have nothing to do ; suffice it for us to detail, in brief terms, its leading characters. In both sexes the head is armed with horns (we of course except the polled domestic breeds of cattle), and these horns consist of an external layer of corneous fibres compacted together, and sheath- ing a hollow or cancellous bony core, continued laterally from a bold occipito-frontal ridge. Heuce are oxen termed hollow-horaed ruminants ; to- gether with antelopes, goats, &c., in contradistinc- tion to deer ; the progressive increase of the horns is marked by successive ridges, or rings, at their base ; oxen have neither suborbita.1 sinuses nor interdigital pits (as the sheep), nor inguinal pores ; their form is heavy and massive ; their statue generally large ; the limbs are low and strong ; the haunches vdde ; the shoulders thick ; the head is large ; the forehead or chaffron, ex- panded ; the muzzle, excepting in the subgenus (0 vibos, musk-ox, for example), is broad, naked, and moist ; the tongue is rough with hard, homey papilla, directed backwards, and assists greatly in the act of grazing ; the neck is thick, deep, compressed laterally, carried horizontally, and furnished with a pendant dewlap ; the spinous processes of the anterior dorsal vertebrse at the withers are very long and stout. All the Ox tribe are gregarious in their habits ; and no quar- ter of the globe (Australia e.xcepted) is destitute of its indigenous species, existing in a state of free- dom. They roam over hills or plains, or tenant the glades of the forest. In all the species the teats of the female are four in number. The skin is thick. When we said that no quarter of the globe, ex- cepting Australia, is destitute of its native species, \ we did not forget that, throughout the vast extent I of South America, no indigenous wild ox has, as far as the researches of the naturalist go, ever existed, at least under the present condition of that portion of the surfece of the globe. The im- ' mense herds of cattle which now roam the pam- I pas, are the descendants of those domestic oxen wliich were originally introduced by the Spaniards ; and, it may be added, that although in North America the bison Americanus and the nnisk ox are indigenous species, the domestic ox, now of such value, is in like manner an importation ; while the indigenous species are disappearing before the advance of colonization. It is said indeed, that some attempts have been, at diffei'ent times, made to domesticate the American bison : and that this species has interbred with the ordi- nary cattle of European origin which have re- turned, in the prairies, to a state of wildness. But on this point we confess ourselves very scep- tical, although Catesby asserts it. Even should instances of this kind have occurred, the possi- biUty of obtaining a permanent mixed breed, the descendants of hybrids is out of the question, tlie two species being more remote from each other than are the horse and the ass. When Catesby says " that to mix the breed (of bisons) with tame cattle would much improve the breed (of domestic cattle)" is a general opinion, we think that in every sense, he is writing at random. It may be the " general opinion," but that is of little im- portance ; for where it possible to procure such a hybrid stock, we could not expect to find the domestic ox improved by such a cross. We are among those who believe, tliat species closely allied, have, in times passed, coalesced, and may coalesce now ; but we say again, that anatomical differences render these species remote : and even were their intei-mixture possible, nothing is to be gained by a procedure, interdicted by instinct, in such a case as this, excepting, indeed, to neutral- ize all that the grazier and the dairy farmer regard as points of excellence in their favourite cattle. This reference to the American bison, asserted not only by Catesby, but by Pennant and others, to interbreed with the common race of cattle, i' leads us here to pause, in order that we may take a general survey of the known existing species of the genus Bos, and especially of the species do- mesticated, in order that the true position of the ordinary ox with respect to them, may be the better appreciated. We shall find it to differ in important particulai's. Let us first turn to Asia. * Ciivicr says, " II prodait avec nos vaclies," but upon wliat auUiority we know uou The wild and semi-domesticated cattle of this por- tion of the globe have yet to be thoroughly known. There is one, liowever. to which we would first direct our attention ; namely, the gayal, or gya1l, an animal which appears io exist both in a wild and domestic state, and respecting which there is, consequently, a degree of confusion. In the provinces of Aracan, Chittagong, or Chatgaon, Tipura, and Silhet, this species is well known ; but it seems to have been regarded by some as identical with the gour, at least there is some misunderstanding in the works of writers on the subject. The Gayal (Bos Gavceus, Colebrooke, Asiat, Rev., vol. viii.) is evidently identical with the Gyall (Bos frontalis, Lambert, Linn. Trans.) and the Jungly Gau (Boeuf des Jongles, of M. Duvaucel, Bos Silhetanus of F. Cuvier). This animal, also called Gaijal (Gavaya, Sanscr., Gavai, or Gayall, Hind., Gobaygoru, Beng., Methana, Mountaineers east of Silhet ; Shial, Mountaineers east of Chat- gaon), may be thus described : — Shape and size that of the European bull. Horns short, and distant at their base, rising in a gentle cui've directly up and out ; ovate at their base, but not decidedly flat- tened: front broad and tufted, with long curled hair : dewlap deep and pendant : withers ele- vated, but destitute of anything like a hump : neck maneless : tail moderate : the body covered with dark brown hair, lighter colour on the belly, and generally white on the legs. A fine specimen of this animal, which we have examined, exists in the gardens of the Zoological Society, London ; and in general aspect its appearance approximates more closely to that of the ordinaiy ox, than does that of any other species with which we are acquainted ; nevertheless, the elevation of the withers, and tlie fall of the croup, would not escape the most ordi- nary observer. JJuvaucel, indeed for some time believed that this species was identical with our domestic oxen, but he had then only seen tame specimens in the menagerie at Barruckpore. Sub- sequently he hunted them at the foot of the Silhet mountains, and observed that they were as com- mon, and as widely spread, as the wild buffaloes ; and even more wild, though, at the same time, more easily domesticated : the cows in a state of servitude, yield the richest milk in abundance. Let us now see what Mr. Harris says, in a letter to Mr Lambert. " This animal," he observes, " which I have kept and reared these last seven years, and know by the name of gyall, is a native of the hills to the north-east and east of the Com- pany's province of Chittagong, in Bengal, inha- biting the range of hiUs which separates it from the country of Aracan. The male gyall is like our bull in shape and appearance, but, I conceive, not quite so tall ; is of a blackish lirown colour : the bonis short, but thick and strong towards tlie A 2 base, round which, and across the front, the hair is thick and biishv, and of a dirty white colour ; the chpst and forehead are broad and thick, he is naturally very bold, and will defend himself ao;ainst any of the beasts of pi-ey. The female differs little in appearance ; her horns are not quite so large, and her make is somewhat more slender; she is very quiet ; used for all purposes of the dairy, as also (I have been informed by the natives) for tilling the ground, and is more tractable than the buffalo. The milk which these cows give has a peculiar richness in it, arising, I should conceive, from their mode of feeding, which is always on the young shoots and branches of trees, in pre- ference to grass. I constantly made it a practice to allow them to range abroad amongst the hills and jungles at Chittagong, during the day, to browse, a keeper attending to prevent their stray- ing so far as to endanger losing them. They do not thrive in any part of Bengal so well as in the aforesaid mentioned province, and in the adjoming one, Tipperah, where, I believe, the animal is also to be found. I have heard of one instance of a female gyall breeding with a common bull." The subjoined is the head of the gyall, as given in the Linn. Trans, vol. vii., from a speci- men which died in London in 1802, described by A. B. Lambert, Esq., to whom the above letter was transmitted : — According to Dr. Buchanan the cry of the gayal is a kind of lowing, shriller and not so loud as ihat of the common European ox, with no re- semblance to the grunt of the Indian ox.. Mr. Macrae states that the gayal exists in a wild state in the range of mountains that form the eastern boundary of the provinces of Aracan. Chittagong, Tipperah, and Silhet ; and he adds that the Ciicis, or Lunetas, inhabiting the hills imme- diately to the eastward of Chittagong, have herds of them in a domesticated stated The animal is called Gabaij in the Hindu Sastra, hut seems, however, to be little known beyond the limits of its native mountains, excepting to the inhabitants of the provinces above mentioned. The animal is of a dull heavy appearance, but at the same time possesses great strength and activity. Its dispo- sition is gentle, and even in a wild state, on its native hills, it is not considered dangerous ; never standing the approach of man. much less sustain ing his attack. The Ciicis hunt the wild ones for the sake of their flesh. The gayal is a forest animal, and prefers the tender shoots and leaves of shrubs to grass. It is domesticated by the Cucis, but does not undergo any labour. The cow goes eleven months (puery eleven, perhaps from nine to ten) with young, gives but little milk (Duvaucel says abundance), and does not yield it long ; but that little is remarkably rich, almost equalling cream, which it resembles in colour. The Cucis, however, according to Macrae, do not make any use of the milk, but rear the gayals entirely for the sake of the flesh and the skin : from the hide of this animal they form their shields. These domesticated herds roam at large in the forests near their village during the day, but return of their own accord at evening ; being early taught to do so by being fed, when young, every night with salt, of which these ani- mals are very fond. The Hindus, in the province of Chittagong, will not kill this gayal (their gabay), which they hold in equal veneration -nith the cow ; but they Jiunt and kill another gayal (as'l gayal, or seloi), as they do the wild buffalo. The gayal, as experiments have proved, will breed with the Indian bull, of the zebu race, and the mixed breed is fertile. Here, then, we have a species, if not identical with our race of cattle, at least so closely allied as to intermingle with it ; indeed, we strongly suspect it to have intermingled with the humped zebu race of the east, which carried to the plains has increased in the development of the fatty-cellular* mass on the withers, and in the expansion of the dewlap. The annexed figure of the domestic gayal, from Colebrooke (Asiatic Re- searches, vol. viii.), might pass for that of a cow of the zebu race. The wild breed is more thickset and robust, than the tame, but presents the same * This local aceumuljilion of fatty matter by domest.c aiiiniala in warm climates is very remarkable : we have instances of it in the laige tailed and fat-rumped sheep of Syria and southern Asia, it takes place in the part where there is a natural tendency to its deposition ; viz., the croup of the sheep, the withers of the ox. m general contour. A noble specimen of the gayal is preserved in the British Museum. But what is the as'l gayal, or seloi, ("the other gayal") which the Brahmins of Chittagong do not refuse to kill ; is it the wild gayal '? It has been taken for that animal by some -wi-iters, but it is a distinct species. We give the head of a female of the true asseel (as'l) gayal, from Hardwicke, and we cannot help being struck with DP AS L GAVA the difference between it and the head of the Hindu gabay, The horns are compressed, and decidedly angular, and there is no frontal tuft of curled hair This as'l gayal ("the other gayal," which the Brahmins will hunt) is evidently the gour (Bos Gour, Traill, in Edinburgh Philosophi- cal Jounial, October, 1821), of which specimens of the horns have been long preserved in the museum of the Zoological Society. HORNS OF GOl'R Had we not seen the gayal at the gardens of the Zoological Society, we should have been (as we were) undecided as to the subject ; but the scrutiny of that animal, during a few minutes, proved to us that the head above, regai-ded as that of a wild gayal, is, indeed, that of "another gayal," which the Brahmins will hunt, and which is no other than the gour of Traill, a species desti- tute of dewlap, and far more remote from the do- mestic ox than the gayal or Hindu gabay. According to Dr. Traill, the goui- is nearly six. feet high at the withers ; the limbs are vigorous, clean made, and more deer-like than bovine (very different from the short, thick legs of the gayal); the back is strongly arched ; and, when the animal stands still, the line from the nose to the base of the tail presents a nearly uniform curve. This appearance is owing to the curved form of the chafFron, and still more to a remarkable ridge, of no great thickness, which rises six or seven inches above the general line of the back, from the last of the cervical to the middle of the dorsal ver- tebrte, where it gradually declines and becomes lost This elevation is very conspicuous in gours of all ages, although they be loaded with fat, and has no resemblance to the hunch found on the withers of the zebu breed of cattle. There is not a trace of the dewlap, which is well marked in the gayal. The hair of the skin, generally, is short and sleek, having somewhat of the oily appearance of fresh sealskin. The colour is deep brownish black, almost approaching to a bluish black. Between the horns is a tuft of curling, dirty white hair; and over each hoof is a ring of the same colour. With respect to the locality and habits of this gour, we may state that it is found in most of the mountain districts of Central India ; but, accord- ing to Captain Rogers, is very common on th.e mountain table-land of Myn Pat, in the province of Sergojah, in South Bahar. "This table-land is about thirty-six miles in length; by twenty-four or twenty-five miles in breadth, and rises above the neighbouring plains probably two thousand feet. The sides of the mountain slope with con- siderable steepness, and are furrowed by streams that water narrow valleys, the verdant banks of which are the favourite haunts of gours. On being disturbed they retreat into the thick jungles of saul-trees, which cover the sides of the whole range. The south-east side of the mountain pre- sents an extensive mural precipice, from twenty to forty feet high. The rugged slopes at its feet are covered by impenetrable green jungle, and abound with dens formed of fallen blocks of rocks, the suitable retreat of tigers, bears, and hyenas. The western slopes are less rugged, but the soil is parched, and the forests seem withered by excess of heat. The summit of the mountain presents a mixture of open lawns and woods. There were G once twenty-five villages Mon yn Pat ; but these have long been deserteil on account of the number and ferocity of the beasts of prey. On this moun- tain, however, the gour maintains his seat. The Indians assert that even the tiger has no chance in combat with a fuU-gi-own gour, though he may occasionally succeed in carrying off an unprotected calf. The wild buffalo abounds in the plains below the mountains ; but he so much dreads the gour, according to the natives, that he rarely attempts to invade its haunts ; and the hunting party only met with three or four urnas (arnees, or wild buffaloes) on the mountain. The forests which shield the gour abound, however, -with hog-deer, saumers (sambur deer), and porcupines." The gour is very tierce, and, when wounded, turns upon his enemy. Captain Rogers, who hunted this animal, states that the only cry he ever heard it utter, and that only when struck by the bullet, was a short bellow, imitated by the sylla- bles uyh-ugh. The gours herd together in parties of ten, fifteen; or twenty ; they browze on the leaves and tender shoots of trees and shrubs, and also graze along the banks of streams. During the cold weather they retire to the covert of the saul forests ; but the return of the hot season brings them out to feed in the green lawns and valleys ; they do not wallow, like the buffalo, in the mire and swamp. The female generally produces young in August ; the bull-calf is called purorah during the first year, and the cow-calf pareeah ; the full grown cow gourin. It is asserted, by the natives, that the gour will not endure captivity, aiid that, even if taken young, the mountain-calf droops and dies. (See Edinburgh Phil. Journ., vol. xi.) With respect to the wild buffalo, called urna, arna, arni, or arnee, (Bos Urni Kerr), an animal common throughout Bengal, some consider it as a species distinct from the common buffalo of India (Bos Bubalus) used as a beast of burden; while others are of a contrary opmion. To judge, how- ever, from the skull and horns, of which latter a pair of enormous size are preserved in the museum of the Zoological Society, and several in the Bri- tish Museum, we are inclined to the belief that it is distinct ; at least we have never seen any speci- men of the buffalo, with horns presenting similar characters. We do not, however, insist on this; for the buffalo of different countries exhibits great variation : the ^Manilla buffido, for e.xample, of which specimens exist in the Zoological Gardens, is of very small size, with small horns. In the mawals, or hilly tracts along the ghauts, great numbers of the long-horned variety of the iiuffulo are bred ; and Dillon states that the bufiklo of Malabar is larger than the ox, with white eys and flat horns, often two feet long : the limbs are thick and short, "It is an ugly animal, almost destitute of hair, goes slowly, and carries verjr- heavy burdens. Herds may be seen, as of com- mon cows ; and they afford milk, which serves to make butter and cheese : the flesh is good, though less delicate than that of the ox. The animal swims perfectly well, and traverses the broadest rivers. Besides the tame buffaloes, there are wild ones, which are extremely dangerous, teaiing men to pieces, or crushing them with a single blow of the head. They are less to be dreaded in the woods than elsewhere, because their horns often catch in the branches, and give time for the per- sons pursued to escape by flight. Probably this wild buffalo is the arnee, which is described as a large and formidable beast, conspicuous for strength and ferocity. Its horns are remarkable HORNS OF 4RNK for their enormous size, often measuring from four to six feet in length ; they rise upwards, first in- clining outwards and backwards, and then arching gradually towards each other, they form a bold crescent. They are compressed on their anterior and posterior surfaces, and rough with numerous transverse furrows and ridges. The chafFron is naiTOW and convex. With respect to the semi-domesticated buffalo, it is spread from India throughout Siam, Cochin China, China, Malacca, Borneo, Java, and Suma- tra. Westward, it has been carried into Persia, the Crimea, Turkey, Greece, Spain, and Italy. In Sumatra the buffalo exists in a wild as well as in a reclaimed state ; and wild buffaloes are com- mon in the forests of Abyssinia, where they are hunted, the thick hide being valuable for the manufacture of shields. According to Mr. Mars- den, there are two sorts of tame buffaloes, or car- bows, in Sumatra ; one black, the other white. The animals of this latter colour are rarely eaten by the natives, who assert that the flesh is un- wholesome, and that those who partake of it are covered with blotches. Mr. Marsden, indeed, re- gards the whiteness as the result of disease in the animal itself, or as a species af albinism. In Italy tlie buffalo is black, with fierce glowing e3-e9. Its introduction took place in the sixteenth century ; and it now roams, in a state of wildness, over the swampy plains of Calabria, the Pontine Marshes, and vaiious other localities suitable to its habits of wallowing in the mud or water. The history of the buffalo need not here de- tain us. There is a species of ox, little known to European naturalists, existing both in a tame and wild state, in Thibet. This species is called the yak (Bos gruuniens). No living specimen, as far as we are aware, has ever been seen in Europe ; but we have had an opportunity of examining skins, more or less imperfect, of one of which the follow- ing is a description : — Nostrils narrow, converging below, with a small naked space between them, and a narrow, naked border round them ; so that there is no true, broad, naked muzzle, as in the common ox, but a hairy muzzle, as in the musk ox (Ovibos moschatus). The ears are small and pointed ; the forehead is covered with black cui-ling locks. The hair of the hack is smooth ; the colour a deep chocolate brown, a white stripe occupying the ridge of the withers, and another the centre of the croup. From the shoulders, sides, and under part of the body, and also from the inner side of the thighs, a pendant mane of long hair hangs down, falling in huge masses, so as to cover the limbs and almost touch the ground. This mane is grizzled black, excepting a central line of pure wliite along the belly. The tail is tufted with a huge mass of glossy white and ra- ther coarse hairs, eighteen or twenty inches in length. In size the animal could not have ex- ceeded the small Scotch breed of cattle. The horns, and part of the legs, were deficient ; but, according to Gmeliu and Turner, and to judge from specimens in the British Museum, the horns are small, round, bent forward, and pointed. The withers are elevated, aud the col' ur is subject to variation : we have seen a skin the tail of which was tufted with black hairs From long antiquity the Tartars have used the flowing tail of this animal as a staiidaid in battle, and as one of the distinguishing insignia of officers of high rank. In Turkey the tail of the horse is used ill like manner. In India the tail of the yak is frequently mounted on ivory or silver han- dles, elegantly ornamented : these instruments are called chowries, and elephants of state are taught to carry them in their proboscis, and wave them gracefidly to and fro, for the purjiose of keeping away the flies. Of the habits of the wild yak Utile is known. It is a native of the mountains of Thibet and Bootan, and is said to be sullen and ferocious. Respecting the tame breed. Turner, in his "Ac- count of an Embassv to China," says, "These cattle, though not large-boned, seem, from the profuse quantity of hair with which they are pm- vided, to be of great bulk. They have a down- c.ast, heavy look, and appear, what indeed they are, sullen and suspicious ; discovering much im- patience at the near approach of strangers. They do not /oH' loud, like the cattle of England ; but make a low grunting noise, scarcely audible, and that but seldom, and when under some uneasiness. These cattle are pastured, in the coldest parts of Thibet, upon the short herbage peculiar to the mountains and bleak plains. The chain of moun- tains situated between the latitudes of 37° and 28°, which divides Thibet from Bootan, and whose summits are mostly clothed with snow, is their favourite haunt. In this vicinity the southern glens afford them food and shelter during the severity of winter ; in milder seasons the northern aspect is more congenial to their nature, and ad- mits a wider range. They are a very valuable property to the tribe of itinerant Tartars called Duckba, who live in tents, and tend them from place to place ; they, at the same time, afford their herdsmen an easy mode of conveyance, a good covering, and wholesome subsistence. They are never employed in agriculture, but they are extremely useful as beasts of burden ; for they are strong, sure-footed, and carry a great weight. Tents and ropes are manufactured of their hair ; and amofigstthe humbler ranks of herdsmen I have seen caps and jackets made of their skins. Tlie best requital with which the care of their keepers is at length rewarded, for selecting them good pastures, is in the abundant quantity of rich milk which they give, and in the butter produced from it, which is most excellent. It is their custom to preserve this in skins, or bladders, and the air Ijeing thus excluded from it, it will keep, in this cold climate throughout the year ; so that, after some time tending their herds, when a sufficient store is accumulated, it remains only to load their cattle, and drive them to a proper market, with their own produce, which constitutes, to the ut- most verge of Tartary, a most material article of commerce.'' Bell, in his travels in TartaiT, notices this animal as the bubul of the natives (Tzulimm Tartars). He met with it only iu its tame state, and says that its body and limbs are very, hand- some ; that it has a high shoulder and flowing tail : several skulls, aud an imperfect skin stuffed are in the British Museum. In former times a huge wild ox, called the mo- nassus, or bonassus, the bison, and as some think, also the urus, spread over the cental portion of Europe, and was common in Poeonia (the modern Bulgaria), Hungary, Poland, and also further west- ward. The names of this animal in the present day are as follow: — hison, insen, uisont, &c., of barbarous 8 origin ; our, auer, ur, auerochs, aurochs (from a primitave syllable, the root of Taurus, and the \Yord tor, a mountain signifying grandeur, eleva- tion, antiquity) ; in Polish tur, Eussian tor, Danish zijr, in Moldavian zimhr, and Lithuanian zuhr. This noble animal may be regarded as on the eve of extinction, unless, indeed, it be specifically the same with a species found in the Caucasian range, and observed by the traveller Bell, in the country of the Tzulimm Tartars, and respecting which he says, "On the hills and in the woods near this place, are many sorts of wild beasts, particularly the urus, or uhr-ox, one of the fiercest animals the world produces ; their force is such that neither the wolf, the bear, nor the tiger, dare to engage with them,"* Be this, however, as it may, the aurochs or zubr (Bos Urus), the European bison, once so widely spread, is now confined to the forests of Bialowicza (pronounced Bealawezha), in Lithuania, where it is protected by stringent laws : he who kills a zubr without permission of the Ptussian government, has to pay as a fine 2000 rubles; or, if unable to meet the penalty, must suffer ti^ansportatiou to Siberia. Formerly the penalty was death. This species is wonderfully massive and robust in its proportions ; its withers are thick, and ele- vated, and covered, as are the neck, sides of the head, and lower jaw, and throat, with long rough hair, loriiiiug a sort of mane beneath the throat, like a beard. This mane is often a foot in length, and is thickest during the winter, especially in old bulls ; the hair covering the trunk and limbs is soft and woolly ; the tail which is short, is furnished with a tuft of stiff hairs at its ex- tremity ; the eyes are small, but their expression is extremely wild and savage, and when the animal * Cuvifer contends that the urus of the Hcrcynian forest, described by Cesar and others, was distinct from the bi.son ; but Dr. VVeissenborn maintains the contraiy. Tlie urus is said to have been remarkable for the enormou-s magnitude of its horns ; the bison ^or its mane : " Villosi terga hisontes Latjsque feri cornibu iri." — HiPPOL. is irritated they glare with fary ; the tongue, lips, and palate, are blue. An odour, described as be- tween musk and violets, is exhaled from the skin, and especially that portion which covers the con- vexity of the forehead. This odour is much stronger in the male than the female, and may be perceived at a considerable distance from the herd. The horns are large, round, and lateral, with the points sweeping upwards and forwards ; the head ia large and heavy, and carried low. The male aurochs is upwards of six feet in height at the shoulders, and is a most formidable animal ; so great is its strength that, according to Dr. Weissenboru, trees of five or six inches in diameter are levelled by the thrusts of a bull. He fears neither the wolf nor the bear, but assails them with horns and hoofs ; an old bull is a match for four wolves ; and although a pack of wolves may sometimes hunt down a strayed aurochs, the collected herd has nothing to fear from any animal. Dense thickets, near the swampy hanks of rivei-s, are the favourite retreats of this species ; but in summer, according to Dr. Weissenborn, the herds select sandy spots ; in winter they shroud themselves in the thickest parts of the vast pine woods, keeping quiet by day, and brows- ing hj night, finding sustenance in the young shoots and bark of sapling trees. At this season the foresters put supplies of food for them, in the vicinity of their haunts. In spring they visit spots where the herbaceous plants are beginning to vegetate ; they are fond of tree lichens. Tlie voice of the aurochs is a short, deep, grunt, which may be heard at a considerable dis- tance; it betokens irritation, and it would be then madness to venture near the animal ; indeed, at no time is this safe, for though the zubr is very shy, and avoids the approach of man, yet if fallen in with accidentally, the animal's fury is aroused, and it immediately prepares to assail the intruder. When excited by passion, the animal thrusts out its tongue repeatedly, and lashes its sides with its tail ; the eyes glow like fire, roll furiously, and seem starting in their sockets, and the head is lowered for the onset. When taken young, they become, it is true, accustomed to their keepers ; but the approach of other persons renders them furious ; and even the keepers are not safe, and must always wear the same sort of dress when going near them. It is remarkable that the aurochs displays the greatest antipathy towards the ordinary domestic cattle ; it avoids the neigh- bourhood of sports where they feed ; or if the con- tact is unavoidable, is roused to fury, and attacks them, goring them to death. All experiments to obtain a mixed lireed have utterly failed. The aurochs, notwithstaiiding its bulk, is very swift for a short course ; it rushes on with its head low, its hoofs being raised at every step 9 above the forehead ; it is foud of the bath, and awiDis with great ease and vigour. Of all the senses of this animal, that of smell appears to be in the highest perfection ; and the herd can only be approached from the leeward ; its flesh is in hi^ esteem, and is said to have a bluish tinge^when roasted. The colour of this animal during the summer, is a deep brownish- black, or nearly black; but the fur acquires a gi'eyer, or more rusty tint, previous to its renewal in the spring. A magnificent speci- men of this animal, admirably stuffed, adorns the British Museum ; it \\as sent by the emperor of Russia. All agree that the Poeonian bonassos of Aris- totle, is the aurochs, or zubr ; hut a doubt has been started relative to the ui'us of Ccesar, found in the vast forests of France and Germany in his day. " These uri (he says) are little less than elephants ; their aspect, colour, and form, are like those of a bull ; they are extremely strong and swift, and spare neither man nor beast they get sight of Tiiese, when trapped in pitfalls, the hunters immediately kill. The youths, exercising themselves by this sort of hunting, are hardened by toil ; and those among them who have killed most, bringing with them the horns as testi- monials, acquire great praise. But these uri cannot be habituated to man, or made tractable, not even when young. The great size of the honis, as well as their form and quality, render them very different to those of our oxen ; these horns, when carefully selected, they rim with silver, and use them as drinldng cups at their ample feasts."* * The fashion of using homs as drinking cups at festivals was commnji among our Saxon ancestors, and eten after the Noiman con- quest : and inheiitances of land were transferred with the transfer of a horn, and estahlished in fee by a bom. Several of these homs are HORN OF ULPHUS. still extant. The horn of Ulphus, says the author of Old England, " i.'- a remarkable curiosity, still preserved in the sacristy of the cathedral at York. Ulphus was a Danish nobleman of the lime of Canute, who, as Camden informs us, ' by reason of the difference which was like to rise betweeen his sons about the sharing of his land and lord- ship after death, resolved to make them all alike ; and thereupon coming to York with that hom, wherewith he was used to drink, filled it with wine, and kneeling devoutedly before the altar of God, and St, Peter, prince of apostles, drank the wine, and by that cere- mony enfeoffed this church with all his lands and revenues.' Dur- ing the civil wars the hoi-n of Ulphus came into the possession ol Lord Fail-fax, after being sold to a goldsmith ; and it was subse- quently restored to the church by the Fairfax family, in 1675." Of about the same antiquity is the Pusey hoi-n. (Archseol. vol, iii.) It is "a real ox-horn two leet one-half inch long, the circumferenct in the large-stpai-t one foot, in the middle nine inches one-fourth, at Relying on the vfords of Coesar, and guided in his opinion by the huge horned fossil relics of some species of ox, found in the British Isles and Continental Europe, Cuvier regardad the urus as a distinct species from the bison or bonassus, and as being at once characterized by the immensity of its horns : and further he is supported in his o"pi- niou by the application of the terms, urus and bison, by other Latin writers, to two apparently distinct animals : thus Pliny says, " There are two remarkable species of wild oxen, the maned bison and the urus, whose strength and swiftness are extraordinary, and which common people in their ignorance call biibali." Martial says, " Illi cessit atrox bubahis atque bison." Dr. Weissenboni contends that the Latin writers had no opportunities of comparing the bison and urus, and that they used the terms loosely, or, perhaps, gave the term bison to the Poeonian animal, and urus to the Hercynian one ; the former of which, being often captured, they were accustomed to see most frequently in the circus ; while the latter was never taken alive by the Gauls or Germans, excepting in pits, and then killed on the spot. The bubalus, mentioned by Martial, he regards as the buffalo from Xorlh Africa. He farther observes, that Solinus (third century) expressly states that bisons (" setosi colla, jubas horridi") swarmed iu the Hercynian forest, where Caesar places the uiiis ; and he asserts that formerly, before the present breed of aurochs had degenerated, and when the bulls weighed two thou sand pounds, their horns were of prodigious magni tude, and that homs, even of the present race in the small end two inches one-fourth " On a ring of silver gilt that girt it was the following inscription : " Kyng Knowde (Canute) geve Wyllyam Pew-se This borne to holde by thy lond." PTSEY HORN. The following account of the Borstal honi is given in the tliird volume of the AichaBologia: — Edward the Confessor had a royal palace at Brill, or Brehul, in Bucks, to which he often retired for the pleasure of hunting in his tbrest of Bemwood, This forest, it is said, was much infested by a wild boar, which was at last slain by one Nigel, a huntsman, who presented the boar's head to the king ; and for the reward the king gave to him one hyde of lande, called Derehyde, and a wood called Hulewode, with the custody of the forest of Bemwood, to hold to him and his heirs per imuni comu, quod est charta piu'dictffi foresta;. The original hom has been preserved by the lords of Bor>lal under the name of Nigel's horn, and is now (1773) in the possession of John Aubrey, Esq., son and heir of Sir Thomas Aubrey, Bait., to whom this estate has descended without alienation or forfeiture, from before the Conquest to the present time, by several heirs femiile from the family of Nigel to that of Aubrey. {Archteologia, iii. IS.) II is much less. At certain times the bulls are veiy I'm-iuus, and fight desperately with each other ; BISON BULL. uor is the chase unattended by danger, for a wounded bison often turns on his assailant, -whose life is placed in imminent jeopardy. These ani- mals strike both with the horns and hoofs, and endeavour to trample upon their enemy. Old bulls, which are sometimes to be met with singly, are very dangerous ; for the greater part of the year the bulls and cows live in separate herds, excepting that one or two old bulls generally ac- company a herd of cows, and conduct its move- ments. In some anatomical points the American bison is more remote from the common ox than the au- rochs, or zubr. The ribs consist of fourteen pairs, and, according to Cuvier, the lumbar vertebrae are only four in number. The skull much resembles SKOLL OF YOUNG FEMAL (Front view.) (Profile view.) that of the aurochs, but is remarkable for its com- parative smallness in the female. In the high latitudes of North America, the lands of the Esquimaux, from the Olst to the T^th degree of latitude, a species called the musk o.x exists ; it is the Ovibos Moschatus of Ulainville, and constitutes the type of a new genus. The horns are expanded at their base, forming a helmet-like mass, covering the forehead, where their roots are in contact with each other ; from this mass they emerge round and tapering, bend- ing down between the eye and ear, and then sweeping suddenly upwards. The ears and tail are short, the eyes moderate, the nostrils oblong, and inclined to each other from above downwards; there is no true naked muzzle, but a very narrow bare line surrounds each nostril, the rest being covered with hair ; there is no furrow in the upper lip. In size this species scarcely equals the smal- lest of the Scottish or Highland breed of cattle, but appears to be larger than it really is, from the pro- fusion of long matted woolly hair with which it is covered, and which hangs on each side almost to the ground, concealing the limbs to the pasterns ; the tail is entirely hidden : beneath the lower jaw, throat, and chest, the hair flows full, long, and mane-like; the general colour is dull, grizzled, umber brown, darker on the sides and under-sur- face ; on the centre of the back is a brownish- white mark, or saddle. The musk ox frequents wild, bleak, and rocky situations, and is extremely vigorous and active ; during the winter it feeds chiefly on lichens, and in summer on grass. Its flesh is strongly imbued with musk, especially at certain seasons ; but at other times it is tolerable, and eaten both by the Esquimaux and fur-hunters. In the mouth of September these animals collect in lai-ge herds, which are followed by the hunters, not, however, without risk, for the bulls are very daring and irascible, and when hard pressed or wounded will rush with impetuous fury on their enemy. The general mode, however, adopted by the hunter, is that of concealing him- self in some convenient sjiot whence to sc-atter destruction ; the animals, seeing no foe, remain ]2 bewildered witliout attempting to escape, while their companionis drop on every side. On the least appearance of their destroyer they instantly take to flight, and scale the steep declivities of the rocks with the ease of a chamois. The wool of this animal might be turned to good account ; it is very fine, and stockings equal to those of silk are said to have been manufac- tured from it in France. In adverting to the buffalo, both wild and do- mesticated, we purposely forbore to notice a fero- cious animal, the Cape buffalo (Bos Gaffer), a native of the wilds of Southern Africa, where, associated in herds, it frequents the borders of woods and thickets, and the watered ravines and glens among the hilly grounds. This savage beast is fond of wallowing in pools and swamps, and in the muddy ooze, covering its almost naked but dense hide, with defensive clothing against the attacks of in- sects. The horns of this species form at their base a solid rugged mass, covering the forehead, fi'om which they bend downwards, and somewhat outwards, gradually diraisbing to the points, which suddenly curve upward. The distance be- tween the points of the horns is frequently five feet, but the rugose massive base of each is in contnct forming an impenetrable helmet: their colour is black. With these formidable weapons the Cape buffalo has been known to transfix a horse instantaneously, lift him up, and hurl him with crushing violence to the ground. The eye (i this animal is savage and lowering, and beto- kens great ferocity ; the ears are large, and gene- rally observed to be torn, either from combats among the animals themselves, or from the la- ceration of spines and thorns, as they force their way through the dense thickets. PE BUFFALO. The Cape buffalo does not e.xceed the ordinary ox in height, but is much more massively and heavily built, and is a far more ponderous animal, with short thick limbs, and a clense hide nearly destitute of hair ; on the lips and throat, however, the hairs are long, rather thickly set, and very coarse. When the Cape buffalo is wounded, he ploughs up the ground with his horns, scattering the turf and stones on all sides around, and rushes through the thickets and up the rugged sides of the steep ascent with wonderful energy. Often, instead of escaping, urged by revenge, he returns as suddenly to the attack, and appears in the midst of his assailants, one or more of whom often fall victims to his rage ; he gores them, tramples upon them, and presses his whole weight upon them, as if to glut his revenge, and bellows with mingled paiu and fury till some well-aimed bullet lays him prostrate on the earth. At all times old s.ditary bulls are dangerous, and will make an attack on any intruder, even if unassailed. Among the natural enemies of the larger quad- rupeds the lion is the only adversary which this beast has to fear ; but even the monarch of the desert does not always prove victorious, and in- stances occur in which several buffaloes have unite in the rescue of an attacked companion, and gored the foe to death. I.L OF CAPE BUFFALO. An allied, but distinct species is described by Col. H. Smith, under the title of Bos Pegasus ; it is a native of Western Africa. Another species, from Central Africa, with short and comparatively feeble horns, and having the large ears covered with shaggy hair, is termed by Mr. Gray, Bos Brachyceros. Several heads of this species are in the ]?ritish Museum. Captain Lyon, in his travels in Northern Africa, describes certain bovine animals, with which natu- ralists do not appear to be well acquainted. They are very numerous in the mountains of Wadan. One, which gives this name to the mountains in question, viz., the waden, is stated to be of about the size of an ass, with very large head and horns, a short, reddish hide, and large bunches of hair hanging from each shoulder to the length of eighteen inches or two feet ; it is of a very fierce disposition. The second, bogra el weish (bekr-el- wash), is evidently the Antilope hubahis, or wild ox of the Arabs, and generally referred by natu- i-alists to the antelope group ; it is heavy and slug- gish. A third animal is noticed as the white buffalo; of light contour, vigorous and active in its 13 motions, and, at the same time, so shy and swift, tlmt it is not easily procured. These buffaloes calve in April or May. From this rapid survey of the aifimals of the ho- vine group, we find that though three species, the gayal, the yak, and the common buffalo are known both in a state of domestication, and also in a wild condition, yet that no wild species exists, perhaps ex- cepting the gayal, which can be regarded as specifi- cally identical with the domestic cattle of Europe, or with the zebu breeds of Asia. It may be objected, that we here overlook the wild white ox of Chilling- ham Park, and of Craven and Chatelberault Parks, &c. (the Bos Scoticusof some authors): but we cannot regard this as a wild species ; it exists nowhere as a free denizen of the forest ; it is not found in the wilds of Central or Eastern Europe, and in England it is kept, like the deer, within the bounds of a park. That it is specifically identical with our domestic race cannot be doubted ; and if tradition is to be credited, this breed is descended from a wild stock whiclr once roamed the wooded wastes of our island, and of which the lingering relics owe their existence to the care of man. We learn from Fitz-Stephen, who wrote iu the time of Henry the Second, that the mighty forest, north of London, was the lair of stags, deer, boars, and wild bulls ; and later writers notice the existence of wild cattle iu the more uncultivated districts of Scotland and the North of England. The waste district of Craven was formerly the abode of herds of wild white cattle ; but there are grounds for believing that the white cattle of Craven Park (Yorkshire^ were brought from Whalley Abbey (Lancashire), upon its dissolution in the thirty- third year of Henry the Eighth ; perhaps, however, only to replenish the original but diminished stock of the park. The white wild cattle of Chilliugham have the muzzle black, and the whole of the inside of the ear, and the tip externally red ; the horns are moderate in size, of an elegant contoiu', sweeping upwards, and of a white colour passing into black at the tips. Some of the bulls have a thin, upright mane, an inch and a half, or two inches long. The weight of the oxen (not bulls), says Mr. CuUey, "Observations on Live Stock,'' p. 74, is from thirty-five to forty-five stone, and of the cows, from twenty-five to thirty-five stone, the foui' quarters (fourteen lbs. to the stone). The beef, he adds, is finely marbled, and of excellent quality. These cattle are extremely shy and savage, and at certain times the bulls are very ferocious. The cows conceal their young in the dense fern and underwood ; and it is dangerous to approach the lair ; for should the mother perceive the approach of an intruder, or the herd be alarmed by the bellow of the calf, an impetuous attack from the former, or even the whole troop, is the immediate consequence. Formerly these cattle were hunted with the pomp and circum- stance of the chase in the olden time, but accidents occurred from time to time, and at last the park- keeper, selecting his individual, has resorted to the plan of striking it down with a well-directed rifle ball. Now comes the question, — are these cattle ori- ginally wild cattle in our island and continental Europe, and, we may add. Western Asia ; or have they ever been limited to our island ; and are they to be regarded as truly wild, or as feral only, that is, emancipated like the cattle of South America? Cuvier, be it remembered, regards the urus of the Hercyuian Forest, or, at least, oxen whose skulls have enormous horns, the fossil remains of which are found in the superficial beds of our tertiaiy strata, to have been the root of our ordinary breed. We believe these skulls to be Feferable to the an- cient urus of Csesar, a distinct species from the aurochs, or zubr, notwithstanding Dr. Weissen- born's opinion to the contraiy. But, then, what has the urus, of which these fossil bones are the relics, to do with the wild white cattle of our parks, a race evidently identical with our domestic cattle, and very like the Devonshire and some of the Welsh and Highland cattle iu form and aspect ? We need not repeat Caesar's account of the urus, which animal he most expressly distinguishes from any breed of domestic cattle he knew in Italy or Western Europe. Its gigantic statue, its enormous horns, its untameable ferocity, are sufiicient to demonstrate its specific distinctness. We are ready to admit, and, indeed, the fact is evident, that iu remote ages, antecedent to Caesar's inva- sion, this mighty urus tenanted our island, if, indeed, then an island ; this fact is proved by the occurrence of its remains iu caves, and iu the de- posits alluded to ; but we have no proof that, therefore, the Caesarian urus is the parent of our European breed of domestic cattle ; and as little, that the wild oxen of our parks are of the urus stock. Caesar tells us, that the ancient Britons were in possession of large herds of cattle, on the milk and flesh of which they principally subsisted, neglecting the cultivation of grain. That these cattle were not uri we may be assured, any more than were the domestic cattle of Gaul, Gennau}-, or Italy, otherwise Cfesar would have noticed the fact and corrected his assertion, that the uri were untameable. Besides this, a huge-homed ox, or urus, an aurochs, or bison, perhaps of the same stock as the Lithuanian breed, also inhabited Western Europe and England (if then an island) is unquestionable, from the skulls and bones in a semi-fossil state which are found in abundance. In addition to these there are fossil skulls of spe- cies decidedly different, but which we cannot positively say we're identical with the present tame breed. They accompany the remains of »t t^mm^i TV •«.• im 1 «fite«a^«« T^» i«i «/ ^"^■■V *P"i** >«f » ■^J|^i« «f ks wik» TW •# *« ^ » k* TW *• W "^M hif^ aiK iHwaac tW laqp mm hii4 ':tk i*i^y km. kfUf >*^ •.Ae ii-r-.-j*t V. <^f tie, and of the same description, were rendered in acknowledgment of sovereignty. Speed tells us 17 that Maud de Breos, in order to appease King John, whom her husband had offended, sent to his queen a present from Brecknockshire, of four hun- dred cows and a bull, all white with red ears ; and the same records that describe the \Yhite cattle with red ears, speak also of the dark, or black- coloured breed, which now exists, and is general throughout the principality." We may iiere ob- serve, the Celtic tribes of antiquity regarded the ox as one of the earliest productions of creation, and as claiming something like reverence. We have here, then, notices of a valued breed of white cattle. The descendants of tlrese might, at various times, have become feral ; that is, have roamed in the wild forests, and returned to a na- tural state of independence (as has, in recent times, occurred in South America) ; and of these feral herds the Chillingham wild cattle may be the lineal descendants, if, indeed, not of the tame race once so much esteemed. We are strengthened in this \'iew of the sub- ject by the fact, that similar breeds exist in other parts of Europe. In Italy there is a noble breed of white cattle, the bulls being models of beauty ; such, indeed, as the sculptured figures of antiquity portray with spirit and fidelity. Herds of this breed graze in the wild solitudes of the Campagna of Rome, tended by vaccari, or herdsmen. The BULL OF THE CAMPAGNA OP ROME. bulls are veiy fierce ; and the amphitheatre of Rome, built upon the site and with the materials of the Mausoleum of the Emperor Augustus, in the Campus Martius, exhibits a regular succession of combats, the relics of those of the olden time ; among which bull-fights are most relished by the successors of the excited crowds, who once thronged the Colosseum and the Flavian amphi- theatre. These noble white bulls are kept in the vauhs which once held the ashes of the imperial Caesars (now dens for wild bulls and buffaloes) ; they bound from their prison upon the arena, and are encountered by giostratori (of whom the most celebrated are from Viterbo), who exhibit the most consummate com'age and address. In Hungai-y there is a breed of white cattle, of large size, of which a magnificent specimen adorns the unrivalled zoological collection in the British Museum. This breed is not maned, if we may judge from the specimen, like the Chillingham race (though in the latter the mane is really very trifling), and has rather longer horns, but still fine, white, and with black and sharp points. In the " Pictorial Museum of Auiniated Nature," (vol i. p. 1G4, fig, 709), is represented a scene in Moldavia, where the people still maintain, to a certain degree, the nomadic habits of antiquity. It is a caravan of oxen, traversing the country, transporting, in tall wicker vehicles, of singular construction, various articles of produce, provi- sions, and other things to the towns, scattered at wide distances about the vast plains of that region. We allude to thi;i merely for the purpose of no- ticing the fact that the oxen are all wliite. In Poland a race of white oxen is still pre- served. A fine specimen is placed, in the British Museum, between the Chillingham Bull and the Hungarian : it is smaller than the latter, but larger than the former, and it is nameless. Never- theless, those who look with the eye of a zoologist upon the three specimens, cannot but feel con- vinced of their close relationship. But why, it may be asked, should white cattle have been preserved and valued before others '? for from such a preference does our argument go to account for the maintenance of these white races, and the preservation of our white Chilling- ham wild breed, the descendants of a tame or feral race of antiquity. We know not why, but certain it is that white animals have ever been much esteemed by man. In ancient Persia the chariot of Jupiter was drawn by eight white horses, of Nisoean breed, accounted sacred.* Virgil de- scribes the Tln-acian steeds of Tunius as surpass- ing the snow in whiteness ; the priests and judges of Israel rode on white asses ; the consecrated bull, offered as a sacrifice to Apis by the ancient Egj'ptiaus, was white, without one black hair, otherwise its slaughter was inilawf'ul ; the sacred bulls of the Hindoos are white. We might en- large ujiou this point, but it is useless. How- ever, this predilection may serve to account for the maintenance, in its purity, of a white breed of cattle in different countries and through a long period of time, and for the preservation of the white feral race, m our island, after the destruc- tion of the rest. Thus, then, have we ventured our opinion, that the Chillingham breed of oxen is not de- scended from the huge long-homed urus, little in- * The chariots of the ancient Persian kings were dra\ni by white horses. The horses consecrated to the sun were white ; and the white horse was the ancient Sason standard. " Ter eentiim nivei tondent dumeta juvenci." — Vir*jil. ir, bkulls aud bonra in our varioitarcd with tho bunc« of iJif itkcleliiii in ililc when we m^ I'i'rha|><( it will Ktill be in our i roMi|Nins of 1 n-H it luw iK'cn mailo bv I'mfeu-tor iiwcn. •■■ opinion iit of the hiifhcKt wri-,'ht 'Hi'" f " in hi« Butnnmrr : "Tlio ni' lioncit |imM>nt the Haiue ^' {•nreil with tho«4> of tlie • foftsiU. There arc four' •ikull showH the Kanie ix; ahortncM of the portal rt-gion. aa dom tli« fmsii Hkull of the Hiion PritruH ; tb<» h'>nj'«>f»^ h«*>- tli<* Hnnt'' uilvaiK'oil if. li-,'rr»«nrlv rr«luce«l prcciwly thf CiinlitlKUK calrulntrd to pr\>J'»' ■ n piirral li>%s of si/e and strenirth. and a >! diminution of the wen|>on« of ofTenc« an arrivr-l !' •• '•-- •■'<■• ........'. thiit • I of the 1 wera conteiii|>urar> uitli the uwiuiiivth, ibv it>it^ rhino rhinocvrtM. and other eittiict maminals *'i tlu- pi. f III re ftf^rew of the /o*si/ slw/i •■' ''"' '"'' . :.. ' utier; the onginal w i«> '1" Museum of i*ans : — tlut of (g present 11 tu* 1 brvnt wt ■ hdtcrt I I SMdes, Ovibos Moscba l- i\\v fossil skulls of .rifiiiiJ Nonh Ame- l'"N TnK-liocerus, Her- rii-. ( uvier: lies Lati. '' ■ ■' '■-MIS. Harlan: "'1U.K, Hobert. I comparing "U ouiuol Mj how tu pvi.s .f OK were found ^' » ilik iii"Uiil.iins. nt '' 11 .s l.rlnet'n llie II the slopes, 1 r^rtlr in l^jnes 1-'|>0I«- • vend • r lor '!n' tan. • k'roup. we ' -f the wild ■ '1 an in- ..iil-s of :. .\v Live I (p. 14), we ■ 'iie wild oxen • t II* reraem- W'rstern F,u- ■ ■ n. and . iierds. .ml tiie i< "1 liic dog, ths borae, , .i„- i..m\ Hud the_T II ihoir ilicin. r> rouiL «raocaL (Fnoi ..€• ) (l*ii^ai >k«.) FifthW. ThefoMil skiillof abis»il skull ..i a luu^k «\. fmrn th< cliffs at F.schscholtz IJar, brought to F'.ngland bv Captain Becchcy. It appoftra to be idcnUral with , mckuijw^gaxuii v( l.y lni{M>nal - lud tame ■ i ' ' ! ' ^ riy subjected et to that of ...n « .'111 111 'i! . •!,. !.':ll .( riMiiii'l.iig . An eailj ih red ears for certain Ncrlli ani :::^ •■ ssnip nu jM 1 tion. w flQ ^fc_ ry lli earliest colonizers of this |H)rti»n uf tlie (jb.be, an of which the nlx>rit(iiiHl wiUl »loik, prol«l>ly r\ tiiict. WHS dilTea-iit fmiu that untniiicahlo nM'*" ■ uri. Hut, nt tlie sjitne liiue. we adaiil ili'' al>ori(;iiml stock of tlir iloiiiestic ox iiiny uhn); th. und even fatal nividi'nts often )m\>\x :. and horst-. The men are anned wilJi long m shaq* goads: and their o)ije<-t in to Mparmte il bulls from the herd, ami forre tliom uit» an '' closure, a work rc«|inring the Kreatrst dam and uildresn. Wi-n- the Al"-- " ' - forfstecl tinti ruhlMili'd. wr • how the lingering nlics of i;- fHjme to grace a iwrk. and Iw luvked u|iuu •• : survivors of an original and a inilr wild ra«». ^• ill our island, when t).' t<> the aie ; when the • cultivation, the elTirt i: :i .-. ; - crease of |>oimldtion. liegan to make progrr>««. i' liiiiri tytretlrfa of FlUstephcn would rapidlr ■: niinish in nuiuhers, their last relics lindin ' and prutection in the |«;i*«, m\ ■« " Tliev have pre-eminentlv all th'- of wild animals, with fu>nie |>mil: sometimes very curious and aniii»iteaking. very limor moving otT on the ap|>e«nince of any one, eron a great distiuice. Yet tlits varies very much dilVert-nl seasons of the year, according to t mHniier in which they are appro«chr■ mer 1 have been for severwl weeks at without getting sight of them, they, on tii- est np|>e}inincc of any one, retiring into a *>• which series tliem a.« n sanctiiarr. On tlu* oii hand, ill winter, when r..iiimR down for f tlic inner |mrk, and l><-ing in conurt > people, they will let lou aim -st com- - them, particularly if on horscl«ck. Hui tl • l>ninntic«tian wrnmllj y€TmiAt* ut iorKw rn ntr r«' than dimionhn iL ■'< fWnliarities ; they will • lly. when, if any one III. piirticiilarly coming !•<• St nick with a sudden liHiiij one after another, 1" tlieir saiic- - lif roil det-r, 1 Inking advan- •1 I In- ground; so that on '— tli<> whole park, and !ii : tlieir usual set otT in a n a gallop till ^ u and them, ' i. hi form i. shurt legs, ktrugbt i.::o trxiure. thin skin, ■ - '71 eofear; ist thui inarka of I aiMi aotue of lis defects ; snd roiKh •ubjeet to the lU bn-d in and ' Miih tlies<> as ■ 1 ' ■ lower part of urs. they move til<-«. the bulls lilt' bulls lllHt v^n- witness to I --■ -^iiin. as it . . 1 1 u- 1 I'l llicni. ; : till V li '.Mu 1 t', ,t M-.ln.J I'l'ding. J is an in- ii-i. one of the • him from the ■ • ■•; the outer iiig been . III. by the I ibr Un«-r doing il incaii- !.• a ni«li at him. and got him ". j i" [. . K. .. nd limes, ),,■ niid bn.ke . ! : '., ■ tluT [lerson ;.ini-e lliat cetllcd domicile, and a certain degree of civilization. 28. already said that the Brahmins hold the wild gayal sacred, and refuse to hunt it. The large zebu, or brahmin bull, is certainly a noble animal, and much more active than any of our breeds. These animals are used in India as beasts of draught and burden, and also for the saddle. We learn that Lieut.-Col. Skinner, of Danah, on the borders of the Bichaneer desert, one hundred miles Avest of Delhi, maintains a large stock of them ; and six or seven beasts are always kept saddled to carry the military de- spatches. They remain saddled three or four hours, when, if not wanted, they are relieved by fresh ones. They will travel, with a soldier on their back, fifteen or sixteen hours in the day, at the rate of six miles an hour. Their action is fine, and they bring their hind legs imder them in as straight a line as the horse. Such is their activity that they can clear a five-barred gate with ease. Thevenot says ( " Kelatiou," vol. iii., p. 151), " As the oxen in India are by no means ungovern- able, there are many persons who employ them iu travelling, and who mount them as they do horses. Their ordinary gait is easy. Instead of a bit a small cord is passed double through the gristle of the nose, and to this is attached a stout cord in the fashion of a bridle, which is kept up by the hump the animal has on the forepart of his back, and which is wanting in our oxen. The animal is saddled like a horse, and when a little excited into action it goes veiy quickly ; some, indeed, gallop as well as a good horse. These cattle are in general use throughout the T\hole of India ; and they use no other in ploughs, coaches, and chariots, which are drawn by oxen, their number being in proportion to the weight of the load." It would seem that tvliite oxen are highly esteemed in India, as they have been in other parts of the world. Olearius (vol. i., p. 458) no- tices the procession of an Indian prince, who was drawn in a carriage harnessed to two white oxen, which were as lively and active as horses. Bishop Heber observes that the Thakoors, the nobility of the Rajpoots, generally travel in covered wagons drawn by white oxen, whose horns they gild. " The two oxen," says Tavernier, " which were harnessed to my carriage, cost me nearly sLx hun- dred rupees. The reader need not be astonished at this price ; for these are oxen of great strength, and which travel journeys of twelve to fifteen leagues a day, for sixty days, and always on the trot. When they have done half their day's work, they have two or three balls (the size of a penny loaf) of wheaten flour, kneaded with butter and coarse sugar ; and, in the evening, their or- dinary fare consists of chick-peas, bruised and steeped half-an hour in water." By some tribes these cattle are bred on a most extensive scale. We are informed by Lieut.-Col. Sykes (" Proceedings Zool. Soc," 1830-1, p. 13), that the Brinjarees, a singular erratic people, breed vast immbers of brahmin cattle ; and that " an army rarely moves in the field without 15,000 or 20,000 bullocks to carry its grain. Dwarf cattle are not met with in Dukhun." The buffalo, however, divides the palm of use- fulness with the zebu, in the agricultural labours of India ; and, in some places, supersedes it, being of a more hardy and robust constitution. In Duk- hun, for example, the buffalo, which is one of the long-homed variety, " is mostly bred in the ma- wals, or hilly tracts along the Ghauts. In those tracts much rice is planted ; and the male buffalo, from his superior hardihood, is much better suited to resist the effects of the heavy rains, and the splashy cultivation of the rice, than the bullock. The female is also infinitely more valuable than the cow, from the very much greater quantity of milk she yields." The bull is regarded as sacred by the Hin- doos ; and privileged individuals, devoted to Bal- Siva, are tiu'ned loose by the worthy Brahmins to wander at their pleasure. They become quite tame and fearless, and coolly help themselves to fruit, grain, or vegetables, exposed for sale in the shop- windows, and obstruct the streets and highways, and take up their quarters where it suits them. Devout persons think it a merit to pamper them ; and they become fat and indolent. No one dare presume to injure them ; but when they put their muzzle into baskets of grain, or other produce, the owner contents himself with driving them away with his handkerchief, or, at most, only slaps their head or neck, respectfully addressing the animal by the title of Mahraj — your worship!'" "In Hindu mythology," says Colonel Todd ("Trans. Royal Asiat. Soc," vol. ii., p. 500), "the bull Nauda is at once the guardian of one of the two gates of heaven, of Iswara, or Bal-Siva, and liis steed. The astronomic allusion thus blended with mythology is evident, — viz., the entrance of the sun into the sign of Taurus, the equinoctial festival of remote antiquity, and regarded as a jubilee by the ludo-Scythic nations hemming the shores of the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean." In ancient Egypt, Osiris and Jsis were respec- tively venerated under the forms of the bull and cow. The great visible deity of Memphis was the bull Apis ; of Heliopolis, the bull Mnevis ; and a third bull is mentioned by some writers, Hernu- phis, of Hermonthis, iu the Thebaid. The bull Apis, says Herodotus, is the calf of a cow that is incapable of bearing another. The marks that distinguish him from all others are * Col. Briggs states, that be has seen the sacred ox brought into an Indian court of justice, and Bi-ithniins swore by placing their hands on the animal, and calling it to bear witness ot' their veracity. — Letters on India, p. 72. tliese : — his body is black, except oue square of white on the forehead; he has the figure of an eiig/e on his back, a double list of hair on the tail, and a scarabasus under his tongue. To this deity, kept in state, bulls were sacrificed of un- blemished form and of a snow-white colour, with- out one black hair. When the victim is slain, they cut off the head, which they carry, w^ith im- precations, to the public place, uttering over it this imprecation : "May all the evils impending over those that now sacrifice, or over the Egyptians in general, be averted on this head." They then sell it to the Greeks, if any are present ; or, if not, throw it into the river. In India, " Siva, as the principle of fertility, has his sacred bullocks, which are to be choseu according to certain marks. In front of most of his temples there is a colossal stone figure of a bull ; aud, at certain times, a bul- lock, with a chaplet on his head, accompanied by a number of men, is led in a kind of procession, intended to represent the course of the suu. It is considered a fortunate omen, when he will eat grass from the hand of a person who ajiproaches him ; which is exactly the same thing that Pliny relates of the Apis." The goddess Isis, of the Egyptians, was re- presented as a female figure, with the horns of a cow, such as the Greeks, says Herodotus, repre- sent lo. The sacrificial offering was a bullock, the cow being sacred to the deity, and therefore never sacrificed. It was accounted, by the women of Cyreue, a crime even to strike a cow. Tliis widely-spread worship of the ox to which the Indo-Scythic nations were so strongly addicted, influenced the Israelites, who, as is well known, soon after leavmg Egypt, set up a golden calf as a god. And again, Jeroboam, reverting to the worship in Egypt, set up calves at Bethel, as objects of superstition. In this bovine adora- tion we have undoubtedly one of the most ancient of superstitions which have prevailed among mankind. In whatever part of the world the original domestication of the ox was effected, this most valuable animal spread with the spreading of nations ; it is universal over Eurojie and Asia, except within those icy regions where the rein- deer supplies its place ; its range extends over the whole of Africa and the great island of Madagas- car ; and, within modern days, it has been intro- duced from Europe into the vast continent of America, and the islands of the southern ocean In these new regions it has multiplied excessivel}', and herds roam the plains in a state of semi-wild- ness. South America owes the ox to the Spaniards ; the earliest imported, according to Azara, were Audalusian. Captain John de Salazar, born in the city of Pomar, in Arragon, carried over seven cows aud a bull to the coast of Brazil, whence tlicy were transported l)y the rivers Parana and Par.i gua, to the city of Assumption, in 1310, seven;! months being occupied in their transport. From this stock sprung the feral cattle of the extensive Pampas, of which so many travellers have given most interesting descriptions. Besides thousand> of unowned cattle, living in a state of freedom, there are extensive herds, which, though they roam at large, have their owners, and are the property of those on whose estaucias, or pastur age estates they feed ; they are under the charge of stock-keepers, who prevent their passing beyond certain limits, or recover them when they have wandered. The estancia of General San Piosas is said to comprise seventy-four square leagues ot land, and to contain .300,000 head of cattle, be- sides wild horses. The great value of these cattle consists in their hides and tallow ; and for these alone thousands are annually slaughtered. About 800,000 ox-hides are annually exported from Buenos Ayres and Monte Yiedo to Europe. Mr. Darni)i states that from Monte Viedo alone the exportation is 300,000, and the home consumption from waste very considerable. "In order to obtain these hides (he adds) some horsemen join together, and arrange themselves in two ranks, which form an angle ; they then jn'ess on the sides a small num- ber of cattle, and one of the horsemen, who goes last in the angle, hamstrings the animals with u knife in the shape of a crescent, ,or half-moon, fastened to the end of a staff. While this goes on the horsemen continue to ride forwards, and when they have thus secured a sufficient number of animals, they retrace their steps, and the person, who hamstrung them, gives each beast thus maimed a finishing sti-oke with a sharp spear, and the horsemen dismount to strip the carcass, sometimes of the fat aud suet, but always of the skin ; this they do with such dexterity, that some men, without assistance, will strip twenty-six cattle at a day's work. AYlien a single head of cattle is to be killed for the sake of its flesh, a horseman throws a lasso over its horns or neck, and another does the same over one of its feet, then straining in opposite directions they prevent it from strug- gling free, and so strangle it. Admirable is the dexterity with which, when the animals pass as they rush forwards, the lasso is thrown, so that directed backwards under its feet, the animal, at the pleasure of the horseman, is entangled either by one foot or by two together. "=:= The carcasses of the oxen left on the plain are soon devoured by carnivorous birds, vultures, and caiacaras, which • The lasso was an insmiipent known to and used by Uie an- cient Egyptians. It does not appear, however, tliut they laiinulied whtn in tiill gallop on horseoack, as do the Gauchos uf South America. They are always represeiiled with it on iViot, atul nio^ probably the plan was to lie in ambush, aud throw it as tlii' auti- lope, or the bekr-el wash, or » ild os of ihc arabs (ivutclopc bubalii!,), passed by. ' S4 crowd in flocks to tlie feast. In many places corrals or enclosures are established for the slaughter of cattle and horses, and in which they are kept till wanted, Mr. Darwin particularly notices the gi-eat corral at Buenos Ay res, where numbers of cattle are kept for slaughter to supply food for the people, whom he justly terms a " beef- eating" population. The cattle are dragged by means of the lasso to the spot ; and he observes that, " the strength of the horse, as compared to that of the bullock, is quite astonishing; a man on horseback having thrown his lasso (or lazo) round the homs of a beast, can drag it anywhere he chooses. The animal having ploughed up the ground with outstretched legs in vain efforts to resist the force, generally dashes at full speed to one side ; but the horse, immediately turning to receive the shock, stands so firmly that the bullock is almost thrown down, and one would think would certainly have its neck dislocated. The struggle however, is not one of fair strength, the horse's girth being matched against the bullock's e.\tended neck. In a similar manner a man can hold the wildest horse, if caught with the lazo just behind the ears. When the bullock has been dragged to tlie spot where it is to be slaughtered, the matador, with great caution, cuts the ham-strings ; then is given the death-blow— a noise more e.\.- pressive of fierce agony than any I know. I have often distinguished it from a long distance, and have always known that the struggle was drawing 'to a close. The whole sight is horrible ; the ground is almost made of bones, and the horses and riders are drenched with gore." In the Falkland Islands cattle and horses were introduced by the French in 1764. The cattle are magnificent, but the horses are small. From the injudicious slaughter of the cows the bulls in these islands greatly preponderate in number. These bulls wander about singly, or in groups of two or three. " I never (says Mr. Darwin) saw such magnificent beasts ; they truly resemble the ancient sculptures in which the size of the head and neck is but rarely equalled among tame ani- mals. The young bulls run away for a short distance, but the old ones did not stir a step except to rush at man and horse, and many of the latter have been thus killed." In Paraguay, according to Azara, an estanoia of two square maritime leagues can feed 4000 head of cattle, under the direction of a superintendant and four men. The ordinary duty of these five individuals, a duty requiring a hundred horses, is to collect the herd once a week, driving them from all quarters to a rodeo, or circuit, where an account is taken of their numbers, and those selected for slaughter which are deemed most fat. Where there is much forest land, he adds, the herds of horned. cattle take refuge in the woods during the winter. In order that the plains may yield a sup- ply of fresh tender grass in the spring, they are fired in the autumn, and should it happen that a hei'd of cattle are encircled by the conflagration, they dare the flames, and dash through. On the contrary, the horses remain in the circle, violently kicking until tliey are bunied to death. ''The cattle suflice here for almost every necessary' of life ; the greater part of the population neither taste bread nor any thing else but flesh-meat. With the horns are made goblets, combs, and spoons ; a horn, with a cork at the large end, the small end being opened, serves as a pitcher. The inhabitants form out of the hide all sorts of cord- age and string, as well as the greater part of their utensils ; on their hides they sleep, and witli them they cover their cabins. The fat supplies the place of oil, of the suet they make soap and can- dles ; the bones are a substitute for firewood in many places where the latter is wanting; the skulls are used as chairs in the estancias. From the milk they make various dishes of curds, which though in general not very excellent (because the cream and every unctions particle are removed), might be as good as in Holland ; and the same may be said of the butter." Von Spix, in his " Journey from the city of St. Paulo to the Iron Foundry of Ypannema," gives very similar accounts ; but he adds that, besides the herds which roam wild, every farmer keeps aa many tame oxen and cows as he requires for the purposes of. agriculture, and for milk, which is partly made of cheese These tame cattle are kept in the vicinity of the fazeuda, and run free in the meadows during the day, and are only shut up in an enclosure at night. The flesh of the tame cattle is preferred to that of the wild, as from the quiet life they lead it is fatter, and more tender. Tlieir milk, also, is excellent ; but a cow will yield only a third of the quantity that a good milch cow gives in Europe. The Ifide of the cattle, wijich is decidedly the most valuable part, when stripped off, is stretched upon the ground by means of short pegs, a little salted, and dried in the sun. " The flesh, cut into thiu strips, a little salted, and dried in the air, is an important article of exportation from the harbours of St. Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul to the cities in the north, particularly to Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Pernambuco, and Maranhao ; wiiere, under the names of Carne Seca do Sertao, Passoca, or Came Marqueda, it constitutes an es- sential part of the subsistence of all the Brazillians, but especially of the negro slaves." Though the cows in Brazil yield rich milk, the Brazillians have not succeeded in making butter, or establishing a dairy, in the European manner; and, as Von Spix states, even the emjieror, who possesses in his very neighboui'hood one of the finest herds of cows, must content himself with 25 Irish salt batter, wliicli lias performed a voyafje of some months. The cow, in Brazil, yields but little milk, though that little is excellent ; and it is ob- served, that cows imported immediately from Eu- rope to that country, lose their milk; a fact which, as Spix suggests, is •probably to be explained by the increased action of the cutaneous system, and the flow of perspiration, from the effects of the climate. Australia, New Zealand, and the islands of the southern seas, and of the North Pacific, have re- ceived cattle from Europe ; and, indeed, in many of these jslauds, the cattle have become feral. Such is the case in the Sandwich Islands (North Pacific), of wluph Hawaii is the chief. " With the appearance of Vancouver, "says OthoVon Kotzebue, " arose the fortunate star of these islands. Among the innumerable benefits he conferred upon them, they are indebted to him for the possession of sheep and cattle. Tameamea (the native king), declared these animals under a tabu for ten 3'ears, which allowed time for so' large an increase that they now run wild in the forests." It was at Hawaii that the enterprising botanical and zoolo- ical traveller, Mr. David Douglas, lost his life. He left California for that island, whence, " after surmounting innumerable dangers, with almost unexampled courage and success, he fell a victim to one of those accidents, improperly so called, which a mysterious Providence, for wise pui-poses, sonietimes permits to befall his creatures." He lost his way, while on the road to Hido, and fell into a pit excavated for the purpose of entrapping wild cattle, and into which a bull had previously fallen. Tlie result may be anticipated. In some parts of Australia, and particularly in the forests adjacent to Port Essington, there abound wild oxen, wild buffaloes, ponies, and pigs. It has been suggested, that these animals, with the exception of the buffaloes, are the descendants of the stoclc left at Port Raffles, when the settlement was broken up ; but the buffaloes brought, perhaps, originally from some of the islands of the Indian Archipelago, are supposed to be of longer standing in the counti-y. The oxen are said to be very fine ; numbers, we believe, were met with by the late expedition from Port Essington into the interior. At some future day, perhaps, they may prove of immense advantage. The settlement at Port Raffles was abandoned in 18'jy, because it was only resorted to by Malay traders. We have represented the ox as used for the saddle in many parts of India ; such is its use, also, in many districts of Africa. In the Mandara valleys, the " bullock" (says Major Denham) "is the bearer of the grain and other articles to and from the markets. A small saddle of plaited rushes is laid on him, when sacks, made of goat- skins and filled with corn, are lashed on his broad and aide back. A leathern thong is passed through the cartilage of his nose, and serves as a bridle; while on the top of the load is mounted the owner, his wife, or his slave. Sometimes the daughter of a rich Shouaa will be mounted on her particular bullock, and precede the loaded lanimals, extrava- gantly adonied with amber, silver rings, coral, and all sorts of finery ; her hair streaming with fat; a black rim of kohal, at least an inch wide, round each of her eyes, and, I may say, arrayed for conquest at the crowded market." Carpets and robes are spread on her clumsy palfrey, to form a saddle, she sits astride, guides her animal by the nose bridle, and, notwithstanding his sluggish nature, " her vanity still enables her to torture him into something like caperinj^s 'and curvetings." A nearly similar picture of the saddle-ox is given by Mr. Burchell, in his " Travels in South Africa :" — " These oxen are generally broken-in for riding when they are not more than a year old. The first ceremony is that of piercing the nose, to receive the bridle ; for which purpose they are thrown on their back, and a slit is made in the septum, or cartilage, between the nostrils, large enough to admit a finger ; in this hole is thrust a strong stick, stripped of its bark, and having at one end a forked branch, to prevent it passing through. To each end of it is fastened a thong of hide, of a length suQicieut to reach round the neck, and form the reins ; and a sheepskin, with the wool on, placed across the back, together with another, folded up and bouod on with a rein long enough to pass several times round the body, con- stitutes the saddle. To this is sometimes added a pair of stirrups, consisting only of a thong, with a loop at each end slung across the saddle. Fre- quently the loops are distended by a piece of wood, to form an easier rest for the foot. "While the animal's nose is still sore, it is mounted, and put into training, and in a week or two is generally rendered sufficiently obedient to its rider. The facility with which the Hottentots manage the ox, and their adroitness, have often excited my admira- tion : it is made to walk, trot, or gallop, at the will of its master ; and being rather longer legged, and rather more lightl}^ made than the ox in England, travels with greater ease and expedition ; walking three or four miles an hour, trotting five, and galloping, on an emergency, seven or eight." Pack-oxen are also much employed in South Africa, in the same manner as the pack-horses were formerly in England, and the mules are still in Spain. So rapidly does a string of pack-oxen travel along that it is not easy to keejj. up with them and their nimble-footed drivers, even by mounted horsemen ; for they trot or gallop over the roughest gronnd, where huge rough stones n ) 24 Tilt crowd in tlucks to the feast. In mnny placM corrals or enclosures are estaMishcd for the slaugUter of cuttle and horses, ami in which tliev are kept till wanted, Mr. Darwin jmrtiiularlv notices the <,Teat corral at Buenos Avres, where numliers of cattle are keja for slaughter to supply food for the people, whom he justly tenns a " beef- eating" population. The cattle are dnig'.'<''' l*J means of tlie lasso to the spot ; and he ol>scr^-es that, " tlie strength of the horse, as o>ini»an>d to that of the hullock, is quite astonishing; n man on horseliack having thrown his lasso (or lazo) round the horns of a lieast, can dnig it anywhere he chooses. The animal having ploughi-d up the ground with outstretched legs in vain cflorls to resist the force, generally ditshes at full sjHvd to one side ; but the horse, imniediurily tunnng to receive the siiock. stands so limily that tlie bullix-k is almost thrown down, and one would think wouM certainly have its neck dislocated. Tiie stniggle however, is not one of fair stren;»lh, the horse's girtli being niatclied again>t tin- l>uilink'h extemled neck. In a similar manner a man can hold the wildest horse, if caught with the la/o just lieliind the ears. When the bullock has In'on drugged to the spot where it is to be slaughtered, the matador, with great caution, cuts the liara-stringH ; then is given the death-blow — a noise more ex- pressive of lierce agony than any I know. I have often distinguished it from n long rlistance, and have always known that the slnigglo was drawing to a close. The wlude sight is horribb- ; the )^>und is almost made of lH)nes, and the horses aud riders are drendied with gore." In till" Falkland Islands cattle and horses were introduced by the French in Kill. The cattle are magnificent, but the horses are small. From the injudicious slaughter of the cows the bulls in these islands greatly prejiondenite in nunibtr. 'Ihese bulls wamler about singly, or in graipsoflwo or three. "I never (says Mr. I»arwin) saw such magnificent beasts: they tndy resemble the ancient sculptures in which the size oftheheaoons ; n < small etui I iidiabitant ' age and >i ' utetisils : they ■ pIlU-C !■'. d\e»; the t Minnv pini-e »kull- the ri thou- cream nu'l might I"' •' niav I ■\ run! Ten- the 1 uuut\ P»T |innl. kep, in tb' up in an r rattle i« t" quiet The., ull, ; |H»gs. Ile,b. in tjj from : Sill to Uie ri de .Tnnrim but f- T Brayi or e-! and. ;i.> . posst-s.se8 1 i finest henl- ( er lint ih. plains may yield a sup- t. jer gris> in the spring, they are a Inin. and -.houl.l it liapp*-n that a ' ^ ' ' by ilie i-onllagralion, -!i !lin.u;;h. On the I ■'!! tlie cia-le, violently il««ry uff biinied to death. "The . iiv> f.ir nlro'wt ererr neccssarj- of ! • i-qadatioii neither •1" but llesh-meat. ;,'.>bl -ts, combs, and i at the large end, tlie > i-^ as a pitcher. The 111 le nil soils of cord- ^•1 eater [wrt of their > ^leep, and with them r The fat supplies the I.. -. t li.y make ii<«p and oui- «•* are a Mil 'lilute for firewood in « 9u>r« the litter in wanting; the ■ iu.-i:Ls. Fr>m '■ • iirds, which - -...■- .1 i^bersuise the i« uii' : ii> (mnicle are removed), -• *>-\ ■■- ■■: I lullaiij ; aud the t>aioe iiey from the city of St. "f Ypnnnema." gives ]:' M.i.j-. that, liesides 1 1 \( ry famur keeps lUi '' - ad be re<|iures for the < . ^ind for milk, which is r',. ..<• lame cattle are . • iid.i. and run fn-e ! ^ . and are only shut I'be flesh of the tiimo f the wild, as from the ■I' r. and more tender. bill a cow will yield :li .1 a g'Kid milch row I' the cattle, which is ] irt. when Btrijiped 11 id by means of short • i in the sun. "The '■• d. and dried ■ expirtiition , ■ ■ Grande do ii' ill the north, parlicularlT to IJio ll^i«, PiTiinrnbiiro, and Maranhao; '-' I do Scrtao, iites an es- ;;.^ lirazillians, 1. il yield rich milk, the - . • 'dcd in making butter, V 111 the European manner; • ven the emf>eror, who . iilciiirlKK>d one of the ' content himself witl jr ■• Ji* ift»» l '■>7 lofty horus, black aucl stout ; the forebeaJ should be broad aud rough, the ears liairy, the e3-es and lips black, the muzzle upturned, the nostrils wide, the neck long and brawny, the dewlap large, and reaching almost to the knees, the chest broad, the shoulders massive, the belly large and protuberant, the sides well stretched out, the flanks broad, the back straight, or a little de- clining, the legs compact and straight but rather short, the knee-joiuts well set, the hoofs large, the tail long and haiiT ; the whole body should be soft to the touch, and the skin covered with short, thick hail-, of a red colour, or dark brown. With respect to the bull, he should resemble the ox, only vrith a greater development of limb and bidk; his aspect should be stem, his horns shorter, his neck more brawny, so as even to preponderate over the volume of the trunk ; the belly shoidd be more confined. The cow should be tall and long made, with a very large belly, and veiy broad forehead ; the eyes should be black and open, the boms graceful and smooth, the ears black aud haiiT, the jaws straight, the dewlap large, the legs and hoofs moderate. Our ancient writers give the same description. All insist upon a muscular frame, a brawny neck, a wide chest, large hoofs, stout limbs, and long t;iil ; and such are the animals of Greek aud Roman sculpture. It is evident, that the breed of oxen which the 1 Romans aimed at, was a strong-limbed, heavy, massive sort, fit for labour, from which the cow even was not excluded : — "Ex asqiiore cemes Plura'domum tardis decedere plauslra juvencis." " Yuu will see the numerous wagons, with the slow, heavy loaded heifers, Move homewards from the plain." Xhe wagon and the plough were for the ox ; in Italy, m Greece, and iu the East, agricultural labom- was its lot ; nor is the practice of working the ox, in Europe, yet abolished, although the horse now takes his share, which was not anciently the case. Allusions to oxeu engaged in the labour of the plough are abundant, both iu the Scriptures and classic writings. The plough of antiquity was of simple construction, and in the East still continues to be a rude instrument, aud adapted only for a light soil, or for making superficial farrows. Among the Romans, as is evident from Vir- gil (Georg. I., 169, et seq.), the tiller of the groutid made his own plough, which was fitted for a pair of oxen, and over which, while at work, the ploughman was obliged to bend, loading it with his own weight, iu order to keep the share steadily aud uniformly on the ground. Another use to which the ox was anciently applied, was that of treading out the corn. To this practice the Mosaic injunction alludes: — " Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he trea.leth out the corn ;" and Homer also refers to it : — " As when the peasant his yoked steei-s employs To tread his barley, the broad-fronted pair, With ponderous hoofs, soon tritiiiate the grain." Horn. Cowptr'i irand. Virgil describes the manner in which the threshing- floor must be laid down, showing that nothing like the modern style of threshing could have been used. He directs, that " the threshing- floor be well levelled with a huge cylindric roller, and consolidated with binding chalk, that weeds may not spring up, and that it may not become dusty, or full of chinks." Among the Romans, however, horses were also employed in this work,* aud Isaiah (.xxviii. 27), also, alludes to horses or horsemen. The custom of threshing by the treading of animals is still common in northern Africa, where the ueddars, or nedders, the " Libycse arefe," of Horace, receive the sheaves, which are opened and spread out, and oxeu, or mules and horses, three or four abreast, are driven round aud round, till all the grain is trampled out. These nedders are merely round, level plats of ground, in the open air, " daubed over with cow-dung, to prevent as much as possible, the earth, sand, or gravel from rising ; a great quantity of them all, notwith- standing this precaution, must unavoidably be taken up with the grain ; at the same time, the straw, which is their only fodder, is hereby shat- tered to pieces ; a circumstance very pertinently alluded to in 2 Kings xiii. 7, where the king of Syria is said to have '' made the Israelites like the dust by threshing." (" Shaw's Travels.") In other parts, as in Syria and Asia Minor, a dray, on which a driver sits, or which he loads with a weight, is drawn over the sheaves by oxeu. The flat under-surface is stuck full of flints or pieces of iron, arranged in regular rows. This is the tribu- lum of Varro aud Virgil ; and is mentioned by Isaiah. " Behold, I wdl make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth : thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills a chafl;"(ch. xli. 15). "We do not know in what the traha, or trahea, differed. Another method is by a sledge, moving on three or four wooden rollers, with iron bands, having acute serrated edges to cut the straw : on • The Romans used the flail in their bams ; and Columella says, that "when the ears only are reaped they may be carried to the barn, and aflei-wards, during ihe winter, beaten out willi flails, or trodden out by cattle. But if it be found convenient to beat out the corn iu the threshing-floor (area), there is no doubt this work is better done by horses than by oxen ; and if there are fevr of these a trihula, or traha (sorts of sledges or planks, sometimes on rollers), may be added, either of which very easily bruises the straw. When ears only are threshed, it is done tie best with Jiails." The bruised straw was important as fodder, its reduction by crushing rendering it fit for food of calde. \ 2(5 iHi; ox. tj scattered about reuJer it dangerous tn give the ; spur to the horse, or proceed at a quicker poce | than a cautious walk. . ( One of tlie great l>enefits rendered hv the ox in South Africa, is by its hibour in the shafts of the | wajton, especially 'as far as the iiiteresu of llie Eunipean settlers are concerned The usual mode of travelling over the plains and vast karroos of this region, Is in large, heavy, tilt-covered wagons, drawn \v ten or twelve oxen in pairs. It is ^ astonishing what toil these often ill-treated and ; cruelly-used animals will endure, an«l bow jmi- tieiitlv thev undergo privation. The driver, generally a Hottentot, uses a whip, with a handle of strong liaralkio. twelve or fourteen feet in length, having a thong still longer; this he crocks from time to time, calling the cattle by their ^ respective names, and directing them by the ex- clamations of "hott' and " haar." to tlie right or left: occasionally he apj-lies the bi^h to quicken their speed. But the severities of the H.iltentot » . lush are nothing to the revolting tortures, which Ikrmw relates the Dutch .\fnciin \ti**» the desert, it is true, are merely rude tnicks of wlieels. which have previouslv jMus-ied. %iui s")metinws the way leads over rugged and bnik>n. or nx-kv gruund . but still the scenery is often inlen !.liiig ; the flowers, the birds, the antelo|H>s. Hrrent the aJ- niiration of the new settler : and as a number of wagons geueniUy travel together, fonninu a nor! of caravan, the hours of day pass pl< .ucuitly ; and at night, the fires are lighted, the wiig.nis ranged in i proper order, and the party bivouac till moraiug. In a similar manner the bnlbick cnrnvans Ira- ' verse the wide pbiius of Moldavia, Wallachia, anii Turtary. There are different breeds of oxen ni ■' ' - - and on Southern Africa ; fortnerly, if I his " Voyages," Ac, ITvJtt,) is to l>e en zebu breed extended thither ; but it dm-s nut exist there now. Acconling to Pen-ivnI. tlie larye druughl oxen form a pi-ctiliar breeil, ■listingui>he v.iiiie is tlie must highly - e\er lutii been, and not ii it must U> confessed, .11 ancient times, at least .1 noinans, was basetl upon I wlut it \a in r ^ sang more of • ; I i» and herdsmen. ::ir nhei'p was as much, f the cow ; and it was : ~ il> -li and labour, that iliui for thuAe qualities for 1 •> . ; frf HWK car*. cat llwlii ctniK . .. < u. >tui(M* H tko ; 1 1 .1 toUfu nail' (/r«y. iB. uvaaat raAStuiTtaa. '. wlMw ka^ h ^f, mtmm awk U .•>( fnt* l coll others, iiii be pretiv accurately calculated. IJut this is fnllarious ; for. if a heifer become impregnated at ihe age of two years, her honi immediately sh">vs a ring, as it ■would have done when three vihts "Id, conse- quently she may be a year older tlian the calcula- tion. Again, in some cows the rings are verv imperfect, or not distinctly markeil, and run into each other, so that it is almost impossible to cotint them. Indeed, after the age of si.\ or 8e\en. the successive additions are generally very irregular and undefined, the surface appearing rugose, with- out definite annular elevations ; hence the test • It is so in the Bunncae oxen with huge honw, devribcd bj Capt. Clappettou. ciiiiii 1h applied. MoraoTer. an aged cow m.iv l«e HI ) !■■ iipi)ear much younger llian she really is, li\ oM'i^' one or two of the upper rings neatly nisiM iitil scr»ped down, so as to become con- tiniii i.iul uniform with the smooth surface bey.. I 1 the bull, which has thicker and shorter honi- ban the cow. the first ruig does nut make its n| iHi'.. until tlie animal is live years old ; and 9 mi . .^si\e rings are often irregular and coiifi d ^umeliuies, indeed, they can scarcely bo III e "lit at all : and all attempts to judge of age 1 tliii ti-st are nugatory. The some observii- iL.ti- )ply t.j the bullock. ,v 1 here we may advert to the peculiarities in til joni-. .'f the bulllltld niulfornied; whereas, in the bullock, on ill. . tniPi'. the honis. instead of being arrestt^^d 111 tlif grviwih. shoot out in length, and very Iri I'lKly uMume a graceful tuuniiire. Athe lias« of the horns in cattle, the corneous iii\. jfiit is Terj" thill, especially where it unites Willi le cutis: here it covers a vast plexus of ve-~. an. I iienrea. rendering a blow upon the part ' I iinful. To one aware of this cirruni - revolting to witiios the ruthless «liicli llie droTcrs use their ashen stiih Milking at the junction of the honi with til. ill. and eiilier almost paraly/.ing. or, on the oili' I Rii'l. infuriating the animal with the agunr pi'"iijd. Heartily do we wish such a weiiiwii r) 1 ' ' ■-• -li^jlit goad, which, used proi)crly is .uiiine instrument ; and tliat blows n\ :au\ the fool also) were punishable. Till Jilucj of Smiihfield are notorious: tliere is not I m to lie half the IkwsU neui there to the r :' I 'ing of the U-osts into circles within II -;\e and suburlian, but now mise- ri ; :i.e, is managed during the night; ami , Liifl-anUes practiced to elTeit this object are 1 U I.. I* written. Nor are tliey much diini- II ■ :, :iniiiial has been Sold, and is to be ill iiid exlrieated from a mass of fif- t. aitle; often a bulhx-k half blinded Willi .c iiiimmering of bludgeons, and maddened ' by I' I und fright, escapes from its tormentors, ami filing along the streets, occasions the de- ! stni. )n of life, and spreads terror as it goes. j I'erliie a time may come, hastened by the railway mod. of conveyance for carcasses slaughtered at ' a di ttice. in which the nuisance of Smiihfield I will I al^olished, and also the slaughter-houaMin the net crowded portions of our metropo^' daii).' in driving cattle to these dens o| crui l9s intlicted in foiring them to eg I scentof gore produces instiocuve :: — Tjs ate . fewaiaiMai* aiv^kMw • iH^ ifaamlMtMiw' i|ttatei«l» oaiHia M> ■>.. oQt ^wms 37 white borehnuiid (mari'ubium vulgare}, impatient ludj'S suiock (eardamiiie impatiens), cominou ce- landine (chelidouium majus), and the blue erigeron (erigerou acre). It must here, however, lie no- ticed, that man}' of these plants, when very young, are sometimes cropped by the cattle, without any ill effects : and that, on the contrary, some nutri- tious plants are, when in seed, refused from their perfume being too strongly diffused. But, after the animals have endured a long continued fast, their eagerness interferes with their discrimination. Some plants are often eaten by cattle, while green and fresh ; j'et, singular to say, they are refused if offered in a faded or dry state. Among these are cock's comb (rhinanthus crista galli), the horsetails (equisetuin), the bedstraws (galium), wliich spoil the hay, and the common buckbean (nienyauthes trifoliata). Again, there are others, such as the crawfoots (ranunculus), and the swal- low-worts (asclepias), which loose their noxious pro- pirties when dried, and may be eaten by the cattle without injury. Some plants are stimulants, or cordials ; such are the garlics (allium), and the docks (rumex). The goat not only feeds with impunity upon several plants refused by other cattle, but even eagerly seeks for them. Of these we may men- tion the common mare' s-tail (hippuris vulgaris), common prickly seed (echinospermum lappu- la), the greater water plantain (alisma plantago), highly injurious to other domestic animals ; the wood anemone (anemone memoralis), the meadow anemone (a. pratensis), the spring anemone (a. vernalis), celeiy-leaved crowfoot (ranunculus sce- leratus), the knotty-rooted f]gwort{scrophu]aria no- dosa), and tame-poison (asclepias viucetoxicum), of which it is extremely fond. To these may be added, the small water-wort (elatine hydropiper), box-leaved audromeda (a. calcyculata), biting stone- crop(sedum acre), snapdragon (antirrhinum linaria), stinking chamomile (anthemis cotula), black-ber- ried bryony (bryonia alba), marsh lousewort (pedi- cularis palustris), wood lousewort (p. sylvatica), hemp agrimony (eupatorium cynnabinum), annual mercury (mercurialis annua), deleterious to all domestic animals ; corn horsetail (equisetum ar- vense), marsh horsetail (e. palustre), and the male polypody (polypodyum filix mas). Some plants are eaten solely by the hog ; but it is only their roots, in general, that are sought after. Among these are the common cyclamen (cyclamen Europaeum), common asarabacca (asa- rum Eurcipieum), the white and the yellow water- lily (nympliKa alba, and lutea), towards which the horse exhibits a marked aversion ; the water sol- dier (stratiotes aloides), sea-wrack-grass (fostera marina), and maiden-hair (aspleuium trichomanes). The hog also greedily searches the ground for earth or pig-nuts, the roots of two species of um- belliferous plants, bunium bulliocastanum, and b. flexuosum. A few plants are relished by all domestic herbiverous animals, and are much sought after; among these are the comujon millet-grass (millium eft'usum) meadow soft-grass (holcus lanalus), annual meadow-grass (poa annua), oats, barley and wheat, the carrot and parsnip, the great round-leaved willow (salix caprea). the Norwegian cinquefoil (potentilla Norvegica), the creeping trefoil or I'jutch clover, and other species of clover, lucern, sainfoin, &c. But many of these plants must be in different states in order to be equally liked by every domestic species. It is observed of the cotton grasses (eriopharum) that they are hurtful to cattle from their hairs, which are apt to serve as a nucleus, to those concretions of extraneous matters sometimes found in the stomach. The utilitj' of rooting up as much as possible all no.xious plants from pasture grounds, and the ditches around them, is palpable, and it would be well if the farmer attended to this point more than is usually the case. We ourselves have seen in Cheshire the long-leaved water hemlock, or cowbane, in the greatest abundance in the ditches of the mea- dows, from which, with a little trouble, it might have been extirjmted. It is not very easy, unless the fact be ascer- tained from circumstances, to determine positively that a suffering beast is labouring under the effects of poisonous plants taken into the stomach. The general symptoms are stupor, and great swelling; a refusal of food, a grinding of the teeth, and a rolling about as if from extreme agony or colic. The first thing to be done is to clear the stomach- bag, and freely washing out the contents by means of the stomach-pump, plenty of warm water being used, and the operation being persevered in till no particle remains behind ; brisk aperients should then be given, followed by carminatives. It is a remarkable fact that, although the ox is decidedly herbiverous, yet in some countries it is fed, during a part of the year at least, on a propor- tion of animal diet. In Norway, for example, the lierds and flocks ai-e driven to the mountains, and are there depastured ; but during the long winter they are housed and fed partially on the hay grown within the immediate precincts of the farm, and brought from the hills, and more plentifully on a kind of food which, to our English farmer, must apiiear very strange and disgusting, but which the cattle are said to relish very much. This food consists of a thick gelatinous soup, made by bull- ing the heads of fish, and mixing horse dung with the broth. The boat of the farmer in Norway supplies not only himself and his family with the staple portion of his winter subsistence, but his cows also. A writer in the " Edinburgh Journal, of Natural History," says : " AVe are assured by M. 38 THI Yvavt, that in Auvergne, fat soups are given to cattle, especially when sick or enfeebled, for the purpose of invigorating them. The same practice is observed in some parts of North America, where the country people mix, in winter, fat broth with the vegetables given to their cattle, in order to render them more capable of resisting the severity of the weather. These broths have been long considered elficaeious by veterinary practicioners of our own country, in restoring horses which have been enfeebled through long illness. It is said by Peall to be a common practice in some parts of liulia to mix animal substances with the grain given to feeble horses, and to boil the mixture into a sort of paste, which soon brings them into good condition, and restores their vigour. Pallas tells us, that the Paissian boors make use of the dried flesh of the hamster reduced to powder, and mixed with oats, and that this occasions their horses to acquire a sudden and extraoi'dinaiy de- gree of embonpoint. Anderson relates in his history of Ireland, that the inhabitants feed their horses with dried fish when the cold is veij intense, and that these animals are extremely vigorous, though small. We also know that in the Feroe Islands, the Orkne}'s, the Western Islands, and in Norway, where the climate is still very cold, this practice is also adopted ; and it is not un- common in some very warm countries, as in the kingdom of Muskat in Arabia Felix, near the straits of Ormuz, one of the most fertile parts of Arabia, fish and other animal substances are there given to the horses in the cold season, as well as in times of scarcity." We may here add, that other herbivorous animals, also, occasionally partake of animal food, to which they are doubtless led by instinct as to a stimulus required by the system, for the mainte- nance of a due degree of energy. In Lapland, for example, the reindeer devours the lemming, a little rodent animal, allied to the vole or field- mouse, and which often swarms in myriads in that country. The American reindeer, according to the assurance of Franklin, are accustomed to ilevour mice, and also to gnaw their fallen antlers. Though not very delicate as an organ of taste, the tongue of the ox is of great assistance in the prehension ;md collection of food. It is shorter than that of the horse, and rough on the upper sur- face with retroverted horny papilte ; by its action it combs the grass together into a roll, in order to bring it between the incisor teeth, and the pad of the upper jaw. During the mastication it dis- poses the food between the grinders, and by the assistance of the bars or ridges on the palate, forms it into balls for swallowing : in the act of drinking it constitutes a trough, through which the fluid passes ; it is used to clear the naked muzzle from various impurities, and also as a rasp to rub its own coat, or that of its companion, in token of friendship. It is from this habit of rasping each other's coats, that compacted balls of hair are so often formed in the stomach, where they lodge, to the interference more or less decided, with its digestive functions. These matted balls of hair are found in the rumen or paunch, and also in the abomasum, or true digesting stomach ; they vary in size, and are often formed at a very early age. In some cases, bits of straw, wood, and other e-xtraneous matters are mixed with the hair; and occasionally they consist of distinct layers, with a central nucleus consisting of a nail, a bit of stone, or some other substance. While speaking of the tongue, we may remark the OS hyoides, or its bony support, and the larynx connected with it, differ much from the same parts in the horse ; but these parts will be better under- stood by comparing the annexed figures. LARYNX OF H0H3E. LARYNX OF OX. In both cuts the letters refer to the same parts : a. The spur of the os hyoides. b. The base or greater cornu. c. The inferior lateral cornu : c'. The middle cornu (wanting in the horse). D. The superior lateral cornu. e. The epiglottis. F. The arytenoid cartilage, g. The thyroid car- tilage. H. The- cricoid cartilage, k. The cartila- ginous rings of the trachea, with their ligamentous interspaces, l. The rima glottidis, or entrance into the windpipe, defended by e, the epiglottis ; long, narrow, and pointed in the horse ; thick, rounded, and curled in the ox. In the horse the elongated spur (a) binds the tongue more tightly down, and interferes with its freedom; while in the )x, the short tuberculous spur permits far greater liberty of motion. The difference in the form of 39 the thyroid, cricoid, and arytenoici cartilages, is too palpable to be overlooked. Iiitelliiieitce, — Intelligence appears to be more limited in the ox than in the horse. The brain is comparatively smaller in the former than in the latter; and the ratio of intelligence is probably in about the same proportion. But we must not regai'd the ox as remarkable for stupidity. The worldng ox Itnows its driver, and readily obeys his word of command, displaying, at the same time, considerable docility and willingness. The cow not only knows, but often evinces decided affection towards the person by whom she is regularly milked and fed, and not unfrequently refuses the attentions of another. Cows, pastured in the fields, draw towards the accustomed spot, at the usual milking time, aud, by their lowing, seem to give notice of their readiness. In Switzerland, the herds feeding on the mountains are called home to their chalet by the sound of the Alp-horn. The Alp-hom is merely a wooden tube, of simple construction ; and its deep, mellow, and prolonged note, heard at a distance floating over the upland pastures, aud frequently echoed in succession by crags aud rocks, makes a pleasing impression on the traveller. On many of the higher Alps this honi is sounded regularly at sunrise and at sunset. At whatever part of the day it is blown, to collect the cattle, the cows are seen, as soon as its note can reach their ears, scampering away for the cha- let, often at a gallop. In one of the volumes of the "Menageries," the writer says, "A corre- spondent informs us that he once witnessed the evident dismay of a cow in not being able to obey the summons. She was a very pretty young crea- ture, and was lying niminating, iu a little dell, by herself. Presently the Alp-hora was heard ; and the peasant who sounded it, was seen in front of a chalet that stood on a green hill, at no great distance. The poor creature instantly rose, but could not proceed; for she was lamed and sorely wounded, most probably from some fall she had met with. After dragging herself along for the distance of some yards, she stood still and lowed : the honi sounded again, and again, making a great effort, she went on a few yards. She then laid herself down and lowed most piteously, fixing her eyes, all the time, on her companions, who were running, from every direction, to the chalet. The poor creature seemed to be suffering, not merely from her hurts, but also from that pain a punctual person feels on breaking an engagement, or failing in the performance of a duty. The traveller hur- ried to the chalet, to tell the peasants what had happened, and returned with them to see them assist the grieving absentee. By the time they reached the dell she had made a little more pro- gress, but was again prostrate on the ground, and lowing in a melancholy manner. When the pea- sants came near to her she rose up, and ceased her complaints at once : and, though, with all the aid they could give her, she was obliged several times to lie down again, she did not repeat them ; and at last she reached the dairy, where she lowed in a very different tone." In Norway a wooden tmmpet, about five feet long, made of two hollow pieces of birch-wood, bound together with slips of willow throughout its whole length, is used to call the cattle feeding on extensive hilly pasture grounds. Its notes may be heard at a great distance ; but, instead of being mellow, they are extremely harsh and discordant. In Terceira, one of the Azores, where cattle are abundant, the oxen are remarkable for docility and intelligence. They are very fine and large, with horns of a prodigious size, and " are so gentle and familiar, that when, among a thousand col- lected together, the owner shall call one by its name (for, like our dogs, they have each their own name), the ox will not fail to come to him." — " Voyage de la Compagnie des Indes de Hollande," vol. i., p. 490. In South Africa the oxen know their names, and obey the voice of the driver. But all instances of the intelligence of the ox, that we have ever heard of, fall short of those re- lated by Kolben and others, relative to the baekeley, or war oxen, of the Hottentots, while that people were in a state of pastoral independence. The ox was the sharer of its master's toils and wars, his assistant on the plain, and the guardian of his flock ; it seemed, indeed, to lose its ordinary cha- racter in his service, and rise into a higher state of being. " The Hottentots," saj^s Kolben (vol, i., p. 160), "have oxen, which they use with success in battle : they call them backeleys; the word baekeley, in their language, signifying »rar. Every army is always provided with a large troop of these oxen, which permit themselves to be governed without trouble, and which their leader lets loose at the appointed moment. The instant they are set free they throw themselves with impetuosity on the opposing army; they strike with their honis, they kick with their heels, they overthrow, they rip up and trample beneath their feet, with frightful rapidity, all that opposes ; so that, if they be not promptly driven back, they plunge with fury into the midst of the ranlis, throw them into disorder and confusion, and thus prepare for their masters an easy victory. The manner in which these animals are trained does great honour to the talent of these people." In another place the same writer says, "These backeleys are, more- over, of great use to their owners as guardians of their flocks. AVhen out, in the pastm-e-lands, at the least sign of their conductors, they will hasten to bring back the cattle, which are straying at a distance, and keep them herded together They 40 rusli on strangers with fury; whence they are of great service against the boschmeu, or robbers, who may attempt the plunder of the flock. Each kraal has at least half a dozen of these backele^s, which are chosen from amongst the most spirited oxen. On the death of one, or when, in conse- quence of old age, it becomes unserviceable (in which case its owner kills it), another ox is selected from the herd to succeed it. The choice is referred to one of the old men of the kraal, who is thought to be the most capable of discerning that winch will most easily receive instruction. They asso- ciate this noviciate ox with one of long experience ; and they teach him to follow this companion, either by beating, or some other method. Dui'ing the night they are tied together by the horns, and they are thus also kept during a greater part of the day, until the learner has become a good guardian of the flock. These guardians know all the inha- bitants of the kraal, — men, women, and children; and testify towards them the same respect that a dog displays to all those who live in the house of his master. There is, therefore, no inhabitant of the kraal who may not, with all safety, approach the flocks : the backeleys never do them least in- jury. But if a stranger, and particularly an Euro- pean, should offer to take the same liberty, without being accompanied by some Hottentot, he would be in great danger : these guardians of the flock, which usually feed around it, would come upon him full gallop ; and then, unless he be within hear- ing of the shepherds, or have fire-arms, or good legs, or unless a tree be near in which to climb, he is sure to be killed. It would be useless for him to have recourse to sticks or stones ; a backeley has no fear ibr such feeble weapons." Le Vaillant, who first met with these backeley oxen, among the Nimiqua tribe (" New Travels in the Interior of Africa," vol. ii.), confirms Kolbens details, though he denies tliat they are used by all the Hottentot nations. He adds, that they are not only capable of repelling wild beasts, but even venture to attack them ; and that a hysena, how- ever hungry, will never come near a flock guarded by two or three of these formidable animals, a number of which will even make head against a lion. It does not appear, as far as we can learn, that any of the tribes of Southern Africa rear backeley oxen in the present day. They have milch cows, and use milk in different forms, fresh or curdled ; they have oxen for draught, burdens, and the saddle, but not war-oxen. Reproduction. — The heifer ought not to be al- lowed to breed until turned two years old ; the reason is obvious, her own system, before this period, is not sufficiently matured for the tax upon it— a tax which will be paid, not only by the dam, but also by her progeny, for both will suffer from a deficiency in nutriment, the whole of which is necessary for the growth of the foiiner, which, during the second year, is rapid. If the bull be kept separate from the herd of cows, the farmer may regulate the succession of calves almost at pleasure, so as to suit his pasture, or his arrange- ments. The best time, as it respects the mother, the calf, and the free supply of milk, is when the spring grass is beginning to shoot luxuriantly, affording a good and sufficient store of nutriment. It is true that veal and butter yield a better profit at an earlier period, but the breeder must judge in points of this nature from circumstances. The jseriod of gestation in the cow is gene- rally stated as nine calendar months, or two hun- dred and seventy days ; but there is often consi- derable variation of time. M. Tessier observes (in a memoir read to the Royal Academy of Sciences, in Paris), that the shortest period, as far as his opportunities of observation enabled him to ascer- tain, was two hundred and forty days, the longest three hundred and twenty-one ; the difference being eighty-one days.* This range of time is very extraordinary, and appears to depend on the care paid to the animal, and on its state of health ; by wliich the development of the calf is influenced through the sanguiferous system of the mother. With respect to the bull, he does not attain to a due degree of strength till two years old, and is in higher vigour at three ; but how long the breeder may keep him after that age must depend upon his own judgment, and a variety of circums^tances. The cow seldom produces more than a single calf, sometimes, however, twins, and very rarely three. In the 'case of twins, if they be respec- tively male and female, the female is generally, but not always, unproductive. Females, thus con- ditioned, are termed free-martins ; they are evi- dently the tawi^ of Columella. (Libr. vi.) Varro also uses the word taura, as applied to a cow of this description. Bewick states, that the free- martin resembles the bullock more than the cow in form ; an observation also made by Hunter, who adds, that its flesh is generally considered finer in fibre than that either of the bull or cow, and to surpass that of the ox or heifer, in delicacy of fla- vour ; but there are not wanting exceptions where the flesh has turned out nearly as bad as bull-beef, and certainly worse than that of a cow. For an accormt of the anatomical peculiarities of the free- martin, by John Hunter, see " Philosophical Transactions," vol. Ixix. p. '289 ; and also Professor Owen's edition of Hunter's " Observations," 18;^7. Every twin female, however, is not necessarily barren, even when tbe other calf is a male. This has been satisfactorily proved : it was, indeed, * In the " Bulletin des Sciences," by the Soc. Philomatique, Paris, 1797, M. Tessier says, tbat out of 160 cows, some calved in 241 days, and five in 308; giving a laliuide of 67 days. — See Sir E. Homes Paper on Pliil. Trans., Pan I. lor 1822. 41 known to Hunter; and, in the "Observations'' above alluded to, Professor Oweu adds a confirma- tory note, from " Loudon's Magazine of Natural History,'' stating that a cow in tbe possession of J. Holroyd, Esq., of Withers, near Leeds, produced twins, a bull calf, and a cow calf. As popular opinion was strong on the necessary barrenness of the fe- male, Mr. Holroyd determined to put it to tbe test, and reared both calves up to maturity. In due time this heifer brought forth a bull calf, and had, regularly, calves for sL\ or seven years afterwards. In the •' Farmer's Magazine," for November ISUO, there is an account of a twin heifer, belonging to Mr. Buchan, of Killingtringham, which produced a calf : she was very handsome, with a well-formed udder, and was a good milker. In the same Maga- zine, November IbOT, auother instance of a simi- lar natui'e is recorded, and others might be ad- duced. When the twins are both bull calves, or both cow calves, they are generally equally pro- ductive. There is an instance on record in the " British Farmer's Magazine," May 18'28, of a cow which produced three calves at a birth, precisely resem- bling each other. In the "Nouveau Bulletin des Sciences," a most extraordinary account is given of a cow which pro- duced nine calves at three successive births. First, in 1817, fom- cow calves ; secondly, in 1818, three calves, two of them females ; and thirdly, in 1819, two calves, both females. With the exception of two, belonging to the first birth, all were suckled by the mother. And here we may offer a few remarks on the principles by which the breeder ought to be guided in the successfid management or improvement of his stock, in whatever points he wishes it to excel; whether in those required by the grazier or the dairy-farmer. Eveiy man, whether grazier or dairy -farmer, is desirous of turning his cattle to the most advantage ; nor can this be done, unless the size of the farm, the soil, climate, the produce and the nature and extent of the pasturage, be well considered ; for the cattle that the farm is best adapted for maintaining will be the most pro- fitable. It is, however, essential, whatever the cattle be, whether for the purpose of the dany, or for the immediate supply of the markets with their flesh, that they be well bred, and excellent of their kind. To the dairy-farmer, the most important points are, the quantity of milk yielded, its qualitj', its value for the production of butter, or of cheese. a freedom in the cows from vicious habits and ill temper, their character as good and healthy breed- ers, the ease with which, when useless as milkers, they become fattened for the market, and the na- ture and quantity of food requisite for this purpose. To the grazier, the quickness of becoming fat, and at as little expense as possible, the fineness of the grain of the meat, or of the muscular fibres, the mode of laying on the fat, the smallness of bone, soundness of constitution, and congeniality \vith the soil and the climate, are the chief points which he takes into consideration. If he is wise he will never stint keep, nor transfer his stock from a good to an indifferent soil, and this is true also with re- spect to tbe dairy-farmer. Contour, or beauty of form, is desirable ; in- deed it is more or less connected with what may be termed utility of form, that is, a preponderance of those parts in the beast which are most delicate for the tal)le, and bear the highest price, over the parts of inferior quality, or offal. This is con- nected with smallness of bone, but not a preterna- tural smallness, and with a tendency to depositions of fat, which, however, should not be carried to an extreme, otherwise the quantity of flesh is dispro- portionate, and its fibre is dry and insipid ; nor is the weight of the beast projjortionate to its ad- measurement. Previously to the time of Mr. Bakewell,* the cattle in general were large, long- bodied, big-boned, flat-sided, slow to fatten, great consumers of food, and often black, or foul-fleshed, or as it is called in Yorkshire, " lyery." This tridy patriotic breeder, acting upon true principles, en- ergetically set to work on the improvement of cattle, and, in defiance of opposition and a thousand diflBculties, lived to see the success of his long- continued efforts. Experience and a close and acute observation had taught him that " like pro- duces lilie ;" in other words, that the qualities of the parents, such as beauty, or utility of form, disposition to fatness, goodness of flesh, abundance of milk, and even temper, were inherited by their offspring ; and that by careful selections on the side both of the sire and dam, a breed might be ultimately established, to which the title blood could be distinctly applied. This, of course supposes a primary selection, but a selection of such of the offspring as exhibited the properties which constituted their perfection, in the highest degree ; and again of the ofispring of these, and so on progressively. At first, Mr. Bakewell was necessitated to breed in and in, but as his stock increased he was enabled to interpose more or less remote removes between the memV)ers of the same family; and ultimately he established the Dishley, or New Leicester long-horns, a breed remarkable for smallness of bone, roimdness of form, aptitude to fatten upon a moderate allow- ance, and fineness of flesh. But while he accom- plished this, rendering the animals admirably suited for the grazier, it was found that their qualities as milkers were much deteriorated ; the dairy-farmers, consequently retained their old breed, noted for the richness, though perhaps not * Born at Dishley, in Leicestershire, 1725. His lather and grandfather resided on the estate before him. 4^ the great abundance, of the milk. We are not here speaking about the differences or the distinguish- ing excellences of the various breeds of cattle, but of the principles upon which excellences, it matters not of what sort, may be obtained. " Like produces like," and both parents must present the same excellences, the same characteristics. It was by following out these rules that Mr. Bakewell arrived at perfection in his breed ; indeed by some he is thought to have pushed his principles too far, and the following remarks have perhaps some justice in them : — " It was his grand maxim that the bones of an animal intended for food, could not be too small ; and that the fat being the most valuable part of the carcass, it could not, conse- quently, be too abundant. lu pursuance of this leading theory, by inducing a preternatural small- ness of bone, and rotundity of carcass, he sought to cover the bones of all his animals externally ^vith masses of fat. Thus the entirely New Lei- cester breed, from their excessive tendency to fat- ten, produce too small a quantity of eatable meat, and that, too, necessarily of inferior flavour and quality. They are, in general, found defective in weight, proportionally to their bulk ; and if not thoroughly fattened their flesh is crude and with- out flavour ; while, if they be so, their carcasses produce little else but fat, a very considerable part of which must be sold at an inferior price to make candles instead of food : not to forget the very great waste that must ever attend the con- sumption of over fattened meat. " This great and sagacious improver (Mr. Bake- well) very justly disgusted at the sight of those huge, gaunt, leggy, and misshapen animals with which his vicinity abounded, and which scarcely any length of time, or quantity of food, would thoroughly fatten, patriotically determined upon raising a more sightly and profitable breed ; yet, rather unfortunately, his zeal impelled him to the opposite extreme. Having painfully, and at much cost, raised a variety of cattle, the chief merit of which is to make fat, he has apparently laid his disciples and successors under the necessity of substituting another that will make lean." — Ulm- trations of Natural History, p. 5. Granting the truth of these structures, which we soai-cely can, to the full extent, what is the inference as it respects the system of breeding? Namely this : that by pursuing the proper mode, by proper selections, and by joining like excel- lences and properties in the sire and dam, and not by rashly crossing distinct breeds, but by mak- ing one breed the great foundation, and working upon it, remembering that "like produces like," not only will the point aimed at be attained, but that it may even he overshot, thus demonstrating the power which the judicious breeder possesses. Since Mr. Bakewell's time, the New Leicester breed has become degenerated ; by some the stock has been bred in andintoocloselj', and by others very injudiciously crossed. In the mean time the short- horned breeds of cattle have been gaining an as- cendency, so that few really excellent long horns are now to be seen. This, however, has nothing to do with the great principles we have endeavoured to illustrate ; they apply alike to all breeds of cattle. Every breeder, then should well consider the properties of the stock from which he breeds, investigate their good qualities and their bad qualities, and while he endeavours to keep up or improve the former, he should study to remove the latter. His selection must be strict ; the heifer or cow should have as few of the bad points as possible, every excellence in perfection, and be in good health ; the bull should be of the same kind, and if related, only in a remote degree ; nor should he have been brought up on a pasturage differing from that of the cow, or under the in- fluences of a different local climate ; he should not only possess the good points desired, in all their perfection, but he should also have the points which the farmer considers to be the ex- cellences of his own stock, as admirably developed. Thus acting with judgment, he may expect im- provement, and if he fail, there is some concealed fault which has been overlooked, either on the one side or the other, or some defect in their parents, and which, (in accordance with the tendency there is in families to exhibit, from time to time, certain peculiarities, latent perhaps for a generation), has again made itself manifest ; consequently, on both sides there ought to be what is termed " good blood." But this is to suppose a stock already improved to a great extent ; and here we may repeat the injunctions laid down by tiie Rev. H. Berry, which more particularly apply to the farmer commencing de novo. " A person selecting a stock from which to breed, notwithstanding he has set up for himself a standard of perfection, will obtain them with qualifications of different descriptions and in different degrees. In breeding from such he \vill exercise his judgment, and decide what are indispensable or desirable qualities, and will cross \vith animals with a view to establish them. His proceeding will be of the 'give and take kind.' He will submit to the introduction of a trifling defect in order that he may profit by a great excellence ; and between excellences perhaps somewhat incom- patible, he will decide on which is the greatest and give it the preference. ''= * " A person would often be puzzled; he would find different individuals po.ssessing different perCections in different degrees; — one, good Hesh, and a tendency to fatten, with a bad form ; another, with fine form, but bad flesh, and little disposition to aequire fat. What rule should he lay down, by the obsei-vanee of which good might be generally produced, and as little evil as possible effected ? Utility. The truly good form is that which secures constitution, health, and vigour ; a dispositiou to lay on flesh with the greatest possible reduction of offal. Having obtained this, other things aj-e 43 " To a person commencing improvement, the best advice is to get as good a bull as he can, and if he be a good one of his kind, to use him indis- criminately with all his C(pws ; and when by this proceeding, which ought to be persisted in, his stock has, with an occasional change of bull, be- come sufficiently stamped with desirable excel- lences, his selection of males should then be made to eradicate defects which he thinks desira- ble to be got rid of. " He will not fail to keep in view the necessity of good blood in the bulls resorted to, for that will give the only assurance that they will trans- mit their own valuable properties to their offspring; but he must not trust to this alone, or he will soon run the risk of degeneracy. In animals evincing an extraordinary degree of perfection, where the constitution is decidedly good, and there is no prominent defect, a little close breeding may be allowed : but this must not be injudiciously adopted, or carried too far : for, although it may increase and confirm valuable properties, it will also increase and confirm defects ; and no breeder need be long in discovering that, in an improved state, animals have a greater tendency to defect than to perfection. Close breedmg from affinities impaii's the constitution and effects the procreative powers and therefore a strong cross is occasionally necessary." The dairj'-farmer, however, is less concerned in this high breeding than the grazier : yet he is not by any means indifferent in the matter ; for his aim ought to be, to obtain a breed no less valuable as milkers than for their disposition to fatten when the milk is dried. These two qualifica- tions are not to be attained very easily ; yet they may be, and, indeed, have been attained, and especially among the improved short-hom breeds, as those of Durham and Yorkshire, or the cross- breeds between the old Shropshire and the Hol- demess. The breeds most valued in the great dairies around the metropolis are mixed between the Yorkshire, Holderaess. and Durham. For quality and quantity of milk they are eminent ; they yield, on the average, each cow, a gallon of milk per day, and often nine quarts ; and when dry, they are in general readily fattened for the butcher. With respect to the points of symmetry in cattle, of which the various breeds exhibits several degrees of modification, there are certain rales which are generally acknowledged as applicable to good cattle of all kinds. The Bull. — The forehead of the bull should be broad and short, the lower part, that is, the nasal part and jaws, tapering; and the muzzle fine ; the ears moderate ; the neck gently arched from the head to the shoulders, small and fine where of minor, Ihongh perhaps of considerable importance." — Prize Emay, by the Rev. H. Berry. it joins the head, but boldly thickening as it sweeps down to the chest, which should be deep, almost to a level with the knees, with the Iniskets well developed. The shoulders should be well set, the shoulder-blades oblique with the humeral joint advancing forwards to the neck. The barrel of the chest should be round, without hollowness between it and the shoulders. The sides should be ribbed home, with little space between them and the hips ; the whole body being barrel-shaped, and not flat-sided. The belly should not hang do\vn, being well supported by the oblique abdo- minal muscles, and the flanks should be round and deep. The hips should be wide and round, the loins broad, and the back straight and flat. The tail should be broad and well haired, and set on high, and fall abruptly. The breast should be broad ; the forearms short and muscular, tapering to the knee ; the legs straight, and clean, and fine- boned. The thighs should be full and long, and close together when viewed from behind. The hide should be moderately thin, with a mellow feel, and moveable, but not lax ; and it should be well covered with fine soft hair. The uosti-ils should be large and open ; the eyes animated and prominent ; the homs clean and white. • The Ox. — In the ox, the masculine characters, so prominent in the bull, are softened ; the neck is earned nearly straight from the top of the shoulders, without an arch ; and the general frame is lighter, but the points of excellence are the same. The Cow. — Cows of a coarse, angular, gaunt figure may give good milk, and that in abundance, as, indeed, was the case with some of the old im- improved breeds ; but it is desirable, and more- over it is possible, to unite qualities as a milker with such an aptitude to fatten, as will render her valuable when dry, and profitable to the butcher. In a cow thus constituted, the head must be long, rather small and fine; the neck thin and deli- cate at its junction with the head, but thickening as it approaches the shoulder and descends to the chest; the breast should be at least moderately broad and prominent, with a small dewlap ; the chine should be full and fleshy; the ribs well arched, and the chest barrelled ; the back straight, the shoulders fine, the loins wide, the hips well formed and rounded, the rump long ; the udder shoidd be moderate with a fine skin, and of equal size both before and behind ; the teats should not be too large or lax, and they should be equi- distant from each other. If the vascular system be well developed, the milk-vein, as it is termed, is generally large; and though this vein is not connected mth the udder, but carries the blood from the foreparts to the inguinal veui, still it has been taken, and with some justice, as the criterion of a good milker. The eyes should be clear, calm, and tranquil, indicative of a gentle temper ; 44 the skin thin, but mellow ; and the hair soft. Most fiirmei's are acquainted with the folhiwiiii;; lines, whicli give a ri'snme of the points of such a cow as that we have described ; — " She's Ii>ii(,' in licv liii'C, iinil fmc in hcv horn ; She'll ,|ui, klv -el hit will She's eleim in h,r jaws, , She's he^ivy in Hank, " She's broad in her rilis, and long in her rump ; A strnigllt and llat buck without ever a hump ; She's wide in her hips, and calm in her eyes; Slie's fine in her shoulders, and thin in her thighs. *' She's light in her neek, and small in her tail ; She's wide at her breast, and good at the pail ; She's fine in her bone, and silky of skin; She's a grazier's without, and a butcher's within." Cows thus admirably formed will often yield from twenty to twenty-four quarts of milk daily, and some, in the spring time, in good pasturage, even tliirty, or more. The milk may, perhaps, yield less butter in proportion than that of some other breeds of oattle ; but it would appear that as the cow advances in age to her sixth and seventh year, the milk becomes richer ; and it is well known that the extensive dairymen of London prefer a cow which has had a tliird or fourth calf, and is tive or six years old, to a younger animal. We are perfectly aware that Mr. Culley (" Ob- servations on Live Stock,") considers it as an impossiblity to unite good milkers with good feeders ; for, he says, whenever we attempt both, we are sure to get neither in perfection: — "In proportion as we gain the one, in the same pro- portion we lose the other: the more milk, the less beef; and the more we pursue beef, the less milk we get. In truth, they seem to be two dif- fetent varieties of the same kind, for very dif- ferent uses; and, if so, they ought most certainly to be ditlerently pursued by those who employ them. If the dairyman wants milk, let him pur- sue the milking tribe; let him have both bull and cows of the best and greatest milking family he can find ; on the contrary, lie that wants feed- ing or gray.ing cattle, let him procure a bull and cows of that sort which feed the quickest, wherever they are to be found. By pursuing too many objects at once, we are apt to lose sight of the principal ; and by aiming at too much, we often lose all. Let us only keep to distinct sorts, and we shall obtain the prize in due time. I appre- hend it has been much owing to the mixing of breeds and improper crossings that has kept us so long from distinguishing the most valuable kinds." Mr. Culley wrote in 1807, and since his day many improvements have taken place in the breeds of cattle; and experience has proved that the im- proved Yorkshire cow, in which the characters of the Durham and Holderness are mingled, unites the two qualities in high perfection. Not that she displays them at the same time : while giving milk she may, and perhaps will be, in tolerable store condition, showing her aptitude to fatten ; but when, in process of time, or by design, she becomes dry, she then fatt.cns rapidly, and costs little in preparation for the butcher. Formerly, the labouring ox, or steer, was greatly employed for the purposes of draught, in the cart or at the jjhmgh ; and on some large farms teams of oxen are still maintained. In North and South Devon, the greater part of the agricultiu'al labour is performed by oxen ; and ox teams are common in Sussex and Plerefonlshire. Four good steers will do as much work, either at the plough or in the cart, as three moderate horses. They are woi'ked in yokes, and require to be shod, in order that the hoof may be de- fended, otlierwise inflammation would soon ensue, and the beast would be ultimately crippled. The hoof being bilid, the shoes are accordingly adapted ; and they should be thin and light. In Devon- shire, oxen are generally put to farm labour when they are about two years old, and they are kept to work for thi'ee or four years ; they are then grazed (u- fed on hny fur eight or ten months, and in that time are retuly for the market. Mr. Youatt, speak- ing of these oxen, says, respecting their feeding, that, "if the grass land is good, no corn, or cake, or turnips are required for the first winter ; but, of course, for a second winter, these must be added. The grazier likes this breed best at five years old ; and they will usually, when taken from the pluugh, fetch as much money as at six : at eight or nine years, or older, thoy are rapidly declining in value." It is by no means, how- ever, in all parts of Devonshire, that the ox is used for the plough ; and the reason is, that the demand for oxen among graziers is so great that the breeders obtain good remunerating price for them before they are old enough to be put to labour or about the time in which they are tit for breaking in; and this circumstance leads to a consideration of the expediency or inexpediency of the general employment of oxen in laborious service. On the continent the ox is most ex- tensively used for the cart and the plough, as it was in ancient times ; but in England the great demand of the ox for food (and that of the best quality, rendering attention to breeding and feed- ing of paramount importance), the slowness of the ox, and its inferiority as a beast of draught, compared with the horse — the improvement in our working class of horses — and the greater ease with which the latter are trained and managed, all appear to combine in rendering the services of the ox far less necessary than they would other- wise be, and have been, and still are, on the con- tinent. A farmer who can sell four or five oxen for a good profit, at two years old, will not keep tliem for the plough, especitdly when two horses 4d ■nill do the ^ork of three or four oxen, and that fur many years ; yet, in large farms, it may be advantageous to keep a few oxen at least for the lighter work, so as to save the time of the horses, which might be devoted to more important labour ; and this the rather as the keep of the working ox is less expensive than that of the working cart- horse, ilr. Culley, no ordinary judge in agricul- tural matters, is a decided advocate for the partial employment of the ox under proper circumstances. He admits that oxen are not in all things equal to horses, but urges that the advantage of employing them, " in every kind of work wherein they suit, is very considerable." They may be employed in "several kinds of home-work, such as ploughing, loading dung, corn, &c., equally as well as horses." And he adds, " I advance this opinion on several years' experience, and believe that most farmers might use some oxen along with their horses ; but would recommend that oxen and horses be in separate draughts, because the difference of the step is so unequal." In a note, he further ob- serves, " The author and his brother, in partner- ship, at this time employ about 150 oxen in the draught, which is mentioned here as a proof that they approve of drawing oxen in many cases, after more than thirty years' experience. They use them in carts singly, and two in a plough with cords, without a driver, where they go equally as well as two horses, though not quite so swift ; and I am happy to add, that the working of oxen is becoming more general every day, as many of our neighbours are following this example." Mr. Youatt, who commends the activity and excellences of the North Devon cattle, as workers, is evidently in favour of teams of oxen for agricul- tural labours. In Devonshire, he says, four oxen, or six growing steers, are the usual team employed in the plough ; and certainly, he adds, " the oxen move along with an agility that would scarcely be expected from cattle : the team may be watched a long while without one harsh word being heard, or the goad or whip applied. The opponents of ox husbandry should visit the valleys of Xorth and South Devon, to see what the animal is capable of performing, and how he performs it. The profit arising from the use of oxen in this district is owing to the activity to which they are trained, and w'hich is unknown in any other part of the king- dom. During harvest time, and in catching wea- ther, they are sometimes trotted along, with the empty wagons, at the rate of six miles an hour ; a degeee of speed which no other o.x but the ■ Devon has been able to stand." Of course the saddle oxen of India and Africa are here ex- cepted. Notwithstanding the recommendations of Mr. Culley, and the views of Mr. Youatt, it does not appear to us that any advance has been recently made in the employment of oxen in husbandry ; neither do we think it probable. There is a gene- ral penchant for the horse : the small or middling farmer finds a few horses sufficient for his purpose, and is naturally unwilling to burden himself with inferior workers, which, after all, must be w'ell fed ; and the large farmer, aware of the superior efficacy of the horse, thinks it scarcely worth while to have an effective team of neat cattle, when his horses are so often idle, and when, in busy times, a few more hired for the occasion, or purchased, if even to sell again, will enable him to get through the work with expedition. Besides all this, as we have already said, the ox, in our densely-populated island, is required, as early as possible, by the butcher : the demand being pressing, such, in fact, as to render the importation of foreign stock, if not positively necessary, at least (as is deemed by parliament) not to be debarred. The oxen of Devon may work quickly and spi- ritedly, but such as we have seen have been slow in their movements, especially in hot weather, by which they always appeared to us to be greatly distressed, far more so than the horse ; besides which, they seemed more exhausted by severe mus- cular exertion, and less capable of rall3-ing. Nor need we wonder at this, when we consider the com- plicated process of rumination wliicli must take place in the ox before digestion and assimilation ' can invigorate the exhausted system ; remember- ing, at the same time, that, during muscular exer- tion the whole process is suspended. Consequently an hour or two devoted to rest is of far less service to the ox than to the horse. If the ox labours at the plough dm'iug a whole day, with two hours' intermission, and in that iuteiTuission takes food, it is of no use ; nay, it has only distended the paunch, rendering him less capable of work ; and in the evening, he may then, perhaps, if not over- heated, begin the process of rumination ; this com- pleted, he takes more food, and, with perhaps a filled paunch, is again required to labour the next moniiug, to the arrest of rumination. Thus, either the ox must be punished, or allowed to do only part of a day's work ; and then only after the rumi- nation of the last meal has been completed, and before the paunch is reloaded ; or, on the other hand, the work must be light, and the pace not over-urged. We may admit the ox as an assistant in husbandly, but not as a principal. On the con- tinent, the ox works slowly ; and Buffon well ob- serves that "the ancients limited to one hundred and twenty paces, at most, the extent of the furrow which the ox ought to trace by an uninterrupted continuance of efforts and movements ; after which, they say, one ought to cease urging him on, but permit him to take breath some moments before carrying out the some furrow, or beginning another," In our climate the farmer is anxious to set his 46 seed into the ground, and to see man and beast do a good day's labour. Still, however, on large farms, a team or two of oxen may be found very sei-viceable for work suited to their powers and requirements : they may be available, but the horse is essential ; not, indeed, abstractedly so, but according to the views and habits of the English farmer. CHAPTER IV. We may now proceed to investigate the various breeds into which the ox has ramified by the care and agency of those interested in the improvement of our domestic cattle. But, by way of a prelimi- nary step, let us glance at the principal races of Continental Europe, from some of which certain of our breeds have, it is said, but recently de- scended ; we allude to our (now improved) short- homed cattle, originally, it is believed, from Hol- land, or some adjacent parts of the continent, and according to a vague tradition imported into York- shire (or that division of the East Riding called Holderness), in the seventeenth century. We may also mention the Alderney and Jersey breeds, origi- nally from Normandy, and still often directly re- ceived from that province. In France the breeders and cattle-dealers divide their oxen into two prin- cipal sections ; " Bceufs de haut crii." and " Bosufs de nature." The " bceufs de haut crii" are of small or middle size, wth a wild aspect, a thick skin, rough hair, and ample dewlap : the horns are more or less black or greenish ; the suet is particularly abundant. These cattle are more peculiar to the hilly and mountain districts than to the plains. To this section belong the breeds of Limosin, Saintonge, Angoumois, La Marche, Gascogne, Au- vergne, Bourbon, Charolais, Burgogne, Morvan. The " bcEufs de nature" are of moderate or large stature ; the body and head are small ; the nose and ears fine, the horns white, the skin fine and supple, the hair soft, the aspect tranquil. These cattle readily fatten ; and are chiefly con- fined to districts of little elevation, and to lands abounding in pasturage. To this section belong the breeds of Cholet, Nantes, Augers, Le Ivlarais, Bretagne (Brittany), Maine, Pays d'Auge, Cotentin, Franche-Comte, Camargue, &c. Beginning with the breeds of the first sec- tion, we may observe, that the cattle of Li- mosin are of moderate stature, somewhat elon- gated in form, and robustly made : the head is large ; the horns are massive, long, and pointed, sometimes sweeping upwards, sometimes down- wards. The shoulders are thick, the withers low, the region of the loins somewhat hollow, the dew- lap lax, the general colour white or straw-yellow. Weight, from 600 to 850 lbs. The breeds of Angoumois and Saintonge pre- sent very similar chai'acters, but are of inferior size. These cattle are used for work in their respec- tive provinces, and also in Perigord and IJaut- Poitou ; afterwards they are fattened, some in Normandy, and others in Limosin ; and numbers are sent to the slaughter-houses around Paris. The cattle of La Marche, and Bern, and Tou- raine, closely approximate to those of Limosin ; but are lower in stature, with long, heavy horns, turned up at the tips, and of a greenish colour. Numbers are fed in the pasture-grounds of Nor- mandy. The Gascon breed are of considerable size, from 700 to 8T)0 lbs. in weight : they are long low beasts, with a huge head and horns ; the skin is very thick ; the colour generally of a dull white, sometimes with a tinge of sootj'-brown, which ap- pears mostly on the head. Oxen of this breed are consumed at Bordeaux, and are slaughtered for the provision of shipping ; some few are fattened in Limosin, and sent to Paris. The Auvergne cattle are of small size, weigh- ing from 750 to 850 lbs. ; they are short in sta- ture, but broad and thick, with large bones, and a heavy contour; the head is short and broad, the muzzle thick, the horns short, turned up, and somewhat twisted and crumpled ; the belly hangs low ; the usual colour is red, with marks of white, more or less large, on the sides and back. The cattle of this breed are reared in the mountains of Auvergne, whence they are brought down, at the age of three years, to work in the. plains of Haut-Poitou ; they are afterwards sent to fatten in the pastures of Normandy. Some, however, are retained at Poitou, and are fattened on hay, in the neighbourhood of Heraie-Saint- Maixeut, and of La Motte-Saiute-Heraie, and turn out good beasts i they are known by the name of " Mottois." There is a breed of small cattle in Bourbon, with a slender head and neck, and long pointed homs ; their colour is red, mottled with white. These small native Bourbon cattle are in little esteem ; and a breed, brought from some other province, is far more valued, and is fattened in Bourbon on hay. The Charolais cattle are of moderate stature, weighing from 600 to 850 lbs. ; their contour is short, robust, and massive ; the head is well pro- portioned and plump ; the horns are short and 47 fine, witb a slightly green tinge ; the back and loius are almost straight; the belly is voluminous; the colour is milk-white, sometimes with red spots. The oxen of this excellent breed, which is doubtless capable of great imiirovement, are fat- tened, after having worked for three years, in the pastures of Charolais, and supply the markets both of Paris and Lyons. A smaller breed of very similar cattle is spread throughout the province of Xivernois ; these cattle are very gentle, the skin is thin, and the contour less massive than that of the preceding breed. The oxen are used for farm-labour, and afterwards fatted. The best are sent to Morvan for the markets. The Burgogne, or Burgundy, breed of cattle are small, and much like the breed of Berri or La Marche : their colour is white. This breed is in little estimation, and is altogether uncultivated ; its hide is inferior in quality; it yields but little suet, and the quality of the flesh is in- difl'erent. We now come to the breeds of the second sec- tion, '• les bceufs de nature.'' An excellent breed of cattle is found in the district around Cholet (Anjou), the oxen often at- taining to the weight of 900 lbs. The proportions are veiy tolerable : the head is brood and short; the hoiTis are long and white, with black tips ; the shoulders, loins, and rump ai't on the same level ; the breast is deep ; the dewlap small ; the most common colours are grey, black, or brown. The Cholet cattle are not bred in that district, but in Bas-Poitou, and are afterwards sent to Cholet, where they are fattened on hay, cabbages, &e., and killed at the age of six. or seven years. These cattle find good markets in the various provinces ; and numbers are sent to Paris, more particularly between the months of April and July. It is in Bas-Poitou also that a breed called Nantes cattle are reared, and which are afterwards distributed i]i the environs of the latter place. The o.xen are used for farm-labour in the Pays de Retz, and over a great part of Bretagne and Anjou, and especially along the borders of the Loire, fi'om Angers to Normandy. There is, about Nantes, a smaller breed also, with a finer head ; the oxen are much employed in the neighbourhood of Rennes and Fougeres, and are ultimately sent to the pastures of Normandy. In the marais. or low district, along the coast between Machecoul and Rocbefort, several breeds ■ of cattle appear to be reared and fed, the oxen being used for labour. Of these the largest breed often weighs 900 or 1000 lbs. : the contour is not first-rate : the head is long, the horns large, the skin thick, the tallow abundant and oily. 'I'his is the ox of the marais, to the north of LuQon. The ox of Fontenay is smaller and more com mon ; it is reared in the large marais between Lucon and Rocbefort. At Aunis, Poitou, and in the marais of La Cha- reute, a Flanders breed of ox prevails, originally from the Netherlands, or Holland. It is of tall statm-e, long in the body, and high in the limbs, with the volume of the tnnik diminished : the head is long, the horns very large, the skin dense. The cows are always meagre, but give a great quantity of milk. Besides these, there is a mixed breed, resulting from crossing the Flanders stock with the others. In Basse-Bretagne, there is a very dimhiutive breed of cattle, with a fine head and slender limbs ; the horns are very long, and black at the tip. The colour is red and white, or black aud white. It is fed in Basse-Bretagne chiefly for ship provisions, though a few, fattened in the pastures of Normandy, find their way to the Paris markets. An excellent breed of middle-sized cattle pre- vails in Maine. The oxen weigh about seven hun- dred pounds. The head and neck are fine, the horns short and white, the dewlap is almost want- ing, the haunch is flat, the tail high set, the colour white aud red. This breed is noted for gentleness of disposition, and is both widely spread and veiy much esteemed. The ox is worked to the age of six or seven years, and then sent to the pastures of Normandy. This breed has been crossed by one from Holland ; aud the mixed stock, of superior size, were first bred by M. Boreau de la Besuar- diere, of Angers, who introduced some bulls from that country. In the Pays d'Auge, a breed of cattle, origi- nally from Holland prevails. The oxen of this breed are of large size, usually weighing one thou- sand or twelve hundred pounds. Their contour is very good : the head is short, and broad, the horns white, thick, short, and round, the tail high-set, the hair thick ; the skin is thick, the colour is black or brown, mixed with white, the head being often en- tirely of the latter colour. These oxen readily accumulate an abundance of fat, which is, in gene- ral, of a slight yellow tinge. Coming from a good stock, and more care being taken iu the breeding of this race than is usual iu France, the ox of the Pays d'Auge is superior to most others. The breed was originally introduced about fifty years since, by M. de la Roque, a stock feeder, who obtained it in Holland ; and, from the selections made in the choice of individuals des- tined for breeding, it maintains all its original ex- cellences, which areiu full perfection at the seventh or eighth year. Many oxen, however, are sold for slaughter at the age of three or four yeai-s ; but some are kept for three or four years to labour, and are then fattened. In the district of Cotentin, in Normandy, there is a breed of considerable size, with a long head 48 and long slender horns, and having the back ridged, tlie thighs lauli, the Hmbs slender, the body volu mhious, and the skin thin. The colour is blackish brown. Between this old, coarse breed, and the Hol- land of the Pays d'Auge, has resulted a mixed race, which often attains to a very a large size, with the limbs stouter, and in better proportion, and with a general increase in bone as well as flesh. This breed is usually mottled, red and white, and it is almost the only one bred in the Normandy pastures, and there also fed. The original cattle of Franche Conite are very small, and of little value ; the horns are often crumpled, and the general colour is blond, or brown. There is, however, an im- proved breed in Franche Comte, which supplies the cattle feeders in the arrondissement of Avesiies. In the Pays de Camargue, at the embouchure of the Rhone, a wild, savage breed exists, less re- markable for stature than for strength and solidity of contour. The body is stout and robust, the belly extremely voluminous : the horns short, and so arched as to form a perfect crescent ; the skin is thick, and covered with black hair. These cattle, which inhabit the island of Ca- margue, in the mouth of the Fthone, a little below Aries, are in a semi-domesticated condition, and are noted for their strength and ferocity. They are said to have been brought, originally, from Auvergne. Their heavy contour, their black colour, their savage habits, and their great strength, give them a certain degfee of similarity to the massive buffalo. It is this fierce breed which fur- nishes the bulls for the combats of the amphi- theatre, which still from time to time, are e.xhi- bited at Nimes and at Tarascon. Such are the principle breeds of France, as detailed by M. Desmarest; but as he observes, there are innumerable shades of variation ; and, we raaj add, that changes and improvements are perpetually taking place, insomuch that old breeds are gradually gi^'iug place to new, or, by admixture, are losing their original characters. In Normandy, celebrated for its pastm'e lands, we have seen ex- cellent cattle, not at all resembling the Alderney breed, but lai'ge, straight-backed, deep, and broad- breasted, well barrelled, short-horned, and mottled red and white. In other parts of France, we have seen small and meagre cattle, without the slight- est pretensions to blood, but, at the same time, tole- rable milkers. A writer in the " Penny Magazine" says, " The Norman breed gives the character to all the cattle usually met with in the north of France, e.xcept near the llhine. They are mostly of a light red colour, spotted with white ; their hoi'ns are short, and staud well out from the forehead, turning up with a black tip ; the legs fine and slen- der, the hips high, and the thighs thin. The cows are good milkers, and the milk is rich. Thev are in general extremely lean, which is owing, in a great measui-e, to the scanty food they gather by the sides of roads and along the grass Ijalks which divide the fields. In Normandy itself they have good pastures, and the cattle are larger and look better. The Alderney and Jersey breeds, which, from the extreme richness of their milk, are much prized in gentlemen's dairies m England, are smaller varieties of the Norman, with shorter horns, more turned in, and a more deer-like form." In Switzerland there are two or three breeds of active, handsome cattle, well adapted for rang- ing the mountain pastures ; of these the most celebrated is the Freyburg stock, much cultivated in the rich grounds between the mountains in the neighbourhood of Gruyeres or Greyerz so cele- brated for its cheese ; the cows are of good size, wide in the flanks, strong in the horn, and short in the bone ; the set-on of the tail is prominent, and detracts from their appearance ; as milkers they are excellent, either when ranging in their pastures, or when stalled and fed with clover, hay, and lucern. The oxen are slow and heavy, but at the same time powerful, and work well ; they also fatten readily ; but in Switzerland, as through- out the continent generally, the stall-fed fatted steer is in far less estimation than in the British islands. It is of little consequence whether the meat be lean or fat, coarse or fine grained, when the mode of cookery is such as to break down the texture of the flesh, or to disguise it in such a manner that it would be diflicult to say of what animal it is a part. In the Jura mountains, a breed of cattle similar to the Swiss, but of small stature, greatly prevails. These cattle are very hardy and active, and clamber about the moun- tains, or among the rocks and woods with the activity of goats ; the cows are good milkers, and are of great importance to the mountain peasants ; the oxen are very strong for their size, and are used for labour ; they invariably draw by the horns. The cattle of this breed are mostly red ; they thrive on scanty fare, and are well fitted for the locality they occupy. In Switzerland, Savoy, and the adjacent moun- tain-districts, considerable attention is paid to the cows, which have generally bells roimd their necks, and are attended by cowherds, who use the Alp- horn to collect them at stated times. These bells are not intended merely as ornaments, or to give pleasure to the ear, they are of great utility ; for when a cow happens to stray on the mountains, the vacher or his dog has always a guide in the bell, the slightest tinkle of which is heard at a great distance in those lofty and still regions. With respect to the pastoral economy of these mountain districts, it is in keeping with the character of the country. The richer proprietors or breeders in the Alps, possess tracts of pastur- 49 flge, and sometimes houses at different heights. During tlie winter they live at the foot of tlie mountains in some sheltered valle}', and house their cattle ; but on the return of spring they quit their winter abode, and ascend gradually as the heat brings out vegetation on the higher lands, on which, during the summer, the cattle feed at large. In autumn they descend by the same gradations to the valley. The farmers or proprietors, who are less wealthy, have a resource in certain common pastures, to which they send their cows, the number possessed by each person being determined by his means of keeping them during the winter. Eight days after the cows have been driven up to these common pastures, all their owners assemble, and tlie quan- tity of milk each cow produces is accurately weighed. This operation of weighing is repeated one day in the middle of summer, and again at the end of the season. The milk of all the cows has. in the mean time, been put together, and made into butter and cheese ; and this common product is divided into shares, according to the quantity of milk each owner's cow yielded on the days of triiil. The chalets or public dairies on these common pastures have always some persons residing in them during the summer months, when the churn and the cheese press are never idle : some of them are in such lofty situations, that to go to them and return to the valley below, take up the time of a whole day. The cheese is made in copper caul- drons of an enormous size, and is itself formed into masses inconveniently heavy ; a cheese weigh- ing two hundred pounds is by no means a rarity in the mountains of Savoy and Switzerland ; and in some of the chalets such a cheese is put into the press every day during the summer season. The cows are milked morning and evening. At the ap- proach of sunset they may be seen slowly travers- ing the mountain pastures, from every quarter (either going of their own accord, or in obedience to the sound of the Alp-horn), to the chalet, in order to be milked. These cattle are said to know so well the proper season for shifting their quarters and seeking the milder climate of the valleys, that they would set off themselves and return direct, each to its winter station, even if not conducted. In the Jura (on the frontiers of France towards Switzerland) excellent butter is made, and great quantities of cheese. In the North of Italy, where the celebrated Parmesan cheese is made, the cattle resemble those of Switzerland. Parmesan cheese is made from skimmed milk, and saffron is added to give flavour and colour ; Gruyeres cheese is made en- tirely from new milk. In other parts of Italy is found an improved breed of cattle, remarkable for the great size of the horns ; but m the Camj^agna of Kome a very fine race, to which we have previously alluded, exists in a semi-wild state, under the care of keepers, or vaccari. Some of the bulls are ex- tremely noble animals, often white, others are grey, more or less tinged with brown ; the horns are large, well turned and pointed. Many of these animals have a name and genealogy, and are bred on the celebrated teimta, or cattle farm, of some nobleman or great landed proprietor ; and these particulars are specified in the printed bills distributed at the door of the amphitheatre when a great bull-fight is about to take place. Of the cattle of Hungary, Wallacliia, &c., we have already spoken; they are white, or whitish, with long homs; and a similar breed prevails in Russia. From this latter country, tallow and hides are imported into England ; and cattle are reared in vast numbers, but principally in the more southern provinces. In the district adjacent to St. Peters- burgh, and even Moscow, few cattle are reared, and the markets are supplied by cattle driven from dis- tant parts. The herdsmen live in a state of bar- liaric simplicity, and are, in fact, nomadic in their habits. They travel with their herds to St. Peters- burg, Moscow, and other large towns which depend more on them for a due supply than on the far- mers of the adjacent districts. The following noticeof these cattle from Johnson's "Russia,"gives a good picture of the mode in which they perform their long journeys : — " Along the road we passed one or two large droves of horned cattle proceeding to St. Petersburg; we learned that they were brought from the pro^'inces south of Moscow. These cattle are all of a white colour, well made, and of about seven hundred weight. Their journey to St. Petersburg generally occupies three months; they travel from eight to sixteen miles during the night, and are allowed to pasture and rest during the day, on the sides of the road ; the herds are attended by one or two men, who convey their cook- ing utensils, baggage, etc., in a wagon drajvjj . by two oxen, and while their numerous cattle repose undisturbed under the shade of the delicate .uiich, they stretch themselves on the ground, and pass their time in a true Scythian state. Here, are also seen a few sheep, but of an inferior b'-'oed, and covered with hair somewhat like that of a goat. This country is not favourable for the pas- ture of sheep, owing to the coarseness of the grass and the quantity of wood. Little or no attention seems to be used in the rearing of any.other domestic animal except the horse ; to hiui. Pi\qne the Russian devotes his whole attention, au,d from him he derives his livelihood." ' . The Calmuckson the Koomanian steppe (esti- mated at 20,000 families), on the western' sidp of the Lower Volga, feed vast numbers o^'.biack cattle, as well as camels, horses, sheep, and goats. In winter, when the grass of the plains is entirely 48 ''■ and long slender horns, iind having the back rid;,-' ! the thighs lank, th.- liniln slender, the hody v .1 i minous, and the skin thiu. The colour is bl.ul.i brown. iJetneen this old, coarse breed, and the II land of the Pays d'Auge. has resulted a nii\lica the cattle feeders in ihearrondisseinent of .Xvesnes. In the Pays d<- Caraargue, at the embnuchure of tlie Khone, a wild, sava^;.- breeil exists, less re- markable for stature than fur strength and s.didiiy of contour. The lx)dy is stout and rol'Ust, the belly extremely voluminous ; the horns short, and so arched as to form a perft-ct crescent ; llie bkin is thick, and covered with black hair. These cattle, which inhabit the island of Ca- margue, in the mouth of the llhone, a little below Aries, are in a semi-doracsiicatcd condition, and are noted for their strength and fenicity. They are said to have been brought, originally, from Auvergne. Their heavy contour, their black colour, their savagii habits, and their great strength, give them a certain degree of similarity to the massive butValo. It is this fierce brred which fur- nishes the bulls for the combats of the amphi- theatre, which still from time to time, are exhi- bited at Nimes ainl at TariLscon. Such are the |«rinciple breeds of France, as detailed by M. Dcsmarest ; but as he obsen-es, there are innumerable shades of variation ; and. we may add, that changes and iniproveinenUs are perpetually taking jdnce. insomuch that old breeds are gradually giving |>lace to new, or, by admixture, are losing their original characters. In Normandy, celebrated for its pa.sture lands, we have seen ex- cellent cattle, not at all resembling the .\Mfniey breed, but large, straight-backed, deep, ami broad- breasteil. well barrelled, short-homed. ani along the western portions of Europe, through the Netherlands, to the borders of France. At all times the cows have been noted for the quantity of milk yielded, and also for au aptitude to fatten, thus exhibiting qualities upon which the breeder, aiming at improvement, might work with a certainty of success. In reference to our short- horned breed, Mr. Culley says, " There are many reasons for thinking this breed has been im- ported from the continent : — First, because they ai'e in many places called the Dutch breed. Secondly, because we fiud very few of these cattle any where in tliis island excepting along the eastern coast, facing those parts of the continent where the same kind of cattle are still bred, and reaching from the southern ex- tremity of Lincolnshire to the borders of Scotland. The long-homs and these have met upon the mountains which separate Yorkshire from Lanca- shire, and by crossing have produced a mixed breed, called 'half-long-horns,' a very heavj^ and strong but not unuseful kind of cattle ; but we do not find that the one kind have spread further west nor the others further east. Thirdly, I re- member a gentleman (Mr. M. Dobinson) of the county of Durham, who went, in the early part of his life, into Holland, in order to buy bulls; those he brought over were of much service in im- pro\'ing the breed : and this Mr. Dobinson and his neighbours, even in my da\', were noted for having the best breed of short-horned cattle, and sold their bulls and heifers for very great prices. But afterwards, persons of less knowledge going over, brought home some bulls that, in all proba- bility, introduced along that coast the disagreeable kind of cattle, well-known to the breeders adjoin- ing the river Tees by the appellation of 'lyery,' or ' double-lyered ; ' that is, black-fleshed ; for, notwithstanding one of these creatures will feed to a vast weight (and though fed ever so long), it will not have one pound of fat about it, neither within nor without ; and the flesh, for it does not deserve to be called beef, is as black and coarse- grained as horse-flesh." Such cattle, however, are not now to be seen. Here, then, we must look for the origin of our Durham and Holderness race, one of the most important within the limits of the British islands. With respect to Spain and Portugal, as w^e have already said, vast herds of cattle, in a semi-wild state, feed in the extensive forests and mountain regions. They are found in the great forests of Alemtejo (Portugal), and in the moun- tain region of the Sierra Nevada (extending over the southern part of Spain south of the Guadal- quiver), including the SieiTa de Aguaderas, the Sien-a de Estancias, the Monies de Granada, etc., covering nearly 1 '2,000 square miles. Besides these fierce, wild, or rather feral, cattle, there are tame breeds of large size, and numerous in the higher mountain districts ; but in the plains and table-lands they are of small stature. We cannot learn that much attentirin is paid to the improvement of horned cattle either in Spain or Portugal. Oxen are used for labour in the cart or wagon, and also for carrying luggage, but the flesh is not in esteem ; there are, indeed, gi-aziera and cowherds in the hills, but more attention is paid to the goat, of which both the flesh and the milk are used extensivelj'. In )]0 part of Europe are goats so numerous as in Spain. It is from the herds of cattle which wander uncontrolled by man, that the bulls destined liir the amphitheatre are taken. An eye witness thus describes the mode of capturing the bulls in the forest of Alemtejo. In this forest, he says, "some hundreds of square miles are occupied by growing timber; but witliin its bounds large open spaces exist, which serve for pasturages ; and occasionally a farm, a vineyard, or an olive grove may be seen struggling, as it were, for existence, amidst the vast solitudes. But though occasional glimpses of cultm-e appear, they are far too few and far between to offer any serious check to the increase and independence of the herds which roam around them undisturbed. It was in this forest that I witnessed, for the first time, the method of cap- turing the wild bulls. I received intimation that the village of Aleoxete, on the Tagus, was to be the scene of a bull-fight, and that the villagers for many miles round were invited to join in the hunt ; which was to take place on the following day. I accordingly crossed the river in company with many persons, mostly military, each being provided with a long pole, having a small spike fixed in one end, and mounted as inclination cir ability suited. When we arrived at the opposite bank, a little before daybreak, we found two hun- dred and fifty or three hundred persons assembled : some mounted on different sorts of quadrupeds, from the noble Andahician horse to the humble hack donliey, and many on foot. They were all armed in a similar manner to ourselves. As sonu as daylight began to appear, we all marched "i'i toward the forest. The morning was peculi.irly fine, and the interest of the beautiful scenery w:i« heightened by the varied costumes of the persons by whom we were surrounded. As soon as we had advanced some distance into the wood, we halted for the purpose of refreshment, before the arduous and somewhat perilous duties of the day bcLjan. After a hasty meal, we divided into two parties ; one stretching in a long line to the right, and the other to the left. We had not advanced far in this manner before we fell in with a herd of cattle, havmg twelve bulls with it ; which no sooner descried us, than they bounded off with the speed of lighining. The sport now begun : we put oiu" D -3 ,. 50 T'"- ilestrojed. llie herds liml iil.iiinliuil piistimiRC in llu- swiimpv tracts aloiiR the river Surjw, on the low slioresof the Ciispinii, and on the level unmnd bordering the river Koonia alove Kislar. In the , north of "Russia a few small cattle exist, but bare the ox gives iilace to the reindeer. In Norway cattle are abundant, but of amall size ; and the same ol.servati.m applies to Ice- land, which originally derived its cattle from the former country. The Iceland cjUiIc have much resemblance to those of the Orluiey Islands, but , are, perhaps, larger. To the natives of Iceland ' their catite are of the utmost ira|x)rtance ; iind. though the management of tiie si.xk is conductnl on no principles, the breed is not destitute of pre- tensions to a tolerable form and contour, and might, by judicious management, be greatly im- proved. Mackenzie, in liis " Account of Iceland,' observes, that " The cattle, in i>oint of size and appearance, are very like the largest of our Higli- land sorts, excejit in one respect, — those of Ice- ' land are seldom seen with horns. As in oilier countries, we meet wiili finer cattle on some faims than on others; but i^he adds\ from every olnjcrra- tion I could make, and information I could obtain, the Iceland farmers know notliing of the art of breeding stock. The bulls are in general ugly, anil no use is made of them till after tliey arc five years old. In rearing a bull-calf no more atten- tion is paid to him than others. Taking all cir- cuiustanccs of management together, I hnd some reason to be surjiriscd to Iind the cattle. u|>oii the whole, to be so handsome. Tiie cows, in gcncnil. yield a considerable quantity of milk ; many of them ten or twelve quarts a day, and some a gmod deal more." In another place, tlie same writer obs( i . ~ "The cow, horse, and sheep alTonI the prii souive of wealth, comfort, and sulisistence !■ Icelander. A cow on the farm of the Amti • Stephenson, we were assured, gave regnlarly i . ■ , '. d4y. {wenty-one quarts of milk. Their value is . w. '•11 known and appreciated by the Icelanders, who talle the greatest care of them in the winter, and scViii.b) sliake otT their habilual listle—>ness while employed in gathering the hay that is to supfxirt thMv through the inclemencies of that sea-son." • iltxs is, in fact, the great harvest of Iceland ; '^ formerly some com was cultivated, but the in- .'hailitants find it more to their advantage to attend • • to .fJiij! rearing of cattle. In I'^iU there were on ' ■ t''? MO'iil -1 .■< 5 1 farms, with "Ji i.UJ.'i head of honied . .cattle, ;'Jls,!S IS sheep, and ".id,.!.'!! horses. The , .couKiKin food of the people is butter, milk, and • ;fisli : I'lesh meat and ne bread are holiday fare. .'In|Sweden the cattle are small, and the pas- '^*_'t'"i'.*^'J^""fls generally indilTcrent : and. frmi the .^nature of the climate, all domestic animals must . '^e kept in stables, or under cover, from four to sc\en 111 In the I place l«it In I) to the r' h and I 'iil.sc I of ac from ■ (told I I tnci- shori to ll. -h r. 1% bi tvir. cows lllld a dry the ^M doll, bneii of K. reari in r. I and I dilTfi exist, or 1 1 race short in fact. . a'ld f«l on dried fodder. '1 thf reindeer takes ibe 111 the ox. iirk, a -111 • rior rac* of cattle exists ; ..f !':-•. n^^ well as of lnir»es, ■'11 is paid. The I on an extensive ... {i'diue of butter and It The Htock of homed II i-tiiimted at l,ft(l7,(ini), i avenigea yearly about . mid 5,76(1 odrcs. Of .1' 'II millions uf |iounds .i\ . niue e\|Hirt ; and of I..'ird. wtlt-mcnt, and ' i in great quantities. Des- ■ ..f the coire fwin Denmark, rich iMsturvs of Holland, tvit'iity piuta (French mea- -laics. the Hungarian breed ,M-nt nunilxrs being driven »hich tiler are bred, and .ri/.iers. '.'. I -tj.li.di.'i, and other dis- ,. In rd of cattle, with lb I' breed is nejirly allied K :iiid our own lloldemess 1 iiey are of various colours; i\.ii itiiermiiiglerl with white, !i la-d COW" of tlii« breed ' . met with. " They are . |•ll^tll^||1«. and the oxen . i or »t«ll fed at a proper hiM- III the bom and Uine, and !• ; li'it iher are not considered so as the Hunguian 111 make the bmden .. Lip bone and coane fea- Its lulls, in pratevnce to those il.< com, thia breed would in ir bc-i fthort-homs. The !!• I while still in milk. I . r l.v the time they atts 1, f.. 111. wed by laime of I ■•<■ 111 igliU.iirh<<>d of Lon- lloldcnies^ cows. This 1 in all the northern jiarts '.< inti> Denmark, and is iiitlaiid; it in also spread II i.diielderlaiid.Utrecht. : home, still more valuable, was the grand- son of Twopenny, and born of an immediate rela- tive. And here, if we may venture to judge, Mr. Bakewell was in fault ; he bred two much in and in, and thereby prepared the first steps of a future degeneracy, which, we have every reason to believe. soon manifested itself. For, although much may be attributed to the subsequent triumph of the improved short-horns, and its intermixture with offsets from the Dishley stock ; yet certain it is that the Leicester, or improved Dishley, breed have left little more than a name behind them. We must not suppose, however, that Mr. Bake- well was the only man of his day (about 1750-60) who bent his mind to the improvement of the long-horns. There were other labourers in the field ; but all appear to have taken the Canley breeds as the foundation upon which to work : for example , the bull Shakspere, the property of Mr. Fowler, of Hollwright, Oxfordshire, was the son of D, by a daughter of Twopenny, and was perhaps the most valuable bull, of the breed, that ever ex- isted. He approached perfection as nearly as possible ; and from him, and heifers of the same stock, Mr. Fowler raised a breed of long-horns of extraordinary value. For example, in 1791, at a sale, which it was his custom to hold at certain intervals, five bulls and six cows returned the sum of £2,204. One bull, Garrick, sold for j£250, aged five years; another, Sultan, two years old, £230 ; another, Washington, £215; and not a bull for 59 less than £152. Of cows, the first, Brindled Beauty, by Shakspere, sold f(jr ,£xi73 ; and the lowest for £U0, In 1789, Mr. Fowler refused 5(10 guineas for ten bull calves. Direct from the Canley stock, and i\Ir. Fowler's bull Shakspere, was raised a splendid breed of long-horns, by Mr. Princep, of Croxall, in Derby- shire, which was highly esteemed, as were those of Mr. Paget, of Ibstock, in Leicestershire, Mr. Mundy, of Derby, and several other successful breeders, whose labours we need not here follow out. While the successful cultivation of the long- horns was thus carried on in England, we must not suppose that the cognate breed of Ireland was ne- glected. But there was, referable to this breed, a singular variety, prevailing more especially in the north of Ireland, of rude figure, with large bones and heavy dewlap, which, either, fi'oiu some iuhe- THE LONG-HORNED OX. rent idiosyncracy, or, more probably, from the oh- i stinate prejudices or indolence of the small farmers, never received improvement; while on the con- trary, in other districts, first by the introduction of the old Lancashire stock, and subsequently by the accession of bulls of the new Leicester breed, and others of the improved Canley strain, the long-horned cattle began to rise in quality, and lost their heavy sloiicliini/ aspect, and their dispro- portion of bone to flesh. Yet it was found that, in jjroportion as these long-horns improved for the purposes of the grazier, and acquired, with better contour, a tendency to fatten even on ordi- nary diet, the quantity of milk jdelded by the cows became diminished, to the detriment of the cottier or small farmer, who could not pretend to rear beasts for the slaughter market, and who depended upon his milk and its products. It is true that, in the grazing grounds, or parks, of the gentry and nobles, who aimed at a valuable stock, in the sense of the feeder, the improvement of the breed was worth every effort ; nor were efforts spared. We need not enumerate the spirited and enter- prising individuals who were foremost in this work, nor detail the success which crowned their exertions. As a proof, however, of this success we may state that, in 180-2, ten bullocks, aged six years, were sold, at the fair of Ballymahoe, for 400 guineas, and ten four years old heifers or cows for 300 guineas. These cattle were bred by Lord Oxmantown (afterwards Earl of Eosse), and were, in all respects, models of their kind. The effects, of these improvements seem to linger still in Ire land, whence the English grazing-grounds and markets derive most of the long-horned cattle which are now to be seen ; but all do not carry the marks of this improvement, many being coarse, bony beasts, which will do little credit to the best pasturage. Within the last twenty years, the short-horns have been introduced into Ireland, and a half-bred stock has been the result ; this stock is hardy, though less so than the old breed of long-horns, which, especially among the small farmers, still maintains its ground. Besides the long- horned, and half long-horned breeds, there is, in Ireland, a very distinct race of I middled-horned cattle, which, though very generally spread, seems to be more prevalent in the moun- tain districts. This breed, which is active, wild and very hardy, and when removed from the hills n^ 5S a pure Laiua!,liire stniin : iiu.l a lull termed liloxedge, of tliis intermixture, was of noted ce- lebrity. The Caiiley lireed spread, and maintained its Dislil'- reputation, and licoinie incor|>onited with the fr»->m i storlts ]iossessed by otlu-r bn-eders. who saw the i loii(»-ii iiiiportiuice of improvement in those jxiiuts which i meut I concern the gi-azier. viz., — utility of fonn. and a milk x^ propensity to fattening ut an early age, and in a conse.| port spa.' ^, viz.. n reasonabl; Cnnley 8i bull, of --^rior qu . ■ of time. It wa.s on the ." heifers and a lung-hum n.s. that Mr. Ikkewell, of u|.et ; but ' « hi oxen and cows, they measured from two Siid a ' «' half to three and a half feet in lenglli. | 1, With respect to the general principles of breed- t: ing pursued by Mr. Bakewell, and applicable to 1 : every description of cattle, we shall not here r»'|>eat > what we have already stated. Certain it is that | I the practice of this theory is found to be ever sue- | I ' cessful when judiciously" carried out : for " like lli« m. produces like." A bull, the produce of the C'aulev ist«l heifer. Comely an, still more valuable, was the grand- , . sou of Twopenny, and born of an immediate rela- s. live. And here, if we may venture to judge, Mr ' ii Bakewell was in fault; he' bred two much in and i . : in, and thereby prepared the first steps of a future li . degeneracy, which, we have everj- reason to believe, j ai,...„. . I "■ ' • " K ■- -'■' b much may ijili of the ■I! 1 • ■ iiMiire with i'i<* the L>ub ley stock ; yet certain ilia !•• ^ico«t^r. or improved Dishley, breed ' iri n name behind them. li .wf\er. iliat Mr. IJake- . : )as day ^alnml 1750 00) ' > the improvement of the ' re iithcr laU>urcrs in the to luive taken the C'anley •.t \i\t»n which U) work : for •' - jiroperty of Mr. ■ was the son of iiid was perhaps • 1 li.. ine.l, that ever ex- I !■■ rl". . iM'n as nearly aa Ml. I li. ifeni of the same i A i.r>>'.l of long' boms of i r (xaiiiple. in 1701, at a custom to bold at certain i -:\ cows retunie0. age ■ 11. two years old. f"i!] iiMi: ■■1..11. i.;|.'i; and not a bi 61 While speaking of the cattle of Cheshire, we must not forget to observe, that a small herd of ■wild white cattle, like those at Chillingham, is preserved in the Park at Lyme Hall. These cattle are very sh}', frequenting the higher grounds in summer, and the woods in winter : during the lat- ter season they are supplied by the keepers with hay. The original cattle of Staffordshire were of the long-horned stock, afterwards greatly improved by the Dishley breed ; but these have given place to the Yorkshire short-horns, and are seldom to be seen, except perhaps towards the borders of Der- byshire, and even there they are considerably modified. The prevailing breed is the result of crossings of the short-horned stock and the old long-horns. Middle-horned Devon cattle have been introduced upon the farms of some agricul- turalists of note, and polled Galloways have also attracted attention. In many large parks and grazing grounds, as those of Trentham, numbers of black Scotch cattle are fattened ; and the mar- kets of the principal towns are well supplied with beef of first-rate quality. In those parts of Staf- fordshire adjacent to Derbyshire and to Cheshire, excellent cheese is prepared ; but little, we be- lieve, comes to the Loudon market. It is the practice, in these districts, to kill the calves (those excepted which are intended to be reared) at a ver}' early age ; consequently the veal is usually small and inferior. This observation applies also to Cheshire and Derbyshire ; on the other hand, the veal in the London markets is often too old. The difference between the veal in London, and that in the towns of Staffordshire, and the counties immediately adjacent, is very striking. The Lon- don markets are chiefly supplied from Essex, where the calves bought by the farmers, at ten or fourteen days old, are fed for twelve or fourteen weeks before being sent to the London butchers. The same changes, with respect to the cattle, have taken place in Shropshire as in Staffordshire. The old long-horn, which formerly prevailed there, was a coarse but hardy beast, generally streaked with a broad line of white along the back ; and, though not disposed to fatten, was well fitted for the dairy. Few of these old cattle are now to be seen : the Holdemess and the Hereford breeds have not only modified the stock, but, to a certain extent, usurped its place ; while various breeds from Wales, small but good and hardy cattle, ai'e cultivated by the smaller farmers. Our remarks respecting the decline, or admix- ture of the long-horned stock, and the ascendancy of the Durham or Holdemess breed, are applica- ble to Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Cam- bridgeshire, Bedfordshire, A-c. In the latter county Holdemess cattle, and other short-horns, prevail ; but not to the exclusion of Devons and Herefords, with Highland cattle, for fattening. In Bucking- hamshire the short-horns have superseded the long-homs ; and the same may be said of Berk- shire and Wiltshire. In Hampshire the long-horna have disappeared ; and, in some favourable tracts, short-horns are to be seen ; but, in its southern portion, the Alderaey and Suffolk breeds prevail ; while, more inland, a mixed breed, between the Aldemey and Suffolk, Hereford, or Devon, is cul- tivated. In the Isle of Wight, a small mixed breed, good for the pail, but worthless for the feeder, is mostly to be found. In Oxfordshire the improved long-homs have ceased to retain their ground ; a few of a mixed race still remain, but the introduction of the short- horns, by Sir C. Willoughby and other spirited improvers of neat stock, has ended in the prevalence of the latter. Against their introduction objections were raised at the time by breeders, who feared the pasturage not adapted to their constitution ; their fears, however, proved utterly groundless. It would appear, then, from this survey, that in a short time (if such is not the case at present) the long-homed stock of cattle, formerly the characteristic breed of our Midland counties, and brought during the last centuiy to perfection by Mr. Webster, Mr. Bakewell, and other zealous cultivators of the ox, will disappear ; it will merge into other breeds ; it will become, so to speak, absorbed and lost, and the old Craven or Lanca shire ox, as well as the improved Leicesters of Mr. Bakewell's cultivation, will be known only by description. They have succumbed before the superiority of the short-horns, cattle of larger bulk, of earlier maturity, and even superior aptitude to fatten, compared with the best improved long- homs, and also hardier than the latter. The fact is, that the great improvers of the long-homs, while they aimed at, and succeeded in producing a grazier's-stock, rendered the cattle as a dairy-stock, inferior to the old coarse breed, and entailed upon it a delicacy of constitution which disqualified it for the ordinary farm. Mr. Culley says, speaking of the comparative merits of the long-horns and short-horns, in his day (1807), " When I say the long-horns excel the short-homs in the quality of the beef, I mean that preference is only due to the particular variety of long-horns selected, improved, and recommended by that at- tentive breeder, Mr. Bakewell; for as to the long- homed breed in common, I am inclined to think their beef rather inferior than superior to that of the generality of short-horns ; and there is little doubt but a breed of short-horned cattle might be selected, equal, if not superior, to even that very kindly-fleshed sort of Mr. Bakewell's pro- vided any able breeder, or body of breeders, would pay as much attention to these as Jlr. Bakewell and his neighbours have done to the long-homs. ea But it has hitherto been the misfortune of the short-horned breeders to pursue the largest and biggest boned ones for the best, without consider- ing that those are the best that jmy the most money for a given quantity of food." It would almost appear as if Mr. Culley had ventured to prophecy. His anticipations have been more than realized; and whether we regard milk or flesh, the short-horns have risen pre-eminent. Breeders have stepped forward, and the result of their efforts is notorious. But before we investigate the pretensions of the short-horns, an old, an aboriginal breed has a claim upon our notice ; we mean that which is usually denominated the middle-horned, that of which the Chillingham wild ox may be taken as a type. The Middle-Horned Stock. — This stock, once, perhaps, more extensively spread in our island than at present, still prevails in many districts, ramified into varieties according to the nature of the locality, and the improvements of the breeder. We find this race in Sussex, in Here- fordshire, in Cornwall, Devonshire, Wales, and Scotland.* These cattle are distinguished by an air of vivacity, almost of wildness ; the head is small, with a broad forehead, and graceful horns ; the eye is large and animated, the body well built, the limbs vigorous, the setting of the tail high, the skin mellow and elastic, and the hair curly ; the colour is red, or black, often unbroken by white. With respect to milk, the cows yield rather a moderate quantity on an average, but it is of superior quality. There is a remarkable tendency to the acquirement of fat, which marbles the grain of the ilesh, rendering it of first-rate excellence. Every breed of this stock, however, is not of the same value, and different breeds have different points of superiority. In Cornwall, for example, a small black race of cattle formerly prevailed, and may still be found in the western mooi'lands. This bi'eed is similar to some of those found in the Scottish Highlands ; and from its hardiness THE DEVONSHIRE BULL. is well fitted for the locality it occupies : its hair is deep, close, and curly, and the skin thick, two points of advantage in a climate of alternate storms and calms, cold and heat. During the summer the commons and wild moorlands_ supply a sutficiency of food ; and when in their' winter sheds, chopped straw, furze, heath, and other coarse herbage, are sufficient. Hence these cattle are maintained at very little cost, and as they yield a fair quantity of milk, and when put upon moderately good fare, rapidly fatten, they will suit the small farmer, perhaps half-farmer, half-fisher- man, in a bleak mountain-district, over which the ocean tempest is driven so frequently. In more favourable districts the North Devon * It would seem as if those cattle had been driven westwardly and northwardly from the other parts of our island, and found a permanent asylum in the mountainous districts, though, as we have already said, we suspect them to have been aborigines of these districts, an old loiig-horned race occupying the more level and marshy parts. 63 breerl, one of high excellence, or a cross between the Devon and the old Cornish is cultivated, and sometimes a cross between the latter and the Alderney. The pure North Devon cattle, how- ever, are decidedly preferred ; and though the short-horned Durham breed has been introduced, and crosses between it and the Devon occurred in the fertile parts, yet the pure Devous are better adapted for the country generally, and are also more easily obtained. Excellent butter and clouted cream are made in Cornwall, but no cheese, or but little, and that very inferior. There is perhaps, no county m which oxen are (or till very lately were) more useful for the plough, and the wain or cart, than in Cornwall. The plough is very simple, with a straight mould- lioard, and is drawn by four or six oxen ; there is a peculiar wain of light construction, well adapted for the rough roads of this country, and usually drawn by oxen ; these are generally put into har- ness at three years old, and worked until the age of seven or eight ; the strong roads render their shoeing necessary ; but with their feet thus de- fended, they exhibit considerable activity, and get through more work daily than might be expected. It must be acknowledged, that for lightness of step, spirit, and energy at the plougli, the North Devon cattle are unequalled ; and these are the most valued in Cornwall. No heavy breed is suited for a rugged, hilly country, nor indeed is any, unaccustomed to such a district, and, as it were, not duly acclimated. We are infonned that far fewer oxen are now employed for labour in Corn- wall than within even the last ten or fifteen years. This may be owing to the increased den)and for oxen in the grazing counties where they are fattened, viz,, Somersetshire, &c., or to an im- proved system of husbandry, and better roads. JIany of the finest Devonshire oxen are fattened for the market in Somersetshire and Dorsetshire. The cattle of Devonshire are admirable ; of these the purest are to be found in the Jiorthern portion of that county bordering the Bristol Channel ; such at least is the opinion of some, who regard THE DEVONSHIRE OX. the larger variety found in the South, as mixed with other breeds of inferior strain ; but there is, perhaps, something of ultra-refinement in this view of the matter. The Devonshire bull has the head small ; the muzzle fine ; the nostrils ample ; the horns taper- ing, and of a waxy yellow ; the eye large and clear ; the neck thick, and arched above, with little dewlap ; the chest is broad and deep ; the breast prominent : the limbs fine-boned ; the fore- arm muscular; the hips are high, and the hind quarters well filled up ; the thighs are voluminous ; the tail long, slender, set on high, and tufted at the extremity. The ox is taller, and more lightly made, with line withers, and a slanting shoulder ; the breast is prominent ; the limbs are fine-boned, muscular, and straight, but rather long; the neck, too, is thin, and rather long, the head small, the muzzle fine ; the horns longer than in the bull, slender, and tapering. The whole form, indeed, 04 indicates activity and freedom of action. The sldn is moderate, and covered with mossy or curl- ing hair ; but occasionally it is smooth and glossy. The colour is universally red, chestnut, or bay, seldom varied Avith white : a jjaler space surrounds the eye, and the muzzle is yellow. The cow is far inferior to the bull in bulk and stature ; and the latter is inferior to the ox. The cow is active, with a full eye, and animated e.x- pression ; the muzzle is very fine, and the general contour light ; the ribs, however, are well-arched, giving greater internal room than might at first be supposed, a point essential to a good breeder. With respect to the qualities of the Devonshire cattle, they are, by many, esteemed of the highest order, while others underrate them. The o.\en, as workers at the plough, on a light soil, are, from their docility and easy action, of first-rate order ; but, on heavy soils, although they are willing to exert their strength, at a dead pull, to the utmost, their want of weight and muscular power is a dis- ad\antage. In light farm-work their alertness is conspicuous ; and two oxen will perform the labour of one horse. Oxen, however, are not used for labour universally throughout Devonshire, nor, where the practice still continues, is it so much in vogue as formerly ; for the breeders obtain a re- munerating price from the graziers for their oxen, at an earlier age than that at which it is usual to break them in. It is the general plan to take oxen into work at two years old : they are put to light labour, for the first year or two, and then to harder work, till the age of five or sLx, when they are grazed or fed on hay, corn, oil-cake, or turnips, for tlie market ; for which they are ready in about twelve months, or even earlier. Few oxen equal the Devons in the jsromptitude with which they fatten ; they do not, indeed, attain to the weight of the larger breeds, but they lay on flesh rapidly, and with a small proportionate consumption of food ; and the meat is of first-rate quality, being fine-grained and beautifully marbled. As it regards the dairy, the North Devonshire cow holds a moderate rank : some cows yield much more than others; and the milk is extremely rich, producing a more than ordinary proportion of cheese or butter. A good cow will give about three gallons of milk per day, for the first twenty weeks after calving ; after this- the milk decreases, and stops at the end of about nine months ; so that the total annual amount will not be more than about a gallon and a half per day : but then, the proportionate quantity of butter is considerable. A cow of mixed breed, between a North Devon and a Yorkshire bull, has been found to give twenty-f(jur quarts of milk per day, for five months after calving ; but the milk was less rich than that of the pure Devon breed, twelve quarts pro- ducing only one pound of butter; while eight quarts of the milk of the pure Devon cow re- turned the same quantity. This, and other mixed breeds, prevail about Exeter, and along the whole vale of the Exe. Many are excellent, being fine in the coat, horn, and bone, and short in the legs. Pure North Devon cows are kept chiefly for breeding, and are superior as nurses, the calves thriving rapidly on their rich milk : a good cow will often fatten two calves a year. When dried, at the proper age, the Devon cows rapidly acquire flesh, and make fair grass-fed beef, in three or four months. The cows weigh from 30 to 40 st. ; the oxen from 50 to 60 St., and upwards. Numbers of the latter are sent, from the noi'thern parts of the country to the Loudon market, and the mar- kets of the principal towns in the west of England. Devonshire is celebrated for a delicacy pre- pared from the milk, well-known as clouted cream. In order to obtain this, the milk is suffered to stand in a vessel for twenty-four hours ; it is then placed over a stove or slow fire, and very gradually heated to an almost simmering state, below the boiling point. When this is accomplished (the first bubble having appeared), the milk is removed from the fire, and allowed to stand for twenty-four hours more. At the end of this time the cream will have arisen to the surface, in a thick or clouted state, and is removed : in this state it is eaten as a luxury ; but is often converted into butter, which is done by stirring it briskly with the hand, or a stick. The butter thus made, though more in quantity is not equal in quality to that procured from the cream which has risen slowly and spontaneously ; and, in the largest and best dairies in the vale of Honiton, the cream is never clouted — except when intended for the table in that state. With respect to the South Devon breed, it appears to be superior, for the dairy, to the pure North Devon ; some cows being almost equal to the best short-horns in the quantity of milk : these cattle are profitable also to the grazier and the butcher ; but their flesh is not equal, in fineness of grain or delicacy, to that of the North Devon breed. They closely resemble the Hereiords, and indeed, often have white faces. To the east of Devonshire lie the counties of Dorsetshire and Somersetshire, noted for their agri- cultural produce. Dorsetshire sends vasts quan- tities of butter to London ; and cheese is made from the skimmed milk. This cheese is most esteemed when streaked with blue mould ; but it is consumed almost exclusively in the county it- self. The vale of Blackmoor is very rich, and affords pasturage to numbers of cattle: these are mostly of a mixed breed, in which the strain of the Devonshire prevails ; but there are also num- bers of South Devons. Crosses with the Dm'ham G5 race, and also with the Hereford, are not uncom- mon in Dorsetshire ; the object being to obtain good dairy cows, irrespective of other qualities. In the more hilly districts-, where the pasturage is scanty, a hardy race of half long-horned cattle pre- vails ; these are generally brindled on the sides, with a white stripe down the back, and white on the under parts. This race, originally long-horned, is now crossed with the Devon, and is much im- proved : the cattle are hardy ; they fatten quickly, and the cows are good milkers. Except in some parts, oxen are not much used in husbandry ; and where they are so the pure North Devons ar« preferred. After working for three or four years, the oxen are fatted for the markets ; and many find their way to London. Somersetshire is celebrated both for corn and the products of the dairy. In that part which bor- ders upon Devonshire, and along the coast, the cattle are of the North Devon breed ; and, having good pasturage, are usually superior in size to the original stock. Those of the vale of Taunton are very fine, and well suited both for the grazier and the dairy-farmer. Less light than those of North Devon, the oxen have nearly as much activity, are equally docile, and considerablj' stronger : hence they are efficient workers. In other parts of the county, while this breed is preferred for husbandry labour, and for aptitude to fatten, auotlier is reared for the purposes of the dairy, principally of the Dui'ham or short-horned stock, or a cross between this and others. The dairy-farmers seldom graze, except a few dried cows for the adjacent market ; but in the centre of the county, from the Mendip Hills to Bridgewater on the west, and Chard on the south, grazing for the market is extensively carried on. The cattle are either of the Devon or Hereford strain ; they are mostly bought in Fe- bruary, and kept on hay till spring, when they are turned out to graze, an acre or an acre and a half, according to the pasturage, being allowed to each ox. They are in condition by Michaelmas : many are kept till Christmas, hay being gradual!}' given, in proportion as the grass fails, till it is required entirely. Great numbers of these cattle are sent to London. In the south-east portion dair3'-farms prevail, and the business of cheese-making begins soon after Lady-day. Of the cheeses of Somerset- shire the Bridgewater and the Cheddar are parti- cularly celebrated. Of the latter little is made at the village so named ; it is chiefly in the grazing lands round Glastonbury, and at other places, as Huntspill, South Brent, East Brent, &c. The dairy-farmers in Somersetshire usually sell off their cows for fattening at the age of about twelve years, as the milk then begins to deteriorate in quality, and it would be unprofit- able to continue them for the pail. Vast numbers of calves are bred, and of these a great proportion VOL. I. are fattened by hand from the pail, the calves being separated from their dams at the age of three or four days; those that are intended for rearing are fed principally on whey, and turned to grass in spring ; but to the others, milk, whey, and occasionally linseed-meal are given. Herefordshire possesses a peculiar breed of middle-horned cattle, allied to the Devons, but heavier and coarser, of a red colour, with white faces, and with white along the back and under parts. The true Herefords are shorter in the leg, heavier in the chine, and wider and rounder in the hips than the Devons ; the head is also larger in proportion, and less flue, and the hide thicker, but mellow and supple. As milkers they are inferior to the Devons, but acquire an earlier maturity, and fatten both more rapidly and to a greater weight; consequently, the oxen are com- monly sold off at the age of two or three years, in a state fit for the feeder. The graziers of Buck- inghamshire, and other counties, purchase, for fattening, great numbers of these oxen at the va- rious fairs, especially the Michaelmas fair at He- reford ; they are brought to the London markets, when ready, and meet an excellent sale. Few oxen are, in fact, fattened in Herefordshire ; but only heifers and cows for home consumption. Herefordshire is essentially a breeding county (not a dairy nor yet a feeding county) ; and the great object is to supply the graziers with a valuable stock. The cows preferred are worthless as milk- ers ; but such as experience has taught the breeder will produce the best offspring: they are rather small and light, but roomy; insomucli that they often bear bull-calves which soon attain to thrice then- ovra weight. These cows, however, when dried, fatten rapidly, and become full-fleshed and rounded. Formerly it was the custom to work the oxen for two or three years before sending them to market ; but it is now found far more profitable to take advantage of their early maturity, and sell them without unnecessary delay, thereby saring fodder, and also obriating the slow return of capital which the long-keeping of oxen necessarily entails. As dairy-farming is not practised (at least as a general rule) in Herefordshire, the milk of the breeding cows is given almost all to the calves ; nor is this plan to be C3ndemned : the breeder's great aim is to ripen his beasts for the grazier, or at least for early fattening. A mingled system of breeding and dairy-farming would defeat its ob- ject and lead to loss, for neither department would be properly conducted. Gloucestershire, closely as it approximates to Herefordshire, is a dairy county, celebrated for its butter and cheese, but especially the latter, of which large quantities are sent to the London market. IIERKFOKD HUt The old Gloucester breed of cattle was rather small, of a reddish browu colour, with a streak of ■white running up the back from the base of the tail ; indifferent in figure, but well adapted for the dairy. This old middle-homed race is now seldom to be met with, at least pure ; it has been crossed by the loug-honis of Wiltsliire ; and this mixed breed, while it exhibited superiority of size, and a tendency to fatten, was little, if at all, deteriorated as to milking qualities. In the hilly or Cotswold districts, a mixed breed, of variable goodness, pre- vails. The Cotswold hills extend across the county from Chipping Campden to Bath, and are divided into an upper and a lower range : the soil of the upper range is chiefly a calcareous sand, a few inches deep, resting on oolite, or, as it is com- monly called, stonebrash. Cattle, but principally sheep, are kept on these hills, and even the poorest tracts are admirably adapted as pasturage for the latter ; where these have well manured the laud, it bears tolerable crops of oats and bailey. In the lower hills, and in the valleys between them, the soil is deeper, and affords fair pasturage to cattle, of which numbers are kept for the purpose of the dairy, and good cheeses are made. Winter and spring vetches are sown in considerable quantity, and supply both the cattle and sheep when green fodder is scarce. In general, however, the cattle are badly fed duiiug the wnter. It is in the more fertile and lower portions of this county, such as the vale of Berkeley and the banks of the Severn and Ledden, that the richest land for the cultivation of crops and the pasturage of cattle is found. Here the old pas- tures are left untouched for the cows, that the cheese may retain its celebrity ; and here, conse- quently, daiiy-fai'ming is most advantageously and extensively carried on. In the vale of Gloucester- shire there are many valuable crosses of cattle ; some between the old breed and the long-honis, others between this cross breed and Dm-ham and Yorkshire short-horns. Milk, remarkable both for richness and the quantity yielded, is the dairy- man's object ; and for this he sacrifices all otlier properties of the cattle. Hereford and Devon cattle are also kept, but only for work and for fattening : of these many are fed in the neighbom-hood of Gloucester. In the management of the milch cattle of this fertile district, old rich pastures are greatly pre- ferred for them ; for it has been ascertained by experience that lands, however liLxuriant, which have been nnich or recently manured, produce an alteration in the quality of the milk, so as to ren- der the cheese made from it very inferior. It is also found to be an excellent plan to remove the cattle frequently from one pasture to another ; and, when the hay is off, to turn them upon the new after-grass of the meadows, the succulent young herbage being conducive to abmidance of good milk. The produce of a good cow should average from three and a half to fom- and a half hundred weight of cheese per annum, or from twelve to eighteen quarts of milk per day. Some first-rate cows, on rich pasturage, have been known to yield twenty-four quarts eveiy day, at two milkings, for f UERRFORD OX. the space of seven months after calvmg ; but this is an uncommon circumstance. After the seventh month the quantity of milk rapidly diminishes, till within six weeks previously to calving again, when the cow is no longer milked. Mr. Rudge, in his " Agricultural View of Gloucestershire," considers that the profit, on a daily of twenty good cows, costing £20 each (in all fi-tOO), fed upon forty acres of land, will amount to about £136 per annum. He calculates the cost of the dairy utensils as imder £-ii. Two sorts of cheese are made, single and double Gloucester; the former is prepared from skimmed milk, and a superior sort from a mixtm-e of skimmed and pure milk ; the double Gloucester from pure unsldmmed milk only. Great quantities are maile in the vale of Berkeley. During winter the milch cows ai'e kept in dry and sheltered situations, and suppUed with hay, as are also the young store beasts ; in the hilly dis- tricts, however, less attention is paid to them at this seascm, and they often suffer greatly. This is bad management and false economy : the cows ought to be kept in fair condition, so as to benefit immediately by the spring pasturage. Sufficient shelter is often too much neglected : good sheds are essential as a protection against severe cold ; nor are they less serviceable in the e.xtreme heats of summer. Deficiency of food, moreover, dete- riorates and stunts the growth of the young stock, foiling the best endeavoiu's for the improvement of the breed. This mismanagement is, however, chiefly confined to the hilly district, where the soil is unproductive, rendering winter fodder scarce ; or where, from old custom, no efficient attempts are made to meet the exigency. More liberality would be far more profitable. The prevalent breed of cattle in Sussex closely resembles that of North Devon ; there are, how- ever, certain points of difference : and, on the whole, the Sussex ox is a heavier and coarser ani- mal than the Devon, but equally valuable for farm- labour, and for the fineness of the grain and the marbling of the flesh. Sussex is not a great dairy county : but it con- tains rich jnars^-irt/ids, well adapted forthe pasturage of sheep and oxen, and dou-n-la)icls, where a thin soil overlaj's the chalk, and produces grasses ad- mirably fitted for the peculiar breed of sheep, " the South Downs," which are so celebrated for the excellence of their flesh. In some parts of the do^vns, along the slopes of the hills and in the hollows, there is excellent ai-able land, on which oxen as well as horses are worked, the former being preferred by many. The centre of the county constitutes the wealden district, composed of various clays and sands, -with subordinate beds of limestone, giit, and shale. Here the land is poor ; but, in some parts, tolerable crops of wheat, oats, and clover are obtained : there are extensive woods of fir and bu-ch, and moor- lands overgi'own with heath and the bilberry plant The centre of this county, as is evident from its present state, was once almost impenetrable from its dense forests, heaths, and morasses. Here, from remote times, the peculiar breed of ox still 68 prevalent has existed. Its colour is of a uniform blood bay, or chestnut red ; the horns are well-set and tapering; the head is small, the eye large, the throat clean, the neck thin ; hut the shoulders are thick and heavy, and the forelimbs rather coarse, — that is, less fine in the hone than in the Devon. The barrel is well formed and capacious ; the hack straight ; the hips vride and well covered ; the tail is thin and tufted at the extremity, and is set on nearly as high as in the Devon ; the hide is mellow and fine ; the coat is mostly sleek, but sometimes wavy. The Sussex cow is kept principally for the sake of breeding : her milk, though excellent in quality, being small in quantity ; hence her place in the dairy is supplied by various crossed breeds, which are found to answer best for the pail. The cow is lighter in the shoulders than the ox, and her neck is thin ; but altogether her con- tour is not so good : there is, moreover, a wilduess in her aspect, and a restlessness in her temper, which render her not veiy manageable ; yet, when dried, she fattens with extraordinary rapidity, and becomes well covered with flesh. Jt is usual to rear all, or almost all, the calves in this coimty ; the males for labouring oxen, the females for breeding, or for fattening at an early age. They are seldom kept with the mother for more than ten or twelve weeks, when they are weaned, and fed on grass and hay. After losing her o\Mi calf, a good cow will suckle another, and sometimes even two, for the butcher. Besides this i:)ure Sussex breed, a larger and heavier breed is also to be seen, the result proba- bly of a cross mth the Hereford, though no white face betrays the admixture. The oxen of this larger variety are slow, and less adapted for work than those of the lighter but still vigorous and powerful variety, which almost equal the horse as good and obedient workers. These oxen are gene- rally broken in at tlnee years old, kept at labour until six, and then fattened for the butcher by seven. Some, however, work them longer; and oxen have been brought into excellent condition in their eleventh or twelfth year, and sold to great advantage. This plan saves the necessity of so frequently breaking in yoimg oxen ; but it is doubt- ful whether, as a general rule, aged beasts will fatten so kindly, or produce meat of a quality so good, as others in their prime. Not only oxen but heifers are used for the cart and the plough ; these are not in a condition to breed, and are treated like oxen, being, after three or four years' labour, fattened for the mai'ket. The Sussex oxen find a ready sale in the Lon- don markets ; their average weight is one himdred and twenty stone, but some have been known to exceed two hundred stone. In this county winter stall-feeding is greatly practised, and is attended ■vrith many advantages. Some farmers, however, prefer feeding the oxen loose in the yard, as they find the animals fatten more quickly— no doubt the gentle exercise increasing then appetite and digestive powers ; but then, besides what they con- sume, they waste and trample down much proven- der, which, were the oxen tied in their stalls, would be saved : they are then more easily fed, and more manure can be preserved. Previously 69 to the stall (or yard) feeding, the oxen intended for fattening are sent, after their spring labour at the plough is over, to feed during the summer in the marsh- lands, and on the after-grass of the hay-meadows. On the approach of winter they are stalled every night ; and when winter sets in, having been accustomed to it, are kept constantly tied up. The Sussex cattle prevail in the adjacent j)arts of SuiTey ; but short-honis, Devons, and various crosses are also to be met mth. In the weald of Kent, also, Sussex cattle are used for the cart and plough, and gi'azed in the Romney marshes, where, however, sheep are more profitable. In the eastern parts of Kent few cattle, except for the produce of butter for home consumption, are kept, and these are of various and mingled breeds. Scotch and Welsh cattle are fed by some farmers in the straw- yard during the winter, and fattened by grazing in the marshes during the spring and summer. In some parts stall-feeding is also practised ; but Kent cannot be called a cattle or a dairy county. Following the middle-horned cattle from Eng- land to Wales, we may observe that several breeds of this aboriginal race have existed from the ear- liest times, and still maintain their ground in the mountain-land of Cambria. In form they much resemble the Devons, He- refords, and Sussex breed ; but from the nature of their pasturage they are smaller, wilder, more hardy, and thrive on poorer fare : they are usually fine in the head and limbs, active, and vigorous. The colour is black, dark brown, or red, sometimes contrasted with white. In the vales the cattle are larger, and often crossed with other breeds, a.s those of Herefordshire and (jloucestershire. In Monmouthshire Durhams, Irish, and Scotch cat- tle have been introduced, especially the Ayrshire breed, which is excellent for the dairy; but the old breed, closely allied to tliat of Glamorgan- shire, maintains its ground, especially in the more northern parts and on the hills. In Carmarthenshire, Brecknockshire, Cardi- ganshire, and Pembrokeshire, an old and useful breed of black cattle still prevails. The Pembroke ox is short in the limb, with moderately small bone ; deep and round in the carcass, with rough short hair ; and a hide of moderate thickness, and pleasant to the touch. The head is moderately small, the aspect animated, and the horns are white. Some individuals have white aljout the face and under parts, and some are of a dark brown. These cattle are small but hardy, and the oxen fatten well on indifferent land. The cha- racter of the meat is first-rate ; the grain is fine and beautifully marbled, and its flavour excellent. The cows are fair milkers, and, from their hardi- ness, are veiy profitable to the small farmer or cottager. The oxen are as profitalde to the gra- zier; they are good workers, strong and active, and are ready at the age of four or five years for the market, arriving early at maturity. Great numbers of these cattle are sent to the London market. A,^.similar but superior breed of cattle occupied Glamorganshire, generally of a red or a brown- red colour, often with white faces, and otherwise varied with white. The head was small, the aspect lively, the neck inclined to be arched, lEMHKt'K.E GLAMORGAN OX. the carcass round and well turned, the back rising to the root of the tail, -which was peculiarly ele- vated. The aptitude to fatten, the early luatui'ity and docility of the oxen, and the fineness of the beef, rendered the Glamorgan breed highly valu- able ; and no beasts sold at a higher proportionate rate in the London market. Fifty years ago they were purchased by the great feeders in Leicester- shire, War^^-ickshire, Wiltshire, and other counties; and George the Third had a valuable and well- selected stock on his farm at Windsor, which was often recniited by fresh accessions from the native district. Glamorganshire was then a noted cattle distiict ; but, during the war, the farmers neglected then- cattle for the plough : they commenced rais- ing corn, alternating the crops vnth turnips, and increasing the stock of the sheep. The result was that the cattle speedily degenerated, and were no longer sought after. Nor is it imtil recently that serious exeilions have been made to restore the breed to its pristine excellence by intelligent and spirited individuals. Crosses willi the Hereford were tried, and, at first, mth some show of success ; but soon, after one or two generations, the defects of the Glamorganshire strain reappeared. Crosses still more mdikely to succeed were tried ; till at length one with the Ayrshire bull was attempted, and the result has been successful. This mixed breed is equal in hardiness to the old ; the oxen ai-e good workers and fatten readily ; the beef is admirable ; and the cows jdeld more milk than did those of the old stock. This improved breed is becommg extended, thougli it meets a rival in the pm'e Herefords, which are, by some breeders, pre- ferred, and by some still used to cross the Glamor- gan. In the more hilly districts the old Glamorgan loreed suffered less deterioration than in the vales ; but it is there subject to poor and scanty food. In summer the pastm'age is bare and meagre, and in winter the only resomxe is wretched hay from the peat lands ; consequently the cattle are small and stunted ; yet they produce excellent beef, and, on better land, become qmckly fattened. Numbers are sent to the London market. In Monmouthsliire, now an English county, the Glamorgan cattle prevailed, and still occupy the hills ; in the vales Herefords are prevalent, and cows from the rich tracts of Gloucester, these being esteemed for their milk. In some parts Dm'ham short-horns have been introduced, and also the Ayrshire breed : but, of late years, many Irish cattle, and those not excellent, have been imported ; their low price tempting pm-chasers to the injiuy of the native breeders. Many cattle are bred in Kadnorshire : the jirincipal breed is a cross between the Pembroke and Hereford. The colour is red or brindled, with a white face. The characteristics of this cross are, a good figiu'e, a moderate size, and a readiness to fatten when removed from the coarse moun- taui-pastm-es to the feeding districts of England. Droves of these cattle are sent to the pasture-lands of the comities of Oxford, Leicester, Northampton, &c., whence they find their way to the London market. For the dau-y the old unimproved breed is preferred, the strain of the Herefords tending KERRY COW. to the diminution of tlie quantity of tlie milk, ^Yhile it improves size and aptitude to fatten. In Montgomeiyshire there are two varieties of cattle : those in the mountains are small, short- legged, of a red colom-, with dusky faces, indifferent in figure, but hardy, and tolerable milkers — yet not without an aptitude to fatten. Those in the rich vale of the Severn and its tributaries are not unlike the Devons ; of a brown colour, e.xcepting a white line down the abdomen, with slender well- tm-ned homs. The cows are tolerable milkers, and the oxen fatten readilj'. In this part of the county excellent cheese is made. Many Herefords ai'e grazed in the pasture-lands. In Denbighshire and Flintshire the dairy is much attended to, and both butter and excellent cheese are produced. In the former comity black cattle occupy the hills ; but in the vales a mixed breed, in which the strain of the long-horn is evi- dent, cliiefly prevails. In Flintshii-e, indeed, the cattle, though generally excellent both for the daily-farmer and the grazier, ai'e of no definite breed: they are the results of various crossings, many resembling the ordinary cattle of Cheshire. In Merionethshire, CarnaiTonshire, and the Isle of Anglesey, a race of black cattle, -with rather longer homs than are usually seen in the time mid- dle-horned races, is prevalent. This breed is de- cidedly in the highest perfection in Anglesey, and is doubtless of great antiquity. It is of small size, but astonishingly hardy and ^^gorous ; the chest is deep and ample, with a large dewlap ; the barrel is romid, the haunches elevated and well spread, the shoulders rather heavy, the hide mellow, the hair black and cmling ; the forehead is flat, and the horns sweeji boldly upwards. Vast numbers of these black cattle are bred in the island, and droves are sent into the pasture-lands of England for fattening. Formerly it was the custom to s\rim the droves across the straits of Meuai, not without danger from the rapiditj' and force of the current ; but now the celebrated chaui-bridge prevents the necessity of this practice. The number of black cattle annually exported from this island has been estimated at ten thousand ; but, of course, this is liable to fluctuation, nor is it easy to obtain au accurate estimate. Anglesey is a breeding district exclusively ; it is adapted neither for the dairy nor for feeding. Speaking of the Isle of Anglesey, we ai-e naturally led to the Isle of Man ; for to both these Islands the ancients applied the title of Mona— a word of uncertam origin, but supposed to be derived from the ancient British word Mon, which means iso- lated. The cattle of the Isle of Man ai-e generally small, and of Welsh or Scotch breeds, — viz., Angle- seys, Kyloes, and Galloways, especially in the rude and hilly parts ; but larger breeds of mixed sti'ains have been introduced upon better pasture-lands. A native middle-homed race of cattle exists every where in Ireland, and particidaiiy in the hilly and mountain districts, where, from its hardi- ness, it thrives on indifferent pasturage, and con- trives unshielded, during the winter mouths, to find support. There are several varieties of this stock, vaiyiug in minor details of size and contour ; GLAMORGAN OX. the carcass round and well turned, the back rising to the root of the tail, which was peculiarly ele- vated. The aptitude to fatten, the early niatm'ity and docility of the o.xen, and the fineness of the beef, rendered the Glamorgan breed highly valu- able ; and no beasts sold at a higher proportionate rate in the London market. Fifty years ago they were purchased by the great feeders in Leicester- shire, War\\-ickshire, Wiltshire, and other counties ; and George the Third had a valuable and well- selected stock on his farm at Windsor, which was often recruited by fresh accessions from the native district. Glamorgansliire was then a noted cattle distaict ; but, during the war, the farmers neglected theh cattle for the plough : they commenced rais- ing corn, alternating the crops with turnips, and increasing the stock of the sheep. The result was that the cattle speedily degenerated, and were no longer sought after. Nor is it until recently that serious exertions have been made to restore the breed to its pristine excellence by intelligent and spirited individuals. Crosses witlr the Hereford were tried, and, at iirst, with some show of success ; but soon, after one or two generations, the defects of the Glamorganshire strain reappeared. Crosses still more unlikely to succeed were tried ; till at length one with the Ayrshire bull was attempted, and the result has been successful. This mixed breed is equal iu hardiness to the old ; the oxen are good workers and fatten readily ; the beef is admirable ; and the cows yield more milk than did those of the old stock. This improved breed is becommg extended, though it meets a rival in the piu'e Herefords, which are, by some breeders, pre- ferred, and by some still used to cross the Glamor- gan. In the more hilly districts the old Glamorgan breed suffered less deterioration than in the vales ; but it is there subject to poor and scanty food. In summer the pastm-age is bare and meagre, and in winter the only resom-ce is wretched hay from the peat lands ; consequently the cattle are small and stunted ; yet they produce excellent beef, and, on better land, become qmckly fattened. Nmubers are sent to the London market. In Monmoutlishhe, now an English county, the Glamorgan cattle prevailed, and still occupy the hills ; in the vales Herefords are prevalent, and cows from the rich tracts of Gloucester, these being esteemed for their milk. In some paits Diu-ham short-horns have been introduced, and also the Ayrshire breed : but, of late years, many Irish cattle, and those not excellent, have been imported ; their low price temptmg pm'chasers to the mjiuy of the native breeders. IMauy cattle are bred iu Radnorshire : the principal breed is a cross between the Pembroke and Hereford. The colour is red or brindled, with a white face. The characteristics of this cross are, a good figure, a moderate size, and a readiness to fatten when removed from the coarse moun- tain-pastures to the feedmg districts of England. Droves of these cattle are sent to the pasture-lands of the comities of Oxford, Leicester, NorthamjDton, &c., whence they find their way to the London market. For the dauy the old unimproved breed is preferred, the strain of the Herefords tending 73- stress of -weather, for days at sea, the vessel being driven far out of her course, and the cattle all the time suffering for want of food and water. Turning to Scotland, it may be observed that, from the most remote times, this land of heath and mountain has been the nurseiy of an original breed or race of black cattle, of wild aspect, of beautiful symmetry, and though small, yet vigor- ous and hardy ; patient of hunger and cold, and rapidly fattening on tolerable laud. These cattle are middle-horned ; the head is short, broad, and flat across the forehead, and adorned with ele- gantly-tumed horns ; the muzzle is fine, the eye bright and large, the body compact, and the limbs short, clean, and muscular. Several varieties may be noticed ; and of tliese the western race, occu- pying the Hebrides, or Western Islands, and the adjacent parts of the mainland, is the most pure, change the colour from black to white, and there is little difference between a beautiful kyloe from Arran, Islay, or the Isle of Skye, and one of the wild cattle of Chillingham : if we may venture an opinion, they display more nearly than any other breed the characters of the mountain cattle of our island when invaded by Caesar. We say the moun- tain cattle, because we snspiect that a larger and heavier long-liorned race even then tenanted the swampy plains and low grounds of many portions of the countiy. The kyloes, or black cattle of the western isles and highlands of Scotland, constitute the chief wealth of that portion of Caledonia. The Hebri- des alone, including Long Island (composed of of Lewis, Uist, and others), are calculated to con- tain a hundred and fifty or sixty thousand head of these cattle, of which perhaps thirty thousand an- nually cross the ferries for the mainland ; whence great numbers find their way into the parks and pasture-lands of England, even to the southern coast. It must not be supposed that the droves speedily reach their southern destination ; on the contrary, their journey is very protracted, and broken by long intervals. During the first winter they are allowed to gi-aze in the pastures of the north ; and then, as the spring advances, are driven farther south. As they proceed in this manner from stage to stage, their numbers dimi- nish by sales, or by the respective lots reaching the parties to whom they were consigned : but those destined directly for the midland or southern counties, where the pasture-lands of some large landed proprietor await their reception, are months upon the road, unless indeed, as is often the case, they are sent by sea to some convenient port, and there landed. In a well-bred kyloe, the following characters are conspicuous : The head is small and short, with a fine and somewhat up-tmnied muzzle ; the fore- head is broad ; the bonis -wide apart at their base, tapering, and of a waxen yellow ; the neck is fine at its junction with the head, arched above, and abniptly descending to the breast, which is broad, full, and veiy prominent ; the shoulders are deep and broad, and the chine is well filled, so as to leave no depression behind them ; the limbs are short and muscular, with moderate bone ; the back is straight and broad ; the ribs boldly arched, and ARGVLr, (tX. 74 brought well up to the liips ; the chest deep and voluminous ; the tail high set, and largely tufted at the tip ; the eoat of hair thick and black : such is the bull. The ox differs iu proportion. The cow is far more slightly built, and her general con- tour is more elongated. Although, as we have said, black is the ordinaiy or standard colour of the kj'loe, many are of a dark reddish brown, and some of a pale or whitish dun. Some little difference in size, as might be ex- pected, exists among the kyloes of different locali- ties. Those of the Isle of Skye, and of Lewis and Uist, are rather smaller than those of Islay, Jura, Argyleshire, Lochaber, or Inverness. Multitudinous as are the cattle bred and reared in the Hebrides, few are fattened there ; nor is much attention paid to the daily ; few farmers keeping more milch cows than will serve the wants of the family in milk, butter, and cheese. The kyloe cow does not yield much milk, but that is of extraordinaiy richness. In North Uist and Tiree, however, where the herbage is generally good, both cheese and butter are made for the markets, each cow being estimated to yield twenty- two or twenty-four pounds of the latter, or from eighty to ninety pounds of the former during the summer. Great attention is paid to the rearing of calves ; and far more than imder the old regime, to the treatment of the cattle, which formerly had little or no pro\asion made for them during the ^nuter, and were ill-fed even during the summer; the consequence of which was, that a large per centage died of staiTation, and diseases attendant upon in- nutritious fare. The cows, it is true, were housed during the winter ; often, indeed, they shared the rude shealing of the peasant ; but this bettered their condition very little, for suffering and priva- tion were the lot of the family. In well-managed establishments at the present time, the cattle are treated upon principle. The calves, all of which are reared, are generally pro- duced in February, March, and April ; three times a day they are allowed to draw milk from the ud- ders of then- dams, which are aftenvards emptied by the daiiy-maid ; when at the age of three or four months, the calves are sent only twice a day to their dams m the meadows, and are weaned in September, or early in October. Dui-ing the win- ter they are housed, and fed on hay and tmiiips, as ai-e also the breeding cows ; the rest are kept m the pastures, and when these become bare, are supplied with coarse hay, and sometimes with turnips or potatoes. In Argyleshire the kyloes are larger than in the Hebrides, and many of them are models of beauty — pictures of a noble semi-wild race ; de- scendants of the old mountain-breed, which once roamed the wilds of Caledonia, and came "crush- ing the forest" to meet the fierce hunter. Well has the poet described the ancient wild bull: — ■' Mightiest of all the bea.sts of chase That roam in woody Caledon, Crushing the forest in his race, The mountain bull comes thundering c Besides these kyloes, there are other breeds in Argyleshire ; the Ayrshire cow is principally used for the daiiy. In the eastern counties of the Highlands, as Aberdeenshire, Forfarshire, Bantl'shire, Kincardine- shire, &c., various breeds of kyloes, more or less improved, prevail. Aberdeenshire is a great grazing land, and in this and the adjacent counties there are many spirited and successful breeders. Great numbers of cattle from this part of Scot- land are purchased by the English graziers for the London market. In the Shetland Islands, the Orkneys, and the northern counties of Scotland, a small, shaggy breed of cattle, evidently of the same stock as the kyloes of the western isles, is com- monly to be seen. Stunted in growth by hard fare on the bleak moorlands, still these dwai-flsh cattle have much to recommend tliem. They are fitted for then- high northern locality ; their deep, rough curly coat defends them against the severities of the winter ; they live where most other cattle would starve ; in some favoured spots they even fatten ; and if transported to some tolerable pas- tiu'age, become ripe for the butcher with incredible rapidity. But they do not thrive if taken too far south ; they become enen'ated ; they pine in the midst of plenty ; -and disappoint the hopes of the grazier. Within late years this breed of slots has been improved, by crossings with the kyloes of the western isles and the Ai-gyleshire strain; and excellent cattle are sent to the south, to be fattened in congenial pastures. In Ayrslui'e, Carrick, and the adjacent por- tion of the Lowlands, there is an admirable breed of milch cattle, independently of those that are grazed there for the butcher, which, from whatever source they originated, owe much to the care and selection of judicious breeders. At some period or other there has evidently been a cross of the Durham or Holderness, and perhaps also of tlie Alderuey. This breed, which became established from the middle to the close of the eighteenth centmy, has found its way not only into England, but also into Ireland and Wales ; recommended by the excellency of the cows as mdkers, although they are under the middle size. It has been estimated that a good Ayrshire cow will yield, for two or three months after calving, five gallons of milk daily ; for the next three months, three gallons daily ; and a gallon and a half for the fol- lowing three months. This milk is calculated to return about two hundred and fifty pounds of AYRSHIRE COW butter amiually, or five hundred pounds of cheese. The foregoing estimate is, however, somewhat ex- aggerated ; and, perhaps, during the best of the season, four or fom- and a half gallons of milk is the average product daily of a good cow, kept in fair condition. Every thirty-two gallons of un- skimmed milk will yield about twenty-four pounds of cheese, and ninety gallons, twenty-four pounds of butter. We are supposing a good farm, and a first-rate stock of Ayrshire cows ; and, consider- ing the size of the cattle, this return from each cow is very considerable. The mode in which the cows are treated by an entei^prising and successful farmer, of Kirkuni, is thus detailed : — He " keeps his cows constantly in the byre (or shed), till the grass has risen so as to afford them a full bite. Many put them out e veiy good day through the mnter and spring, but they poach the ground with their feet, and nip up the young grass as it begins to spring ; which, as they have not a full meal, in- jures the cattle. Wlienever the weather becomes dry and hot, he feeds his cows on cut grass in the byi'e, from six o'clock in the morning to six at night, and tm-ns them out to pastm'e the other twelve hoiu's. When rain comes, the house-feed- ing is discontinued. WTienever the pastm-e grass begins to fail in harvest, the cows receive a supply of the second growth of clover, and afterwards of turnips strewed over the pasture-ground. Wlien the weather becomes stormy, in the months of Oc- tober and November, the cows are kept in the byre during the night, and in a short time after- wards during both night and day : they ai'e then fed on oat-straw and turnips, and continue to yield a considerable quantity of mUk for some time. Part of the turnip crop is eaten at the end of harvest and beginning of winter, to protract the milk, and part is stored up for green food dm'ing the wmter. After this store is exhausted, the Swedish turnip and potatoes are used along with diy fodder, tiU the grass can support the cows. Chaff, oats, and potatoes ai'e boiled for the cows after calving, and they are generally fed on rye-grass dming the latter part of the spring." In this part of Scotland, a peculiarly rich cheese, termed Dmilop cheese (from the district of that name, in Cumiingham, where it was first made), is prepared. It is the product of the unsldmmed milk ; but common or mferior cheese is also made from the milk after it is skimmed. With regai-d to the Ayrshii-e breed of cattle, as fitted for the grazier, it is less so than for the dairy-farmer ; nevertheless, in rich lands, the oxen fatten with considerable facility, and even the cows accumidate flesh; but, then, they cease to yield much milk, and, as there are decidedly better "breeds for the purpose of the grazier, few are purchased by the great cattle-dealers for de- pasturing on the luxm-iant feeding-grounds of England. Undoubtedly their great value is as milkers, and that piincipally in their own terri- tory, to the feed and climate of which they seem to be constitutionally adapted. The improved Ayrshire cow, of the present day, has the head small, but rather long, and narrow at the muzzle, though the space between 76 the roots of the horns is considerable ; the horns are small and crooked, the e.ye is clear and lively, the neck long and slender, and almost destitute of a dewlap; the shoulders are thin, and the fore- quarters generally light; the back is straight, and broad behind, especially across the hips, which are roomy ; the tail is long and thin. The carcass is deep, the udder capacious and square, the milk- vein large and prominent; the limbs are small and short, but well knit ; the thighs are thin ; the skin is rather thin, but loose and soft, and covered •with soft hair. The general figure, though small, is well proportioned. The colour is varied with mingled white and sandy-red. The bulls mostly preferred by the dairy fanners are comparatively light in the head and neck, broad in the hips, and full in the flanks ; the neck is arched above, the horns are short and wide apart, and the limbs short, but muscular. It has been calculated that there are in Ayr- shire upwards of 60,000 head of cattle, of which, more than half are dairy-cows. In Lanarkshire, celebrated for the rearing of calves, the Ayrshire cattle, which are chiefly in request, acquire more weight and size, and are heavier in the fore-quarters than those reared in the latter county ; they are superior in grazing qualities, and not much deteriorated as milkers. Much butter and cheese ai'e manufactured along the banks of the Clyde, chiefly for the supply of Glasgow, Edinburgh, and other large towns, which receive, also, great quantities of the delicate veal which is reared and fed in the district of Strath- haven, along the borders of Ayrshire. The fattening of calves for the market is an important business in Lanarkshire, or Clydesdale; and numbers of newly-dropped calves are regularly bought up from the farmers of the adjacent districts, in order to be prepared for the butcher. The mode of feeding them is very simple : milk is the cliief article of their diet; and of this the calves requhe a suffi- cient supply from first to last ; added to this, they must be kept in a well-aired place, neither too hot nor too cold, and freely supplied with dry litter. It is usual to exclude the light, at all events to a great degree, and to put a lump of chalk within their reach, which they are fond of licldng. Thus fed, calves, in the course of eight or nine weeks, often attain to a very large size, — viz., eighteen to twenty-six stones, exclusive of the offal ; far heavier weights have occurred, and that mthout any deterioration in the delicacy and richness of the flesh. This mode of feeding upon milk alone, at first, appears to be expensive ; but it is not so, when all things are taken into consideration ; for, at the age of nine or ten weeks, a calf, originally purchased for eight shillings, will realize seven or eight pounds. For four, or even six weeks, the milk of .one cow is sufficient, — indeed, half the quantity for the first fortnight; but afterwards it \rill consume the greater portion of the milk of two moderate cows ; but, then, it requires neither oilcake nor linseed, nor any other food. Usually, however, the calves are not kept beyond the age of six weeks, and -will then sell for five or six pounds each : the milk of the cow is then ready for a successor. In this manner, a relay of calves may be prepared for the markets from early spring to the end of summer, — a plan more advantageous than that of over-feeding one to a useless degree of corpulence. In Lanarkshire, many black cattle are fed in the upland grazing tracts of the eastern portion ; they are usually turned into the pastures in the autumn, after the coarse grass is made into hay, which is to supply them during the depth of winter. In the spring they are sold off, and taken by the drovers into the pastures of England, &c., a fresh relay being purchased for the next autumn and winter grazing. In the Lothians, and south-eastern parts of Scotland, many cattle are kept, both for the pur- poses of the dairy-fanner and the grazier. The breeds are various ; for the dairy, the Ayrsliire and the Roxburgh cow are in great request, the latter being a cross between the Durham or Holdemess short-horned bull and a kyloe cow. In some parts the pastm-age will support the large and heavy short-horns, in their purity. In the neigh- bourhood of Jedburgh, Kelso, A'C, a great quantity of veal is fattened for the market. Black cattle, short-horned bullocks, in fact, cattle of several breeds and mLxtures, are fed in the pasture-lands, or stalled during the winter on hay, straw, and turnips. The influence of the pastoral or agricultural societies generally tends to the extension of the improved short-horns, from Dm-ham, &c., the value of which is fully appreciated, and by means of which decided modifications of the older races are in progress. This portion of Scotland contains much fine land, devoted both to tillage and pasture; and every branch of agriculture is carried on with intelligence and activity. In the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, large dairies are kejit for the supply of the city with milk : many of these establish- ments are excellently managed. The cows are fed upon fresh grains from an ale-brewery, half a bushel being given to each cow twice a day, and also two feeds of grass or turnips ; or, when they can be procured, tares, and similar articles of green fodder. A little salt is supplied with each meal, as it promotes digestion and preserves the animal's health. A warm infusion of the sjjroutings of malt, in which a due quantity of salt is dissolved, is by many given tmce a day. One bushel of malt \rill make sufficient of this infusion (boiling water being used) for forty cows at one time. 77 Some give an alternate meal of steamed potatoes and fresh turnips ; but others prefer giving the potatoes raw, as they tend to the production of •milk. Potatoes boiled till they dissolve in the water, and given with salt, are found to enrich the milk. At the commencement of the turnip season, it is the plan of some to give less of the infusion of malt-sproutings as drink, and to sub- stitute distillers' grouts, or "draff," in order to ensure the quality of the milk. Some dairymen change their stock, or the greater part of it, every year, fattening off, or selling the cows, as soon as they become dry; and purchasing others which have recently calved, to take their place, thereby ensuring an uninter- rupted supply of milk througliout the year. It is not from these establishments that the buttermilk used in Edinburgh (as it is throughout Scotland generally) is sent out, but from the dauy-farms of the country around. We may now turn to the polled or hornless races of cattle, of which Galloway furnishes us with a breed remarkable for many excellences. We have already said that we do not regard the polled cattle as distinct from the honied breeds, with which in general form, contour, and qualities, they closely agree. We see little essen- tial difference between the polled cattle of Galloway and those of Argj'leshire, or Arran, — in every re- spect they are black cattle, or kyloes, only destitute of honis. If, then, we arrange the polled breeds under a separate head, it is more for the sake of convenience than of absolute propriety. The Polled Stock of Cattle. — The semi- wild cattle of Chatelherault Park, in Lanarkshire, the descendants of an ancient race, are mostly, if not always polled, — and probably the present polled black cattle of Galloway may be derived from the same ancestry. Formerly, few polled cattle were to be seen in this district of Scotland ; but within the last cen- tury the breed has greatly prevailed, and it is highly valued. Occasionally, cattle make their appearance with very minute or rudimentary horns, attached, however, to the skin merely, and not sheathing a bony core, indications of a tendency to the acqui- sition of these natural weapons ; and were the point to be followed up by the breeder, these might be soon restored. The breeder, however, is interested in keeping his polled Galloways pure ; they are in great request by the grazier, they are of considerable size, fatten readily, accumula- ting flesh on the best parts ; they are less \vild than the homed black cattle, and less quarrelsome, and under certain cu'cumstances, as on ship-board, may be packed somewhat closer than the others. A well-bred Galloway ox is of admirable form : all is close and compact ; the barrel is romided and ribbed home to the hip-bones ; the chest is deep, the shoulders thick and broad ; the neck short and tluck ; the head clean ; the back straight and broad ; the limbs short, but ex- tremely muscular ; the skin moderate, but mel- low, and well covered with long soft hair, — that on the ears, which are large, is peculiarly rough and long. GALLOWAV OX. 78 In the bull, the head is hea^7, the neek thick, and boldly erected above ; the frontal crest or ridge is elevated and covered with long hair ; and the general form is robust, vfith great depth of chest and roundness of barrel. The cow is much lighter, but j'et presents those points which attract the regard of the grazier. As a milker she is inferior ; for though her milk is rich, it is deficient in quantity, and on the average will u(it amount to more than six or eight quarts per day, during the summer months, after which it rapidly diminishes. This inferiority as it re- spects milk is of little importance to the Galloway farmer, his chief pursuit being the rearing of graz- ing stock ; consequently, as a rule, he never kills his calves, but looks to profit from them at a future day. These are generally dropped at the latter part of winter, or very early in spring, and are per- mitted access to the mother, at certain times daily, as long as she continues in milk. For the first five months the dairy-maid and the calf, morning and evenmg, divide the contents of the udder pretty equally between them ; after this period, when the calf begins to gi'aze, its allowance is di- minished, till, the cow drying, this supply is of course stopped altogether. During the winter the young animal is housed at night, and fed upon hay, turnips, and potatoes, with a liberal hand. Of the calves bred, a few of the most promis- ing females only are resei-ved as breeders, — the other females are rendered sterile ; heifers in this condition fatten with great rapidity, arrive veiy early at maturity, and as their meat is deemed pe- culiarly delicate, sell for good prices. Some of these heifers have attained to singular weights for their stature, — one of great beauty, called the Queen of the Scots, fed in Norfolk, and exhibited at the Smithfield cattle show, a few years since, weighed one hundred and ninety stones, of eight pounds to the stone. She stood five feet two inches at the shoulder, and was a model. ]\Iany thousands of jjolled cattle are sent from Galloway eveiy year to the south, and rapidly fat- ten in pastures but little more luxm-iant than those on which they were reared, although it must be confessed, that there are in Galloway, fine tracts both of grass and white clover. It is chiefly in Norfolk and Suffolk that the polled Galloways are fed for the London markets, they are pm'chased by the drovers, or jobbers, at the various cattle fairs in the district, often in large numbers, and are then sent onwards in droves of two or three hundred, preceded by a man called the topsman, who makes arrangements for their rest at different stations, and takes care that sufficient grass, hay, or turnips are provided for them. In about three weeks they arrive in Norfolk, the travelling expenses amount- ing to about twenty-four shillings a head in summer, and thbty-four or thirty-five shillings in winter. The average cost of a stirk in his second year, is from three to four pounds ; in the third year, sLx or seven pounds ; and of oxen in the fomth year, ten, eleven, or twelve pounds, taken by the lot. Hence it is apparent that a jobber who purchases, six or eight hundred head of cattle, (whether he pay in bills, or cash) involves himself in a serious undertaking ; if he clears from three to five shil- lings a head, he is amply remimerated, but should the markets in Norfolk or Suffolk be low, he must sell at a loss, and may thus be rained ; moreover, he must expecL some casualties on the road, and these must be taken into the account. Besides these large speculators, there are others who travel from fair to fair, and purchase cattle, varying according to the extent of their means, from twenty to a hundred head ; these they resell, or drive over the borders to Carlisle, in hopes of disposing of them to advantage at the cattle fairs. If successful, they return liome to make fresh purchases, and soon set off again for the English borders. Thus the stock of the Gal- loway breeders is continually changing hands, twenty-five, or perhaps tliirty thousand head of cattle being thus annually transferred to the Eng- lish pasture-lands. In Dumfries, the largest cattle market in the south of Scotland is held, and here vast numbers of polled black cattle are bought and sold. A very fine polled breed of cattle has long ex- isted m Angus (Forfarshire) and the adjacent parts of Ivincardinesliire. This breed is closely allied to, or perhaps is really identical with that of Gal- loway, and is equally celebrated for its quietness of disposition, its tendency to fatten, and its fitness for stall-feeding. These cattle are, however, more apt to be somewhat marked with white than the Galloway, they generally rmi larger, are longer in the leg, thinner on the shoulder, and flatter in the side ; on the whole, perhaps, they ai-e not equal to the Galloways in the fineness of the meat ; never- theless, some beasts of extraordinary quality have been exhibited and gained prizes, both at the shows of the Highland Society of Perth, and those of Smithfield. There is considerable difference both in the climate and in the treatment to which the Gallo- way and Angus doddies are resjJectively subject. In Galloway, the climate is generally moist, and after the first winter the cattle are kept in the pas- tures, and supplied with hay only during the seve- rities of the season. In Forfarshire, on the con- trary, which is a great tuniip comity, the cattle are wintered in straw-yards, and supplied with turnips as well as dry fodder, and grazed on dry pastures during the summer. Hence, perhaps, the superiority of size in the Angus cattle to the Galloways, their sleeker coat, and their gene- rally better condition, when sold off to the drover ; 19 iiovertlieless, when driven to the south, they do not quite so well answer the expectations of the grazier or the butcher ; — probably they thrive best iu their own district, to the soil and climate of which they are peculiarly adapted, and to which they owe their characteristics. Still, however, they remunerate the grazier, and at the fairs of Brechin and Forfor great numbers are purchased by the Euglish dealers, In this district many calves are fattened for the butcher, and great care is taken in rearing them ; a cow often gives suck to two calves — her own and a stranger ; and in this case they are allowed to drain her udder (one on each side) three times a day : when these are weaned, two other calves supply their place. The first set are weaned and ready for grass early iu May, the second set early in August. After this, a single calf, destined for the butcher, is put to the cow ; and thus, five calves are suckled ; the four first being usually in- tended for stock. Such, at least, is the plan fol- lowed by some of the large breeders, who have extensive cow-houses, and eveiy convenience for attending to cattle, and who cany on the business with spirit. Among these, Mr. Youatt particu- larizes Mr. Watson, of Keillor, as a gentleman whose judicious efforts in the rearing and improve- ment of this breed were crowned with marked success. We are informed that this gentleman obtained more than one himdred prizes, besides several valualde pieces of plate ; and that he raised the Keillor breed to the highest possible grade of excellence At the same time Mr. Youatt acltnow- ledges, that "the Angus polled cattle generally are not of that superior quality and value which an ac- count of the Keillor breed would seem to indicate, or, what is the case with many other breeds, they are exceedingly valualile in their own climate, and on their own soil, but they do not answer the somewhat unreasonable expectations of their pur- chasers when driven to the south." Leaving Scotland for England, we shall find that the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk present us with polled breeds of cattle, not originals of the two counties respectively, but the result of the in- troduction of the polled cattle of Scotland. Formerly, it appears that the Norfolk cattle were of the middle-horned breed, somewhat resem- bling the Devons ; but this breed gi-adually gave way before the Galloways, of which Norfolk was one of the chief feeding districts for the London mar- kets. It was rational that the farmers, seeing the superior value of the latter, should endeavour to naturalize them ; and this they not only accom- plished, but, in process of time, then- old stock laecame almost entu'ely superseded. Yet the Nor- folk polled cattle have departed from the pure Galloway type ; and this is what might have been anticipated. Change of soil and climate, perhaps, with other causes, have produced their effects ; and though the characteristics of the Galloway breed are not lost, they are greatly modified. The cows are, perhaps, somewhat improved as milkei's, but the cattle generally stand higher on the limbs than do the Galloways, and are flatter in the ribs and thinner iu the chine ; they are taller, but not so KORFOLS' BULL AND COW. SUFFOLK COW. heavy for their stature ; they do not feed so rapidly, nor is the meat so fine in grain. Some are black, but most are of a red tint, often more or less varied with white. It must be confessed, however, that ^vith regard to the excellence of these cattle there is great difference; perhaps the regular accession of pm-e Galloways militates generally against any veiy e.xtensive efforts by way of then- improvement: yet it is certain that where their cultivation has been properly attended to, great success has been the result. Another point which tells against them, is the introduction and spread of the Durham and Yorkshii-e short-horns ; nor must we overlook the Devon breed, which by many landed proprietors in Norfolk is higlily esteemed. It is by Devon oxen that the farm- labour in Norfolk is performed, as far, at least, as these animals are employed ; and Devon cows are much used for the purpose of the dairy. In Suffolk a breed of polled cattle, Imomi by the name of Suffolk duns, has been long cele- brated ; though the dun colour is now by no means a common character ; indeed it is not preferred ; for with late improvements other colom-s, as red, red and white, brindled, and yellowish or creamy white, have almost abolished the dun. There can be little doubt but that the polled Suffolk cattle owe their origin to the Galloways ; not that they are of the pm^e strain of the Galloways : on the contrary, they are the result of interbreedings ■vrith them ; and their chief qualifications ai'e as milkers, rather than feeders ; although, in this latter respect, even the lean cows when di'ied show no little of the properties of their Galloway pro- genitors. A good Suffolk milking cow is lean and spare, with a light thin head, a clean neck, and little dewlap ; slender, but short limbs ; a heavy and well-ribbed carcass, a large udder, and swollen milk-veius. Generally the hip-bones are high and prominent, the loins narrow, and the chine hol- low. There is in all this nothing of the true Galloway contour, and where the points charac- teristic of this breed prevail, though but in an inferior degree, the animal is fitter for the feeder than the dairyman. Few cattle excel the Suffolk as milkers ; a good cow, in the plenitude of her milk, will often yield six gallons a day ; some have even yielded eight : nor is the milk destitute of richness, espe- cially when the animals have good pasturage. Mr. Culley, who says that the best butter and worst cheese are made in Suffolk, gives the following summary as the yearly produce of one of these cows, which, "like all other deep milkers, are very lean, very plain, and very big-bellied." He quotes Mr. Young as his authority : Three firkins of butler (one firkin ^ cwt.) 4 16 Three quarters of a wey of cheese .... 1 4 A hog 1 0 A calf 0 10 He adds, that the weight of this breed of cattle is, on an average, about fifty stones. Mr. Parkinson has a different calculation : he 81 considers the quantity of butter as amounting to one hundred and eighty four lbs. ; which, at one shilling per lb., will return 9/. 4s. : a hog, 21.; the calf, 15s. ; and the skim-milk cheese from 2Z. 5s. to 2Z. 15s. Total about Ul. 13s. Perhaps the medium between these two state- ments approximates to the tmth. Mr. Youatt says that fifty thousand firkins of butter are sent to London each year from Suffolk ; but we do not know on what grounds he makes his estimate. With respect to Suffolk cheese, it ia, as Bloomfield says, " the well-known butt of many a flinty joke." " If drought o'ertalve it faster than the knife. Most fair it bids for stubborn len{2[th of life ; And, MVe the oaltcn shelf whereon 't is laid, Mocks the weak efforts of the bending blade j Or in the hog-trough rests, in perfect spite, Too big to swallow, and too hard to bite." The Suffolk dairy-farmers in general pay but little attention to then- breed of cattle ; or, rather, are actuated by no sound principles. They usually kill the bulls in their fourth year, irrespective of their intrinsic excellence ; and the valuable and the worthless share the same fate : consequently, should the progeny of any particular bull exhibit more than ordinarily good qualities, the chance is, that no advantage can be taken of the discovery, the sire ha\'ing been, slaughtered before it was made. Besides, the bull is in perfection from liis fourth to his seventh year ; and this is an im- portant consideration. The heifers also are bred from at too early an age, before the system is fairly matured ; in consequence of which their growth is stopped, or their constitution enfeebled. Indeed, unless the cows display more than ordinary qualities as milkers, it is not unusual to fatten tliem for the butcher, even at four years of age ; a plan which surely cannot be commended. When dried, the Suffolk polled cow acquires a good condition mth considerable rapidity, and fattens to forty or forty-five stones ; the meat is of good quality — that, indeed, of the ox very su- perior. Besides the polled cattle we have here noticed, varieties destitute of horns occur, which confessedly belong to a homed race, and must not be consi- dered as distinct. For instance, there are polled Devonshire cattle, or rials, as they are termed, which, in all points, the horns excepted, exhibit the characters of that breeil. There are polled cattle of the short-homed or Yorkshire breed : the fact is, as we have before intimated, there are polled cattle of most breeds ; the absence of horns is a mere accidental defect, rendered hereditaiy by the interbreeding of the cattle thus deficient ; but these cattle, nevertheless, often exhibit a ten- dency to the development of their natural horns, or, indeed, show more than rudiments of them : so that it would be easy to extract a horned from a polled stock. Hence, then, we regard the dis- tinction between polled cattle and others as arbi- trary, or to be made only for convenience, unless there are other grounds of separation. Vast numbers of pure Galloways, and many Welsh and Irish cattle, are fed in Suffolk : short- horns have been also introduced, and some Devons are also to be seen. Norfolk and Suffolk are both great turnip counties. We may now turn to the breed of cattle known mider the title of short-horns, a breed which, irre- spective of the form or length of the horns, has good claims to be regarded as constituting a dis- tinct variety, and which, by the judicious exertions of various cultivators, has been elevated to a state of high perfection. The Short-Iiqrned Breed. — This breed, called by many the Dutch breed, and believed to be ori- ginally from Holland, has been long knowni in the counti^ of Durham and York, where the cows are held in high reputation as milkers ; but the oxen were indilferent feeders, their skin red, coarse in the offal, ill-formed, and produced meat of an inferior quality. How great is the change which the breeder's pains and care have effected ! In no strain of cattle is this more palpable ; for now, while their milking properties are preserved, the tendency to fatten is brought to a very high ratio ; and these qualities are combined with size, a mag- nificent figure, the production of beef most beau- tifully grained, and of the highest excellence. Qualities, indeed, hitherto considered as incom- patible with each other, meet together in the im- proved short-horns of Holdemess or Teeswater celebrity. In Mr. CuUey's time (" Obs. on Live Stock," 4th edit., 1807) we find, from his o'^vii statement, the great improvement which had taken place in this breed. He obsen^es, that these cattle differ from others '-in the shortness of their horns, and being wider and thicker in their form and mould, feeding, consequently, to the most weight; in affording by much the greatest quantity of tal- low when fattened ; in having very thin hides, with much less hair upon them than any other breeds, .Aldemeys excepted. But the most essen- tial difference consists in the quantity of milk which they give beyond any other breed. The great quantity of milk, thinness of their hides, and little hair, is probably the reason why they are tenderer than the other kinds, Aldemeys ex- cepted. It is said of this kind, and, I suppose, very justly, tliat they eat more food than any of the other breeds ; nor shall we wonder at this when we consider tliat they excel in these three valuable particulai-s, — viz., in affording the greatest quantity of beef, tallow, and milk. Their colours are much varied ; but the generality are red and SHORT-tlOBN vhite mixed, or what the breeders call flecked : ■when properly mixed the colour is very pleasing and agreeable." Much in Mr. Culley's time re- mained to be done ; but he says, " In a journey through Lincolnshire, I was happy to find that many sensible breeders had improved their breed of short-homed cattle (since my visiting that fine countiy ten years before) by good bulls and heifers, brought from the counties of Durham and York, on both sides of the Tees, where the best are con- fessedly bred. In another excursion, in 1789, I met with a Mr. Tindale, of , near Sleaford, who had the best breed of cattle which I ever saw in that county, and perhaps inferior to few in any part of the kingdom. I was shown an ox, near Lincoln, of this breed, that for tiiie form and nice handling exceeded any bullock I ever remem- ber to have seen." With respect to the milking properties of these cattle, the same writer states that there are instances of cows giving thirty-six quarts of milk per day, and of forty-eight firkins of butter being made from a dairy of twelve cows during the season ; but the general quantity is twenty-four quarts of milk per day, and three firkins of butter, from a cow. The improvement in the short-horns, which commenced on the banks of the Tees, under the superintendence of spirited individuals, not only continued progressive, but extended its influence around. By what crosses the Teeswater strain became established it is scarcely possible to say ; there is, we believe, some reason for thinking tliat one was with the semi-wild white breed, and another with choice cattle imported directly from Holland. Be this as it may, the Teeswater stock became celebrated, though still not perfect, the oxen being often extravagantly large, and, some- times, npt tnie in their proportions. We hear of an ox bred by Mr. ]\Iilbauk, which, when slaugh- tered, at five years old, weighed (the four quarters) 150 stones, of fourteen pounds to the stone, pro- ducing sixteen stones of tallow, — and of a cow, killed at the age of twelve years, w'hich weighed upwards of 110 stones. It was reserved for Mr. C. CoUings to accomplish the perfection of the Tees- water breed, already so excellent. It was by acci- dent that this experienced breeder became pos- sessed of a young bull (a calf when Mr. Ceilings purchased him), in which he discovered qualities adapted, as he thought, and as it proved, to elevate the strain. This bull he named Hubback ; he was smaller than the generality of the Teeswater cattle, of excellent contom-, and with an extraordinary propensity to fatten, insomuch that his utility as a bull was limited to a short period. From this bull descended a renowned stock ; he was the sire of the dam of the celebrated bull Foljambe, and Foljambe was the sire both of the sire and dam of Favourite, the sire of the " Durham Ox," which, in Fe- bruaiy 1801, was sold for public exhibition. In improving his breed Mr. C. Collings had recourse to a single cross with the polled Galloway ; he then bred back to the short-horns, and the result was a stock called the Alloy, at first in contempt, but afterwards by way of distinction. His cross was between a short-homed bull, called Boling- 88 broke, and a beautiful red Galloway cow, wluch produced a bull-calf; this, in due time, was the sire of a bull-calf by a pure short-horned cow called Johaima ; this latter bull-calf again became the sire of the cow Lady, by a pure short-hora cow, which was tlie dam also of the noted bull Favourite. Thus was the Alloy stock founded. Of the esti- mation in which this stock was held some idea may be formed when we state, that, by public auc- tion, the cow Lady, at the age of fourteen, sold for two hundred and six: guineas ; a daughter of the same cow, called Countess, at nine years old, for four hundred guineas ; another daughter, Laura, at four years old, for two hundred and ten guineas; a son, Major, three years old, for two hundred guineas ; another, George, still a calf, for one hundred and thirty guineas. Mr. Bailey, in his " Survey of Durham," gives a return of the sale of part of Mr. C. Collings's stock, in October 1810, with the names of the pur- chasers. Omitting the latter, we maybe permitted to give a transcript of the catalogue, which is far from being destitute of interest: Cherry . . , Kate . . . . . Peeress Countess , Celina . . , Johanna . Lady . . Cathlene , Laura Lily . . Daisy Cora.. .. Beauty., Red Rose Flora .. Miss Peg Magdalei Old Cherry . . Cherry Lady Countess . . . . Johanna . . . . Old Phoenii.. Daughter of d. of Phoenix Lady Daisy Old Daisy . . Countess . . . . Miss Wash- ington Eliza Heifer by Washington Sire. Favourite.. . Comet Favourite. . . Cupid Favourite.. . Grandson of Boiingbroke Washington., Favourite .... Comet Grandson of Favourite Favourite. . . . Marsh Comet S. of Favourite Comet . . . Mayduke Comet . . Petrarch Comet . . Mayduke Comet . . 170 400 200 130 206 210 410 140 Comet Yarborough .... Major Mayduke Petrarch Northumberland Alfred Duke Alexander .... Ossian Harold Phoenix .... Lady Cherry Old Venus . . Venus Duchess .... Cora Magdalene .. Red Rose .... Sire. Favourite. . . . Comet Favourite .... Comet Favourite Windsor .... 200 atj5 BULL CALVES UNDER ONE YEAR OLD. Ketton Young Favourite Gurse Sir Dimple .... Narcissus, Albion Cecil Cherry. . Countess Lady .. Daisy .. Flora .. Beauty . . Peeres's -- Dam. Sire. Price. Guiluu. Phffibe % D. by Favourite Comet .... 105 Yount; Duchess . 9, » » 183 Young Laura . . 9 Laura 101 Lucy 9 (1 by Washington „ 13-2 Charlotte 1 Cathlene .... 139 Johanna 1 Johanna 35 808 HEIFER CALVES UNDER ONE YEAR OLD. Name. Dam. Sire. Price. Gumeu. Lucilla Calista White Rose Ruby Cowslip Laura Cora Lily Red Rose Comet Yarborough .... Comet 106 50 75 50 _?£ 306 In September, 1818, Mr. Robert Collings's stock was sold off, and realized prices equal to those obtained by Mr. Charles Collings (his brother). Cue 2 year oM Cow sold for 331 guineas. One 4 year old Cow sold for 300 guineas. One 5 year old Cow sold for 370 guineas. One 4 year old Bull-calf sold for 270 guineas. One 4 year old Bull sold for 621 guineas. Besides these successful breeders, others of scarcely less note appeared in the field, and to the result of their labours the general elevation of the pre- sent race of short-horns is o\^ing ; nor have they degenerated in the hands of their successors. There are at the present time, gentlemen who engage with great spirit in this patriotic work, and whose respective stocks have gained great and deserved celebrity. There is in the present improved short-homs, a union of many qualities, once deemed incom- patible : early maturity, quick feeding, and that to a great weight, an abundance of inside fat, and meat of a fine grain, while the cows are plentiful and steady milkers, and fatten rapidly when dried ; these are the cliaracteristics of the breed. Many improvers, it is tioie, look rather to the grazing properties of these cattle, and forget their value for the dairy; they esteem them in proportion to their early arri\'iug at maturity, and '"^.--^ Wi &w SHOUT-HORN their aptitude to fatten ; and selecting tlieir breed- ing stock with such views, the milking properties of the cows become in reality diminished. But this is to develop one e.x^cellency at the expense of another, and that without necessity ; for in this breed, as has been abundantly proved, both quahties can e.xist, not of course at the same time, for the milking cow does not fatten mitil dried, but in subjection one to the other. If indeed the milk yielded by the improved short-homs be somewhat less in quantity than that given by the old imim- proved strain, it is of far richer quality, and returns more butter in proportion. Nearly four gallons of EOilk have been yielded, morning and evening, even by the highest bred short-homs, and some have even given more ; and these very cattle have proved, after having been dried and fattened, admi- rable in the carcass. To the dairy-farmer, there- fore, the short-homs are as valuable as to the gra- zier ; and indeed it is with cows of an improved short-horn breed, from Yorkshire or Durham, that the great dairies for the supply of London with milk are stocked. The Yorkshire cow indeed has always been a favourite with the London daii7men ; but formerly, when diy, she fattened slowly, con- sumed nmch food, and therefore sold to a disad- vantage : but the improved breed fattens with sur- prising rapidity, and whether the dairyman keep his cows one year or three, and then sells them, or feeds them, for the butcher, they return a profit. The short-lioms of Holderness, and, indeed, pf Yorkshire generally, owe their modern im- provement to judicious crossings, and especially to the influence of the Teeswater and Alloy strains. It must not, however, be supposed that the old breed is universally improved; on the contraiy, many of the dairy-farmers give the rough breed the preference, partly from prejudice, and partly because the milking properties of the improved breed have been more or less sacrificed to the de- velopment of a constitutional tendency to the accumulation of fat. Mr. Youatt, referring to this subject, well observes, " Experience has gradually established the fact, that it is prudent to sacrifice a sniall portion of the milk to assist in feeding, when the cow is too old to continue in the dairy, or when, as in the neighbourhood of large towns, her seiTices as a dairy cow are dispensed ivith at an early age. This cross being judiciously ma- naged, the diminution of milk is so small, and the tendency to fatten so great, that the opinion of Mr. Sale is correct, — " I have always found in my stock, that the best milkers, when dried for feeding, make the most fat in the least time.' This is a doctrine which wll be better understood and universally acknowledged by and by, for many of the improvers of the short-horns have but half done justice to their excellent stock. He would deserve well of his country who, with skill and means sufficient, would devote himself to the illustration of this point." It is a remarkable fact, that the short-homed cow improves both in the quantity and quality of her milk as she grows older; that is, a cow of six years of age is superior, as a milker, to one of two DURHAM OX. or three years of age ; and her milk \wll jdelcl more butter in proportion. The milk of a single cow, on which the experiment was made, retm-ned 373 lbs. of butter, in the space of thirty-two weeks; the lowest weekly amount being seven lbs., the highest, sixteen. Her milk, during the time, averaged nearly twenty quarts per day; her food was grass and cut clover until the turnip season ; but the pasture was not of first-rate quality. With abimdant proofs of the value of the short-horns as mOkers, it is the breeder's interest not to neglect this point, which is compatible with every property he can desire. The weight to which some of the improved short-homshave been fed is astonishing. The " Dur- ham Ox," when slaughtered.was 165 imp. St. 131bs. the four quarters, besides 3'ielding 11 st. 2 lbs. of tallow; the hide weighed 10 st. '2 lbs. His age was eleven 3'ears. Many high-fed oxen, at three or four yeai-s of age, weigh from one hundred to one hundred and twenty stone the four quarters, and some much more. One of the most extraordinaiy oxen of the pure short-horn breed, was an animal fed in Lin- colnshire by Lord Yarborough, and exhibited under the erroneous appellation of the "Lincoln- shire Ox" ; he measured five feet six inches in height at the shoulders, eleven feet ten inches to the root of the tail, eleven feet one inch in girth, and three feet tliree inches across the hips, shoulders, and middle of the back. His breast was only fom'teen inches from the groimd. The depth of the fore quartere, and tlie comparatively shortness of the limbs, are characteristics of this high-bred strain. The short-horns are in the present day every where spreading, and their value is generally ap- preciated ; it may reasonably be expected that in a few years they will either supersede or greatly modify the old breeds of most of the English gi'azing and breeding districts. Crosses between the Durham bull and Devonshire cows have proved in all respects admirable ; their quaUty of flesh, aptitude to fatten, and milking properties being first-rate, while, at the same time, they ex- ceed the pure Devons in size. There is in Lincolnshire a breed of short- horns, well known in the London markets as "Dutch cattle," or " Lincolns," which present us ■«ith none, or but few, of the characteristics of the high-bred Durham or Holderness breeds ; they m-e large-boned, coarse, and hea^-y in the head ; with the limbs high, and the loins and hips wide : the meat is coarse-gramed, and the fat not well laid on. The cows, as milkers, are moderate ; they are mostly white and red ; but a dim variety is also to be seen, which was introduced by Sir C . Buck, of Hanby Grange, about the middle of the last centuiy. This dun stock appears to be of mixed origin. We must not suppose that no improvements have been effected in the coarse Lincolnshire breed ; on the contraiy, several successful attempts have been made, and particularly by crosses with the Durham, by means of which the size of the bone, and the imgainly form, were materially 86 altered for tlie better; while a dispositiou to fatten more rapidly also resulted. These crossed Lin- colns are, therefore, far more valuable than those of the old strain, but still are deficient in the fine- ness of the grain of the meat. Besides these, there is an improved breed called the " Tumills," from the name of its founder, Captain Tuniill, of Eeesby-on the-Wold. Whether he effected his object by crossing ■with some other breed, or simply by a judicious selec- tion of the native stock, is not well known ; but, certainly, he was very successful, and produced an animal, lighter in the head, finer in the form, far less bony, less high on the limbs, fuller in the breast, and round in the barrel. Their general contour is good, and they evince a propensity to fatten rapidly. Some of the Lincolnshire farm- ers still prize and cultivate this breed, which has excellent grazing qualities, the oxen soon becom- ing ripe for the market, especially when put up for stall-feeding, a plan which seems to suit them admirably. They are generally bought at the age of three years, in a lean state, by the jobbers or the graziers, and are ready for the butcher in the com^se of the ensuing summer or autumn. Lincolnshire, besides its own breed, presents us with various others ; many Irish cattle are fed there, as well as cattle from the north, and also from Yorkshire and Durham ; destined mostly for London. The farmers, who look to dairy qualities, have mixed breeds of almost every description ; which answer their pm^pose very well, being, in general, good milkers. Under the head of short-horns, will range the Nonnandy, Guernsey, or Alderney cattle, which, though originally from the French continent, are now naturalized in our island. These cattle pre- vail in Hampshire, especially near the coast ; but inland are crossed with other breeds, and, perhaps, most successfully with the Devons, both as re- spects milking and feeding qualities. The Alderney cattle are angular, and awk- wardly shaped, — of small size, thin-necked, small boned, with high shoulders, hollow behind, short in the rump, -n-ith pendent bellies, and a voracious appetite. The cows yield only a small portion of milk, but it is of the most extraordinaiy riclmess ; and, on this account, they are often kept in the parks and pleasure-grounds of the opulent, where, we must confess, they are both useful and even ornamental. Their gentleness, their diminutive size, end even their singidar contour, together with the excellence of their milk, render them favour- ites, where no remunerating return for their keep is expected or desired. We own that we admire them ; but, perhaps, some old associations influence our feelings. In proportion to the quantity of milk, the butter it yields is astonishing ; a single cow has been known to give nineteen pounds of butter weekly for several successive weeks. This, of course, is a very rare and remarkable occur- rence; the average is from six to eight or nine pounds weekly, dviring the season, supposing the cow to be first-rate of her kind. Meagre as the Alderney cow is when in milk, and unlikely as she may appear in the eyes of the grazier, it is nevertheless a fact, that, when dried, she fattens with great rapidity. This property in the ox is veiy valuable, and though fat Alderney cattle are not often seen in the London market, some have been occasionally exhibited at the Smithfield Cattle Show; one exhibited in 1802 by the Duke of Bedford weighed (the four quarters) 95 st. 3 lbs., exclusive of inside fat, which was 17 St. 3 lbs., Smithfield weight (8 lbs. to the stone). The Alderney cattle are generally of a mingled white and sandy-red, or fawn colour; the latter being mostly disposed in large, abnipt patches. Here we close om- account of the main breeds and varieties of the British Ox, — as far, at least, as they are definite. The fact is, that most of our breeds are progressively changing ; the decline of the improved long-horns, and the sudden eleva- tion of the Durham and Yorkshire short-homs, are points of singular importance and interest; nor is the intrasion of the short-horns into every county destitute of palpable results ; changes are going on, breeds are becoming modified, new varieties arising, and fresh intercrossings taking place eveiy day. In many, perhaps in most, instances, judgment and experience preside ; and the multiplication of agiicultural societies and similar institutions, for the adjudication of prizes for cattle, prove the interest taken by the great landowiiers in the improvement of our breeds of cattle; or, rather, of the res nistica generally. We fancy, however (and it is pei'haps but a fancy), that more attention is paid to the grazier's than to the dairy-farmer's cattle, and that cattle com- bining the almost opposite properties of milkers and feeders are taken less into consideration than their great importance merits, at least as far as the foiTner quality is concerned. Taking the Smithfield Cattle Show as an example, it appears to us that, there, the feeder's art only is regarded ; fineness of bone, symmetry, excessive fat acquired upon a stated diet, and eaily ripeness, seem to be considered as the main objects. Other institutions of a similai' character follow in the wake ; but may not, and are not, the genuine milking cattle — the cottager's most sei-viceable animals, the small farmer's or the cheese or butter dairyman's stock — regarded with less interest ? Does not the park or stall-fed steer of the great lando^vner take a higher rank than the cow — however well-bred and beautiful, and however fitted for the grazier when i dry — of the dairyman ? Is not too exclusive an ^^n^^^ DERNEV CuW. atteution giveu to the Leasts of the feeder ? We think it is ; and, if so, may ^ve not expect a de- generacy in our milking cattle, and live to heai- comjilaints tliat all our- celebrated cheeses are not equal to what they were formerly ? Has a prize yet been given for the cow which diu'ing the season has returned the greatest weight of prime cheese or butter, and when dry made well-fatted and fine-gi"ained beef for the butcher, in a fair space of time '? Few such piizes, as far as we can learn, have been declared. Happily, each party understands its own interests, and acts accord- ingly ; soil, climate, and old habits and customs, are ever influential. Yet, as we have said, modifi- cations go on, almost insensibly ; and the vamited breeds of to-day may be superseded before the close of another centmy. Of the cattle least liable to such a change are the middle-honis of North Devon, Wales, and Scotland ; though other breeds may intmde upon their pasture-grounds, it will be long before they lose their chai-acteristics. Of ancient lineage, they are likely to keep up the strain uncontaminated; and though interbred with in other districts, they will still maintain their footing in their native strongholds. The causes which have tended to their preservation will, to a certain degree, continue then- influence ; and it may even be then- destiny to modify the short- horns. " Omnium versatm' m-na, seriiis, ocyus." We may here say a few words respecting the mode of judging of the weight of the cattle while standing in the stall or market. Some men, by practice and experience, are so expert in this cal- culation, that they are seldom more than a few pounds out in their speculation ; they know the breed and its qualities : and taking into considera- tion the stature and fatness of a given animal, will arrive at a very accurate conclusion. Hundreds of beasts are thus purchased by the test of the eye and hand alone. In the " Penny Cyclopaedia" we have the following directions : — "When an ox is fat, his weight may be very nearly guessed by measuring his girth immediately behind the fore legs, and the length from the tip of the shoulder to the perpendicular line which touches the hinder parts, or to a wall against which the animal is backed. The square of the gii-th in inches and decimals is multiplied by the length, and the product multiplied by the decimal -238. This gives the weight of the four quarters in stones of fourteen lbs. This rule is fovmded on the sup- position that there is a certain proportion between the net weight of the quarters and that of a cylin- der, the circumference of which is Uie girth and the axis the length taken as above. The propor- tion has been ascertained by obsei-vatiou and repeated comparison. The measurement will, at all events, indicate the proportional increase during the period of fattening." Few farmers, we suspect, 'nill have recourse to this method. WTien the live weight can be ascer- taiued, the rest is easy ; for experience has showii the proportion between the saleable quarters and the offal, in different states of fatness ; and tables have been constmcted, by which the net weight is 1'ou.ad by mere inspection. Miiltiplpng the live 88 ■weight by 0,605 gives a near approximation to the neat dead weight in an ox moderately fat, and of good breed. The average dead weight of bullocks, taking numbers together, ranges from 80 to 85 stones, Smithfleld weight (that is 8 lbs. to the stone); and of calves, 144 lbs. So that if London be yearly supplied with 200,000 carcasses of beef, each car- cass weighing about 82 stones, or 656 lbs., the number of pounds consumed, including bone, will amount to 131,200,000; and supposing the num- ber of calves at 30,000, averaging 144 lbs. each, the total weight will amount to 4,320,000 lbs. : so that in veal and beef alone, setting aside mutton, lamb, pigs, poultrj', game, cm-ed provisions, fish, &c., the total amounts to 135,520,0001bs. CHAPTER VI. Having thus detailed the principal breeds or va- rieties of the British Ox, we may now proceed to some obsen'ations relative to the management or treatment of homed cattle ; a subject of great im- portance, inasmuch as their health, the quantity and quality of milk yielded, and their quick ripen- ing for the butcher are involved in it. The sim- plest and perhaps the most economical mode of feeding cattle is by grazing them in fields or on commons, or uncultivated pastures ; additional food and shelter being supplied during the winter. Butthere must be a fitness of the cattle for the land. It ought to be borne in mind, that a cow of large size, and liigh breed, would starve, or become a miserable object on poor, or peaty land, where one of the small native kind, hardy and active, would manage to keep herself in tolerable condition. Hence, the cottager, or small dairj--farmer, in rude uncultivated districts, will do wrong to exchange his hardy cows for others accustomed to a rich pas- turage : he would find the hope of deriving from them the quantity of milk they yielded in their own grounds delusive ; for though his range of pasturage might be very extensive, yet it would affoi-d such cattle nothing like sufficient nutriment, and the very act of rambling about to pickup what they could, would only increase their bad condi- tion. Cottagers often keep two or three cows, which they usually turn out to feed on the grass, in lanes and by-roads, attended during the day by a boy, and driven home at night ; they eke oiit the sustenance of these animals by cutting and carry- ing the grass of banks, or by collecting the grass of garden lawns, mowed by the gardener; and by purchasing, for a trifle, the grains of per- sons who brew their own malt-hquor. Occca- sionally, within a few miles of London, we have seen such cows in tolerable condition ; but _ in general their quantum of diet is irregu- lar, and their angular points, and tight-bound hide, destitute of a due layer of subcutaneous cel- lular tissue, bespeaks an impoverished system. Is it profitable for a cottager— that is, a labourer — to keep cows ? A wa-iter in the " Penny Cyclopte- dia" says, " A cottager, with two or three acres (query, from half an acre to an acre) of moderate land, may keep a cow, and thus add much to his eammgs as a labourer. For this purpose, he will require a small portion of permanent grass, fenced off', to allow the cow to take exercise, which is necessary for her health. Her food must be raised in regular succession, and cut for her. The earliest green food is rj^e, then tares, then clover ; which may be made to succeed each other so as to give an ample supply. Cabbages, beet-root, pars- nips, potatoes, and tui-uips will continue the supply dming winter; and the dung and urine of the cow, carefully collected, \vill be sufficient to keep the land in condition. This system, lately intro- duced into some parts of Ireland, has already greatly improved the conchtion of the industrious poor." In fact, according to this plan, the cot- tager must pursue a modified system of stall- feeding ; and if he can devote a few hours daily to his land, and possesses the requisite knowledge, he will doubtless gain considerably. In the neigh- bourhood of large towns he will find a ready sale for his milk at the rate of fourpence per quart ; he will also have a calf yearly for disposal ; and may also keep a few hogs. We think, however, that on this system of green crops and roots, if the land be good, three or four cows may be well kept on thi'ee acres, with the addition of a little hay, grains, brewers' wash, &c A cottager, with the whole of his time, or nearly so, at his own disposal, will, if industrious, thus comfortably maintain himself and his family. "A cow is old and un- profitable when she reaches the age of twelve or fourteen years : she should then be sold, and a young one purchased. If the cottager have the means of rearing a cow calf to succeed the old mother, he will do well ; if not, he must lay by a portion of the cow's produce every year, to raise the diff'erence between the value of a young cow and an old one. The savings-banks are ad- mirable institutions for tliis pui-pose ; a few shil- lings laid by when the produce of the cow is greatest, will soon amount to the sum required to exchange an old one for a younger." The cow, as we have said, should be suited to the pasturage ; but on the plan of stall-feeding, or feeding on cut green food in a small enclosure, the cottager may keep a superior animal ; which, properly fed on succulent diet, will yield a con- siderable quantity of milk, and, when aged, sell for a good price. 'Generally speaking, a cow may 89 be milked to within a month of her calving, I which should occur in April or May. She should then be suffered to become dry ; otherwise, when she calves, her new milk will be deficient both in quantity and quality. The calf should have the first milk, which uatm'e has intended to clear the intestines of a glutinous substance, which is always present in the new-bom animal. Besides plenty of succulent green food, the milch cow requires good water, and that which has been for some time exposed to the air is the best ; cleanliness also is indispensable ; a little rock salt to lick may be occasionally allowed, or a little salt given, as conducive to health. At the time of calving, or rather after calving, a little warm ■water, with some barley or bean-meal mixed with it, will be gladly received ; but drenches and me- dicines should be avoided. Indeed, when a cow is allowed to take proper exercise in the open air, and has a snug shelter or house to resort to in case of stormy weather, heavy rain, or cold, she will generally keep in good health, and recover easily after calving. We suppose the food to be given regularly, and in moderate quantities at a time. Occasionally, cows are apt to show symptoms of jaundice, the result of some disturbance in the function of the Uver; the eyes and even the skin assume a yellowish tint, and the animal is languid, and ceases to feed with an appetite. An aperient draught, composed of half-a-pound of Glauber salts, an ounce of ginger, and two ounces of treacle, with two quarts of boiling water poured over them, may be given slowly and gently when milk-warm, and repeated every other day. The cow should be kept from chilly winds, and, if it be mnter, have the loins covered with a cloth, and be confined in her shed. This plan will generally prove success- ful in a short time. We would, however, recom- mend the cottager to get rid of a sickly cow as soon as possible ; for should she have some chronic disease, her milk will not only diminish in quan- tity, but be bad in quality ; and she may die sud- denly, and thus prove a great loss ; whereas, though he may lose by selling her, he will find his fu'st loss the least in the end. A staring coat, a tight skin, loss of appetite, difficulty of breathing, a husky cough, and general leanness, are indica- tions of disease in the hmgs or liver, or both ; and the sooner she is parted with the better. It is a common custom to breed from heifers at too early an age ; this is to spoil the cow. The heifer should not be under two years old when taken to the bull ; and even then it is as well to let her go dry sooner than older cows ; indeed, if she be younger, this is imperative ; for the tax upon the immature animal by the calf she has borne, and the drainage of the milk from the sys- tem subsequent!}', tend to arrest her growth and due development. A young heifer, moreover, cannot be expected to produce a fine calf. The above observations apply more particularly to the poor industrious cottager, who, with small means at command, wishes to keep a cow on the best plan : he has no extent of grazing land ; i;ommons generally afford but scanty food, and are for the most part overstocked ; besides, he may not have the opportunity of availing himself of a common ; and the plan of road-side and by-lane grazing cannot be commended, even on the ground of the habits of idleness entailed upon the boy who spends his day in watching the ani- mal, and driving her from one spot to another, or from ditch to ditch, where the bank holds out a prospect of a tolerable supply. But if the cottager can rent a small piece of ground, and has time to cultivate it himself, so as to make it produce greater crops of rye, tares, clover, lucem, cab- bages, beet-root, potatoes, and turnips, to be raised in succession and cut for his cow, confined in a, cow-house, except while taldng exercise in her little paddock, or perhaps a small orchard, he may cer- tainly make it answer his purpose. If near a large town, he will have a certain sale for all his milk. His own family will need a supply ; but from this the cream may be taken, and sold to advantage. He may find it advantageous to make butter ; which, as fresh butter sells, ought to bring in a return of ten or twelve pounds per annum, leaving the buttermilk for the use of the family, the rearing of the calf, and the fattening of a hog. After all, however, the affirmative to the question, whether it is profitable for the cottager to keep a cow, will depend on the contingencies of locaUty; the spare time he has on his hands ; the assistance his famOy can render him ; the facilities of dis- posing the produce to advantage ; and the amount of primary outlay he must necessarily encounter; together with the rent of the ground. Where a cottager depends solely on a small piece of laud for the support of himself and his family, and for the payment of rent, then indeed his cow is of the utmost importance, if managed with any thing like regularity on a judicious system. It must always be recollected, that cows on poor, but extensive, pasturage give but little milk ; that no considera- ble produce can be expected, be the cow what she may, unless she is supplied with a sufficiency of good succulent food ; and that when a man owns only a small plot of ground, tliis can only be pro- duced by a well-ordered system of crops in rota- tion. " If (says a writer) a labourer, who has an allotment of half an acre of good Ught land would entirely devote it to raise food for a cow, his wife and children cutting the food, and tending the cow in a small yard with a shed, or in any cow- stall, he would find that he had much greater clear profit than if he had sown his land eveiy year with wheat, and had always a good crop — which last supposition is impossible ; there would be no better stimulus to industry than to let a piece of 90 land for tliis purpose to every man who could pur- chase a cow, and feed it by soiling.'' We may here add, that the green food should be cut twelve or twenty hours before it is given to the cattle, and not wet with dew or rain : it should be supplied at inten'als, and in modera- tion ; as horned cattle are apt to eat voraciously, and the fresh green food is liable to feraient in the paunch, endangering the animal's life from the gases evolved, which distend the abdomen prodigiously. It is^ but lately that we saw a fine cow which died from this cause : she was left safe in her paddock in the evening, but during the night she contrived to get at some clover, or luceni, in an adjacent enclosure, of which she ate voraciously; in the morning she was found dead, and swollen. In the neighbourhood of London, where a pro- digious supply of milk is demanded, vast numbers of cows, all (or almost all) short-homs, are kept upon the principle of soiling, or stall-feeding, for the sake of their valuable produce. We allude to those large establishments in which four or five hundred cows are kept, and where most of the retail dealers in milk obtain the measure they require. There are, indeed, numerous smaller establishments around London, in which the pro- prietor, who retails the milk on his own account, keeps from six to twenty, or five and twenty cows ; and as he has to compete vrith the retailers who purchase their stock at the great establishments, he seldom resorts to the modes of adulteration, which are commonly practised by the ordinary re- tailers : not that a little water may not be added, but if this be all, the purchaser in London may be well contented. It is calculated that upwards of twelve thousand cows are kept for the supply of London and its increasing environs ; and as the amount of milk returned by these cattle is mostly retailed by pennyworths, or two-pennyworths, morning and evening, we shall readily conclude that the retailers' occupation is one of no little labour. That it is pi'ofitable we may conclude from the fact that "milk- walks" are not unfre- quently advertised for sale; but whether the profit be tnily fair or just may admit of question. Cer- tain it is that the milk leaves the great dairy in its purity ; but what admixtures it may afterwards undergo may require the analysis of the chymist to detei-mine. Mr. Youatt (whose name we have often men- tioned, and to whom we pay a tribute of respect for his extensive acquirements and his private worth) says, in his agreeable style, "the name of new milk has something very pleasant about it, but it is an article which rarely makes its appear- ance at the brealtfast or tea-table of the citizen. That which is got from the cow at night is put by until the morning ; the cream is skimmed off, and then, a little water being added, it is sold to the public as the morning's milk. This is the practice of most, or aU of the little daii7men who keep their half-dozen cows ; and if this were all, and with these people it is nearly all, the public must not complain. The milk may be lowered by the wai-m water, but the lowering system is not carried to any great extent; for there is a pride among them that their milk shall be better than that of the merchants on a yet smaller scale, who purchase the article from the great dairies ; and so it generally is. The milk goes from the yard of the great daiiy into the possession of the itine- rant ^dealers perfectly pure ; what is done with it aftei-^vards; and to what degree it is lowered and sophisticated, is known only to these retail mer- chants." Before we enter upon the treatment of the stalled cows, in these great dairies : those, for ex- ample, of Mr. Flight, formerly Mr. Laycock, Mr. Rhodes, and others, we may be jiermitted to sketch a picture of the interior of one of these extensive establishments, of which many who live in London have, perhaps, never heard. We must, then, suppose ourselves at Islington, " tellus raccarum ferax," between two and three in the morning, whence, proceeding towards High- buiy, we arrive at a gateway signalised by an in- scription, as "■ LaycocJc's Dairy and Cattle Layer.i." Entering this gateway we soon find ourselves sur- rouiiJed by buildings spread over a vast extent of ground, and consisting not onh' of barns, sheds, and granaries, but comprising also many others devoted to various purposes. We cannot, how- ever, fail to notice a large range of cow-sheds, or, rather, a large -building, within which are com- prised six ranges of sheds, parallel with each other; and running nearly north and south. Along both sides of eveiy shed, are stalls, each stall being adapted for the reception of two cows ; and the whole is so arranged as to afford proper accom- modation for sixty-four cows in each shed. The length of each shed is about one hundred and forty feet, and its breadth twenty-four feet. Down the centre runs a drain, to cany off the water and refuse, and thus to keep the stalls clean. At the upper end of each stall is a trough, sujiplied with water from large elevated tanks, and having also a receptacle for food. An upright post is placed at each of the upper corners of the stall, to which the cow is fastened by a ring connected with a chain jjassing round her neck. Adjacent to this building is a plot of ground called the " dung- shoot," on which the refuse and clearing of the cow-sheds are empitied at stated times in the day ; a store of valuable manure being thus collected, for the removal of which a direct cart-way from the open road affords every convenience. Leaving these sheds, we pass through the other buildings of the establishment, which extend over an area of sixteen acres ; and here we shall quote an admirable description, dra^\Ti up from 01 notes taken on the spot, which we sliould in vain attempt to improve : — " Much of the appearance of a farm-yard now presents itself, fowls roaming about in one part, and pigs housed in anotlier, all being reared and fattened at a trifling expense. Of the four or five hundred cows kept in the dairy, many vary greatly in the supply of milk which they afford, according to their age, the state of their health, the season of the year, etc. ; and the demand for milk, on the part of customers, is also slightly variable. From these circumstances it often results that the daily supply of milk may be more than equal to the de- mand ; and the overplus, as well as the butteiTuilk resulting from the butter made at the dairy, is then profitably used as food for swine. " The pigs, which are very numerous, are kept in well-constructed jaiggeries, presenting none of that dirty appearance which disfigures pigsties in common farm-yards. Adjacent to the piggeries is a mixing room, in which the milk destined for the pigs is mixed with such solid food as may be given to them. The mixture is effected in large wooden vessels, from which the food is conveyed to the piggeries. " Not far from the piggeries are several work- shops for operations connected ^^^th the establish- ment. One is a wheelwright's shop, for repairing the numerous carts and vehicles employed ; a se- cond is a smith's shop, for the repair and adjust- ment of iron-work ; a third is a shoeing-shop, for shoeing oxen emplo3'ed in tlie team. " For the better understanding the use of many parts of tliis establishment, it maj' be desirable to observe, that the proprietor, Mr. Flight (Mr. Lay- cock has been dead several years), is a cow-farmer as well as a cow-keeper ; that is, he not only keeps the cows for the sake of their milk, but grows the food on which they are, in a great measure, fed. He possesses two or three very extensive farms, at some distance from London, where the hay, tur- nips, mangel-wurzel, and other articles of cattle- food, are grown in sufficient abundance for the wants of the dairy. This extensive plan of opera- tions is productive of much advantage ; for while, on the one hand, the farms supply food to the dairy, the dairy supphes manure to the farms. The farm implements, too, can be repaired at the workshops connected with the dairy ; and the oxen employed in teams, at the farms, are shod by the proprietor's own men. For these, and various other reasons, a constant intercoui'se is maintained be- tween the dairy and the farms, one of which is at Enfield. " Near the buildings just spoken of there is a tank for kyanizing wood intended for palings, stakes, posts, gates, &c. ; and adjacent to tliis is a kitchen-garden. From this point, extending to the boundary of the premises on the west, are the buildings called cattle-layers, unconnected with the dairy or milk-department of the establish- ment, but devoted to the reception of cattle for a few hours previous to their arrival at Smithfield market. The layers are veiy extensive sheds, bounded by walls at the back and ends, roofed with tiles, supported by pillars, some iron and some wood, and open in front. A rack runs along the back of each shed, in which the food for tbe cattle is placed. Tanks of -nater, supplied by pipes and cocks from three or four pumps, placed in diff'erent parts of the premises, are conveniently placed for affording drink for the cattle. The ground is covered with clean straw ; and the cattle, during the short time they are kept here, have considerable space of open ground in which to roam about, gates being placed at the diff'erent openings to prevent the cattle in one layer from mingling with those in another. The number of cattle which could be contained in these layers would amount to several thousands ; but nearly two thousand can be properly and conveniently received at one time. " When we turn from Upper Street, Islington, into what is called the Livei-pool Road, and pro- ceed onwards for a considerable distance, we come to the western botmdary of Laycock's establish- ment ; and within this boundaiy is the principal part of the cattle-layers. In order to keep this part of the establishment distinct from the dairy, the cattle enter and leave the layers by a gate, in the Liverpool Road, far distant from the dairy- entrance in the Islington Road. Northward of the cattle-layers is a tract of ground occupied by sheep- pens, in which five thousand sheep, on their way to Smithfield, may be received. " Returning thence to the dauy-entrance we pass a plot of ground in which are four very large grain-pits. One of the most important articles of food for the cows, in the large London dairies, is the grains or spirit-malt resulting from the process of brewing. The proprietor of this establishment contracts with one of the great porter-breweries for the purchase of the refuse gi-ains ; and these grains brought from the breweiy, in wagons be- longing to the cowkeeper, are deposited in large brick-built pits ; or, rather, a portion of the supply is thus deposited to equalize the stock on hand, because they are procurable in greater quantities from the brewers in spring and autumn, than in the other seasons. The grains are firmly trodden down in the pits, and covered with a thick layer of moist earth, to keep out the rain and frost in winter, and the heat m summer. JMr. Youatt, speaking of the general custom of the London dairies, mth respect to this article of food, says, ' A cow consumes about a bushel of these grains daily, the cost of which is from fourpence to five- pence, exclusive of carriage and presenation. The grains are, if possible, thrown into the pit while wami, aud iu a state of fermentatiou, and they soon turn sour : but they ai-e not liked by cattle the worse on that account ; and the air, being per- fectly excluded, the fermentation cannot run on to puti'efaction. The dair^iuen say that the slow and slight degree of fermentation, which goes on, tends to the greater development of the saccharine and nutritive principle ; and they will have on hand as large a stock as they can afford, and not open the pits till they are compelled. It is not uncom- mon for two years to pass before a pit of grains is touched ; and it is said that some have lain nine years, and been perfectly good at the expiration of that period.' " Between the grain-beds and the milking- sheds are various buildings devoted to different purposes. One is a mill-room, for grinding aud ci-ushiug the dry food occasionally given to the cows, such as beans, &c. The mills and crushing- machines ai'e worked b}' a horse, who tramps his never-ending circular path in a room beneath. Other buildings are employed as granaries, aud as receptacles for the food eaten by the cows. When turnips or mangel-wurzel are at the proper sea- son to be used as food, each cow will eat half a himdi-ed weight per day, besides a bushel of grains aud a small quantity of other food ; so that the quantity required, by the whole dairy, amounts to several tons weight per day. " Another chister of buildings is appropriated as an hosjjital. Among several hundred cows it cannot but happen that some will be occasionally on the sick list ; aud for their accommodation about a dozeu neatly-eonstnicted stalls or boxes — ■ we certainly must not call them sheds — are set apart. Each stall is fitted up as comfortably as possible for the invalid ; and the uecessarj' tackle is at hand for securing the animal when any opera- tion is to be performed. A veterinaiy surgeon is attached to the establishment, under whom is placed, not only the management of the cows in the hospital, but the general cai-e and health of all those belonging to the dairy. The average value of a cow is, we believe, about twenty pounds ; so that the whole constitute a property well worthy of careful supervision. " Besides tlie six milking-sheds before alluded to, there are two or three others, situated not far distant, aud under different roofs. These are, to a greater or less extent occupied, according to the number of the cows in the dairy, which varies at different seasons. One shed, more lofty than the rest, is devoted to the reception of those cows who are no longer being milked, but are under process of fattening for the London market. This is a very remarkable feature in these estabUshmeuts ; instead of keeping a cow as long as milk may be di-awn from her, there is a minunum of supply, below which tlie cow is not deemed to yield what is required of her. The cows are thus very fre- quently changed ; tliey are bought for the daily when they are in good milldng condition, milked for a certain length of time, taken to the fattening-shed while comparatively yomig, and sold in Smithfleld at a price which renders this plan more profitable than the retention of a milch cow till she is old. Considerable diversity of system prevails in this respect; for it is not until experiments on a large scale can be made, that the most profitable ma- nagement of a cow can be determined. The expense of purchasing the cow, of feeding her during her continuance in the dairy, and of fat- tening her for market, as well as the produce of the dairy and of tlie fattened cow, all vary with the circumstances under which the cowkeeper con- ducts his establishment, aud with the locality in which he is situated; and these diversities give rise to the different systems observed in diflerent dairies. When it is determined to fatten a cow for market, she is fed on grains, clover, chaff, oil- cake, and, in some instances, boiled linseed. Oil- cake is the residue obtained after expressing the oil from rape and linseed ; it is, in fact, the seed after the greater portion of the oil has been removed from it, and has been found to possess a remai'kable fattening quality, when given to cows." We may here add, that each cow is allowed a portion of salt, given either with the grains, or mingled witJi the hay when it is made up into ricks, a jilan which not only secures it from be- coming mouldy, but renders it more grateful and nutritious to the cattle. It should never be for- gotten, that salt is essential to the health of cattle. Wild cattle regularly visit the salt-licks in North America ; and in South America the herds absolutely require to have the harrero, — for so is called a saline or nitrous earth, which the herds of horned and other cattle seek with avidity, aud with- out which they fail, and die in the course of four months. From the twenty-seventh degree of south latitude to the Malovine Islands, the horned cattle, as well as other animals, have no need of the har- rero, because the waters and the pasture grounds are sufficiently salt; but northward beyond this lati- tude the harrero is necessary ; and the plains which do not contain it do not feed either the horee, the ass, the mule, the ox, the goat, or the sheep. Such is Azara's statement, and we believe it to be generally correct. To return to Laycock's daily: — " It mil be seen from the above description, that the establishment embraces several different depart- ments, but the most prominent of these is that by which families are supplied with milk. Milk is one of the few articles of consumption which is almost invariably taken to the customer, and not sent for by the customer to the sellers ; ta !«»<' o-? and the retail sellers, with their brightly polished cans, decked round the edge with a whole regi- ment of little cans and measures, are welcome contributors to the breakfast-table. It has been recently obsei"ved, " the cry of ' Milk ! ' or the rattle of the milk-pail, will never cease to be heard in our streets. There can be no reservoirs of milk, no pipes tlirough which it flows into the houses. The more extensive the great capital be- comes, the more active must be the individual to carry about this article of food. The old ciy was, 'Any milk here?' and it was sometimes mingled ■with the soimd of ' Fresh cheese and cream 1 ' It then passed into, ' Milk ! maids below ! ' which was finally shortened into ' Mio ! ' which some wag interpreted into, ' Mi-eau' {demi-eau), half water. But it must still be cried, whatever be the cry. The supply of milk to the metropolis is, perhaps, one of the most beautiful combinations of industry we have. The days are long since past when Finsbury had its pleasant groves, and Clerkenwell was a village, and there were green pastures in Holbom, and St. Pancras boasted only a little church standing in meadows, and St. Martin's was literally ' in the fields.' Slowly, but surely, does the baked clay stride over the clover and the but- tercup ; and yet eveiy family in London may be supplied with milk by eight o'clock eveiy morning at their owti doors." (" London," No. VIII, " Street Noises," p. 137.) These itinerant milk dealers, as already stated, are of two classes, viz., those who keep cows and retail the produce, and those who purchase milk from the large dairies, such as Laycock's. In this latter mode of dealing, the purchaser agrees to give so much per gallon, and to milk the cows necessary to produce the required quantity. The milkers, therefore, whom we see at the daily are not, generally speaking, attached to the establishment, but are either the purchasers of the milk, or are sent by the purchasers. As the cows do not always yield an equal quantity of milk, the milkers may sometimes take more, at other times less, than the stipulated quantity ; and, in order to adjust the quantity, each milker takes the milk which she has dra^vn to the " measuring room," where it is measured. If the quantity be more than agreed on, a portion is emptied into a store vessel in the measuring room ; whereas, if it be less, the requisite quantity is added from the store vessel. A clerk and dairy-woman are in attendance to superintend these arrangements. The morning's milking commences at three o'clock, and in an hour, or an hour and a half, the whole pro- cess is finished, the number of milkmaids (mostly Welsh) bearing some convenient proportion to that of the cows. The scene is interesting, and even picturesque. The second milking commences at about twelve o'clock, and is carried on in the same orderly way. Of tlie large quantity of milk thus obtained, the greater portion leaves the dairy within an hour, and is soon afterwards cried in the streets, or at the doors of the retailer's customers. After the milking is concluded, the sheds are cleaned with great care, and the cows supplied with food, and otherwise treated according to the season. " It has been estimated that about twelve thousand cows are necessary for the supply of London and its environs vn\h milk, and that, taking the average quantity yielded by each cow throughout the year at nine quarts per day, the total quantity is about forty million quarts per annum. Considering that this milk is usually sold by the retail dealers at four pence per quart, after much of the cream is removed from it, that this cream is sold at three shillings per quart, and that a good deal of water is mi.xed with the milk by some retailers, it has been calculated that at least sixpence per quart is paid by the consumer for the real pure milk. This gives, fotJiie value of the milk consumed in the metropolis, an annual sum very little short of one million sterling. Since, from various causes, the daily' supply of milk at the great dairies is liable to fluctuation, while, at the same time, it is necessary that the supply should not be lower than the demand, it follows, that there is often a superfluous quantity of milk after all the dealers are supplied. To turn this milk to a profitable account, a dairy, or butter room, is at- tached to the establishment. At Laycock's, this room is near to the measuring room ; it is fitted up with the various vessels and implements for making butter; all, as may be supposed, scrupu- lously clean. The higher families in London use a great deal of cream, instead of mUk: and large shallow vessels are also kept in this room for forming cream from the milk. The quantity of butter made here ^vithin a given time varies with the fluctuation in the supply of milk ; but a ready market is found for all of it. The butter-milk and skim-milk ai'e profitably employed as food for s-svine in the piggeries ; so that the whole produce is brought into requisition. " The greater part of the observations made respecting Laycock's dairy, may, with a little modi- fication, be applied to another large and well- knomi establishment, at Islington; viz., that of the Messrs. Rhodes. Here, as at the other, several hundi'ed cows are kept, principally for the supply of retail dealers. The supei-fluous mUk is skimmed for cream, or is made into butter; and the cows, when diy, are fattened for the market. There are slight dilferences in the daily management, according to the ^dew which each proprietor may take of his own interest, — such as the arrange- ment and fitting up of the cow-sheds, the mode of supplying water, the degree of liberty of move- ment given to the cows between the hom-s of milk- 94 ing, and the general system of feeding; but the main featui'es of the establishments bear a good deal of resemblance." In Messrs. Rhodes's establishment, for example, the cows are never untied while they are retained as milkers; some have stood in the stall for more than two years ; they have water standing in cis- terns before them, and these cisterns have each a wooden cover, which is put on while the cows are eating theii' grains, in order to prevent their drink- ing at that time, and tainting the water by drop- ping any of the grains into it. On the contraiy, at Laycock's dairy, the cows are turned out once every day to drink from troughs in the yard ; and they remain out from half an hour to three hours, depending on the weather and the season of the year. Moreover, from the end of June imtil Michaelmas, they are turned into fields or en- closures, from six in the morning until twelve or one ; and again from two o'clock in the afternoon to about three o'clock the following morning, when they are stalled for milking. On these two sys- tems, Mr. Youatt obsei-ves, " We can readily con- ceive that, from the want of exercise and conse- quent cutaneous perspiration, Ehodes' cows may give a somewhat greater quantity of milk than Laycock's ; but, on the other hand, when we think of an animal tied in the corner of a stall for twelve, or eighteen, or twenty-four months together, we cannot help associating the idea of disease, or a tendency to disease at least, with such an un- natural state of things ; the feet and the digestive system would particularly suffer, and we should suspect a little vitiation of all the secretions, and some deterioration in the quality of the milk. We should like to know the comparative state of the health of the animals in the two establishments. The inclination of our opinion would be strongly in favom' of Laycock's plan." During the "joint-stock" mania, which pro- mised to supply the public with eveiy thing thi-ough the medium of " companies," the article of milk was not overlooked. A large " Metropolitan Dairy " was established ; but it utterly failed as a specula- tion, and passed into private hands. The same may be said of the " Caledonian Joint-Stock Dairy," at Edinburgh. This was a noble building : from an entrance saloon, the visitor passed into the great byre, or cow-house, divided by cast-iron pil- lars and partitions into stalls for two hundred cows. The byre was thirty feet high, and from its centre rose a large dome, for the purpose of light and ventilation. The drinking- troughs were of stone, and supplied with water by pipes. Beneath the byre was a range of arched vaults for the reception of the litter and refuse. This establishment came ultimately into private hands. The fact is, that, to conduct a lai'ge dairy establishment, knowledge and experience are required; and one uncontrolled proprietor can work out plans, the importance of which he understands, in which, were he acting under a committee, he might be thwarted; be- sides, acting for himself, and responsible to no one, he acts decidedly and interestedly. In all dairy establishments, ventilation and cleanliness are indispensable; and if butter is made, the daii-y proper, or butter-room, should be as near the cow-house as possible, as the milk suf- fers more or less considerably from being agitated, or too much cooled, before it is set for the cream to rise. The milk should be brought from the cows, without bemg exposed to the outer air, before it is set to cream ; which should be in vessels ar- ranged on a stone slab, below the level of the ground ; the apartment being sunk to the depth of three or four feet, and kept perfectly dry. The air may be admitted through perforated zinc plates, or woven-wire windows, placed opposite to each other, having shutters which may be opened or closed according to the temperature and state of the weather. Glazed windows may be added, and should be open, excepting in veiy hot or very cold weather. 'The situation should be diy, and well shielded from the north, east, and south. Dairies m natural or artificial caves, which occur in some countries, with springs of water at hand, are admirable for coolness and uniformity of temperature ; but in England we must not look for such advantages ; nor are they needed. A verandah round a dairy is veiy useful ; it shades the sun in summer, and is a protection against the cold and damp in winter. There should be a washhouse, with every convenience for hot water, for scalding the dairy utensils, and for warming milk ; and if cheese be made as well as butter, a chuming-room, with presses, and a cheese-room are also needed. " In Switzerland and in Holland the cow- house and dairy often have a veiy neat appearance, within a short distance from the principal resi- dence. The plan in both countries is very similar ; the style of the roof is the chief difference. In the common daiiy-farms of Holland the farmer and his family live under the same roof with the cows. In the Netherlands, especially in North Holland, or Friesland, a cow-house is as clean as any dwelling-house, and the family often assemble and take their meals in it. The following descrip- tion of a cow-house and dairy, under one roof, combines all that is useful, with considerable neat- ness internally and externally : — " It is a building about sixty feet long, by thirty wide, with a veran- dah running round three sides of it. The dwelling is not here attached as it usually is in common (Dutch) dairies, and the building is not suiTounded by a fai-m-yard. These are the only circumstances in which it differs from that of a common peasant's. The daiiy-room is sunk below the level of the 95 suil, and is paved with bricks ; the sides are covered with Dutch tiles, and the arched roof with hard cement. The cow-house, like all in Holland, has a broad passage in the middle-, and the cows stand with their heads towards this passage, which is paved with clinkers, or bWcka, set on edge. Their tails are towards the- wall, along which runs a broad gutter, sunk sLx or eight inches beloW the level of tlie place on which the oows stand. This gutter slopes towards a sink co-vered with an iron grate, wliich communicates, by a broad arched drain, with a vaulted tank, into which all the liquid flows. The gutter is washed twice a day bei'oi-e the cows are milked. The cows stand or lie on a sloping brick floor, and have but a small quantity of litter allowed them, which is removed every day, and carried to the dung-heap,- or the pigsties, to be more fidly converted into manure. Wlien the litter is removed, the bricks are swept clean, and in summer they are washed with water. In Holland the cows' tails are kept up by a cord tied to the end of them, wliich passes over a puUy with a weight at the other end, as we see (used to see) practised -with horses that have been nicked ; thus they carmot hit themselves or the person who milks them. (We do not see any thing in this practice veiy commendable.) The manner in which the cows are fastened is worthy of notice : — Two slight pillars of strong wood are placed perpendi- culaidy, about two feet distant from each other, so that the cow can readily pass her head between them ; on each of these is an iron ring, that runs freely up and down, and has a hook in its circum- ference ; two small chains pass from these hooks to a leathern strap which buckles round the neck of the cow. Thus the cow can rise and lie down, and move forward to take her food, which is placed in a low manger between the two pillars ; but she cannot strike her neighboiu- with her horns. The mangers, or troughs, are of wood, or of bricks ce- mented together, and are kept as clean as all the rest of the cow-house." The food is brought in carts, which are driven at once between the cows, whose mangers are thus conveniently supplied ; what is not wanted is stored above, and when wanted is readily thrown down before the cows. By this plan mnch trouble is saved, and one man can attend to many animals. From November till May the cows never leave the cow-house. In summer, when they are out, if they are in adjacent pastui'es, they are diiven home to be milked ; but if the pastures are far off, which is sometimes the case, they are milked there, and the millt is brought home in boats : but this is not thought so good for the butter, which is then always churned from the u-lwle milk, without taking the cream rise. The finest and best-flavoured butter is always made from the cream as fresh as possible ; and to make it rise well the milk should be set as soon as it is drawn, and agitated as little as pos- sible. The greatest quantity is seldom obtained when the quality is the finest. When great atten- tion is paid to the quality, the milk is skimmed about six hours after it is set, and the cream then taken off' is churned by itself. The next skim- ming makes inferior butter. It is, in fact, essen- tial that the dairy should be as near the cow-house as possible. In Holland the milk is carried in brass vessels, exquisitely clean. The Subjoined plans will convey a clear idea of the Dutch cow-house and daily, above described. GROUND PLAX. 96 AAA, passage through the cow-house and dairy, ten feet wide, paved with bricks, set on edge, or Dutch clinkers. Tlie food is brought along this jiassage in a small cart, and distributed to the cows. B, part of the passage above mentioned, closed in with doors, and forming a vestibule to the daily, c, tlie dairy-room, in which only milk, cream, and butter are kept ; it is smik three feet under the level of the cow-house, and covei-ed with a brick arch ; it has one latticed >vindow, and several ventilators, on a level with the place on which the milk vessels are set. d, the room where the uteusOs are scalded, and where cheese is made ; in one comer is a fireplace, with a large kettle or a copper set. e, stairs to go up to the cheese-room m, and the loft N. f, calf-pens, in which the calves are tied up to fatten, so that they cannot turn to lick themselves ; there is a small trough with pounded chalk and salt in each pen. G, the place for the cows, without partitions, each cow being tied to two posts by two small chains and two iron rings which run on the posts ; the chains are fastened to abroad leathern strap, which is buckled round the neck of each cow. h h, two sinks, or drains, with iron gratings over them, to catch the fluid refuse from the gutters i i, which run along each side of the cow-house, k, the tank for the refuse, vaulted over, ^vith a door, i,, to clean it out, and a pump to pump up the liquid manure. 0 0, in 'this section are places where the green food or roots are deposited for the day's con- sumption. With respect to the fluid manure, of which the Dutch and Flemish are socareful, it is generally wasted by the dairy-farmers of England. Yet, as a manure for gardens, &c., it is very valuable ; and in Belgium would return, by contract, an average of £'2 per cow by the year; four hundred cows woidd thus produce £800 per annum in this manm'e alone ; good interest for the outlay of constructing the vaulted tanks for its reception. Such is the general outline of the plan of stall- feeding milch cows. The system may be carried on by the cottager with a small plot of ground and one cow ; and it is so, more or less thoroughly, by the large daii^jTuen, who supply London and other popu- lous townis or cities with milk ; as well as by the far- mers of Holland and Belgium where farms are small, where great attention is paid to agriculture, and where manm'e is extremely valuable. In Eng- land, however, within the last few years, compara- tively speaking, the system of stall-feeding has been adapted to the process of fattening cattle, which goes on without interniption throughout the win- ter as well as the summer, so that fat beasts, even the most highly fatted, grace the markets at Christmas, and attract a crowd around the butcher's decorated shop. Generally speaking, the practice of stalling milch cattle is Uttle practised in our island, or only partially, and at certain seasons of the year ; but the practice of stall-feeding oxen for the butcher is extensively oaiTied on, and the stall fed ox is now an expression familiar to our ears, and well understood ; whereas, in fonner times, vaunted as " the roast beef of England " may be, all the beasts killed in the dead winter months were miserably thin ; and salt beef was the or- dinaiy fare, even of the most opulent, from No- vember to May. We have explained the management of the mUch cattle in Laycock's and Rhodes's dairies, and, as a parallel to the picture^ we may describe the general plan followed by some of the great distil- lers and brewers about London, with respect to stall-feeding oxen for the markets. We may take, as an example. Booth's extensive distillery at Brentford, where many hundred oxen are annually fattened, while the utmost order, cleanliness, and regularity prevail. The building for this purpose, attached to the distillery, is 210 feet long, and 180 feet wide; the side walls are about 10 feet in height ; there are twenty windows on each side, and eight at each end ; these are not glazed, but can be closed up or set open at pleasure; in the roof, however, there are glazed skylights, so that were every window closed the place would be amply lighted. Beneath the roof, which forms one ridge, is an ample hayloft, supported by numerous cast- iron and wooden pillars; while around the whole building a passage six feet in width is carried, and a similar passage runs between eveiy two rows of oxen. The wliole building will contain three hun- dred and twenty-three oxen ; but it must not be supposed that the stalls are always filled ; the stalls are double, about seven feet and a half wide, and ten feet in depth, from the manger to the drain or gutter behind the cattle. The gutters ai'e all inclined, so as readily to throw the contents into the larger drains into which they merge. The mangers extend along the whole length of each row of cattle; these are for the wash, or fluid food; but each ox has, besides, a distinct manger, into which the grains, and other solid food, are put, when these are not mixed with the wash, or the refuse of fermented liquor. This wash is kept in a large elevated tank, in a different part of the premises : from this tank pipes convey the contents to the long mangers; that which supplies each having its own tap, so that any single range may be filled irrespective of the others. The wash thus stored up is very nu- tritious, as it contains the finer particles of the ground malt, and the greater portion of the barley- meal, used in the mashing-process. The gi-ains are preserved in pits, lined with brick set in ce- ment : they are trodden down, and covered with earth or road-stuff, in order to exclude the air and 97 keep them of a unifoitii temperature. Each pit is about twelve feet square and twelve in depth. With respect to the treatment of these oxen in their stalls, their food is given in definite quantities, as ascertained by experience ; no green, succulent food, so essential to milch cows, is given, nor any hay uncut ; but little oilcake is used, for it is found that rorigh clover chaff, mixed with the wash, will fatten with considerable expedition, and that, to any extent. Litter is very sparingly used, but gi'eat attention is paid to cleanliness. Mr. Youatt calculates, that 6,000 or 7,000 head of cattle are thus fattened in and about London, within the precincts of various brewers' and distil- lers' establishments. That the practice of stall-feeding, under the circumstances above detailed, is very judicious and economical, cannot be doubted ; but whether under very different circumstances it is so, admits of inquiry. When cattle feed in enclosed and rich pastui'es, though they may thrive well, yet there is a tho- rough waste of their manure, and more grass land must be preserved untouched by the plough, than otherwise need be. An advocate for stalling says, " their dung falling in heaps on the grass, does more harm than good. The urine, indeed, ferti- lizes the soil, in wet weather, when it is diluted ; but in diy weather, it only bums up the grass. If we calcidate what would be the amount of manure collected, if the cattle were kept in yards or sta- bles, and fed with food cut for them, and brought there, and also the loss of grass by treading in the pastures, we shall have no doubt, whether the ad- ditional labour of cutting the grass and bringing it home daUy, is not amply repaid by the saving. But if we also take into the account the variety of artificial grasses, pulse, and roots, which may be grown with advantage on land unfit for peiTnanent grass, and the quantity of arable land which may thus, be kept in the highest state of cultivatiim, we shall be convinced that the practice of these coun- tries where the cattle are kept constantly at home, is well worthy of imitation. It maj' be of use to the health of the animals to be allowed to take a few hoiu's' air and exercise, in a pasture near the sta- ble ; but there is no advantage in having any grass-crop there ; on the contrary', the barer of grass the crop is, the better. They will relish their food better when they are taken in, after a few hours' fasting. A bite of fresh short grass might, on the contrary, give them a dislike to their staler food, '\^^len cut grass is given to the cattle in then- stalls, it is best to let it lie in a heap for twelve hours at least, before it is given them It heats slightly, and the peculiar odour of some plants which oxen and cows are not fond of, being mixed with that of the more fragrant, the whole is eaten without waste. Experience has shown that many plants which cattle refuse in the field, where they have a choice, possess nutritious qualities when eaten mixed with others in the form of hay. There are few deleterious plants in good grass land or water meadows, and these are readily distinguished and weeded out. The quantity and the quality of the dung of cattle stalled and well fed is so remarkable, that its value makes a con- siderable deduction from that of the food given ; especially of green food, such as clover, lucern, tares, and every kind of leguminous plant : we shall not be far wrong if we set it at one-fourth. This supposes a sufficient quantity of straw for litter, and a collection of the liquid parts, in pro- per reservoirs or tanks. In order to make the feeding of cattle advantageous, the buildings must be conveniently placed, with respect to the fields from which the food can be brought. Moveable sheds with temporary yards, which can be erected in different parts of a large farm, according as dif- ferent fields are in gi-ass or roots, are a great sa\'ing of carriage, both in the bringing food to the cattle and carrying the dung on the land. A clay bottom should be selected, in a diy and rather high spot if possible. But if permanent buildings for cat- tle, constructed of rough materials and thatched with straw, were erected in the centre of about forty acres of arable land, in different parts of a large farm, it would probably be a great saving in the end," A due supply of water, and of rock salt to lick, are very essential, and a free use of the currycomb or rough straw-whisp, is advan- tageous both in point of cleanliness and health. On the other hand it must be confessed that on large farms the system of soiling or stalling cattle is very expensive, and the more so in pro- jiortion to the extent of the farm ; the labour of bringiug'in the cut food is greatly increased, and the time of the men is we may say almost wasted, in consequence of the distance of the fields in which the green fodder is grown. In fact, there is an expenditure of tlie time both of men and horses, day after day, to which most farmers would decidedly object. It is true that many straw-yards and cattle-sheds might be conveniently scattered over a large farm ; but to this plan tliere are seve- ral objections ; they cannot lie all equ.ally under the eye of the farmer ; they involve in their con- struction, considerable outlay, and even then, un- less at great expense, must be destitute of tanks for the fluid manm'e : tlie plan involves the ne- cessity of keeping more men and horses or labour- ing steers, than would othenrise be necessary, and consequently of more carts, barrows, and similar implements, items which tell when a fanner ba- lances his accounts. Balancing these expenses against the manure retmiied. and the greater ex- tent of crops (be they what they may, as wheat, beans, or auj' of the artificial grasses) wliich he 98 can raise for profit in the market, an agricultu- ralist may soon decide as to whetlier on his farm, the plan is ad\'isable or the contrary. We should say that if he has the facility of purchasing manure in large towns, at a moderate price, and at times when men, horses, and carts can he most conveni- entlj' spared, he -nill not find the system of soiling the most profitable. We are not now alluding to the plan of keepuig cattle dm-ing the mnter in straw-yards and sheds, or cow-houses, when they require both shelter and a supply of food, which the grazing land cannot yield ; nor to the stalling of oxen for high feeding, and cousequentlj', for sale at high prices ; nor to the cottager's plan of soiling his cow on the produce of less than a single acre ; but to the plan of soiling throughout the year a great number of cattle on a fann of great extent. Tlie advantages of this system must then be determined by the nature of the soil and its products, the views and designs of the cultivator, and the facilities he has of purchasing manure. Some manure he will have on his own faiTu ; he must stable his workmg horses or oxen, and a great proportion of their food will be lucem, tares, clover, &c. Here, then, in manure, he will have some return ; hut the experiment, on a large scale, ma}' not bear a proportionate degree of ad- vantage. In Holland, Flanders, and otlier coun- tries, from the size and produce of the farms, soiling becomes more or less a matter of necessity. In England it has not yet been adopted as a ge- neral farming system ; but who can prophecy what it may be ? In no country are the climate and soil more fitted for producing a succession of green crops and nutritious roots than in England and Ireland ; and the small dairy-faraier would, in most cases, find soiling his most economical plan, both as regards his land and his cattle. Let him sow rye and winter barley eaiiy in autumn, so as to come in for cutting when spring is tolerably advanced : some sown later, with winter tares and the young clover which has not been cropped in autumn, will succeed. Then come the artificial grasses, so-\vn at proper inteiTals, clover and spring tares, lucem, and sainfoin. Mangel-wurzel, or heet, turnips, swedes, potatoes, straw-chaflf, hay, ,&c., serve for winter provender. On this plan ■he may keep more cows than he otherwise could do; and also two or four oxen (saleable at an im- proved price in a few years) to perform the ordi- uaiy labours of the fann. But. fls we have said, stall-feeding is now practised with a \iew more particularly to the rapid and heavy fattening of beasts for the mar- ket, We have alluded to the system pursued by the great brewers and distillers about London ; here, however, it is to the opulent feeders and breeders, the o^vners of large estates, or extensive graziers, that we now refer, — to those who send their prize-cattle to the different exhibitions in which the testimonial of merit is awarded to each candidate, in degree, by the most competent judges. We must not suppose that it is at Christmas only the results of their skill are to be seen. We are, at that time (in and about the metropolis) gratified witli proofs of what can be done, and of the high pitch to which they have brought the feeding qua- lities of their oxen, and of Ihe excellence of their plan of fattening ; but other cattle, finely fed, yet not prize cattle, leave their stalls, during the course of the autumn and winter, for the London market, a market in which cattle of all grades and breeds, from the stalled Dm-ham ox to the lean Irish cow, meet as on common ground. In stall-feeding for the market, without judg- ment, experience, and attention, there will be a loss, not a profit, on the part of the feeder ; and this mainly depends upon the proportion of the food to the health}' digestion of the animal, and its according increase in weight. Too much as well as too little food may be given ; and, moreover, the property of that food has to be taken into con- sideration ; for a truss of well-made clover, or sain- foin hay, will contain far more nutriment than the same weight of hay of inferior quality, and which, in the end, will be found the most expensive. If an animal be underfed, though it may con- tinue in health, and even keep up its flesh, it will not fatten ; on the contrai-y, if more than what the digestive organs can fairly manage be given (and an animal may be induced to take it), derangement of health may be anticipated. Yet the food should be ample ; that is, its quantity should be such as shall be proved by experiment to produce the greatest progressive increase of flesh : this point being ascertained, the food should be carefully weighed, and no more given daily than what is needful. A well-regulated mixture, or alternation of diet, is also essential. An ox will not fatten kindly on one article of food, however excellent it may be in quality, or well adjusted as to quantity : the food should be given, moreover, at definite intervals, with strict punctuality. A little gentle exercise daily, in a yard or bare paddock, is veiy useful: it improves the appetite and tone of the digestive organs ; it renders sleep more refreshing ; and the invigorating Untainted air, acting through the me- dium of the lungs, gives a renewed imjietus to the circulation. It is useless to say that exposure to cold winds and driring sleets should be guarded against ; for every one must be aware that a stall- fed beast is not fitted for sudden exposure to incle- ment weather. Green succulent fodder, excepting occasionally and in limited quantities, is seldom given : sac- charine roots are more largely used, but they are not given alone, being too watery, although they are excellent when mixed with dry food, such as cut straw, cut hay, and clover, lucern, or sainfoin hay ; to these are usually added oilcake, and even com ground or bruised, such as barley, of which the nutritive qualities are very great. In this mode of fattening cattle, double stalls are the best ; for experience proves that all our domestic animals are more quiet and happy when they have a companion of their own species than when solitary. Of all our domestic animals the cat only is not gregarious by nature ; the dog, the Horse, the ass, the sheep, the goat, and the ox are eminently gregarious ; nor can we interfere vnth this innate disjjosition to associate with their fel- lows without producing restlessness. The dog, though he makes his master liis friend, pays his compliments to his fellow -dogs as he rambles abroad ; the solitary horse in his paddock stretches his neck over the hedge or palings to greet his fellows on the road, and hails with joy the arrival of a companion ; in the stable, if he have no other friend, he will form an association with the dog or the cat, or any living thing which has a fellow- feeling with him. It is from the impulse of this deeply-rooted instinct that sheep follow their leader, and leap the wall after him in succession. So with regard to the ox : essentially gregarious by nature, the impulse, like that of a migratory bird for departing at the appointed season, is dominant, and ought not, imder good management, to be checked. The indulgence is to the benefit of the feeder ; for the beast, contented with its com- panion, is neither fretful nor melancholy, and therefore feeds cheerfully and heajtUy, ignorant of its destiny. There is a point at which a beast, already fat, ceases to pay, by liis increase, for food and attend- ance ; the animal ought then to be sold, and another should be put into his place. But what indicates this point? This, — viz., the trifling increase of weight made weekly in comparison with the amount of food consumed, on which food a lean beast Mr. Youatt says, a little before Christmas the fat beasts, to supply beef of unusual quality, come in. " They are sent from every part ; from Norfolk and Lincoln, Leicestershire and Northampton, Sussex, the western and midland counties, and from the stall-yards more in the neighbourhood of the metropolis. Christmas having passed, the Norfolk cattle, comprising all sorts, but amonc them home-breds and Galloways, throng to tlie market ; and their numbers, compared with those of other districts, increase as the spring advances." From calculation of the respective numbers from the different districts, at different seasons of the year, the same writer has ascertained, that, " on the average, in February, March, and AprU, there is an arrival of 16,000 Noifolks, nearly all staU- fed cattle ; while, from the north, including chiefly Leicester and Northampton, there come but 000. In May, June, and July, he fomid the Norfolk cattle to increase to 17,800, and those from the north to rise from 600 to 3,675. In Jul}', August, and September, the grass-fed cattle begin to pour in. The earliest are from the marshes of Essex ; and therefore the beasts from the centre and midland districts rise to 5,350, while those from Norfolk strangely decrease to 580. Some Leicesters, how- ever, soon become ripe, and quickly follow ; long droves from Northamptonshire and Lincoln are not far bellind ; and the northern cattle, iu the preceding quarter 4,675, rise to 16,340. In Octo- ber, November, and the early part of December, the grass-fed beasts still continue to occupy the market, and no less than 33,000 have been found to arrive from Leicester, Northamptonshire, etc.; while the supplies from the marshes and the mid- land counties still partially keep up, and may be estimated at 6,400, besides 2,380 Norfolks. The grass-season is now past, and dependence begins to be placed on stall-feeding ; and therefore, as obsen'ed, the northern cattle suddenly fall to 600, and the Norfolks rise to 16,000." This statement does not talse into account the would thrive very rapidly. This point attained, carcasses sent by railway to wholesale carcass- there is a loss in keeping the animal ; with this loss, and that not of small amount, the feeder must be content who fattens an animal to an extra- ordinary degree of ripeness for competition at one of the exhibitions. He must, in fact, pay for his triumph ; nor is he to be condemned for showing to what a pitch of perfection he has brought his cattle and his system of feeding. It is at Christmas that the display of the carcasses of these over- fatted beasts, in the large butchers' shops of the metropolis, takes place, attractmg often a crowd of wondering observers. With respect to the order iu which the Smith- field market is supplied with cattle, which are sent thither from every part of the kingdom, but in larger numbers from some districts than others, butchers ; nor does it allow for the results of rapid and incessant communication, by means of steam- vessels, with different parts of our coast. Besides, our market now receives considerable numbers of cattle from Holland and Belgium, &c. ; and also cured provisions, of which a great proportion con- sists of beef. Of the extent of the importations of cattle from abroad, and of the great number of carcasses sent b}' railroad to London, the following modified extracts from the public jovu-naJs Tvill convey some idea : — Api-il 13, 1846: Smithfield. — Since Monday last the arrivals of foreign stock in the j^ort of London have been considerably on the increase, and of improved quality. They have atoounted to a -i 93 THE can raise for profit in the market, an agricultu- ralist may soon decide as to whether on his farm, the plan is advisable or the contrarj'. We should say that if he has the facility of purchasing manure in" large towns, at a moderate price, and at times when men, horses, and carts can be most conveni- ently spared, he will not find the system of soiling the most profitable. We are not now alluding to the plan of keeping cattle during the winter in straw-yards and sheds, fir cow-houses, when they require both shelter and a supply of food, wliich the grazing land cannot yield ; nor to the stalling of oxen for high feeding, and consciiuently, for sale at high prices ; nor to the cottager's plan of soiling his cow on the produce of less than a single acre ; but to the plan of soiling throughout the year a great number of cattle on a farm of great extent. The advantages of tliis system must then be determined by the nature of the soil and its product-s, the views and designs of the cultivator, and the fa«-ilities he has of purchasing manure. Sonic maimre he will have on his own fann ; he must stable his working horses or oxen, and a great proportion of their food will be lucem, tares, clover, &c. Here, then, in manure, he will have some return ; but the experiment, on a large scale, may not bear a proportionate degree of ad- vantage. In Holliine that it is at Christmas only the resul of ilu ir >kill are to be seen. We are, at that ti » (in and about the metropolis) gratified with proi of what can be done, and of the high pitch to dch they have brought, the feeding qua- lities of uir oxen, and of llie e.xcellence of their plan of f leniug; but other cattle, finely fed, yet not prize Ulle, leave their stalls, during the course of the ail nin luid winter, for the London market, a niarkei l whicli cattle of all grades and breeds, from tilt- called Durham ox to the lean Irish cow, meet iLs . common ground. In st|-feeding for the market, without judg- ment, c.jriencc, and attention, there will be a loss, nut profit, on the part of ilie feeder ; and tliis nittiy dejiends upon the proportion of the food to It healthy digestion of the animal, and it^ accordinfacrease in weight. Too much as well as too lie food may be given; and, moreover, the ppipj^ of that food has to be taken into con- sideniiid; for a truss of well-made clover, or sain- foin liu\ yill cotituiu far more nutriment than the same «< ht of hay of inferior quality, and wliich, iu tin- I , will be found the most exj)cnsive. If u ininiid be underfed, though it may con- tinue in 3alih, and even keep up its flesh, it will not fatti ; on ilie contrary, if more llian what the dige!-ti\iirgaiis cmi fairly manage be given (and an aniinniay be induced to take it), derangement of hcallljiay In- anticipated. Yet the food should ' be anipb that is, its quantity should be such as I shall bi proved by experiment to produce the ^,'rcali-t rogressive iiicrea.se of flesh: lliis point beiuo 11 3rtaiued, the food should be carefully weiglu-d and nci more given daily tliau what is ' needful. I A w> -regulated mixture, or alternation of diet, is al^i < 3ntial. An ox will not fatten kindly on oiir iirti (if f(rfid, however excellent it may be in , quality, well adjusted as to quantity : tlie food should given, moreover, at definite intenals, 'with slit punctuality. A little gentle exercise daily, iia yard or bare paddock, is very useful: it iiuiii-. s the appetite and tone of the digestive organs ; renders sleep more refreshing ; and the invigoraiig tintainted air, acting through the me- dimu of (8 lungs, gives a renewed imj>etus to the circulatit. It is useless to say tliat exposure to I cold wini and dri\ing sleets shoidd be guarded against : or every one must be aware that a stall- fed bea-ife not fitted for sudden exposure to incle- ment wf«er. (ireJsucculent fodder, excepting occasionally and in iaiied quantities, is seldom given : sac- ' chariue lots are more largely used, but they are , not give] Uone, being too watery, although they .^" fllJ i(4t«»« • • _i ^ ^ • •• ■ • »=^ loi Recently, London has received considerable quantities of preserved meat from Russia. One vessel, the "Marquis of Chandos," from Taganrog, brought into St. Catherine's Dock 24,822 pack- ages ; each package was enclosed in a tin case, and its contents weighed from 8 to 10 poimds ; the total, therefore (which was consigned to a house in Lon- don), must, at the lowest calculation, have amounted to 198,576 poimds. Formerly it was the practice in Russia, as it is in South America, to destroy the cattle merely for the profit that could be realized in England from the tallow, hides, and hones ; but the abolition of the duty on salted provisions has materially changed affairs, and we may expect that the London market will receive* large sup- plies of cured beef from Russia, and that of good quality. The statistics into which we have thus entered ■will serve to show the increase in the importation of live stock from the continent into England ; the average amount of country-killed meat sent to Newgate and Leadenhall ; and the number of homed cattle weekly driven into Smithfield ; as well as the quantities of salt provisions imported. In all these jmrticulars, relative to the great intro- duction of country-killed meat, foreign cattle, and foreign cured provisions into London (and other large toviTis and seaports), we cannot but feel that a great change has taken place within the last few years ; and it is easier to see the causes than to tell to what extent it may be carried. Railroads, steam-vessels, and the opening of our ports have, indeed, brought about many alterations, and will bring others. Nor is it only from foreign ports that the rapid transport of cattle (their introduction being duty free) takes place ; by the same means great numbers are imported from Ireland and Scotland, and in good condition, instead of being worn and wasted by a tedious and boisterous voyage as was too often the case formerly. We leai-n that from the port of Aberdeen, during the last twelve yeare, there have been shipped 99,891 head of fat cattle, weighing, in the aggregate, nearly fifty thousand tons. When to this we add shipments from the ports of Peterhead, Fraser- burg. Banff, and Inverness, we shall have an aggre- gate of nearly a quarter of a milliim of prime animals exported from the north of Scotland to London in twelve years. It is worthy of remark, too, that although the opening of our ports for the admission of foreign cattle had, perhaps, at first, the effect of slightly diminishing the exports from Aberdeen, the returns for the last three years show an extra- ordinary increase ; and we believe that the cattle dealers, generally, admit that the prices during that period have been of the most remunerating kind. When, indeed, we consider the increasing population of Great Britain generallj', and the rapidly progressive extension of the capital in all directions, we cannot for a moment entertain the idea that any arrivals of foreign cattle, though the numbers should be far greater than what they are at present, will interfere with the interests of the breeder or dealer within the limits of our owii shores. To revert to the sales of cattle at Smithfield, we may obsene, that all the cattle sent there are consigned to salesmen, who, whatever the}' may do covertly, are prohibited we believe by law from bujdng or selling on their o^vn account. The grazier has, in fact, little or nothing to do person- ally in the business. He trusts to his salesman, who is acquainted exactly with the state of the market, and knows all the butchers, dealers, or contractors who frequent the sales. He is well enabled to anticipate fluctuations in price ; he can see at a glance the characters of the cattle in- tmsted to him ; and he can tell at once what lots will find the readiest market, and return the high- est price. It is his interest to do the best for his employer, and to take eveiy fair advantage of the state of the market in his behalf. The grazier could not act so well for himself were he to try on the spot ; nay, he might even lose his money, wliich he is sm'e of by employing an accredited salesman. How many a wear}' mile have the droves of cattle from distant districts (those excepted which are sent by steam-vessels or railroads) to tra- vel, before they reach the salesman in London ! Long is the way from the Highlands of Scot- land to the Great City on the Thames ; — yet this distance have the droves of kv'loes to travel, under the guidance of a set of men well known as drovers, shrewd, hardy, weatherbeaten men, who make this their business, and in whom im- plicit confidence is placed. Not that one set of drovers go tkrough the whole journey. The High- land drovers usually sell their cattle in the Low- lands, or within the English borders, and return home ; and the English drovers, who now take charge of them, continue the route till near Lon- don, when, suiTendering their charge to others, they retrace their steps, to repeat in due time their labours. •' If," says a writer on this subject,* " we could exhibit, as in a picture gallery, some of the various characters who are gathered together, with their flocks and herds, at the fairs of merr}' England and trysts of Scotland, the reader would acknow- ledge that scarcel}' any occupation could pro- duce so many specimens of the human form of strildug and picturesque aspect. The drovers are divided into several classes, but each offers rich subjects for the painter; and if we were to include not only those whose business it is to diive the live stock to the mai-kets and fairs, but also those who breed and rear it, what varied and animated * Penny Majazine, No. 736. 102 forms of life might be summoned around us. There is the shepherd of the South Do'wns and Salisbury Plains ; his congeners of the Lowlands and Highlands of Scotland ; and the lassie that herds her parents' small flock in some romantic mountain-spot, that kindly puts forth a few blades of grass on which her hardy black-faced charge live, till the time arrives for their journey south- ward ; the Highlander, wrapped in his tartan, folloT\-ing his kyloes in the same direction : and the drover, who is familiar only with Smithfield, and the great roads in the suburbs of London. Nor must we forget the old topsman, who has truly the air of a dweller out of doors ; but its savage wildness is a stranger to his features, which are noble and manly, with a free and piercing glance, and when the stock is selling well, lighted by a smirk, which seems to express some contempt for the southrons, though he has no objection to their siller. "According to Sir Walter Scott, the Highlanders excel all others as herdsmen ; but their peculiar characteristics are lost, or of little value, when the herd is exchanged for the flock. ' The Highlanders, ' he remarks, ' are masters of this difficult trade of driving, which seems to suit them as well as the trade of war. It affords exercise for all their habits of patient endurance, and active exertion. They are required to know perfectly the drove- roads which lie over the wildest tracks of the country, and to avoid, as much as possible, the highways, wliich distress the feet of the bullocks ; and the turnpikes, which annoy the spirit of the drover : whereas, on the broad green or grey track which leads across the pathless moor, the herd not only move at ease and without taxation, but, if they mind their business, may pick up a moiithful of food by the way. At night the drovers usually sleep along with their cattle, let the weather be what it will ; and many of tliese hardy men do not once rest under a roof from Lochaber to Lincolnsliire. They are paid very highly, for the trust reposed is of the last importance ; as it depends upon their prudence, vigilance, and ho- nesty, whether the cattle reach the final market in good order, and afford a profit to the grazier. But as they maintain themselves at their own expense, they are especially economical in that particular. At the period we speak of, a Highland drover was victualled for his long and tiresome journey with a few handfuls of oatmeal and two or three onions, renewed from time to time, and a ram's honi filled ■Aith whiskey, which he used regularly, but sparingly, eveiy night and morning. His dirk, or she7ie dim (black knife), so worn as to be concealed by the arm, or under the plaid, was his only weapon, excepting the cudgel with which he di- rected the movements of the cattle A Highlander was never so happy as on these occasions. There was a variety in the whole journey which exercised the Kelt's natural curiosity and love of motion : there were the constant change of place and scene, the petty adventures incidental to the traffic, and the intercourse with the various farmers, traders, and graziers, intermingled with occasional merry- makings, not the less acceptable to Donald that they were void of expense : and there was the con- sciousness of superior skill ; for the Highlander, a cliild among flocks, is a prince amongst herds ; and his natm-al habits induce him to "disdain the shep- herd's slothful life," so that he feels himself nowhere more at home than when following a gallant drove of his counti-y cattle in the character of their guardian." " In No. 90 of the ' Quarterly Review,' there is an interesting notice of a drover poet, com- monly called Rob Donn (i. e.. Brown Robert). He wrote in Gaelic, and the reviewer treats him as one of the time sons of song. " Allan Cunningham has given us a picture of the collected riches of a mountain country, — viz., its cattle, being assembled for their journey to the south. ' The hills and valleys of the interior High- lands, which, in rougher times, sent out, under a Graham or a Cameron, bands of armed men, now in the season pour forth the herds of cattle which they rear for the eager markets of England, where a savoury mouthful is ever welcome. The cattle which form the drove are gathered together on a set day, and at an appointed place, the foot of a mountain, the side of a lake, or near a castle in the neighbourhood of a village, or, more likely still, a battle-field ; herdsmen are selected to conduct the different portions into which the herd is divided, while over all a confidential person, a sort of chief, topsman as he is called in the Lowlands, presides, who directs all the movements, makes all the bar- gains, and is responsible to the owners for the profits. This person, the topsman, gives the order, a signal generally, when to move or lialt ; he is always busy, now in the front and then in the rear, and is consulted by his subordinates in all difficulties. He knows the safest roads over the wildest tracks ; Shapfell is as well luiown to him as Schehallion ; he prefers the greensward way, which is pleasant to the hoof of his charge alid affords them a mouthful, to the hard and dusty public road, which distresses the feet of his cattle and affords little in the way of food. English parties on their way to the north, to look at the wild deer and wild hills, and trace the scenes of Scott or of Ossian, are often startled by a drove emerging from a glen, or rounding the base of a mountain, coming lowmg along, urged or directed by their drivers, who, wallet on back and staff in hand, are conducting them to the south. These topsmen are now generally paid for their labour and trust, but in days not yet distant the Highland proprietor 103 accompanied his drove to the south, and with his profit in his sporran, returned to the mountains.' " The English countr}' drover who meets the drovers from Scotland, is to this day much the same sort of man as he was fifty years ago, and his calling is one of the few which the sweeping influences of modem improvements have hitherto but little affected ; railroads do not materially af- fect his trade, at least he professes he cannot per- ceive any difference. The cattle he drives have improved to a degree almost beyond belief, and as he surve3's the different members of his drove in advance of himself, he cannot see one represent- ative of his old friends the Craven, and other such coarse ungainly animals as it fell to his lot to drive some four or five and fifty years ago. The roads he travels have partaken of the general and beneficial improvements of the present cen- tury; but to his mind these are a disadvantage rather than a gain. Formerly he often crossed wide tracts of uncultivated waste-land, and heaths of some miles extent, where the timid rabbit, the fleeter hare, and their joint enemy the fox, occa- sionally afforded him and his almost human companion, his dog, some sport. The cattle or sheep under his charge formed picturesque groups on these wide tracts, and nature displayed her beauties around him : the golden blossoms of the prickly furze, the delicate blue-bell, the deep green of some and the silvery appearance of other members of that beautiful class of plants, the fern tribe ; never seen to so much advantage, or with such feelings of pleasure and delight, as when planted on a barren heath by the hand of nature, and contrasting with the yellow sand-banks or parched and stunted gi'ass that feebly strives to show itself amidst the carpet of purple heather that nearly covers the whole ex- panse, backed by the hills over which he toiled in the summer-heat some four or five days before. Amid such scenes as these, perhaps lighted up by a bright morning sun, and the heavy dewdrops looking like crystals showered over the surrounding objects, he left the secluded hamlet, by eventide had sup- plied his beasts with fodder, and taken his place on the village green, discussing local news with the old, or watching the merry-making of the young, retiring early to his rest, and closing his eyes while the village youths, untired by the labours of the day, rang a peal from the bells of the village church. In scenes like these, so peculiarly English, and ca- pable of supplying the painter or poet with subjects or themes, did the drover pass his life. It might be that, like Peter Bell, nature never found the way into his heart, and that * At noon when by the forest's edge He lay, beneath the branches high, The soft blue sky did never melt Into his heart ; he never felt The witchery of the soft Wue sky. A prim A yello And it ,se by a riv ' pr mrose m r'« brim 1.S to hii Wordsworth. will therefore follov Perhaps so : — and we him in the actual business of the day. The drover, then, calls on the graziers who have cattle or sheep to send to market or fair ; and when he has collected a sufficient number he proceeds on his journey, which, however interesting, is, we will suppose, from long familiarity passed unregarded, except an occasional remark on passing some well- cultivated piece of ground which he knew forty years back a barren waste, where nobody thought of growing mangel-wurzel or cow-cabbage. His journey varies from one hundred miles a week, more or less as the case may be, and within six or eight miles of London he surrenders his charge to the care of another man, and returns home to perform the same services over again, accompanied by his faithful dog, whose family he not unfre- quently carries on either side of him, in the ample pockets of his smock-frock. "The drover who takes from the country drover the charge of the herd or flock, resides in the suburbs of London, at a convenient distance to afford food or pasture to the numerous droves that arrive weekly for the supply of the metropolis. He is paid for sheep at so much per score, and cattle per head ; and his business is to drive the cattle into the market, and to wait until they are sold and paid for. The average rate for cattle is ninepence per head, and reckoning that in Smith ■ field one hundred and sixty thousand are annually sold, a sum of £5,000 a year is paid to this class of drovers; allowing for about five hundred head per week, which are brought by steam, — droves occasionally taken to market by country drovers themselves, — and a certain number which are foddered and driven to market, either from their own fields, or the layers at Islington. There are also above a million and a half of sheep driven into Smithfield yearly, for which the drovers are paid a considerable sum. " The drover is liable for any damage or accident that may happen to the stock, until sold and de- livered to a drover that may be called a butcher's drover, for he only drives from the market to the shop or slaughter-house of the purchaser. The cattle generally arrive in the suburbs on the Sun- day morning, where the master-drover and his men are ready to receive them. These men he pays about ten shillings per day, and they have besides the chance on their return of driving purchases for butchers who live along the road, of which they generally avail themselves. After resting the remainder of the day and night, the drover is up and stirring at a very eai-ly hom- on Monday, as his drove must be at market by five, where the 104 salesman is ready to receive them, and they are tied up according to his direction. If there is not room for this, they are formed into off-droves, con- sisting of circles of cattle with their heads toward the centre of the ring. This is not effected with- out severe blows, and other cruel punishments ; indeed the scene is one of great bi-utiJity, and need not be detailed. Dming the dark nights of winter the drovers are furnished with torches; and the flashing of these, the shouts of the men, the lowing of the beasts, the tremulous cries of the sheep, and the rattling of sticks on the heads and bodies of the animals, combine to produce a scene of wild confusion. By the dawn of day, however, the poor animals, tired and sore, are terrified into maiutaining the required position for the conve- nience of the purchasers to examine them. The butcher now arrives, chooses such as suit his pui-pose, and, after chaffering with the salesman for some time, the bargain is struck. The sales- man then takes out a pair of scissors, cuts a small portion of hair off the nimp as a mark, and the jjurcbaser repairs with him to the bankers to make the payment. 'Ihe suburban drover is now told the beasts are paid for; on which he takes a knife from his pocket, and cuts off all the loose hair from the tail, placing his distinguishing mark on the animals \Yith a piece of red ochre. The town- drover seldom drives for any but butchers and other drovers. Some of them do not leave the market at all, but merely drive sheep in and out of the pens. Like the last class of drovers, they are licensed by the clerk of the market, pursuant to rules and regulations made by the city authori- ties. The licence must be renewed annually to entitle the holder to wear his badge, without which he could not stand in the market or drive cattle or sheep in the cities of London or West- minster and the suburbs. The charge for a renewal of the licence is five shillings, and in it the person of the drover is minutely described, with pai'ticulars respecting his age, trade, height, coniple.xion, residence, colour of hair and eyes. When a drover is fined for ill-using cattle or sheep it is endorsed on his licence ; which in that case is not renewed without some trouble, and pro- ducing securities for future good behaviour." It must be confessed, however, that the difficulty of extricating the terrified beasts, when sold, from the dense throng of others which fill the allotted space, too often leads to acts of ruthless barbarity: the men lose their temper, and shower blows on the most sensitive parts of the poor animal, as the hoofs, roots of the homs, and nose, till, mad- dened with agony and rage, it rushes forward, not unfrequently committing serious mischief As may be easily conceived, a visit to Smithfield on a crowded market-day is not unattended by danger. The greatest number of the cattle sent to Smithfield are purchased by the great carcass- butchers, from whom the smaller retail butchers buy their needful supplies. The convenience of resting-grounds or cattle- layers for the droves, about the outskirts of Lon- don, need not be insisted on. We have already alluded to Laycock's establishment at Islington. In this, the cattle are supplied with fodder at a stipulated price, one shilling the night per head ; besides which the manure is the property of the owner of the layer, and also the milk given by the cows (for numbers of milch cattle are brought up from the country) during their sojourn, the office of milking being performed by liis own people. This latter is a great advantage to a person who keeps an extensive dairy as well as a cattle-layer, inasmuch as he has an opportunity of testing the milking qualities of the animals before they go to market, and of regulating his pm'chases accord- ingly : he has, in fact, the best of the herd at his command. When we consider the comparatively small space occupied by Smithfield market (once a field extending outside of the city walls, but now a spot imbedded in the heart of London), and the conse- quent confusion and danger arising evei-y Monday and Friday from the number of cattle forced into its area, terrified by blows and the novelty of their situation, we may wonder that no better and more aptly arranged market has been established, con- stituting one of the many improvements of Lon- don, during the present day. The fact is, that, in the year 1833, a spirited and opulent individual, Mr. Perkins, at an outlay of £100,000 erected and opened a noble cattle-market in the Lower Eoad at Islington. It occupied an area of twenty- two acres, and no expense was spared to make it convenient for the purpose. Sheds, pens, troughs, drainage, general arrangement, comfort for the cattle, facilities for the purchasers, were all com- bined. The arrangements rendered disorder and confusion impossible ; every possible want was foreseen : a market- tavern, stables, sheds, and even shops, were planned, as were also abattoirs or slaughtering-houses closely adjacent. But the well-designed experiment (which ought to have been successful) failed : and why ? Old habits, invetei'ate custom, and perhaps interested opposi- tion, rendered the scheme abortive; and Smithfield, with its confusion, its dangers, and its almost in- evitable barbarities, maintains its ground. A writer on this subject says, " Remonstrate with the grazier and the butcher ; tell them of the impropriety of driving sheep and bullocks through crowded streets, exposing passengers to danger as well as the cattle to injury, and causing detriment to shops ; they will answer, — that is all very true, but that Smithfield has a venerable name, and that cattle of evei-y kind are brought to it from all 105 quarters of the Idngdom : that the man with a few pounds iu his pocket has a chance of suiting himself, as well as he who comes to lay out hun- dreds : that the market-place occupies a kind of centre near the General Post-office and old esta- blished places of business, and is, therefore, very favourably situated for the prompt transaction of business ; and that to remove it would run the risk of splitting the one universally supplied mar- ket into many. There is some reason ill these statements ; mere attachment to old habits, or the mere power of monopoly on the part of the corporation of the city of Loudon, cquld not of themselves have prevented the removal of Smith- field market." What effect the railroads are destined to have on Smithfield yet remains to be seen. May we not expect that the amount of country-lulled meat brought to Loudon, especially during the colder months of the year, will tend at least to abate its more glaring nuisances ; and those, moreover, of the slaughter-houses in some of the most crowded parts of the metropolis; We have, in the foregoing pages, alluded to the ti7Sts or cattle fairs of Scotland ; and we may add that these are not markets appointed by pub- lic authority, but by concert among the dealer's, on a notice from the drovers or purchasers from the south or interior of Scotland (sometimes we believe made at the churches), that they are ready to purchase on a certain day at some appointed place. At the ti-ysts thus concerted (many in May and during the summer), the sellers and buyers meet and bargain for the cattle. It would appear, however, that there are trysts held at customary terms, on the same plan as our English cattle-markets ; and of these several are held annually about four miles from Falkirk, Stirling- shire. The following sketch of the October Falkirk tryst, 1846, from the "Glasgow Chronicle," will give a picture of their importance, and serve as a specimen of the extent of business then transacted : — " The third and last of our great markets commenced on Monday. It was easy to predict from the state of prices at the September tryst, and the rise that has subsequently taken place in the price of sheep in all the principal districts throughout the country, that this our concluding and influential market would exhibit a rise. Last week a great many dealers passed to the north, eager to avail themselves at once of top lots, and the encouraging prospect afforded by the late results of sales in England. We understand that a great many sheep thus changed hands, and of course never appeared at Falkirk. Perhaps more than the usual number of buyers from the south arrived on Saturday and Sunday ; and eveiy- thing wore the aspect of a keen competition. On Monday forenoon, the Stenhouse moor was early filled with a splendid array of flocks, and despite the heavy rain they appeared in tolerable condi- tion. The day cleared up towards ten o'clock, when sales became a rapid business. From eleven o'clock till four p.m. the road from the ti-yst to Falkirk (about four miles) continued one dense mass of droves ; and we do not recollect that such quickness of sale has characterized any tryst for the last twenty years. On Tuesday the usual cattle supply was on the ground, and these in general may be said to have been in fine order, though but few fat cattle were offered for sale An advance, in the same proportion as that which took place on sheep, may be noted on this species of stock ; and we may state that some of the best lots were purchased by dealers from the south before reaching the. giarket. On the whole, the sale may be said to have been a brisk one ; and when we left the grounds the stock was nearly all sold off. Of horses the supply was not so numer- ous as/ we have seen, and very high prices were asked for all kinds of serviceable animals. This had the eS'ecfof retarding sales in the early pai-t of the day. A. fair amount of business was, how- ever, ultimately transacted, though at prices not considered favourable to the buyer. Indeed many experienced dealers consider that horse- flesh has reached its maximum. Two-year-old colts were selling at from £35 to £40." Of the cattle purchased at these trysts great numbers are driven to Norfolk and Suffolk for fattening, and other comities take their share. It is thus then that we receive black cattle from the north of Scotland; — but we must not forget that cattle from all parts and of all breeds, from Wales, Hereford, Devonshire, Yorkshire, Durham, Sussex, Lincohisliire, and other counties, find their way to London. The system already described upon which the drover acts, is everywhere pretty much the same : he must be a man of trust and probity. The great thoroughfares through which cattle take their way to London, are by the great northern road over Highgate Hill, and through Islington ; by the eastern outlet of the city, — viz., the White- chapel road ; and the western road, through Uxbridge, from Wiltshire, Herefordshire, Glouces- tershire, &c. From Devonshire and the south- western counties the road approaches Loudon through Woking, Weybridge, and Kingston. The majority of the droves, however, excepting those from the east, strike off towards Islington, for the rest which the cattle-layers there afford them, before the Monday market at Smithfield. With respect to the principal cattle fairs of England, little need be said. At these markets for the sale of live stock, at which the cattle of the surrounding district destined by their owners for sale are congregated, beasts of all sorts and qualities are to be seen : bulls and cows, heifers, oxen, and even calves. But it is universally the /^\ ^ lOi THE salesman is ready to receive them, and they are tied up according to bis direction. If there is not room for this, they are formed into off-droves, con- sisting of circles of cattle with their heads toward the centre of the ring. This is not effected with- out severe blows, and other cruel punishments ; indeed the scene is one of great brutidity, and need not be detailed. During tlie dark nights of winter the drovers are furnished with torches; and the flashing of these, the shouts of the men, the lowing of the beasts, the treniulous cries of the sheep, and the rattling of sticks on the heads and bodies of the animals, combine to produce a scene of wild confusion. By the dawn of day, however, the poor animals, tired and sore, are terrified into maintaining the re(iuired position for the conve- nience of the purchasers to examine them. The butcher now arrives, chooses such as suit his purpose, and, after chaffering with the salesman for some time, the bargain is struck. The sales- man then takes out a pair of scissors, cuts a small portion of hair off the nunp as a mark, and the purchaser repairs with him to the bankers to make the payment. '1 he suburban drover is now told the beasts are paid for ; on which he takes a knife from his pocket, and cuts off all the loose hair ! from the tail, placing his distinguishing mark on I the animals with a piece of red ochre. The town- I drover seldom drives for any but butchers and other drovere. Some of them do not leave the market at all, but merely drive sheep in and out of the pens. Like the last class of drovers, they are licensed by the clerk of the market, pursuant to rules and regulations made by the city authori- ties. The licence must be renewed annually to entitle the holder to wear his badge, witJiout which he could not stand in the market or drive cattle or sheep in the cities of London or West- minster and the suburbs. The charge for a renewal of the licence is five shillings, and in it the person of the drover is minutely described, with paiticulars respecting his age, trade, height, complexion, residence, colour of hair and eyes. "When a drover is fined for ill-using cattle or sheep it is endorsed on his licence ; which in that case is not renewed without some trouble, and pro- ducuig securities for future good behaviour." It must be confessed, however, that the difficulty of extricating the terrified beasts, when sold, from the dense throng of others which fill the allotted space, too often leads to acts of ruthless barbaiity : the men lose their temper, and shower h\ovrs on the most sensitive parts of the poor animal, as the hoofs, roots of the bonis, and nose, till, mad- dened with agony and rage, it rushes forward, not unfrequently committing serious mischief. As may be easily conceived, a visit to Smithfield on a crowded market-day is not unattended by danger. The greatest number of the cattle" sent to Sniithf 1 are purchased by the great carcass- butchei from whom the smaller retail butchere buy tli( needful supplies. Th' oiivt nieiice of resting-groimds or cattle- Inyers I tln' iliuves, about the outskirts of Lon- don, in . not be insisted on. We have already alluded o Laycock's establishment at Islington. In this ■he cuttle are supplied with fodder at a slipiilui jiriic, one shilling the night per head ; besides hich the manure is the property of the owner > the layer, and also the milk given by the cows (1 nunil>ers of milch cattle are brought up from tl country) during their sojourn, the office of mill *^ MU < • 107 able period on food entirely destitute of azote ; it is true that even carnivorous animals can live for a cer- tain time upon food entirely destitute of azote, but in that case the excretions become altered ; and it may be further observed that several vegetable and ani- mal substances destitute of azote are highly nutri- tious, provided at the same time azote can be supplied from some other element containing it, though in small proportion. It would seem, however, that ve- getable aliments acquire an accession of azote in the digestive organs, though probably at the expense of some part of the system. The nutritive properties of animal and vegetable oils or fats are well known, but still they do not contain azote as one of their primary or elementary principles. The proximate principles in which azote, with oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon, occur, are, first, fibrin, which constitutes the chief part of the sub- stance of muscles, especially those of adult ani- mals, together with a principle called os)na^o?ne, to which meat owes its sapid flavour when dressed. Osmazome, however, is not a simple substance, but contains several salts or alkalies in combination with hydrochloric and lactic acid. In the muscles of young and white-fleshed animals, as veal, little osmazome but a great proportion of gelatine is pre- sent ; the gravy of veal, unlike that of beef, easily gelatinizes. In the muscles of dark-fleshed game, whether furred or feathered, osmazome (and there- fore flavour) is prevalent. Secondly, albumen (the white of an egg being an example). This principle forms the constituent part of oysters, mussels, and similai' shellfish. It occurs in the green feculoe of plants in general ; and abounds in the fniit of Hibiscus esculentus, used in Sicily to thicken soups, and in the bark of elm (ulmus campestris). Thirdly, gelatin. — Gelatin exists in the skin, tendons, ligaments, the swimming bladder of the sturgeon and other fishes. Isinglass, for e.xample, is gelatin. It differs in its qualities from albu- men ; it does not coagulate, is slowly soluble in water, and produces a tremulous jell}'. Its nu- tritious qualities are veiy considerable : but we question whether it is quite so digestible as it is usually considered to be. This observation applies to the albuminous oyster or shellfish. Albumen, be it observed, coagulates at a temperature of 165° Fahr., and becomes curdled or solidified by acids and the gastric juice. Milk is curdled by rennet, though not by boiling. Fourthly, mucus. — -This is an animal 'secretion (especially on certain membranes termed mucous membranes), which differs both from albumen and gelatin. Unlike the former it is not coagulable by heat, and unlike the latter it is not precipi- tated by vegetable astringents. With regai-d to the vegetable principles which come under this list, we may first notice gluten, which contains from fourteen to twenty per cent ot azote. Gluten is met with associated with starch in the seeds of the cereal plants known as grain, in many other seeds and fniits, and in the green and sappy parts of plants which yield feculae. Sepa- rated from the other principles with which it is generally combined, gluten is moist, white, soft, and glutinous ; but when dry, becomes hard, grey, with a somewhat glossy conchoidal fracture. Bird- lime is impure gluten. In the seeds of legumi- nous plants, as peas, beans, &c., a substance closely allied to gluten exists, it is termed legumen, and also vegeto-animal substance. Gluten exists in the leaves of most edible plants, as the cabbage, lucem, sainfoin, &c. When in combination with saccharine matter, and in a fluid condition, the fluid thus impregnated is capable of undergoing a vinous fermentation ; in- deed in the conversion of wheat-flour to bread, a sort of fermentation takes place evolving alcohol. Gluten in its natural states of combination with starch, fat, sugar, oil, is extremely nutritious; take wheat, barley, peas, and other edible pulse, as examples. Besides gluten there is a principle in oily seeds, in many dry plants and their ela- borated juices, which, whent triurated with water, produces an emulsion, termed emulsin, vegeta- ble albumen, vegetable casein, or amygdalin. How far this substance differs from gluten, does not ap- pear to be definitely ascertained. Some chemists regard it as identical with the casern of milk, and others are of opinion that it cannot be distinguished from animal albumen. The nutritious qualities of the seeds containing it, such as rape, &c., are well known. The proximate principles which consist of oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon aj-e as follow : — Grum. — This exists in all vegetables, more or less, and in some abundantly ; it oozes sponta- neously from the bark of many trees, as the cherry, the plum, and the acacia. It abounds in many roots, as the carrot, the parsnip, &c., and in many fruits, as the gooseberry, the currant, &c.; miited with agreeable vegetable acids. Pure gum is en- tirely soluble in water, forming mucilage ; but it is insoluble in alcohol. In its fluid state it is the nutriment of plants, and circulates largely through the leaves of many, as the lime. We have alluded to the nutritive qualities of gum in its pure state, but when in its natural state, combined with other principles, it adds greatly to the value of vegeta- bles as aliment. Sugar, or the saccharine principle. — This is veiy abundant in many vegetables, as the sugar- cane, the beet, the caiTOt; in various finits, as the gi'ape, the melon, the fig ; in some gum- resinous extracts, as manna. It gives sweetness to the nectai' of flowers, and is contained in honey, which is nectar that has undfci'gone some process 108 in the stomach of the bee. It is found in the milk of animals ; and it is produced, by a depraved action of the digestive and assimilating organs, in that al- most incurable disease termed diabetes mellitus. Starch and sugar are mutually convertible into each other. Sugar is the principle by which seeds are enabled to germinate rapidly, thus forming from the starch their own nutriment. This is familiarly exemplified in the process of malting, — ■which is, first, the forced germination of barley ; and then, at a certain point, drying it in a kiln, whereby its \itality is destroyed. Many seeds containing starch, and therefore insipid, maj^ be made agreeable and wholesome by steeping them in water till they begin to germinate, when the starch is converted into sugar. The Burmese, by this process, transform the seed of the cotton-plant into a grateful article of diet. In the ripening of many, as those of the banana, a remarkable trans- formation of starch into sugar takes place. The sago-palms, when about to flower, have the starch in their lofty stems all converted into sugar ; they must be, therefore, cut down when the flower first begins to show itself, otherwise the sago they con- tain would be altogether lost. A sweet liquid from flowering palms (once in a state of starch) is dra^^Ti, and fermented into toddy, or palm-wine. On the contraiy, many seeds, as the common pea, which contain saccharine matter before they are ripe, have, as they ripen, this saccharine matter converted into starch ; and, when they germinate, this starch is reconverted into sugar. Among the grasses of our meadows, many, at an early stage of their growth, have the stems very sacchai-ine ; but this sweetness is lost at a later period, and the stems are insipid. This loss of saccharine matter diminishes their nutriment : hence it is an error to cut grass for hay when too ripe ; for though, after it is stacked, it may be re- stored to a proper condition by the fermentation that then occurs, yet this is not unattended with risk, nor is the hay so savoury and acceptable. In many trees, as the birch, the sugar-maple, and others, the starch in spring is converted by the ascending sap into a saccharine fluid ; and from that of the maple concentrated sugar is ob- tained in America ; while in England the sap of the birch is often fermented into a sort of wine. Sugars may be divided into several kinds, according to the plant from which they are ob- tained. Some are capable of crystallization, and others are not. Sugar of both these kinds exists in the sugar-cane ; the latter constituting what is known under the tei-ms treacle or molasses. Some sugars are susceptible of fermentation; others, however, are not so. The sugar of manna is neither crystallizable nor capable of fermentation. Honey is capable of fermentation, and yields the old Celtic beverage railed mead or methedin. With respect to the sugar of milk, though it does not naturally crystallize, it may be converted into granular sugar by the action of dilute sulphuric acid, and is then, though not previously, suscepti- ble of fermentation. Starch. — Starchi chernically considered, differs from sugar and from gum only in the greater pro- portion of carbon which it contains; and, byre-, moval of this superabundance of carbon, it is converted into one or other of the above principles. This change occurs in plants during their flower- ing, and in grains during their germination, as well as in the stomach during the process of digestion. In combination with gluten, or wheaten flour for example, starch is capable of undergoing fermenta- tion ; and this takes place during the process of converting the flour to bread, while it is in the state of dough. The precise nature of the action which goes on is not well understood ; but the digest! bility of the flour is thereby increased, and its fitness as an article of food consequently improved. Starch abounds in all the cereal grains, but in the greatest purity in rice, millet, barley', maize, &o. ; in wheat it is combined with gluten ; with saccharine matter in oats and some leguminous seeds ; with mucilage in potatoes, rye, and Windsor beans. In other vegetables it is differently com- bined, producing aliments various in degree of nutri- ment and digestibility. All seeds or roots yielding starch in abundance are termed farinaceous. Starch is digestible and nutritious, but requires other principles to be taken in conjunction with it; with milk, sugar, eggs, &c., it constitutes one of the most wholesome and acceptable of aliments, and fattens rapidly. Oily or Fatty Matters. — These principles are met with both in animal and in vegetable bodies ; and they occur in a variety of forms, fi'om fluid to soft, and to hard or concrete ; but they cannot be mistaken. Unlike as these matters are to gum, sugar, and starch, yet their constituent ele- ments are the same, excepting that they con- tain a larger proportion of hydrogen ; and during digestion in the stomach the most dissimilar are brought into more intimate relationship than might have been anticipated. Sugar and starch are both susceptible of fermentation, during which they pai-t mth a portion of their carbon, which, uniting with oxygen, is evolved in the form of carbonic acid gas. From starch in fermentation, when a certain quantity of carbon is dissipated, sugar is the re- sult:— a portion of carbon and oxygen being taken, the hydrogen remaining undiminished, alcohol is the product. This, in the words of Dr. Prout, is an oleaginous body of a iceak* kind, — composed, * " When we speak of a strong compound, we mean that its constituent supermolecules are like those of strong cane-sugar ; less complicated than the supeiTQolecules of a ireak principle, like those of the sugar of honey The sugar of honey is more easily decomposed than the sugar of the cauc." — Puodt. 100 like oils, of oleflant gas and water ; and tluis tlie analogy is complete, foi' all farinaceous and sac- charine aliments undergo changes m the digestive organs similar to what occurs in fermentation, hefore they can be assimilated in the system, — namel)', conversion into oil. " Tliough," says Dr. Prout, " the proportions of the dilTereut ingredients of the chyle, as ulti- mately formed, are liable to be varied according to the nature of the food, yet, whatever the nature of the food may be, the general composition and character of the chyle always remain the same. The stomach must, therefore, be endowed with a power or faculty, the agency of which is to secure this uni- form composition of the chyle by appropriate action upon such materials as circumstances may bring within its reach. Two, indeed, of the chief mateiials from which the chyle is formed, the albuminous and the oleaginous principles, may be considered to be already fitted for the purposes of the animal economy, without undergoing any essen- tial change in their comjJosition. But the saccha- rine class of elements, which form a veiy large pait of the food of all animals (except of those subsisting entirely on flesh), are by no means adapted for such speedy assimilation. Indeed, one or more essential changes must take place in saccharine aliments previously to their conversion either into the albuminous or into the oleaginous principles. Most probably, under ordinary cir- ■ cumstances, these essential changes are altogether chemical ; that is to say, these changes are such as do take place, or, rather, as would take place, if the elements of the substances thus changed in the stomach could, out of the body, be so collo- cated as to bring into action the affinities neces- sary for the changes produced in the stomach. Thus, as we know, the saccharine principle spon- taneously becomes alcohol, which, as has been stated, is an oleaginous body of a weak kind. When, therefore, in the stomach, it is requisite that sugar be converted into oil, it is probable that the sugar passes through precisely the same series of changes it undergoes out of the body during its conversion into alcohol. We cannot trace the conversion of sugar into albumen, because we are ignorant of the relative composition and of the laws which regulate the changes of these two substances. The origin of the azote in the albumen is likewise unknown to us at present; though, in all ordinaiy cases, it seems to be appropriated from some ex- ternal source. That the oleaginous principle may be converted into most if not into all the matters necessary for the existence of animal bodies, seems to be proved by the well-lcnown fact, that the life of an animal may be prolonged by the absorption of the oleaginous matter contained within its own body." Thus, then, do animals fed on farinaceous and saccharine vegetables acquire, at least, a large pro- portion of their fat; but oleaginous matters are in themselves highly nutritious, " being already fitted for the purposes of the animal economy, without undergoing any essential change in their compo- sition;" yet, as oils are insoluble in water, they are not available for the support of the body till this immiscibility be overcome. Hence they are apt to oppress the stomach during the early stages of digestion, if taken alone, without b^ing mingled with substances which facilitate their union with water. When this is accom- plished, they are easily assimilated. Thus oil or fat, blended with farinaceous matters, or, as it is natu- rally, with milk (butter), -becomes yei'y nutritive ; and thus the butter, which might disorder the stomach if S:Wallowed alone, is grateful when spread upon bread or mingled with potato-meal. We may here observe that the too copious use of saccharine matters, or of saccharine vegetables, may in certain cases. prove, hurtful ; for " the de- rangement, or partial suspension, of the conversion of the saccharine principle (in man) into the albu- minous or oleaginous, not only constitutes a for- midable specigsof dyspepsia, butthe-unassimilated saccharijie ^ niatter passing through the kidneys, gives occasion to the disease termed diabetes/' In certain forms of disease, oxalic acid (poisonous acid of sugar) is produced and detected in the blood; and the production of lactic acid from the same source, forms, when in e.xcess, one of the most troublesome kinds of acidity of the stomach. Without alluding to water as an alimentary principle, which consists of oxygen and hydrogen alone, we may here conclude our obseiwations on the proximate elements of alimeutaiy substances and their elementary constituents. Of the vai-ious condiments and stimulants, acids, Ac, we need here say nothing ; there is. however, one article, — namely, common salt, which, from its existence in the blood, and its importance in the animal economy, requires some notice ; and it is neces- sary, in order to show this, to enter to a cer- tain extent into the process of digestion, that is, into a short explanation of the solvent or reducing powers of the stomach, and the means by which the solution of aliments, and their combination into a fluid mass termed chyme, in the stomach, is effected. This operation is by the agency of a fluid termed the gastric juice, poured out of glands chiefly in the pyloric portion of the sto- mach,— the fourth stomach, or abomasum, in ni- minant animals. The aliment then, having been duly masticated to a proper consistence and mingled with saliva, is conveyed into the stomach, and brought under the action of the fluid there se- creted. By the agency of this secretion, and perhaps some other energy exerted by the stomacli, the food is converted into a more or less fluid 108 THE in the stomach of the hee. It is found in tlie milk of animals ; and it is produced, by a depraved ai'tinn of the digestive and jt-isimilating organs, in that al- most incuralile disease termed diaibrles viellitiis. Starch aud sugar are mutually convertible into each other. Sugar is the principle bv which seeds are enabled to germinate niiiidly, thus forming from the starch their owni nutriment. This is familiarly exemplified in the process of malting.— which is, first, the forced germination of barley ; and then, at a certain point, drying it in a kiln, whereby its vitality is destroyed. Many seeds containing starch, and therefore insipid, may be made agreeable and wholesome by steeping them in watt'r till they begin to germinate, when the starch is converted into sugar. The 13unnese, by this process, transform the seed of the cotton-plant into a grateful article of diet. In the ri]ieniiig of many, as those c)f the tiimaua, a remarkable trans- formation of starch into sugar takes place. The sago-palms, when about to Hower. liave the starch in their lofty stems all converted into sugar : they nmst be, therefore, cut down when the tlower first begins to show itself, otherwise the siigo they con- tain would be altogether lost. A sweet liipiid from dowering palms (onc« in a state of starch) is drawn, and fermented into toddy, ©r palm-wine. On tlje contrary, many seeds, as the common pea, which contain saccharine matter before they are ripe, have, as they ripen, this saccharine matter converted into starch ; and, when they germinate, this starch is reconverted into sugar. Among the grasses of our meadows, many, at an early stage of their growth, have the stems very saccharine ; but this sweetness is lost at a later period, and the stems are insipid. This loss of saccharine matter diminishes their nutriment : hence it is an error to cut grass for hay when too ripe ; for though, after it is slacked, it may be re- stored to a proper condition by the fermentation that then occurs, yet this is not unattended with risk, nor is the hay so savoury and acceptable. In many trees, as the birch, the sugar-maple, and others, the starch in spring is converted by the ascending sap into a saccharine fluid ; and from that of the maple concentrated sugar is ob- tained in America ; while in England the sap of the birch is often fermented into a sort of wine. Sugars may be divided into several kinds, according to the plant from wliich they are ob- tained. Some are capable of crrstallization, and others are not. Sugar of both these kinds exists in the sugar-cane ; the latter constituting what is known under the terms treacle or molasses. Some sugai-s are susceptible of fermentation ; others, however, are not so. The sugar of manna is neither crystallizable nor capable of fermentation.^ Honey is capable of fermentation, and yields ll old Celtic beverage ral'cd mead or metheg] With isp.-.t to the sugar of milk, though it does not n irally ( rysudlize, it may be converted into gnini ^ sugar by the action of dilute sulphuric acid, d i> then, though not previously, suscepti- ble ol Tineiitution. S tIi. — ^ Starch, chenftically considered, differs from gar and from gum only in the greater pro- portii of CMrbon which it contains ; and, by re- niovajf tills superabundance of carbon, it is convt )d into onoorotherof the above principles. This ange occurs in plants during their flower- ing, !i I in gniiiis during their germination, as well as in e stomach during the process of digestion. In CI bination with gluten, or wheaten flour for (•Mini), stanh i^ capable of undergoing fermenta- tion . id this takes place during the process of cmivi fig the flour to bread, while it is in the state of (Ini J. 'I be ]M-ecise nature of the action which goi> is not well understwd ; Imt the digesti bility the tlour is thereby increased, and its fitness as an ticb- of food consequently improved. S th abiMinds in all the cereal grains, but in the i^'ittest purity in rice, millet, barley, maize, (ti-. : 'wheat it is combined with gluten; with saci'li: ne matter in oats and some leguminous see.U villi mucilage in potatoes, rye. and Windsor bean- In other vegetables it is differently corn- bin. .I roduciiig aliments various in degree of nutri- ment d (li^'.slibility. All seeds or roots yielding sturilii abiinilance are termed farinaceous. Sich is digestible and nutritious, but requires other inciples to be taken in conjunction with it; with i|k, sugar, eggs, Ac, it constitutes one of the nik wholesome and acceptable of aliments, and fii|)ns rapidly. ifM or I'liity Matten. — These principles are nut wfc both ill animal and in vegetable bodL and il^ occur in a variety of forms, fron to sofitod to hard or concrete ; but thj be mi ilcen. Unlike as these raattec sugar, fcnd starch, yet their meiit- ire the same, exceptii tain 11 rger proportion of, djopst-i in the stomac]) bn^uj;! into more in^ have l«i anticij susc<|ifcle with iij»g o.vygeij gas. quantil suit: the th^^^^^ ' ■,'.'<» UMI 111 pniic]|iW. tik. r uf boor)- u more (*«aii> tut-- ' • '"•' Ill nations or forms. This seems to be the view of i Professor Lyou Playfair, who thus states his opi- j nion : " First, I am clearly of opinion, that in the present state of our knowledge no applicahle process j is known by which malt can be rendered unfit for j the pui-jiose of distilling, and yet useful for feeding cattle ; but, at the same time, I conceive that such a process could be discovered by investigation. " Second, a careful consideration of the subject has led me to the conclusion that the boon (of semi- malting barley) would not be so great as fiu-mers at present believe. Barley, in the act of germi- nating, loses a certain amount both of the consti- tuents wliich form the flesh, and those which form the fat, of the animal. These are partly converted into carbonic acid and ammonia, which pass into the air m the form of gas, and are, therefore, lost to the farmer. The former is the jjrincipal loss ; for the ammonia arising from the destruction of the flesh-forming principle is developed at the latter end of the process. A given weight of barley is, therefore, of greater nutritious value, both as re- gards the production of muscle and fat, than the same weight converted into malt. The starch in the barley, during the act of germination, has passed partly into a kind of sugar, which, being soluble, and more easily digested, will pass more rapidly into fat. The advantage of malt as food is, I apprehend, founded on its easy digestibility; in fact, in a practical point of view, j-ou might conceive it to be barley half digested. But there are other plans of rendering food easilj' digestible without destroying part of its nutritious qualities, as is done in the act of malting, and such o erations are familiar to farmers. I conceive, then, that barley loses part of its nutritious qualities in passing into malt ; and that, as there are other modes of aiding the digestibility of an aliment, the boon of allowing its use for the pm'jjoses of feeding cattle is not so great as to warrant government endangering part of the revenue by granting such a boon.' Professor Thompson, from his semi-malting or infusing e.xjjerimeuts, comes to the same conclu- sion, and says, " I do not think that malt is a better food for cattle than barley." Let us now see what another great chemist and physiologist says upon the same subject. Professor Graham, of the University College, London, thus expresses his \'iews : "I can find no evidence that cattle have ever been fed exclusively on malt, for fattening or any other purpose, or that malt has ever formed a large proportion of the food of cattle. The high price of malt might preclude its being used for such a purpose in this comitry ; but in Germany, where the manufacture and use of malt are subject to no restriction, it is 7iot employed for fattening cattle, as I have been assured by Pro- fessor Liebig. In the process of malting barley a loss of nutritive substance takes place, which is estimated by the same chemist at from five to seven per cent. The starch of the grain is saccha- rized, and rendered soluble, which is also the first step in the digestion of unmalted grain. Although less nutritive, malt may, therefore, be more diges- tible by cattle than the original unmalted grain, even when the latter is softened by grinding and mash- ing in hot water. It is well known that the infu- sion of malt, or sweet wort, acts as an aperient on man and cattle, and caimot be used largely as nu- triment. Malt acts in the same way upon cattle, and this has been found practically to keep within nai-row limits the proportion which it may be al- lowed to form of their food. But in a small pro- portion it has been pretty generally observed to be beneficial both to horses and black cattle in certain conditions of health ; still, it is to be observed, rather as a condiment than as the staple of their food. " Coarse sugar, or molasses, might, I believe, be substituted for malt with the same beneficial effects. " It is a common opinion that fixed oils prevent the fermentation of worts ; and that, consequently, malt might be made unsuitable for brewing by mixing linseed oil with it, an addition which would not injm^e the malt as food for cattle. Compa- rative experiments which I have made on the fer- mentation of malt alone, and of malt-meal which was previously mixed with a fomlh of its weight of linseed oil, showed that fermentation takes place in the latter case, although it proceeded more slowly than in the former; and that the presence of oil reduced the product of alcohol to a small extent ; the malt alone yielding seven per cent, more alco- hol than the same weight of malt mixed with oil. "Ground linseed, or linseed meal, is, I find, more effective than oil in checking fermentation. The addition of one-foui'th of that substance to malt occasioning a loss of alcohol amotmting to fourteen per cent. Linseed meal, also, when mixed with ground malt, renders it wholly unsuit- able for mashing, as that operation must be con- ducted, in ordiuai-y brewing, by making the liquid thick, so that the sweet wort drains away from the grains only pai'tially and very slowly. If malt should be issued to the farmers for the purpose of fattening cattle duty free, I would, therefore, suggest that it be ground and mixed with linseed meal rather than linseed oil. " It would, perhaps, be a greater advantage to the agricultural interest to allow molasses to be introduced duty free, on condition that it should be mixed, when landed, with a considerable pro- portion of linseed meal, which would prevent its being used for fermentation, or for any other piu'- pose except as food for cattle." We have here nothing to do with the financial question involved : the point to be decided is, whether barley or malt present the greatest staple of nutriment for cattle ? We say, unhesi- 112 tatingly, simple barley, ground to accommodate^ it to the active powers of the stomach. It contains ill itself both the flesh-making principle (gluten) and the fat-making principle (starch or sugar) in great abundance ; and to convert the starch into sugar by mashing, and abstract the saccharine re- sult, is to deprive it of a portion of its intrinsic value. It is true that linseed ■ meal, mixed with mashed barley (we speak not now of excise ques- tions), will give it all that it has lost in the mashing ; but this is really to pay extra for what • might have been better, oras well, dispensed with; - we, therefore, place barley before malt ; but, query, can the feeder afford barley? that is, will the price of his fattened oxen remunerate him for outlay in this species of grain ? This must alto- gether depend on circumstances, and is- somewhat out of our province. ' ' With respect to pulse, such as beans, peas, &c., abounding in gluten or legumen, and other nutritive principles, we need not enter into any details ; we must not, howev^, omit to ob- serve, that the pods of the carob-tree (ceratonia siliqua) have been much recommended as food for cattte, add wilh no doubt, pi-ove advantageous, especially as they may be now introduced, dttty free, from the south of Europe and the shores of the Mediterranean gen«rally, especially the Levant. This leguminous plant (an evergreen) is almost the only tree that grows at Malta, re- lieving the barren aspect of the white stone enclosures by its dark foliage. The pods contain, besides the beans, a sweet nutritious pulp, which is a common article of food in the countriete where the tree grows naturally. The pulp is iiot unlike manna, both in taste and consistence, and is sometimes used as sugar to preserve other sub- stances. This plant is called kharoob by the Arabs, and algaroba by the Spaniards, who use the pods in feeding horses after the pulp is ex- pressed. They contain impure sugar, gluten, gum, lignin, and other principles which render them very nutritious ; they have been in request from a very ancient period, and are, probably, " the husks that the swine did eat;" in fact, they are eagerly devoured by cattle at the present day in Palestine and Egypt. To what extent these pods have been employed as food for cattle in England we cannot tell ; but there is every reason to believe that their introduction would be bene- ficial both to the merchant and the farmer. They would counterbalance the failure of the turnip- crop, and moderate the price of oilcake ; two very important objects, independent of their intrinsic value. Oilcake is composed of the crushed seeds (lin- seed) of the flax plant (linum usitatissimum), and contains condensed mucilage, some oil, starch, &c.; it is the residuum of linseed from which the oil has been expressed. Great quantities of this seed are imported from Russia ; but it comes likewise from Prussia, Holland, Italy, Tm-key, America, and also from India. The Indian linseed yields a larger quantity of oil than the Russian, but the plant itself is dwarfish. The importation of lin- seed into the United Kingdom, for the purpose both of sowing (especially in Ireland) and of crushing, amounts annually to about four millions of bushels; in 1837 the amount was 3,3-21,089 bushels ; but, besides^' this, there is a very ex- tensive importation of oilcake, which, notwith- standing the quantity that is home-made, meets with a good market. Oil is also -expressed from the seed of the rape (brassica napus), and of the cole or colza (brassica campestris), and the residue, in the form of a hard cake, containing starch and mucilage, known as rape-cake, is used on the continent for the feeding of cattle, as linseed cake is in England. Rape-cake is valuable as a manure, and for that purpose is imported in large quantities. When ground into powder, and drilled with the seed on light poor lands, it supplies nourishment to the young plants, and greatly accelerates their growth. In Flanders it is much used, mixed with the fluid refuse of the cattle-stalls, as a manure for flax- land. The cultivation of rape and cole, on hea-s'y clay soils, as spring food, is greatly recommended ; both plants are hardy, and resist the winter's frost. The same observations apply to other varieties of the cabbage, some of which yield an enormous weight of food ; and though they impoverish the ground, yet their substance, in all well-regulated farming establishments, is restored to the ground in the shape of manure ; indeed, it is asserted by many experienced agriculturists, that in this re- spect the cabbage is superior to the turnip. When given to cattle, cabbages should be sliced in the same manner as turnips or beet-root. When milch cows are fed with them all the decayed leaves should be carefully removed, as they com- municate an unpleasant flavour both to the milk and the butter. Oxen fatten well on cabbages and oilcake, increasing rapidly in flesh. In England, where the cultivation of the cab- bage on a large scale, as food for cattle, is by no means so general, even on the soils best adapted for the purpose, as might be expected, those sorts which have a large close head are preferred ; but in France, where labour is abundant and forage scarce, the large branching sorts are thought more profitable, because they yield a succession of leaves, fresh ones springing when the old ones are re- moved. Of these cabbages, the thousand-headed sort, the large cabbage of Poitou, and the tall cab- bage called chou cavalier, the stem of which is often six feet high, giving off large broad leaves, without any cTose head, are most in request. On good and rather stitf loam, well manured, tiie cabbage thrives best, and its leaves then acquire a great proportion of nutritive matter, insomuch that no vegetable produces so great a mass of va- luable food for cattle on the same spaj;e of ground ; and when it is considered that the different sorts can be cultivated in rotation, so as to succeed each other, their importance becomes augmented. We need scarcely say that the turnips (bras- sica rapa) hold a prominent rank among the articles used as food far cattle. The roots of this consist of a large mass of cellular tissue in which starch and sugar are deposited ; but they also contain a large quantity of water, the pro[-Ortions of the in- gredients in 11)0 parts of turnips being, according to Dr. Lyon Playfair, as follow: — TValcr 89 UnrtZulized niaUers, as Slarch anJ Sugar & Albumen I Inorganic matter 1 100 The regular cultivation of turnips, on a large scale, was originally introduced from Flanders into Nor- folk little more than two centuries ago ; in the course of a century afterwards, it extended over the north of England and the south of Scotland, though for a long time the cultivation was carried on only by a few discerning individuals ; in pro- cess of time, however, the value of the turnip crop became universally appreciated, and its cultivation general. Several varieties of turnips are now known to agriculturalists, produced from tbe Bras- sica rapa by cultivation ; but the Swedish turnip, or Ruta-baga, is a variety of the Brassica campes- tris. As a culinary root for the table the tiu'uip has been long prized, and many varieties have been raised ; but it is those of a larger kind than the kitchen-garden sorts, which now form so important a part of the improved systems of agriculture on all light soils. They are to a great e.\tent the foundation of good systems of cropping ; they sup- ply the manure required for the subsequent crop, while, at the same time, the ploughings, hoeings, and stirrings which they require, subserve the good of the land by the clearance of weeds. Whether turnips be sown broadcast, or in the row plan (and the latter is the preferable way, at least we think so), the land requires preparation and manure. For this purpose, especially on light lands, bone-dust has been found very efficacious, and the more so if the farmer can add to it (as he ought) a fair quantum of cowhouse manure. But within the last few years, another manure has been introduced — we allude to (/ua)io (that is, the long- collected rejectamenta of penguins, and other birds, which tenant various rocks or promontories in the Southern O^ean). This is no novelty. It was VOL. I. known to the ancient Peruvians. During the reign of the lucas. the destruction or annoyance of the birds during their breeding season, and, indeed, at all times, the wanton disturbance of the bird i, were visited with severe punishiuonts ; nay, according to Garcilasso de la Vega, with dea;h. This writer alludes more particularly to a tract of coiust exceed- ing two leagues in length, between Arequipa and Tarapaca, divided into islands respectively under the care of superintendents. In the old world, however, the value of tlris manure was appreciated from the earliest ages ; not indeed that the birils were fish devourers, for they were pigeons ; and in Persia from the days of olden time have tiiese birds been kept for the sake of their dung, so es- sential to the growth of the melon ; indeed, the Scriptural expression, relative to the value of a cer- tain measure of" dove's dung," during the famine in Samaria (2 Kings vi. Ho), evidently refei-s to the use of this article in raising crops of vegetables essential to the health of the natives of Western Asia. (See Pict. Bible. ) Since the discovery of guano in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, vast stores of this manure have been found on islands situated on the west coast of Southern Africa, that from Ichaboe being of the richest quality : this island we believe is now quite exhausted, but it occurs on rocky headlands, and unmolested islands, where sea fowl breed in con- gregated thousands, so that supplies continue still to arrive in our ports. Guano differs considerably in its constituents according to age, purity, and various other circumstances. Its analysis, there- fore, as published by different chemists, offers an according range of variation, but the follow-ing are the component parts of the most valuable speci- mens,— viz. urate of ammonia, oxalate of ammonia, oxalate of lime, phosphate of ammonia and magne- sia, of lime and of soda, sulphate of potass and of soda, muriate of ammonia and of soda, alumina, and a waxy or fatty matter in small quantities. From its richness in ammoniacal salts, it claims the first position among animal manures. These s;ilts, according to Von Martins, " act very favourably on vegetation. They abstract from the air its carbonic acid, and it is through its means that those various proximate principles are formed, as starch, mucus, resin, lignin, &c., which constitute the body of the plant. With the exception of the oxalate and phosphate of lime, nearly all the salts are soluble in water. The urate of ammonia is not so, but then iii the atmosphere it undergoes a decomposition, by which carbonate of ammonia is formed, which is equally soluble with the rest of the sails, and is taken up by plants, and contributes very much to their nutrition. " The ease with which these salts are decomposed by the air and rendered partly volatile, will partly account for the fact, that plants, manured with 114 guano, genevall}' present early in the morning ac- cumulations of dew on the points of their leaves. The guano absorbs the surrounding air, and also the vapour that may be in it, which is especially serviceable to plants, and this is why guano is so valuable a manure in dry and barren regions." Compared with dove-cote manure, its fertilizing power has been estimatedat from three to four times greater ; and it is reckoned to be five times stronger than night soil. In the cultivation of turnips, guano has been found by repeated experiments to be superior either to bone dust or farm manure ; it is used at the rate of from three to five hundred weight per acre, distributed on the drills, with the best effect both as regards amount of produce and early and vigorous growth. We are not, however, about to enter into any details respecting the culture of turnips ; we refer to them only as forming an im- portant part of the food of cattle, insomuch that a failure in the crops, generall3',cainiot but be regarded as a serious calamity. " It may be considered (says an authority on this subject) that the most advantageous mode of consuming turnips is to draw them and cut tliem iu slices in the field, there to be consumed in troughs by sheep, to whom corn or oil-cake, as well as hay, is regularly given. " When the crop of turnips is abundant, part of them may be stored for the cattle' in the 3'ard or fatting stalls, and for the milch cows and heifers. They will require nothing but good straw if they have plenty of turnips, and no hay need be used unless it be for the horses ; and even they will thrive well on Swedish turnips and straw, with a small quantity of oats. Turnips are often left in the field all winter, which greatly deteriorates them. If they cannot be fed off before Christmas they should be taken up with the tops on, and set close together, covered with the tops, on a piece of grass in some dry spot. They will thus be quite suffi- ciently protected from tlie frost : or the tops may be cut otf, within an inch of the crown of the root, and the turnips be then stored iu long clamps five feet wide and four feet high, sloped like the roof of a house, and covered with straw and earth, in which state they will keep till they are wanted. It is advantageous to have different varieties of turnips which will come to perfection ni succession ; and it is useful to sow some at different times for this purpose." Among other vegetables useful as food for cat- tle, the beet tribe claim notice. The root of the field-beet, mangold wurzel, or mangel worzel (Beta altissima), which was long known in Ger- many, was introduced at the close of the last cen- tury it is said by Dr. Lettsom, a physician of great eminence, and is now very extensively culti- vated.. The common red beet (Beta vulgaris) is cultivated in gardens for the sake of its delicate root ; but there is another species, the chard beet (Beta cycla), inferior in the size of its root, but remarkable for the thickness and size of its leaves, which are yellow, white, green, or crimson, in dif- ferent varieties. On the continent these leaves are used in soups, and the ribs are stewed ; in England the leaves are sometimes substituted for spinach, but they are held in little estimation ; yet cattle are extremely fond of them, and the plant, which is very luxuriant, might be cultivated with advantage, as field produce, in rows ; the more so, as it is an excellent substitute for fallow on light good loams. If sown in May in drills two feet wide, and thinned out to the distance of a foot from plant to plant, in rows, they will produce an abundance of leaves, which may be gathered in August and Sep- tember; these, a central bunch being left on each plant, are rapidly renewed, affording a succession of food. These plants do not sensibly exhaust the soil, and, what is more, the leaves add much to the milk of cows, without imparling to it that disagree- able flavour which it is apt to acquire when the cattle are fed upon cabbages or turnips, and which is owing in some measure to the rapidity with which these latter run into the putrefactive fer- mentation. The leaves of the chard-beet when steamed with bran, chaff, or refuse grain, form a very good food for pigs, and also for bullocks put up to fatten. With respect to field-beet or mangold wurzel, its root is too well known to need any description, nor need we comment on its culture, which is most successfully carried on in deep sandy loams made rich by repeated manuring. The sowing time is May, and the roots should be taken up and stored for winter use towards the close of autumn ; the top as well as the tap root being removed, and the earth scraped carefully away. They may be packed iu the bam or root-house, in layers alternating with layers of straw ; the whole mass being then well covered and defended from the frost. Or they may be put into trenches, having a good layer of straw at the bottom and on the sides, till they rise iu a ridged pile three feet above the level of the ground, the whole being then covered with straw, and a thick outerlayer of the earth dug out of the trench ; around the mound a drainage gutter with free out- lets must be dug, in order that no water may soak into the interior of the mouud. When the roots are required for use, the mound must be opened at one end, and after the requisite quantity is extract- ed, the opening carefully covered up as before. In either of these two modes they may be kept till spring. There are few crops more valuable as winter food for cattle than the beet or mangold wurzel. Swedish turnips (or Euta baga) exceed them in the quantity of nourishment, weight for weight ; 115 but on light aud well uiauureJ soils the produce of the beet per acre is much greater. According to Einliof and Thaer, eighteen tons of mangold wur- zel are equal to fifteen tons of ruta baga, or seven and lialf tons of potatoes, or three and half tons of good meadow bay, each quantity containing the same nourishment ; but the roots may be grown upon less than an acre, whereas it will take two or three acres of good meadow land to produce the equivalent quantity of hay. Of all these root-crops, it appears that the least exhausting to the land is that of the beet. The mangold wurzel is admira- ble for bullocks given with dry food, but cows fed too largely on it are said to become too fat and to lose their milk ; under some circumstances, how- ever, this very circumstance would prove an advan- tage, especially when it is desirable to dry and fat- ten off cows, aud prepare them as soon as possible for the butcher. A white variety of the beet is cultivated in France for the extraction of sugar from its juice. The carrot (Daucus carota), of which there are many vai'ieties, affords a valuable root for the food of cattle. In England the large orange carrots are most frequently raised in the fields for winter consumption, but on the continent large white and yellow sorts are more esteemed. In Belgium it is common to sow the white carrots in spring amongst barley which is reaped early ; as soon as the bar- ley is cut, the land is cleared of weeds and stubble, and liquid manure is poured over its surface. The carrots which were scarcely visible, and the tops of which were cut off in reaping, now shoot up, and where they require are thinned by hoeing. At the end of autumn the crop is carefully forked up, and the ground prepared for some other crop. Where hay is scarce, carrots form a veiy economical sub- stitute ; they must be kept in dry root-houses or in trenches. From twenty to forty pounds of carrots with a small quantity of oats is a sufficient allow- ance for a worldug horse for twenty -four hours; these roots, however, when cut and steamed are rendered more nutritious. Parsnips are also treated in the same way, aud also potatoes. From these roots we may turn to the artificial grasses (as they are commonly but erroneously called), of which several are of the highest im- portance to the cattle-keeper. Among these lucern ( Medicago sativa) is pre-eminent. This plant, one of the leguminous femily, was in high repute in ancient times, and is spoken of with great com- mendations by the writers on agricultural topics ; nor has it lost its celebrity in the present day, and wherever husbandry has made progress it is largely cultivated, granting the soil and the climate to be suitable. Where these are favourable luceni grows with astonishing rapidity and luxuriance ; but as it will not bear extreme frost, nor flourish on a poor cold wet soil, nor yet on sterile stony ground, the farmer must e.xercise discretion. l)eep rich loam which has been previously trenched and well manured, is rather light, and thorouglily drained, is the best; and the produce of every such acre will be astonishing. Its growth is singularly rapid ; that of clover is not to be compared to it : a tuft of lucern will rise to a foot above the surface, after being mown, in the time that clover will rise only a few inches. It lasts from eight to twelve years, striking its roots deep into the soil, where they are out of the reach of drought ; and in the most parched and sultry weather, when the herbage around languishes or withers for want of moisture, the lucern rises fresh, green, and vigorous. Its great bane is a wet subsoil ; this must be dry and rich, and the surface must be clear of weeds. Land, on which two successive crops of turnips have been raised, and which have been fed off wiih sheep, when well prepared gives a good return of lucern. In the month of March the sowing should take place. A small quantity of barley, perhaps a bushel to the acre, should be diulled into the g-ound, and at the same time from thirty to forty pounds of the lucern seed sown broad-cast ; the ground must be now harrowed and lightly rolled, so as to lay it flat and even, without water furrows. When the crop appears it must be well weeded, otherwise there is a great probability that it will fail. When the barley is reaped, the stubble should be eradicated either by the hoe or the harrow ; at least this is a good practice, especially if the plants of lucern be strong. In a short time it may be cut as fodder, but sheep should not be depastured on it, as they bite too close to the root. It should always be cut as soon as the flower is formed, and also cleared of weeds. The second year will generally bring in an early crop, and it may be cut four or five times during the season ; the ground being each time weeded or cleared by means of a sort of harrow. The cottager, with a small plot of ground, will do well to sow lucern in rows, and cut at regular intervals a portion for his cow, using the hoe for the purpose of keeping the ground clear from weeds. Of all green fodder, both for horned cattle and horses, lucern is perhaps the best. Horses fed upon it, with the addition of a little corn, will keep up their strength and condition under hard labour. Cows thrive upon it, and return a full supply of milk ; but lucern must not be given to cows or oxen in too large quantities at a time, — it must not be given when wet with rain or dew : and the best plan is to keep it for twenty-four hours after it is cut, in order that the juices may be evapo- rated to some extent under a partial fermentation; a process which, while it adds to the nutritive qualities of the herb, renders it less liable to in- flate the stomach of the cattle, or, as the farmer H 2 116 ■VV'ould say, produce "hoove," tliat is distention of the stomach from gas. Lucern is not easily made into hay ; it is too succulent to dry rapidly, and a sho\Yer of rain, in its half dry state is almost sure to spoil it, as the stem is quickly soaked with moisture, which does not readily evaporate ; yet, in favourable seasons, a heavy crop of good hay may be obtained, the produce of an acre being nearly double that of clover. Sainfoin (Hedysarum ouobrichis) is another leguminous plant of great value ; unlike lucern, however, it prefers a calcareous or chalky soil to a deep, rich loam, and flourishes where the latter would perish. Its root is strong and fibrous, and strikes deep into the stony soil, finding moisture even in the driest seasons ; but a wet, cold, heavy subsoil is very detrimental to the health of this plant, and causes the roots to perish ; and, as in the case of the lucern, it decays when choked up by dank weeds or grass. .A crop of sainfoin on a fit soil, and properlyjpigrtiftged with occasional top- dressings of ashes atid -manure, will last for eight or nine years, giving yearly(.sev_eral cuttings of green fodder or two of hay. ' ■ Sainfoin is usually sown in the spring, in a thin crop of barley or oats, the same general plan being pursued with respect to its cultivation as with lucern ; and the farmer must not expect to see it in full luxuriance till the second year. .' Sainfoin hay should be made, if possible, in diy hot weather, so that all the juices of the plant may be evaporated before the stack be made. This is important, for if any moisture be left the whole is apt to become mouldy ; indeed it is, recom- mended that in precarious weather it be carried green (if not wet with showers or dsw) uiider cover, and stacked in alternate, layers, with good, dry straw. By this means it will impart some of its fragrance to the straw, and lose none of its nu- tritive qualities. The same observation applies both to lucern or clover. Sainfoin hay is extremely relished by cattle, and if well made is very nutri- tious ; nor is it less acceptable in*its green state, and this, perhaps, is the most advantageous way in which it can be used. "' Clover (Trifolium) is another important plant, of which several species are cultivated, some being perennial, as the Dutch clover (Trifolium repens), the cow-grass clover (Trifolium medium), the lesser yellow trefoil (Trifolium minus); some biennial, as the common red or brown clover (Trifolium pra- tense): and some animal, as the French clover (Trifolium incarnatum). It is the red or brown clover which is generally cultivated, both as green fodder and as hay for cattle ; this is usually sown with barley or oats, but sometimes among wheat or rye, in the spring. In Norfolk it is the practice to sow it with barley ; in Scotland it is often sown with wheat ; and in Belgium with rye. But this depends on the sys- tem of rotations adopted in different countries. The first crop of clover is generally mown and made into hay. During this process care must be taken lest the tender leaves of the plant be broken off in drying ; consequently, the swarth should not be tossed up and shaken about, as is done with common meadow ha}', but merely turned over and exposed to the sun and air; and then, when all moisture is evaporated, carefully stacked up. Should the clover, unfortunately, become soaked with rain, nay, even if the rain should continue, the farmer must wait until fine dry weather re- turns, and completes the process of drying ; if this is not effected the hay will certainly become musty. But however spoiled in appearance, if it be at last fairly stacked in a dry state, with salt scattered in, it will be acceptable to the cattle in winter, and even nutritious. A writer sa3's, that " A very good method in those seasons when a continuance of dry weather cannot be reckoned upon, particularly w'hen the second crop is cut in September, is to take advantage of two or three dry days to cut the clover, and turn it as soon as the dew is completely dried off the upper side ; the next day do the same, and in the evening, carry the green diy clover, and lay it in alternate layers with sweet straw, so as to form a moderately sized stack. A fermentation will soon arise, but the dry straw will prevent all danger from too much heating, and, acquiring the flavour of the clover, will be e'aten with avidity by the cattle. To those, who make clover hay for the use of their own stock in winter, we recommend this as far preferable to the common method, even when there is less danger from the weather. In northern cli- mates it would probably save the crop two years out of three." Many farmers are in the habit of sowing rye- grass (Lolium perenne) in a small proportion with clover, especially on lands which have been re- peatedly cropped with the latter, and therefore somewhat exhausted. The plan is very excellent, for when the mixed crop is cut and made into hay, the young rye-grass will prove a good corrective to the heating qualities of the clover. It is true that pure clover-hay is preferred in and about London, where it is extensively used cut into chaff, and mixed with oats, beans, &c., and given to hard- working horses. With respect to horned cattle, green clover with tares and other artificial grasses is largely given ; and if the succession of crops is well managed, a supply of green fodder may be obtainfrd from May to the end of November. The French clover (Trifolium incarnatum) has been introduced from the south of France only with- in the last few years. This plant is a valuable addi- tion to our list of artificial grasses, and when sown 117 ill the spring it rapidly arrives at perfection. One of its principal uses is as early food for ewes and lambs; for this purpose it is sown in autumn, alter harvest, the stubble land being harrowed so as to raise the mould. On this the clover-ssed is sown at the rate of 18 or '^0 lbs. an acre, the rolled in well. It springs up and stands the winter well ; and on the return of spring appears in luxuriance. It makes e.xcelleut hay, and may be cleared otf the ground in good time to plough the land and clean it for turnips. ' It may be mixed with rye-grass ; but from its rapid aud vigorous growth is not well adapted for sowing with a crop of corn ; indeed it is doubtful whether this should be done with any clover. Tares or vetches (Vicia sativa), of which there are several varieties, constitute a very important green crop, thriving best on heavy soils, and yield- ing a profitable return. One sort is much more hardy than the other, and will stand the sjverest winter: this may be sown in the autumn for early spring fodder, the more tender sort in March, aud it will come in three or four weeks after the for- mer. A good farmer will aim at a succession of green crops, and tares may be sown from spring till August, for winter use. If the farmer has more tares than he absolutely needs, he may make them into excellent hay should the weather jier- mit ; or depasture slieep upon thera, cutting the fodder aud securing it in proper racks, that it may not be trodden underfoot and wasted. A succes- sion of tares and brown clover may be kejit up from May to November. Tares require the land to be well manured ; but they become an excellent sub- stitute for a summer fallow on heavy soils, and thus amply repay the outlaj' in labour and manure ex- jiended upon them. Such are the roots and artificial grasses on which cattle are fed ; we here say nothing of the or- dinary grasses of the meadow, nor of common hay, straw, chaff, or grains, for with these all are fami- liar. In supplying cattle with artificial fresh-cut grasses, lucerii, sainfoin, clover, itc care must be taken, and we repeat our injunction that they be cut in as dry a state as possible, and left for twenty-four hours to undergo partial fermentation before being given to the cattle ; and even then they should be ■ allowed only in moderate quantities at a time, other- wise the animals are apt to become hooven or hoven, owing to the evolution of cai-buretted hydrogen in the jiauuch ; indeed, we have known cows, which had been previouslj' feeding on a rather scanty grass pasturage, thus affected after being turned upon a rich aftennath. Of all the artificial grasses, none is more apt to render cattle hoven than lu- cern rashly given; they are apt to gorge them- selves ; whereas, if a small portion o/.ly be allowed from time to time, they masticate it more thorough- ly, rendering it much more readily digestible, and consequently better adapted for yielding to the assi- milating organs the principles of nutrition. The cow will thus retain her health, and yield more aud richer milk. Many practical farmers consider lu- cern, at all times, too stimulating for milch cows ; they aver that, if largely used, it deteriorates the milk, and is apt to produce eruptions about the thighs and abdomen, from which exudes an acrid humour, producing foul incrustations, loss of hair, and irritation of the skin, together with great debi- lity and loss of appetite and milk. This disease, termed by the French rafle, or jet de la lucerne, may be removed by a change of diet, cleanliness, and exercise ; the water should be soft and pure, with a little flour mixed with it; and the food, if green, sprinkled with a little salt. Some have objected to mangold wurzel for milch cattle, but we doubt whether on sufficient grounds; for it is often the sudden change from one diet to another, without variation, and not the article of diet itself, that is injurious. When mangold wur- zel is given with a proper proportion of hay, it has been proved by experiment to be very salutaiy; but if the statement in the " Farmers' Journal " for 1814, is to be relied upon, it has, when given alone, produced a partial paralysis and a loss of milk ; but in the instances narrated it appears that the cows were suddenly transferred to this diet without any admixture. Half a bushel of sliced mangold wm'zel, morning and evening, mth a good allow- ance of sweet hay in the intermediate portion of the day, has been tried, and found to keep cows not onlv in health, but in the finest milking con- dition. That there is nothing deleterious in this root appears from its analysis : — a thousand pai'ts contain about 50 of sugar, 2'2 of mucilage, -2 of starch, 6 of extract, 35 of woody fibre or lignin, and 885 of water. Next to mangold wurzel, many farmers regard parsnips as the most valuable root; indeed, in some districts, and particularly in Jersey, this root is largely used, both for milch cows and for fattening oxen. They are best when steamed, as are also potatoes ; indeed, cut straw or chaff {not the husk of grain, which is most dangerous, and scarcely if at all digestible) forms a much more nutritous food when steamed and given warm than in its crude condition. On steamed roots, steamed chaff, and a little hay, many large fai-- mers keep not only milch cows, but oxen aud working horses, at least during the winter. We are talking of stall-fed cattle, and not of such as are depastured in the fields, though, where the fields are eaten bare, a regular allowance of food on the same principles is necessaiy. A discreet allow- ance of green fodder, cut grass, mangold wm-zel sliced, turnips sliced, steamed roots aud hay. or cut straw and brewer's grains, clover, chaff, and oil- cake, or linseed boiled or unboiled, form the stajile articles of the diet cf cattle; and the proportion in 118 ubich any of tliese is to be given, depends on the condition of the animals, and -whether they are milch cattle or cattle for fattening. When oats are given they should be always bruised, as they are very difficult of digestion, and often produce serious mischief, remaining unchanged in the ali- mentary canal. Previously to stall-feeding cattle, it is advisable to keep them for a short time on a bare pasture. By this plan tHe stomach acquires tone and vigour, the appetite is healthily increased, and the animals feed with a greater relish, and fatten more rapidly. During their feeding the healthy tone of the stomach should be maintained, and the diet in proportion to the ease of good digestion, which should always " wait on appetite." In the treatment of cattle, whether in the field or in the stall, good clean water is essential. Where no good water is otherwise accessible, it is better to sink wells, and pump the water into stone troughs, than to allow the animals to drink from a muddy, filthy pond, full of putrescent animal and vegetable matters which generate many diseases. Such water injures the quality of the milk, and disorders the digestive organs. These evil effects are often attributed to the grass, whereas the cause is in the water and not in the pasturage. It is noto- rious that cows pastured in districts where marshes and stagnant pools abound, into which the drainage of the land is carried, are subject to that scourge of cattle known as " Red Water," and also to se- vere diarrhcea. Cattle in their pastures drink at will, and usually take from 12 to 18 or 20 gallons in the course of twenty-four hours ; but, when stall-fed, it is necessary to supply them twice or three times a day, according to the nature of their food. If fed on dry pirovender, they require water more fre- quently than when eating succulent herbage or juicy roots ; and neglect in this point is one of the causes of various inflammatory diseases which often make their appearance to the loss of the feeder. With a due supply of pure water, cleanliness, the free ajjplication of the currycomb, ventilation, and a little gentle exercise daily in a bare en- closure, are very important concomitants. A hot, close, undrained cow house, into which pigs, fowls, ducks, &o., have free access, is a disgraceful spectacle. The management of milch cows is a simple af- fair. It is on good old natural pastures that they maintain the best health, return the most milk, and select the herbage best suited to their appe- tite ; but when housed or stalled, the great rule is not to overtax their digestive powers, while a suffi- ciency of food is supplied, and that wholesome and of more than one sort. If overfed, the cow will have some difiiculty in bringing forth her calf; her udder will sympathize with the derangement of the stomach, and the vital functions will be all in disorder. Good sense and a little experience must be brought into operation. The same re- marks apply to cattle fattened in the stall for the butcher. CHAPTER VIII. In entering upon the subject of the diseases of cattle, our plan will be to render it acceptable to the farmer or grazier who pretends to no anato- mical knowledge, but yet is glad of some advice by which to be guided in the treatment of the more ordinary cases of malady which demand his atten- tion. He cannot always have instant recourse to a veterinai-y surgeon, and in slight disorders may not deem it needful, though we must say we doubt the soundness of his policy. It is by the veteri- naiy surgeon only that all operations must be per- formed : and in cases of sevei'e accidents his skill must be called into requisition. Nothing is more to be reprobated than the practice, unhappily still too general, of applying to a farrier, ignorant alike of anatomy, physiology, and the symptoms of dis- ease ; or to a druggist, who is in the habit of com- pounding drenches of various nostrums (many worse than useless), when the lives of cattle are at stake. This practice is the more inexcusable, when professed and well-educated veterinary practitioners are within call of the farmer, — and of such few towns or rural districts are now destitute. It is not, however, for the veterinary surgeon that we now write ; it is, as we have said, for the farmer, and that by way of guide and advice. The ox, like the human sulyect, is liable to numerous maladies, arising from different causes ; — to fever, to inflammatory affections of the brain, lungs, liver, intestines, and other organs ; to paraly- sis, and other diseases connected immediately with the nervous system; to various chronic diseases, and to sadden derangement of the complicated digestive apparatus from improper food. To these classes of diseases others might be added, setting aside injuries from external causes which are con- stantly happening. Before entering into these more fully, a few preliminaries relative to the constitutional tempe- rament of the domestic ox may not be out of place ; it is indeed a point that demands our notice. Comparing the ox with the horse, neither the nervous nor the arterial system of the former exhi bits the same energy as that of the latter. The brain 119 of the ox is small ; the nervous energies are soon exhausted, "nor are they so easilj' recruited by rest, as in the horse : the ox will not endure severe labour, especially if hurried, and will frequently sink down with exhaustion ; in illness it is sooner prostrated than the horse, and more subject to paralytic weakness. The chest, moreover, has less volume, and the free j'lay of the lungs is more frequently oppressed by the distension of the stomach, which, with the abdominal viscera, occupy more room in proportion, as being of comparatively predominant importance. The ox, indeed, is ex- pressly formed for giving milk and flesh as the food of man ; and though this animal has been employed in labour from the eai'liest times, it was for slow labour, with frequent intervals of rest. The pulse of the ox is quicker than that of the horse, ranging from fifty to sixty in a state of health ; in the horse it is under forty. In cattle, near the time of calving, the pulse often rises to eighty or eighty-five, and in milch cows is always quicker than in oxen. The arteries generally, those arising from the heart immediately, being excepted, are comparativel}' much smaller than in the horse ; while, on the contrary, the veins are far larger, and indeed the whole venous system is more developed, and especially so in good milch cows, in which the subcutaneous abdominal vein (or milk vein), is taken as a criterion of their qualities It is not always an easy thing to feel the arte- rial pulse in cattle ; this may, however, be gene- rally effected at one of the following arteries: — The suiiiiaxillary, a branch of the carotid which dips under the angle of the lower jaw ; the tempo- ral arterij running up between the eye and ear; or the anterior auricular artery, which supplies the anterior muscles of the ear. The pulsation of the heart itself may be tried by placing the hand on the left side of the chest, a little within and behind the elbow. The warmth or unnatural coldness of the ears, and the heat of the blood at the roots of the horns, are points to be attended to in conjunction with the pulse. When blood is abstracted from cattle, the ex- ternal jugular vein is that commonly selected for the lancet ; it is very apparent, running along the side of the throat from the angle of the lower jaw. A skilful operator will use a strong broad-shouldered lancet, but the farmer contents himself with the fleam, which in his hands is more certain and safe ; but, whether the lancet or the fleam be employed, the neck should not be strapped or corded round, as the pressure being alike on both sides of the neck, impede the return of the blood from the head ; firm pressure of the fingers a little below the spot where the puncture of the vein is to be made, will suffice to render it prominent. Occasionally, in affections of the mouth or nasal organs, a flow of blood is obtained from the vessels of the palate by free incisions on the latter ; and sometimes certain veins of the limbs (the cephalic of the fore limb, the saphena of the hind limb) are selected. In in- flammatory diseases, prompt and efficient bleeding is indispensable ; and this should be carried so far at once as to affect the circulation, and thereby, if possible, arrest the course of the disease. Timid bleeding, rendering its repetition needful, is to be eschewed ; but at the same time attention should be paid to the age, constitution, and vigour of the animal In an aged cow which has had numerous calves less loss of blood will suffice than in a young one whose constitution is unimpaired, or an ox in full vigour. From the latter, two gallons of blood may be extracted, while from the first half the quantity will probably suffice. To bleeding, aperi- ent medicine should be added ; and in this we can scarcely ever do wrong, for cattle bear aperients, especially with a little carminative to excite the action of the stomachs, better than the horse, in whom thej' sometimes produce dangerous irritation of the alimentary canal It is to the inflammatory diseases of cattle, which demand prompt measures carried out with boldness yet discretion, that we shall first direct our attention. SIMPLE FEVEK. Cattle, especially in swampy lands, are sub- ject to attacks of fever ; this is sometimes pure or idiopathic, and occasionally assumes an intermit- tent form ; but if suffered to proceed, some vital organ, predisposed to take inflammation, becomes as it were the centre of irritation, and the case may terminate fatally. In simple fever the animal is languid and dull, it refuses food, the hide loses its mellowness, the flanks heave, the horn is hot at its base, and the pulse is hard and quick. In a day or two the ani- mal seems better, but after a brief interval the symptoms return with increased violence, the breathing becomes more laborious, rumination ceases though the animal often lies down, but this is from weakness, and the mouth is dry and hot. Mischief is now coming on, and, most probably, iu the form of inflammation of the lungs. This disease is, perhaps, the most prevalent in autumn, when cattle are exposed in damp lands, and heavy cold fogs set in at night, or partial frosts which crisp the grass, yet luxuriant though harsh. It may arise from miasmatous exhalations, or from water putrescent with decomposed leaves or other vegetable matters. At the beginning of the dis- ease, the judicious farmer will remove the animal, and take away some blood, giving afterwards a cathartic dose, composed of from eight to twelve ounces of Epsom salts (sulphate of magnesia), two or three ounces of sulphur, two drachms of pow- dered ginger, the whole mixed in a quart of warm water; half a pint of linseed oil may be added. 120 -il If Tlie diet must be reduced aud mashes given, with repetitions of the cordial purgative, till the animal regains its wonted cheerfulness, and eveiy symptom has disappeared. It not unfrequently happens that fever, ap- pearing at first in a slight and simple form, sud- denly puts Qua decidedly iiijiammatoru character; or, on the contrary, assumes a low ti/phoul form, in which, as in the human subject, the vital ener- gies give way under the process of what is not unaptly termed a secretly consuming fire. i;;flammatory fever. This disease, called black quarter, quarter-ill, evil-joint, blood-sticking, and other meaningless names, is often prevalent in certain districts and during certain years, occasions extensive mor- tality. Young cattle are the most commonly seized, their habit being more disposed to plethora than aged subjects. Sometimes the disease appeal's to be epidemic, or at least attacks whole herds turned imprudently from spare diet upon luxuriant pas- tures, subjected to wet cold nights, while the blood vessels are receiving an inordinate addition of the vital fluid from the assimilating system. ..j.. . So rapidly does this fever come on, that the slight precursor febrile symptoms are often unno- ticed ; and so quick is its course that there is little time, or none, to have recourse to remedies. Gene- rally, however, the ordinary symptoms of simple fever may be noticed, but these all at once assume a most aggravated form ; the animal labours under a general venous congestion, and dies a mass of putridity. The first stage of this disease is highly inflam- matory. The pulse is quick, hard, and strong; the eyes are inflamed and protruding ; the tongue is dry and parched ; the breathing laboured and quick, with deeper inspirations at intervals ; the head is stretched forth, the neck at full extent, and an agitated expression marks the countenance ; the appetite is gone, and of course rumination sus- pended. This is the first, or perhaps, in reality, the second stage ; at all events it is the first no- ticed, and these symptoms are apparent^ though in particular cases some may hs more marked than others. What is now to be (Lone — and promptitude must attend every eflbrt? Let these things be done : Bleed, aiming at once for all, and bleed freely, even to fainting ; then give active aperients ; and if ne- cessary bleed again, but now with caution, and not within six or eight hours after the first operation ; for the strength of the animal, and the state of its exhaustion, are points to be kept in mind ; but re- course must be had to a second aud copious bleed- ing unless a decided improvement has already ma- nifested itself. Sedatives should succeed the brisk aperients : half a drachm or a diachm of digitalis (foxglove leaves properly dried and powdered^ one drachm of tartarized antimony, and four drachms of nitre, mixed in any demulcent liquid, may be given twice a day. A seton of black hellebore should be insei'ted into the dewlap. Should the disease continue, the animal utters low distressing moaiis, and is generally unconscious of surrounding objects ; it will stiiud gasping, but without change of jiosture, for a considerable time ; and when it attempts to move it staggers and reels, and the hind quarters seem affected with a partial paralysis ; the loins are so tender that the slightest pressure pro- duces pain ; and swellings anse on the shoulders, back, aud limbs, which, when pressed, make a crackling noise. These swellings arise from an effusion of some gas into the cellular tissue, the consequence of a putrescent state of the blood. Debility now rapidly increases, and the animal drops ; perhaps it rises again, but it again falls prostrate, and after making vain attempts to reco- ver its limbs, sinks into a comatose state, and dies. Sloughing ulcers, in this stage, often spread over the abdonen, the limbs, aud othi^r pai'ts; the mouth, muzzle, and tongue are ulcerated; a sa- nious offensive fluid drops from the mouth and nose ; and the alvine excretions are extremely fetid, and mixed or streaked with blood. In this state the poor beast may continue two or even three days, till relieved by death. Farmers call these ulcerations and their concomitants, black quarter ; and the paralytic state of the limbs, quar- ter evil, or joint-murrain. If the decease be not checked in its inflamma- toiy stage, the chance of saving the animal when congestion of eveiy organ, brain, lungs, heart, liver, intestines, kc, from the violent excess of arterial action has commenced, is veiy precarious. The first object will be to relieve the congestion under which the vital powers of the system succumb ; if previous bleeding has been neglected there is no rocnn for hesitation, for weak as the animal may appear the system must be relieved ; but if the animal has been freely bled and purged, the ques- tion will arise how far will it be prudent to abstract more blood. As a general rule, blood should be taken, and the state of the pulse should be watched : if it become softer there is still hope ; but if it fail, and become more and more indistinct, the flow of blood should be stopped. Active aperients should be administered, begin- ning with a pound dose of Epsom salts, succeeded by half-pound doses at intervals, until the bowels are acted upon. Nor shoidd injections be neg- lected in aid of the medicine. These may consist of half-a-poimd of common salt, aud a little oil, in four quarts of water or thin gruel. The swell- ings of the limbs and loins should be fomented with hot water, and the fetid sloughing ulcers washed repeatedly during the day '^^ith a solution of chloride of lime (half-an-ounce of the chloride t 121 in a gallon of water) ; the miizzle and tongue sliould be similarly treated. Some pi-actitiouers recommend tliat a pint of this solution be gently homed down into the stomach, perhaps more than once ; for if there be hoove, or distension of that organ by gas, this solution mil combine with it, prevent its farther formation, and correct the fcetor, wliich is often almost unbearable. After these remedies, and supposing the bowels to have been well cleared, mashes of thick gruel should be offered, or even gently poiu'ed do\vn the gullet. If the ulcers cleanse, the swellings disappear, and the animal beguis to eat, — indications of incipient recoveiy, tonics may be given, but not previously. One or two drachms of gentian (pulv. gentianas ), and half-a-drachni of ginger, mixed with gruel and half-a-pint of good ale, may be given twice or thrice a day. The curative process of the ulcers will be promoted by dress- ings of tincture of aloes. The seton, however, should be continued for two or three weeks. It is easier to prevent the attack of this for- midable disease than to cure it. Cattle, and young cattle especially, should not be suddenly put into rich pastures ; they should be previously purged, and introduced by degrees, being occa- sionallj' removed into a bare pasture, where, with- out gorging to repletion, the}^ may digest at leisure what they have taken. Too much water is dan- gerous, especially if taken when the animal is from any cause overheated. Putrescent j)onds, turf-pits, and the like, are to be avoided, as the water is no.tious even if taken in moderation. Yoimg growing cattle should not be too highly fed. There is no occasion to stan-e them ; but there is a medium which good sense will dictate. The stock, moreover, should be daily inspected ; and should any suspicious sj'mptoms appear, — any shivering, any heaving of the flanks, any diffi- culty of respiration, any dulness or redness of the eyes, — a purgative, and the loss of a little blood, may stop the approaching mischief. TYPHUS FEVEE. Inflammatoiy fever in cattle of aU ages, but more partievilarly in adult beasts, sometimes as- sumes a low, lingering, typhoid fonn. The gait is staggering, the appetite is gone ; dian-hcea suc- ceeds moderate doses of medicine, or comes on spontaneously. Tumours appear on the limbs, back, udder, &c., and ulcerate, and the breath is fetid. This disease is most prevalent in the spring and autumn ; especially on mai'shy lands, subject to miasmatous exhalations. It is sometimes epi- demic, and fatal to a great extent, sweeping away numbers of valuable cattle. Occasionally it is accompanied by a catarrh, but mostly by diaiThcea or dysenteiy, the indication of inflammation or congestion of the mucous membrane of the in- testines. The same decided treatment which we have described in inflammatory fever, must be adopted : the lancet must be used boldly. The pur- gative of salts, &c., should be given, and its action kept up by six or eight ounce doses of sulphur. If the dysenteiy be violent, calomel and opium will be found useful, in doses of thirty or forty grains of the former, and a drachm of the latter, mLxed in thick gruel : emollient injections should be administered, and castor oil given in doses of a pint. The irritation of the intestines must be allayed, and their healthy and vigorous action induced. A seton of hellebore should be inserted in the dewlap ; and the general treatment be conducted as we have detailed in inflammatory fever. CATAERH, OE HOOSE ; EPIDEMIC CATAKRH, OB INFLU- ENZA ; AND MALIGNANT CATARRH, OR MURRAIN. Catarrh, or Hoose, consists in inflammation of the lining membrane of the great nasal cavities, spreading to the fauces, the glands of the throat, and the laiynx and wind-pipe. It is mostly, per- haps, in the spring and autumn that catai'rh prevails ; it is caused by sudden changes of tem- perature, as, for example, a change from a close, over-heated, and crowded cowhouse to a bleak un- sheltered pasture, duiing cold rain or stormy easterly wind. Cattle heated by being overdriven, and exposed to a cold cui'rent of air, ai'e apt to be affected by it. This disease commences by febiile symptoms : the pulse is quick and hard ; the roots of tlie horns ai'e hot ; the ears and head are droop- ing ; the animal is dull, repeatedly coughs, and neglects to feed. In a short time a discharge from the nostrils takes place ; the animal swallows with difficulty, and exhibits great debility. If neglected, the disease insidiously pursues its course, atrophy ensues, the lungs become affected, and consumption supervenes. However slight catarrh may appear at first, it should not be, as it too often is, regarded with indifference. The cow has a dischai'ge from the nose, her milk decreases, she coughs, her flanks heave, she loses flesh ; and perhaps, when it is too late, the fai-mer takes tlie alarm, and sends for the veterinarian. The treatment of this disease, if taken in time, is simple. Blood must be abstracted (the animal having been placed under shelter and apart), and this must be followed by saline aperients, salts and ginger, in whey or gimel ; after which doses of nitre (nitrate of potass) may be given two or three times a day in giaiel. The dose may be from two to four drachms. Nitre will allay inflammation, and act upon the kidneys. Giiiel, waiTU bran mashes, with a little grass or good hay, constitute the best diet. If the difficulty in swallowing is 1-42 considerable, a seton iu the dewlap should not be omitted ; or the throat may be blistered (though not readily) by rubbing the skin with the common blister ointment, or a liniment consisting of an ounce of the powdered blisterfly, two ounces of oil of turpentine, and six ounces of common oil. Catarrh is sometimes epidemic, spreading over whole districts, and assuming a very virulent and dangerous form. At the commencement the fever is very severe, the respiratory passages are greatly inflamed, there is a distressing hoose, and the aspect is agitated. Sometimes the bowels are confined ; but sometimes diarrhoea comes on, and is very troublesome. If not checked, a stage of debility supervenes, the fever assumes a typhoid form, crackling air-filled tumours in the cellular tissue show themselves about the head, loins, and limbs ; the breath becomes fetid, the animal stag- gers, its coat is staring, its flesh wastes away, the discharge from the nostrils is sanious, and death ends the scene. During the febrile stage, bleeding freely and promptly, with a repetition of the bleeding if ue- cessaiy, together with active aperients and seda- tives (digitalis, tartarized antimony, and nitre), as recommended in infla^mmatory fever, Avarm mashes and injections, must be resorted to. But in the stage of debility little can be done. Doses of ni- trous ether (two or three drai'hms) and laudanum (half an ounce), mixed in giTiel, may perhaps be serviceable. Should the fever pass off, and simple weakness only remain, tonics, such as gentian and ginger, may be given. Catarrh sometimes appears in the form of a malignant epidemic, sweeping away the cattle of whole districts, and, in fact, spreading over whole countries. Such was the dreadful murrain, about the middle of the eighteenth century, which depopu- lated the fields of England, and baffled all attempts at cure. The disease began mth a violent febrile attack, which rapidly assumed a typhoid form, and ran on to gangrene. This murrain is said to have been traced from Italy, through Fraiice, Germany, and Holland, into England. In 174-5, more than 200,000 cattle perished in Holland. In 1747, more than 40,000 cattle died in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, and 30,000 died in Cheshire in half a year. From the earliest ages, indeed, the murrain has been known. It was by murrain that the cattle of Egypt died, as narrated in Exodus. Homer describes a similar pestilence, during the siege of Troy, which extended its intluenee to man. It is noticed by various Greek and Roman writers, and described at length, by Vii-gil, in his Georgics, Book III. From time to time it has appeared during what are called the middle ages, and has continued to break out at intervals, in different kingdoms of Europe, almost to oiu' day. The precursory symptoms of this murrain were those of catarrh in an aggravated form, and increasing in violence till the typhoid state came on, with ulcerations in the mouth, swelling of the glands of the throat, a thin fetid discharge from the nostrils, air-filled or emphj-sematous-tumours on different parts of the limbs and body, or even an almost universal emphysema of the whole cel- lular tissue, which, on pressing the skin, was mani- fest by the crackling sound. Sometimes the beasts dropped and died instantly ; sometimes, from in- flammation of the brain, they became delirious and mad with fury, and died exhausted if not at once destroyed. Few, comparatively, recovered ; some, however, when every hope seemed lost, began rapidly to im- prove, and were ultimately restored to health. On dissection after death the fourth stomach and intestines were generally found highly in- flamed, often gangrenous or ulcerated. The lungs were gorged with blood, and the bronchial tubes and windpipe filled with purulent matter ; the brain often exhibited traces of inflammation, and the cellular tissue was emphysematous ; the body ran rapidly into a horrible state of decomposition. Of the remedies tried, some most absurd, childish, and superstitious, we need say nothing, as none were found to avail ; and the legislature appointed inspectors to Aasit the farms throughout the country, and see that the infected beasts were destroyed and instantly buried ; half the value of the animals being allowed in compensation on duly authorized certificates. This was a wise and energetic measurjs, for though the disease was un- questionably epidemic, it appeared to be also con- tagious; and it was on this supposition that the wholesale destruction of tlie infected was ordered. In many instances, indeed, where the diseased were promptly Idlled and buried, the rest of the stock on the farm escaped. It is true that many farmers availed themselves of this law, and the ig- norance of the overseers or judges, to get rid of worn out old beasts, or of such as lingered under other ailments, claiming the remunei'ation for their destruction : this, was however, after all, a minor evil and of little import. INFLAMMATION OF THE LARYNX AND WINDPIPE. Besides the catarrhal affections described, cat" tie are subject to inflammation of the lining mem" brane of the larynx and windpipe, often extending through the bronchial tubes. This is a formidable disease, sometimes apparently epidemic, but more frequently the result of sudden atmospheric changes in cold damp situations. The disease commences with the usual symptoms of fever, shivering, loss of appetite, a quickened pulse, and a laboured, husky, wheezing respiration, to which succeeds great debility. The least pressure along the throat evidently gives great pain, the animal 123 moves its head stiffly and with difficulty, and cannot swallow without a marked effor* the drinks administered. On examination after death, the lining mem- brane of the lar3aix and bronchife show the results of violent inflammation in ulcerated patches and gangrene, the gullet being also more or less in- volved in the disease. The windpipe is generally filled with puioilent matter ; and if the disease has e.xtended to the bronchial tubes, the same appear- ances are there also presented ; but these tubes ai'e often choked up with parasitic worms of the genus Jilaria, and they appear also in the wndpipe. In bronchitis of the horse, a species of the worm strongylus equimis in like manner is foimd to throng the bronchial tubes. It is not easy to ac- count for the presence of these worms, unless we suppose their minute eggs to be taken in mth the air or food, and pass through the lacteals into the blood, which carries them through the circulation, till at length they find a nidus appropriate for theh development ; but there is still this diffi- culty,— whence came the eggs into the air or among the food ? The worms, as it would appear, are exclusively the inmates of living creatures : how do they spread? bow do they extend their colonies ? This is not the place ibr siieculation. In laiyngitis, that is, inflammation of the laiyux not extending down the windpipe, recourse must be bad very promptly to bleeding, smart aperients, blisters, and a seton of hellebore. If the disease runs on, suffocation ensues ; but, should this catas- trojjhe threaten, tracheotomy must be performed ; that is, the trachea must be opened, and respii'a- tiun caiTied on tln'ough a tube or canula. No one but an experienced veterinaiy surgeon can perform the operation, or should attempt it. If the disease extend to the trachea or windpipe, the same treatment is necessary. In bronchitis, or inflammation of the branches of the windpipe which ramify through the lungs, the S3Tnptoms are a cough, which becomes more and more husky and wheezing ; a rapid and la- borious breathing ; the flanks heaving; the belly tucked up ; the hide staring ; the sldn hide- bound ; an anxious restless expression ; a disin- clination to move; an increase of the painful cough, and a hurriedness of respii-ation, on taking a few steps. The animal wastes away, and dies a skeleton, often by suffcication ; the au'-tubes being blocked up by the thickening of the lining mem- brane, by mucus, and by worms. To this disease young cattle ai'e peculiaily subject ; and we need not say that it is one of a most destructive nature. The great object at the commencement of the attack is to subdue the inflammation by bleeding, active aperients, and sedatives ; if these means prove unsuccessful there is little hope. When the tubes are thickened. clogged with mucus, and womis, what can be done? Could the irritating parasites be removed there would be a chance of recovery. Spirit of tur- pentine promises at least occasional success. In calves labouring under hoose and the irritation of bronchial worms, spirit of turpentine has been found efficacious, and might be in older cattle. Mr. Dickens recommends, in cases of hoose or cough in calves, the bronchial tubes of which are filled with minute worms, the following draught, repeated at intervals of a week or ten days : — Linseed oil, 1 oz. Oil of turpentine, 4 oz. Oil of can-awavs, 20 drops. M"ix. A contributor to the " Veterinarian" has found the following mLxtiu'e very successful, viz. : — Spirit of turpentine, 6 oz. Tinctui'e of opium, 1 oz. Balsam of sulphur, 1 oz. ^™"^M of each 1 drachm. Ginger, J The dose of spirit of tm-pentine for grown-up cattle may extend from two to four ounces, vrith as much linseed oil, a few drops of caraway, and a little gruel. The rationale is as follows : the turpentine, so peculiarly destnictive to worms, is taken up into the system, enters into eveiy part of the circula- tion, and is recognizable both iu the urine and breath. It is thus brought into contact vrith the worms, whom it immediately destroys; their hold being loosened, they are then easily expelled from the larynx by the cough, and the bad symptoms will gradually abate. The dose may be repeated eveiy other day, or twice in the week. INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS, OE PNEUMONIA. With the bronchial disease, previously de- scribed, there is generally an attendant inflamma- tion or congestion of the lungs (that is of their cellular- substance) to a greater or less extent; but sometimes pneumonia manifests itself inde- pendently and in an acute foim. It is generally the result of over-driving cattle when in an imfit state from fat to travel hard or work long. The disease commonly makes its appearance within a day or two from the exciting cause of it, and is characterized by dulness, a frequent cough, a dro-ping of the head, and a heaving of the flanks, to which the animal often turns its head ; the horns, ears, and legs are cold, the pulse is small and quick, but sometimes not quicker than usual. Eespiration is evidently painful ; this, the frequent act of turning the head to the sides expressively indicates ; but the cough is not so frequent as in bronchitis. Frequently the animal grinds the teeth, and utters short groans. The cattle generally stand, sometimes lie do-svn, and this is 1 124 ■ THE OX. always the case with calves. The smallness of the pulse, arising from congestion of the cellular tissue of the lungs, should not deter us from bleeding, nor from cautiously repeating the ab- straction of blood if necessary. In the horse, when labouring under inflammation of the lungs, aperient medicines are dangerous ; but in horned cattle this is not the case, and brisk medicines may be administered with advantage, assisted by injections. The sides should be. blistered or fired by the cautery, and setons of hellebore inserted into the dewlap. Bran mashes and gruel may be given, and the animal on recovering must be kept low, and onlj' allowed by degrees to return to its ordinary diet. Acute pneumonia sometimes ap- pears as an ejiidemic, and rapidly jiasses through its stages, mostly ending fatally. In this disease the symptoms of ordinary pneumonia are all aggravated. The muzzle is dry, the mouth is hot, the flanks heave, there is excessive thirst, the coat is rough, the hind limbs are feeble, and the alvine excretions are either hard and black, or liquid, dark, and fetid ; soon the sjiine exhibits signs of tenderness, especially over the lumbal- region, there is harsh grinding of the teeth, moaning, violent lieaving of the flanks, and a con- vulsive cough ; the eyes are wild, the expression is agitated, the nostrils open and close as if with a spasmodic effort, sometimes tumours appear on the skin, and occasional shivering is succeeded by violent sweating ; alternately the back becomes arched, the belly contracted, the pupils of the eyes dilate, stupor comes on, and the beast falls and dies. After death the lungs are found on exami- nation to be gorged with black blood, often offensive and putrescent ; in some parts they appear hepatized or solidified like liver ; sometimes tuber- cles filled with purulent matter are present ; the pleura, or investing membrane of the lungs, is thickened ; and the heart and diaphragm exhibit the ravages of inflammatory action. Generally the fourth stomach is inflamed, and the maniplus filled with hardened material. From the horribly putrescent state of the gorged blood in the lungs, this disease has been called gangrenous inflamma- tion of those organs, but the term is incorrect. This disease, at various times, has appeared in different parts of the continent, in Germany, France, Denmark, &c. ; in England it is also known, and is often the cause of great mortality. It is only at the commenceme.ift of this fearful malady that there is much chance of doing good. A free use of the lancet is imperative ; bleeding must be pushed to its utmost extent, and smart aperients with injections must succeed; these having acted, sedatives, as nitre, digitalis and emetic tartar combined, may be given at re^nilar intervals. Some veterinary surgeons recommend as a purgative two scruples of the po^vder of croton seeds, to be followed up by salts and the injection pump. (No farmers sliould be without the enema- pump of Read's invention, or at least a simple apparatus, always at hand.) Setons in the dewlap, and firing the sides, or blisters should not be omitted. Should the inflammatory symptoms yield, care and a cautious diet will be all that is ordinarily needed, unless the debility be such as to render tonic draughts advisable. The following observations by Mr. Lord, in the " Veterinarian "for July, 1 841 , are very interesting : " In the latter end of last Ajiril," he writes, " the Earl of Kingston sent for me, and told me that his cows were dying veiy fast from some disease that had been in his farms for the last year, and which his steward believed to be incurable. After a minute examination I found the symptoms as follows : — pulse in almost nil that were affected from 93 to 1'20, but very small; horns, ears, and legs cold ; the animals heaving violently at the flank, and grunting as if in great pain, also grinding the teeth. With the stethoscope I could discern the bronchial respiration in some, and the mucous rale in others. "Treahnent. — In the early stage I bled, largely, notv.ithstanding that the pulse was sriiall, as I consider this arises from pulmonai-y ccnges- tion, which bleeding removes. I next fired and blistered the sides, and gave Khile hellebore half a drachm, morning and night, as long as they could bear it, and changing it then for tartarized antimony and nitre, keeping the bowels open by occasional laxatm^s. "\^'ith this treatment I cured four out of five of the beasts which the steward and attendants considered as sm-e to die, and I have more recovering. " A gentleman who lives near me, and who had lost seventeen cows with it, had tried a great many remedies, and not saved a patient. He asked me to look at the last two of Ms stock, and which were ill with a similar disease, telling me, at the same time, I might try any experiment I ^^^s]led on them, as he knew they would not recover. To his astonishment, with the above treatment, I had them well in ten days." ' The success which attended the mode of treat- ment in these cases is very encouraging, and ought to be home in mind. With respect to the use of the stethoscope in detecting the condition of the heart, lungs, and other internal organs, v.'e must explicitly state that it is of the highest importance to the veterinary surgeon, as well as to the physician ; but it reqidres an experienced ear and habitual practice with it, to derive positive information from its application ; we therefore doubt whether in the hands of the farmer or grazier it would be of much practical sei-vice, unless he devoted himself to the study of the healtliy actiju of the heai't, lun^s, ic, and made 125 ii series of comparative observations on the sounds they commiuiicate to the ear, and the sounds which the same organs convey in diiTerent con- ditions of disease. This is part of the study of the modern veterinary surgeon. PLEUEITIS, OK INFLAMMATION OF THE INVESTING MEMBR.\NE OF THE LUNGS AND THE LINING MEMBR.\NE OF THE CAVITY OF THE CHEST. Although in acute pneumonia the pleura covering the cellular mass of the lungs is gene- rally involved in the inflammation, yet inflammation confined to the pleura itself -is not of imcommon occurrence. ]\Iany causes conduce to this afl'ection ; e.xposure to keen draughts of wind, a wet couch, over-exertion, blows on the si8e, lying all night on tli3 frozen ground unsheltered from the weather, — these and the like may indude the disease. '' In pleuritis tlie shivering tits come on with great frequency and violence, during which the shoulders quiver ; and this latter symptom occurs even when there is no general shivering. The breathing is quick, short, and abrupt, like rapid panting ; there is a short but painful cough, there are twitchings and a wavy motion of the skin of the sides, and the animal shrinks as if from pain when the latter are pressed. The flanks are tucked up, and the expression of the countenance is distressed ; if the disease go on, it usually terminates in the effusion of serum, not unmixed with coagulated lymph in the chest (in fact a dropsy of the chest), which oppresses the lungs, jDrevents their action, and destroys life. In pneumonia w'e obsen^ed that the lungs were gorged with black piutrescent blood ; in this disease they are smothered in ^vater, which fills the cavity enclosing them. The treatment of pleuritis is however the same as pneumonia. The lancet is the anchor-sheet of hope, assisted by aperients, blisters, setons, and low diet. Occasionally pleuritis changes its acute for a chronic form, and the animal Imgers on, becoming emaciated and weak, with a dry cough, tenderness of the sides and loins, and difficulty of resjjiration, as in asthma, accompanied by a short groan and a drawing down of the angles of the lips, with a heaving of the sides. The animal at length dies, wasted away to a mere skeleton. On examination, the lungs are found more or less extensively ad- herent to the sides of the chest, bound by firm bands, the result of inflammation ; there is gene- rally fluid, also, in the chest, and in the pericar- dium. Where the pleura of the chest and lungs do not adhere, the membrane is thickened and has its texture changed. In these cases there is no hope of cure. An animal, indeed, may live and enjoy life, when, after acute pleuritis, adhesions exist between the kmgs and chest ; but then all inflammatory action is subdued. Oil the contrary, in these cases it goes on like a smouldering fire, sometimes apparently extinguished, but again re- turning; new adhesions succeeding to those pre- viously fnniii'd, till the lungs can no longer per- form their functions. In animals which have died from pleuritis, we have often observed the pleura of the chest appear as if veiy minutely granulated. We remember once, in the human subject, seeing the pleura studded with calcareous patches of some thick- ness ; and a similar deposit /sometimes occurs in cattle. CONSUMPTION, OR PHTHISIS. Neglected catarrh, or inflammation of the lungs, often produces tubercles in the lungs, which, increasing in size and running together, at length suppurate, foraiiug abscesses in the substance of those organs. The progress of consumption is insidious : in the human being life continues even when a great jiortion of some of the lobes of the lungs is wasted away by ulceration. The hollow, distressing cough, the hectic flush, the overbright eye, the expectoration of puiaflent matter, often mixed with blood, foretel the result ; but if a suf- ficient quantity of the lungs is left for respira- tion, unless some larger blood-vessel or tubercle burst and produce sudden suffocation, the patient lingers on. In the ox the same thing occurs. We have seen extensive tubercles in the lungs of oxen, killed in good condition for the market ; and the fact has often surprised us : but on considering that the progress of the tubercles is at first slow, that they do not for a long time interfere with the functional duties of the lungs, that the animal reposes at ease in a stall or yard, fattening, not- withstanding the tuberculous affection of the lungs; so that, most probably, the rapid increase of the disease resulted from the long journey to London,, during which respiration was necessarily hurried, and a larger quantity of blood sent through the lungs, while time was ' not allowed before the butcher's stroke for the wasting of the body ; — on considering these points our surprise diminished. We have said that neglected catarrh, or in- flammation of the lungs, often produces phtlii- sis ; and such is the fact : but we suspect that there must be in such cases a predisposition to this scrofulous affection. Often, indeed, phthisis manifests itself without any previous definite symptoms. Minute tubercles have ex- isted dormant in the lungs, perhaps, for years, nay, perhaps, even from birth ; but some exciting cause not to be clearly appreciated or detected, — a trifling cold, a hurried walk, a sudden chill after perspiration, damp garments, or some trifling neglect, is followed by dull pain in the chest, a hollow peculiar cough, uneasiness in lying on one 12(i side or the other, and other symptoms, which go on for months, or years, till some additional cause accelerates the progress of the disorganization, when copious purulent expectoration, hectic night sweats, debility, severe diarrhoea, and emaciation, end in death. If these observations apjjly di- rectly to our fellow-creatures, so they do to the dumb binite. During the progress of consump- tion in the human subject, the appetite is often undiminished, though digestion is slow and diffi- cult ; and the mind is not only clear, but roused to intense activity. In the ox, the appetite sel- dom fails much, — the animal is lively; nay, in cows, the sexual desires' sefem not only unalsated but increased ; but the animal is subject to abor- tion. During pregnancy the symptoms of con- sumption are generally much mitigated ; the great curreiit of blood is directed elsewhere for an especial object; but, after delivery, the disease goes on with accelerated rapidity. -In cattle, besides the hollow cough, there are purulent and sometimes bloody discharges from the mouth and nostrils, and irrepressible diarrhoea ; the sldn is evidently very painful when pressed: the cellular tissue beneath is either inflamed or becoming disorganized ; the surface of the skin is dry ai^d scaly, and some writers affirm that it v,-il\ even creak as the ani- mal moves feebly along. In the human subject we have more than once seen the cellular tissue, to a large extent, not only beneath the skin, but between the muscles of the chest and limbs, dissolved into puinilent matter. We have adverted to the fact that in some constitutions there is a predisposition to phthisis ; this predisp(isition is hereditaiy ; the offspring of consumptive parents are liable to consumption. This fact should be deeply considered by the breeder of cattle. The calf of a consumptive cow may grow up to be a beautiful heifer; she may even breed; but soon after she generally mani- fests symptoms of the disease, which runs a rapid course. Mr. Youatt says, that he has known two dairies almost destro^'ed by this hereditary taint. No breeder or dairj^-farmer would wish for a feeble stock liable to be carried off. To breed from such a stock, and thereby extend, as it were, tlie empire of the disease, is not only for the farmer to do a personal injustice himself, but the community at large. The best plan to be taken with cattle which show the primary symptoms of phtliisis (indicated by an inward hollow cough, low and gurgling) is, to feed them as quickly as possible for the butcher, — in a short time this will be too late. It often happens, at the commencement of the disease, that the animal rallies ; there is an evident improvement ; from some cause the pro- gress of' the disease is temporarily suspended : let not the farmer hope for ultimate recovery ; the beast will now fatten, perhaps, as well, with care, as if uo misclrief had begim in the lungs ; let him fatten the animal without delay, and thus secure himself from loss. When phthisis is fairly confirmed, medical treatment is of no avail ; but, in the incipient stage, blisters, sedatives, and cautious bleeding, with a seton on the side, or in the dewlap, may arrest for some time its further progress. The animal, moreover, should be housed in a com- fortable and well-ventilated stable, apart from other cattle, and not exposed to the north or easterly \vinds ; it should never be hrn'ried or alarmed ; the litter shouJd be always kept diy, and the skin often cm-rycombed, in order to excite the action of the cutaneous vessels. With respect to the use of iodine in incipient phthisis, some practitioners speak very highly. Mr. Youatt says, that though he will not affirm that he has discovered a specific for consumption in cattle, yet he has saved some that would other- wise have perished. He would urge on prac- titioners the study of the symptoms of phthisis, and attention to the inward, feeble, painful, hoarse, gurgling cough, of consumption ; and as soon as they are assured that this termination of catarrh, or pneumonia, or pileurisy, begins — that tuber- cles liave formed, and have, perhaps, begun to suppurate — let them have recom-se to the iodine in the form of the iodide of potass, given in a small mash in doses of three grains, morning and evening, at the commencement of the dis- order, and gradually increased to six or eight grains. To this should be added proper attention to comfort, yet not too much nursing, and free access to succulent not stimulating food. The medicine should be continued not only until the general condition of the beast begins to improve, but until the character of the cough has been essentially changed. INFLAMMATION OF THE HEART AND PEEICAHDIUM. In the horse, an animal called to violent and continued muscular exertion, to the toils of the chase and the course, inflammation of the heart is by no means of uncommon occurrence ; but in the ox it rarely occm-s as a disease j^er se; the symp- toms cannot be mistaken, the pulse is full and very strong, and the heart may be seen and felt violently pulsating against the left side of the chest ; and each stroke may be heard, even at a distance. Copious bleeding through a large orifice, even to fainting, and repeated if the symptoms are not decidedly suppressed, with smart aperients, are the only means on which any dependence is to be placed. Inflammation of the pericardium, or sac en- veloping the heart, occurs occasionally from extra- neous causes. Cattle have sometimes a strange 127 propeusit}- to swallow shai-p-poiuted substances, as pieces of wire, large needles, nails, &c. ; and these articles, wliicli, when accidentally taken into the stomach of other animals, work out their way ex- ternally, generally without much injury, take in cattle a more dangerous course. A few yeai's since we saw a child, on the upper part of whose abdomen a singular conical tumour ap- peared, and w^hich revealed to the touch the pre- sence, immediately below the skin, of a hard aud apparently sharp substance, the nature of which we could not conjecture. A very slight incision with a lancet served to expose the point: of a needle; we applied a pair of small forceps, and drew out a needle upwards of an inch and a half in length. This needle, which was black, must have been swallowed, and have worked its way through the coats of the stomach and the mus- cular parietes of the abdomen ; yet it did not appear that the child had ever manifested any symptoms of illness or fever ; nor was it till the needle came to the skin, and there caused a prick- ing pain, that any thing was discovered. In cattle such substances often, perhaps mostly, work their w'ay into the pericardium, producing inflammation, aud either extensive ulceration or dropsy of the chest. Several cases of this kind are on record in which pieces of wire, lai'ge pins, and needles, have been discovei'ed after death sticking in the pericardium. The symptoms in these cases are obscm'e, till effusion in the chest is detected by the ear or the use of the stetho- scope. We need not say that no directions for medical treatment in such cases can be given. INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVEB, OR HEPATITIS. Acute inflammation of the liver does not appear to be a very common disease in cattle, and occurs mostly in such as are stall-fed on high diet, and debaiTed from due exercise. The symptoms of this disease are not always veiy determinate. There is generally a yellowness of the eyes and skin, indicative of a cessation of action in the liver, which no longer separates the bile from the blood. Considerable fever exists, indicated by drjTiess of the muzzle, heat of the mouth, and a quickened pulse ; the abdomen, especially on the right side, is tiimid, and pressure gives decided jiain ; the animal often turns its head round, and endeavours to lean the muzzle against it. The bowels are generally constipated; but this con- dition often alternates \vith violent purging. IMr. Brown, in the " Veterinarian," remarks, that a diminution in the milk of the milch cow is one of the first symptoms, and that the cream drawn from it presents a ropy appearance, 'and has a saltish taste. As the disease progresses the aspect of the animal becomes dull and depressed, and the appetite impaired ; the animal loses its ordinary activity, its gait is stiffened or staggering, with a halt on one or more of the limbs. The eyes are dull, and the transparent cornea some- times becomes opaque ; the nose is alternately dry and moist ; the mucous membranes, the nasal secretions, and the sltin, are yellow. In protracted cases, when the animal begins to recover, " a yellow scurf rises from the skin, which gives the hair the appearance of being dusted with turmeric." Rumination is either wholly or partially suspended, the secretion of milk is limited, and inflammation usually appears in one or more quarters of the udder. Tumours not unfrequently appear in different parts of the body, and, on bursting, discharge a fetid matter. In some cases the respiration is at first fre- quent, and aocampanied with a short painful cough; but in most instances it is not much disturbed. The bowels are generally obstinately constipated, with occasional intermissions of diarrhoea ; but some cases occur in which the animal is attacked by violent purging, the alvine excretions being co- pious, dark, and fetid. During the progress of the disease the pulse varies considerably in its character, but is usually feeble. The treatment recommended is moderate bleed- ing in the early stages of the disease, which it may be often necessary to repeat ; after this one drachm of calomel, suspended in''thick gmel, with half a drachm of opium, and two drachms of ginger, may be given. In the course of six or eight houi'S after this, an aperient, composed of eight ounces of Epsom salts, foiu- ounces of sulphm', and half a pint of linseed oil, \vith giiiel, may be administered, and repeated in twelve or eighteen hours if the prior dose has taken no effect. " In severe cases a blister may be applied to the right side, and a drachm of calomel, half a drachm of opium, two drachms of gentian, one of ginger, aud two of nitre, administered in gruel twice a day." In cases where diarrhcea occurs from the com- mencement, the aperient dose should be either entirely omitted or given in only half the quan- tity; but the calomel and opium, &c., repeated morning and evening. In all cases the diet should be restricted and simple, and as little stimulating as possible. Active inflammation of the liver may yield to a ceitain extent, and ultimately merge into a chronic form ; the liver now becomes pretematu- rally enlarged and hidurated, sometimes soft and spong3^ ; it is often studded with tubercles of large size filled with puralent matter. It is the nidus of numerous hydatids ; and fluke-worms (distoma hepaticum) inhabit cysts in its substance and even the biliary ducts. Chronic uiflammation, however, is not neces- sarily the result of active inflammation ; it occurs 128 %Then no such inflammation has previously existed, and it may continue for a considerable period without any decided symptoms being manifest. We have frequently seen decided indications of chronic disease of the liver in animals slaughtered for sale, and which were in good condition. This disease may run on to a horrible extent before it destroys life, though the animal may be meagre, weak, dull, and hide-bound. Mr. Youatt narrates a case in point : "A cow came up from the west to Smithfield market, in the year 183-2 ; she was in tolerable condition, yet not in such a state as to afford a chance of her being bought by any re- spectable butcher ; she was, therefore, set apart for the sausage-makers, and to them she was sold. She walked pretty well with the other cattle, and had no indication of disease, except enlargement of the belly, yellowness of the sldn, and her not carrying so much flesh as the rest. On examina- tion after death, the liver weighed no less than 137 lbs., and measured, from one lobe to aJiother, more than a yard and a quarter. There was little of the common appearance of inflammation ; but it was evident that there were numei'ous hydatids ; in fact, they occupied the larger portion of the organ, and had hollowed it into cavities of greater or smaller size. One cavity, nearly thirty inches in circumference, presented, when opened, the appearance of a honey-comb, all the cells of which and the whole excavation were filled wth hyda- tids, from the size of a sparrow's egg to that of a swan ; there were nearly three hundred of them. Some cysts were filled with blood, and others \vith matter of a fibrous character, and others had large fibrous cords extending from side to side. A few portions presented nearly the character of healthy liver ; but in general, where there were no hy- datids, the substance resembled a deposit of matter that had gradually hardened into cartilaginous cells ; and the centre of the liver was perfectly fibro-cartilaginous, without any trace of its original structure. This disease had probably existed during a long period, and had only interfered with health by preventing her attaining the usual con- dition of fatted cattle." It is e\'ident that the small portion of sound liver secreted bile sulfi- cient for the purposes of an imperfect state of digestion and assimilation only, and not of that healthy state necessary for an animal's thriving properly. The same observation is applicable to many such instances, of which the following is an exani- ple. It is related by Mr. Goodworth (" Veterina- rian," June 1831), of a cow, the property of a neigh- bour, that she had calved, and done well : " She was milked twice a day, and appeared in good health, for six weeks: when the maid going to milk her in the morning found her very uneasy ,*-and evi- dently ill. The oow was bled, and the messenger sent to a druggist for medicine ; but although he was absent only a few minutes, the cow was dead on his return. On opening the body, all the abdo- minal viscera were found in perfect health except the right lobe of the liver, which was mucli eu; larged ; and an incision being made in it, a quart of matter, of the colour and consistency of cream, escaped." We learn from these facts how difficult it is to predict with certainty respecting the existence of chronic disease of these organs, the symptoms of which are obscure. Yet it is one which annually carries off' numbers of cattle ; some of which, at least, might, by treatment in the early stage of the malady, have been saved. Mr. Brown details the symptoms as follows : — " In chronic inflammation of the liver the beast is commonly low in flesh, hide-bouud, the skin slightly tinged with yellow from a scurf that gives the hair a staring, dirty appearance : the eyes are dull, and considerably sunk in the orbits, the ears droop- ing, the countenance altogether dejected ; the ani- mal feeds sparingly, is disinclined to walk, and when made to move the operation is listlessly per- formed. Although the animal is feeding in a suc- culent pasture the bowels are often confined, and the excrement is voided stiff, and glazed, probablj', with dark-coloured bile ; but in other cases diarrhoea commences. In either states of the bowels neat cattle will often linger on a life of misery for many months, until they are rendered useless by a dis- ease which, probably, might have been relieved if active treatment had been adopted early enough to have arrested the morbid action." With respect to the treatment, serviceable only in the early stage of the disease, it must consist of alterative doses of calomel comljined with a small proportion of opium, and carried off by an oily mixture. We are aware that an authority of weight, viz. Mr. Youatt, objects to tlie use of calomel in chronic inflammation of the liver, as often producing " injurious effects," and recommends only gentle purgatives combined with aromatics ; but where the liver has assumed a morbid action, and altera- tion of its substance is going on, we cannot expect to see very decided effects result from such a plan. It sometimes happens that when the liver be- comes softened and spongy, a sudden and violent hemorrhage from it takes place, causing death almost instantly. JAUNDICE, OR TELT.OWS. Jaundice, to a greater or less extent, is the ac- companiment of chronic inflammation of the liver ; it arises from the obstruction to the passage of the bile through the ducts, either from alteration of the intimate structure of the liver, or from the pressure of tubercles or tumours. There is, however, another and very common 129 cause of jaundice, which in noticing the morbid af- fections of the liver we cannot here omit to describe ; ■we allude to the obstruction of the biliary ducts by gall-stones. It is astonishing how often gall-stones are found in the gall-bladders of cattle : they vary in size from a pin's head to a walnut, and as long as they cause no obstniction, they neitlier incon- venience the animals nor interfere with health. But sometimes, nay very often, they enter the duct which conveys the bile to the intestines (the cystic duct) from the gall-bladder, which unites with a larger common duct from the liver itself, before entering the duodenum. When a gall-stone enters the cystic duct, it soon becomes impacted ; it stops the current of the bile ; spasmodic action of the mus- cular fibres of the duct, occasioned by the irritation, and accompanied by violent agony, succeeds ; the skin and eyes become suifused with bile ; generally in due time (longer or shorter according to the size of the stone or calculus) the duct is dilated, and the obstructing object passes into the larger com- mon duct, along which, not, however, without causing some obstruction, it proceeds till it comes to its entrance into the intestine (duodenum). Here again it meets with a fresh difficulty ; this en- trance is surrounded by muscular fibres, which act as a sort of valve, or rather as a constriction, yield- ing freely to the pure bile, but contracting on the irritation of a preternatural object. Before this barrier is forced, spasmodic agony again takes place ; at length the muscular fibres yield, and the gall-stone passes into the intestine ; the pain ceases, but it is some time before the jaundice of the skin disappears. Unfortunately, when this occurrence has once taken place it opens the way for repetitions of the whole affair, and cal- culi sometimes lodge in the ducts for a consider- able time, producing confirmed jaundice. This state of things cannot exist without producing general derangement of the system ; the alimen- tary canal is immediately affected ; loss of appe- tite, constipation, thirst, a hard quick pulse, a heaving of the Banks from increased and febrile respiration, dulness, and loss of strength and flesh, with yellowness of the skin, of the eyes, and of every secretion, milk, urine, Ac, are prominent symptoms. The skin becomes dry, and throws off yellow mang3' scurf, and the hair becomes ragged, and falls off in unsightly patches ; then, perhaps, an uncontrollable diarrhoea comes on, under which the poor beast may sink. It can scarcely be pos- sible, with this state of affliirs, that the liver will not become more or less inflamed ; and thus may gall-stones produce a disease in that organ which did not previously e.vist. Hence, then, while a jaundiced state of the skin may result from chronic inflammation of the liver, the obstruction of gall- stones in the biliary ducts may not only produce the same vellow suffusion, but even excite inflam- mation, which perpetuates the jaundice. It is the opinion of some writers, that the presence of fluke- worms (distoma hepaticum) in the biliaiy ducts will produce jaundice. We will not say that these parasites may not occasionally produce it, but we can say that of numbers, not a few, of ruminants of every species, which it has been our lot to exa- mine after death, not one was jaundiced when fluke-worms alone were found in the liver or biliary ducts; the same observation applies to hydatid.^ in the substance of the liver. Indeed we have found fluke-worms in the liver of some of the best fed and most healthy-looking sheep that were ever slaughtei-ed by the butcher. It is a fact that the liver of the finest codfish is infested by hundreds of ccelelmintlious worms, coiled up in cells or crypts, and which move and crawl for a long time after being extricated from their nidus. With respect to the treatment of jaundice : Could we, as in the case of the human patient, be informed as to the character and seat of the agony the animal is undergoing during the passage of gall- stones, we should have recourse to opium, seda- tives, hot fomentations, and subsequent aperients; but, as a general rule, the poor animal endures its pain unnoticed, and the jaundiced appearance and evident illness of the beast alone afford us indica- tions of what it may have suffered. In cases of jaundice, let the region of the liver be well and carefully examined ; it is import- ant to determine how far this organ is affected, if possible ; under all circumstances (unless the ani- mal be in a state of weakness and emaciation), the abstraction of a small quantity of blood is advisable; and if the animal suffers spasmodic pain, let an opiate (an ounce of laudanum or a drachm of pulv. opii, in gruel) be given ; follow this up, after a few hours, by pm-gatives of Epsom salts, in six- ounce doses with ginger, aided by copious injec- tions. If there be no spasmodic pain, and the usual symptoms of jaundice only appear, aperients, mashes, and low diet may be successfid. Some practitioners recommend aloes, Barbadoes soap, and Venice turpentine ; but simple aperients are more safe, and quite as efficacious. Should the liver be swollen and tender, blisters, setons, and perhaps even calomel (though it should never be rashly administered), may be requisite, .\fter all, jaundice is not one of the most tractable of diseases, and when once confirmed will often bid defiance to the efforts of the most skilful veterinarian. All nostrums in this disease (and many there are in vogue among the ignorant), as saffron, iwt li i»i: at «hir imms lirnw vmk MalaJL aail «=-. -. atly. Moreover in the milder fwietf of lUs dtse5i>e tlio spinal cho-i i< *'■' '-■•■ ,-■"■' ><=st of the afiei'ii'Mi. "'The ~ ; :,.(- "udir t'omi of th;r H-eiiseare nu; the animal drops and mies feeding, and r-:iss( " .-o diii the spinal . i. ' ; liowels aro . ~".vo ho; men( times lowest ell stimulaii nitrous ; rally and bc;it S but with caution A continuance Tourable prognostic the flow of milk does takes place, but if the rally dies. An attentive consideration tlie uterus ani puts adj*- ' abo> detafled. «wl of the moriad ajipeuaDces ob- Lined to reijarcl tlie kaon of s^rr e mfter Atmth, tH alike ia&adTe of lesmt spinal thori and «f the haan, casnot Uit exd% to believe, that thowgh iidlaiwinitinw of the and pmitoaeal nembnaes nar attend this -J {ed cooditiaa of the centre of the nerroos L it is not its necessaiv awotapaniment. other hand, hoaerer. is there not reason re that this spinal and cenbnl mischief. from being ahaars ptiaanr, is often se- and tfaenadkof pentoaitis? Aooiwafter s lakeMJliijiil is evidentlj fererish. she her feet, paas the :tT. and heaves at the hot. and tender, and spensioa of the flow Old drr. the month the eres are Dtteis moans she now becomes ir- •hing her head aboat. her: she gtatcs her th. she is enJentlr de- srmptooiS of a ^gfaij 1 if not checked, will atter pnetration of the t of this I t mvotves the oteras and nd stage saperrenes, r. she feels aboat. the •-< and limbs lose e rises perhaps oMnes Boie de- -mks. she tnms 7«ire in agofiT : mervaallT doses the npon inflamma- of the brain and after death peritoneom. will bs <^ the the '■ - -''L \aniiRstiaa . and wfaich the \h^T 'be perito- e spinal "'"Vca- k««.^ 171 done under the circumstances last described. First, then, we have a stage of high fever and great inflammation, often escaping careless obser- vation, till the stage of collapse supervenes. In this stage the quick, hard, but perhaps small pulse will indicate bleeding. The intense inflam- mation must be subdued if possible; the disease runs a most rapid course and must be arrested. Let then the blood flow in a full stream to the amount of six, eight, or ten quarts, according to the size and strength of the animal. Small bleedings are mefficient, they tend rather to bring on the stage of debility than to cut short the inflammation. Let purgatives be then given, as salts, sulphur, and croton, as recommended previously, assisted by injections, and persevered in till the bowels act well. This is most important ; once get the bowels to act, and the battle is half won. Sedatives may perhaps be then needed. Perhaps the sto- mach is distended with gas, tliis must be allowed e.^it through the flexible tube introduced into the rumen, and a solution of chloride of lime must be given (see "Hoove"), and this maybe necessary to be done before either bleeding or purgatives can be resorted to with any hope of advantage. Suppose the second stage described has super- vened, something, perhaps, may yet be done with a prospect of success ; if the beast is in the field, her removal is impossible : she must be supported in an easy position, with the fore-parts a little ele- vated by means of trusses of straw ; if the weather is changeable or cold, a rough tent of sacks or matting may be reared up over her ; and if she can eat, a warm mash given. Now, as to bleeding, all will depend upon tlie state of the pulse ; if it be weak, trembling, or intermittent, no blood mtist be abstracted : the powers of the system will give way under the least depletion. But if the pulse be quick, small, hard, and wiry, the lancet may be used, but the pulse must lie consulted as the flood flows, and the vein stopped at its first tremulous wavering. Here judgment will be required, in order to decide the point at which to stop. The next thing to be done is to urge the bowels to action by purgatives and injections. This is often a diffi- cult affair to be accomplished; and if all measures fail there is little hope. Blisters or stimulating embrocations should be applied to the spine along the lumber region, and the limbs kept from being chilled. Gradually, perhaps, the cow will recover, the milk may in a measure return, and even some little degree of appetite ; she will, perhaps, after a few days, endeavour to regain her feet, and may be assisted by a sling. For a long time, however, she will remain weak, and (the fever having abso- lutely subsided) tonics (as four drachms of gentian, two drachms of ginger, and a little good ale, in gruel) may be given twice a day ; but neither spirits nor those villanous compounds called cordial drenches. We need scarcely say that the favour- able termination we have pictured is not in every case realized. Puerperal fever is sometimes epi- demical, and a dreadful epidemic it is ; and moreover a cow, who has once suffered under this malady, is exceedingly liable to its recurrence at her next parturition. It is for the farmer to judge whether he will prepare the animal for the butcher, or keep her and endeavour by proper measures to secure her as far as possible from the recurrence of the disease when she calves the next year. Bleed- ing, gentle aperients, and a ratlier spare diet, during the last few weeks, may do great service. GAItGET, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE SUBSTANCE OF THE UDDER. The udder of the cow is divided into four com- partments ; and it often happens that one or more of these compartments becomes swelled, hot, in- flamed, and knotty. This inflammation is accom- panied by fever, more or less severe according to the violence of the inflammation ; and this fever is often preceded by a shivering fit of three or four houi's' duration. Garget is apt to occur in highly- conditioned heifers after their first calving ; it may be produced in cows liy cold and wet during partu- rition, when the active secretion of fresh milk takes place. Bruises will cause it, as will also a careless mode of milking, the compartments of the udder not being thoroughlj' drained ; in which case the milk that is left becomes a source of irritation. P^rom whatever cause it may arise, garget often proves a troublesome disease, and not unfrequently terminates in suppuration, extensive abscesses, and gangrene. In the beginning of this affection, before the inflammation has proceeded to a great degree, it will be advisable to let the calf go with its parent on the field or close ; the young animal will suck freely, relieving the udder of the milk, and as it takes plenty of exercise will not be apt to suffer from overloading the stomach. But besides this, the quarter of the udder affected should be fairly drained three times a day, lest any milk remain- ing there coagulate and add to the mischief AVe need not say that the milk should be drawn gently, so as to give as little pain as possible. An active aperient should be administered, and the diet restricted. These measures, if resorted to in time, will generall}- prove effectual. But the early stage is sometimes overlooked, and the inflammatiuii and pain have amved at a serious height : the cow will not permit the calf to suck ; there is consi- derable fever; the animal loses her appetite and ceases to ruminate ; and the danger of suppuration is imminent. Bleeding must now be resorted to and afterwards aperients. The udder must be well fomented for some hours with hot water, or the decoction of poppy-heads, and then with a firm IjanJ (Iniiiied of its milk. Sometimes ^milk of the all'ected quarter, iiiul puiulent matter is mixed with it. (Iraiiieil, ibe aflecteJ (junrter or be well rubbed with a weak cam- ial (liutmcut (oau)plior one ounce, Ider by means of a few drops of spirit i ounce of mercurial ointment, and of lard or elder ointment, intimately j etlui). In the evening the fomentation iioulilbc repialed, the udiler cleaned, esh ointnunt applied. In the com-se of a | the glandular inlargements and the pain t prob.ably materially diminish, especially if i pill',' itives act well ; but if not it may be advis- | able to have recourse to iodine both externally and intcrnallv. The ointment may consist of one part i'( iiiiiiile of potass added to seven parts of lard, and must be used instead of the mercurial preparation ; and six or eight grains of iodide of jiotiiss may be given in gruel every day. l-'roni i to time the udder must be carefidly examined, , soon forms in the centre of the iiidura- [ if not at once evacuated, will produce ' extending in various directions: these will , igth burst externally, and terminate in foul il:ir ulcers, spreading nipidly to the destruc- , if iiie or more of the quarters. Nothing will ! this l)Ut a free opening of the abscess as it is formed ; there must be no hesitation, fir if allowed to burst of itself, even should no ! minuses be formed, it will cause a va.st destruction of the glandidar mass before the external skin j gives way ; and the consequence will be a deep ragged idcer and gangrene ; the spreading of which i will not be arrested, perhaps, unless by the use of, the knife. L'lider these circumstances, the first thing to be done is to cleanse the idcer, which should lirst be washed with warm water, and then freely laved with a solution of the chloride of lime; | repeated applications of this solution will not only remove the disgusting eHluvium, but arrest the spread of destructiligeil to take suliiciencj' of B organs will idary or sym- subside, the ntitv, and tlio ^rev. soon Loss of milk, or milk of a disgi odour, and consequently tintit for u derangement of the digestive orga ally from morbid alfeclions of the 1 and the animal is said to labour unc When the primary disease is neg impure milk not drawn off comple tion and all its consequences, as alt often ensue. I f the cow be feverit be requisite, ami ape'rients must animal shoidd also be put into a fi. wholesome grass, where she will l.e considerable exercise in procuring food. By these means the diges gain tone and energv', and tlie sei pathetic atTectioii of the udder w milk will be sweet and in proper q general health become c >nlirmed. SORE TliATS. Cows after calving, and especi: y young cow^, are very subject to tenderness ami >reness of the teats. Thev become inllamcd. «n exi'oriated or covered with cracks, from «hie b sanious dis- charge oozes. Those who milk tin attle are often verv- careless lioth as to the dip »g of this dis- charge into the milk, and to the iin which they inllict on the cow. In both point- lere is nothing to excuse them, nor can languae too severe bo applied to them. Many a guiMJ i r is spoiled by the milker. I'uder the pain inl'ted the animal often kicks violently, and tl.is wi at last beconio habitual : she will retain her mill and contract a habit of retaining it, by which (luaiility will speedily become diminished. T ' cow requires soothing and gentle treatment : e teats before milking should be well cleaned, i I fomented for some time with warm water, in o er to ease and mollify them. No unnecessary ^i' nee in milking should be used, but at the sam^iime the udder must be thoiYiughly drained, fir it leblom that the teats suffer without the udder in so »degree jiartiei- paiing in their tenderness ; an*»■•« Va-ja M I '3 -• inutr ML IMV r« « V«t^ «S I ;"*-^., «.— n {^ UJK.I, I I :• I t I a I I « Ills I I « 175 and unless prompt measures be resorted to the animal will die. Aperients and the use of the stomacli-pump will be required, the rumen must be unloaded, and the manyplus stimulated to action. Calves are subject to diarrhcea or scouring from various causes ; the millc maj' disagree with the stomach and disorder it, change of diet may produce it, or whatever has been taken which irri- tates the alimeutarv canal. If uot severe, diarrhoea need uot be regarded with apprehension ; it is an effort of nature to get rid of the irritating matters, and only requires to be checked when it continues too long, or the animal begins to droop. Occa- sionally diarrhoea merges into dysentery, with mu- cous and bloody purging. In the treatment of diarrhoea, a mild purgative, as two ounces of castor oil, may first be given, or three ounces of Epsom salts, two drachms of soda, and half a drachm of ginger, in half a pint of thin gruel. This will re- move the cause of disturbance. Afterwards, four tablespooufuls of the following mkture may be given morning and night : — Powdered chalk one ounce, powdered catechu four drachms, powdered ginger two drachms, powdered opium half a drachm, mucilage of gum arable two ounces, peppermint- water six ounces. This mixture re- quires to be shaken up well each time it is given. Gruel made of fine wheat-flour, arrow-root, or bean mashes with a little pea-flour will be useful ; no green or ascescent food should be allowed. We have described the hoove in cattle, and that affection of the bronchial tubes (see '• Bronchitis") iu which they are crowded by innumerable para- sitic worms. To this disease calves are extremely subject, and it often produces death. There is a hard husky cough, a staring coat, a heaving of the flanks, great debility and emaciation. After death the bronchial tubes are found to be filled with worms, often iu incredible numbers. In this disease turpentine has peculiar claims upon our notice, as its use has been in many instances at- tended with the best results. It acts evidently through the medium of the circulation, being di- rectly absorbed into the system ; as it impregnates even the breath, we may easily conceive its ef- fect upon the parasites. In the 14th volume of the " Veterinai'ian," Mr. Dickens illustrates the advantages of this medicine by several examples. To each calf, he says, I gave the following draught : Linseed oil four ounces, turpentine one ounce, oil of caraways twenty drops. •■ In a day or two afterwards the beneficial effects of this were quite discernible. The animals appeared to husk much less, the oil seemed to have acted beneficially upon the intes- tinal canal, and their appetite had improved. The dose was repeated to each in about ten days, and again after the lapse of another ten days ; after which my patients were all well and required no more medical assistiince. 1 have since been called to many cases, and have pursued the same treatment, adhering to my three doses at the interval of ten days ; but of course I have proportioned the dose to the age and size of my patient, the dose stated being for animals from six to ten moths old." I u the same work (IH.ll) the following cases are recorded: — " I was called," says a practitioner in the country, "to see seven calves (September .3rd, 1840) that were affected with this disease ; the owner had already lost five, though, as he said, he had tried every thing. The symptoms were hur- ried respiration, staring coat, a diy husk, heaving of the flanks, with difficulty of moving or unwill- ingness to move. They were reduced to perfect skeletons ; two of them were then fast sinking. The treatment consisted of inserting setons in the dewlap, and blistering the lower jiai-t of the throat. Each had from half an ounce to an ounce and a half (according to their age) once a day of a mixture composed of spirits of turpentine six parts, tinc- ture of opium and balsam of sulphur, of each one part, with gentian and ginger, of each one drachm. Five soon recovered, the other two died on the se- cond day, having taken two doses of the mixture. On examining the lungs they appeared quite filled with these parasites, some of wliich when washed and examined were brown, and appeared dead, the others were quite alive. I had a great many calves under treatment the last autumn, and was very successful after I began to administer the turpen- tine, but I never gave the tonic except in the cases above mentioned, and when the patients were iu an exceedingly debilitated condition. I have found the disease to follow the keeping of animals upon a bare pasture, from the latter end of May to the beginning of August, and with a bad sujiply of water. Cows are sometimes affected." Calves are subject to inflammation of the lungs ; the treatment, modified according to the age and strength of the calf, will be the same as that already described in adult beasts. Calves of six months old I'equire only a fourth of the dose of medicine ordinarily given to cattle, and one-half is sufficient for calves of twelve months old. A disease termed navel-ill is apt to appear iu voung calves between the third and tenth day "after birth. Perhaps a little oozing of blood from the umbilical cord at first took place, which was stopped by the application of caustic, or by a liga- ture too near the abdomen, and the result is in- flammation. Sometimes, however, this inflam- mation comes on without any known cause; the part swells, and perhaps suppurates; in the latter case, as soon as the abscess points it must be opened by a lancet. Fomentations, poultices, and medicine, consisting of a few two-ounce doses of 176 castor oil made into an emulsion witli the )'olk of an egg, constitute the course of treatment. If, however, great debility, as is often the case, should succeed, stimulants may be given, as a little ale in gruel, or a little port wine with powdered gentian (half a drachm). When about a year old calves are very subject to inflammatory complaints. These may he pre- vented by a little medicine, and keeping them on a scanty pasture. Quick forcing at this period by luxurious diet is one of the great sources of de- struction among young cattle ; it is by degrees only that they should be brought to a rich grazing ground, or to dry and stimulating food. With regard to the weaning of calves, different practices prevail in different counties ; it may how- ever be laid down as a rule, that when calves, male or female, are designed for rearing, the}' should not be weaned before six weeks or two months old ; milk is their natural food, and it is incontestable that the longer a calf sucks, the stronger the animal grows up, the better its form and contour, and the more healthy and sound its constitution. If the mother does not yield a sufficiency of milk, let the calf be also fed from the pail, due care being taken that its stomach be not overloaded. No calf should be weaned suddenly, the change of diet must be effected by degrees, a little good sweet hay or grass being allowed. To this at last the calf will take almost exclusively; a little skimmed milk, buttermilk, or a mash may be now occasionally given ; some feed the calf when weaned three times a day, but it is better to give the food oftener, though in less quantity at a time. It should however be sutficient, and of good quality, otherwise the animal will be stunted in growth. It is an excellent plan to allow it to feed in the field or paddock with its mother a few hours every day ; the fresh air and the exercise strengthen its limbs and give tone to the diges- tive organs, and its contour becomes better deve- loped. Hence it is that calves kept constantly in a stable or cow-house, seldom thrive so well in the long run as those which are allowed exercise. In choosing calves for rearing, those born in the spring are to be preferred ; before the severities of winter come on they will have acquired strength to bear the cold, which is trying to younger and feebler animals, and against which they should be carefully guarded. No calves should be reared but those which are perfect in form, with broad hips in the female, a capacious chest, and sound lungs. Some recommend that calves intended for rearing should be allowed to suck the mother for three or four days, but no more, and then brought up by hand at the pail. " When the calf is a week old, skimmed milk, which has been boiled and allowed to cool again so as to he milk-warm, tuay be given. After a time this may be diluted with water and a little meal stirred into it, or some thin gruel may be made to which skimmed milk is added. Carrots or turnips make an ex- cellent food for calves, especially if they are boiled with cut hay and given warm. In this way calves may be reared with veiy little milk, till they can live on grass alone. A bull calf, if not intended to be kept as a bull, may be castrated when three months old." Calves may be, and constantly are, reared in this manner, but, as we have said, the longer a calf sucks, the finer animal in all respects does it grow up, and the more it will ultimately sell for, so that the profit will pay for the milk consumed. To a small farmer who depends on his milk and its produce we doubt the advantage of rearing calves, excepting on the meagre plan above de- scribed. Calves intended for the butcher may be weaned earlier than others ; in daiiy districts they are generally sold as soon as possible, for it is chiefly in the neighbourhood of large towns that the practice of fattening calves for the market is pro- fitable. The calf dealer, therefore, buys up the calves in the dairy disti-icts, and sells them again to those who rear them. The poor animals are often carried to a great distance in carts, packed together on their sides, with their four feet tied firmly together, and their heads hanging over the back and sides of the cart. This is a most cniel and barbarous practice, and ought to be abolished by the Legislature. It is distressing to behold the poor animals, bound in this uneasy position, in which they often remain whole days without food or drink, so that when they arrive at the place of sale they are so weak and attenuated, that many of them die ; and all of them require the gi-eatest care and attention before they recover sufficient strength to bear their natural food. If allowed to satisfy their appetite at first, excessive diarrhoea supervenes, and they frequently die. In these cases active astringents are utterly useless, they only accelerate the fatal tennination. The ex- hausted calves must be fed upon boiled milk, given by little and little at a time. To the milk thus prepared arrow-root or fine flour may be added, and occasionally an egg well beaten up previously. Gradually the tone of the stomach will he restored, and the animals begin to thrive. A writer on the treatment of calves for the butcher, inakes the following observations : — " When the calf begins to thrive on the milk which he sucks, or which is given him waiin from the cow, nothing more is necessary than to keep him extremely clean and dry, to give him plenty of air, but not much light, and never to disturb him between his meals, which are generally twice in the day, at the usual time of milldng the cows. Where it can be conveniently done, it is better to 177 let them suck three times a clay. If one now does not give sufficient milk to satisfy the calf when he begins to get large, auotlier cow must be at haml. Where a number of calves are fattened at once, and no butter or cheese is made, the number and age of the calves must be regulated by the number of cows and the quantity of milk which they give, so that there sliall be millv enougli for all. " The calf pens should be made like narrow stalls, each for the accommodation of onl_y one calf, just wide enough to allow him to lie do\Mi, but not to turn about and lick himself, which, if it become a habit, will much retard his progress in fattening. The bottom of the pen should be paved with brick, and washed clean morning and evening — or it should be boarded; the boards should be six inches from the ground, and have holes bored in them to let the urine drain through. A piece of chalk or powdered limestone is fre- quently put in a small trough, which the calf licks, and thus corrects the acidity which is apt to be generated in the stomach. The common notion that it makes the flesh whiter is a mistake, except so far as good health in the calf produces whiter flesh. When the calves are taken out of their stalls to suck the cows, they must not be allowed to- play instead of sucking. If they appear not to have much appetite a little salt may be rubbed into their mouth, and they may occasionally have a raw egg put down their throat. At five or six weeks old, if a little sweet hay is tied in a small bundle with a string and hung before them, they will pick a little of it ; and by thus exciting the saliva the digestion will be assisted. It is only by minute attention that the suckling of calves can be made more profitable than tlie mailing of butter or cheese. Wlien it is well managed, and the price of veal is about one-half the price of butter by the pound, there is an advantage in suckling, but otherwise making butter is more profitable. " Calves should be fat by eight or nine weeks old, and it is seldom advisable to keep them above twelve weeks. AVhen they get large they take a much greater quantity of milk, in comparison with ■what they do at seven or eight weeks old, to pro- duce the same increase of flesh. A calf of sixteen or eighteen stones (eight pounds to the stone) the four quarters, and well fatted, will always sell better than one that is lai-ger. " When milk is scarce, and the calves have not enough to satisfy them, it may be necessary to give them some substitute, such as meal mixed with warm milk, or balls of meal and water with a little gin in them, which makes them drows}'. Linseed made into a jelly with boiUng water and mixed with warm milk is given by some, or powdered oil-cake. All these substitutes can only be recommended when the milk fails — they dete- riorate the flesh more or less. The best plan, in VOL. I. such a case, is to sell the largest calves, and reduce the number so that they may all have their fill of milk. To know the weight of the four quarters of a calf when killed, take the live weight and mul- tiply it by O'O. Thus if a live calf weiglis 200 pounds, his four quarters when he is killed will weigh '200 x 00 = 120 pounds." It is a general practise on the continent to kill calves at a very early age, often indeed when only four or five days old ; the flesh is soft, flabby, and tasteless ; indeed, to most persons unaccustomed to such veal, if veal it can be tenned, it is disgust- ing. It ma}' not perhaps be positively unwhole- some, but upon this ground it is that no calf under ten daj'S old is permitted in France and Switzerland to be slaughtered for the market ; a considerable penalty is attached to the infraction of this law. In England veal is highly esteemed, and is confined chiefl}' to the tables of the more opulent and middle classes ; but in France, as far as our own personal observation goes, it is either less esteemed, or is more accessible to the humbler classes. In small country villages, for example, we have often had a dish of veal placed before us at the rude inn, or cabaret, when no other " butcher's meat" graced the table. We cannot say much in its praise ; we do not of coui-se allude to Paris, or the large cities or towns, but to the far-between hamlets visited occasionally by the pedestrian tra- veller, who wishes to see France, not as she displays herself in the great city, but in the rural districts. Essex has been long celebrated for the veal sent up by the feeders in that county to the Lon- don market.' They are purchased when a week or fortnight old, at the various markets held from time to time in Romford, Chelmsford, Colchester, Braintree, Maldon, &c. Some of these calves are sent from the dairies about London, and in Mid- dlesex generally, others from Sufi'olk and the ad- jacent counties. They are generally fed for about twelve or thirteen weeks, and then sent to the Romford and Smithfield markets, where they are purchased by the London butchers, or are killed Ijy the Essex butchers and sent to Newgate and Leadenhall markets. Since the establishment of railroads, numbers of country-killed calves, as well as live calves, are seut to the metropolis from various counties, and Essex is not the almost exclusive district, which it formerly was, for the supply of London. MEDICINES EMPLOYED IN THE TREATMENT OF CATTLE. It may be useful to conclude our observations on the diseases of cattle with a brief account of the principal medicines employed in their medical and surgical treatment, many of which the farmer ought to keep in his possession for instant use I'4l!: TUB OX. awt4r oil ottJe into an naokkm with U>« folk of i with bo. in Kru«l. u( t laiUf pun •tuv miUi |ju«ilrrc«l i v t«>iwti (hairaararbm). I. When aUxil • yew oU calm are »rr lo infkmautorr ronpluou. 'rbM« m.i «enl< Itti oalt gnxi I** ptcr Iw UmI tiu«iiK< ■ ruir, thai «)i< frmalv. Bfx .|«<«i5»ti»>.J fur r«-annv'. ll: ■MSni l> :' H ibeir ll Ifr.- lakrii iiiji IK C«ir*bouM be diet niMl Lc r:' •«f«t b«f or ifrtM Lr lh« oJr «i)l (ak^ r •kimaMd i^ u Ljr dijii a rich gra/ lifr.rriit ..«V ]t..\\ In linn ai ^f!r a r wvanni ti.i-- .. lb<< (uod u(lrii- - lilMO. 1 1 UtiMI |^KlJ i|«alllT. *A) in irrt'Wth il i> in(b«l>I! n rnr il . ranagai* to b« pn-f of «iai«r roa* on Uk^ to Uw tlM coU. «h> Cprtirr anioMla. aixl * cmivfuUT iri>M' vhh'h arv ; Im|~ ..> th r. „.,1- , lui r>-»' thrre u r L-'Ut .b. ,. 1 it i^- •P»^ hand at ib« P..I WrV 1 1 .1 1 na .1* In bf milk'Vn: Uus maj li« dilu; *l«r uiil • little meal stim-d intn it, or I"- made t.i which skimmed i^ 'T tunii|»s make an ex- ■ -<■• ■ inlly if they are iMiiled 111 this way calves 1 milk, till tiiey can in A Lull lalf, if imt intended I'ull, may W ca.strated when three U\ and constantly are, reared in It. as we lm\c said, the longer a iiiuT animal in idl res|>eot8 does it '..• iMiire it will ultimately sell for, I iv f ip ihe milk (X»n«.iimed. r «liM depends on his milk -- .'ulit Uie adrantjige of rearing ^Ypting on the meagre plan above de- rih.- luitcher may be weaned 11 .Liin- districts they are ' '•■. fi'r it is chielly tiiwii-i that the ::h- market is jini- • I. iinrvfore. buys up lite lit- iind wdls them again '" ■ l> "ir animals are ill carls, imcked i I til if fiiur feet tied .tnd iheir hcjids hanging over the *■ the cnrl. lliis is a most cniel I ii.jlii III l,p alMilislied I. --iii'4 to behold the , .- liuiiisy |Hisition. in •1 lO, >le days without food ilo \ urrive at the plaice of ui-.ik ajid lUtenuiiteil. that many I nil (if ihfiii rt><|uin- the greatest lioy ri'cover sufficient 1 f»oegin to thrive. icnt of cilves for the J ol>HiT«ations : — to thrive on the milk '•r winch i» giv.n him wann from . n>-.r*» i^ necessary than to keep in. to give him plenty and never to disturb i' h are (if-nerally twice of milking the cows. i.ilv done, it b better to 179 the medicine. It may be given in doses of six, eight, or ten ounces. CROTON (on, OF, AND FARINA OF THE SEEDs). As croton oil is mostly adulterated, and as the powder or farina loses its strength by keeping, it ia the best plan to have recourse to the seeds themselves, which may be preserved in a well- stopped bottle. When required they should be deprived of their shells and pounded. Croton is but rarely used, and then generally in combination with other medicines. It is a powerful purgative. Dose :^of the seed, from ten to forty grains ; of the essential oil, from ten to forty drops. CASTOR OIL. This is an excellent but expensive purgative, and is often a useful adjunct to Epsom salts. It may be given iu doses of six, eight, or twelve ounces. LINSEED OIL. This is little inferior to castor oil, and is very much cheaper. Its dose is the same as that of the jireceding oil. The same observations apply to Olive Oil. Such are the principal purgatives employed in the treatment of cattle. Whatever the medicine may be which is selected to form a di'ench, it will be generally necessary to add some cordial or sti- mulant to it, in order to excite the insensible lining of the paunch. Of these cordials the cow leech has a great variety, such as cardamon seeds, cum- min seeds, pepper, coriander, &c., &c., all of which are superseded by ginger and caraway seeds pow- dered (in doses of one, two, or three drachms, and more as may be required), and essence of pepper- mint. We subjoin a few forms of purgatives, which may be readily made up by the farmer : — AN ACTIVE PURGATIVE.' Sulphate of magnesia twelve ounces Sulphur four ounces Powdered ginger two drachms. Dissolve in a quart of gruel or warm water ; if a still more active dose be required, from ten to twenty grains of the farina of croton seed may be added. AN OLEAGINOUS PURGATIVE. Sulphate of magnesia six ounces Sulphur two ounces Powdered ginger two drachms Dissolve iu thin gruel or warm water, and add Linseed oil twelve ounces. — Mix. ALOETrC PURGATIVE, USEFUL IN COLIC. Barbadoes aloes four drachms Common salt sis ounces Ginger three drachms Laudanum one small tahle-spoonfrd Wat«i or gruel one quart. — Mix. For young calves, castor oil, in doses of two or three ounces, with a little ginger, forms the safest aperient. When older, the followng drench may be given : — Sulphate of magnesia two or three ounces Carbonate of soda two drachms Ginger one drachm Water six or eight ounces. — Mix ALTERATIVES AND SPECIFIC MEDICINES. These are medicines that exert a peculiar in- fluence on certain organs, altering their diseased action or stimulating their respective secretion ; some of these medicines, as iodine, affect the glan- dular system through the absorbents ; others, as rethiops mineral, act on the cutaneous secretions ; others, as calomel, excite the action of the liver ; others, as ergot of rye, exert a peculiar effect on the uterus. We know little or notliiug of their modus operandi, experience only has made us ac- quainted with their effects. calomel (sobmdriate or protochloride of mercury). Calomel is not often administered to cattle, it is most useful in dysentery and in diseases of the liver. It is given in doses of from half a drachm, to two drachms, in combination with half a drachm of powdered opium in thick gruel ; but the pro- fessed veterinary surgeon only should be entrusted with it. sulphate of mercury or ^thiops mineral. This is very useful in cutaneous diseases, and is generally given, combined with sulphur and nitre. It is administered in doses of half a drachm, to two drachms. An excellent alterative for hide- bound cattle is composed of a drachm of tethiops mineral, two drachms of nitre, and four drachms of sulphm-. To be given once a day. Both as an external application, and a medicine taken internally, iodine is extremely valuable in cases of glandular affections, and indurated swell- ings of the udder ; a useful ointment may be com- posed of one drachm of iodine and seven drachms of lard. The iodide of potassium is however a more convenient preparation. It may be made into an ointment iu the same proportions as the pm-e iodine, and in the dispereion of har- dened tumom-s and enlarged glands, acts with decided advantage. The iodide of potass given internally materially assists in the absoqition of tumours, and is strongly recommended in phthisis or consumption, when tubercles have formed on the lungs, indicated by an inward, hollow, feeble, 180 THE and gurgling cougli, succeeding catarrh, or inflam- mation of the lungs. The dose is from three gi-ains, morning and evening, to eight or ten grains (the increase being gradual), in a small mash. EKGOT OF EYE. Spun-ed rye exerts a peculiar action on the utenis, exciting its contractile efforts, and is given occasionally, when, in lingering parturition, the powei-s of that organ are exhausted. The average dose of ergot of r}'e in powder is from two to three drachms, and this may he repeated at intervals of half an hour, or an hour, till the powers of the uterus are roused. DIURETIC MEDICINES. Diui'etics are medicines which excite the action of the kidneys ; they are not much employed in the treatment of cattle, hut may be sometimes used .with advantage. TURPENTINE. Turpentine is not only a diuretic, it is also an antispasmodic, and a vermifuge ; that is, a certain destroyer of intestinal worms. Externally applied it is stimulating and irritant. The dose of turpen- tine is from one ounce to four, with linseed oil. The following diuretic has been found to be serviceable : — Oil of juniper four drachms Oil of turpentine one ounce Tincture of opium one ounce Linseed tea one pint. — Mix. To be given once a day. KITKE, OR NITRATE OF POTASS. Nitre is a diuretic, and also a useful, cooling, or febrifuge medicine, in inflammatory diseases. Its dose is from two to eight drachms. SEDATIVES & FEBRIFUGE MEDICINES. These are medicines calculated to allay fever, and moderate the action of the arterial system. In some respects opium and laudanum come under the denomination of sedatives ; nothing allays irri- tation so promptly as opium, and it is often requi- site even to combine it with purgatives. But we shall again recur more particularly to this estimable drug. NITRATE OF POTASS. We have already stated this salt to be a veiy useful febrifuge, in doses of two or four drachms. A solution of nitrate of potass in water, forms a good cooling lotion to local bruises. TARTAR EMETIC, OR TARTRATE OP ANTIMONY. Tartar emetic possesses gi'eat efficacy in lowering the strength of the pulse, and in inflammation of the lungs, pleurisy, catarrh, &c., is a most valuable medicine. Its dose is from a scruple to a drachm. Tartar emetic made into an ointment, with lard, forms a powerful irritant to the skin, often very beneficial. DIGITALIS. The powder of the dried leaves of the foxglove acts with great efficacy in reducing the action of the heai-t, and the general irritability of the system. Its operation must be narrowly watched, as it is apt to accumulate, as it were, in the system, and to produce a sudden degree of exhaustion, a sinking of the vital powers to an alarming degree. It will almost always render the pulse intermittent, but this need not cause any alann, it is indeed a desi- deratum indicative of the subjugation of the fever. Digitalis powder must be kept in a closely stopped bottle, with dark coloured paper pasted aroimd it so as to exclude it from the action of the light, which destroys its active principle. The dose of this medicine, for cattle, is from a scruple to a drachm, once or twice a day. The following prescription constitutes a good fever-mLxture for cattle, in pleurisy, and other inflammatory diseases : — Digitalis powder half a drachm to one drachm Tartar emetic half a drachm to one drachm Nitre four drachms to sis drachms Water one pint.— Mix. To he given two or three times a day. WHITE HELLEBORE. The powder of white hellebore is sometimes given in inflammation of the lungs, as a sedative Dose, one scruple. SPIRIT OF NITROUS ETHER This medicine is often employed in fevers, and inflammatory diseases, at their advanced stage, when great debility is present. It has been found beneficial in advanced stages of epidemic catarrh ; it rouses, to a certain degree, the powers of the system, while ij; acts as a febrifuge and sudorific. Dose, from two drachms to an ounce. Half an ounce is the average dose. ANTISPASMODICS. In some respects we may place the spirit of nitrous ether, last noticed, among antispasmodics, and also spirits of turpentine, both of which are useful in cases of colic. The great antispas- modic, however, is opium. This drag is both an antispasmodic and a seda- tive In diarrhoea, dysentery, inflammation of the bowels, in colic, in locked jaw, and spasmodic affections generally, it is of the highest importance. Opium is most conveniently administered in the form of a powder, suspended in mucilage or gniel ; the dose is from half .a drachm to a drachm, or a ]S1 drachm and a half, once or tmce a day, in some cases three times a dnj. LAUDANUM OR TINCTUBE OF OPIUM. Tinctvu'e of opium possesses the same properties as the powder of opium. The dose is from half an ounce to about an ounce. SULPHURIC ETHER. Sulphuric ether is a powerful antispasmodic and stimulant, and is sometimes employed in colic and other spasmodic affections It may be given in doses of two di'achms, four drachms, or one ounce. It has been found useful in cases of hoove, promptly condensing the gas in the stomach, ■\vithout causing any dangerous mitation. TONICS. In cases of gi-eat debility, especially during slow recover}' from fever, inflammation, or other diseases, tonics are often extremely useful ; but they must not be administered injudiciously, or hefore the fever has totally subsided. The best tonics are gentian, coliunbo, etc. Powdered gentian is generally given with a drachm or two of ginger, in doses varying from one to four drachms, in water or a little good ale. In cases of debility, after red water, Mr. Han-ison recommends a drachm of gentian and ginger and an ounce of spirit of nitrous ether, in grael, tmce a day. COLUMBO-EOOT. Powder of columbo-root is given with ginger in the same doses as gentian. It is useful in debility which follows after dysentery. SULPHATE OF IKON. Sulphate of iron is occasionally given as a tonic to cattle, m doses of from two to four drachms, combined with gentian. STIMULANTS AND CORDIALS. Cordials and stimulating drenches, composed of a mixture of ingredients, are great favourites with the cow-leech, and much mischief is often caused by their imprudent administration. A good cordial draught requires for its composition but few drags, and may be made agreeable instead of disgusting to the palate. Ginger, caraway-seeds bruised, a few drops of oil of aniseed, or, what is far better, oil of peppermint (commonly called essence of peppermint), and a little carbonate of ammonia, or carbonate of soda (if there be acid on the stomach), with good ale, neither hard nor acid, will make the best cordial drenches. GTXGEE. Dose, from half a drachni to four drachms. CARAWAV-SEEDS. Bruised caraway-seeds, though inferior to ginger, are useful as a cordial. Dose, from half an ounce to two ounces. It ma}' be as well while talking of cordial me- dicines, which relieve and warm the stomach, and excite its digestive powers, to notice the chloride of lime, so well known as a disinfectant. In cases of hoove or distention of the stomach by gas, gene- rated from the food, chloride of lime acts as a cor- dial, though upon chemical principles only. Two drachms of chloride of lime, in two quarts of water, constitutes a dose, it must be given by means of the stomach-pump. When in the stomach, the chloride separates itself from the lime, and com- bines with the hydrogen gas, for which it has a more powerful alEnity than for lime : it thus fomis muriatic gas. This gas has a strong affinity for water, and is quickly absorbed by the fluid always contained within the stomach ; thus quitting its gaseous for a fluid form, it quickly disappears, oris reduced to a thousandth part of its former bulk. Muriatic acid is now formed ; but no mischief results from this circumstance, nor from the liberation of the lime, for there being a chemical affinity between the lime and the muriatic acid, a recomposition is formed, and an inert solution of muriate of lime is the result. This is not theory, but has been brought to the test successfully in practice. Mr. Youatt says that chloride of lime, administered internally in blain, in the malignant epidemic, and in diarrhoea, and dysentery, is of essential service : "in the last disease it is particularly beneficial, in changing the nature of the intestinal discharge, and depriviug it of its putridity and infection, and dis- posing the surface of the intestines to tal^e on a more healthy character." CHLORIDE OF LLME. Its properties see above. Dose, two drachms. We cannot call this salt a cordial, nor is it easy to say under what head it should be ranged. Its action depends upon the laws of chemistry. SUBCARBONATE OF AMMONIA. Subcarbonate of ammonia is a stimulant not often given to cattle, it is sometimes added in doses of half a drachm or a drachm, with ginger, to a purgative drench, and occasionally also to a cordial drench. It has been used in cases of hoove, but not with veiy marked success. AMMONIA LIQUID. Liquid ammonia is given by some practitioners in cases of hoove of sudden occurrence, and pro- duced by green food. ' It is given in doses of an ounce and a half mixed in a pint of water. Mr Spooner says, " Experience has proved to me its 180 Tin luttl gur^lin** cou);li, succeediii}; catarrh, or inflom- luiition «>f ilif luiiftM. The dose is from thn-f gruiiiH, iiiiiniiti({ aiiil eveninjj, to eight or ten gniiiis (the iiR-rease being gradual I. in a small nia.sli. KRGC/r OK IIYK. Sjiiirrrd rye exerts a i>eculiar ai-tion on the titcrus, exritiiig its njutractile cflTorts. and is given orrtihionallv, when, in lin^'i'rin^' |i4irlnri(i<>n. i)i' |»iwerK of that (irgiin are r\liau'»ii'd. '1 he svimi' ili>»e of ergnt of ryv in peated at intervals of ludf an hour, or an hour, till the ]iowerB of the utcnu are roused. nURETir MKDK INKS. Diuri'tii-s are medicines which excite the action of the kidneys ; thev are not much employed in the treatment of cattle, hut mar be Mimetimes used wiili advantage. TlHrKKTIXE. Turpentine is not ouir a diurplic, it b also an anti'<|in.'>miMlic. ami a veniiifuge : that is, a certain «lestn>yer of nitestinal vionns. Kxtemallr ap|die a useful, cooling, or febrifuge medicine, in inllunmiatorr diseases. Its dose is from two to eight dmchms. SEDATIVES * FEBRIFT:GE MEDICINES. Tlie.se are medicines ca]ndate-nc, OR TARTRATE OF AXTIMOXT. Tartan nietic jiossesses great efficacy in lowering the strength of the i-ulse, and in intlnmmation of the lungs, pleurisy, catarrh. A<-.. is r most valuable medicine. Its dose is from a scruple to a drachm. rtar emetic mad.; into an ointment, wi lanl )niw u jiowcrful irritant to the skin, ofte| ver\ •ncliiiid. MilITAUS. e I .. .« .ler of the dried leaves of the foxglove Hi'- ^ ' ill reducing the action of tin il iiriinliility of the system. I'- 11 luirrowly watched, as it is Ululate, as it were, in the system, and to -iidden degree of exhaustion, a sinking "I li viLil |iowers to an alanniiig degree. It will aliiii ahviiys render the pulse intermittent, Imt tlii- el •■ ' i-e ;itiy alimn, it is indeed a desi- dii 1 . ■! I lie subjugation of tlie fever. I>i I ; inii-i lie kept in a closely stopped Ix'U. wall dark coloured pa|ier pasted around it -I I II to exclude it from the action of the lif^ht, whii destroys its active principle. The dose of thi-. ^dicine, for cattle, is from a scruple to a dnu 't, once or twice a day. 'lie following pn^scription constitutes a good fe\eiiixture for cattle, in pleurisy, and other iiit1:i natory diseases : — I Ul • ixivdrr hairadrai'hin looncdnrhm I mi rmriir half a drachm to nnr drnclim ^ d I'Hir drai-hm^ lo tix drachma \ rr ow piiiL— Mia. To he gi*ru two or three timea a day. WHITE HELLEBORE. '1 9 powder of white hellelwre is sometimes S'veiiQ intlammntion of the lungs, as a sedative OS) me scruple. SPIRIT or KITROfS ETHER ' ' is nieoth an antispasmodic ando seda- diarrhaa. dysentery, inflammation of the n odic. in locked jaw, and spasmodic 18 generally, it is of the highest importance. , . , is most conyeniently administered in the fnnii f a powder, suspended in mucilage or gnicl ; the ola.s8 furniK a giKxl cooling lotion in these cases. in inlliiiniuution of llie eve, llie goulurJ lotion is of great service. It ] we ni may bo niaJo with a tea.s|>|Hirtion of three or four grains of the former to an ounce of tlie latter. It should bo Used weak at lin*t (two grains of sulphate of I 'I'h, /inr to an ounce of waten, and gradually iucrea.Hed | hiimt in strength. Whru debiiitv- of the vessels alone roniaius, it ])roduces very good eirecto. FOMENTATIONS. The chief benefit derived from fomentation^ rcsult.s from the warmth of the water. The warm lluid o{>ens the pores of the skin, excites thr ucUon of the cuuuieous vessels, produces |H>rspir.i tion, and is thus useful in relieving pain and aluiting liM-al intlammation. It lias a soothing olTect on the nerves. .Some use decoctions of various herbs as fomentations; but herbs do not increase the l)enelit of the warm water. I'oppy heads, however, from Iho opium which lliey con- tain, are |ii-rhaps advantageous. A little lauclaiium Would bu U-ttcr. signci gemu are si' to kee erg.it II Innr ri.ASTERS on CIIAROKS. Pliusters or charges are u.seful in cases of sprain, or chrunic local debility, arising from bniises or rheumatism. They are useful when spread on the loins of old cows, weakened by chronic rheu- matism. They give a permiuienI.sup|K>rt to the jMirt, and keep up a constiint but gentle stimulus to the skin, from which they are not easily removed. They consist of pitch, resin, wax, Ac, thickly spread n|v)n coarse cloth or a piece of leother. Tar spread upi lost, and all the niisi-hicf may be done. \N' i rt'gard to the numerous drugs, some of them, i'tunneric, Ac. inert, and others ilangerous, wliir-t; «|ti^'ure the shelves of the cow-leech, the 1 MiK-r concerns himself with them the him lieware of nostnnns " good" for -, anil which though sane- I. like the ril>served by the healthy, and care must be takoi le-.t. while in good health, the barriers 1..- I.J. od |inicii. of bird and spread on cloth it makes a good bandage I against kcase be destroyed. [COSCLCSIOX or TlIK 9.] ton M'' 1000'' ^ [HE HORSE. CHAPTER T. ITS EAULY niSTOUY. That this animal existed before t) Flood, tlie researches of geologists atlord abtdaut proof. Tbere is not n portion of Euroi>i\ ii< scarcely any part of the globe, from the troiiii'.il iiins of India to the frozen regions of Siberia — iV 'ithe northern extremities of the New World tn tin cry southern point of America, in which the fussil miuns of the horse have not been found mingled uh the bones of the hippopotjimus, the elephant. U rhinoceros, the bear, the tiger, the deer, and arious other animals, some uf which, like the ostodon, have passed away. There is scarcely a district in . accounted for, except on the Mipj" noble animal was not then fcjiml n least, had not been domesticadal th- The first allusion to the 1 of the Flood, is a perfectly iiicL said of Aa^Hjti^son of Zibeon, Isaac, wl^^^^^Hi about the 1.500, th^^^B^Bthe mules the pro^^^^^^l ass and earliest i 12lh It i>r the hist< llldmilton Sq .'s Libra] i period It is aryof Christ Jess — \e fed n;c." 'm I I J>. 192 TIIF llORSF until tbo reign of (\vrus. Thai monarch, whose life was devoted to the amelioration and happiness of his people, saw how admirahly Persia was adapted for the brecdinj? of hoi-ses, and how neces- sarj' was their introduction to the maintenance of the independence of his country. He therefore devoted Inmself to the encountgement and im- provement of the breed of horses. He granted peculiar privileges to those who possessed a rer- iiiin number of these animals ; so that at length it was deemed ignominious in a I'ersian to be seen in public, except on horselmck. At tii-st tlie Per- sians vied with each other in the beauty of their horses, and tlie splendour of their clothing ; and incurred the censure of the historian, that they were more desirous of sitting at their ease than of approving themselves dexterous and bold horse- men ;* but under such a monarch as Cyrus they were soon inspired with a nobler ambition, and became the licst cavalry of the East. The native Persian horse was so highly ]>ri/eriod. He says that " they surpa.ssed nther horses in the pride and gracefulness of their paces, which were so soft and easy as to please and relieve, rather than fati;4ue the rider, and that the pace was as siife as it was pleasant : and that, when they were bred on a large scale, they constituted a consi- derable part of their owner's revenue." He adds, as a commendation. " the graceful archingof their necks, so that their chins leaneace was somotliing lietween a gallop and on amble." The liorseineii of the pre- sent day would decidedly object to Kith of these things, and that which follows would be a still more seriou.s cause of objection: — "They were subject to tire upon a long march or jouniey, and then were of a temper which, unless awed and subdued by discipline and exercise, inclined them to obstinacy and rebellion ; yet. with all their heat and anger, they were not difficult to be pacified." Both the soldier and the horse were often co- vered with nruiour from head to foot. Tliey adopted much of the tactics of the Parthians in their pretended tlight. Even when retreating in earnest, they annoyed their pursuers by ilie o '^ nual discharge of their arrows. Arria« giv rious account of their nianner of riding, no bridles, like tlie Greeks: but ibe their horses by means of a iboi • Athcnntt^, lib from e raw hide of a bull, and which they bound acros heir noses On the inside of tliis noseband were ttle i>oiiited pieces of iron, or brass, or ivory n'"Knitely shai-ji. In the mouth was a siiial' iece of iriii, in the form of a small bar, to whici the reins were tied, and with which the niisel id WHS runiiected. When the reins were piille the siiiiill teeth on the nosel>and pinched the I *e. ail I cwnipelled him to obey the will of tlie I ir. J'lie iiiiideni caveson was probably de- rive.l 0111 liu^ invention.! I i tinii- to ]«roceed to the early historj- of the hors< 1 Ennip'. Many colonies of Egyptian semi- grate to ( in - , e They carried witli them the love of tlh lorx'. :i!iil MS many of these noble animals as their ipswoulil contain. It would appear that the first 1 oiiy. alK>ut the time of the birth of Moses, laiiiii in riiissaly, in thf north of Greece. Their a|'l e. .nee lilted on hiTseback, according to the olii f; e, !• I riiM tlier and a more natural iiilerjiretalion ofleivtself to tlie mind of the horseman. The Thespians were the pride of the Grecian cavalrv-. Hefoi-the other provinces of Greece were scarcely acipinted with the name of horse, their subjugu- tioM <^im was so complete, that, in the language of linger poet of far later days, but not inferior to nii^iat Gree<'e ever knew. " Tbra« f^anU •d wilrJimA in l— thcT ftrcw onto their irat. nd III uH'h woaclrou> iloing broogbl Ihar bnrwi Aft ih^T had bcrn incfirp^cd, and drmi-nauu^ed With tiir bniTc bruL "< H. IK the origin of the fable and of all the e\pri ive sculptures. Bucephalus, the favourite «nri se of Alexander, was probably of this breed He would permit no one to mount him but !i m.nster. and he always knelt down to rei-eix him on his liack. Alexander at ib.jattle of the Hydaspes stood jceivod his death-wc disiibijent to the con linstefB from thCj .Me\. ler to daii|j' . he^ i*"' nC a»" i gim' diiaik* I:.... mt ll ka*v I, tSSk-i IQ, THE HOESE. 193 ^>«t& •u av ■ ■ found a place in the Zodiac under th name of " The Archer." Erichthonius likewise ccupied a situation among the constellations, and as termed Auriga, or the charioteer. The Thessalians always maintained heir cha- racter as the first and the choicest of U Grecian cavalry. In point of fact, it was the oty pai't of the country in which hoi"ses could wii decided advantage be bred. It abounded in ric pastures, whereas the rest of Greece was comparively diy and barren.* From various of the Greek autha we can very satisfactorily trace the rapid imrovemeut which about this time took place in thcharacter and management of the horse. It has len stated that the soil and produce of Greece .vere not favourable for the breeding of horses, id that it could be a matterof profit only in Th' ^ y. They soon, however, became necessary in : >st every part of the coimtry, both for otiVuce . therefore, in most of the cities, and in Athens and in Sparta, in order X' inhabitants to keep the requisite nii order of citizens was instituted, detiii in rank in the commonwealth, and by certain honours and privi]c2:es. or knights, in the Roman republic. on the same model. It is in some of the Grecian sculpires that we first see the bit in the horse's niii V but it is not always that we do see it: .n ontrary, there is frequently neither bridlr. He, nor stirrup. It however was fi-equently nessary to make use of cords or thongs, in order confine the horse to the place at which it suit' for a while to leave him. Jin >■ fastened round the animal's neck, i seen in several of the ancient tiffure^. to some writers, the occasional > ^^^^ and partly of convenience t<" , th* often covered with beauti/ul • ' _^„ skins of wild beasts, secarfdV^^ ^ Thus the horse of P**^ * gle. + " NeplmiiM njiio. ■* " Faun p'^'' P"* -. On, el I'O'*^ "T, .. Srpmac.if •rr ^, Fif.1 uxe"' I'Ji THE HO I. wilh the skin of a Iviix, ami thut of ^neas with ' a lioii'ii skill. In tlioir reli);iou8 or triuiu|iliul processions llio liuusings of the horses vh-tv jmr- ticiiliirly inii)Ont°>ccnt, being freijuenlly uUonnil with gold und DJlver ami iliaiiiomU. Kich cullars were also liung n>uiid iht-ir ueiks, uiul U-Us adonieJ their crests. The tnippiugs of the young , knight in the days of chivalr)' did not exceed , those of the Grecian warrior on days of ceremony. Tlie stirrup was hkewise uiiktio\«'n. The adop- tion of tliat convenient iis.sisUini'e iu mouuling the horse was of singularly late date. The lirst . mention of it o<-ours in tlie works of Eustathius, uIhiuI the 1 1 CtNth year of the Christian era : but it was usetl in the time of William the | CoiHjueror, nearly a century before that. JJi n k- ger gives the figure of a horse saddled, bn and with siimii>s, copied from the Itayetu tapi which wiis embroidered iu the time of tin < queror by his wife, ami di'St-rilK.-s the cireumst.t preceding and attending his descent intoKii',' The heroes of ancient limes trusted chii i' their own agility in lea[)ing on their horses' i' and that whcliier standing ou tlie nghl side >,. the l.ft. They who fought on horseback with the spi -:■ or lance luul a projcvtion on the s|M-ar, or s"i times a loop of conl, aliout two feet from n.< bottom of it, which ser\'ed at once for a tinner grasp of the weapon, ami a step on which the right or the left foot might be phu-e«l, acconling to the side on which the warrior inleiidrd to niounl. and from which he could easily vault on his courser's back. The horse was sometimes taught to assist the rider in raounting by bending lii« neck or kneeling down.* The magnates nl hati their slaves by their horse's side to . them in mounting and dismounting. Smie i use of a short ladder ; and it was the duty of the local magistracy, Iwtli in Home and tireeoe, to see ' that convenient stepping-stones were placed at short distances along all the n>ain the dangers to which it was exposed was very early adopted, and the heel of it was, occasionally at least, armed with a spur. The horses' feet were unshod, the paved or flinty n>ails, which are now so destructive to the feet, Ik ing in a manner unknown. Occasionally, however, from natural weakness of the foot, or from travelling too far or too fast over the cause- ways, lameness then, as now, occurred. In order | to prevent this, the Greeks and the llomans were • Tims the Ilomiui |w»cl : — J *' Intle inrlinjiii» roUum, tubmisnu ct Annot I lie more, iuAciis prKbcbat >candaT Icrg* ! Cruribus." j " Downwuds the hone h\y bemd and •houlden hect, . To give bis rider a more free aiceiiL" .S'i7iM IlaJiciu. ' Th. 8' mtoTiK'-l t" f.isten a sort of sandal or stocking, 1 • - twisted together like a mat, or else ; where the owner could afford it, ^ ..K ■ ■ "IlIi plates of iron, and sometimes n' iieil Willi silver and even with gold, as was the r. > \\itli the horses of Pop|«ea luid N'erD.f Tlnre wiLs a peculiarity iu the Greek mode of ri ag. ai leiisi witli regard to the cavalry horses, -, those used for pleasure. Two or were tied together by their bridles, iian, at full sjieed, lea|>ed from one V iH'ib< r ai Ins pleasure. This might occasionally b ts«'ful ; when one horse was tired or wounded, tl warrior might leap upon another ; but he w Id be so lianipered by the management of all " 111 III. anil the attention which he was compelled t" tlicm all, that it never became the wiy of riding or fighting; nor was it i 111 any other country. Uomer, in hit I 1 1 1. Ill, alludes to it as a feat of skill ■ ~]>ort. The following is a translation :e : — ".lust as a skilful horseman iisen horses along a public road to y, where his course is to terminate, II a.ssembles to behold him, and gaze II ^ili wonder and applause; while he >■- . :;ii .use from the back of one horse to :ni i llies along wiih them." < I reeks must liave carried their manage- not of the horse to a verj- liigh state of p«-rfection; lit the (irwian horse must have l>een exceedingly ilile, when exhibitions of this kind could take lie. Jt was. lioweTcr, to the draught of the chariot lit, iliji animal was principally devoted in some i.-s, and among the (i reeks in the i' their historr. No mention is made . .. _ iijrseimui on either side, during the t years siege of Troy; but the warriors all f {ht on foot or in chariots. The chariots were simple in their structure, I D at the back, and |)arliy on the sides: and < taining the driver in the front, and the warrior sliding on a platfonn, usually somewhat elevated. I i=. vi'liirles seem to Imve lieen rarely brought n with each other ; but they were i'.y over the field, the warrior hurling 1 11,1..- „n eitlier side, or alighting when he lit with a fe tired or wounded. Some had fi ^horses yoked abreast: such was the chariot oBector. f Appeoilix to tbe TnnUjtioo of XcDnpboo'ft Buh-a, p. f 1. tmtm" ■ kliktiMi b. •' 4 n^fc W«| ■(■WW*** I'm, in nm I THE HORSE. 195 —■»•■»«■ .mmtximtm The chai-ioteer, altLough at the tie iufeiior to, or under the command of the arrior, was seldom or never a menial. He va often the intimate friend of the warrior ; thus estor, and even Hector, ai'e found acting as haiioteei's. ■\Vhen not the personal friend of the.ai'rior, he was usually a charioteer hy profession and drove where he was directed. Occasional mention is made of he ciinus falcati, chariots witli armed instrumtts in the form of scythes, projecting from the lIcs of the wheels, by means of which whole rans might be mown down at once. They were conned, how- ever, to the more barbarous nations and were used neither by the Greeks nor ;1 I'lOmaus. They were advantageous only on t I ably open and level ground; and it not uiitr rntly hap- pened that, afinghted by the cluiuuui the battle, or by wounds, the horses became i ^veniable, and, turning on the ranks of ihcir : Js, threw them into complete disorder. Thr, \ re on this account laidaside. even by the barl.:ui;: ~ emselves. In process of time, war-ch;iri.>t~ ; veiy kind fell into disuse, and the higher c la-- ' warriors were content to fight on hors.lNu'i lere their personal strength and courage iui;_ e as well displayed, and discipline could be IilI. -iireserved. Still, almo.st to the period of th. Chiistian era, and long after tliat in many couiitrs, the use of the horse was confined to war. to i . base, and to public pageants. The first nnpl i nt of the Egj-ptian colonists, when they laml. Thessaly, was to rid the forests of the wiM i a md other dangerous animals, with whiih tli- ere then peopled. In the central and -■ u parts of Greece, the countiy was more oj" n. he wilder animals were scarcely known ; bin m j ^yria and Persia, and every countr}- in which tluegitimate prey of the hunter was found, the orse was employed in its pursuit. In process of time, in order to jcide the comparative value of different horses, oto gratify the vanity of their owners, and alsu im ive more effect to certain religious rites and public tectacles, borse-races were introduced. The moiielebrated of these exhibitions was that at Oly ponnesus, held ej Jupiter. The . eveiy district i manly e.xercis ning, wrestli persons of fairly and hod crowned wit| his natiy ch was I had so Ifor li kitioi inferior civil offices ; his name was enrolled in the archives of his coiuitry, and statues were erected to his memory. This was the source of the noble spirit of emulation and the ai'deut love of country by which the Greek was distinguished. Nearly a centuiy, however, passed before the attraction of the exhibition was increased by the labours of the horse. The first colonists could bring with them only a few of these noble animals. In several of the wars in which they were engaged, their deficiency in cavahy was lamentably apparent. It was not until the 23d Olympiad that the horse mingled in the contest. During the first two Olympiads after this horse- men alone appeared. Of these races the accounts are exceedingly imperfect. Each horse was ridden by his owner, who was obliged to undergo prepa- ratory trials for the space of thirty days. The horses were divided into full and luider-aged ; but. no explanation is given by any writer of the pre- cise meaning of these terms, nor is any thing said of the weight of the riders. We only know the space to be run over, wliich somewhat exceeded four miles. There was one race, called C'olne, in which mares alone were permitted to run. Towards the end of the course the riders were compelled to leap from their backs, and, keeping the bridle in their hands, to run alongside of Iheni to the winning-post. In the 25th Olympiad chariot-races were in- troduced. The chariots were arranged abreast of each other at the starting-post ; the places— for it will appear that these gave some important advan- tages— having been previously decided by lot. An altar was erected on one side, upon which stood a brazen eagle, dedicated to Jupiter, and a dolphin, sacred to Neptune. At a signal from the presiding officer, the eagle, by some mechanism, sprang into the air, the dolphin sank under ground, and away the horses started. The hippodrome, or course, was about one-third of a mile in length ; and at the farther end was a pillar, round which the cha- riots were to be driven, and back again to the starting-place, six times, making rather more than four miles. The rounding of this pillar was the first test of the skill of tlie driver and the docility of the horses, and many an accident happened there. This dangerous spot was no sooner passed, than the competitors came at once upon a strange figure placed to try the courage and nerve of the horses. It was an enormous statue, called Taraxippus, the terrifier of horses — and, according to the old writers, well worthy of the name. None of them describe this strange deit to frighten lives, and th a: centre defile, all agree that he used sadly 'nd often to endanger their iver. as a lofty rock, in the very leaving only a very narrow through which the skill of !> 100 THE HOR . the charioteer wjis severely tried ; while several men, placed on the rock, increased the confusion, and the terror of the horses, by the continual bray- ing of tlu'ir trumpets. As may \>€ well supposed, the number of the competitors was much diminished ere the conclu- sion of the nice. Some ran against the pilliir. others were frightened out of the course by the horrible statue, and not a few were wrecked on that fearful rock. Some were destroyed on the spot ; others, who escaped without serious injury, were derided by the spcctiilors, on account of their want of skill ; and the fragments with which the course was covered rendered almost every step perilous. Theconqueror in such a nice well desencd the crown which he received, and the honours that were bestowed on him. What were the opinions which prevailed at this early period respecting the proper form — the points of the horse ? Let tliiit master horseman. Aeni>- phon, declare. •• The first thing that ought to Ix' looked to is the fotit ; for as a house would Imj of in> use, though all the upper parts of it were l>eauli- ful, if the lower parts of it bad »•)! a projwr foun- dation, so a horse would not l>e of any use in war. if be had tender feet, even thoujib he should have all other good qualities; for his good qualities could not l>e made any valuable use of." This maxim, more than two tliousand two hundred years old, bespeaks at once the horseman. "Thick hiKjfs make a horse's feel better than thin ones." This must be selfevident, where there was no artificial protection of the foot. The force with which the fnit will conn? in contact with the gn)und at every step will pn>duce sufficient ex- pansion of the heel : but it is only a strong foot that can long endure the concussion, without being worn away. " It likewise must not be forgotten to see whether the hoofs are high or low, and near the ground, both Wfore and Wbind."' Few things are of greater importance than this. If the inelimitinn of the foot in front is less than its usual angle (forty-five degrees^ it indicates a contracted foot, and a morbidly hollow sole, and inflammation of the laminir. and speedy and incurable lameness. If the inclination is greater, and the angle acuter than it should be. there is flatness of the s«>le. and liability to serious bniise of it, or. perhaps, pumiced feet. " The pastcnis, or bones immediately above the hoofs and Itelow the fetlocks, ought not to be straight like those of a goat ; for this would shake the rider, and such legs are more subject to inflam- mation ; nor ought tlu'se Ivmes to be too low. for^ the fetkx;k would be chafed and ulcerated, if t horse was ridden over ploughed grounds, oram( stones." If he had added that the oblique pi was sadly liable to spniin, and there wouM o! inj'/ thpMigh the whole course of the flexor ten- doi jotliing could have been added to the force of lii> wer^iitioii I The Ikhics of the legs ought to be large, since the are sup[>orier9 of the Iwdy ; not, however, ihii villi veins, or cellular matter." He is ■-I" iiii,' I if tin- war-horse and the hunter, and wii Call 1.1- more correct ? If tlie coll in walking bends his knees freely, yon lay judge, when he comes to be ridden, that his gx will be supple: ondsupple joints are justly coil .ended. ti.s they make a horse less liable to stui>]e. and nut tire so soon as when his joints arc iff'." rbi- 1 highs under the shoulders (the fore- arms), wli' thi'v nri' large, are Iwlh powerful and grace- ful Old tin- i-lirst being large, contributes not only to I lUiy and strength, but to a horse's being able t" • itiiuie a Iniig time in one pace." Ttir i!^ . k should proceed from the chest, r itnd it should be loose about the the head, too, being bony, should ' . k. The eye should be standing K ill the cheek. The nostrils that ■ ; 'Illy better adapted for breathing tliuiiio.-.! iii.il lire compressed, but likewise cause till- >rse III a)i|H-ar more terrible in battle. The !■ I ■ ■ i being large, and the ears small, I: ^i|ij>ear more elegant. The point ' : likewise, being high, renders that I more compact." The author was ■f the advantage of this form, but •« the principles on which it was I,.- . I.. follliHl. rh. the lUv ■ides, being deep and swellinp make a horse in general dim to be sealed on and belter^ his 'id. Tlie broader and shg the are reiidily will he and e l>elly tlmt appear oiil\ bfigures n liorse^ less ble to earn' agai he seizes flcKld the li a h matil lid Itifully pre- xh€ MUU0 I these things and the ine had t»*»-' Till* ■■<*•' ':* 3iA u. .J ~~ «»■■■■«• TBsa ntm . ipiia.M ka I 111 .>^ THE HORSE. 197 :| «#•'»• '^^^•'.'^i The Konians, from the veiv builJir of their city, paid much attention to the breling and management of the horse ; but this wsisaore than seven hundred years after this animalhad been imported into Greece, and his value ad import- ance had begun to be almost univei-sar acknow- ledged. Horse and chariot races were early itrodueed at Rome. The chariot-races fell graaally into disrepute, but the horse-races were cctinued to the times of the Caesars, and the yom men of the equestrian order were enthusiasticay devoted to this exercise. There were not, ho«er, any of the difficulties or dangers that attende the Gre- cian races. They were chiefly trials o speed, or of dexterity in the performance of certn circles, now properly confined to our theatrical ehibitions. The rider would stand upright on '■^?teed, lie along his back, pick up things froiii jround at full speed, and leap from horsf to • e in the swiftest gallop. A singular circumstance in the man(ement of this animal by the Romans, was the snp-ior value which they attributed to the mare. Thr natural historians, agriculturists, and poets, urte in this opinion. Perhaps this might in pait rise from the custom of the Romans to castrate allhe horses that were employed in mercant pursuits. The horse, howevei by the operation or the labour, i a made to occupy the situation f r signed him; and from this tu;. . over every part of Europe, he lias i ■ the most useful of the servants of man. To the Romans may be attributed ib of the curb-bit. The Emp& presented in one of the a bit with a tremeni could inflict dreadfi so inclined. It may rep'' of the hoi dififused the jj existe icultural legraded :■ be was iture de- ,'radually le one of His head should be small, his limbs clean and compact, his eyes bright and sparkling, his nos- trils open and large, his ears placed near each other, his mane strong and full, his chest broad, his shoulders flat and sloping backward, his bar- rel round and compact, his loins broad and strong, his tail full and bushy, his legs strait and even, his knees broad and well knit, his hoofs hard and tough, and his veins large and swelling over all his body."* Virgil, eighty or ninety years aftei-wards, gives some interesting accounts of the horse, and parti- cularly when taken from the pursuits of war and employed in the peaceful service of agriculture. A few years after him followed Columella, who, in a work devoted exclusively to agriculture, treats at length of the management of the horse and of many of his diseases. To him succeeded Palladius on agriculture, the management of the vineyard, and the apiary, &c. ; and he also describes at considerable length the treatment and the diseases of the horse. About the same time, or somewhat before, the Roman emperors, being continually engaged in foreign wars, and in many of these expeditions the cavalry forming a most effective division of the army, veterinary surgeons were appointed to each of the legions. The horse and his management and diseases were then for the first time systema- tically studied. The works, or extracts from the works of a few of them are preserved. There is, however, little in them that is valuable. About the middle of the fourth century a vo- lume of a ditferent character on the veterinary art ^en by Vegetius, who appears to have been the army, but in what situation is un- is work, with all its errors, is truly ^ as a collection of the best remarks that ,d been written on veterinary matters, from the rliest age to his day, and including extiacts from the works of Chiron and Hippocrates, which would otherwise have h^i^lost. The history of the symptoms^j|^^^^H)us diseases is singularly 'of treatment reflects little 'y acquirements of the author ived. time the irruptions of the Goths d shortly after eveiy record of science ^way in both the eastern and the western Berenger, p. 82. ^ »•*. 200 THE HORSE. the withers fine and high ; the loins straight and sliort ; the flanks and ribs round and full, and with not too much band; the haunches strong; the croup, perhaps, a little too long ; the quarters muscular and well developed ; the legs clean, with the tendons boldly detached from the bone ; the pastern somewhat too long and oblique ; and the foot sound and good.* They are rather lower than the Arabian, seldom exceeding fourteen hands and an inch, and have not his spirit, or speed, or continuance, although in general form they are probably his superior. The barb has chiefly contributed to the excel- lence of the Spanish horse ; and, when the im- provement of the breed of horses began to be systematically pursued in Great Britain, the barb was very early introduced. The Godolphin Ara- bian, as he is called, and who was the origin of some of our best racing blood, was a barb ; and others of our most celebrated turf-horses trace their descent from African mares. They are generally first mounted at two years old. They are never castrated, for " a Mussulman would not mutilate or sell the skin of the beast of the Pro- phet." The horses alone are used for the saddle,! and the mares are kept for breeding. The cavalry exercise to which their horses are exposed is exceedingly severe. The Moorish method of fighting principally consists in galloping at the very height of their horses' speed, for the distance of a quarter of a mile or more, then suddenly stopping while the rider throws his spear or dis- charges his musket. By way of exercise, they will sometimes continue to do this without a moment's intermission to change or to breathe their horse. All that is required of the best-taught and most valuable Barbaiy horse is thus to gallop and to stop, and to stand still, all the day if it is necessary, when his rider quits him. As for trotting, cantering, or ambling, it would be an unpardonable fault were he ever to be guilty of it. A Barbary horse is generally broken in in a far severer way, and much earlier than he ought to be, and therefore he usually becomes unfit for service long before the Arabian. The usual food of the barb is barley and chopped straw, and grass while it is to be found, but of the provision for winter food in the form of hay they are altogether ignorant. Captain Brown, in his Biographical Sketches of Horses, gives the following interesting account of a barb and his rider, at the Cape of Good Hope : — In one of the violent storms which often • Berenger, p. 127. + No Arab ever mounts a stallion ; on the contrary, in Africa tliey never ride mares. The reason is plain. The Arabs are constantly at war with their neighbours, and always endeavour to take their enemies by surprise in the grey of the evening, or the dawn of day. A stallion no sooner smells the stale of the mare in the enemy's quarters, than he begins to neigh, and that would give occur there, a vessel in the road dragged her anchors, and was forced on the rocks, and beaten to pieces. The greater part of the crew perished immediately, but some few were seen from the shore clinging to different pieces of the wreck. No boat could venture to their assistance. Mean- while a planter came from his farm to see the shipwreck, and perceiving no other chance of escape for the survivors, and knowing the spirit of his horse and his excellence as a swimmer, he determined to make one desperate efibrt for their deliverance, and pushed into the midst of the breakers. At first both disappeared, but they were soon seen on the surface. Nearing the wreck, he induced two of the poor fellows to quit their hold and to cling to his boots, and so he brought them safe ashore. He repeated this perilous expedition seven times, and saved four- teen lives ; but on his return, the eighth time, his horse being much fatigued, and meeting with a formidable wave, the rider lost his balance and was overwhelmed in a moment. The horse swam safely to land, but his gallant rider was seen no more. The Cape was then a colony of the Dutch The Directors christened one of their new vessels after him, and ordered a pillar to be erected to his memory, but the local authorities refused to the son a trifling place which his father filled. J The barb improves towards the Western coast of Africa, both in his form and graceful action. Deep in the Sahara Desert is a noble breed of barbs, known by the name of the "Wind-sucker or the Desert-horse." Jackson says of him, that the Desert-horse is to the common Barbary horse what the Desert-camel is to the usual camel of burden ; but that he can only be induced to eat barley or wheat — oats are never given to horses in Africa ; but that, supplied with a little camel's milk, he will travel almost incredible distances across the Desert. He is principally employed in hunting the antelope and the ostrich. There is some little exaggeration, however, about this, for when he is brought towards the coast, and can no longer get his camel's milk, he will eat the barley and the straw which are given , to him, and will thrive and get fat upon them. If he chances to die, it is from being suffered to gorge too much of his new food ; or if he loses a portion of his speed and wind, it is because he has been taken out of his exercise, and permitted to accumulate flesh and fat too fast. More in the centre of Africa, in the kingdom of Boumou, is a breed, which Mr. Tully, in his the alarm to the party intended to be surprised. No such thing can ever happen when they ride mares only. On the contrary, the African trusts only to superior force. They are in an open plain country, must be discovered at many miles' distance, and all such surprises and stratagems are useless to them. S De Page's Travels Round the World, and Sharmau's 'Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope. THE HOESE. 201 almost romantic history of Tripoli, reckons su- perior evea to those of Arabia or Barbary ; it pos- sesses, according to him, the best qualities of both those breeds, being as serviceable as that of Arabia, and as beautiful as that of Barbary. On the south of the Great Sahara Desert we find again the Arabian or the Barbary horse in the possession of some of the chiefs of the Foulahs and the Jalofs ; but the general character of the animal is in those torrid regions much deteriorated. These horses are small, weak, unsafe, and un- tractable. The Foulahs, however, can bring into the field no fewer than 16,000 cavalry. Some writers have asserted, that in the kingdom of Benin a much larger number could be collected. In the country lying between that of the Foulahs and the kingdom of Benin, tliere are few horses immediately on the coast, but they are more numerous in the inland districts. Bosman, however, says of them that they are very ill-shaped ; that they carry their heads and necks more pro- jecting and depressed than even the ass ; that they are slow and obstinate, and only to be forced on by dint of blows ; and that they are so low, that a tall man sitting on their backs could touch the ground with his feet. He adds that at Fida, on the slave-coast, whence he journeyed inland to Elmina, he bought five or six of them, each of which cost him somewhat less than four pounds, but they did him no manner of service, and he was compelled to leave them behind. Neither horses, nor any other produce of value, can be looked for in these unhappj' countries, so long as they ai'e desolated by the abominable slave-trade, under the sanction of the more civilised but truly unchristian nations of Europe. * THE C.\PE OF GOOD HOPE HORSE. Nothing is certainly known of the western coast of Africa, descending towards the south ; but arriving at the Cape of Good Hope, we find that the horse, if a native of that country, is only occasionally seen in its wild state. The horses that were introduced by the first colonists, the Dutch, were mostly procured from Batavia, Java, and South America. At the very commencement of the colony, many horses were imported from Persia. These were mingled together, and crossed in every possible way, e.N.cept that not one notion of scientific improvement seems to have entered the head of the Dutch boor. They were a small hardy race, capable of enduring a great deal of fatigue, but in every way sadly neglected ; never dressed, and often ill-fed. When the Cape was ceded to the English, both the colonists and the government set ear- nestly to work to improve these undersized ani- mals, and with very considerable success. The • Bosnian's Coast of Guinea, p. 366. TOL. I. British light regiments of dragoons, in their pas- sage to the East, can now frequently draw con- siderable supplies of horses from this colony, and some regiments have been entirely mounted here. This is sufficient proof of the degree of hnprove- ment which they have reached. It is, however, said that the riding-masters have occasionally much trouble in breaking in the Cape horses, which are naturally vicious, and especially when put beyond the pace to which they had been ac- customed.f They rarely stand above fourteen hands high ; they are hardy, and when thorouglily broken in, are capable of enduring great privation and fatigue. They are rarely shod while they remain in the colony, or if they are, it is only on the fore feet. Their principal food is carrots, with a small quantity of corn. No hay is grown near Cape Town, nor are there any pastures on which the liorses can be turned. | The wild horses have long disappeared near to the colony, and we have no authentic record that any of them were ever taken and attempted to be domesticated. The horse is rarely seen in any part of the eastern coast of Africa. It is not a native of Madagascar, but is again found in Ajan and Adel, on the southern frontiers of Abyssinia. THE AR.iBI.^N HORSE. Although modern Europe owes so much to Arabia for the improvement in her breed of horses, it may be doubted whether these animals were, found in that country as a matter of merchandise, or indeed existed there at all in large numbers in very early times. The author of the book of Job, in describing the wealth of that patriarch, who was a native of Arabia, and the richest man of his time, makes no mention of horses, although the writer shows himself very conversant with that animal. Five hundred years after that, Solomon imported spices, gold, and silver, from Arabia ; || but all the hor=es for his own cavalry and chariots, and those with which he supplied the Phoenician monarchs, he procured from Egypt. § There is a curious record of the commerce of different countries at the close of the second cen- tm-y. Among the articles exported from Egypt to Arabia, and particularly as presents to reigning monarchs, were horses. In the fourtli century, two hundred Cappado- cian horses were sent by the Roman emperor as the most acceptable present he could offer a pow- erful prince of Arabia. So late as the seventh century the Arabs had few horses, and those of little value ; for when Mahomet attacked the Koreish near Mecca, he + Pevcivall's Cape of Good Hope, p. 161. » Percivall's Cape of Good Hope, p. 145. II 2 Clnon. is. U. § 2 Cliron. i. 17. 202 THE HOKSE. had but two horses in his whole army : and at the close of his murderous campaign, although he drove off twentj'-four thousand camels and forty- thousand sheep, and carried away twenty-four thousand ounces of silver, not one horse appears in the list of plunder. These circumstances sufficiently prove that, however superior may be the present breed, it is comparatively lately that the horse was naturalised in Arabia. Indeed the Arabs do not deny this ; for until within the last century, when their horses began to be so deservedly valued, they were con- tent to limit their piedigree to one of the five on which Mahomet and his four immediate successors fled from Mecca to Medina on the night of the Hegira. Although in the seventh century the Arabs had no horses of value, yet those which they had derived from their neighbours began then to be preserved with so much care, and propagated so uniformly and strictly from the finest of the breed, that in the thirteenth century the Arabian horse began to assume a just and unrivalled celebrity. There are now said to be three breeds or varieties of Arabian horses : the Attechi, or in- ferior breed, on which the natives set little value, and which are found wild on some parts of the deserts ; the Keidischi, literally horses of an un- known race, answering to our half-bred horses — a mixed breed ; and the Kochlani, horses whose genealogy, according to the modem exaggerated accounts, has been cultivated during two thousand years. Many written and attested pedigrees ex- tend, with true Eastern exaggeration, to the stud of Solomon, The Kochlani are principally reared by the Bedouin Arabs, in the remote deserts. A stallion may be procured without much difficulty, although at a great price. The Arabs imagine that the female is more concerned than the male in the excellence and value of the produce, and the genealogies of their horses are always traced through the dam. The Arab horse would not be acknowledged by every judge to possess a perfect form. The head, however (like that which is delineated in the title- page), is inimitable. The broadness and square- ness of the forehead ; the smallness of the ears ; the prominence and brilliancy of the eye ; the shortness and fineness of the muzzle ; the width of the nostril ; the thinness of the lower jaw, and the beautifully developed course of the veins, — will always characterize the head of the Arabian horse. The cut in the title-page is the portrait of the head of a black Arabian presented to William IV. by the Imaum of Muscat. It is a close and honest likeness. The muzzle, the nostrils, and the eye, are inimitable. In the sale of the Hamp- ton Court stud, in 1837, this animal realized five hundred and eighty guineas ; it was bought for the King of Wurtemberg, and is highly prized in Germany. The body of the Arab may, perhaps, be con- sidered as too light, and his chest too narrow ; but A ARAB M.\BE AND FOAL. THE HORSE. 203 behind the arms the barrel generally swells out, and leaves sufficient room for the play of the lungs. This is well exhibited in the cut of the grey Arabian mare, whose portrait is here given. She is far inferior to the black one in the peculiar development of the liead and neck, but in other respects affords a more faithful specimen of the true form of the Arabian horse. She is of the purest caste, and was a present from the same potentate by whom the black Arabian was given. The foal at her foot was by Acteon. She was sold for one hundred guineas only. Perhaps her colour was against her. Her flea-bitten appearance would not please every one. The foal, which had more than the usual clumsiness belonging to the young- ster, sold for fifty-eight guineas. The neck of the Arabian is long and arched, and beautifully joined to the chest. The black horse in the frontispiece afforded a perfect speci- men of this. In the formation of the shoulder, next to that of the head, the Arab is superior to any other breed. The withers ai-e high, and the shoulder-blade has its proper inclination back- wards. It is also thickly clothed with muscle, but without the slightest appearance of heavi- ness. The fineness of his legs and the oblique po- sition of the pasterns might be supposed by the uninitiated to lessen his apparent strength; but the leg, although small, is deep, and composed of bone of the densest character. The tendons are sufficiently distinct from the bone, and the starting muscles of the fore-arm and the thigh indicate that he is fully capable of accomplishing many of the feats that are recorded of him. As a faithful specimen of the general form of these horses, with, perhaps, a little deficiency in the head and neck, we refer once more to the fol- lowing portrait of a bay Arabian — an animal of the purest caste, presented also by the Imaura of Muscat. It was sold for four hundred and ten guineas. The higher price that was given for the black Arabian proves that he was the general favourite ; but the bay one, although not so striking in his figure, was a stronger, a speedier, and a better horse. . The Barb alone excels the Arabian in noble and spirited action; but if there is a defect about tlie latter, he is perfect for that iov which he was designed. He presents the true combination of speed and bottom : strength enough to carry mire than a light weight, and courage that would cause him to die rather than yield. Mr. Burckhardt, in a letter to Professor Sewell, says that " the tribes richest in horses are those who dwell, during the spring of the year at least, in the fertile plains of Mesopotamia; for, notwith- standing all that is said of the desert horse, plenty of nutritious food is absolutely requisite for its reaching its full vigour and growth. The nume- rous tribes on the Red Sea, between Akaba and Mecca, and especially those to the south of Mecca, and as far as Yemen, have very few horses ; but the Curdes and Bedouins in the east, and espe- cially in Mesopotamia, possess more horses, and more valuable ones, than all of the Arabian Be- BAY ARAnlAN. o2 S04 THE HORSE. douins ; for the ricbness of tlieir pastures easily nourishes the colts, and fills their studs." These observations are very important, and are evidently foimded on truth. He adds, that "the number of horses in Arabia is not more than fifty thousand ; a number far inferior to that found in any part of Europe, or Asia, on an equal extent of ground." " During the Wahabee government, horses be- came scarcer every year among the Arabs. They were sold by tlieir masters to foreign purchasers, who carried them to Yemen, Syria, and Bassora, which latter place supplies India with Arabian horses, because they were afraid of having them seized upon by their chiefs — it ha"ving become the custom, upon every slight pretext of disobedience or crime, to declare the most valuable Bedouin mare forfeit to the public treasury." Syria is the best place to purchase true Arabian blood-horses ; and no district is superior to the Naurau, where the horse may be purchased from the first hand, and chosen in the very encamp- ments of the Arabs themselves, who fill these plains ill the spring. The horses bought at Bas- sora for the Indian markets are purchased second- hand from Bedouin dealers. These procure them from the Moutifell Arabs, who are not careful in maintaining a pure breed. Damascus would be the best residence for a person constantly employed in this trade. While the number of horses generally is much smaller than had been supposed, there are com- paratively fewer of those of perfect quality and beauty, — perhaps not more than five or six in a whole tribe; probably not two hundred in the whole desert. Each of these, in the desert itself, may be worth from one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds ; but very few, if any, of these have ever found their way to Europe. There has, however, been much exaggeration with regard to these pedigrees. Burckhardt says, that in the interior of the desert, the Bedouins never make use of any, because, among them- selves, they know the genealogy of their liorse almost as well as that of their own families; but if they carry their horses to any distance, as to Bas- sora, Bagdat, or Damascus, they take care to have a written pedigree made out, in order to present it to the purchaser. In that case onlj' would a Be- douhi be found possessed of his horse's pedigree. He would laugh at it in the desert. The Kochlani ai'e principally reared by the Bedouin Aralis in the remoter deserts. One of them was sold at Acre fur the sum of fifteen thousand piastres. It is an error into which almost every writer on the history of the horse has fallen, that the Arabian is bred in the arid deserts, and owes the power of endurance which he possesses in his adult state to the hardships which he endured while he was a colt. The real fact is, that the Arabs' select; for their breeding-places some of those delightful spots, known only in countries like these, where, though all may be dry and barren around, there is pasture unrivalled for its succulence and its nu- tritious or aromatic properties. The powers of the young animal are afterwards developed, as they alone could be, by the mingled influence of plentiful and healthy food, and sufficient, but not, except in one day of trial, cruel exercise. The most extraordinaiy care is taken to pre- serve the purity of the breed. Burckhardt states that the favourite mare of Savud the Wahabee, which he constantly rode in all his expeditions, and was known in every part of Arabia, produced a colt of very superior beauty and promise, and it grew to be the finest stallion of his day. Savud, however, would never permit him to be used for the purposes of breeding, because his mother was not of pure blood ; and not knowing what to do with him, as the Bedouins never ride stallions, he sent him as a present to the sclieriff. The parentage and birth of the foal are care- fully recorded by competent witnesses, whose cer- tificate includes the marks of the colt, and the names of the sire and dam. The colt is never allowed to fall on the ground at the period of birth, but is caught in the arms of those who stand by, and washed and caressed as though it were an infant. The mare and her foal inhabit the same tent with the Bedouin and his children. Tlie neck of the mare is often the pillow of the rider, and, more frequently, of the children, who are rolling about upon her and the foal. No accident ever occurs, and the animal ac- quires that friendship and love for man which occa- sional ill-treatment will not cause her for a moment to forget. At the end of a mouth the foal is weaned, and is fed on camel's milk for one hundred days. At the expiration of that period, a little wheat is allowed ; and by degrees that quantity is in- creased, the milk continuing to be the principal food. This mode of feeding continues another hnndred days, when the foal is permitted to graze in the neighbourhood of the tent. Barley is also given; and to this some camel's milk is added in the evening, if the Arab can afford it. By these means the Arab horse becomes as decidedly characterised for his docility and good temper, as for his speed and courage. The kindness with which he is treated from the time of his being foaled, gives him an affection for his master, a wish to please, a pride in exerting every energy in obedience to his commands, and, consequentlj', an apparent sagacity which is seldom found in other breeds. In that delightful book. Bishop Heber's " Narrative of a Journey through the Upper Pro- vinces of India," the following interesting cha- THE HORSE. 205 raoter 13 given of him: — " My morning rides are very pleasant. My horse is a nice, quiet, good- tempered little Arab, who is so fearless, that he goes without starting close to an elephant, and so gentle and docile that he eats bread out of my hand, and has almost as much attachment and coaxing ways as a dog. This seems the general character of the Arab horses, to judge from what I have seen in this country. It is not the fiery dashing animal I had supposed, but with more rationality about him, and more apparent confi- dence in his rider, than the majority of English horses." When the Arab falls from his mare, and is unable to rise, she will immediately stand still, and neigh until assistance arrives. If he lies down to sleep, as fatigue sometimes compels him, in the midst of the desert, she stands watchful over him, and neighs and rouses him if either man or beast approaches. The Arab horses are taught to rest occasionally in a standing position; and a great many of them never lie down. The Arab loves his horse as truly and as much as the horse loves him; and no little portion of his time is often spent in talking to him and caressing him. An old Arab had a valuable mare that had carried him for fifteen years in many a rapid weary march, and many a hard-fought battle ; at length, eighty years old, and unable longer to ride her, he gave her, and a scimitar that had been his fathers, to his eldest son, and told him to appre- ciate their value, and never lie down to rest until he had rubbed them both as bright as a mirror. In the first skinnish in which the young man was engaged, he was killed, and the mare fell into the hands of the enemj'. When the news reached the old man, he exclaimed, that " life was no longer worth presei-ving, for he had lost both his son and his mare, and he grieved for one as much as the other." He immediately sickened, and soon afterwards died. A Bedouin had committed some offence, and was pursued by the governor's guards in the di- rection towards Jericho. They were so close upon him that his only chance of escape was to gallop down the almost pei-pendicular declivity of the hills that overlooked the town. His mare pre- cipitated herself dowii it at full speed, leaving the soldiers lost in admiration and astonishment. She, however, dropped dead on entering Jericho. The Bedouin, who would not quit her, was taken weeping over the body of his faithful companion. "Ali Aga," saj's M.Chateaubriand, "religiously showed me her footsteps along the face of the mountain." A Macedonian could not have beheld those of Bucephalus with greater veneration. The following anecdote of the attachment of an Arab to his mare has often -been told : — " The whole stock of an Arab of the desert consisted of a mare. The French consul offered to purchase her, in order to send her to his sovereign, Louis XIV. The Arab would have rejected the pro- posal, but he was miserably poor; he had scarcely a rag to cover him, and his wife and his childi'en were starving. The sum offered was great, — it would provide him and his family with food for life. At length, and reluctantl}', hejaelded. He brought the mare to the dwelling of the consul, dismounted, and stood leaning upon her ; he looked now at the gold, and then at his favourite. ' To whom is it,' said he, ' I am going to yield thee up? To Euro- peans, who will tie thee close, — who will beat thee, — who will render thee miserable. Ketum with me, my beauty, my jewel, and rejoice the hearts of my children.' As he pronounced the last words, he sprung upon her back, and was presently out of sight." One of our own countrymen, the entei^prising traveller. Major Denliam, affords us a pleasing instance of the attachment with which the docility and sagacity of this animal may inspire the owner. He thus relates the death of his favourite Arabian, in one of the most desert spots of Central Africa. His feelings needed no apology : we naturally honour the man in whom true sensibility and undaunted courage, exerted fur useful purposes, were thus united. " There are a few situations in a man's life in which losses of this nature are felt most keenly ; and this was one of them. It was not grief, but it was something veiy nearly approaching to it ; and though I felt ashamed of the degree of derange- ment I suffered from it, yet it was several days before I could get over the loss. Let it, however, be remembered, that the poor animal had been my support and comfort, — nay, I may say, compa- ni(m, through many a dreary day and night ; — had endured both hunger and thirst in my service ; and was so docile, that lie would stand still for hours in the desert while I slept between his legs, his body affiii'ding me the only shelter that could be obtained from the powerful influence of a noon- day sun : he was yet the fleetest of the fleet, and ever foremost in the chase." Man, however, is an inconsistent being. The Arab who thus lives with and loves his horses, re- garding them as his most valuable treasure, some- times treats them with a cruelty scarcely to be credited. The severest treatment which the Eng- lish race-horse endures is gentleness compared with the trial of the young Arabian. Probably the filly has never before been mounted. Her owner springs on her back, and goads h6r over the sands and rocks of the desert for fifty or sixty miles without one moment's respite. She is then forced, steaming and panting, into water deep enough for Jier to swim. If, immediately after this, she will 200 THE HOESE. eat as if nothing had occurred, her character is established, and she is acknowledged to he a genuine descendant of the Kocldani breed. The Arab does not think of the cruelty which he thus inflicts ; he only follows an invariable custom. We may not jserhaps believe all that is told us of the speed and endurance of the Arabian. It has been remarked, that there are on the deserts which this horse traverses no mile-stones to mark the distance, or watches to calculate the time ; and that the Bedouin is naturally given to exag- geration, and, most of all, when relating the prowess of the animal, that he loves as dearly as his children : yet it cannot be denied that, at the introduction of the Arabian into the European Stables, there was no horse comparable to him. The mare in her native deserts will travel fifty miles without stopping; she has been urged to the almost incredible distance of one hundred and twenty miles, and, occasionally, neither she nor her rider has tasted food for three whole days. Oiu- horses would fare badly on the scanty nourishment afforded the Arabian. The mare usually has but two meals in twenty-four hours. During the day she is tied to the door of the tent, ready for the Bedoun to spring, at a moment's warning, into the saddle ; or she is turned out be- fore the tent ready saddled, the bridle merely being taken off, and she is so trained th8,t she immedi- ately gallops up at her master's call. At night she receives a little water ; and with her scanty provender of five or six pounds of barley or beans, and sometimes a little straw, she lies down con- tent, if she is accustomed to lie down at all, in the midst of her master's family. Buckliardt relates a stoiy of the speed and en- durance of one of them, and shows with what feel- ings an Arab regards his quadiiiped friend : — " A troop of Druses, on horseback, attacked, in the summer of 1815, a party of Bedouins, and pur- sued them to their encampment : the Bedouins were then assisted by a superior force, and be- coming the assailants in their tuni, kjlled all the Druses excejiting one who fled. He was pursued by some of the best mounted Bedouins, but his mare, although fatigued, could not be overtaken. Before his pursuers gave up the chase they called to him, and begged to be peimitted to kiss his e.x- cellent mare, promising him safe conduct for her sake. He might have taken them at their word, for the pledge of an Arab, in such circumstances, might have been relied on: he however refused. They immediately left the pursuit, and, blessing the noble beast, cried out to the fugitive, ' Go and wash the feet of your mare and drink off the water.' This expression is often used by the Bedouins to show the regard they have for their mares."* * Coini avative View of die Kaccr, jj. 161. A periodical writer, on what authority is not stated, but he is right in most of the particulars if not in all of them, says, that "taking the compa- rative excellence of the different races, Nejed, be- tween the desert of Syria and Yemen, and now in the possession of the Wahabis, is generally reck- oned to produce the grandest, noblest horses ; Hcjaz (extending along the Eed Sea, from Mount Sinai to Yemen, and including in it Medina and Mecca) the handsomest ; Yemen (on the coast of the Eed Sea and the Indian Ocean, and the most fertile part of Arabia) the most durable ; Syria the richest in colour ; Mesopotamia the most quiet ; Egypt the swiftest ; Barbaiy the most prolific : and Persia and Koordistan the most warlike. "t The introduction of the Arabian into England, and the concern which he has had in the improve- ment of the English horse, will be treated of in the next chapter. THE PERSIAN HOESE. Next in the route which has been pursued along the south of Asia, towai'ds the east, and yielding only to the Arabian in beauty and value, stands the Persian horse. He is of larger growth than the Arabian, — purposely bred so, — and on that account some foreign — still east country, but not pure Arabian blood, being introduced. A larger animal, one more adapted for modern war, is the result, but with some diminution of speed and endurance. The Persian is a nobler-looking animal at the first glance, but he will not bear the accurate examination that only increases our ad- miration of the other. Berenger thus describes their principal points : — " They are in general small headed ; they have long and somewhat too fine foreheads, and they are rather too narrow chested ; their legs are a little small, but their croups are well fashioned, and their hoofs good and firm. They are docile, quick, light, bold, full of spirit, capable of enduring much fatigue, swift, sure-footed, hardy in constitution, and contented with almost any provender." They have, since his time, lost somewhat of the beauty, elasticity, docility, speed, and almost never-failing endurance. The Persian horses constituted in ancient times the best cavaliy of the East. The im- proved, incomparable Arabian breed was not then in existence. An entertaining traveller (Sir E. Kerr Porter) gives the following account of them :— " The Per- sian horses seldom exceed fourteen or fourteen and a half hands high, yet certainly, in the whole, are taller than the Arabs. Those of the desert and country about Hillah run veiy small, but are full of bone and of good speed. General custom feeds and waters them only at sunrise and sunset, + The Sportsman, vol. iii. p. 256. THE HOUSE. 207 when they are cleaned. Their usual provender is barley and chopped straw, which, if the animals are picketed, is put into a nosebag and liung from their heads ; but if stabled, it is thrown into a small lozenge-shaped hole left in the thickness of the mud-wall for tliat purpose, but much higher up than the line of our mangers, and there the animal eats at his leisure. Hay is a Ivind of food not known here. The bedding of the horse con- sists of his dung. After being exposed to the drying intluence of the sun during the day, it be- comes pulverised, and, in that state, is nightly spread under him.* Little of it touches his body, that being covered by his clothing, a large numniud from the ears to the tail and bound firmly round his body by a very long surcingle. But this ap- parel is only for cold weather ; in the warmer season the night-clothes are of a lighter substance, and during the heat of the day, the animal is kept entirely under shade. " At night he is tied in the com't-yard. The horses' heads are attached to the place of security by double ropes from their halters, and the heels of their hinder legs are confined by cords of twisted hair, fastened to iron rings, and pegs driven into the earth. The same custom prevailed in the time of Xenophon, and for the same reason : to se- cure them from being able to attack and maim each other, the whole stud generally consisting of stallions. Their keepers, however, always sleep on their rugs amongst them to prevent accident; and sometimes, notwithstanding all this care, they manage to break loose, and then the combat en- sues. A general neighing, screaming, kicking, and snorting, soon rouses the grooms, and the scene for a while is terrible. Indeed no one can conceive the sudden uproar of such a moment who has not been in Eastern countries to hear it, and then all who have, must bear me witness that the noise is tremendous. They seize, bite, and kick each other with the most determined fury, and frequently cannot be separated before their heads and haimches stream with blood. Even in skirmishes with the natives, the horses take part in the fray, tearuig each other with their teeth, while their masters are in similar close quartera on their baclis." His description of a Persian race does not altogether remind us of Newmarket or Doncaster. " My curiosity was fully on the spur to see the racers, which I could not doubt must have been chosen from the best in the nation to exhibit the perfection of its breed before the sovereign. The rival horses were divided into three sets, in order * It is the usual floodng of the stable and the tent. The united influence of the sun and air deprives it of all unpleasant odiiur, and when from use it becomes a second time oifenoive, it is again exposed to the suu, and all impleasani smell once mure taken away. to lengthen the amusement. They had been in training for several weeks, going over the ground very often during that time ; and when I did see them, I found so much pains had been taken to sweat and reduce their weight, that their bones were nearly cutting the skin. The distance marked for the race was a stretch of fuur-and- twenty miles, and, that his majesty might not have to wait when he had reached the field, the horses had set forward long before, by three divisions, from the starting point, (a short interval of time passing between each set,) so that they might be- gin to come in a few minutes after the king had taken his seat. The different divisions arrived in regular order at the goal, but all so fatigued and exhausted, that their former boasted tleetness hardly exceeded a moderate canter when they passed before the royal eyes." The plains of Persepolis, Media, Ardebil, and Derbane, rear annually a great number of valuable horses, but those bred in Kurdistan are accounted the best both in beauty and strength. THE CIRCASSIAN HORSE. The Circassian horse, although inferior to the Persian, does not often find his equal among the predatory hordes with which this part of Asia abounds. Vast numbers of horses and sheep are reared in the plains of Circassia, and they and the slaves which are made in their excursions, form the principal articles of the commerce of the na- tives. Almost every family of distinction aims at possessing a peculiar breed of horses, excelling, in their estimation, that of any other tribe. Each breed is distinguished by its peculiar mark, to forge or to place which on an inferior breed, would be punished with death. The most valuable breed of all is in the possession of the reigning family, and its distinguishing mark is a full horse-shoe. These horses possess considerable strength and speed. THE EAST INDIAN HORSE. We will now travel farther eastward, and ex- amine the breeds of horses in our Indian posses- sions. They are small, and, altliough some have considerable endurance and courage, they weai- the general character of degeneracy from a nobler stock. First in value is the Toorky, originally from a Toorkoman and a Persian, beautiful in his form, graceful m his action, and docile in his temper. When skilfully managed his cai'riage is stately and grand. His spirit rising as his exer- ertions are required, he exhibits to his beholders an appearance of fury in the performance of his task, yet preserving to his rider the utmost play- fulness and gentleness. They are usually from fourteen to fifteen hands high, and have the com- mon defect of the East India horse — smallness 208 THE HOUSE. nnd length of bone below tbe knees and about the hocks. Next conies the Iranee, Tvell limbed, and his joints closely knit, and j-articularlj' j^owerful in the (juarters, but with large head, and hanging ears, and deficiency of spirit. The gentle and docile Cozakee is deep in the girth, powerful in the fore-arm, but with large bead and cat-hammed ; hardy, and calculated for long journeys and severe sen'ice. The Mojimnss have spirit, beauty, speed, and perseverance. The Tazsee is slight, hollow-backed, and, for that reaton perhaps, deficient in strength. His hind legs are ill placed, and dragged as it were behind him, and he is stubborn and irritable; yet this horse is sought after on account of the pecu- liar easiness of his paces, a matter of no small consideration where the heat is so great and the slightest exertion fatiguing. A sale of horses near the Company's stud, at Hissar, is thus described by an excellent judge : — " Not less than one thousand horses were shown. There were all above fourteen hands and a half in height, high-crested, and showy-looking animals. The great defect seemed a want of bone below the knee, which is general to all the native horses throughout India; and also so great a tendency to fulness in tbe hocks, that, in England, it would be thought half of them had blood spavins." There are other studs in different parts of the counti-y, in which some valuable stallions are kept for the purpose of improving the various Indian breeds. Almost all of them have a greater or lesser portion of Arabian blood in them, which gives them the appearance of good cavalry horses, but renders them inferior to the Arabians gene- rally in swiftness and always in endurance. For this reason the native cavalry are principally mounted on Arabian horses, which are brought in great numbers, but of no considerable value, from Arabia and Syria. It may be readily supposed that it was not long before races were established in the East Indies, and that they were properly patronized by the goveniment. They were, however, con- fined almost entirely to the Arabian horses, for those of half blood were manifestly inferior to them. In 1B98, Eecruit, by "Whalebone, a horse of some celebrity at the tine, was sent out to Cal- cutta. This was deemed a proper opportunity to decide tbe question of superiority between the pure Arab, and the true English racing blood, and he was matched against Pyramus, the best Arabian in Bengal. The distance was two miles, with give' and take weights, fourteen hands to carry nine stone, and the Arabian to be allowed seven pounds ; Eecruit carried ten stones twelve pounds, and Pyramus only eight stones three pounds. They started well together, and ran the first part of the distance neck and neck, but at about half the distance. Recruit took the lead, and the Arabian was beaten easil}' by several lengths. The distance was run in three minutes and fifty- seven seconds. Another trial took place between Champion, a first-rate Arabian, and Constance, a moderately good thorough-bred English horse. The Arabian won in a canter; the question, there- fore, is thought by some persons to be yet un- decided. There is an East Indian pony, called the Tattoo, varying from ten to twelve hands in height. This is a serviceable and hardy animal for carrying baggage or any light weight. Tavemier describes one which he saw ridden by a young Mogul prince, of seven or eight years of age, and which was not much larger than a greyhound. In ]765 one, not more than seven hands, or twenty-eight inches in height, was sent from India, as a present to the queen of George III. It was taken from the ship to the palace in a hackney- coach. It was of a dun colour; and its hair resembled that of a young fawn. It was four years old, well proportioned, had fine ears, a quick eye, with a handsome long tail, and w'as thoroughly good-natured and manageable. The Mahrattas were two powerful tribes or nations, inhabiting the central part of Hindoostan, and their territory extending from sea to sea, across the south of the Deccan. Their wars among themselves, or in union with the British against Tippoo Saib, and afterwards against their former protectors and allies, are prominent objects in the modern bistoiy of India. Their troops consisted almost entirely of cavalry, composed of one of the best varieties of the half-blood Arabian and native horse. The Mahratta, when not on horseback, may be said to be almost constantly employed in shampooing his horse. It is properly so called, for he nibs him violently with his wrists and elbows, as well as his hands, and moulds and bends his limbs in eveiy direction. The Mahrattan way of riding is a singular and, according to Euro- pean notions, a very ungraceful one. His knees are as high as his horse's back ; he holds on with his heels, and clings with his hands either to the mane or the peak of the saddle. "With such aids, his seat is more secure than at first sight it would appear to be. The peak of the saddle rises in the form of a crane's neck, and is said to have been borrowed from the Moguls. A crupper and a martingale are almost indispensable accompani- ments of the Mahratta horse-furniture. It is a singular kind of crupper, however, not projecting from the centre of the saddle, but attached to both sides. The tohsa, or leathern vessel out of which the horse eats his corn, is also attached to the THE HORSE. 209 crupper; and this part of the trappings is generally ornamented with silver knobs, or with silk tassels or enibroideiy. Their horses, like most of those in the East, are picketed, not only during the day, hut very frequently in the night. A rope is carried from the headstall on each side to a peg driven into the ground. A rope, or thong, is also tied round the fetlocks behind, and carried backwards twenty or thirty feet, and fastened to a peg. This pulls the horse back, and keeps him, when standing, on the stretch, but does not prevent him from lying down. When they are thus tethered, their eyes are covered, that they may not be alarmed by any object that passes. They are also clothed, in order that the beautiful, glossy appearance of their coat may be preserved. They use the snaffle-bridle, but it is so jagged and pointed that the animal may be punished to the full content of any barbarian that may ride him. The headstall is usually ornamented, and from the rein a thong descends by which the horse may be occasionally reminded of his duty. The horseman has neither whip, switch, nor spur, but the horse is controlled, if he is disposed to rebel, by the ciniel argument of the bit. The breast of the Mahratta horse is more splendidly ornamented than any other part. Nu- merous coins, of different size and value — rupees and double rupees — are formed into plates more or less highly ornamented, and which in time of war form a rich booty for the conqueror. The mane, too, is generally plaited with silk-braids, and silver knobs attached to them, with a beautiful top-knot between the ears. If the rider has distinguished himself in war, some curious tails, said to be taken from the wild cow, dangle on either side.* THE BIRMAN AND CHINESE HORSE. The Birman horses are small, but spirited and strong. There is one at present ( 1 842) in the mena- gerie belonging to the Zoological Society of London. It does not stand more than twelve hands high ; but he is a beautiful little fellow, and a picture of strength. In Siam the horses are few, and inferior to those of the Birman empire. In Cochin-China, on the eastern coast of the peninsula, the horses are still small ; but they are better formed, and more active and strong, than they are in Siam. In Sumatra and Java the horses have not increased in size ; but in form and usefulness they scarcely yield to any in the south-west of Asia. In Borneo they are few, and scarcely deserving of notice. The horses of China are, generally speaking, small, ill-formed, weak. The Sportsi , vol. iv. p. 174. and without spirit ; indeed they have little occasion for the horse in the greater part of that immense empire. THE AUSTRALIAN HORSE. The new colonies of the British in Australia and its dependencies will present something more satisfactory. The greater part of the horses in New South Wales — the eastern coast of Australia, were derived from the Cape of Good Hope and from India. Very little judgment was employed in the selection, and indeed very few horses of good quality could have been procured from either place. The consequence was, that a writer so late as 1824 says of them, that "they are principally of the nag kind, and bred without much care. They are not veiy sightly in appearance, being narrow-chested and sharp-backed, and sadly de- ficient in the quarters. They have an incurable habit of shying, and they are not ver}' sure-footed." The New South Wales horses are seldom stabled; but are supposed to be healthier, and better able to endure fatigue, when kept in the open air. This, however, is probably only an excuse for neglect.f The sheep, however, prospering so well, and the cattle rapidly increasing and improving, the colonist began to be a little ashamed of his horses. Several of a better kind, cart and blood, were consequently imported from the mother-country — an Arabian was procured from India — and the Australian horse soon began to be a very different sort of animal. A writer of a few years' later date says ; — " We have few thorough-bred cart- horses, almost all of them having a spice of blood about them, which makes them unsteady at draught, restive, and given to jibbing when put to a hard pull." This was a veiy erroneous charge, and the writer seems to be aware of it, for he adds, " This may arise in a great measure from their being badly broken in." It was the fjiulty management and education of the horse, and not the portion of pure blood which he had acquired, that produced vices like these. The writer proceeds : — " We have many fine gig, carriage, and saddle horses, and even some that have pretensions to rank in the list of racers." In fact races were instituted at Sidney. A turf club was formed, and horses of no despicable qualities entered the lists. An excellent stallion, named Bay Cameron, was imported from England, and the owner netted by him, for the first season or two, more than six hundred pounds per annum. Horses generally rose more than fifteen per cent, in value. Even at Sidney, two hundred pounds and more were given for a horse of extraordinary figure and powers ; and no good saddle, gig, or cart horse could he purchased for less than forty pounds. + Atkinsons New South Wales, p. 61. 210 THE HOKSE. These horses were found to be remarkably hardy, and could undergo considerable fatigue. The greatest fault was a heaviness of the head, with a considerable degree of obstinacy and sulki- ness — as much, however, the fault of education as of natural disposition. * A still later writer says, " that the breed is rapidly improving, and particularly the draught horses, from the importation of some of the Cleveland breed from England." The true di-ay- horse, however, was yet to be found, and could not be procured from any of the native horses, not even with the assistance of the Cleveland. The mixture of English blood had not lessened the endurance of the native breed ; for at the hottest time of the year, with the thermometer at times as high as ninety-six degi'ees in the shade, the wi-iter says that he has ridden the same animal fifty miles a day for three successive days. They will all go through a vast deal of work, but they would have more endurance, if they were not broken in for the saddle and for harness so young. It is no unusual thing to ride them sixty miles in less than seven hours, and immediately turn them out, to pick up what scanty herbage they can find. The number of good horses was so rapidly in- creased that their price had materially diminished, and scarcely more than thirty-five pounds could be got for the best of them.f The traveller adds, that there are some diseases to which the horse is subject in England, which are as yet unknown in New South Wales. Glanders has never made its appearance there. Greasy heels, the almost peculiar disease of Britain, have not been seen there. Strangles, however, are prevalent, and, the author of the present work learns from another source, unusually severe.* In Van Dieman's Land the breed of horses, originally derived from India, is very good. A valuable breed of cart-horses is beginning to be formed. The riding-horses are small, but they are hardy. Horses of every kind are sixty per cent, dearer in Van Diemen's Land than in New South Wales ; because the colony is smaller, and the number of horses that are bred is comparatively small. Their treatment is not so good as in the larger colony. Many of them know not the taste of corn, and, when it is given to them, it is usually in the straw. || Returning again to the continent of Asia, there is nothing in China to detain us ; for through the whole of the southern part of that immense empire the horses are small, weak, without spirit, and altogether undeserving of notice. * Two Years in New South Wules, by P. Cunuins-ham, vol. i. p. -296. " ° + Breton's Excursions in New South Wales, in 1833, p. 330. S Ibid. p. 332. II Widowson's State of Van Diemen's Land in 1829, p. 184. THE TARTARIAN HORSE. Tartary comprehends a vast extent of country, reaching from the Eastern Ocean to the European dominions of Russia, through the central part of Asia and Europe. Eastern Tartary belongs chiefly to China — the Western has been subjected by Russia, but a small portion of it about the Caspian Sea claims to be independent. The tribes which inhabit this immense space are dissimilar in their appearance, and manners, and customs ; but, with a few exceptions, the character of the horse is nearly the same. The wild horse is found in various parts of Tartary ; but nowhere can it be considered as the remnant of an original race that has never been domesticated. The horees of the Ukraine, and those of South America, are equally the descen- dants of those that had escaped from the slavery of man. The origin of the horses of Tartary has been clearly traced to those that were emjiloyed iu the siege of Azof, in 1657. Being suffered, from want of forage, to penetrate into the desert in order to find subsistence, they strayed to too great a distance to be pursued or recalled, and became wild and created a new breed. They are genei'ally of a red colour, with a black stripe along the back. They are divided into numerous herds, at the head of each of which is an old stallion, who has fought his way to the crown, and whose pre- eminence is acknowledged by the rest. On the approach of apparent danger, the mares and their foals are driven into a close bod}^ in front of which the males are ranged. There are frequent contests between the different herds. The domes- ticated horse, if he falls in their way unprotected by his master, is instantly attacked, and speedily destroyed ; but at the sight of a human being, and especially mounted, they all take to flight, and gallop into the recesses of the desert. The young stallions as they grow up are driven from the herd, and are seen straggling about at a dis- tance, until they are strong enough to form herds of wild mares for themselves. The Cossacks ai'e accustomed to hunt the wild horses, partly to keep up their own stock, and partly for food. A species of vulture is sometimes made use of in this affair. The bird pounces upon the poor animal, and fastens itself on his head or neck, fluttering his wings, and pei^plexing, and half blinding him, so that he becomes an easy prey to the Tartar. The young horses are generally tamed without much difficulty ; they are, after a little while, coupled with a tame horse, and grow gentle and obedient. The wild horses thus re- claimed are usually found to be stronger and more serviceable than any which can be bred at home. In the great deserts of Tartary, the herds of wild horses are much larger. Many thousands, as on the Pampas of South America, are often col- THE UOltSE. 211 lected togethei'. The Kirghiso Tartars either capture them for use, or spear them for food. The flesh of the horse is a frequent article of food among the Tartars ; and although they do not, like the Indians of the Pampas, eat it raw, their mode of cookery would not be very inviting to the European epicure. They cut the muscular parts into slices, and place them under their sad- dles, and after they have galloped thirty or forty miles, the meat becomes tender and sodden, and fit for their table. At all their feasts, the first and last, and most favourite dish, is a horse's head, unless they have a roasted foal, which is the greatest delicacy that can be procured. When water was not at hand, the Scytliians used to draw blood from their horses, and drink it ; and the Dukes of Muscovy, for nearly two hundred and sixty years, presented the Tartar ambassadors with the milk of mares.* Some of the Tartar and Kalmuck women ride fully as well as the men. When a comtship is taking place between two of the young ones, the answer of the lady is thus obtained. She is mounted on one of the best horses, and off she gallops at full speed. Her lover pursues, and if he overtake her, she becomes his wife ; but it is seldom or never that a Kalmuck girl once on horseback is caught, unless she has a partiality for her pursuer, t The domesticated horees belonging to the Tar- tars that wander over the immense plains of Cen- tral Asia are little removed from a wild state. They are small and badly made, but capable of supporting the longest and most rapid journeys on the scantiest fare. One well-known circumstance will go far to ac- count for their general hardiness. The Tartars live much on the flesh of horses ; and the animals that are unable to support the labour of their fre- quent and rapid emigrations are first destroyed ; the most vigorous are alone presened. Berenger gives the following account of the Tai-tar horses : — " Although but of a moderate size, they are strong, nervous, proud, full of spirit, bold, and active. They have good feet, but some- * Must of the Tartars manufacture a liquor calltd koumiss, from the milk of the mare. It has a very pleasant taste of mingled sweet and snur, and is considerably nutritious. The Tartars say that it is an excellent medicine, and almost a specific in consump- tion, and some diseases of debility. It is thus made: — To a certain quantity of fresh mare's milk, a sixth part of water, and an eighth part of very sour milk, or of old koumiss, is added. The vessel is covered with a thick cloth, and set in a place of moderate warmth. It is thus left at rest twenty-four hours, when the whole of it will have become sour, and a thick substance will have gathered on the top. The whole is then beaten with a stick, in the form of a chum-statf, until it becomes blended into one homogeneous mass. Twenty-four hours after this the beating is repeated, or the liquor is agitated in a chum, until the whole is again mingled together. The process is now complete, and the koumiss is formed ; but it must be always well shaken before it is used. — Transactions of the Bot/al Sociely of Edinburgh, vol. i. p. 181. The Tartars have discovered a method of obtaining an ardent what narrow ; their heads are well-shaped and lean, but too small ; the forehead long and stiff; and the legs over long : yet with all these imperfec- tions they are good and serviceable horses, being unconquerable by labour, and endowed with consi- sideraljle speed. The Tartars live with them almost in the same manner that the Arabs do with their horses. When they are six or eight months old, they make their children ride them, who exer- cise tliem in small excursions, dressing and form- ing them by degrees, and brmgiug them into gentle and early discipline, and, after a while, making them undergo hunger and thirst, and many other hardships. The men, however, do not ride them until they are five or six years old, when they exact from them the severest service, and enure them to almost incredible fatigue, travelling two or three days almost without resting, and passing four or five days with no more or better nourishment than a handful of grass, and with nothing to quench their thirst. "| This discipline as much exceeds that of the Ai-abs in severity and horrible barbarity, as the Arabs excel the Tartars in civilisation. The horses of the Nogais Tartare are some of the best of the roving tribes. They are stronger and taller than the others ; and some of them are trained to draw carriages. It is from them that the Khan of Tartary derives the principal paj-t of his supplies. It is said that in case of necessity they could furnish a hundred thousand men. Each of the Nogais commonly has with him four horses ; one is for his own riding ; a second to mount if the first should be tired ; and the other two to carry his provisions, his slaves, and his boot)'. THE TOOKKOM.\N HORSE. Turkistan is that part of South Tartar^', north- east of the Caspian Sea, and has been celebrated from very early times for producing a pure and valuable breed of horses. They ai-e called Toorko- mans. They are said to be preferable even to the pure Persians, for actual service. They are large, from fifteen to sixteen hands high, swift, and in- exhaustible mider fatigue. Some of them have spirit from this koumiss, which they call rack, or racky, from the name given to the spirit raanufiictured in the East Indies. Dr. Clarke saw the proctss of the manufaple in its construction, but all-powerful in the hands of the Gaucho : — ■ " The lasso is a missile weapon used by every native of the United Provinces and Chili. It is a very strong plaited thong of equal thickness, half aii inch in diameter aind forty feet long, made of many strips of green hide plaited like a whip- thong, and rendered supple by grease. It has at one end an iron ring, above an inch and a half in diameter, through which the thong is passed, and this forms a running-noose. The Gaucho, or native of Peon, is generally mounted on horseback when he uses the lasso. One end of the thong is affi.ved to his saddle-girth: the remainder he coUs carefully in his left hand, leaving about twelve feet belonging to the noose-end in a coil, and a half of which he holds in his right hand. He then swings this long noose horizontally round his head, the weight of the iron ring at the end of the noose assisting in giving to it, by a continued circular mo- tion, a sufficient force to project it the whole length of the line." When the Gauchos wish to have a grand breaking-in, they drive a whole herd of wild horses t Head's Journey across the Pampa II Miers' Travels in Chile, vol. i. p. € p. 258. 214 THE HORSE. into the corral : — " The corral was quite full of horses, most of which were young ones about two or three years old. The capitar (chief Gaucho), mounted "on a strong steady horse, rode into the corral, and threw his lasso over the neck of a young horse, and dragged him to the gate. For some time he was very unwilling to lose his comrades ; but the moment he was forced out of the corral, his first idea was to gallop away : however a timely jerk of the lasso cheeked him in the most effectual way. The peons now ran after him on foot, and threw a lasso over his fore-legs just above the fetlock, and twitching it, they pulled his legs from imder him so suddenly, that I really thought the fall he got had killed him. In an instant a Gaucho was seated on his head, and with his long knife, in a few seconds, cut off the whole of the horse's main, while another cut the hair from the end of his tail : this, they told me, was a mark that the horse had been once mounted. They then put a piece of hide into his mouth to serve for a bit, and a strong hide halter on his head. The Gaucho who was to mount arranged his spurs, which were unusually long and sharp,* and while two men held the horse by his ears, he put on the saddle, which he girthed extremely tight. He then caught hold of the horse's ear, and in an instant vaulted into the saddle ; upon which the man who held the horse by the halter threw the end to the rider, and from that moment no one seemed to take further notice of him. " The horse instantly began to jump in a manner which made it very difficult for the rider to keep his seat, and quite different from the kick or plunge of an English horse : however, the Gaucho 's spurs soon set him going, and off he galloped, doing everything in his power to throw his rider. " Another horse was immediately brought from the corral ; and so quick was the operation, that twelve Gauchos were mounted in a space which I think hardly exceeded an hour. It was wonderful to see the different manner in which different horses behaved. Some would actually scream while the Gauchos were girding the saddle upon their backs ; some would instantly lie down and roll upon it ; while some would stand without being held, their legs stiff and in unnatural positions, their necks half bent towards their tails, and looking vicious and obstinate : and I could * The manufacture of the Gaucho's boots is somewhat sin- gular : — •" The boots of the Gauchos are formed of the ham and part of the leg-skin of a colt taken reeking^ from the mother, which is said to be sacrificed for the sole purpose, just at the time of bearing, when the hair has not begun to grow. At this stage the skin strips otf easily, and is very while and beautiful in texture and appearance. The ham forms the calf of the boot ; the hock easily adapts itself to the heel ; and the leg above the fetlock constitutes the foot: the whole making a neat and elegant half boot, with an aperture sufficient for the great toe to project through." — Andrew's Journey in South Ainerica, vol. i. p. 26. not help thinking that I would not have mounted one of those for any reward that could be offered me, for they were invariably the most difficult to subdue. " It was now curious to look around and see the Gauchos on the horizon in different directions, trying to bring their horses back to the corral, which is the most difficult part of their work, for the poor creatures had been so scared there that they were un-nilling to return to the place. It was amusing to see the antics of the horses ; they were jumping and dancing in different ways, wliile the right arm of the Gauchos was seen flogging them. At last they brought the horses back, apparently subdued and broken in. The saddles and bridles were taken off, and the young horses trotted off towards the corral, neighing to one another." f When the Gaucho wishes to take a wild horse, he mounts one that has bden used to the sport, and gallops over the plain. As soon as he comes sufficiently near his prey, " tlie lasso is thrown round the two hind legs, and as the Gaucho rides a little on one side, the jerk pulls the entangled horse's feet latei'ally, so as to throw him on his side, without endangering his knees or his face. Before the horse can recover the shock, the rider dismounts, and snatching his poncho or cloak from his shoulders, wraps it round the prostrate animal's head. He then forces into his mouth one of the powerful bridles of the country, straps a saddle on his back, and bestriding him, removes the poncho ; upon which the astonished horse springs on his legs, and endea- vours by a thousand vain efforts to disencumber himself of his new master, who sits quite com- posedly on his back, and, by a discipline which never fails, reduces the horse to such complete obedience, that he is soon trained to lend his whole speed and strength to the capture of his companions ." I These animals possess much of the form of the Spanish Rorse, from which they sprang ; they are tiimed, as has been seen, with far less diffi- culty than could be thought possible ; and although theirs is the obedience of fear, and enforced at first by the whip and spur, there are no horses who so soon and so perfectly exert their sagacity and their power in the service of man. They are possessed of no extraordinary speed, but they are capable of enduring immense fatigue. They are frequently ridden sixty or seventy miles without drawing bit, and have been urged on + Head's Journey across the Pampas, p. 258. * Basil Hall's journey to Peru and Mexico, vol. i. p. 151. The .Jesuit Dobrizboirer, in his history of the Abipones, a nation of Paraguay, and speaking of the tamed horse (vol. ii. p. 113), says, that " Stirrups are not in general use. The men leap on their backs without assistance." THE HOnSK. 215 by the cruel spur of the Gaucho more than a hundred miles, and at the rate of twelve miles in the hour. Like the Arab horses, they know no inter- mediate pace between the walk and the gallop. Although at the end of a day so hard, their sides are horribly mangled, and they completely e.\- hausted, there is this consolation for them, — they are immediately turned loose on the plains, and it will be their oven fiiult if they are speedilj' caught again. The mare is occasionally killed for food, and especially on occasions of imusual festivity. General San Martin, during the war for independence, gave a feast to the Indian allies attached to his army in which mares' flesh, and the blood niLxed with gin, formed the whole of the entertainment. On such di-y and sultry j)lains the supply of water is often scanty, and then a species of madness seizes on the horses, and their generous and docile qualities are no longer recognised. They rush violently into every pond and lake, savagely mangling and trampling upon one another ; and the carcasses of many thousands of them, destroyed by their fellows, have occa- sionally been seen in and around a considerable pool. That is one of the means by which the too rapid increase of this quadruped is, by the ordinance of nature, there prevented. Humboldt says that during the periodical swellings of the large rivers, immense numbers of wild horses are drowned, particularly when the river Apure is swollen, and these animals are attempting to reach the rising grounds of the Llanos. The mares may be seen, during the season of high water, swimming about followed by their colts, and feeding on the tall grass, of which the tops alone wave above the waters. In this state they are pursued by crocodiles, and their thighs frequently bear the prints of the teeth of these carnivorous reptiles. They lead for a time an amphibious life, surrounded by crocodiles, water- serpents, and marsetees. ^^^len the rivers return again into their beds, they roam in the savannah, which is then spread over with a fine odoriferous grass, and seem to enjoy the renewed vegetation of spring. * Numerous herds of wild horses abound in the west of Louisiana, and of all colours. They are, like those on the Pampas, the remains of the Spanish horses, and are hunted, caught, and some- times destroyed for food, by the savage inhabitants of the back settlements. Mr. Low, in his beautiful delineations of the British quadnipeds, gives the following account of the horses of North America : — " North America seems as well adapted to the * Humboldt's Pers. Nar. vol. iv, p. 394. — Lyell's Geology. temperament of the horse as any similar countries in the old continent. The Mexican horses are derived from, but somewhat deteriorated by, a less careful management. Mexican horses have like- wise escaped into the woods and savannahs, and although they have not multiplied, as in the plains of the Plata, thence they have descended northward to the Rocky Mountains, and the sources of the Columbia. The Indians of the country have learned to pursue and capture them, employing them in hunting, and transporting their families from place to place — the first great change that has taken place for ages in the condition of the Pted Man of the North American woods. The highest ambition of the young Indian of these northern tribes, is to possess a good horse for the chase of the buffalo. The Osages form large hunting-parties, for the chase of horses in the coun- tiy of the Red Canadian River, using relays of fresh horses, imtil they have ran down the wild herds. To steal the horse of an adverse tribe, is con- sidered as an exploit almost as heroic as the killing of an enemy, and the distances that they will travel and the privations they will undergo in these predatory excursions are scarcely to be believed." The Anglo-Americans, the Canadians, and the colonists of the West India Islands, have all acquired the domesticated horse. The Canadian is found principally in Canada, and the northern States. He is supposed to be of French descent, and many of the celebrated trotters are of this breed. Mention will be made of some of these when the paces of the horse are described. These horses are much used for \rinter travel ling in Canada, and in the northern States. One of them has drawn a light cabriolet over the ice ninety miles in twelve hours. Their shoes are roughened by the insertion of two or three steel screws, instead of the common European method. The cm-ry-comb is never used upon them in the winter, for a thick fur has gi-own over them to protect them from the inclemency of the season. They are animals never refusing the collar, yet they are accustomed to bad usage. Those of the United States are of eveiy variety, but crossed by the modem English race, or the Arab. The improvement of the horse, at this time, occupies much of their attention. Horse-races are estab- lished in many places, and particularly in the southern States ; and they have adopted, to a veiy considerable degree, the usages of tlie English turf. They have different vaiieties of useful horees for riding, and for their public and private carriages. Habit, arising from some cause or wliim now not known, has made them partial to the trotting horse ; and the fastest trotting horses in the world are to be found in the United States. The breeds of the West India Islands 216 THE HOESE. are those of tte parent stales.' The horses of Cuba are derived from Spain, and retain the distinctive characters of the parent stock ; and those of the English colonies have been improved by continued intercourse with the mother country. A much valued correspondent, Mr. Eotch, of Louisville, in the State of New York, thus addresses the author:' — "From my own personal experience, I should say that all our stock in America seems to possess a hardier constitution and are much less liable to disease than in Eng- land ; and that animals, but a few generations removed from those actually imported, acquire much stronger constitutions than their ancestors, and it has been a question with me, and acceded to by the late Rev. H. Beny, whether impor- tations of some of our pure-bred animals might not sometimes be made into your country with advantage. I am sure that our hacks and roadsters will endure a great deal more fatigue and hardship than the same description of horse in England. 1 speak with confidence in these matters, because I have been a breeder in both countries." That the greater hardship and labour to which the American horse of this description is exposed would produce a greater development of animal power, there can be no doubt, and a cross from the best of such a breed could not fail of being advantageous ; but we must adopt and perpetuate the circumstances that produced this superior power, or we should not long retain the advantage of the cross. In the extensive territoiy and varied climate of the United States several breeds of horses are found. The Conestoga horse is found in Pennsylvania and the middle states ; long in the leg and light in the carcass ; sometimes rising seventeen hands ; used principally for the carriage ; but, when not too high, and with sufficient substance, useful for hunting and the saddle. The English horse, with a good deal of blood, prevails in Virginia and Kentucky, and is found to a greater or less degree in all the States. The Americans have at different times imported some of the best English blood. It has been most diligently and purely presei-ved in the southern States. The celebrated Shark, the best horse of his day, and equalled by few at any time, was the sire of the best Virginian horses ; and Tally- ho, a son of Highflyer, peopled the Jerseys. THE MODERN EUROPEAN HORSES. The limits of our work compel us to be exceed- ingly' brief in our account of the breeds of the different countries of Europe. We start from the •south-west of this quarter of the world. THE SPANISH HO RSE. ' ' The Spanish horses, for many a century, ranked next to those of Barbary and Arabia. They descended from the Barbs, or rather theywere the Barbs transplanted to a European soil, and somewhat altered, but not materially injured by the change. Solleysel, the parfait mareschal, gives an eloquent description of them : — " I have seen many Spanish horses ; they are extremely beautiful, and the most proper of all to be drawn by a curious pencil, or to be mounted by a king, when he intends to show himself in his majestic glory to the people." The common breed of Spanish horses have nothing extraordinary about them. The legs and feet are good, but the head is rather large, the forehand heavy, and yet the posterior part of the chest deficient, the crupper also having too much the appearance of a mule. The horses of Estremadura and Granada, and particularly of Andalusia, are most valued. Berenger, whose judgment can be fully depended on, thus enume- rates their excellences and defects : — " The neck is long and arched, perhaps somewhat thick, but clothed with a full and flowing mane ; the head may be a little too coarse ; the ears long, but well placed ; the eyes large, bold, and full of fire. Their carriage lofty, proud, and noble. The breast large ; the shoulders sometimes thick ; the belly frequently too full, and swelling; and the loin a little too low ; but the ribs round, and the croup round and full, and the legs well formed and clear of hair, and the sinews at a distance from the bone — active and ready in their paces — of quick apprehension ; a memory singulaily faithful ; obedient to the utmost proof ; docile and aff'ectionate to man, yet fiill of spirit and courage." * The Parfait Mareschal shall take up the story again : — " There will not be found any kind of horse more noble than they, and of their courage ! why I have seen their entrails hanging from them, through the number of wounds that they have received ; yet they have carried off their rider safe and sound with the same pride with which they brought him to the field, and after that they have died, having less life than courage." ■[ It is delightful to read accounts like these, and we know not which to admire most, the noble horse or the man who could so well appreciate his excellence. The modern Spanish horses are fed upon chopped straw and a little barley. When the French and English cavalry were there, during the Peninsular war, and were without preparation put upon this mode of living, so different from that to which they had been accustomed, they • Berenger's Horsemanship, p. 151. + SoUeystl's Compleat Horseman, part i. p. 211 . THE HORSE 217 began to be much debilitated, and a considerable mortality broke out among them ; but, after a while, they who were left regained their strength and spirits, and the mortality entirely ceased.* THE PORTUGUESE HORSE. There was a time when the Lusitanian or Portuguese horses were highly celebrated. The Roman historian Justin compares their swiftness to that of the winds, and adds, that many of them might be said to be born of the winds ; while, on the other hand, Berenger, who lived at a time when the glory of the Spanish horse had not quite faded away, says, that " the Portugal horses are in no repute, and differ as much from their neighbours, the Spaniards, as crabs from apples, or sloes from grapes. "f He thus accounts for it. When Portugal was annexed to Spain, the latter country was preferred for the establishment of the studs for breeding, and the few districts in Portugal which were sufficiently supplied with herbage and water to fit tliem for a breeding country were devoted to the rearing of horned cattle for the shambles and the plough, aud mules and asses for draught. Hence, the natives regarded the horse as connected more with pomp and pleasure than with utility, and drew the comparatively few horses that they wanted from Spain. The present government, however, seems disposed to effect a reform in this, and there are still a sufficient number of Andalusian horses in Portugal, and Barbs in Africa, fully to accomplish the purpose. THE FRENCH HORSE. According to the survey of \8i9, France con- tained 2,400,000 horses, including those of every description. The number of mares was 1,327,78 1. The greater part of these were employed in the breeding of mules, and perhaps not more than a fourth part were used for keeping up the num- ber of horses. Besides these, nearly 27,000 horses are annually imported into France, either on speculation of immediate sale, or for the ex- press purpose of improving the breed. Two-thirds of the French horses are devoted to purposes of light work, and possess a certain degree, and that gradually increasing, of Eastern blood. There is room, however, for a great deal more than the French horse usually possesses. One-third of the horses are employed in heavy work ; 70,000 in post work, and about the same number are registered as fit for military use, al- though not more than half of them are on actual service. The ascertained number of deaths is about one in twelve or thirteen, or leaving the average age of the horse at twelve. This speaks strongly in favour of the humanity of the French, • Recueil dp MM., Gel., 1837, p. 80. + Berenger, p. 153. or the hardihood of the horses, for it exceeds the average duration of the life of the horse in England by more than two years. Calculating the average value of the French horse at 400 francs, or 161. 13.5. 4d., there results a sum of 000,000,000 francs, or 40,000,000 pounds sterling, as the gross value of this species of national property.^ It must be supposed that so extensive a coun- try as France possesses various breeds of horses. Auvergne and Poitou produce good ponies and gallow^ays ; but the best French horses are bred in Limousin and Normandy. From the former district come excellent saddle-horses and hunters, and from the latter a stronger species for the road, the cavalry service, and the carriage. M. Hoiiel has recently published an interest- ing work on the varieties of the horse in France. He states that in the time of the Romans there were but two kinds of horses, — the war-horse, and the sumpter or pack-horse. The carriage, or draught-horse, was comparatively or quite un- known ; and even men of the highest station suf- fered themselves to be indolently drawn by oxen. Great care was taken to preserve or to renew the strength and speed of the war-horse, and African or Arab blood was diligently sought. An animal, the type of the English Cleveland breed, the handsomest and strongest description of the coach- horse, was thus procured. By degrees, this horse was found too valuable for a hackney, and too high-trotting for a long journey, and a more smoothly moving animal was gradually introduced. Still the charger did not grow quite out of fashion, and in Normandy the rearing of this animal be- came an object of much attention to the farmer. At fii-st they were bred too slow and ponderous, but by degrees a horse was obtained of some- what lighter action aud considerable speed, with- out much sacrifice of strength, and they now con- stitute a most valuable breed. " I have not elsewhere," says M. Hoiiel, " seen such horses at the collar, under the diligence, or the post-car- riage, or the farm-cart. They are enduring and energetic beyond description. At the voice of the brutal driver, or at the dreaded sound of his never-ceasing whip, they put forth all their strength; and they keep their condition when other horses would die of neglect and hard treat- ment " The little Norman cart-horse is, perhaps, the best for farm-work. The Norman horses— and the same observation applies to all the northern provinces of France — are very gentle and docile. A kicking or vicious one is almost unknown there; but they are, with few excep- tions, treated with tyranny and cruelty from first to last. The reign of terror may to a certain degree be necessary where there ai-e many perfect horses; but the principle of cruelty should not » Journal des Hai-as, JIarcli, 18:)7, 218 THE HORSK. extend, as it too often does, to the treatment of eveiy kind of horse. Something must be attributed to both causes. There is more humanitj' among the French than the Englisli pensantrj'; but, on the other hand, there are liorrible scenes of ci'ueUy to the liorse hourly taking phice in tlie streets of Paris, that would not be tolerated for a moment in the British metropolis. The breeding of horses has more decidedly become a branch of agricultural attention and speculation than it used to be ; for it has been proved to the farmer that, with the proper kind of pasture, and within a fair distance of a proper market, instead of being one of the most uncertain and unprofitable modes of using the land, it yields more than an average return. The establishment of races in almost eveiy part of France bas given a spiiit to the breeding and im- provement of the horse which cannot fail of being exceedingly lieneficial throughout the whole of the French empire. In fact, it may be stated, with- out exaggeration, that the rapid improvement which is taking place is attributable principally to this cause. In order to effect the desired im- provement, the French, and with much judgment, have had recourse to the English thorough-bred horse far more than to the native Arabian. A great many of the best English stallions have been purchased for the French studs, and ha\e been beneficially employed in improving, and often creating, the hunter, the racer, and almost all of the better class of horses used for purposes of luxury. It has been stated that the most valuable native horses are those of Normandy; perhaps they have been improved by the EngHsh hunter, and occasional!}' by the English thorough-bred horse ; and on the other hand, the English road- ster, and the light draught horse, has derived con- siderable advantage from a mixture with the Norman, not only in early times when William the Conqueror was so eager to improve the horses of his new subjects by means of those of Norman blood, but at many succeeding periods. A certain number of Normandy horses used to be purchased every year by the French govern- ment for the use of tbe other departments. This led occasionally to considerable trickery and evil. None of the Norman horses were castrated until they were three, or sometimes four years old ; and then it frequently happened that horses of superior appearance, but with no pure blood in them, were sold as belonging to the improved breed ; and it was only in their offspring that tbe cheat could be discovered. The government now purchases the greater part of the Xonnandy horses in their first year, and brings them up in the public studs. They cost more money, it is true ; but they are better bred, and become finer ani- mals. There is no deception with regard to these horses, and the amelioration of the other breeds is secured. Every country that has occupied itself with the amelioration of its breed of hoises, has deemed it necessary to have a public register of tbe names and progeny of those of an acknowledged race England has had its stud-book nearly Jialf a cen- tury, containing a list of all the horses of pure blood that have existed in the country. France, in the year 1837, had her first stud-book, in which are inscribed the names of 215 stallions, of pure English blood, imported into France or born there ; 266 Arabs, Barbs, Persian, or Turkish horses; 274 English mares of true blood, and 4 J Eastern mares. Their progeny is also traced, so far as it was practicable. This work will form an epoch in the equestrian annals of that country. THE SARDINIAN AND CORSICAN HORSES. They are small, well-made, and capable of enduring much fatigue; as for their other quali- ties (and they are not much changed at the pre- sent day from what they formerly were), Blunde- ville shall speak of them: — "The horses that come out of the Isle of Sardygnia and Corsica have short bodyes and be verye bolde and coura- geous, and unquiet in their pace, for they be of so fierce and bote cbolericke complexion, and therewith so much used to running in their coun- trie as they will stand still on no grounde. And, therefore, this kynde of horse requireth a dis- creete and pacient ryder, who must not be over hastie in correcting him for feare of marring him altogither."* THE ITALIAN HOR.SE Was once celebrated for the beauty of his form and his paces; but, like everything else in that degraded country, he has sadly degenerated. The Neapolitan horses were particularly remarkable for their size and majestic action; there was, however, a degree of clumsiness about the heads and fore- hand, and general appeai'ance. which the seeming grandeur of their action would not always con- ceal ; and they were occasionally untractable and vicious to an alarming degree. They are now much deteriorated, and, in fact, with but few exceptions, scarcely of any value. Some of the Italian races are a disgraceful burlesque on those of other countries. At Home they have become a necessaiy ajipendage to the annual carnival, and there is no other of the pastimes of that gay season in which tbe people take an equal delight. Some of tbe horse-races resemble those in other countries, and are faiily contested; but much oftener the Pioman course • Blundeville's Four Cbiefest Offices. THE HORSE. 219 presents nothing but the horse running without any rider, and not from his own spirit and emula- tion, but startled by noises and goaded on by ridiculous and barbarous contrivances. The hjrses termsd Barbsri — because the race wa3 at first contested by B:irbs —are brou;^ht to the stirtiug-post, their heiJsanJ th3ir necks giily ornamsnte.l ; while tJ a girth which g.ies round the holy of each are attached several loose straps, having at thjir ends small balls of lead thickly set with sharp steel points. At every motion these are brought into contact with the flanks and bellies of the horses, and the more violent the motion the more dreadful the incessant torture. On their backs are placed sheets of thin tin, or stiff paper, which, when agitated, will make a rustling, rat- tling noise. It is difficult to conceive of the rearing, kick- ing, pawing, and snorting which occurs at the stariiug-place. A rope placed across the street prevents them from getting away, and a stout pea- sant is employed with each horse in a struggle of downright strength, and at the hazard of limb and of life, to restrain him. Occasionally some of them do break aw.iy and pass the rope before the street — the race-course — is cleared, and then many se- rious accidents are sure to happen. When all is ready for starting, a troop of dra- goons gallop through the street in order to clear the way. A trumpet sounds — the rope drops — the grooms let go their hold, and the horses start away like arrows from a bow. The harder they run the more they are pricked ; the cause of this they seem scarcely able to comprehend, for they bite and plunge at each other, and a terrible fight is sometimes commenced. Others, from mere fright or sulldness, stand stock-still, and it is by brute force alone that they can be again induced to move. A strong canvas screen is passed along the bottom of the street. This is the goal. It has the appearance of a wall ; but some of the horses, in the excess of their agoiiy and terror, dart full against it, tear through it, or carry it away. After all, the prize is nothing more than an ornamental flag ; but it is presented by the go- vernor of Rome, and it is supposed to be a pledge of the speed and value of the horse which will de- scend as an heir-loom from generation to genera- tion among the ))easantry, to whom many of these horses belong. The decision of such a race, how- ever, can have little to do with the speed or strength or value of the horses in any respect. The Italians, however, enter into the affair with all their characteristic eagerness of feeling, and are guilty of every kind of e.'ctravaganc3. During the first six days of the carnival, the horses ai'e fairly classed according to the age. height, degree of breeding, &c. ; but on the two last days— the choice days — they run all together, and some in the manner that I have described, and thus in- crease the confusion, the riot, and the danger of the exhibition.* The Corso is very nearly a mile, and it has occasionally been run in two minutes and twenty- one seconds; a very quick pace for small horse?, many of them not more than fourteen hands high.f Before we quit the neighbourhood of Italy, we may perhaps notice another curious mode of horse- racing, practised in Malta. The horses here are indeed mounted, but they have neither saddle nor bridle. The riders sit on the bare back, and have nothing to guide or to spur on their horses but a small pointed instrument, not unlike a cobbler's awl. These horses are small barbs, well tempered, or they would resist this mode of management, and they certainly are not swift. By pricking the horse on one side or the other of the neck, the rider can guide him a little in the way he should go, and certainly he may urge liim to his fullest speed ; but still, although it affords a novel and amusing sight to the stranger, the horse and tlie spectators are degraded by such an exhibition. J THE AUSTRIAN HORSE. The following account is given by the Duke of Ragusa of the imperial establishment for the breeding of horses at Mesohagres, near Carlsburg, in Austria ; — " This is the finest establishment in the Austrian monarchy for the breeding and im- provement of horses. It stands on forty thousand acres of land of the best quality, and is surrounded in its whole extent, which is fifteen leagues, by a * Penny Magazine, 1833, p. 4'25. + Races of a similar character take place at Florence, of which Mrs. Piozzi gives the foUowiDg description: — "The street is co- vered with sawdust, and made fast at both ends. Near the starting- post are elegant booths, lined with red velvet, for the court and first nobility. At the other end a piece of tapestry is hung, to prevent the creatures from dashing their brains out when they reach the goal. Thousands and tens of thousands of people on ibot fill the course, so that il is a great wonder to nie still that numbers are not killed. The prizes are exhibited to view in quite the old classical style — a piece of crimson damask for the winner; a small silver basin and ewer for the second; and so on, leaving no performer unrewarded. '* At last come out the horses, without riders, but with a narrow leathern strap hung across their bodies, which has a lump of ivoiy fixed to the end of it, all set full of sharp .spikes like a hedgehog, and this goads them along while galloping worse than any spur could do, because the faster they run the more this odil machine keeps jumping up and down, and piicking their sides ridiculously enoiigh : and it m ikes one laugh to see that some of them are so tickled by it as not to run at all, but set about plunging in order to rid th'-'mselves of the inconvenience, instead of driving forward to divert the mob, who leap, and caper, and shout wiih delight, and lash the loggers along with great indignation indeed, and witli the mo.t comical gestures. I never saw horses in so droll a slate of degradation before : for they were all striped, or spoued, or painted of some colour, to distinguish them from each other." This curious scene is described on account of the strongly- marked picture it afibrds, not of the poor horses, but of the inhabi- tants of Italy, once the abode of everything that was honourable to human nature ; and perhaps, also, of certain writers, when they sacrifice good and kindlv feeling to atfectati«n and folly. X Penny Mag., 1833, p. 426. f 2 220 THE HORSE. broad and deep ditch, and by a broad plantation sixty feet \vide. It was formerly designed to sup- ply horses to recruit the cavaliy ; at present its object is to obtain stallions of a good breed, which are sent to certain depots for the supply of the provinces. To produce these, one thousand brood mares and forty-eight stallions are kept ; two hun- dred additional mares and six hundred oxen are employed in cultivating the ground. The plain is divided into four equal parts, and each of these subdivided into portions resembling so many farms. At the age of four years the young horses are all collected in the centre of the establishment. A selection is first made of the best animals to supply the deficiences in the establishment, in order al- ways to keep it on the same footing. A second selection is then made for the use of the other : none of these, however, are sent away until they are five years old ; but the horses that are not of sufficient value to be selected are sold by auction, or sent to the amiy to remount the cavaliy, as circumstances may require. The whole number of horses at present here, including the stallions, brood-mares, colts, and fillies, is three thousand. The persons employed in the cultivation of the ground, the care of the animals, and the management of the establishment generally, are a major-director, twelve subaltern officers, and eleven hundred and seventy soldiers. The imperial treasury advances to the estab- lishment every year one hundred and eighteen thousand florins (the half rix-dollar or florin is in value about 2s. Id. English money), and is reim- bursed by the sale of one hundred and fifty stal- lions, which are sent every year to the provinces at the price of one thousand florins each, and by the value of the horses supplied to the cavaby. The other expenses of eTe.ry description are paid for by the produce of the, establishment, which is required to defray, and does defray all. This is, therefore, an immense estate — a farm on a colossal scale — with a stud in proportion managed on ac- count of the sovereign, and which produces a consi- derable revenue, independently of the principal object which is attained, the propagation and mul- tiplication of the best breeds of horses. He can always supply the wants of his army at a price almost incredibly small. For a horse of the light cavahy he pays only one hundred and ten florins, for the dragoons one hundred and twenty, for the cuirassiers one hundred and forty, for the train one hundred and sixty, and for the artillery one hundred and eighty. It is a great element of power to possess at home such an immense re- source against a time of war, at an expense so far below that which the powers of the west and south of Europe are compelled to incur. So early as 1790, a very superior Arabian, named Turkmainath, was imported into Germany, and his stock became celebrated, not only in Hun- gaiy, but throughout most of the German pro- vinces. In 1819, the Archduke Maximilian, bro- ther to the emperor, purchased some valuable racers and hunters in England, and sent them to Austria. Some of them went to the imperial establishment of which mention has just been made, and the others contributed materially to the improvement of the horses wherever they were distributed. Eaces have been established in va- rious parts of the Austrian dominions, and particu- larly at Buda and at Pest, in Hungar}'. Of the good effect which this will have on the breed of horses there can be no dispute, provided the race does not degenerate into a mere contest of supe- riority of speed, and exhibited in an animal that from his youth must inevitably be injured or ruined in the struggle. The gipsies used to be the principal horse- dealers in Hungary, but they have been getting into comparative disrepute since the establishment of the noble studs scattered through this dis- trict. He who wants a horse, or to speculate in horses, may now go to head-quarters and choose for himself. THE RUSSIAN HORSE. It may be well supposed that this animal will be of a very different character in various parts of this immense empire. The heavy cavalry, and the greater part of the horses for pleasure, are de- scended originally from Cossack blood, but im- proved by stallions from Poland, Prussia, Holstein, and England ; and the studs, which are now found on an immense scale in various parts of Russia. The lighter cavalry, and the commoner horses, are, as these have ever been, Cossacks, without any attempted improvement, and on that account more hardy and better suited to the duties re- quired from them. It has been supposed that no horse, except the Arab, could endure privation like the Cossack, or had combined speed and endurance equal to him. The Cossack, however, was beaten, and that not by horses of the first-rate English blood, in a race which fairly put to the test both qualities. It was a cruel affair ; yet nothing short of such a contest would have settled the question. On the 4th of August, 1825, a race of forty- seven miles was run between two Cossack and two English horses. The English horses were Sharper and Mina, well known, yet not ranking with the first of their class. The Cossacks were selected from the best horses of the Don, the Black Sea, and the Ural. On starting, the Cossacks took the lead at a modei'ate pace ; but, before they had gone half a mile, the stirrup-leather of Sharper broke, and he ran away with his rider, followed by Mina, and they This cut represents a Cossack soldier accoutred for his journey, and ha\'ing all that is necessary for him or for his horse. It gives a faithful hut somewhat flattering representation hoth of the soldier and his steed. went more than a mile, and up a steep liill, before they could he held in. Half the distance was run in an hour and fourteen minutes. Both the English horses were then fresh, and one of the CossacliS. On their return Mina fell lame, and was taken away, and Sharper began to show the effects of the pace at which he had gone when running away, and was much distressed. The Calmuck was completely knocked up, his rider was dismounted, a mere child was put on his back, and a Cossack on horse- back on either side dragged him on by ropes at- tached to his bridle, while others at the side sup- ported him from falling. Ultimately Sharper performed the whole distance in two hom's and forty-eight minutes — sixteen miles an hour for three successive hours ; and the Cossack horse was brought in eight minutes after him. At starting the English horses carried full three stone more than the Cossacks ; and during the latter part of the race a mere child had ridden the Cossack. The Emperor Nicholas has established races in different parts of his vast empire, for the im- provement of the Cossack and other horses. On the 30th of September, 1836, the races at Ouralsk took place. The distance to be run was eighteen wersts, or about four and a half French leagues — rather more than ten miles. Twenty-one horses of the military stud of the Cossacks of Oural started for the first heat, and which was won in twenty-five minutes and nineteen seconds by a horse belonging to the Cossack Bourtche-Tchourunief The second race was disputed by twenty-tlu'ee horses of the Kergheese Cossacks, and which was won in twenty-five minutes and five seconds by the horse of the Cossack Siboka-Ist«rlaie. On the following day the wmners of the two first heats strove for the point of honour. The course was now twelve wersts — three French leagues or about 222 THE HORSE. six miles and three quarters. It was won in fifteen minutes by the liorse of the Cossack Bourtche- Tehourunief. The Russian noblemen who were present, admiring the speed and stoutness of the horse, were anxious to purchase him ; but the Cossack replied that " All the gold in the world should not separate him from his friend, his brother."* In Southern and Western Russia, and also in Poland, the breeding of horses and cattle has lately occupied the attention of the great land pro- prietors, and has constituted a very considerable part of their annual income. There is scarcely now a signorial residence to which there is not attached a vast court, in fom* large divisions, and surrounded by stables. In each of the angles of this court is a passage leading to beautiful and extensive pasture-grounds, divided into equal com- partments, and all of them having convenient sheds, under which the horses may shelter them- selves from the rain or the sun. From these studs a larger kind of horse than that of the Cossacks is principally supplied, and more fit for the regular cavalry troops, and also for pleasure and parade, than connnon use. The i-emounts of the principal houses in Germany are derived hence ; and from tlie same source the great fairs in the different states of the Gennan empire are supplied.! The stud of the Russian Countess Orloff Tshes- mensky, in the province of Walonese, contains thirteen hundred and twenty horses, Arabs, Eng- lish, natives, and others. The ground attached to it amounts to nearly eleven hundred acres ; and the number of grooms, labourers, and others is more than four thousand. The sum realized by the sale of horses is of considerable annual amount ; and they are disposed of not only on the spot itself, but in the regular markets both of St. Petersburgh and Moscow. • Journal des Haras, Jan. 1837, p. 256. + '* The bret'dinj; of callle is also zealously and profitably pur- sued. The cow-h<»uses form the vitchery has all this been ac- complished? How came it that skilful and ho- nom'able men should have conspired together to deteriorate the character of the racer, and with him that of the English horse generally ? Why, there was no conspiracy in the matter. It was ASCOT HEATH. The two-mile course is a circular one, of which the last half is called the old mile. The new mile is straight and up-hill all the way. The T.Y.C. is five fiu*longs and one hundred and thirty-sis yards. EPSOM. The old coiu"se, now seldom used except for the cup, is two miles of an irregular circular form, the first irdle up-hill. The new Derby course is exactly a mile and a half, and somewhat in the form of a horse-shoe ; the first three-quarters of a mile may be con- sidered as straight running, the bend in the course being very trifling, and the width very great ; the next quarter of a mile is in a gradual turn, and the last half-mile straight ; the first half-mile is on the ascent, the next third of a mile level, and the remainder is on the descent, till within the distance, where the groimd again rises. The new T.Y.C. is six furlongs; the old T.Y.C, or Woodcot course, is somewhat less than four. The Craven course is one mile and a quarter. DONCASTER Is a circular and nearly flat course of about one mile, seven furlongs, and seventy yards. The shorter courses are portions of this circle. LIVEHTOOL. The new course, now used for both meetings, is flat, a mile and a half round, and with a straight run-in of nearly three-quarters of a mile, and a very gradual rise. MANCHESTER Is one mile, rather oval, with a hill, and a fine run-in. A Distance is the length of two hundred and forty yards from the winning post In the gallery of the winning post, and in a Uttle gallery at the distance post, are placed two men holding crim- son flags. As soon as the first horse has passed the winning post, the man drops his flag ; the other at the distance post drops his at the same moment, and the horse which has not then passed that post is said to be distanced, and cannot start again for the same plate or prize. A Feather-weight is the lightest weight than can be put on the back of a horse. A Give-and-take Plate is where horses carry weight accord- ing to their height Fourteen hands are taken as the standard height, and the horse must carry nine stone (the horseman's stone is fourteen pounds). Seven pounds are taken from the weight for every inch below fourteen hands, and seven pounds added for every inch above fourteen hands. A few poimds additional weight is so serious an evil, that it is said, seven poimds in a mile-race are equivalent to a distance. A Post Match is for horses of a certain age, and the parties possess the privilege of bringing any horse of that age to the post A Produce Match is that between the produce of certain mares in foal at the time of the match, and to be decided when they arrive at a certain age specified 840 THE HOESE. the natural course of things. The race-horses of the beginning, and even of the middle of the last centuiy were fine powerful animals; they had almost as much fleetness as could be desired, and they had strength that would never tire. He ■who bred for the tui'f might in his moments of re- flection he pleased by the conviction that, while he was accomplishing his ovai pui-pose, he was breeding an animal valuable to his country. He might be gratified by this reflection, yet it would not influence the system which he pursued. He tvould breed to win ; and he would naturally try to add a little more speed to the acknowledged power. Thence came the Mambrmo and the Sweet Briar, and others who had lost but little of their compactness of form — who had got rid of a portion of that which an enemy might call coarse- ness, but none of the capacity of the chest, or the substance or the power of the muscular system — whose speed was certainly increased, and whose vigour was not impaired. It is not in human nature to be satisfied even ■with perfection ; and it was tried whether a little more fleetness could not be obtained. It was so — and, some thought, ■with a slight impairment of stoutness. There were those, and they were not altogether ■wrong, who saw in Shark and in Gim- crack an evident increase of speed and little dimi- nution of strength. It was easy to imagine ■what would now be the result. The grand principle was speed. It was taken for granted that stoutness would follow — or rather, in the selection of the stock, stout- ness was a minor consideration. The result of this was a horse ■with an elongated frame — as beau- tiful as his predecessors, or more so, but to the eye of the scientific man displaj-ing diminished muscles and less prominent sinews, and sharper and less powerful withers. The fleetness was all that heart could desire, but the endurance was fearfully diminished. Irresistible proof was soon given of this. They could not run the distances that their predecessors did ■with ease. Heats became mi- fashionable — they were esteemed, and ■with too much ti^uth, severe and cruel. We might refer to the disgraceful exhibitions of Chateau Margaux, and Mortgage, and Lamplighter. The necessary consequence was that the ground run over in the ordinary matches was lessened a full half. And was not this sufficient to convince the man of the turf — the breeder of horses for liis own use — was not this sufficient to convince him of the error wliich he had committed? Perhaps it was, ■with regard to those who would give them- selves the trouble to think. But the error had been committed. The aU-important question was, how could it be repaired? Were they to breed back again to their former stoutness ? There were individuals stout and speedy, but the breed was gone. Beside, the short race had become fashion- able. It was determined in two or three minutes. There was not the lengthened suspense of seven or eight rotations of the second-hand of the watch; and who could resist the omnipotence of fashion ? Some harsh expressions have been used with regard to the leading sporting characters of tliat time; but what power had they of resistance ? They had bred for speed. They had obtained it. They had obtained that kind of race that would be popular, for it was short. They had no alternative, except with regard to the king's plates. There they should have made a stand. The interests and honour of the country should not have been sacri- ficed because they had erred. There should have been something left to encourage the continuance of the old and umivalled blood — something to fall back upon when the fashionable leaders of the sporting world had discovered their error. This battle, however, must yet be fought. Additional reasons for it ^vill appear when the present state of the hunter and the road-horse are considered. There is one cii'cumstance connected with these short races which perhaps has not been suf- ficiently appreciated. On the old system, the tnieness and the stoutness of the horse would ge- nerally insure the prize to him that best desei-ved it ; but with the present young horses and short courses, the actual race being sometimes little more than two or three hundred yards, a great deal depends on the rider. If the cattle are toler- ably fairly m-atched, all depends on him. If he has confidence in the stoutness of his horse, he may distance all Ms competitors ; or he may nurse the fleet but weedy thing to almost the last stride, and dart by the winning post before his rival has been able to gather himself up for the last efibrt. One thing cannot be denied, that the consci- ousness in the jockeys of their power, and the ac- count which they will probably be called upon to render of the manner in which they have used it, has led to fai' more ciiielty in the management of these races than ever disgraced the records of foi-mer times. Habit had given to the older horses of those days a principle of emulation and of obedience. When the race in reality began, the horse understood the meaning of his rider, and it seldom required any cruel application of the whip or the spm- to bring him through if he could win. Fon-ester ■will afford sufficient illustration of this. He had won many hardly-contested races ; but on an unfortunate day he was matched against an extraordinary horse, Elephant, belonging to Sir Jemhsou Shaftoe. It was a four-mile heat over the straight course. They passed the flat — they ascended the hill as far as the distance post — they were nose to nose. Between this and the chair. Elephant got a little ahead. Forrester THE HORSK. 241 made every possible effort to recover this lost ground, until, finding all his efforts ineffectual, he made one desperate phmge — he seized his anta- gonist by the jaw to hold him back, and could scarcely be forced to quit his hold. In like man- ner, a horse belonging to Mr. Quin, in 1753, find- ing his adversaiy gradually passing him, seized him by the leg ; and both riders were obliged to dis- mount, in order to separate the animals. The youngsters may not have felt all this emu- lation, nor be disposed painfully to exert their ener- gies to the very utmost ; and it may be necessar}' — necessai-y, in order to accomplish the purpose of the owner by winning the race — that the poor animal should be brutally urged on, until the powers of nature fail, and he retires from the course a cripple for life. This is a necessary part of the system. It is accounted the duty of the rider — it is a duty on the skilful discharge of which a few of them plume themselves : but it is that which should not be tolerated, and the system of which it is a necessary part should midergo a speedy and an effectual reformation.* We have been enabled to place at the head of our chapter a portrait of the " Colonel," taken for this work, by Mr. Harvey ; and Mr. Good\vin, veterinaiy surgeon to the Queen, has kindly fur- nished us -with a considerable part of the follow- ing account of him and of Flem'-de-Lis : — He was a chesnut horse, fifteen hands tlu-ee inches high, with good substance, capital legs and feet, and true action, bred by Mr. Petre in 1825. He was got by Whisker out of a Delphini mare — her dam. Tipple Cider, by Iving Fergus — the grandam was S3'lvia, by young Marsk, out of Ferret, by a brother to Sylvio-Eegulus, &c. He came out in 1897, when he won the two- years stakes, beating Kitty, a colt by Trump, and a black colt by Wliisker. * In a former edition of this work, the protest of the author was entered against the barbarous and useless punishment to which some horses were subjected. He has great pleasure in recording the following confirmation of his opinion: — "There are many jockeys employed by the inferior black-leg species of sportsmen, and even some of a higher class, who will not be convinced that a rider has acted honestly, unless his horse is nearly dissected alive ; but, in the strongest probability, every drop of blood drawn is ut- terly unnecessary, as it is barbarous and contrary to the veiy idea of sport, in which even the horse himself ought to share. Such an opinion was given from the heart, as well as from the mature judgment of the late Sir Thomas Charles Bunbiuy, within a few- months of his decease, after five-and-fifty years of experience on the most extensive scale. Although the stout and game horse will run to the whip, the excess of it must necessarily s/ior(en his stride, and, in course, detract from his speed. Many a race has been lost by a foul cut, or a brutal use of the spur — either by damping the spirit and enfeebling the nerve of the horse, or inducing a sullen disgust and desperation. An example much talked of at the time, and through which a vast sum of money was lost, occurred in the case of a horse of old Duke William, which was nearly home and winning. He received a foul cut with the whip on a tender part, and instantly hung back and lost the race. With re- spect to the hot-spirited and washy horses, if they cannot win with- out the aid of the whip, they will seldom win with it." — Nimrod, In the same year he carried off the two-years old stakes at Pontefract, beating Vanish ; and the Champagne stakes at Doncaster, beating a filly by Blackleg. In 1828 he ran a dead heat with Cadland for the Derby, beating Zingaree and twelve others, but he lost the second heat. He won however the St. Leger at Doncaster, beating Belinda, Veloci- pede, and seventeen others ; and walked over for the two hundred sovereigns stakes at the same place. f In 1829 he was beaten at the York Spring Meeting, by Bessy Bedlam, in a match for three hundred sovereigns each — the St. Leger course. He started, but was not placed, for the gold cup at Ascot, being beaten by Zingaree and Ma- meluke. In 1830 he won the Craven stakes of ten so- vereigns each, beating Harold, Clio, and eight others. He ran second for the gold cup at Ascot, being beaten by Loretta, but beating Greenmantle and Zingaree. In the. same year he won a Sweep- stake at Stockbridge ; and ran third for the gold cup at Goodwood, but was beaten by Fleur-de-Lia and Zingaree. In 1831 he won the Craven stakes at Epsom; and ran a dead heat with Mouch for the Oatlands at Ascot ; but rmniing the second heat with her, he broke down^ — the suspensory ligaments failing in both legs. He did not continue lame ; but the enlargement of the fetlock, and the traces of the iron, plainly indicated that he could no longer be depended upon as a racer. J We are also gratified in being enabled to pre- sent om- readers with a portrait of that beautiful and almost imiivalled mare Fleur-de-Lis, by the same artist. She was bred by Sir M. W. Ridley, in 1822, and was got by Bom-bon, the son of Sorcerer, out of Lady Rachel, by Stamford — her dam, Yomig Rachel, by Volunteer, out of Rachel, sister to Maid of all Work, and by both the sire and the dam was descended from Highflyer. Bourbon started twenty-three times, out of which he was successful seventeen times ; and canied off two classes of the Newmarket October Oatland stakes, the Claret, the Craven, and the Trial, besides four + At the latter end of 1828 he was sold by Mr. Petre to George IV. for four thousand guineas. He continued, however, on the turf, and won many races. t He then covered at the Koyal Stud, Hampton Court, until that establishment was sold at the death of William IV. He was purchased by Mr. Tattersall, at the sale, for one thousand five liundred and fifty guineas, who sent him to his present owners, a stud company in Russia. He possessed gi-eat speed ; but his progeny, like himself, were deficient in that stoutness so essential to a real good horse. DEgville, Posthaste, TooUiill, and The Drummer were some of the most successful of his stock. On the whole, he could not be considered as having always realised the expectations of those who put mares to him. thousand one hundred and tliu-ty guineas in specie. She was the finest mare in form and size ever produced in England. She stood fully sixteen hands, and had extraordinaiy good legs, and feet that never failed. Her speed was good, but her forte was distance. Independent of her being so fine a mare in every other respect, her chest was one of extraordinary capacity in an animal of such imusual depth in the girthing place. She first appeared on the turf at three years old, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for the twenty-five guineas sweepstakes — one mile — and beat her four competitors. On September 8, she won a sweepstake of twenty guineas, and twenty added — sis subscribers — at Pontefract. On the 30th of the same month, she started for the Great St. Leger, and would probably have won it had she not been thrown down in the run- ning by Actaeon, as she beat Mammon afterwards, and all the best horses of that description. On the 23d of September, however, she won a sweep- stake of twenty sovereigns each, with twenty added — nineteen subscribers. On May 20, 1836, she was in the sweepstakes of twenty sovereigns each — two miles — seven sub- scribers, at the York Spring Meeting. Lottery, Actaeon, and Catterick was among her opponents. After the first hundred yards. Lottery got in front, closely followed by the others at strong running. He kept ahead until nearly the distance post, when Fleur-de-Lis shot ahead, Aetseon and Catterick letting loose at the same time. The filly, how- ever, kept in front, and won in gallant style by half a length. On the next day she won the gold cup, opposed again by Aetseon, and also by the Alderman and six others. The betting was seven to four on the Alderman, and four to one against the winner. The Alderman took the lead, and made all the running up to the distance post. They were in a cluster at the stand, when Aetseon and Fleur-de- Lis came out. A severe stniggle took place, the mare winning by a length. July 6, she won the gold cup at Newcastle- upon-Tyne- — ten subscribers. The betting waa fifteen to eight in favour of the -ndnner. On the next day she won the first heat for the town-plate, and walked over the course for the second heat. On September 19, she won the Doncaster stakes of ten sovereigns each, with twenty added by the corporation — twenty-nine subscribers. She was opposed by Actceon, Lottery, Jerry, and others ; but the bets were five to foiu* on Fleur- de-Lis. On the 21st, she won the gold cup, beating Mulatto, Helenus, and others. The betting was five to four on her. On the 29th she won the gold cup at Lincoln, walking over the course. May the 13th, 1827, she won the Constitution stakes at the York Spring Meeting — fifteen sub- scribers, at twenty guineas each, among which were Jerry, Humphrey Clinker, and Sirius ; the betting THE HORSE 243 six to five against Fleur-de-Lis. During most of the way, Fleur-de-Lis was in front, Jerry second, Humphrey Clinker third, and Sirius fourth. Wheu between the rails Jerry looked as if he would win ; but suddenly swerving, Fleur-de-Lis won easily by two lengths. On the 27th, she ran at Manchester, for a tureen, value one hundred guineas, with twenty- four subscribers of ten sovereigns each; betting, five to four on her. On making the last turn she slipped, and nearly came on her side. She, how- ever, recovered ; but, after a severely-contested race, lost by half a head. On July the 13th, she won the gold cup, and sweepstakes of ten guineas each, at Preston ; twenty subscribers. The course was three miles and a distance. It was doubted whether any hoi'se could be found to compete with Fleur-de-Lis ; but at length Mr. Milton's old grey horse Euphrates and Sir W. Wynn's Signorina entered the lists. The old horse looked as well and appeared as gay as ever, and Signorina was ever a well-kno\vn good mare ; but the odds were three to one on Fleui'-de-Lis. After the usual preparations, the competitors were brought to the post, and away they went. Eupihrates made play, dashing off at score, and at about half a mile had got so far ahead, that Fleur-de-Lis, who evidently was waiting on Signorina, found it necessaiy to creep rather nearer, lest the old gelding should steal the race. Eu- phrates kept the lead, and seemed determined to do so as long as he could ; and he was allowed to do do this uutil within about a distance from home, when both the mares shot ahead, and the gallant old horse gave it up. The contest now became highly interesting. Signorina ran well in, and was beaten only by a neck. She likewise won a Goodwood cup, beating the Colonel and Zingaree, both out of the same stables with herself, and nearly distancing a field of others. This is a continuance of success that is scarcely equalled in the annals of the turf The loss of the Manchester cup was solely attributable to the ac- cident that occurred while she was running. She likewise failed in the St. Leger ; but there she was thrown down by another horse during the race. She was never beaten in a fair straggle. Her owner, however, was perhaps justified in selling her, as he did, for one thousand five hunch-ed guineas, wheu he knew that he was consigning her to the royal stud ; for he thus rendered it impos- sible that the laurels that she had won could ever be torn from her. She possessed the points and form of a racer to a degi'ee of perfection which has been rarely met with. It is true that she stood nearly sixteen hands ; but the depth of her chest, her length, her quartere, her pasterns, marked her as equally framed for motion and for endurance. Her colour was bay, with black legs and feet, and a small stroke on the forehead. The slouched ear has been found fault \vith by some ; others, and per- haps with more tmth, have considered it as an indi- cation of pure blood. It has been hereditary in some of our stables, as in the Oi-ville family. She was bought of Sir M. W. Fadley, for George IV., for one thousand five hundred guineas. Her produce, after having been put into the stud, was eagerly sought after by foreigners, and sent out of the country. Fleur-de-Lis is now (1843) in the possession of Monsieur Lupin, in France, who bought her at the Hampton Court sale for the inadequate sum of five hundred and fifty guineas. The valuable mare Wings, the dam of Cai'avan, was sold to the same person for six hundred guineas ; and Young Mouse, the dam of Rat Trap, for three hundi'ed and sixty guineas. THE HUNTER. There are few agricultuiists who have not a little liking for the sports of the field, and who do not fancy rich music in the ciy of the hounds. To what extent it may be prudent for them to indulge in these sports circumstances must decide, and they deserve the most serious consideration. Few can, or, if they could, ought to keep a hunter. There are temptations to expense in the field, and to expense after the chase, which it may be difficult to withstand. The hunter, however, or the hunt- ing horse, — i. e. the horse on which a farmer, if he is not a professed sportsman, may occasionally with pleasure, and without disgrace, follow the hounds, — is in value and beauty next to the racer. Fashion and an improved state of the agricul- ture of the countiy have materially increased the speed of the chase. The altered character of the fox-hounds, and the additional speed which they have lately acquired, compel the fanner to ride a better horse, or he will not live among his compa- nions after the first burst. Stoutness is still re- quii-ed, but blood has become an essential quality. In strong, thicklj'-inclosed countries, the half- bred horse may get tolerably well along : but for general use the hunter should be at least three- quarters, or perhaps seven-eighths bred. When he can be obtained with bone enough, a thorough- bred horse will form the best of all huntere ; espe- cially if he has been taught to carry himself suffi- ciently high to be awai'e of and to clear his fences. He should seldom be under fifteen or more than sixteen hands high ; below tliis standard he cannot alwaj's measure the object before him, and above it he is apt to be leggy and awkward at his work. The first property of a good hunter is, that he should be light in hand. For this purpose his head must be small ; his neck thin and especially thin beneath ; his crest firm and arched, and his jaws wide. The head vriU then be well set on. It THE HUNTEE. ■will form that angle witli the neck which gives a light and pleasant mouth. The forehand should be loftier than that of the racer. A turf horse may be forgiven if his hind quarters rise an inch or even two above his fore ones. His principal power is wanted from behind, and the very lowTiess of the forehand may throw more weight in front, and cause the whole machine to be more easily and speedily moved. A lofty forehand, however, is indispensable in the hunter ; and a shoulder as extensive as in the racer and as oblique, and somewhat thicker. The saddle will then be in its proper place, and will continue so, however long may be the mn. The barrel should be roimder, in order to give greater room for the heart and lungs to play, and to send more and pm-er blood to the larger frame of this horse, especially when the run continues unchecked for a time that begins to be distressing. A broad chest is always an excellence in a hunter. In the violent and long-continued exertion of the chase the respiration is exceedingly quickened, and abundantly more blood is hurried through the lungs in a given time than when the animal is at rest. There must be sufficient room for this, or he will not only be distressed, but possibly de- stroyed. The majority of the horses that perish in the field are narrow-chested. The arm should be as muscular as that of the racer, or even more so, for both strength and en- durance are wanted. The leg should be deeper than that of the race- horse— broader as we stand at the side of the horse — and especially beneath the knee. In pro- portion to the distance of the tendon from the cannon or shank-bone, and more particularly a little below the knee, is the mechanical advantage with which it acts. The leg should be shorter. Higher action is required than in the racer, in order that the legs may be clearly and safely lifted over many an obstacle, and, particularly, that they may be well doubled up in the leap. The pasteni should be shorter, and less slant- ing, yet retaining considerable obliquity. The long pastern is useful, by the yielding resistance which its elasticity affords to break the concussion Tvith which the race-horse from his immense stride and speed must come on the ground : and the oblique direction of the different bones beautifully contri- butes to effect the same purpose. With this elasticity, however, a considerable degree of weak- ness is necessarily connected, and the race-horse occasionally breaks down in the middle of his course. The hunter, from his different action, takes not this length of stride, and therefore wants not all this elastic mechanism. He more needs strength to support his own heavier carcase, and THE HORSE. 245 {he greater weiglit of bis rider, and to undergo the fatigue of a long day. Some obliquity, however, he requires, otherwise the concussion even of his shor- ter gallop, and more particularly of his frequently tremendous leaps, would inevitably lame him. The foot of the hunter is a most material point. The narrow contracted foot is the curse of much of the racing blood. The work of the racer, how- ever, is all performed on the turf ; but the foot of the hunter is battered over many a flinty road and stony field, and, if not particulaiiy good, will soon be disabled and ruined. The position of the feet in the hunter requires some attention. They should if possible stand straight. If they turn a little outward, there is no serious objection ; but if they turn inward, his action cannot be safe, particularly when he is fatigued or over-weighted. The body should be short and compact, com- pared with that of the race-horse, that he may not in his gallop take too extended a stride. This would be a serious disadvantage in a long day and ■with a heavy rider, from the stress on the pasterns ; and more serious when going over clayey poached ground during the winter months. The compact short-strided horse will almost skim the surface, wliile the feet of the longer-reached animal will sink deep, and he will wear himself out by efforts to disengage himself. Eveiy sporting, man knows how much more enduring is a short-bodied horse in climbing hills, although perhaps not quite so much m descending them. This is the secret of suiting the race-horse to his coui"se ; and unfolds the appai'ent mystei'y of a horse decidedly superior on a flat and straight course, being often beaten by a httle horse with far shorter stride, on uneven ground and with several turnings. The loins should be broad ; the quarters long; the thighs muscular ; the hocks well bent, and well under the horse. The reader needs not to be told how essential temper and courage are. A hot irritable brute is a perfect nuisance, and the coward that will scarcely face the slightest fence exposes his owner to ridicule.* * The grey hunter, a portrait of which is given in page 244, possesses a very high character in the Croydon hunt. He was bred in Warmckshire, and there his education commenced. The country being a severe one, the powers of this noble animal were fully developed, and he left Warkw-ickshire iu high repute. He was purchased by Mr. Anderson, of Piccadilly, for a con- siderable sum, and by him sold to Mr. Claggett, in 1832. He became the favourite hunter of that genLteman, and under his guidance performed many gallant feats in vaviiius parts of Surrey. Iu 1835 he was purchased by Sir Edmund Antrobus at a heavy sum ; and for five seasons was the woiihy Baronet carried at his ease by this noble animal over hill, ridge, and brook, and many of those ugly yawns, with which this part of Surrey abounds. The author's friend, Mr. Thomas Turner, of Croydon, kindly procured him permission to have a portrait of this noble animal taken by Mr. Harvey ; and says in one of his letters, " I never heard of a blot an the old horse's escutcheon." VOL. I. The principle of preparmg both the race-horse and the hunter for their work is the same, and can have no mystery about it. It consists in getting rid of all superfluous flesh and fat by physic and exercise, yet without too much lower- ing the animal ; and particularly in bringing him by dint of exercise into good wind, and accustom- ing him to the full trial of his powers without overstraining or injuring him. Two or three doses of physic as the season approaches, and these not too strong ; plenty of good hard meat ; and a daily gallop of a couple of miles, at a pace not too quick, will be nearly all that can be required. Physic must not indeed be omitted ; but the three words, air, exercise, food, contain the grand secret and art of training. The old hunter may be fairly ridden twice, or, if not with any veiy hard days, three times in the week ; but, after a thoroughly trying day, and evident distress, three or four days' rest should be allowed. They who ai'e merciful to their horses, allow about thirty days' work in the eoui-se of the season, with gentle exercise on each of the inter- mediate days, and particularly a sweat on the day before hunting. There is an account, however, of one horse who followed the fox-hoimds seventj--five times in one season. This feat has never been exceeded. We recollect to have seen the last Duke of Richmond but one, although an old man, and when he had the gout in his hands so severely that he was obliged to be lifted on horseback, and, both arms being passed through the reins, were crossed on his breast, galloping down the steepest part of Bow Hill, in the neighbourhood of Good- wood, almost as abrupt as the ridge of an ordinary house, and cheering on the hounds with all the ai-dour of a youth.f + Sir John Malcolm (in his Sketches of Persia) gives an amu- sing account of the impression which a fox-hunt in the English style made on an Arab. " 1 was entertained by listening to an Arab peasant, who, v\ith animated gestures, was narrating to a group of his countrymen all he had seen of this noble hunt. ' There came the fox," said he, pointing with a crooked stick to a clump of date-trees, ' there he came at a great rate. I hallooed, but nobody heard me, and I thought he must get away ; but when he got quite out of sight, up came a large spotted dog, and then another and another. They all had their noses to the ground, and gave tongue — whow, whow, whow, so loud, I was fnghtened. Away went these devils, who soon foimd the poor animal. After them galloped the Foringees (a corruption of Frank, the name given to a European over all Asia), shouting and trying to make a noise louder than the dogs. No wonder they killed the fox among tliem." The Treasurer Burleigh, the sage councillor of Queen EUzabelh, could not enter into the pleasures of the chase. Old Andrew Fuller relates a quaint story of him : — " When some nobleman had gotten 'William Cecil, Lord Bur- leigh, to ride with them a hunting, and the sport began to be cold, ' VVhat call you this ?' said the treasurer. ' Oh ! now the dogs are at fault,' was the reply. ' Yea,' quoth the treasurer, * take me again in such a fault, and I '11 give you leave to punish me.' " In former times it was the fashion for women to himt almost as often and as keenly as the men. Queen Elizabeth was extremely fond of the chase. Rowland Whyte, in a letter to Sir Robert Sidney, says, " Her Majesty is well, and eicellently disposed 946 THE HORSE. The difference in the pace, and the consequent | difference in the breed of the horse, have efl'ected a strange alteration in the usage of the hunter. It is the almost invariable practice for each sports- man to have two, or sometimes three horses in the field, and after a moderate day's sport the horse has his three or four daj's' rest, and no fewer than five or six after a severe run. When a little more speed was introduced into the turf horse, the half-bred or three-parts-bred horse, which constituted the racer of thirty years ago, soon acquired a portion of the increase of speed, and in consequence of this began to be inconveniently or annoyingly close to the hounds. A change then took place in the breed of the hound. This, however, as might be expected, was carried a little too far, and they soon began to run at a rate to which the far greater proportion of the balf-breds were altogether unequal. The thorough-bred horse then began to find his way into the field. The prejudice was strong against him at first. It was said that lie could not take his leaps like the old hunter: but, after a little training, he became equal in this respect to the very best of his pre- decessors, and superior to the greater part of them. This is well treated of by Nimrod in his work on " The Chase." The horse fully shares in the enthusiasm of his rider. It is beautiful to watch the old hunter who, after many a winter's hard work, is turned into the park to enjoy himself for life. His attitude and his countenance when, perchance, he hears the distant cry of the dogs, are a study. If he can, he will break his fence, and, over hedge, and lane, and brook, follow the chase, and come in first at the death. A horse that had, a short time before, been severely fired on three legs, and was placed in a loose box, with the door, four feet high, closed, and an aperture over it little more than three feet square, and standing himself nearly sixteen hands, and master of fifteen stone, hearing the cheering of the huntsman and the cry of the dogs at no great distance, sprung through the aperture with- ,out leaving a single mark on the bottom, the top, or the sides. Then, if the horse is thus ready to exert him- aelf for our pleasure — and pleasure alone is here the object — it is indefensilde and brutal to urge him beyond his own natural ardour so severely as we sometimes do, and even until nature is quite to hunting ; for every second day slie is on horsebaclv, and con- tinues the sport long." This custom soon afterwards began to decline, and the jokes and scarcasms ol the witty court of Charles II. contributed to di>counIenance it. It is- a curious circumstance, that the first work on hunting that Droceeded from the press was from the pen of a female, .Tuliaua Barnes, or Berners, the sister of Lord Berners, and prioress of the nunnery of Sopewell, abnut the year 1481. exhausted. We do not often hear of a " hard day," without being likewise informed, that one or more horses either died in the field, or scarcely reached home before they expired. Some riders have been thoughtless and cruel enough to lull two horses in one day. One of the severest chases on record was by the king's stag-hounds. There was an uninterrupted burst of fom- hours and twenty minutes. One horse dropped dead in the field ; another died before he could reach the stable ; and seven more, within the week ensuing. It is very conceivable, and does occasionally happen, that, entering as fully as his master into the sports of the day, the horse disdains to yield to fatigue, and voluntarily presses on, until, nature being exhausted, he falls and dies : but much oftener, the poor animal has, intelligibly enough, hinted his distress ; unwilling to give in, yet pain- fully and falteringly holding on, while the merciless rider, occasionally, rather than give up one hour's enjoyment, tortures him with whip and spur, until he drops and dies. Although the hunter may not willingly relin quish the chase, he who " is merciful to his beast" will soon recognise the symptoms of excessive and dangerous distress. To the drooping pace and staggering gait, and heaving flank, and heavy bearing on the hand, ^rill be added a very peculiar sound. The inexperienced person will fancy it to be the beating of the heart : but that has almost ceased to pulsate, and the lungs are becoming gorged with blood. It is the convulsive motion of the diaphragm, called into violent action to assist in the now laborious office of breathing. The man wlio proceeds a single step after this, ought to suffer the punishment he is inflicting.* Let the rider instantly dismount. If he has a lancet and skill to use it, let him subtract five or six quarts of blood ; or, if he has no lancet, let him deeply cut the bars of the palate with a knife. The lungs will be thus relieved, and the horse may be able to crawl home. Then, or before, if possible, let some powerful cordial be admin- * We should almost rejoice if the abused quadrupe THE HOUSE. U5l trot thirty -four miles against another, and is dis- tressed, and dies in tlie following niglit — when two hackneys are matched against each other, from London to York, one hundred and ninety-six miles, and one of them i-uns one hundred and eiglity-two of these miles and dies, and the other accomplishes the dreadful feat in forty houi's and thirty-five minutes, being kept for more than half the dis- tance under the influence of wine — when two brutes in human shape match their hoi-ses, the one a tall and bony animal and the other a mere pony, against each other for a distance of sixty- two miles, and both are run to a complete stand- still, the one at thirty and the other at eighty yards from the winning point, and, both being still urged on, they drop down and die — when we peruse re- cords like these, we envy not the feelings of the owners, if indeed they are not debased below all feeling. We should not have felt satisfied in rid- ing an animal, that had done much and good ser- vice, seventy miles when he was thirty-sis years old ; nor can we sufficiently reprobate the man, who, in 1827, could ride a small gelding from Dublin to Nenagh, ninety-five miles, in company with the Limerick coach ; or that greater delin- quent who started with the Exeter mail, on a gal- Iowa}-, under fourteen hands high, and reached that city a quarter of an hour before the mail, being one hundred and sevent3'-two miles, and performed at the rate of I'ather more than seven miles an hour. The author saw this pony, a few months aftenvard, strained, ring-boned, and found- ' ered — a lamentable picture of the ingratitude of some human brutes towai'ds a ^^•illing and faithful sen-ant. THE FARMER'S HORSE. The Farmer's Horse is an animal of all work ; to be ridden occasionally to market or for pleasure, but to be principally employed for draught. He should be higher than the road-horse. About fif- teen hands and two inches may be taken as the best standard. A hoi'se with a shoulder thicker, lower, and less slanting than would be chosen in a hackney, will better suit the collar ; and collar-work will be chiefly required of him. A stout compact animal should be selected, yet not a heavy cloddy one. Some blood will be desirable ; but the half- bred horse will generally best suit the farmer's purpose. He should have weight enough to throw into the collar, and sufficient activity to get over the ground. Farmers are now beginning to be aware of the superiority of the moderately-sized, strong, active horse, over the bulkier and slower animal of former days. It is not only in harvest, and when a frosty morning must be seized to cart manure, that this is perceived, but in the every-day work of the farm the saving of time, and the saving of provender too, will be very considerable in the course of a year. Tt has often been said, that a horse used much for draught is neither pleasant nor safe for the saddle. The little farmer does not want a showy, complete hackney. He should be content if he is tolerably well carried ; and — if he has taken a little care in the choice of his horse — if he has selected one with sound feet, shoulders not too thick, and legs not too much under him ; and if he keeps him in good condition, and does not scandalously over- weight him, the five days' carting or harrow work will not, to any material degree, unfit him for the sad- dle ; especially if the rider bears in mind, what we have termed the golden rule of horsemanship, always a little to feel the mouth of the animal he is upon. A farmer, and more particularly a small farmer, will prefer a mare to a gelding, both for riding and driving. She will not cost him so much at first ; and he will get a great deal more work out of her. There can be no doubt, that taking bulk for bulk, a mare is stronger and more lasting than a gelding ; and, in addition to this, the farmer has her to breed from. This, and the profit which is attached to it, is well known in the breeding counties ; but why the breeding of horses for sale should be al- most exclusively confined to a few northern dis- tricts, it is not easy to explain. Wherever there are good horses, with convenience for rearing the colts, the farmer may start as a breeder with a fair chance of success. If he has a few useful cart-mares, and crosses them with a well-knit, half-bred horse, he will certainly have colts useful for evei-y purpose of agriculture, and some of them sufficiently light for the van, post-chaise, or coach. If he has a supe- rior mare, one of the old Cleveland breed, and puts her to a bony, three-fourths-bred horse, or, if he can find one stout and compact enough, a seven- eighths or a thorough-bred one, he will have a fair chance to rear a colt that will amply repay him as a hunter or carriage-horse. The mare needs not to be idle while she is breeding. She may be worked moderately almost to the period of her foaling, and with benefit rather than otherwise ; nor is there occasion that much of her time should be lost even while she is suck- ling. If she is put to horse in June, the foaling- time will fall, and the loss of labour occur, in the most leisure time of the year. There are two rocks on which the farmer often strikes — he pays little attention to the kind of mare, and less to the proper nourishment of the foal. It may be laid down as a maxim in breeding, how-ever general may be the prejudice against it, that the value of the foal depends as much on the dam as on the sire. The Arabs go farther than this, for no price will buy from them a likely mare of the highest blood; and they trace back the 252 THE HORSE. pedigree of their horses not through the sire, but the dam. The Greek sporting men held the same opinion, long before the Arab horse was known. " What chance of winning have I ?" inquired a youth whose horse was about to start on the Olj'm- pic course. "Ask the da7n of your horse," was the reply, founded on experience. '-!= The fiirmer, however, too frequently thinks that any mare will do to breed from. If he can find a great prancing stallion, with a high-sounding name, and loaded with fat, he reckons on having a valu- able colt ; and should he fail, he attributes the fault to the horse and not to bis own want of judg- ment. Far more depends on the mare than is dreamed of in his philosophy. If he has an undersized, or a blemished, or unsound mare, let him continue to use her on his farm. She probably did not cost him much, and she will beat any gelding ; but let him not think of breeding from her. A sound mare, with some blood in her, and with most of the good points, will alone answer his purpose. She may bear about her the marks of honest work (the fewer of these, however, the better), but she must not have any disease. There is scarcely a malady to which the horse is subject that is not hereditaiy. Con- tracted feet, curb, spavin, roaring, thick wind, blindness, notoriously descend from the sii'e or dam to the foal. Mr. Roberts, in " The Veterinarian," says : — " Last summer I was asked my opinion of a horse. I approved of his formation with the e.x- ception of the hocks, where there happened to be two curbs. I was then told his sister was in the same stable : she also had two curbs. Knowing the sire to be free from these defects, I inquired about the dam : she likewise had two confirmed curbs. She was at this time running with a foal of hers, two years old, by another horse, and he also had two curbs." The foal should be well taken care of for the first two yeare. It is bad policy to stint or half- starve the growing colt. The colt, whether intended for a hunter or carriage-horse, may be early handled, but should not be broken-in until three years old ; and then, the very best breaking-in for the carriage-horse is to make him earn a little of his living. Let him be put to harrow or light plough. Going over the rough ground will teach him to lift his feet well, and give him that high and showy action, excusable in a carriage-horse, but not in any other. In the * Bishop Hall, who wrote in the time of Jamca I., intimated that such was the opinion of horsemen at that period. He asks in one of his satires (Lib. iv.) " dost thou prize Thy hrute beasts' worth by their dams' qualities? Say'Sjt thou this colt shalt prove a swift,pac'd steed Onely because a Jennet did him breed ? Or say'.st thou this same horse shall win the prize. Because his dam was swiftest Tranchefice ?" succeeding winter he will be perfectly ready for the town or counti-y market. THE CAVALRY HORSE. This is the proper place to speak of the Cavalry Horse. That noble animal whose varieties we are describing, and who is so admirably adapted to contribute to our pleasure and our use, was, in the earliest period of which we have any account of him, devoted to the destructive purposes of war ; and the cavalry is, at the present day, an indispensable and a most effective branch of the service. The cavalry horses contain a different propor- tion of blood, according to the nature of the service required or the caprice of the commanding officer. Those of the household troops are from half to three- fourths bred. Some of the lighter regiments have more blood in them. Our cavaliy horses were formerly large and heavy. To their imposing size was added action as imposing. The horse was trained to a peculiar, and grand, yet beautiful method of going ; but he was often found deficient in real service, for this very action diminished his speed, and added to his labour and fatigue. A considerable change has taken place in the character of our troop horses. This necessarily followed from the change that has occurred in the thorough-bred horse. If he has lost much of his muscular form and actual power of endurance, a similar alteration will take place in the offspring ; lightness and activity will succeed to bulk and strength, and for skirmishing and sudden attack the change will be an improvement. It is particu- larly found to be so in long and rapid marches, which the lighter troops scarcely regard, while the heavier horses, with their more than comparative additional weight to carry, are knocked up. There is, however, danger of carrying this too far. It was proved that in the engagements previous to and at the battle of Waterloo, our heavy household troops alone were able to repulse the formidable charge of the French guard. There ai'e few things that more imperiously demand the attention of government. If from the habit of running short distances, and with light weights, there is a deterioration in the strength and stoutness of our thorough-bred horses, they will become eveiy year less and less fitted for getting stock sufficiently hardy and powerful to do credit to the courage and discipline of our cavali-y. The following anecdote of the memory and dis- cipline of the troop horse is related on good autho- rity. The Tyrolese, in one of their insurrections in 1809, took fifteen Bavarian horses, and mounted them with so many of their own men : but in a skirmish with a squadron of the same regiment, no sooner did these horses hear the trumpet and re- cognise the uniform of their old masters, than they THE HORSE. 253 set off at full gallop, and carried their riders, in spite of all their efforts, into the Bavarian ranks, where they were made prisoners. The wounds of a soldier are honourable. The old war-horse can sometimes exhibit his share of scars. One of tliera, twenty-seven years old, lately died at Staugleton Lodge, near Bedford, that had belonged to one of the regiments of lancers, and was in the battle of Waterloo, and the engagements of the two days that preceded it. No fewer than eight rausket-balls were discovered in him after his death, and the scars of several wounds by the sabre and the lance.* A horse died at Snowhill, near Gainsford, in 1753, that had been in General Carpenter's regi- ment at the battle of Sherriff-Muir, in 1715, being at that time seven years old. He was wounded by a bullet in bis neck in that engagement, and this bullet was extracted after his death.f THE CO.\CH-HORSE.t This animal in external appearance is as dif- ferent from what he was fifty years ago as it is possible to conceive. The clumsy-barrelled, cloddy- shouldered, round-legged, black family horee — neither a coach nor a dray-horse, but something between both — as fat as an ox — but, with all his pride and prancing when he first starts, not equal to more than six miles an hour, and knocking-up with one hard day's work, is no more seen ; and we have, instead of him, an animal as tall, deep- chested, rising in the withers, slanting in the shoulders, flat in the legs, with far more strength, and with treble the speed. There is a great a deal of deception, however, even in the best of these improved coach-horses. They prance it nobly through the streets, and they have more work in them than the old, clumsy, sluggish breed; but they have not the endurance that could be wished, and a pair of poor post-horses would, at the end of the second day, beat them hollow. The knee-action and high lifting of the feet m the carriage-horse is deemed an excellence, because it adds to the grandeur of his appearance ; but, as has already been stated, it is necessarily accompa- nied by much wear and tear of the legs and feet, and this is very soon apparent. The principal points in the coach-horse are, substance well-placed, a deep and well-proportioned body, bone under the knee, aud sound, open, tough feet. &^t,-A THE COACH-HOUSE. ''^^^ Cleveland Bay is the origin of the better 1 Yorkshire and Durham, with, perhaps, Lincolnshire kind of coach-hoz-se, and confined principally to on one side, and Northumberland on the other, but •Journal des Haras, 1836-7,p, 61. were called ichirlicoles, and were little better than litters or coles Twmieman s Magazine, Feb. 17o3. (cols) placed on wheels. We are told bv Master John Stowe, that, » neel carnages, bearing any resemblance to chariots, first " Richard II. be-ing threatened bv the rebels of Kent, rode from the came mto use in the reign of Richald II. about the year 1381; they Tower of London to the JVIiles'End, and with him his mother , t 254 THE HORSE. difficult to find pure in either county. The Cleve- land mare is crossed by a three-fourth or thorough- bred horse, of sufficient substance and height, and the produce is the coach-horse most in repute, with his arched crest and high action. From the tho- rough-bred of sufficient height, but not of so much substance, we obtain the four-in-hand and superior curricle horse. Professor Low, in bis superb work " Illustra- tions of the Breeds of the Domestic Animals of the British Islands," which should adorn the library of every sportsman and agriculturist, gives the fol- lowmg account of the Cleveland Bay : — " It is the progressive mixture of the blood of horses of higher breeding with those of the com- mon race, that has produced the variety of coach- horse usually termed tlie Cleveland Bay ; so called from its colour and the fertile district of that name in the North Riding of Yorkshire, on the banks of the Tees. About the middle of the last century this district became known for the breeding of a superior class or powerful horses, which, with the gi'adual disuse of the hea\7 old coach-horse, be- came in request for coaches, chariots, and similar . carriages. The breed, however, is not confined to Cleveland, but is cultivated through all the great breeding district of this part of England. It has been fonned by the progi'essive mixture of the blood of the race-horse with the original breeds of the countn'. To rear this class of horses, the same principles of breeding should be applied as to the rearing of the race-horse himself. A class of mares, as well as stallions, should also be used having the properties sought for. The district of Cleveland owes its superiority in the production of this beau- tiful race of horses to the possession of a definite because she was sick and weak, in a whirlicote ;"' and this is de- scribed as an ugiy vehirle of four boards put together in a clumsy manner. In the following year he married Anne of Luxembourg, who in- troduced the riding upon side-saddles: and so ""was the riding in those whirlicotes forsaken, except at coronations and such like spectacles." Coaches were not used until the time of Elizabeth, when we are told {Stowe's Survey of London and Westminster, book i.) "divers great ladies made them coaches, and rode in them up and down the countries, to the great admiration of all the beholdei-s." The fashion soon spread ; and be adds, what is often too tnie in the present day, "the world rans on wheels with many whose parents were glad to go on foot." These coaches were heavy and unwieldy, and probably bore some rough resemblance to the slate-coaches now used occasion- ally in court processions. The rate of travelling was as slow as the clumsiness of the horses and vehicle would naturally indicate. King George IL died early on Saturday morning, Oct. 21, 1760: Ihe Duke of De- vonshire, who was lord chamberlain, arrived in town from Chats- worth in three days : but a fourth and a fifth day passing over, and the lord steward, the Duke of Rutland, not making his appearance, ■ although he had not so fiu- to travel by more than thirty miles. Mr. Speaker Onslow made this apology for him, that "the Duke of Devonshire travelled at a prodigious rate, not less than fifty miles a day' I" To travel in the stage-coach from London to Epsom, sixteen miles, then took nearly the whole day, and the passengers dined on the road. The coach from Edinburgh to London started once a breed, formed not by accidentfJ mixture but by continued cultivation. " Although the Cleveland Bay appears to unite the blood of the hner with that of the larger horses of the country, to combine action with strength, yet many have sought a farther infusion of blood neai'er to the race-horse. They are accordingly crossed by hunters or thorough-bred horses, and thus another variety of coach-horse is produced, of lighter form and higher breeding ; and many of the superior Cleveland curricle and four-in-hand horses are now neariy thorough-bred. The bay colour is in the most general estimation, but the grey are not unfrequently used."''= From less height and more substance we have the hunter and better sort of hackney ; and, from the half-bred, we derive the machiner, the poster, and the common carriage horse : indeed, Cleve- land, and the Vale of Pickering, in the East Riding of- Yorkshire, may be considered as the most de- cided bi-eeding countries in England for coach- horses, hunters, and hackneys. The coach-horse is nothing more than a tall, strong, over-sized hunter. The hackney has many of the qualities of the hunter on a small scale. Whether we are carrying supposed improve- ment too far, and sacrificing strength and useful- ness to speed, is a question not difficult to resolve. The rage for rapid travelling was introduced by the improvement in the speed of the racer, and for a while became the bane of the postmaster, the destruction of the horse, and a disgrace to the English character. The stages were then twelve, sixteen, or even twenty miles ; the horses stout and tine, but formed for, and habituated to, a much slower pace ; and month, and occupied sixteen or eighteen days on the journey. A person may now leave Edinburgh on Saturday evening, have two spare days in London, and be back a^ain at the Scotch metropolis to breakfast on the nest Saturday. Including short stages, one thousand four hundred coaches a little while ago set out horn Lon- don every day, the expense of each of which, with four horses, could not be less than two shillings and sixpence per mile. Hackney-coaches first appeared in London in 1625, the first year of the r. ign of t:hai'les I. Sedan-chairs had been introduced by the Duke of Buckingham six years before. Among the numerous benefits arising from the 5er^^ces of the horse, and the improvement of public roads and carriages, is the speedy and regular correspondence by post. The invention of this useful establishment is ascribed to Cyrus the Great. It was adopted by the Greeks and Romans. It was introduced into France by Louis XI. in 1462, and we first read of it in English history about the year 1550, under Edwaid VI., when post-houses were estab- li.sheil, and horses provided at the rate of one penny jier mile. Under Elizabeth a post-master was nominated by government, and under Charles I., in 1634, the system assumed its present form. The charge of postage was then fixed at twopence if under eighty miles ; fourpence between eighty and one hundred and forty ; and six- pence if under two hundred and forty miles : but this charge rapidly increased with the increasing price of horses, and the other expenses of conveyance, and afterwards it was further raised by taxation like almost everything else. It is non diminished, with great public advantage, to a general rate of one penny. The recent introduction of railroads will efiect much change in tlie use of the carriage and road hoi"se. ♦ Low's Illustrations, p. 41. THE HORSE. 255 the iucrease ef tis'o, and even four, miles an hour, rendered every stage a scene of continuous bar- barity, and speedily thinned the stables of the post and stage master. The post-horse has not to the present moment altogetiier escaped from the system of barbarity to which he was subjected. He is not expressly bred for his work — that work is iiTegii- gular — the pace is iiregular — the feeding and the time of rest uncertain — and the horse himself, destined to be the victim of all these means of annoyance and suffering and impairment of natu- ral power, is not always or often either speedy or stout. The coachmaster, on a large scale, has, however, learned, and, generally speaking, follows up a system at once conducing to his own profit, and the health and comfort and prolonged labour of his horse. He bu3's a good horee, '• one that has," in the language of the highest authority in these matters, " action, sound feet and legs, power and breeding equal to the nature and length of the ground he will have to work upon, and good wind, without which no other qualification will long avail in fast work."-f He feeds him well — he works him but little more than one hour out of the four- and-twenty — he rests him one day out of every five — he has eventhiug comfortable about him in his stable — and by these means, that which was once a life of torture is one of comparative, or even positive, enjoyment. This is now the case in large and well-conducted concerns, and where the eye of the master or the confidential manager overlooks and directs all. In other establishments, and in too many of them, there is yet much animal suffering. The public has to a ven,- considerable extent the power to distinguish between the two, and to uphold the cause of humanity. Reference has been made to the dreadful opera- tions which the new system of horse management has introduced. The cauteiy lesions are more nu- merous and severe than they used to be, in tco many of our establisliments. The injuries of the feet and legs are severe in proportion to the in- creased pace and labour, for where the animal ma- chine is urged beyond its power, and the torture continues until the limb or the whole constitution utterly fails, the lesions must be deep, and the torture must be dreadful, by means of which the poor slave is rendered capable of returning to re- newed exertion. There is no truth so easily proved, or so pain- fully felt by the postmaster, at least in his pocket, as that it is the pace that kills. A horee at a dead pull, or at the beginning of his exertion, is enabled, by the force of his muscles, to throw a certain weight into the collar. If he walks four miles in the hour, some part of that muscular energy must be expended in the act of walking; and, conse- • Xtmrod on the Chase, the RoaH, and the Turf, p. 98. quently, the power of drawing must be proportion- ably diminished. If he trot ten miles in the hour, more animal power is expended in the trot, and less remains for the draught ; but the draught continues the same, and, to enable him to accom- plish his work, he must tax his energies to a serious degree. Skilful breeding, and high health, and stimulating food, and a verj' limited time of work, tan alone enable him to endure the labour long, on the supposition that the system which has just been described is resorted to. But the coach pro- prietor is not always sufficiently enlightened, or good-hearted, to see on which side his interest lies; and then the work is accomplished by the over- strained exertion — the injury — the torture — the destruction of the team. That which is true of the coach-horse is equally so of ever)' other. Let the reader apply it to his own animal, and act as hu- manity and interest dictate. Many a horse used on the public roads is un- able to throw all his natural power or weight into the collar. He is tender-footed — lame ; but he is bought at little price, and he is worked on the bmtal and abominable principle, that he may be " whipped sound." And so, apparently, he is. At first he sadly halts ; but, urged by the tortm^e of the lash, he acquires a peculiar habit of going. The faulty limb appears to keep pace with the others, but no stress or labour is thrown upon it, and he gradually contrives to make the sound limbs perform among them all the duties of the unsound one ; and thus he is barbarously " whipped sound," and cruelty is imdesen-edly rewarded. After all, however, what has been done ? Three legs are made to do that which was almost too hard a task for four. Then they must be most injuriously strained, and soon worn out, and the general power of the animal must be rapidly exhausted, and, at no great distance of time, dis- ease and death release him from his mercOess persecutors. It is said, that between Glasgow and Edin- burgh, a carrier in a single horse cart, weighing about seven himdredweight, will take a load of a ton, and at the rate of twenty-two miles in a day. The Normandy carriers travel with a team of four horses, and from fourteen to twenty-two miles in a day, vrith a load of ninety hundredweight. An unparalleled instance of the power of a horse when assisted by art, was shown near Croy- don. The SuiTey iron railway being completed, a wager was laid between two gentlemen, that a moderate-sized horse could draw thirty-six tons six miles along the road — that he should draw the weight from a dead pull, as well as turn it round the occasional windings of the road. A numerous party of gentlemen assembled near Merstham to see this extraordinaiy triumph of art. Twelve waggons laden with stones, each waggon weighing S56 THE HORSE. - above three tons, were chained together, and a horse, taken promiscuously from the timber carts of Mr. Hai-wood, was yoked to the train. He started from the Fox public-house, near Mers- tliam, and drew the immense chain of waggons, with apparent ease, almost to the turnpike at Croydon, a distance of six miles, in one hour and forty one minutes, which is nearly at the rate of four miles an houi'. In the course of the jom-ney he was stopped four times, to show that it was not by any advantage of descent that this power was acquired ; and after each stoppage he again drew off the chain of waggons with perfect ease. Mr. Banks, who had wagered on the power of the horse, then desired that four other loaded waggons should be added to the cavalcade, with which the same horse again started and with undiminished pace. Still further to show the effect of the rail- way in facilitating motion, he directed the attend- ing workmen, to the number of fifty, to mount on the waggons, and the horse proceeded without the least distress ; and, in truth, there appeared to be scarcely any limitation to the power of his draught: After the trial the waggons were taken to the weighing-machine, and it appeared that the whole weight was as follows : — TON. CWT. QR. Twelve Waggons first linked together .... 38 4 2 Four Ditto, afterwards attached 13 2 0 Supposed weight of fifty labourers 4 0 0 HEAVY DRAUGHT HORSES. The Cleveland horses have been known to carry more than seven hundred pounds sixty miles in twenty-four hours, and to perform this journey fom- times in a week ; and mill-horses have car- ried nine hundred and ten pounds two or three miles. Horses for slower draught, and sometimes even for the carriage, are produced from the Suffolk Punch, so called on account of his round punchy foi-m. He is descended from the Norman stallion and the Suffolk cart mare. The true Suffolk, like THE SnFFOt.K PUNCH. the Cleveland, is now nearly extinct. It stood from fifteen to sixteen hands high, of a sorrel co- lour ; was liirge headed ; low shouldered, and thick on the withers ; deep and round chested ; long backed ; high in the croup ; large and strong in the quarters ; full in the flanks : round in the legs ; and short in the pasterns. It was the very horse to throw his whole weight into the collar, with sufficient activity to do it effectually and hardihood to stand a long day's work. The present breed possesses many of the pe cuharities and good qualities of its ancestors It is more or less inclined to a sorrel colour; it is a taller horse ; higher and finer in the shoulders ; and is a cross with the Yorkshire half or three fourths bred. The excellence, and a rare one, of the old Suffolk — the new breed has not quite lost it — con- sisted in nimbleness of action, and the honesty and continuance with which he would exert him- self at a dead pull. Many a good draught-horse knows well what he can effect ; and, after he has THE HORSE. il5r ■attempted it and failed, no torture of the whip will induce him to strain his powers beyond their natural extent. The Suffolk, however, would tug at a dead pvdl until he dro]i]ipd. It was beautiful to see a team of tnie Sutiolks, at a signal from the driver, and without the whip, down on their knees in a moment, and drag everj'thing before them. Brutal wagers were frequentl}' laid as to their power in this respect, and many a good team ■was injured and ruined. The immense power of the Suffolk is accounted for by the low position of the shoulder, which enables liim to throw so much of his weight into the collar. Although the Punch is not what he was, and the Suffolk and Norfolk farmer can no longer boast of ploughing more land in a day than any one else, this is undoubtedly a valuable breed. The Duke of Richmond obtained many excel- lent carriage horses, with strength, acti\'it3% and figure, by crossing the Suffolk with one of his best hunters. The Suffolk breed is in great request in the neighbouring counties of Norfolk and Essex. Mr. Wakefield, of Bamham, in Essex, had a stallion for which he was offered four hundred guineas. The Clydesdale is a good kind of draught horse, and particularly for farming business and in a hilly country. It derives its name from the dis- trict on the Clyde, in Scotland, where it is princi- pally bred. The Clydesdale horse owes its origin to one of the Dukes of Hamilton, who crossed some of the best Lanark mares with stallions that he had brought from Flanders. The Clydesdale is larger than the Suffolk, and has a better head, a longer neck, a lighter carcase, and deeper legs ; he is strong, hardy, pulling true, and rarely restive. The southern parts of Scotland are principally supplied from this district ; and many Clydes- dales, not only for agricultural pui-poses but for the coach and the saddle, find their way to the central and even southern counties of England. Dealers from almost every part of the United Kingdom attend the mai'kets of Glasgow and Euth- ergleu. Mr. Low says, that " the Clydesdale horse, as it is now bred, is usually sixteen hands high. The prevailing colour is black, but the brown or bay is common, and is coutinuall}- gaining upon the other, and the grey is not unfrequently pi'oduced. They are longer in the body than the English black horse, and less weighty, compact, and muscular ; but they step out more freely, and have a more useful action for ordinary labour. They draw stea- dily, and are usually free from vice. The long stride, chai'acteristic of the breed, is partly the re- sult of conformation, and partly of habit and train- ing ; but, however produced, it adds greatly to the usefulness of the horse, both on the road and in the fields. No such loads are known to be drawn. at the same pace, by any horses in the kingdom, as in the single-horse carts of carriers and others in the west of Scotland."* In the opinion of this gentleman, " the Clydes- dale horses, although inferior in weight and phy- sical strength to the black horse, and in figure and showy action to the better class of the draught horses of Northumberland and Durham, )'«t pos- sess properties which render them exceedingly valuable for all ordinary uses. On the road they perform tasks that can scarcely be surpassed, and in the fields they are found steady, docile, and safe."t The Heavy Black Horse is the last variety it may be necessaiy to notice. It is bred chiefly in the midland counties, from Lincolnshire to Staf- fordshire. Many are bought up by the Surrey and Berkshire fanners at two years old ; and, being worked moderately until they are four, earning their keep all the while, they are then sent to the London market, and sold at a profit of ten or twelve per cent. It would not answer the hreeder's purpose to keep them until they are fit for town work. He has plenty of fillies and mares on his farm for eveiy purpose that he can require ; he therefore sells them to a person nearer the metropolis, by whom they are gradually trained and prepared. The tra- veller has probably wondered to see four of these enormous animals in a line before a plough,, on no very heavy soil, and where two lighter horses would have been quite sufficient. The fanner is training them for their future destiny ; and he does right in not requiring the exertion of all their strength ; for their bones are not yet perfectly formed, nor their joints knit, and were he to urge them too severely, he would probably injure and deform them. By the gentle and constant exercise of the plough, he is preparing them for that continued and equable pull at the collar which is aften\ards so necessaiy. These horses are adapted more for parade and show, and to gratify the desire which one brewer has to outvie his neighbour, than for anj peculiar utility. They are certainly noble-looking animals, with their round fat cai'cases, and their sleek coats, and the evident pride wliich they take in themselves ; but they eat a great deal of hay and corn, and, at hard and long-continued work, they would be completely beaten by a team of active muscular horses an inch and a half lower. The onlj' plea which can be m-ged in their fa- vour, beside their noble appeai-ance, is, that as shaft-horses, over the badly-paved streets of the metropolis, and with the immense loads they often have behind them, great bulk and weight are ne- ■cessaiy to stand the unavoidable battering and shaking. Weight must be opposed to weight, or the horse would sometimes he quite tlu'owu off his * Low's lUustraUons, p. 45. + lb., p. 46. 258 THE HOKSE. Ieg3. A large heavy horse must be in the shafts, and then little ones before him would not look well. Certainly no one has walked the streets of London without pitying the poor thill-horse, jolted from side to side, and exposed to many a bruise, unless, with admirable cleverness, he accomodates himself to every motion ; but, at the same time, it must be evident, that bulk and fat do not always constitute strength, and that a compact muscular horse, approaching to sixteen hands high, would acquit himself far better in such a situation. The dray-horse, in the mere act of ascending from the wharf, may display a powerful effort ; but he after- wards makes little exertion, much of his force being expended in transporting his own overgrown carcase. THE HEATT BLA.CK HORSE. This horse Was selected from the noble stock of dray-horsea belonging to Messrs. Barclay, Perkins, and Co., Loudon, by the author's friend, Mr. E. Braby. While he is a fine specimen of this breed, he affords a singular illustration of the mode of breeding often practised with respect to these horses and the education which they undergo. He was bred in Leicestershire ; his grandsire was a Flan- ders-bred horse, and his grand-dam a Wiltshire mare ; his sire Avas a Wiltshire horse, and his dam a Berkshire mare. At two and a half years old he was sold to a farmer and dealer in Berkshire, on whose grounds he was worked until he was four and a half years old. He was then sold at Abing- don fair to the dealer from whom Messrs. Barclay purchased him. These heavy horses, however, are bred in the highest perfection, as to size, in the fens of Lin- colnshire, and few cif them are less than seventeen hands high at two and a half years old. Neither the soil, nor the produce of the soil, is better than in other counties ; on the contraiy, much of the lower part of Lincolnshire is a cold, hungiy clay. The true explanation of the matter is, that there are certain situations better suited than others to different kinds of farming, and the breeding of different animals ; and that not altogether depend- ing on richness of soil or pasture. The principal art of the farmer is, to find out what will best suit his soil, and make the produce of it most valuable. The Lincolnshire colts are also sold to the Wiltshire and Berkshire dealers, as are those that are bred in Warwickshire and Berkshire, at two years, or sometimes onlj' one year old, and worked until the age of four or five years. A dray-horse should have a broad breast, and thick and upright shoulders (the more upright the collar stands on him the better), a low fore- hand, deep and round bai'rel, loins broad and high, ample quarters, thick fore-arms and thighs, short legs, round hoofs broad at the heels, and soles not too flat. The great fault of the large dray-horse is his slo\Tness. This is so much in the breed, that even the discipline of the ploughman, who would. THE HORSE. S59 be better pleased to get through an additional rood in the day, cannot ])ennanently quicken him. Surely the breeder might obviate this. Let a dray-mare be selected, as perfect as can be ob- tained. Let her be put to the strongest, largest, most compact, thorough-lired horse. If the pro- duce is a filly, let her be covered by a superior dray-horse, and the result of this cross, if a colt, will be precisely the animal requu'ed to breed from. The largest of this heavj' breed of black horses are used as dray-horses. The next in size are sold as waggon-horses ; and a smaller variety, and ^ith more blood, constitutes a considerable part of our cavalry, and is likewise devoted to undertakers' work.* All our heavy draught horses, and some even of the lighter kind, have been lately much crossed by the Flauders breed, and with evident improve- ment. Little has been lost in depth and bulk of carcase: but the forehand has been raised, the legs have been flattened and deepened, and very much has been gained in activity. The slow heavy black, with his two miles and a half an hour, has been changed into a lighter, but yet ex- ceedingly powerful horse, that will step four miles in the same time, with perfect ease, and has con- siderably more endurance. This is the very system, as ah-eady described, wliich has been adopted, and with so much success, in the blood-liorse, and has made the English racer and hunter, and the English horse generally, what they are. As the racer is principally or purely of Eastern origin, so has the English draught horse spmng chiefly from Flemish blood, and to that blood the agriculturist has recourse for the perfection of the breed. For the dray, the spirit-waggon, and nut too heavy loads, and for road work generally, a cross witli the Flanders will be advantageous ; but if the enormous heavv horse must be used in the coal-waggon, or the dray, we must leave our midland black, vaih all his unwieldy bulk untouched. As an ordinaiy beast of lighter draught, and particularly in the neighbourhood of London, the wom-out hackney and the refuse of tbe coach, and even of the hackney-coach, is used. In the hay-markets of Whitechapel and Camden To-mi are continually seen -m-etched teams, that would disgrace the poorest district of the poorest coun- • Mr. Bell, in his "History of British Quadrapeds," very truly observes, that " the docility of this breed is as complete, although not perhaps so showy, as that of the lighter and njore active kinds; and few persons can have long walked Ihe streets of the metropolis, without witnessing the complete control which the draymen exercise over their gigantic horses. 1 have often watched the facility with which one of them will back a waggcm into a narrow street or archway, hut a few ini;hes wider than the vehicle itself, and guided only by the voice of the caiman, aided perhaps by a few slight movements of his hand." try. The small farmer in the vicinity of the metropolis, himself strangely inferior to the small farmer elsewhere, has too easy access to I hat sink of cruelty, Smithtield. They who are unacquainted with this part of the country, would scarcely think it possible, that on the forests and commons wiih- in a few miles of London, as many ragged, wild, mongrel horses are to be found, as in any district of the United Kingdom, and a good "hoi-se is scarcely by any chance bred there. GALLOWAYS AND PONIES. A horse between thirteen and fourteen hands in height is called a Galloway, from a beautiful breed of little horses once found in the South of Scotland, on the shore of the Solway Firth, but now sadly degenerated, and almost lost, through the attempts of the farmer to obtain a larger kind, and better adapted for the purposes of agiicul- ture. There is a tradition in that country', that the breed is of Spanish extraction, some horses having escaped from one of the vessels of the Grand Armada, that was wrecked on the neioh- bouring coast. This district, however, so earlv as the time of Edward L, supplied that monarch with a great number of horses. The pure galloway was said to be nearly four- teen hands high, and sometimes more : of a'bricrht bay, or brown, with black legs, small liead and neck, and peculiarly deep and clean legs. Its quali- ties were speed, stoutness, and sure-footedness over a very rugged and mountainous country. Some remains of the old galloways are stUl to be met with in the Isle of Mull ; but they are al- together neglected, and fast degenerating from admixture with inferior breeds. Dr. Anderson thus describes the galloway : . " There was once a breed of small elegant horses in Scotland, similar to those of Iceland and Sweden, and which were known by the name of galloways ; the best of which sometimes reached the height of fourteen hands and a half One of this description I possessed, it having been bought for my use when a boy. In point of elegance" of shape it was a perfect picture ; and in disposition was gentle and compliant. It moved almost with a wish, and never tired. I rode this little crea- ture for twenty-fiTe years, and twice in that time I rode a hundred and fifty miles at a stretch, with- out stopping, except to bait, and that not for above an hour at a time. It came in at the last stage with as much ease and alacrity as it travelled the first. I could have undertaken to have performed on this beast, when it was in its prime, sixty miles a day for a twelvemonth, running without any e.x- traordinaiy exertion." In 1754, Mr. Corkers galloway went one hundred miles a day, for three successive days, 260 THE HOESE. over' the Newmarket course, and -without the slightest distress. A galloway, belonging to Mr. Sinclair, of Kirby-Lonsdale, performed at Carlisle the extra- ordinary feat of a thousand miles in a thousand hours. Many of the galloways now in use are pro- cured either from Wales or the New Forest; but they have materially diminished in number. Old Marsk, before his value was known, contri- buted to the improvement of the Hampshire breed ; and the Welch ponies are said to be in- debted to the celebrated Merlin for much of their form and qualities. The modern New-foresters, notwithstanding their Marsk blood, are generally ill-made, large- headed, short-necked, and ragged-hipped; but hardy, safe, and useful, with much of their ancient spirit and speed, and all their old paces. The catching of these ponies is as great a ti-ial of skill as the hunting of the wild horse on the Pampas of South America, and a greater one of patience. The Welsh pony is one of the most beautiful little animals that can be imagined. He has a small head, high withers, deep yet round barrel, short joints, flat legs, and good round feet. He will live on any fare, and will never tire.* A great many ponies of little value used to be reared on the Wildmoor fens, in the neighbour- hood of Boston, in Lincolnshire. They seldom reached thirteen hands ; the head was large and the forehand low, the back straight, the leg flat and good; but the foot, even for a Lincolnshire pony, unnaturally large. They were applied to very inferior purposes even on the fens, and were unequal to hard and flinty and billy roads. The * Pony-hiinting used to be one of the favourite amusements of the Welsh farmers and peasantry, acentury and a half ago, and it has not, even now, fallen altogether into disuse. The following story of one of these expeditions is founded on fact : — " A farmer named Hugo Garonwy, lived in the neighbourhood of Llweyn Georie. Although he handled the small tilt plough, and other farming tools in their due season, yet the catching of the merlyn, the fox, and the hare, were more congenial pjusuits; and the tumbles an I thumps which he received, and from which no pony-hunter was exempt, served but to attach him to the sport. Rugged, however, as the Merioneddshire coast and its environs were, and .ibounding with precipices and morasses, he sometimes experienced worse mishaps — and so it happened with Garonwy. " He set out one morning with his lasso coiled round his waist, and attended by two hardy dependants and their greyhounds. The lasso was then familiar to the Welshman, and as adroitly managed by him as by any guaco on the plains of South America. As the hunters climbed the mountain's brow, the distant herd of ponies took alarm — sometimes galloping onwards, and then sud- denly halting and wheeling round, snorting as if in defiance of the intruders, and furiously pawing the ground. Garonwy, with the assistance of his servants and the greyhounds, contrived to c :op them up in a corner of the hills, where peipendicular rocks prevented their escape. . "Already had he captured three of the most beautiful little fellows in the world, which hees|)ected to sell for 4/. or 61. each at the next Bala fair — to him a considerable sum, and amounting to a fourth of the annual rent which he paid for his sheep-walk. There remained, however, one most untameable cre.-iture, whose crested mane, and flowing tail, and wild eye, and distended nostril, breed became generally neglected, and, at no very distant time, will be almost extinct. The Exmoor ponies, although generally ugly enough, are hardy and useful. A well-known sportsman says, that he rode one of them half-a- dozen miles, and never felt such power and action in so small a compass before. To show his ac- complishments, he was turned over a gate at least eight inches higher than his back ; and his owner, who rides fourteen stone, travelled on him from Bristol to South Molton, eighty-six miles, beating the coach which runs the same road. The horses which are still used in Devonshire, and particularly in the western and southern dis- tricts, under the denomination of Pack-horses, are a larger variety of the Exmoor or Dartmoor breed. The saddle-horses of Devonshire are mostly pro- cured from the more eastern counties. There are still some farms in the secluded districts in that beautiful part of the kingdom on which there is not a pair of wheels. Hay, com, straw, fuel, stones, dung, lime, are carried on horseback ; and in harvest, sledges drawn by oxen and horses are employed. This was probably, in early times, the mode of conveyance throughout the kingdom ; but it is now rapidly getting into disuse even in Devonshire. There is on Dartmoor a race of ponies much in request in that vicinity, being sure-footed and hardy, and admirably calculated to scramble over the rough roads and dreary wilds of that moun- tainous district. The Dartmoor pony is lai'ger than the Exmoor, and, if possible, uglier. He exists there almost in a state of nature. The late Captain Colgrave, governor of the prison, had a great desire to possess one of them of somewhat superior figure to its fellows ; and, having several showed that he was a perfect Bucephalus of the hills; nor, indeed was it safe to attack him in the ordinary way. Many of the three-year-olds had been known to break the legs of their pursuers, and some had been dismounted and trampled to death. " Garonwy was determined to give the noble fellow a chase over the hills, and so overcome him by fatigue before the lasso was flung. The dogs were unslipped, and off they went, swift as the winds, Garonwy following, and the two assistants posted on a neighbouring eminence. Vain was the effort to tire the merlyn. Hugo, naturally impatient, and without wailing to ascertain that the coils were all clear, flung the lasso over the head of the wild horse. The extremity of the cord was twisted round his own body, and tiglitening as the animal struggled, the compression be- came unsuppoitable, and, at length, in spite of every effort to dis- engage himself, Garonwy was dragged from his horse. " The affrighted merlyn finding himself manacled by the rope, darted off with all the speed of which he was capable, dragging poor Garonwy over the rocky ground and stunted brushwood. This occurred at some distance from the men. They called in their dogs that the speed of the merlyn might not be increased, but ere tliey could lurive at the spot at which the accident hap- pened, the horse and the man had vanished. Whether the suffer- ings of the hunter were protracted, or he was dashed against some friendly rock at the commencement of this horrible race, was never known ; but the wild animal, frenzied and blinded by terror, rushed over a beetling cliff, at a considerable distance, overhang- ing the sea-shore, and the hunter and the horse were found at the bottom, a mis-shapen semblance of what they had been when living." — Cambrian Quarlerly Magazine. THE HORSE. 201 men to assist hiiA, they separated it from the herd. They drove it on some rocks by the side of a tor (an abrupt pointed hill). A man followed on horsebai-k, while the captain stood below watch- ing the chase. The little animal being driven into a corner, leaped completely over the man and horse, and escaped. The Hiijhland pony is far inferior to the gal- loway. The head is large ; he is low before, long in the back, short in the legs, upright in the pas- terns, rather slow in his paces, and not pleasant to ride, except in the canter. His habits make him hardy ; for he is rarely housed in the summer or the winter. The Rev. Mr. Hall, in his " Travels in Scotland," says, " that when these animals come to any boggy piece of ground, they first put their nose to it, and then pat on it in a peculiar way with one of their fore-feet; and from the sound and feel of the ground, they know whetlier it will bear them. They do the same with ice, and determine in a minute whether they will proceed." The Shetland jmny, called in Scotland aheltie, an inhabitant of the extremest northern Scottish Isles, is a very diminutive animal — sometimes not more than seven hands and a half in height, and rarely exceeding nine and a half. THE SHETLAND PONY. He is often exceedingly beautiful, with a small head, good-tempered countenance, a short neck, tine towards the throttle, shoulders low and thick — in so little a creature far from being a blemish — back short, quarters expanded and powerful, legs flat and fine, and pretty round feet. These ponies possess immense strength for their size; will fatten upon almost anything ; and are per- fectly docile. One of them, nine hands (or three feet) in height, carried a man of twelve stone forty miles in one day. A friend of the author was, not long ago, pre- sented with one of these elegant little animals. He was several miles from home, and puzzled how to con- vey his newly-acquired property. The Sbetlander ■was scarcely more than seven hands high, and as docile as he was heautiful. " Can we not carry him in your chaise ?" said his friend. The strange experiment was tried. The sheltie was placed in the bottom of the gig, and covered up as well as could be managed with the apron ; a few bits of bread kept him quiet ; and thus he was safely conveyed away, and exhibited the curious spec- tacle of a horse riding in a gig. In the southern parts of the kingdom the Shet- landers have a very pleasing appearance harnessed to a light garden-chair, or carrying an almost baby- rider. There are several of them now running in Windsor Park. T;iE IRISH HORSE. In some of the rich grazing counties, as Meath and Roscommon, a large, long bloocVhorse is reared, of considerable v.ioii we were obliged to fuUoiv the old custom of riding over precipices that would not appear contemptible evetl to a man that enjoyed the use of his legs. It seems that my horse, though fifteen or sixteen years old, had never before felt a bridle in his mouth. He had, hi merous. They include man, quadrupeds of all kinds, birds, fishes, and many reptiles. We natu- rally look for some subdivision, and a very simple line of distinction is soon presented. Certain of these vertebrated animals have mammce or teats, with which the females suckle their young. • The human female has two, the mare has two, the cow four, the bitch ten or twelve, and the sow more than twelve. This class of vertebrated animals having mammae or teats is called mammalia; and the horse belongs to the division vertebrata,^ and the class mammalia. The class mammalia is still exceedingly large, and we must again subdivide it. It is stated (Library of Entertaining Knowledge, vol. i. p. 13), that " this class of quadrupeds, or mammiferous quadrupeds, admits of a division into two Tribes. " I. Those whose extremities are divided into fingers or toes, scientifically called unguiculata, from the Latin word for nail; and II. Those whose extremities are hoofed, scientifically called ungidata, from the Latin word for Iwof. borne it good-naturedly and well; hut we were now come to adiffi- cult part of the road, even the top of a very rugged precipice. He was evidently irighlened ; and after many attempts to shake oif his fear, he refused to proceed another step. Tlie re:isoning process in bis mnid « as evidetil enough, and o'len amused me afler« ards : — ' You may have your whim when you cannot do either yon or my- self much harm, but I do not ihoi>se to ri>k my neck for yon rprlbr any one.' The bridle was taken oil', he selected his own path, and the rider was caiTied over an exceedingly dangerous heap of rocks, with a degree of caution which Mr. Pinkerton could not help ad- miring in the midst of his teiTor." J THE HORSE. 203 " The extremities ,of the first are armed with claws or nails, wliich enable them to grasp, to climb, or to burrow. The extremities of the second tribe are employed merely to support and move the body." The extremities of the horse are covered with a hoof by which the body is supported, and with which he cannot grasp anything, and therefore he belongs to the tribe ungulata or hoofed. But there is a great variety of hoofed animals. The elephant, the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, the swine, the horse, the sheep, the deer, and many others, are tingulated or hoofed; tliey admit, how- ever, of an easy division. Some of them masticate or chew their food, and it is immediately received into the stomach and digested ; but in others the food, previous to digestion, undergoes a very singu- lar process. It is returned to the mouth to be re- masticated, or chewed again. These are called ruminantia, or ruminants, from the food being returned from one of the stomachs (for they have four), called the rumen or paunch, for the purpose of remastication. The ungulata that do not ruminate are, some- what improperly, called pac.hydermata, from the thicliness of their skins. The horse does not ru- minate, and therefore belongs to the order pachy- dermata. The pachydermata, who have only one toe, belong to the family solipeda — singlefooted. Therefore the horse ranks under the division vertebrata — the class mammalia — the tribe un- gulata— the order pachydermata — and the family solipeda. The solipeda consist of several species, as the horse, the ass, the mule, and the quagga. First stands the Equus Caballus, or Common Horse. Animals are likewise distinguished according to the number, description, and situation of their teeth. The horse has six incisors or cutting teeth in the front of each jaw; and one canine tooth or tusk. On each side, above and below — at some dis- tance from the incisors, and behind the canines, and with some intervening space — are six molar teeth or grinders ; and these molar teeth have flat crowns, with ridges of enamel, and that enamel penetrating into the substance of the tooth. The whole is thus represented by natural historians : — ■ Horse.- -Incisors -, canines — 6 1- -1 , 6—6 — , molar - — -. -1 6—6 Total, forty teeth. To this short chapter we may properly append THE SKELETON OF THE HORSE. s 2 264 THE HORSE. A The Head. a The posteriw maxillary or under jaw. b The superior maxillary or upper jaw. A little lower down than the letter is a foramen, through which pass the nenee and blood-vessels which chiefly supply the lower part of the face, c The orbit, or cavity containing the eye. d The nasal bones, or bones of the nose. e The suture dividing the pariettil boues below from the occipital bones above. / The interior maxillary bone, containing the upper incisor teeth. B The Seven Cervical Vertebrae, or bones of the neck. C The Eighteen Dorsal Vertebrae, or bones of the back. D The Six Lumbar Vertebree, or bones of ihe loins. E The Five Sacral VeitebrEE, or bones of the hauuch. F The Cdudal Vertebrge, or bones of the tail, generally about fiftien, G Tlic Scapula, or shoulder-blade. H The Sternum, or fore-part of the chest. I The Costop or i-jhs, seven or eight ai'ticulating with the sternum, and called the true ribs, and ten or eleven united together by cartilage, called the/u/«c ribs. 3 The Humerus, or upper bone of the arm. K The Jladjus, or upper hope of the arm. L The Uhia, or elbow. The point of the elbow is called the Olecranon. M The Carpus or knee, consisting of seven bones. N The metacar])al bones. The larger metacarpal or cannon or shank in front, and the smaller matacarpal or spleut bone behind, g The fore pastern and foot, consisting of the Os Suffraginis, or the upper and larger pastern bone, with the sesamoid bones behind, articulating with the cannon and greater pastern ; the Os Coronee, or lesser pastern ; the Os Pedis or coflin bone; and the Os Na^iculare, or navicular, or shuttle-bone, not seen, and articulating with the smaller pastern and coffin bones. h Tlie corresponding bones of the hind-feet. 0 The Haunch, consisting of three portions^ the lUum, the Ischium, and the Pubis. P The Femur or thigh Q The stifle joint with the Patella. R The Tibia or proper leg bone — behind is a snjall bone called the fibula. S The Tarsus or hock, composed of six bones. The prominent part is the Os Calcis, or point of the hock. T The Metatarsals of the hjnd leg. CHAPTER VI. THE SENSOEIAL FUNCTION. Beautiful as is the liorse, and identified so much with our pleasure and our profit, he has been the object of almost universal regard ; and there are few persons who do not pretend to be somewhat competent judges of his form, qualities, and worth. From the nobleman, with his nume- rous and valuable stud, to the meanest helper in the stable, there is scarcely a man who would not be offended if he were thought altogether ignorant of horse-flesh. There is no subject on which he is so positive ; there is no subject on which, generally speaking, he is so deficient ; and there are few horses on some points of which these pretended and self-sufficient judges would not give a totally opposite opinion. The truth is, that this supposed knowledge is rarely founded on principle, or the result of the slightest acquaintance with the actual stnicture of the animal — the form and connexion of parts on which strength, or fieetness, or stoutness, must necessarily depend. In speaking of the structure of this animal, and the points which guide the opinion of real judges of him, we shall, as briefly and as simply as we are able, explain those fundamental piin- eiples on which his usefulness and beauty must depend. We require one kind of horse for slow and heavy draught, and another for lighter and quicker work ; one as a pleasant and safe roadster — another with more speed and equal continuance, as a hmiter — and another still is wanted for the race-com-se. What is the peculiarity of stnicture — what are the particular points that m\[ fit each for his proper business, and, to a certain degree, unfit liim for everything else ? The farmer will require a horse of all-icork, tliat can carry him to market ' and take him round his farm — on which he can occasionally ride for pleasure, and which he must sometimes degrade to the dung-cart or the harrow. What combination of powers will enable the animal to discharge most of these duties well, and all of them to a certain extent profitably '? Much tinre spent amopg horses, an acquired love of them, and a little, sometimes possibly too dearly-bought, experience, may give the agricul- turist some insight into these matters. We will tiy whether we cannot assist him in this affair — whether we cannot explain to him the reason why certain points must be good, and why a horse without them must of necessity be good for nothing. Perhaps some useful rules may thus he more deeply impressed upon his memorj', or some common but dangerous prejudices may be dis- carded, and a considerable degree of en-or, disappointment, and expense avoided. If we treat of this at considerable length, let it be remembered that the horse is our noblest sei^vant, and that, in describing the stnicture and economy of his frame, we are in a great measure describing that of other domestic quadrupeds, and shall hereafter have to speak only of points of difference required by the different services and uses for which they were destined. And further, let it be remembered, that it is only by being well acquainted with the stnicture and anatomy of the horse that we can appreciate his shape and uses, or understand the different diseases to which he is liable. It is from the want of this that much of the mass of ignorance and prejudice which exists as to the -diseases to which he is subject is to be referred. THE HOUSE. 265 The nervous system will first pass in review, for it is the moving power of the whole machine. It consists of the brain, to wliich all sensation is referred or carried, and from wliich all voluntary motion is derived-.— the spinal cord, a prolongation of the brain, and thus connected \vith sensation and voluntary motion, governing all the involun- tary motions of the frame, and by power from which the heart beats, and the lungs heave, and the stomach digests ; and one other system of nerves — the ganglionic — presiding over the func- tions of secretion and of nutrition, and the repair and the welfare of the frame generally. The following cut rejsresents the head of the horse di^-ided into the numerous bones of which it is composed, and tlie boundaries of each bone clearly marked by the sutures which connect it with those aroimd. The upper and broadest part is the cranium or skull in which the brain is contained and by which it is protected. It is composed of nine bones : the two frontals, a a ; the two parietals, c c ; the two temporals, d d ; the occipital, g, and the ethmoid and sphenoid, which -will be found delineated at figs, k and I, and which will be better seen in the cut in the next page. a a The frontal bones, or bones of the forehead. b b The supra-orbital foramina or holes above the orbit, thi'ough which the nerves and blood-vessels supplying the forehead pass out. The small holes beneath receives the vessels which dip into and supply the bone, c c The parietal bones, or walls of the skull. •^ ^ The temporal bones, or bones i.|V'. r yoke-shaped of the tempi The zygomatic, arch. The temporal fossa, or above the eye. The occipital bone, or bone of the hinder part of the head. , The orbits containing and defending the eye. The lachrymal bones belong- ing to the conveyance of the tears from the eyes. The nasal bones, or bones of the ■ The malar, or cheek-bones. The superior masillarj', or that portion of the upper jaw containing the molar teeth or grinders. n The infra-orbital foramen — a hole below the orbit, through which pass branches of nerves and blood-vessels to supply the lower part of the face. The inferior maxillary, the lower part of the upper jaw-bone — a separate bone in quadrupeds, containing the incisor or cutting teeth, and the upper tushes at the point of union between the superior and inferior maxillaries. The upper incisor or cutting teeth. The openings into the nose, with the bones forming the palate. There is an evident intention in this division of the head into so many bones. When the foetus — the unborn foal — first begins to have life, that which afterwards becomes bone is a mere jelly-like substance. This is gradually changed into a harder material — cartilage ; and, before the birth of the animal, much of the cartilage is taken away by vessels called alisorbents, and bone deposited in its stead. In flat bones, like those of the head, this deposit takes place in the centre, and rays or radiations of bone e.xtend thence in every direction. Then, by having so many bones, there are so many centres of radiation; and, consequently, the formation of bone is carried on so much the more rapidly, and perfected at the time when the necessities of the animal require it. At the period of birth, however, this process is not completed, but the edges of the bones remain somewhat soft and pliant, and therefore, in partu- rition, they yield a little and overlap each other, and thus, by rendering the birth more easy, they save the mother much pain> and contribute to the safety of the foal. The fii-st of tliese bones, or the first pair of them, occupving the broad e.xpanse of the fore- head, are called the frontal bc»ies, a a. They are imited together by a most curious and intricate dove-tailing, to defend from injury the brain which lies beneath the upper part of them. Lower down, and where the cavity of the nose is to be defended, their union is sufiicient, but far less complicated. Thus, at first starting, there is an evident proof of design, an illustration of that adaptation to circumstances which will again and again present itself in the most interesting points of view. Peculiar strength of union is given where a most important organ is to be defended — the suture is there intricate and laboured. AVhere less important parts are covered, it is of a far simpler character. Few things more clearly indicate the breed or blood of the horse than the form of the frontal bones. Wlio has not remarked the broad angular forehead of the blood horse, giving him a beautiful expression of intelligence and fire, and the face gradually tapering from the forehead to the muzzle, contrasted with the large face of the cart or dray-horse, and the forehead scarcely wider than the face ? At /, between the frontal bones, is the pit or canity above the eye, and by the depth of which we form some idea of the age of the horse. There is placed at the back of the eye a considerable quantity of fatty substance, on which it may revolve easily and without friction. In aged horses, and in diseases attended with genei-al loss of condition, much of this disappeai-s ; the eye becomes sunken, and the pit above it deepens. It is said that some of the lower class of horse-dealers puncture the skin, and with a tobacco pipe or small 266 THE HORSE. tube blow into the orifice until the depression is almost filled up. This, with the aid of a bishopped tooth, may give a false appearance of j'outh, that will lemain during some hours, and may deceive the unwary, but the trickery may easily be detected by pressing on the part. These bones, howeTer, are not solid, but a considerable portion of them is composed of two plates receding from each other, and leaving numerous and large vacuities or cells. These vacuities are called the frontal sinuses. They are shown in the following cut. SECTION OF THE BEAD The nasal bone, or bone of the nose. The frontal bone. The cavities or cells beneath are called Ihe frontal sinuses. The crest or ridge of the parietal bones. The tentorium or bony separation between the cerebrum' and cerebellum. The occipital bone. The li-iament of the neci, orjjacl.u-ax, by which Ihe^head is chiefly supported. The .ntlas, sustaining or carrying : the first bone of the neck. The dentata, looth-like, or second hone of the neck. The cuneiform, or uetige-shaped '^ process, or base of the occi- pital bone. Between it and the other portion of the occipital bone c, lies the great foramen or aperture through which the prolongation of the brain — Ihe spinal marrow — issues from the skull. The sphenoid, tvedge-like, bone, with its cavities. The ethmoid, sicre-like, bone, with its cells. , The cerebrum, or brain, with the appearance of its cortical and medullary substance. The cerebellum, or little brain, with its beautiful arborescent appearance. A portion of the central medullary, nwrrotrUke, substance of the brain, and the prolongation of it under the name of the cms cerebri, leg of the hrain, and from which many of the nerves take their origin. I The medulla oblongata— the prolongation of the brain after the medullary substance of the cereljmm and cerebellum have united, and forming the commencement of the spinal marrow. The columnar appearance of this portion of the brain is represented, and the origins of the respiratoiy nerves. [ The spinal marrow extending through a canal in the centre of the bones of the neck, back, and loins, to the extremities of the tail, and from which the nerves of feeling and of motion, that supply every part of the fi ame except the head, arise. r The septum narium, or cartilaginous division between the nostrils. « The same cut off at the lower part, to show the spongy turbi- nated, turlan-shaped, bones filling the cavity of the nostril. ( The palate. u The molar teeth or grinders. II The inferior maxillary bone, containing the incisor teeth or nippers.' The canine tooth or tush, is concealed by the tongue. w The posterior maxillary, or lower jaw with its incisors. X The lips. y The tongue. r A portion of tJie os hyoides, or bone of the tongue, like a Greek 1 The thyroid, helmet-shaped, cartilage, inclosing and shielding the neighbouring parts. 2 The epiglottis, or covering of ihe glottis, or apertrae of the wind-pipe. 3 The arytenoid, funnel-shaped, cartilages, having between them the aperture leading into the trachea or windpipe. 4 One of the chords vocales, cords or ligaments concerned in the foimalion of the voice. 5 The saccnlus laryngis, sac or ventricle of the larynx, or throat, to modulate the voice. 6 The trachea or wind-pipe, with its different rings. 7 The soft palate at the back of the mouth, so constructed as almost to prevent the possibility of vomiting. 8 The opening from the back part of the mouth into the nostril. 9 The cartilage covering the entrance into the eustachian tube, or communication between the mouth and internal part of the ear. 10 The oesophagus, or gullet. 11 The cricoid, rinsr-iiie, cartilage, below and behind the thyroid. 12 Muscles of the neck, covered by the membrane of the back part of the mouth. THE HORSE. 267 The sinus on the different sides of the forehead do not communicate mth each other, but with other sinuses, in the ethmoid, and sphenoid, and upper jaw-bones, and also ^vith the cavities of the nose on their respective sides. These sinuses afford a somewhat increased protection to the brain beneath ; and by the continuous and slightly projecting line which they form, they give beauty to the forehead ; but their principal use probably is, like the windings of the French horn, to increase the clearness and loudness of the neigh- ing. It will be remarked that they are very irregular in depth, which at one place is an inch or more. In the sheep, and occasionally in the ox — rarely in the horse — the larvse of maggots pro- duced by certain species of flies, crawl up the nose, lodge themselves in these sinuses, and produce intolerable pain. Veterinaiy surgeons have availed themselves of these sinuses, to detect the existence of glanders, that disease so infectious and so fatal. They may suspect that a horse respecting which they are consulted is glandered. It is of great consequence to be sure about this. The safety of the whole team may depend upon it. It may be a puzzling case. There may be no ulceration of the nose within sight. The glands under the jaw may not be close to and seemingly sticking to the bone, which is a common symptom, yet for a considerable time there may have been a discharge from the nostril, and the horse is out of condition. On the other hand, some slight ulceration may be detected in the nostril, but the horse eats well, works well, and is in good plight. It is possible that from the closest examination of the animal, no horseman or veterinary surgeon can give a decide dopinion. If, however, the horse is glandered, there will probably be considerable ulceration in the upper part of the cavity of the nose, and a collection of matter there. To ascertain this, the veterinary surgeon sometimes makes an opening into these sinuses. He may do it with perfect safety. On that part of the frontal bone, which lies between the eye and the pit above it, and above the inner corner of the eye, there is, on either side, a small depression or hole (see figure 6, cut, page 265), which may be easily felt in the living horse. It is what anatomists call a foramen — the supra-orbital foramen. It gives passage to the blood-vessels and nerves of the forehead. Supposing a \me to be dra^vn across the fore- head, from one of these depressions to the other on that line, and about half an inch from the centre of it — it matters not on which side — the frontal sinuses will be found an inch in depth (compare fig. b, pp. 265 and 266). There a perforation may be easily and safely made. A little way above, the brain would be endangered ; and, a little be- low this line, the cavity of the nose would be pierced. Some warm water may be injected into this hole, with a common squirt, and it will run out at the nose. If there is matter in the frontal sinuses, or any part of the cavity of the nose, below the indirect opening from the siiuis into the nose under the superior turbinated tone, it will appear mixed with the water, and the owner may be as- sured that the horse is glandered ; but if the water flows uncoloured, or simply mixed with blood or mucus, the horse may be considered as free from this disease. The thick creamy consistence of pus, its sinking in water, and its capability of being perfectly, although not readily, mixed with water, will distinguish it sufficiently from the na- tural discharge from the nose, which is ropy, lighter than water, and. when mixed with it, still preserves a kind of stringiness. It was formerly the practice to inject various liquids into the nostrils, in this way, for the cure of glanders. Some of them were harmless enough ; but others were cmelly acrid. Tliis prac- tice is now, however, abandoned by the scientific practitioner ; for it would only be a portion of the cells of the head, and a portion only of the cavity of the nose, and that least likely to be diseased, with which the fluid could be brought into contact. As the frontal sinuses are lined by a continua- tion of the membrane of the nose, they will sym- pathise with many of the affections of that cavity ; but the membrane of the sinuses is susceptible of an inflammation peculiar to itself. The disease is rare, and the cause of it has not been fully ascer- tained. It is oftenest metastasis of inflammation of the brain, — shifting of inflammation from the brain to the membi-ane of the sinus, or communi- cation of inflammation from the brain by proximity of situation. The attack is usually sudden ; the horse is dull, lethargic, and almost as cotamose as in sto- mach-staggers. The first thing that excites suspi- cion of the actual character of the disease, is heat in the situation of the frontal sinus when the hand is placed on the forehead. The lethai'gy soon passes over, and a state of the highest excitation succeeds. The conjunctiva and the membrane of the nose are injected — the pulse is quick and hai-d — the horse becomes violent and dangerous ; he kicks, plunges, and, half conscious and half uncon- scious, he endeavours to do all the mischief that he can. The disease is now evidently combined with, or is essentially, inflammation of the bi'ain. It is distinguished from madness by this half-conscious- ness, and alto by his being more disposed to bite than he is in pure phrenitis. Tlie disease is usually fatal. It rarely lasts more than eight-aud-forty hours. The post-mortem appearances ai'e, great inflam- mation of the brain, with frequent effusions of 268 THE HORSE. lilood. The sinuses are sometimes filled ■with co- agulated blood. The brain seems to be affected just in proportion to the violence which the animal has exhibited. The treatment should consist of copious bleed- ing, application of ice to the head, bhstering the head, and physic. The trephine is scarcely ad- missible, from the danger of jjroducing greater irritation. Sometimes the disease assumes a more chronic form. There is ulceration of the membrane, but not cerebal affection. A purulent discharge then appears from the nose, evidently not of a glander- ous character, and none of the submaxillaiy glands are enlarged. In both the acute and chronic form it is usually confined to one sinus: We are in- debted to the late Mr. John Field for the principal knowledge that we have of this disease.* The inner plate of the frontal bone covers a consider- able portion of the anterior part of the brain, and it is studded with depressions corresponding with irregularities on the surface of the brain. Immediately above the frontal, and extending from the frontal to the poll, are the parietal bones. They are two, united together by a suture when the animal is young, but that suture soon becoming obliterated. They have the occipital, g, p. 265, above ; the frotitals, a a. below ; and the temporals, d d, on either side. They are of a closer and harder texture than the frontals, because they are most exposed to injurJ^ and more concerned in defending the brain. A veiy small poi-tion only of the parietals is naked, and that is composed of bone even harder than the other part, and with an additional layer of bone rising in the form of a crest or ridge ex- ternally. Every other part of these bones is co- vered by a thick mass of muscle — the temporal muscle, which is principally concerned in che\ring the food, but which likewise, by its yielding resist- ance, speedily and effectually breaks the force of the most violent blow. A woolpack himg over the wall of a fortress, when the enemy is battering to effect a breach, renders the heaviest artilleiy al- most harmless. So the yielding resistance of the temporal muscle affords a sure defence to the brain, however sudden or violent may the blow which falls on the parietal. These benevolent provisions will not be disregarded by the reflecting mind. On the side of the head, and under the parie- tals {d d, p. 265) are the temporal bones, one on each side,//. These again are divided into two parts, or consist of two distinct bones ; the petrous portion, so called from its great or stony hardness, and containing the wonderful mechanism of the ear, and. the squamous portion, from the appear- * The Veteriuarian, vol. iv., p. 198. ance of its union with the parietal, overlapping it like a great scale. From the latter there projects a portion of bone, e, which unites with the frontal, and forms a strong arch— the zygomatic — distinctly to be felt at the side of the head immediately above the eye. This arch is designed to protect the upper part of the lower jaw, the motion of which may veiy plainly be seen beneath it when the horse is feed- ing. It is very strong, and it ought to be ; for if it were depressed, or forced inward, the horse would starve. There is one species of violence which causes this arch to require no common strength ; and that is, the bnital manner in which the collar is often forced over the head. At the base of the arch is an important cavity not visible in the cut, receiving into it, and form- ing a joint -nith, the head of the lower jaw : it will be presently described. Having reached the base of the temporal bone, it is found united to the parietal, not by a simple suture, as the lower part of the frontals, or the bones of the nose (see fig. a and j, p. 265), nor by a dove-tailed suture, as the upper part of the fron- tals (see the same cut) ; but it is spread over the parietal in the form of a large scale, and hence, as before observ-ed, called the squamous portion of the temporal bone. In fact, there we two plates of bone instead of one. Was there design in this ? Yes, evidently so. In the first place, to increase the strength of the base of the zygomatic ai'ch. This extensive union between the temporal and parietal bones resembles the buttress or mass of masonry attached to the base of every arch, in order to counteract its lateral pressure. The con- cussion, likewise, which might be communicated by a blow on the top of the arch, is thus spread over a large surface, and consequently weakened and rendered comparatively hamiless ; and that surface is composed of the union of two bones of dissimilar constnictiou. The hard stony structure of the parietal is veiy different from the tougher material of the temporal ; and thus, as a finger acts on a sounding glass, the vibration communi- cated to the temporal is at once stopped, and the brain receives no injury. There is another proof of admirable design. Where is this squamous portion of the central bone situated ? On the side of the head. And what is the figure of the cranium or skull, and principally that part of it which contains the cere- bram or brain ? It is an elliptical or oval ai'ch (see fig. m, n, o, p. 266). If pressure is made on the crown of that arch — if a blow is received on the suture between the parietals sufficient to cause the elastic materials of which the skull is com- posed to yield — the seat of danger and injuiy is at the side. If a man receives a violent blow on the crown or back part of the head, the fracture, THE HORSE. 2G9 if tkere is any, is general!)' about the temple, and the extravasation of blood is oftenest found there. The following figure will explain this : — Let the line ABC represent an elliptical arch, composed of elas- tic materials. Some force shall ' be applied at B /' sufficient to cause it to yield. We cannot compress it into smaller compass ; but just in proportion as it yields at B will it spur or bulge out at D, and give way sometimes as represented at E. In a dome, the weight of the materials constantly act- ing may be considered as representing the force applied at B ; and so great is the lateral pressure, or tendency to bulge out (vide D and E), that it is necessary either to dove-tail the materials into one another, or to pass strong iron chains round them. For want of sufficient attention to this, " the dome of St. Sophia, in Constantinople, built in the time of the Emperor Justinian, fell three times dming its erection ; and the dome of the cathedral of Florence stood unfinished an hundi'ed and twenty years, for want of an architect." Natui'e, in the construction of the horse's head, has taken away the pressure, or removed the probability of injm-y, by giving an additional layer of bone, or a mass of muscle, where alone there was danger, and has dove-tailed all the ma- terials. Farther than this, in order to make assur- ance doubly sure, she has placed this effectual girder at the base, in the overlapping of the squa- mous portion of the temporal bone. Above the j^arietals, and separated from them by a suture (fig. g, p. 265, and fig. e, p. 266), is the occipital bone. Superiorly it covers and pro- tects the smaller portion of the brain, the cerebel- lum ; and as it there constitutes the summit or crest of the head, and is particulai-ly exposed to danger, and not protected by muscles, it is inter- esting to see what thickness it assumes. The head of the horse does not, like that of the human being, ride upright on the neck, with all its weight supported by the spinal column, and the only office of the muscles of the neck being to move the head forward, or backward, or horizontally on its pivot ; but it hangs in a slanting position from the extremity of the neck, and the neck itself projects a considerable distance from the chest, and thus the whole weight of the head and neck ai-e suspended from the chest, and require vei-y great power in order to support them. In addi- tion to the simple weight of the head and neck, the latter projecting from the chest, and the head hanging from the extremity of the neck, act with enormous mechanical force, and increase more than a hundred-fold the power necessary to sup- port them. The head and neck of the horse, and particu- larly of some horses of a coarse breed, are of no little bulk and weight. It will hereafter be shown in what breeds and for what purposes a light or heavy head and neck are advantageous ; but it may be safely affirmed that, projecting so far from the chest, and being consequently at so great a distance from the fulcrum or support, the lightest head will act or bear upon the joint between the last bone of the neck and the first rib with a force equal to many thousand pounds. How is this weight to be supported ? Is mus- cular power equal to the task ? The muscles of the animal frame can act for a certain time with extraordinary force ; but as the exertion of this power is attended with the consumption of vital energy, the period soon arrives when their action is remitted or altogether suspended. A provision, how- ever, is made for the pui^pose, simple and complete. From the back of the occipital bone (fig. /, p. 266), and immediately below the crest, pro- ceeds a round cord of considerable bulk, and com- posed of a ligamentous substance, which reaches down and is securely attached to the spines of the vertebrae, or bones of the back ; and by this ligament — the ligamentuni colli, ligament of the neck, com- monly called the pack-tca.r — the head is supported. There are, however, some admirable contriv- ances connected with this ligament. As it proceeds from the head, it is in the form of a round cord. It passes over the atlas, or first bone of the neck, without touching it, and then, attaching itself strongly to the second bone, principally supports the head by its union with this bone. The me- chanical disadvantage is increased ; but the head is turned more freely on the first and second bones. The prmcipal stress is on the dentata or second bone, so much so, that, in poll-evil, this ligament may be divided without serious inconve- nience to the horse. It then suddenly sinks deeper, aiad communicates with all the other ver- tebrae. Each of these communications becomes a separate point of support ; and as they approach nearer to the base, the mechanical disadvantage, or the force with which the weight of the head and neck presses and acts, is materially lessened. The head, then, whUe the animal is in a state of rest, is supported by this ligament, without any aid from muscular energy. There is, however, something yet wantuig. The head must not be always elevated. The ani- mal has his food to seek. In a state of nature this food lies principally on the gi'ound, and the head must be lowered to enable the horee to get at it. How is this effected ? This ligament, as it has been called, because it resembles in appearance 270 THE HORSE. the other ligaments of the body, possesses a pro- perty which tliey have not, and which they must not have, or they would be useless. No well-knit joint could exist if it had this property. It is elastic. It will yield to a force impressed upon it, and will resume its natural dimensions when that force is removed. It sustains perfectly the weight of the head. That portion of tenacity or strength is given to it which will not give way to the simjile weight of the head, hut which will yield to a veiy little additional weight. Its resisting power is so admirably adjusted to that which it has to sustain, that when certain muscles, whose action is to de- press or lower the head, begin to act, and add their power to the previous weight it had to bear, the ligament stretches, and when the horse is browsing it is full two inches longer than when the head is erect. When the animal has satisfied himself, these depressing muscles cease to act, and ether muscles which are designed to assist m raising the head, begin to exert themselves ; and by their aid — but more by the inherent elasticity of the ligament — the head is once more elevated, and remains so without the slightest exertion of muscular power. This is one of the many applications of the prin- ciple of elasticity which will be discovered and ad- mired in the construction of the animal frame. The ligament of the neck is inserted into the centre of the back part of the occipital bone, and immediately below the vertex or crest of that bone ; and therefore the bone is so thick at this part (see fig. e, p. 266). Many large and powerful muscles are neces- sary to turn the head in various directions, as well as to assist in raising it when depressed. The occipital bone, as will be seen in the cut, presents a spine nuining down the centre, B, and a large roughened surface for the attachment of these muscles C, C. Lower down, and still at the back of the occipital bone, are two rounded pro- tuberances D D, by which the head is connected with the atlas, or upper or first vertebra, or bone of the neck ; and these are called the condyloid, cup- shaped, processes of the occipital bone. All the motions of the head are partly, and many of them wholly, performed by this joint. Between them is a large hole, the foramen magnum, or great aperture, E, through which the continuation of the brain, termed the spinal cord or marrow, passes out of the skull. As an additional contrivance to support the enormous weight of the head, are two other pro- jections of the occipital bone, peculiar to animals whose heads are set on in a slanting direction, and into which powerful muscles are inserted. They are called the coracoid, beak-like, processes or prolongations, F, F, of the occipital bone. Piunning forward, and forming outwardly a part of the base, and inwardly a portion of the floor of the skull, is what, from its wedge-like shape, is called the cuneiform process of the occi- pital bone (fig. i, p. 266). It is thick, strong, and solid, and placed at the bottom of the skull, not only to be a proper foundation for, and to give ad- ditional strength to, the arch on either side, but speedily to stop all vibration and concussion. At the base of the skull, and anterior to or below the occipital, lies thes phenoid, wedge-like, bone (fig k, p. 266). Its body, likewise called the cuneiform, or wedge-shaped process, is a conti- nuation of the same process of the occipital, and, like it, is thick and solid, and for the same impor- tant pui-pose. This bone branches out into four irregular bodies or plates, two of which are called the icings, and two iimning to the palate, the legs. They could not be represented in the cut, and there is nothing important belonging to them, so far as this work is concerned. Internally (fig. k), the sphenoid forms a portion of the cavity of the skull. Of the ethmoid — sieve-like — bone, little can be seen outwardly. A small portion is found in the back part of the orbit and in the cavity of the cranium ; but the most important part of it is that which is composed of a great number of thin plates, forming numerous cavities or cells (fig. I, p. 266), lined with the membrane of the nose, and enter- ing into its cavity. The upper portion is called the cribriform or sieve-shaped plate, from its being perforated by a multitude of little holes, through which the nerve connected with smelling passes and spreads over the nose. Altogether these bones form a cavity of an ir- regular oval shape, but the tentorium penetrating into it, gives it the appearance of being divided into two (d, p. 266). The cavity of the skull may be said to be arched all round. The builder knows the strength which is connected with the form of an arch. If properly constructed, it is equal to a solid mass of masonry. The arch of the horse's skull has not much weight to supjiort, but it is exposed to many injuries from the brutality of those by whom he should be protected, and from accidental causes. The roof of the skull is composed of two plates of bone : the outer one hard and tough, and the different parts dove-tailed together, so as not to be easily fractured : the inner plate being elastic. Bv tl:e union of these two substances of different THE HORSE. 271 construction, the vibration is damped or destroyed, so far as safety requires. On raising any part of the skull of the horse, the dense and strong membrane which is at once the lining of the cranium and the covering of the brain — the dura mater — presents itself. It is united to the membranes below by numerous little cords or prolongations of its substance, conveying blood and communicating strength to the parts beneath. Between this membrane, common to the cranium and the brain, and the proper invest- ing tunic of that organ, is found that delicate gos- samers' web, appiropriately called the arachnoid — the spider's membrane — and which is seen in other animals, designed either to secrete the fluid which is interposed, for the purpose of obviating injurious concussion, or, perhaps, to prevent the brain from readily sympathising with any inflam- matory action produced by injury of the skull. Beneath is the proper investing membrane of the brain — the jna mater— v.-hich not only covers the external surface of the brain, but penetrates into every depression, lines eveiy ventricle, and clothes every irregularity and part and portion of the brain. We now an-ive at the brain itself. The brain of the horse corresponds with the cavity in which it is placed {m, p. 266). It is a flattened oval. It is divided into two parts, one much larger than the other — the cerebrum or brain, and the cerebel- lum or little brain (n, p. 266). In the human being the cerebnim is above the cerebellum, in the quadruped it is below ; and yet in both they re- tain the same relative situation. The cerebellum is nearer to the foramen through which the brain passes out of the skull (;;, p. 266), and the conti- nuation of the cerebrum passes under the cere- bellum [j}, p. 266), in order to anive at this foramen. In the human head this foramen is at the base of the skull ; but in the quadruped, in whom the head is placed slanting, it is necessarily elevated. He who for the first time examines the brain of the horse will be struck with its comparative diminutive size. The human being is not, gene- rally speaking, more than one-half or one-third of the size and weight of the horse ; yet the brain of the biped is twice as large and as heavy as that of the quadruped. If it had been the brain of the ox that had been here exposed, instead of that of the horse, it would not have been of half the bulk of that of the horse. If the dog had been the subject, it woiJd have been very considerably larger, com- paring the general bulk of each animal. This is singular. The human brain largest in compara- tive bulk ; then the brain of the dog, the horse, the ox. Thus would they be classed in the scale of intelligence. If the brain is more closely examined, it will be found that there is none of the roundness and the broadness of that in the human being ; it is comparatively tame and flat. There is some ir- regularity of surface, some small projections and depressions; but they, too, are comparatively di- minutive and inexpressive. Were the brain of the beaver, or the hare, or the rabbit, or of almost any bird, substituted for it, there would be no con- volutions or irregularities at all. These irregularities are not so bold and so deep in the ox as in the horse, nor in the horse as in the dog. We do not know enough of the func- tions of any part of the brain to associate these convolutions with any particular powers of mind, or good or bad propensities, although some persons, who are wise above that which is written, have pretended to do so. It would occupy too great a portion of this volume to enter into these ques- tions ; but there are some diseases to which the horse is subject, and a very useful operation — the division of some of the ner^-es for certain pur poses, and which could not be understood without a previous slight account of this important organ. When the brain is cut, it is found to be com posed of two substances veiy unlike in appearance [m, p. 266) ; one, principally on the outside, grey, or ash-coloured, and therefore called the cortical (bark-like) from its situation, and cineritious (ashen) from its colour ; and the other, lying deeper in the brain, and from its pulpy nature called the medullary substance. Although placed in appo- sition with each other, and seemingly mingling, they never run into the same mass, or change by degrees into one another, but are essentially dis- tinct in construction as well as in function. The medullary portion is connected with the nervous system. The nen'cs are prolongations of it, and are concerned in the discharge of all the offices of life. They give motion and energy to the limbs, the heart, the hmgs, the stomach, and every part connected with life. Tliey are the medium through which sensation is conveyed ; and they supply the mind with materials to think and work upon. The cineritious part has a difl"erent appear- ance, and is differeiitly constituted. Some have supposed, and with much appearance of tnith, that it is the residence of the mind — receiving the impressions that are conveyed to the brain by the sensitive nerves, and directing the operation and action of those wliich give motion to the limbs. In accordance with this, it happens that, where superior intelligence is found, the cineri- tious portion prevails, and where little beside brute strength and animal appetite exist, the me dullary portion is enlarged. There is, comparing bulk with bulk, less of the medullaiy substance in the horse than in the ox, and in the dog than in the horse The additional bulk of brain is com- »72 THE HOESE. posed of cineritious matter ; and how different is the character of these animals? — the sluggish, stupid ox, and the intelligent horse ; the silly sheep, and the intellectual companionable dog ! In a work like this, it would be somewhat out of place to enter deeply into any metaphysical speculation ; but the connexion between the cine- ritious part of the brain and the intellectual prin- ciple, and that between the meduUaiy portion and the mere animal principle, do seem highly probable. The latter is the medium through which the impression is conveyed, or the mo- tion is effected ; the former is the substance to which that impression is referred — where it is received, registered, and compared, and by which the operation of the motor nerves is influenced and The cortical substance is small in the quad- ruped ; for in their wild state brutes have no con- cern and no idea beyond their food and reproduc- tion ; and in their domesticated state they are destined to be the servants of man. The acute- ness of their senses, and the preponderance of animal power, qualify them for this purpose ; but were proportionate mtellectual capacity added to this — were they made conscious of their strength, they would burst their bonds, and man would, in his turn, be the victim and the slave. The cortical part is found in each in the propor- tion in which it would seem to be needed for our purposes, in order that intelligence should be added to animal power. Almost every mental faculty, and almost every virtue, too, may be traced in the brute. The difference is in degree, and not in kind. The one being improved by circumstances and the other contam^inated, the quadruped is decidedly the superior. From the medullai-y substance — as already stated — proceed certain cords or prolongations, termed nerves, by which the animal is enabled to receive impressions from surrounding objects, and to connect himself with them; and also to possess many pleasurable or painful sensations. One of them is spread over the membrane of the nose, and gives the sense of smell ; another ex- pands on the back of the eye, and the faculty of sight is gained ; and a third goes to the internal stnioture of the ear, and the animal is conscious of sound. Other nerves, proceeding to different parts, give the faculty of motion, while an equally important one bestows the power of feeling. One division of nerves (h, p. 266) springing from a prolongation of the brain, and yet within the skull, wanders to different parts of the frame, for important purposes connected mth respiration or breathing. The act of breathing is essential to life, and were it to cease, the animal would die. These are nei^ves of involuntary motion; so that, whether he is awake or asleep, conscious of it or not, the lungs heave and life is supported. Lastly, from the spinal cord q — a farther prolongation of the brain, and running through a cavity in the bones of the neck, back, and loins, and extending to the very tip of the tail — other nerves are given off at certain intei-vals. This cut delineates a pair of them. The spinal cord a, is combined of six distinct columns or rods, ninning through its whole length — three on either side. The two upper columns — the portion of spinal marrow re- presented in our cut, is supposed to be placed with its inner or lower surface toward us — proceed from those tracks of the brain devoted to sensa- tion. Numerous distinct fibres spring abruptly from the column, and which collect together, and, passing through a little ganglion or enlargement, d — an enlargement of a nervous cord is called a ganglion — become a nerve of sensation. From the lower or inner side, a prolongation of the track devoted to motion, proceed other fibres. which also collect gradually together, and form a nervous cord, c, giving the power of motion. Be- yond the ganglion the two unite, and form a per- fect spinal nerve, b, possessing the power both of sensation and motion ; and the fibres of the two columns proceed to their destination, enveloped in the same sheath, and appai-ently one nerve. Each portion, however, continues to be -(vi'apped in its own membrane. They are united, yet dis- THE HORSE. 273 tinct ; they constitute one nerve, yet neither their substance nor their office is confounded. Our cut, closely examined, mil give at h some idea of the manner in which these distinct filires are con- tinued ; each covered by its own membrane, but all enveloped in a common envelope. All these nerves are organs of sensation and motion alone ; but there are others whose origin seems to be outside of and below the brain. These are the sympathetic, so called from their union and sympathy with all the others, and identified with life itseK. They proceed from a smalLgauglion or enlargement in the upper part of the neck, or from a collection of little ganglia in the abdomen. They go to the heart, and it beats, and to the stomach, and it digests. They form a net-work round each blood-vessel, and the current flows on. They sur- round the veiy minutest vessels, and the frame is nourished and built up. They are destitute of sensation, and they are perfectly beyond the control of the will. The reader, we trust, will now comprehend this wonderful, yet simple machinery, and be able, by and by, to refer to it the explanation of several diseases, and particularly of the operation to which we have referred. Two of the senses have their residence in the ca^-ity of the cranium — those of hearing and sight. They who know anything of the horse pay much attention to the size, setting on, and motion of the ear. Ears rather small than large — placed not too far apart — erect and quick in motion, indi- cate both breeding and spirit ; and if a horse is frequently in the habit of canying one ear forward, and the other backward, and especially if he does so on a jom-ney, he will generally possess both spirit and continuance. The stretching of the ears in contrary directions shows that he is attentive to everything that is taking place around liim, and, ^^■hile he is doing this, he cannot be much fatigued, or likely soon to become so. It has been remarked that few horses sleep without pointing one ear for- wai'd and the other backward, in order that they may receive notice of the approach of objects in every direction. ='■= The ear of the horee is one of the most beau- tiful parts about him, and by few things is the temper more sm-ely indicated than by its motion. The ear is more intelligible even than the eye, and a person accustomed to the horse, and an observer of him, can tell by the expressive motion of that organ almost all that he thinks or means. It is a common saying that when a horse lays his ears flat • " When horses or mules march in company at night, those in front direct their ears forwards ; those in the rear direct them back- ward ; and those in the centre tm-Q them laterally or across ; the whole troop seeming thus to be actaated by one feeling, which watches the general safety." — ArnoH's Elements of Physic, vol i. p. 478. back upon his neck, and keeps them so, he most assuredly is meditating mischief, and the stander by should beware of his heels or his teeth. In play, the ears will be laid back, but not so de- cidedly, or so long. A quick chang6 in their posi- tion, and more particularly the expression of the eye at the time, will distinguish between playful- ness and vice. The external ear is formed by a cartilage of an oval or cone-like shape, flexible, yet firm, and ter- minating in a point. It has, directed towards the side, yet somewhat pointing fonvard, a large open- ing extending from the top to the bottom: The intention of this is to collect the sound, and con- vey it to the interior part of the ear. The hearing of the horse is remarkably acute. A thousand vibrations of the air, too slight to make any impression on the human ear, are readily per- ceived by him. It is well-known to every hunting- man, that the cry of the hounds will be recognised by the horse, and his ears will be erect, and he will be all spirit and impatience, a considerable time before the rider is conscious of the least sound. Need anything more be said to expose the ab- surdity of cropping ? This custom of cutting the ears of the horse originated, to its shame, in Great Britain, and for many years was a practice ci-uel to the animal, de- priving him of much of his beauty ; and so obsti- nately pursued, that at length the deformity be- came in some hereditary, and a breed of horses born without ears was produced. Fortunately for this too-often abused animal, cropping is not now the fashion. Some thoughtless or unfeeling young men endeavom-ed, a little while ago, again to inti-o- duce it, but the voice of reason and humanity pre- vailed.f This cartilage, the conch or shell, is attached to the head by ligaments, and sustained by mus- cles, on which its action depends. It rests upon another cartilage, round without, and irregular within, called the annular, ring-like, cartilage, and conducting to the interior of the ear ; and it is likewise supported and moved by a third small cartilage, placed at the fore part of the base of the conch, and into which several muscles are inserted. The ear is covered by skin thinner than in most other parts of the body, and altogether desti- tute of fat, in order that it may not be too bulky and heavy, and may be more easily moved. Under the skin lining the mside of the cartilage are nu- + Professor Grognier, in his excellent work, " Precis d'un Coors d'Hygiene Veterinaire," speaking of this abominable custom, says, " And thus the English completely destroy or disfigure two organs which embellish the head of the most beautiful of all animals, and which, by their various motions, indicate the thoughts that are passing through his mind — the passions which agitate him, and, especially, the designs which he may be meditating, and which it is often of great importance to learn, in order to guard against the danger which may be at hand." 274 THE HORSE. merous glands that secrete or throw out a scaly wliite greasy matter, -which may be nibbed off with the finger, and is destined to supple this part of the ear and to keep it soft and smooth. Below this are other glands which pour out a peculiar, sticky, bitter fluid — the wax — probably displeasing to insects, and therefore deterring them from crawhng down the ear and annoying the animal, or by its stickiness arresting their progress. The internal part of the conch is covered with long hair which stands across the passage in every direction. This likewise is to protect the ear from insects, that can with difficulty penetrate through this thick defence. The cold air is likemse pre- vented from reaching the interior of the ear, and the sound is moderated, not arrested — penetrating readily but not violently — and not striking inju- riously on the membrane covering the drum of the ear. Can these purposes be accomplished, when it is the custom of so many carters and grooms to cut out the hair of the ear so closely and industri- ously as they do ? The groom who singes it to the root with a candle must either be very ignorant or very brutal. It can scarcely be accomplished without singeing the ear as well as the hah-. Many a troublesome sore is occasioned by this ; and many a horse, that was perfectly quiet before, ren- dered difficult to handle or to halter, and even disposed to be otherwise vicious, from a recollec- tion of the pain which he suffered dm'ing the absm-d and barbarous operation. The sound collected by the outer ear, passes through the lower or annular, ring-shaped, carti- lage, and through irregularities which, while they break and modify it, convey it on to another canal, partly cartilaginous and partly bony, conducting immediatelj' to the internal mechanism of the ear. This canal, or passage, is called the external audi- tory passage, and at the base of it is placed, stretching across it, and closing it, a thick and elastic membrane, memhrana tympani, called the membrane of the drum. This membrane is sup- plied with numerous fibres, from the fifth pair, or sensitive nerve of the head, for it is necessary that it should possess extreme sensibility. Between this membrane and a smaller one almost opposite, leading to the still interior part of the ear, and on which the nei^ve of hearing is expanded, ai'e four little bones, united to these membranes, and to each other. Their office is to convey, more perfectly than it could be done through the mere air of the cavity, the vibrations that have reached the membrana tympani. These bones are highly elastic ; and covered by a cartilaginous substance, elastic also in the greatest degree, by means of which the force of the vibration is much increased. It is conveyed to a strangely irregular caWty, filled with an aqueous fluid, and the substance or pulp of the portio mollis or soft portion of the seventh pair of nerves, the auditory nerve, expands on the membrane that lines the walls of this cavity. Sound is propagated far more intensely through water than through air ; and therefore it is that an aqueous fluid occupies those chambers of the ear on the walls of which the auditory nerve is ex- panded. By this contrivance, and by others, which we have not space now to narrate, the sense of hearing is fully equal to every possible want of the animal. The Eye is a most important organ, and comes next under consideration, as inclosed in the bones of the skull. The eye of the horse should be large, somewhat but not too prominent, and the eyelid fine and thin. If the eye is sunk in the head, and apparently little — for there is actually a veiy trifling difference in the size of the eye in animals of the same species and bulk, and that seeming difference arises from the larger or smaller open- ing between the lids — and the lid is thick, and especially if there is any puckering towards the inner comer of the lids, that eye either is diseased, or has lately been subject to inflammation ; and, particularly, if one eye is smaller than the other, it has at no great distance of time been inflamed. The eye of the horse enables us with tolerable accuracy to guess at his temper. If much of the white is seen, the buyer should pause ere he com- pletes his bargain ; because, although it may, yet very rarely, happen that the cornea or transj)arent part is unnaturally small, and therefore an unusual portion of the white of the eye is seen, experience has shown that this display of white is dangerous. The mischievous horse is slily on the look out for opportunities to do mischief, and the frequent back- ward direction of the eye, when the white is most perceptible, is only to give surer effect to the blow which he is about to aim. A cursory description of the eye, and the uses of its different parts, must be given. The eyes are placed at the side of the head, but the direction of the conoid cavity which they occupy, and of the sheath by which they are sur- rounded within the orbit, gives them a prevailing direction forwards, so that the animal has a very extended field of vision. We must not assert that the eye of the horse commands a whole sphere of vision ; but it cannot he denied that his eyes are placed more forward than those of cattle, sheep, or swine. He requires an extensive field of vision to warn him of the approach of his enemies in his vdld state, and a direction of the orbits consider- ably forward, in order to enable him to pursue ivith safety the headlong com'se to which we sometimes urge him. The eye-ball is placed in the anterior and most capacious part of the orbit, nearer to the frontal than the temporal side, with a degree of THE HORSE. 275 prominence varying with different individuals, and the will of the animal. It is protected by a bony socket beneath and on the inside, but is partially exposed on the roof and on the outside. It is, however, covered and secured by thick and power- ful muscles — by a mass of adipose matter which is distributed to various parts of the orbit, upon which the eye may be readily moved without friction, and by a sheath of considerable density and firmness, and especially where it is most needed, on the e.x- ternal and superior portions. The adipose matter exists in a considerable quantity in the orbit of the eye of the horse, and enables that organ readily to revolve by the slightest contraction of the muscles. By the absorption of this fatty matter in sickness or old age, the eye is not only to a certain degree sunk in the orbit, but the roof of the orbit posterior to the frontal bone, being deprived of its support, is considerably de- pressed. Our work shall not be disgraced by any farther reference to the rascally contrivance by which this indication of age is in some degree re- moved. In front the eye is supported and covered by the lids, which closing rapidly, protect it from many an injury that threatens — supply it with tliat moisture which is necessary to preserve its transparency — in the momentary act of closing give a certain and sufficient respite to a delicate organ, which would otherwise be fatigued and worn out by the constant glare of day — defend it when the eye labours under inflammation from the sti- mulus of light — and, gradually drooping, permit the animal to enjoy that repose which natui-e re- quires. Extending round both lids, and, it may be almost said, having neither origin nor insertion, is a muscle called the ohicularis, or circular muscle. Its office is to close the lids in the act of winking or otherwise, but only while the animal is awake. When he sleeps, this is effected by another and very ingenious mechanism. The natural state of the eyelids is that of being closed ; and they are kept open by the energy of the muscles whose office it is to raise the upper lid. As sleep steals upon the animal, these muscles cease to act, and the lids close by the inherent elasti<;ity of the mem- bi'ane of which they are composed. The skin of the lid is, like that of the ear, ex- ceedingly fine, in order to prevent unnecessary weight and pi-essure on such a part, and to give more easy and extensive motion. The lids close accurately when drawn over the eye, and this is effected by a little strip of cartilage at the edge of each of them, which may be easily felt with the finger, and preserves them in a hoop-like form, and adapts them closely to the eye and to each otlier. The lower cartilage, however, does not present, towards the inner comer of the eye, the whole of its flat surface to the upper, but it evi- dently slopes inward, and only the outer edge of the under lid touches the upper. By this means a little gutter is formed, through which the super- fluous moisture of the eye flows to the inner cor- ner, where there is a canal to convey it away. By this contrivance it neither accumulates in the eye, nor unpleasantly runs down the cheek. Along the edges of the lids are placed nu- merous little hollows, which can be plainly distin- guished even in the living horse by slightly turn- ing down the lid. These are the openings into numerous small cells containing a thick and unc- tuous fluid, by means of wliich the eyes are more accurately closed, and the edges of the lids defended from the acrimony of the tears. The horse has no eyebrows, and the eyelashes are very peculiarly arranged. The rows of hair are longest and most numerous on the upper lid, and especially towards the outer or temporal comer, be(;ause the light comes from above ; and, as the animal stands, particularly when he is grazing, and from the lateral situation of his eyes, the greater portion of the light, and the attacks of in- sects, and the rolling down of moisture, would chiefly be from the outside or temples. Towards the inner comer of the upper lid there is little or no eyelash, because there is no probable danger or nuisance in that direction. Only a small quantity of light can enter from below, and therefore the lashes are thin and short ; but as, in the act of gi'azing, insects may more readily climb up and be troublesome to the eye, towards the inner angle, there the principal or only hair is found on the lower lid. These apparently trifling circumstances will not be overlooked by the careful observer. They who are unacquainted with tlie absurdities of stable management, or who have not carefully examined the abuses that may exist in their own establishments, can scarcely believe the foolish and cruel practices of some carters and grooms. When the groom is anxious that his horse should be as trim and neat all over as art can make him, the veiy eye-lashes are generally sacrificed. What has the poor animal suffered, when, travelling in the noon of day, the full blaze of the sun has fallen upon his eyes ; and how many accidents have probably hap- pened from his being dazzled by the light, wliich have been attributed to other causes ! If the horse has no eyebrow, there are several bail's or bristles scattered on the upper eyelid, and there is a projecting fold of the lid which dis- charges nearly the same office. It is more conspi- cuous in old horses than in young ones. Some horsemen do not like to see it, and associate the idea of it with weakness or disease of the eye. This is perfectly erroneous. It is a provision of nature to accomplish a certain purpose, and has nothing to do either with health or disease. 276 THE HORSE. On the lower lid is a useful provision to warn the horse of the near approach of any object that might incommode or injure him, in the form of long projecting hairs or bristles, which are plen- teously embued with nervous influence, so that the slightest touch should put the animal on his guard. We would request our readers to touch veiy slightly the extremity of one of these hairs. They will be surprised to observe the sudden convulsive twitch- ing of the lid, rendering the attack of the insect absolutely impossible. The grooms, however, who cut away the eye-lashes, do aiot spare these useful feelers. ; The eye is exposed to the action of the atmos- pheric air, and the jjrocess of evaporation, destnic- tive of its transparency, is continually going on. The eye of the horse, or the visible part of the eye, is, likewise, more prominent and larger than in the human being, and the animal is often subject to extreme annoyance from dust and insects, while he has no hands or other guard to defend liimself from the torture which they occasion. What is the pro- vision of nature against this ? Under, and a little within, the outer corner of the upper lid, is an ir- regidar body, the lacrymal gland, comparatively larger than in the human being, secreting an aque- ous fluid, which, slowly issuing from the gland, or occasionally pressed out of it in the act of winking, flows over the eye, supplies it with moisture, and cleanses it from all impurities. Human ingenuity could not have selected a situation from which the fluid could be conveyed over the eye with more advantage for this purpose. When this fluid is secreted in an undue quan- tity, and flows over the eye, it is called tears. An increased flow of tears is produced by anything that irritates the eye, and, therefore, a constant accompaniment and symptom of inflammation. A horse with any degree of weeping should be re- garded with much suspicion. In the human being an unusual secretion of tears is often caused by bodily pain, and emotions of the mind ; and so it is occasionally in the horse. We have seen it repeatedly under acute pain or brutal usage. John Lawrence, speakmg of the cruelty exercised by some dealers in what they call " firing" a horse before he is led out for sale, in order to rouse every spark of mettle, says, " more than fifty years have passed away, and I have before my eyes a poor mare, stone blind, exquisitely shaped, and showing all the marks of high blood, whom I saw unmerci- fully cut with the whip a quarter of an hour before the sale, to bring her to the use of her stif- fened limbs, while the tears were trickling dou-n her cheeks." Having passed over the eye, the fluid is con- veyed by the little canal to which we have alluded, formed by the sloping of the under lid, towards the corner of the eye ; and there are two little orifices that conduct it to a small reservoir within, and at the upper part of the lacrymal bone (fig. i, p. 205). A little protuberance of a black or pied colour, called the caruncle, placed in the veiy cor- ner of the eye, and to be seen without opening the lids, is situated between these orifices, and guides the fluid into them. From this reservoir the tears are conveyed by a long canal, the lacrymal duct, partly bony, and partly membraneous, to the lower part of the nose. A little within the nostril, and on the division between the nostrils, is seen the lower opening of this canal ; the situation of wliich should be carefully observed, and its real use borne in mind, for not only horsemen, but even some care- less veterinai-y surgeons, have mistaken it for a glanderous ulcer, and have condemned a useful and valuable animal. It is foimd just before the skin of the muzzle terminates, and the more delicate membrane of the nostril commences. The opening of the canal is placed thus low because the mem- brane of the nose is exceedingly delicate, and would be irritated and made sore by the frequent or constant running down of the tears. There is, however, something yet wanting. We have a provision for supplying the eye with requisite moistm'e, and for washing from off" the transparent part of it insects or dust that may an- noy the animal. What becomes of these impurities when thus washed off"? Are they carried by the tears to the comer of the eye, and so pass down this duct, and irritate and obstruct it ; or do they accumulate at the inner angle of the eye ? There is a beautiful contrivance for disposing of them as fast as they accumulate. Concealed within the inner corner of the eye, or only the margin of it, black or pied, visible, is a triangular-shaped carti- lage, the haw, with its broad part forwards. It is concave within, exactly to suit the globe of the eye ; it is convex without, accm-ately to adapt itself to the membrane lining the lid ; and the base of it is reduced to a thin or almost sharp edge. At the will of the animal this is suddenly protruded from its hiding-place. It passes rapidly over the eye and shovels up every nuisance mixed with the tears, and then, being speedily dravra back, the dust or insect is wiped away as the cartilage again passes under the comer of the eye. How is this managed? The cartilage has no mus- cle attached to it ; and the limbs and the different parts of the body, when put into motion by the in- fluence of the will, are moved invariably by muscles. The mechanism, however, is simple and effectual. There is a considerable mass of fatty matter at the back of the eye, in order that this organ may be easily moved ; and this fat is particularly accumu- lated about the inner comer of the eye, and beneath, and at the point of this cartilage. The eye of the horse has likewise very strong muscles attached to it, and one, peculiar to quadrupeds, of extraordi- THE HOKSF. 277 nai7 power, by whose aid, if the animal has not hands to ward off the danger that threatens, he is at least enabled to draw the eye back almost out of the reach of that danger. Dust, or gi-avel, or insects, may have entered the eye, and annoy the horse. This muscle sud- denly acts : the eye is forcibly drawn back, and presses upon the fatty matter. Tliat may be dis- placed, but cannot be reduced into less compass. It is forced violently towards the inner comer of the eye, and it drives before it the haw ; and the haw, having likewise some fat about its point, and being placed between the eje and an exceedingly smooth and polished bone, and being pressed upon by the eye as it is violently di-awn back, shoots out with the rajiidity of lightning, and, guided by the eyelids, projects over the eye, and thus carries off the offending matter. In what way shall we draw the haw bact again without muscular action '? Another principle is called into play, of which mention has already been made, and of wliich we shall have much to say, — elasticity. It is that principle by which a body yields to a certain force impressed upon it, and returns to its former state as soon as that force is removed. It is that by which the ligament of the neck (p. 266), while it supports the head, enables the horse to graze — by which the heart expands after closing on and propelling forward the blood in its ventricles, and the artery con- tracts on the blood that has distended it, and many of the most important functions of life are in- fluenced or governed. This muscle ceases to act, and the eye resumes its natural situation in the orbit. There is room for the fatty matter to return to its place, and it immediately returns by the elasticity of the membrane by which it is co- vered, and draws after it this cartilage with which it is connected, and whose return is as rapid as was the projection. The old farriers strangely misunderstood the nature and design of the haw, and many at the present day do not seem to be nuich better in- formed. When, from sympathy with other parts of the eye labouiing under inflammation, and be- coming itself inflamed and increased in bulk, and the neighbouring parts likewise thickened, it is either forced out of its place, or voluntarily protru- ded to defend the eye from the action of light and cannot return, they mistake it for some injurious e.xcresceuce or tumour, and proceed to cut it out. The " haw in the eye" is a disease well known to the majority of grooms, and this sad remedy for it is deemed the only cure. It is a barbarous prac- tice, and if they were compelled to walk half a dozen miles in a thick dust, without being per- mitted to wipe or to cleanse the eye, they would feel the torture to which they doom this noble animal. A little patience having been exercised, and a few cooling applications made to the eye while the in- flammation lasted, and afterwards some mild as- tringent ones, and other proper means being employed, the tumour would have disappeared, the haw would have retunied to its place, and the ani- mal would have discharged the duties required of him without inconvenience to himself, instead of the agony to which an unguai'ded and unprotected eye must now expose him. A B a supposed object viewed by the animal, and an invertedimage of which, a, 6, is thrown on the retina at the bacli of the eye. c c The points where the rays, having passed the cornea and lens, converge by the refractive power of the lens. d e The rays proceeding fromtheextremiliesoftheobject tolhe eye. / The cornea, or homy and transparent part of the eye, covered by the conjunctiva, uniting diifercnt parts together. g The crystalline (ciyslal or glassy) lens, behind the pupil, and in front of the vitreous humour. h h Muscles of the eye. 1 The optic neiTe, or nerve of sight. k The sclerotica (hard firm coat) covering the whole of the eye except the portion occupied by the cornea, and being a seeming prolongation of tiie covering of the optic nerve. The choroides (receptacle or covering), or choroid coat, covered with a black secretion or paint. . The iris or rainbow-coloured circular membrane under the cornea, in front of the eye, and on which the coloin of the eye depends. The dnplicature behind is the wl'fa, from being coloured like a grape. The opening in the centre is the pupil. The ciliary (hair like) processes. The retina, or net-like expansion Cff the optic nerve, spread over the whole of the choroides as far as the leDs. The vitreous (glass-like) humoin filling thewhole of the cavity of the eye behind the lens. The aqueous (waier-hke) humour filling the space between the cornea and the lens. , 278 THE HORSE, The loss of blood occasioned by tlie excision of the haw ma}' frequently relieve the inflammation of the eye ; and the evident amendment which follows induces these wise men to believe that they have performed an excellent operation ; but the same loss of blood by scarification of the overloaded vessels of the conjunctiva would be equally benefi- cial, and the animal would not be deprived of an instrument of admirable use to him. The eye is of a globular figure, yet not a per- fect globe. It is rather composed of j^arts of two globes ; the half of one of them smaller and trans- parent in front, and of the other larger and the coat of it opaque, behind. We shall most conve- niently begin with the coats of the eye. The conjunctiva, f, is that membrane which lines the lids, and covers the fore part of the eye. It spreads over all that we can see or feel of the eye, and even its transparent part. It is itself transparent, and transmits the colour of the parts beneath. It is very susceptible of inflammation, during which the lining of the lids will become in- tensely red, and the white of the eye will be first streaked with red vessels, and then covered with a complete mesh of them, and the cornea will become cloudy and opaque. It is the seat of vaiious dis- eases, and, particularly, in it commences that sad inflammation of the horse's eye which bids defiance to the veterinary surgeon's skill and almost iuva- riably terminates in blindness. The examination of the conjunctiva, by turning down the lid, will enable us to form an accurate judgment of the degree of inflammation which exists in the eye. Covering the back part of the eye, and indeed four-fifths of the globe of it, is the sclerotica, k. It is an exceedingly strong membrane, composed of fibres interweaving with each other, and almost defying the possibility of separation. An organ so delicate and so important as the eye requires secui-e protection. It is a highly elastic membrane. It is neces- sary that it should be so, when it is considered that the eye is surrounded by several and ver}' jjowerful muscles, which must temporarily, and even for the purposes of vision, alter its foi'm. The elasticity of the sclerotica is usefully exhibited by its causing the globe of the eye to resume its former and natural shape, as soon as the action of the muscle ceases. The sclerotica has very few blood-vessels — is scarcely sensible — and its diseases, except when it participates in general disturbance or disorganiza- tion, are rarely brought under our notice. The cornea is, or we should wish it to be, the only visilile part of the horse's eye, for the exhibi- tion of' much white around it is a sure symptom of wickedness. The cornea fills up the vacuity which is left by the sclerotica in the fore part of the eye, and, although closely united to the sclero- tica, may be separated from it, and will drop out like a watch-glass. It is not round, but wider from side to side than from the top to the bottom ; and the curve rather broader towards the inner than the outer comer of the eye, so that the near eye may be known from the off one after it is taken from the head. The convexity or projection of the cornea is a point of considerable importance. The prominence of the eye certainly adds much to the beauty of the animal, but we shall see presently, when we consider the eye as the organ of sight, that by being too prominent the rays of light may be ren- dered too convergent, and the vision indistinct ; or, if the cornea is small and flat, the rays may not be convergent enough, and perfect vision destroyed. In either case the horse may unpleasantly start, or suddenly and dangerously turn round. An eye neither too promment nor too flat will be nearest to perfection. It should be perfectly transpai-ent. Any cloud- iness or opacity is the consequence of disease. It is an exceedingly firm and dense membrane, and can scarcely be pierced hy the shai-pest instrument. The cornea is composed of man}' different plates, laid over one another ; and between each, at least in a state of health, is a fluid that is the cause of its transpai'ency, and the evaporation of which, after death, produces the leaden or glazed appear- ance of the eye. When it appears to be opaque, it is not often, and never at first, that the cornea has undergone any change. There is nothing that deserves attention from the purchaser of a horse more than the perfect transparency of the cornea over the whole of its surface. The eye should be examined for this purpose, both in front, and with the face of the examiner close to the cheek of the horse, under and behind the eye. The latter method of look- ing through the cornea is the most satisfactoiy, so far as the transparency of that part of the eye is concerned. During this examination the horse should not be in the open air, but in the stable, standing in the doon^'ay, and a little within the door. If any small, faint, whitish lines appear to cross the comea, or spread over any part of it, they are assuredly the remains of prerious inflam- mation ; or, although the centre and bulk of the cornea should be perfectly clear, yet if around the edge of it, where it unites with the sclerotica, there should be a narrow ring or circle of haziness, the conclusion is equally true, but the inflammation occurred at a more distant period. Whether how- ever the inflammation has lately existed, or several weeks or months have elapsed since it was subdued, it is too likely to recur. There is one caution to be added. The comea in its natural state is not only a beautifully trans THE HORSE. 279 parent structure, but it reflects, even in proportion to its transparency, many of the rays which fall upon it ; and if there is a white object immediately before the eye, as a light waistcoat, or much dis- play of a white necl?cloth, the reflection may puzzle an experienced observer, and lias misled many a careless one. The coat should be buttoned up, and the white cravat carefully concealed. Within the sclerotica, and connected with it by innumerable minute fibres and vessels, is the choroid coat, I. It is a very delicate membrane, and extends over the whole of the internal part of the eye, from the optic nerve to the cornea. It secretes a dark-coloured substance or paint, by which it is covered ; the intention of which, like the inside of our telescopes and microscopes, is probably to absorb any wandering rays of light which might dazzle and confuse. The black paint, jnffmentum nigrum, seems perfectlj' to discharge this function in the humau eye. It is placed immediately under the retina or expansion of the optic nerve. The rays of light fall on the retina, and penetrating its delicate substance, are imme- diately absorbed or destroj'ed by the black cover- ing of the choroides underneath. For the per- fection of many of his best pleasures, and particu- lai'ly of his intellectual powers, mail wants the vivid impression which will be caused by the admission of the rays of light into a perfectly dark chamber ; and when the light of the sun begins to fail, his superior intelligence has enabled him to discover various methods of substituting an artificial day, after the natural one has closed. Other animals without this power of kindling another, although inferior light, have far more to do with the night than we have. Many of them sleep through the glare of day, and awake and are busy duiing the period of darkness. The ox occupies some hours of the night in grazing ; the sheep does so when not folded in his pen ; and the horse, worked during the day for our convenience and profit, has often little more than the period of night allotted to him for nourishment and repose. Then it is necessary that, by some peculiar and adequate contrivance, these hours of comparative or total darkness to us should be partially yet sufficiently illuminated for them ; and therefore in the horse the dark brown or black coat of the choroides does not extend over the whole of the internal part of the eye, or rather it is not found on any part on which the rays proceeding from the objects could fall. It does not occupy the smallest portion of what may be called the field of \'ision ; but, in its place a bright variegated green is spread, and more over the upper part than the lower, because the animal's food, and the objects which it is of consequence for him to notice, are usually below the level of his head — thus, by soft'eriug the impression to remain longer on the retina, or by some portion of light reflected from this variegated bed on whicVi the retina reposes, or in some other inexplicable but efficient way, enabling the animal, even in comparative darkness, to possess a power of vision equal to his wants. The reader may see in the dusk, or even when duskiness is fast yielding to utter darkness, the beautiful sea-green reflection from the eye of the horse. It is that lucid variegated carpet of which we are now speaking. Who is unaware that in the fading glimmering of the evening, and even in the darker shades of night, his horse can see surrounding objects much better than his rider; and who, resigning himself to the guidance of that sagacious and faithful animal, has not been carried in safety to his jour- ney's end, when he would otherwise have been utterly bewildered ? If the reader has not examined this beautiful pigment in the eye of the horse, he should take the earliest opportunity of doing so. He will have a beautiful illustration of the care which that Being who gave all tilings life has taken that each shall be fitted for his situation. The horse has not the intelligence of man, and may not want for any purpose of pleasure or improvement the vivid picture of surrounding objects which the retina of the human being presents. A thousand minute but exquisite beauties would be lost upon him. If, therefore, his sense of vision may not be so strong during the day, it is made up to liim by the increased power of vision in the night. Perfectly white and cream-coloured horses have a peculiar appearance of the eyes. The pupil is red instead tif black. There is no black paint or brilliant carpet. It is the choroid coat itself which we see in them and not its covering ; and the red appearance is caused by the numerous blood- vessels which are found on every part of that coat. When we have to treat of other domestic animals, we shall see how this carpet is varied in colour to suit the situation and necessity of each. In tlie ox it is of a dark green. He has not many enemies to fear, or much difficulty in seai-ching for nourishment, and the colour of the eye is adapted to his food In the cat and all his varieties it is yellow. We have heard of tlie eyes of the lion appearing like two flaming torches in the night. There are few of our readers who have not seen the same singular glare from the eyes of the domestic cat. In the wolf, and like- wise in the dog, who, in his wild state, prowls chiefly at night, it is grey. In the poor unjustly- persecuted badger, who scarcely dares to crawl forth at night, although sheltered by the thickest darkness, it is white ; and the ferret, who is des- tined to hunt his prey through all its winding retreats, and in what would be to us absolute dark- ness, has no paint on the choroides. T 2 '280 THE HORSE. f Tfacing t1ie choroities towards the fore part of *lie eye, we perceive that it is reflected from the side to the edge of the lens, n, and has the appear- ance of several plaits or folds. They are actually foldings of the membrane. It is not diminished in size, but it has less space to cover, and there must be duplicatures or plaits. They are use- fully employed in the place in which we find them. They prevent the passage of any rays of light on the outside of the lens, and which, pro- ceeding forward in various directions, and uncon- densed by the power of the lens, would render vision confused or imperfect. These folds of the choroides are called the ciliary processes. Within the cornea, and occupying the fore part of the eye, is the aqiwoits Immgur, p, so termed from its resemblance to pure water. It is that by which the cornea is preserved in its protube- rant and rounded form. It e.\:tends to the crys- talline lens, q, and therefore a portion of it, al- though a very small one, is behind the iris (m, p. 277). Floating in this fluid is a membrane, with an oblong aperture, called the Iris. It is that which gives colour to the eye. The human eye is said to be black, or hazel, or blue, according to the colour of this membrane or curtain ; and it is denominated the iris, or rainbow, from its beauti- ful, intermingling hues. The colour varies little in the horse, e.xcept that it always bears some analogy to that of the skin. We rarely see it lighter than a hazel, or darker than a brown. Horses perfectly white, or cream-coloured, have the iris white and the pupil red. When horses of other colours, and that are usually pied, have a wliite iris and a black pitpil, they are said to be u-all-eyed. Vulgar opinion has decided that a wall-eyed horse is never subject to blindness, but this is altogether erroneous. There is no differ- ence of structure that can produce this exemption; but the wall-eyed horse, from this singular and unpleasant appearance, and his frequent want of breeding, may not be so much used and exposed to many of the usual causes of inflammation. The aperture in the iris is termed the pupil, and through it light passes to the inner chamber of the eye. The pupil is oblong, and variable in size. It differs with the intensity or degree of light that falls upon the eye. In a dark stable the pupil is expanded to admit a great proportion of the liglit that falls upon the cornea ; but when the horse is brought towards the door of the stable and more light is thrown upon the eye, the pupil contracts in order to keep out that extra quantity which would lie painful to the animal, and injurious to vision. When opposed directly to the sun, the aperture will almost close. This alteration of form in the pupil is effected by the muscular fibres that enter into the compo- gition of the iris. When these fibres are relaxed, the pupil must proportionably diminish. The motions of the iris are not at all under the control of the will, nor is the animal sensible of them.- They are produced by sympathy with the state of the retina. When, however, a deficient portion of light reaches the retina, and vision is indistinct, we are conscious of an apparent effort to bring the object more clearly into view, and the fibres then corrtract, and the aperture enlarges, and more light is admitted. This dilatation or contraction of the pupil gives a useful method of ascertaining the existence of blindness in one eye or in both. The cornea and crystalline lens remain perfectly transparent, but the retina is pialsied, and is not affected by light ; and many persons have been deceived when blind- ness of this description has been confined to one eye. A horse blind in both eyes will usually have his ears in constant and rapid motion, directing them in quick. succession to every quarter. He will likewise hang back in his halter in a peculiar way, and will lift his feet high as if he were step- ping over some obstacle, when there is actually nothing to obstruct liis passage, and there will be an evident uucertainty in the putting down of his feet. Ini blindness of one eye little or nothing of this characteristic gait and manner can be per- ceived. Although a one-eyed horse may not be absolutely condemned for the common business of the carriage or the road, he is generally dete- riorated as a hunter, for he cannot measure his distances, and will run into his leaps.* Many a sportsman, puzzled and angry at the sudden blun- dering of his horse, or injured by one or more stunning falls, has found a very natural although unexpected explanation of it in the blindness of one eye, and that perhaps produced through his own fault, by over-riding his willing and excellent servant and causing a determination of blood to the eye, which proved fatal to the delicate texture of the retina. Even for the carriage or the road he is considerably deteriorated, for his field of obser- vation must be materially lessened. Let the size of both pupils be carefully noticed before the horse is removed from the stable, and, as he is led to the door, observe whether they both contract, and equally so, with the increase of liglit. If the horse should be first seen in the open air, let it be observed whether the pupils are pre- cisely of the same size; then let the hand be placed over each eye alternately and held there * Ml-. W. Percivall, however, in his excellent Lectures on the Veterinary Art, vol. iii. p. 201, says, " The less of one eye does not enfeeble sight, because the other acquires greater energy, though it much contiacts the field of vision. It is said to render the con- ception erring, and the case of misjudgment of distances is the one commonly brought forward to show this. All I can say on Ibis point is, that the best hunter I ever possessed, a horse gifted with exlraordiniiry powers for lea])ing, was a one-eyed horse, and tiiis animal cari-ied me through a hunting season, without, to my recol- lection, making one single blunder in leaping." THE HORSE. 281 f(ir a little wliile, and let it lie observed whether the pupil dilates with the abstraction of light, and equally in each eye. Hanging from the upper edge of the pupil of the horse, are two or three round black substances, as large as millet seeds. When the horse is sud- denly brought into an intense light, and the pupil is closed, they present a singular appearance, as they are pressed out from between the edges of the iris. An equal number, but much smaller, are attached to the edge of the lower portion of the iris. Their general use is probably to intercept rays of light which would be troublesome or inju- rious, and their principal function is accomplished during the act of grazing. They are larger on the upper edge of the iris, and are placed on the outer side of the pupil, evidently to dischai'ge the same function which we have attributed to the eyelashes, viz. to obstruct the light in those directions in which it would come with greatest force, both from above and even from, below, while, at the same time, the field of view is perfectly open, so far as it regards the pastui'e on which the horse is grazing. In our cut m gives a duplicature of the iris, or the back surface of it. This is called the ui-ea, and it is covered with a thick coat of black mucus, to arrest the rays of light, and to prevent them from entering the eye in any other way than thi'ough the pupil. The colour of the iris is, in some unknown way, connected with this black paint behind. Wall-eyed horses, whose iris is white, have no uvea. AVe now arrive at a body on which all the im- portant uses of the eye mainly depend, the cri/stal- liiie lens, g, so called from its resemblance to a piece of crystal or transparent glass. It is of a yielding jelly-like consistence, thicker and firmer towards the centre, and conve.x. on each side, but more convex on the inner than the outer side. It is enclosed in a delicate transparent bag or capsule, and is placed between the aqueous and the vitreous humours, and received into a hollow in the vitreous humour, with which it exactly corresponds. It has, from its density, and its double convexity, the chief concern in converging the rays of light which pass into the pupil. The lens is very apt to be affected from long or violent inflammation of the conjunctiva, and either its capsule becomes cloudy, and imperfectly transmits the light, or the substance of the lens becomes opaque. The examination of the horse, with a view to detect this, must either be in the shade, or at a stable door, where the light shall fall on the animal from above, and in front ; and in conducting this examination we would once more caution the intended purchaser against a superfitiity of white about his neck. Holding the head of the animal a little up, and the light coming in the direc- tion that has been described, the condition of the lens will at once be evident. The confirmed cataract, or the opaque lens of long standing, will exhibit a pearly appearance, that cannot be mistaken, and will frequently be attended with a change of form — a portion of the lens being forced fonvards into the pupil. Although the disease may not have proceeded so fiir as this, yet if there is the slightest cloudiness of the lens, either generally, or in the form of a minute spot in the centre, and with or without lines radiating from that spot, the horse is to be condemned ; for, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the disease will proceed, and cataract, or complete opacity of the lens, and absolute blindness, will be the result. Cataract in the human being may, to a very co'Asiderable extent, be remedied. The opaque lens may be extracted, or it may be forced into the vitreous humours, and there existing as a foreign body, it will soon be absorbed and disappear. These operations are impossible in the horse, for, in the first place, there is a muscle of which we have already spoken, and to be presently more particularly described, that is peculiar to quad- rupeds, and of such power as generally to draw back the eye too far into its socket for the surgeon to be enabled to make his incision; or could the incision be made, the action of this muscle would force out the greater part of the contents of the eye, and this organ would speedily waste away. If, however, the opaque lens could be withdrawn or depressed, and the mechanism of the eye were not otherwise injured, the operation would be to- tally useless, for we could not make the horse wear those convex glasses whose converging power might compensate for the loss of the lens. Behind the lens, and occujlying four-fifths of the cavity of the eye, is the vitreous humour (glassy, or resembling glass). It seems, when first taken from the eye, to be of the consistence of a jelly, and of beautiful transparency ; but if it is pvmc- tured a fluid escapes from it as limpid and as thin as water, and when this has been suffered com- pletely to ooze out, a mass of membraneous bags or cells remains. The vitreous humour consists of a watery fluid contained in these cells : but the fluid and the cells form a body of considerably greater density than the aqueous fluid in the front of the eye. Last of all, between the vitreous humour and the choroid coat, is the retina, a, or net-like mem- brane. It is an expansion of the substance, g. of the optic nerve. When that neiTO has reached the back of the eye, and per.etrated through the sclerotic and choroid coats, it first enlarges into a little white prominence, from which radiations or expansions of nervous matter prjceed, vhich spread over the whole of the choroid coat, and form the thu'd investment of the eve. The mem- 282 THE HORSE. brane by wbicb tbis nei"vous pulp Is supported, is so exceedingly tbin and delicate, tbat it vnW tear witb the sligbtest touch, and break even ^vith its own weight. The membrane and the pulp are perfectly transparent in the living animal. The pupil appears to be black, because in the day-time it imperfectly reflects the colour of the choroid coat beneath. In the dusk it is greenish, be- cause, the glare of day being removed, the actual green of the paint appears. On this expansion of nervous pulp, the rays of light from surrounding objects, condensed by the lens and the humours, fall, and, producing a cer- tain image corresponding with these objects, the animal is conscious of their existence and pre- sence. It may, however, so happen that from the too great or too little convexity of the eye or a por- tion of it, the place of most distinct vision may not be immediately on the retina, but a little be- fore or behind it. In proportion as this is the case, the sight will be indistinct and imperfect ; nor shall we be able to offer any remedy for this defect of sight. There is a shying, often the re- sult of cowardice or playfulness, or want of work, but at other times proving, beyond contradiction, a defect of sight even more dangerous than blind- ness. A blind horse ^\^ll resign himself to the guidance of his rider or driver; but against the misconception and starting of a shying horse there is no defence. That horses grow shy as they grow old no one accustomed to them will deny; and no intelligent person will be slow in attribut- ing it to the right cause — a decay in the organ of vision, — a loss of convexity in the eye, lessening the convergency of the rays, and throwing the perfect image beyond, and not on, the retina. There is a striking difference in the convexity of the cornea in the colt and the old horse ; and both of them, probably, may shy from opposite causes — the one from a cornea too prominent, and the other from one too flat. In the usual exami- nation of the horse previously to purchase, suffi- cient attention is not always paid to the convexity of the cornea. The remedy for shying will be considered when we speak of the vices of horses. There is a provision yet wanting. The horse has a veiy extended field of view, but many persons are not perhaps aware how little of it he can com- mand at a time. There is not one of our readers who can make out a single line of our treatise without changing the direction of the eye. It is curious to follow the motion of the eyes of a rapid reader. Nature has given no less than seven muscles to the horse, in order to turn this little but important organ ; and, that they may act with sufficient power and quickness, no ifewer than 6LX nerves are directed to the muscles of the eye generally, or to particular ones — while the eye rests on a mass of fat, that it may be turned with little exertion of power, and without friction. MUSCLES OF THE EYE. There are four straight muscles, three of which, d, e, and /, are represented, in our cut, rising from the back of the orbit, and inserted into the ball of the eye, opposite to, and at equal distances from each other. One, d, runs to the upper part of the eye, just behind the transparent and visible portion of it, and its office is clearly to raise the eye. Wlien it contracts, the eye must be drawn upward. Another,/, is inserted exactly opposite, at the bottom of the eye ; and its office is as clearly to depress the eye, or enable the animal to look downwards. A third, e, is inserted at the outer comer, and by means of it the eye is turned outward, and, from the situation of the eye of the horse, Considerably backward ; and the fourth is inserted at the inner corner, turning the eye inward. They can thus rotate or turn the eye in any direction the animal wishes, and by the action of one, or the combined power of any two of them, the eye can be immediately and accu- rately directed to every point. These muscles, however, have another duty to discharge. They support the eye in its place. In the usual position of the head of the horse, they must be to a certain degree employed for this pur- pose ; but when he is grazing or feeding, the prin- cipal weight of the eye rests upon them. Another muscle is therefore added, peculiar to quadrupeds, called the retractor {drawer-back), or the siispen- sorius (suspensory) muscle, g. It arises from the edge of the foramen through which the optic nerve enters the orbit — surrounds the nerve as it pro- ceeds forward, and then, partially dividing into four portions, is attached to the back part of the eye. Its office is evidently to support the eye generally, or, when suddenly called into powerful action, and assisted by the straight muscles, it draws the eye back out of the reach of threatening danger, and in the act of drawing it back causes the haw to protmde, as an additional defence. The power of this muscle is very great. It renders some operations on the eye almost impos- THE HOUSE. 28a; sible. It is an admirable substitute for tlie want of hands, to defend the eye from many things that would injure it ; and, being partially separated into four divisions, it assists the straight muscles in turning the eye. These muscles discharge another and a most important office. If we examine near and distant objects through a telescope, we must alter the focus ; i. e., we must increase or diminish the length of the tube. We must shorten it a little when we examine distant objects, because the rays, coming to us from them in a less divergent direction, are sooner brought to a point by the power of the lens. Thus the straight and retrac- tor muscles drawing back the eye, and forcing it upon the substance behind, and in a slight de- gree flattening it, bring the lens nearer to the retina, and adapt the eye to the observation of dis- tant objects. Still, however, being constantly employed in supporting the weight of the eye, these muscles may not be able to turn it so rapidly and so exten- sively as the wishes or wants of the animal re- quire ; therefore two others are superadded, which are used solely in turning the eye. Tliey are called oblique muscles, because their course is obliquely across the eye. The upper one is most curiously constructed, a, b. It comes from the back part of the orbit, and takes a direction up- wards and towards the inner side, and there, just under the ridge of the orbit, it passes through a perfect mechanical pulley, and, turning round, proceeds across the eye, and is inserted rather be- yond the middle of the eye, towards the outer side. Thus the globe of the eye is evidently di- rected inward and upward. Something more, however, is accomplished by this singular me- chanism. The eye is naturally deep in the orbit, that it may be more perfectly defended ; but it may be necessary occasionally to bring it forward, and enlarge the field of vision. The eye is ac- tually protruded under the influence of fear. Not onl}' are the lids opened more widely, but the eye is brought more forward. How is this accom- plished ? There are no muscles anterior to, or be- fore the eye — there is no place for their insertion. The object is readily effected by this singular pulley, b, c. By the power of this muscle — the trochlearis, or pulley-muscle — and the straight muscles at the same time not opposing it, or only regulating the direction of the eye, it is really brought somewhat forward; The lower oblique muscle rises just within the lacrymal bone (t, p. d65), and, proceeding across the eye, is fixed into the part of the sclerotica opposite to the other ob- lique muscle, and it tm-ns the eye in a contrary direction, assisting, however, the upper oblique in bringing the eye forward from its socket. CHAPTER VII. INJURIES AND DISEASES OF THE SKULL THE BRAIN — THE EARS AND THE EYES. We have now arrived at a convenient resting- place in our somewhat dry but necessary descrip- tion of the structure of the horse, and we willingly turn to more practical matter. We will consider the injuries and diseases of the parts we have surveyed. In entering, however, on this division of our work, we would premise, that it is impiossi- ble for us to give the farmer such an account of the nature and treatment of the diseases of horses as will enable him with safety to practise for him- self, except in the commonest cases. The causes of most diseases are so obscure, their symptoms so variable, and their connexion with other maladies so complicated and mysterious, that a life devoted to professional study will alone qualify a man to become a judicious and successful practitioner on the diseases of the horse and other domestic animals. Our object will be to communicate suffi- cient instruction to the farmer to enable him to act with promptness and judgment when he cannot obtain professional assistance, to qualify him to form a satisfactory opinion of the skill of the vete- rinary surgeon whom he may employ, and, more especially, to divest him of those strange and ab- surd prejudices which in a variety of cases not only produce and prolong disease, but bring it to a fatal termination. FRACTURE. We have described the ca\-ity of the skull of the horse as being so defended by the hardness of the parietal bones, and those bones so covered by a mass of muscle, and the occipital bone as so ex- ceedingly thick (see above), that a fracture of the skull is almost impossible. It can only occur from brutal violence, or when a horse falls in the act of rearing. When, however, fracture of the skull does occur, it is almost invariably fatal. A blow of sufficient violence to break these bones must likewise irreparably injure the delicate and important organ which they protect. 284 THE HORSE. The ridge, or outer and upper part of the orbit of the eye, is occasionally fractured. It happens from falling, or much oftener from violent blows. The slightest e.^amination v.ill detect the loosened pieces; but a professional man alone can render effectual assistance. Mr. Pritehard, in the second volume of the " Veterinarian," relates an interesting case of frac- ture of the orbit of the eye. " A chesnut mare," he says, •" received a blow which fractured the orbit from the superciliaiy foramen, in a line through the zygomatic processes of the temporal and ma-lar bones to the outer angle of the eye. The detached bone, together with the divided in- tegument, hung over the eye so as to intercept vision. On examining the place where the acci- dent occurred, two portions of bone were found belonging to the orbital ai-ch. After carefully in- specting the wound, and finding no othei' detached portions, nor any spicules which might irritate or wound, the adjacent portions of the skin were carefully drawn togetlier, and secured by a silver wire, which closed the -wound, and confined the de- tatched portion of bone in its proper place. A mash diet was oi'dered. " On the following day there was considerable inflammation. The eye was bathed with warm water, and a dose of phj'sic administered. On the third day the inflammation and sw«H.ing had still more increased. Blood was abstracted from the vein at the angle of the eye. The swelling and inflammation now speedily abated ; and on the 15th day the woimd had quite healed." If a fracture of this kind is suspected, its ex- istence or non-e.xistencevjnay be easily dete^'mined by introducing the thum^ under, and keeping the fore-finger upon the edg_e of the orbit. EXOSTOSIS. Bony enlargements of,' the orbital arch some- times arise from natural predisposition or local injury. They should be attacked in the earliest stage, for they are two apt rapidly to increase. Some preparation of iodine, as described in the account of medicines, will be useful in this case. CAKIES. Inflammation .and enlargenient of the injured bones, followed by abscess and the production of certain bony growths, are of occasional occurrence. A skilful practitioner can alone decide whether a cure should be attempted, or the sufferings of the animal terminated by death. COMPRESSION OF THE BRAIN. Hydatids are often found within the cranial cavity, and lying upon or imbedded in the brain of oxen and sheep. Their existence is usually fatal to the animal. There is no well-authenticated account of the existence of qn hydatid in the cranial cavity of the horse ; but cysts, containing a serous or viscid fluid, are occasionally observed. The following is the history of one : — A horse exhi- bited symptoms of vertigo, or staggers, which dis- appeared after copious bleeding and purgatives. About twelve months afterwards the same com- plaint was evident. He carried his head low and inclined to the right side, He staggered as he walked, and the motion of his linrbs was marked by a peculiar convulsive action, confined to the fore extremities. He moved by a succession of spasmodic boundings. He was completely deaf, and rapidly lost flesh, though he ate and drank voraciously. He remained in this state, to the shame of the owner and the practitioner, several months, and then he had a fresh attack of vertigo, and died suddenly. On examination of the brain, its membranes were found to be completely red- dened ; and, between the two lobes of the brain, was a round cyst as large as a pullet's egg. The pressure of this was the manifest cause of the mischief. PRESSURE ON THE BRAIN. This may be produced by some fluid thrown out between the membranes, or occupying and dis- tending the ventricles of the brain. In the full- grown horse it rarely occurs ; but it is well known to breeders as an occasional disease of the foal, .uiider the name of "water in the head." The head is either much enlarged, or strangely de- formed, or both ; and the animal dies, either in the biith, or a few days after it. MEGRIMS. There is another kind of pressure on the brain, resulting from an unusual determination or flow of blood to it. This organ requires a large supply of blood to enable it to discharge its important func- tions. Nature, in the horse more than in many other animals, has made some admirable provisions to cause this stream to flow into the brain with little velocitj, and thereby to lessen the risk of suddenly overloading it or mpturing its vessels. The arteries pursue their course to tbe brain in a strangely winding and circuitous manner ; and they enter the skull through bony apertures that will admit of the enlargement of the vessels only to a very limited extent. From various causes, however, of wliich the most common is violent exercise on a hot day, and the horse being fat and full of blood, more than the usual quantity is sent to the head ; or, from some negligence about the harness— as the collar being too small, or the curb-rein too tight — the blood is prevented from returning from the head. The larger vessels of the brain will then be too long and injuriously distended ; and, what is of more consequence, the small vessels that permeate the substance of the brain will be enlarged, and the bulk of the brain r THE HORSE. 285 increased, so that it will press upon the origins of the nei-ves, and produce, almost without warning, loss of power and consciousness. The mildest affection of this kind is known hy the name of Megrims. It comparatively rarely happens when the horse is ridden ; but should he be driven, and perhaps rather quickly, he may perform a part of his journey with his usual cheer- fulness and ease : he will then suddenly stop, shake his head, and .^xli)jit evident giddiness, and half-unconsciousness. In a. minute or two tlii? will pass over, and he wiilgP on again aa if nothing had happened. Occasionally, however,^ the attack will be of a more serious nature. He wili fall without the slightest warning, or suddenly run round once or twice, and then fall. He will either lie'isi a state of complete insensibility, or stmggle with the utmost violence. In five or ten minutes beLwill begin gradually to come to himself; he will get up and proceed on his journey, yet somewhat dull, and evidently affected and exhausted by what had hap- pened, although not seriously or permanently ill. At the moment of attack, a person who is competent to the task should abstract three or four quarts of blood from the neck-vein ; or cut the bars of the palate in the manner to be ex- plained when we describe that part, and whence a considerable and sufficient quantity of blood may be readily obtained. The driver should pat and soothe the animal, loosen the curb-rein, if possible ease the collar, and pursue his journey as slowly as cu-cumstances will permit. When he gets home, a dose of physic sliould be administered if the horse can be spared, the quantity of dry food lessened, and mashes given, or green meat, or he should be turned out to grass for two or three months. Is all this necessary because a horse has hap- pened to have a fit of the megrims ? Yes, and more too in the mind of the prudent man ; for it is seldom that a horse has the megrims without the predisposition to a second attack remaining. These over-distended vessels may be relieved for a while, but it is long before they perfectly recover their former tone. It requires but a little increased velocity or force in the vital current once more to distend them, and to produce the same dangerous effects. The testimony of experience is uniform with regard to this ; and he would not do justice to himself or his family who trusted himself behind a horse that had a second attack of megrims. APOPLEXY. Megrims is apoplexy under its mildest form. In the latter affection, the determination of blood, if not so sudden, is greater, or differently directed, or more lasting. It is seldom, however, that there are not timely warnings of its approach, if the cartefc or the groom had wit enough to obser\'e them. The horse is a little off his feed — he is more than usually dull — there is a degree of stupidity about him, and, generally, a somewhat staggering gait. This goes off when he has been out a little while, but it soon returns under a more decided character, until, at length, it forces itself on the. attention of the most careless. The actual illness is perhaps first recognised by the Horse standing with his head depressed. It bears upon, or is forced against the manger or the wall, and a considerable part of the weight of the animal is evidently supported by this pressure of the head. As he thus stands, he is balancing himself from one side to the other as if he were ready to fall; and it is often dangerous to stand near to him, or to move him, for he falls without warning. If he can get his muzzle into a comer, herwill soxnetimes contfaiue there motionless for a considerable time, and then drop as if he were shot ; but, the next moment, he is up again TOth his feet almost in the rack. He sleeps or seems to do so as he stands, or at least he is nearly or quite unconscious of surrounding objects. When he is roused, he looks vacantly around him. Per- haps ho will take a lock of hay if it is offered to him ; but ere it is half masticated, the eye closes, and he sleeps again with the food in his mouth. Soon aftern'ai'ds he is, perhaps, roused once more. The eye opens, but it has an unmeaning glare. The hand is moved before him, but the eye closes not ; he is spoken to, but he hears not. The last act of voluntaiy motion which he will attempt is usually to drink ; but he has little power over the muscles of deglutition, and the fluid returns through the nostrils. He now begins to foam at the mouth. His breathing is laborious and loud. It is performed by the influence of the organic nen-es, and those of animal life no longer lend their aid. The pulse is slow and oppressed — the jugular vein is dis- tended almost to bursting — the muzzle is cold, and the discharge of the feces involuntary. He grinds his teeth — t-nitchiugs steal over his face and attack his limbs — they sometimes proceed to con^^.^lsions, and dreadful ones too, in which the horse beats himself about in a tenible manner ; but there is rarely disposition to do mischief. In the greater number of cases these convulsions last not long. All the powers of life are oppressed, and death speedily closes the scene. On examination after death, the whole venous system is usually found in a state of congestion, and the vessels of the brain are peculiarly turgid with black blood. Occasionally, however, there is no inflammation of the brain or its membranes ; but either the stomach contains a more than usual quantity of food, or the larger intestines ai-e loaded with foul matter. . 280 THE HORSE. This disease is found more frequently in the stable of the postmaster and the farmer than any- where else. Thirty years ago it was the very pest of these stables, and the loss sustained by some jjersons was enormous ; but, as veterinaiy science progressed, the nature and the causes of the disease were better understood, and there is not now one case of staggers where twenty used to occur. Apoplexy is a determination of blood to the head, and the cause is the over-condition of the animal and too great fulness of blood. Notions of proper condition in the horse now prevail very different from those by which our forefathers were guided. It no longer consists in the round sleek carcase, fat enough for the butcher, but in fulness and hardness of the muscular fibre, and a compara- tive paucity of cellular and adipose matter — in that which ■svill add to the power of nature, and not oppress and weigh her down. The system of exercise is better understood than it used formerly to be. It is proportioned to the quantity and quality of the food, and more particularly the division of labour is more rational. The stage-horse no longer nins his sixteen or eighteen, or even two-and-twenty miles, and then, exhausted, is turned into the stable for the next twenty hours. The food is no longer eaten vora- ciously ; the comparatively little stomach of the animal is no longer distended, before nature has been able sufficiently to recniit herself to carry on the digestive process ; the vessels of the stomach are no longer oppressed, and the flow of blood through them arrested, and, consequently, more blood directed to other parts, and to the brain among the rest. The farmer used to send his horses out early in the morning, and keep them at plough for six or eight hours, and then they were brought home and suffered to overgorge themselves, and many of them were attacked by staggers and died. If the evil did not proceed quite to this extent, the far- mers horse was notoriously subject to fits of heaviness and sleepiness — he had half-attacks of staggers. From this frequent oppression of the brain — this pressure on the topic nerves as well as other parts, another consequence ensued, unsus- pected at the time, but far too prevalent — the horse became blind. The farmer was notorious for having more blind horses in his stable than any other person, except, perhaps, the postmaster. The system of horse management is now essen- tially changed. Shorter stages, a di-vdsion of the labour of the day, and a sufficient interval for rest, and for feeding, have, comparatively speak- ing, banished slfepi/ star/gers from the stables of the postmaster. The di^'ision of the morning and afternoon labour of the farmer's horse, with the introduction of that simple but invaluable contri- vance, the nose-hag, have rendered this disease comparatively rare in the establishment of the agriculturist. To the late Professor Coleman we are indebted for some of these most important improvements. Old horses are more subject to staggers than young ones, for the stomach has become weak by the repetition of the abuses just described. It has not power to digest and expel the food, and thus becomes a source of general, and particularly of cerebral, disturbance. Horses at grass are occasionally attacked by this disease ; but they are generally poor, hard- worked, half-starved animals, turned on richer pasture than their impaired digestive organs are equal to. Perhaps the weather is hot, and the sympathy of the brain with the undue labour of the stomach is more easily excited, and a de- termination of blood to the brain more readily effected. Mr. Percivall gives a very satisfactoiy illustra- tion of the production of staggers in this way. He says that " when his father first entered the service of the Ordnance, it was the custom to turn horses which had become low in condition, but were still well upon their legs, into the marshes, in order to recruit their strength. Dur- ing the months of Jul_y, August, and September, nothing was more common than an attack of staggers among these horses, and which was naturally attributed to the luxuriant pasture they were turned into, combined with the dependent posture of the head, and the sultry heat to which they were exposed." Occasionally it will be necessaiy for the owner or the veterinary attendant to institute very care- ful inquiry, or he will not detect the real causes of the disease. Does it arise from improper manage- ment, to which the horse has been in a manner habituated ? Had he been subjected to long labour and fasting, and had then the opportunity of gorging to excess ? Did it proceed from acci- dental repletion — from the animal having got loose in the night, and found out the corn or the chaff bin, and filled himself almost to bm'sting ? There is nothing in the appearance of the animal which will lead to a discoveiy of the cause — no yellowness or tnitchings of the skin, no local swellings, as some have described ; but the prac- titioner or the o^Tier must get at the truth of the matter as well as he can, and then proceed accordingly. As to the treatment of staggers, whatever be the cause of the disease, bleeding is the first measure indicated — the overloaded vessels of the brain must be relieved. The jugular vein should be immediately opened. It is easily got at — it is large — the blood may be drawn from it in a full stream, and, being also the vessel through which THE HORSE. 287 the blood is retiinied from the liead, the greater part of the quantity obtained will be taken imme- diately from the overloaded organ, and therefore ■nill be most likely to produce the desired effect. No definite quantity of blood should be ordered to be abstracted. The effect produced must be the guide, and the bleeding must be continued until the horse faltei-s, or begins to blow — or, perhaps, ■with more assured success, until he falls. Some persons select the temporal artery. This is very unscientific practice. It is diflficult, or impossible, to obtain from this vessel a stream that promises any decisive success. It is likewise difficult to stop the bleeding from this artery, and, after all, the blood is not drawn from the actual seat of the disease — the brain. The second step is to ascertain what is the cause of the apoplexy. Has the animal got at the com or the chaff bin ? Had he been overfed on the evening before, and is his stomach probably distended to the utmost by what he has eaten? In such a case, of what avaU can physic he, in- troduced into a stomach already crammed with indigestive food? Or what effect can twelve or twenty drachms of aloes produce, a small portion only of which can penetrate into the stomach? Recourse must be had to the stomach-pump, one of the most valuable discoveries of modem times, and affording the means of combating several diseases that had pre^^ously set all medical skill at defiance. Warm water must be injected. The horse is now incapable of offering much resistance, and the injection may be continued not only until the contents of the stomach are so far diluted that a portion of them can escape through the lower orifice of that viscus. but until the obstruction to vomiting offered by the contracted entrance of the stomach is overcome, and a portion of the food is returned through the nostrils or mouth. This being effected, or it having been ascer- tained that there was no extreme distension of the stomach, recourse should be had to aloes, and from eight to twelve drachms of it may be administered. It will be proper to add some stimulating medicine to the aloes, with a view of restoring the tone of the stomach, and inducing it to contract on its contents. Gentian and ginger are most likely to effect this purpose. The after-treatment must be regulated by cir- cumstances. For some time the horse should be put on a restricted diet ; mashes should be given ; green meat in no great quantity ; a moderate allowance of hay, and very little com. AVhen sufla- ciently recovered, he may be turned out with ad- vantage on rather bare pasture. One circumstance, however, should never be forgotten — that the horse who lias once been attacked with staggers is liable to a return of the complaint from causes that other- wise would not affect him. The distended vessels are weakened — the constitution is weakened, and prudence would dictate that such an animal cannot be too soon disposed of. Let no farmer delude himself with the idea that apoplexy is contagious. If his horses have occasionally slight fits of staggers, or if the disease carries off several of them, he may be assured that there is something wrong in his management. One horse may get at the corn-bin and cram him- self to bursting ; but if several are attacked, it is time for the owner to look about him. The general cause is too voracious feeding — too much food given at once, and perhaps without water, after hard work and long fasting. There is one consequence of this improper treatment, of which persons do not appear to be sufficiently aware, although they suffer severely from it. A horse that has frequent half-attacks of staggers very often goes blind. It is not the com- mon blindness from cataract, but a peculiarly glassy appearance of the eye. If the historv of these blind horses could be told, it would be found that they had been svibject to fits of drooping and dulness, and these produced by absurd manage- ment respecting labour and food. PHRENITIS. Primaiy inflammation of the brain or its mem branes, or both, sometimes occurs, and of the membranes oftenest when both are not involved. Whatever be the origin of phrenitis, its early symptoms are scarcely different from those of apople.xy. The horse is drowsy, stupid ; his eye closes ; he sleeps while he is in the act of eating, and doses until he falls. The pulse is slow and creeping, and the breathing oppressed and labo- rious. This is the description of apoplexy. The symptoms may differ a little in intensity and con- tinuance, but not much in kind. The phrenitic horse, however, is not so per- fectly comatose as another that labours under apo- plexy. The eye will respond a little to the action of light, and the animal is somewhat more ma- nageable, or at least more susceptible, for he -nill shrink when he is struck, while the other fre- quently cares not for the whip. In the duration of the early symptoms there is some difference. If the apople.xy proceeds from distension of the stomach, four-and-twenty or six- and-thirty hours will scarcely pass without the cure being completed, or the stomach ruptured, or the horse destroyed. If it proceeds more from oppression of the digestive organs that from abso- lute distension of the stomach, and from that sym- pathy which subsists between the stomach and the brain, the disease \vill go on — it will become worse and worse eveiT horn-, and this imperfect comatose state will remain during two or three days. The apoplexy of the phrenitic horse will often iim its course in a few hours. 288 THE HORSE. In a case of evident phrenitis, tlood-letting and .physic must be early carried to their full extent. The horse will often he materially relieved, and, perhaps, cured by this decisive treatment ; but, if the golden hour has been suffered to pass, or if remedial measures have become ineffectual, the scene all at once changes, and the miost violent jeactiou succeeds. The eye brightens — strangely so ; the membrane of the eye becomes suddenly reddened, and forms a" frightful contrast with the transparency of the cornea ; the pupil is dilated to the utmost ; the nosti-il, before scarcely moving, expands and quivera, and labours ; the respiration becomes short and quick ; the ears are erect, or beut forward to' catch the slightest sound ; and the horse, becoming more irritable' every instant, trembles at the slightest motion. The irritability of the patient increases — it may be said to. change to ferocity — but the animal has no aim or object in what he does. , He dashes himself violently about, plunges in evei^' direction, rears on his hind legs, whirls round and round, and then falls back- ward with dreadful force. ' He lies for a while ex- hausted— there is a remission of the symptoms, but perhaps only for a minute or two, or possibly for a quarter of an hour. Now is the surgeon's golden time, and his courage and adroitness will be put to the test. He must open, if he can, one or both jugulars : but let him be on his guard, for the paroxysm will re- turn with its former violence and without the slightest warning. The second attack is more dreadful than the first. Again the animal whirls round and round, and plunges and falls. He seizes his clothing and rends it in pieces ; perhaps, destitute of feeling and of consciousness, he bites and tears himself He darts furiously at everything -s^ithin his reach ; -but no mind, no design, seems to mingle with or govern his fury. Another and another remission and a return of the exacerbation follow, and then, wearied out, he becomes quiet ; but it is not the quietness of re- turning reason — it is mere stupor. This continues for an uncertain period, and then he begins to stmggle again ; but he is now probably unable to rise. He pants — he foams — at length, com- pletely exhausted, he dies. There are but two diseases with which phre- nitis can be confounded, and they are cliolic and rabies. In cholic, the horse rises and falls ; he rolls about and kicks at his belly ; but his strug- gles are tame compared with those of the phrenitic horse. There is no involuntary spasm of any of the limbs ; the animal is perfectly sensible, and, looking piteously at his flanks, seems designedly to indicate the seat of pain. The beautiful yet fearfully excited countenance of the one, and the piteous, anxious gaze cf the .other, are sufficiently distinct ; and, if it can be got at, the rapid bound- ing pulse of the one, and that of the other scarcely losing its natural character in the early stage, cannot be mistaken. In rabies, when it does assume the ferocious form, ihereis even more violence than in phre- nitis ; but there is method, and treachery too, in that violence. There is the desire of mischief for its own sake, ftnd there is frequently the artful stratagem tci allure the victim within the reach of destruction. There is not a motion of which the rabid horse is not conscious, nor a person whom he does not recognise-; but he labours under one all-absorbing feeling — the intense longing to de- vastate and destroy. The post-mortem appearances are altogether uhceAain-." There is usually very great injection and inflammation of the membranes of the brain, and even of portiwis of the Substance of the brain ; but in other cases there ' is scarcely any trace of inflammation, or even of mcreased vascularity. .The' treatment of phrenitis has been very shortly hinted at. The first — the indispensable proceeding — is to bleed ; to abstract as much blood as can be obtained ; to let the animal bleed on after he is down ; -and indeed not to pin up the vein of the phrenitic horse at all. The patient will never be lost by this decisive proceeding, but the inflammation may be subdued, and here the first blow is the whole of the battle. The physic should be that which is most readily given and will most speedily act. The farina of the croton will, perhaps, have the preference. Half a drachm or two scmples of it may be fearlessly adminis- tered. The intense inflammation of the brain gives suflicient assui'ance that no dangerous in- flammation will be easily set up in the intestinal canal. This medicine can be formed into a very little ball or drink, and in some m&mentary remis- sion of the symptoms, administered by means of the probang, or a stick, or the horn. Sometimes the phrenitic horse, when he will take nothing else, and is unconscious of eveiything else, will drink with avidity gniel or water. Repeated doses of purgative medicine may perhaps be thus given, and they must be continued until the bowels re- spond. The forehead should be blistered, if it can in any way be accomplished ; yet but little service is to be expected from this manipulation. The bowels having been well opened, digitalis should be administered. Its first and most powerful action is on the heart, diminishing both the num- ber and strength of its pulsations. To this may be added emetic tartar and nitre, but not a particle of hellebore ; for that drug, if it acts at all, pro- duces an increased determination of blood to the brain. While the disease continues, no attempt must be made to induce the horse to feed ; and even THE HORSE. 289 ■when appetite returns with the abatement of in- flammation, great caution must be exercised both witli regard to the quantity and quality of the food. RABIES, on M.4.DNESS. This is another and fearful disease, of;, the nervous s^ystem. It results from the. bite -of a rabid animal, and, most commonly, of the com- panion and friend of the horse — the coach-dog. The account no>v given of this- malady is .gxtj^acted from lectures which the author q£ the present svork delivered to his class. _ ' y " Tliere is occasional warning of the approacji .of this disease in the horse, or rather of the esist- ence of some uimsual malady, the real nature-pf which is probably mistaken. A marij, :belonging to Mr. Karslake, had during ten days before the recognition of the disease been drooping, refusing her food, heaving at the flaiiks, and pawing occa- sionally. It was plain enough^-that she was indis- posed, but at length the furious fit came upon her, and she destroyed alnips.teverything in the st^le in the course of an hour. "Tjie late \h, Mone^y- nient had a two-years old «jlt brought to big esta- blishment It was taken ill in the afternoon of the preceding day, when it fu-stattracted attention by refusing its food, and throwing itself down and getting up again immediately. Fi'om such a de- cription, Mr. Moneyment concluded that in was.a case of cholic ; but, when he went into the. yard; and saw the pony, and observed his wild and anxious countenance, and his excessive nervous sen- sibility, he was convinced that something uncom- mon was amiss with him, although he did not at first suspect the real nature of the case. "The early symptoms of rabies in the horse have not been carefully observed or well recorded; but, in the majority of cases, so far as our I'ecords go, there will not often be premonitory sj-mptoms sufBciently decisive to be noticed by the groom. " The horse goes out to his usual work, and, fur a certain time and distance, performs it as well as he had been accustomed to do ; then he stops all at once — trembles, heaves, paws, staggers, and falls. Almost immediately he rises, drags his load a little farther, and again stops, looks about him, backs, staggers, and falls once more. This is not a fit of megrims — it is not a sudden deter- mination of blood to the brain, for the horse is not for a single moment insensible. The sooner he is led home the better, for the progress of the disease is as rapid as the first attack is sudden ; and, pos- sibly, he will fall twice or thrice before he reaches his stable. " In the great majority of cases — or rather, with veiy few e.xceptions — a state of excitation ensues, which is not exceeded by that of the dog under the most fearful form of the malady, but there are in- tervals when, if he had been naturally good tera- pered and had b6en attached to his rider or his groom, he will recognise his former friend and seek his caresses, artd betid on him one of those piteous, searching looks which, once observed, will never be forgotten ; but there is danger about this. Presently succeeds anolJier paroxysm, without warning and without control ; and there is no safety for him who had previously the most com- plete mastery over the animal. " I was once attendingarabid horse. The owner ■would not have him. degtroyed^ uijder the vain hope that I had mistaken a case of phrenitis for one of rabi«a,'; an'cf that the disfejise migi^t yield to the profuse abstraction of blood that I had been pre- vailed on to elTect, and the purgative influence of the farina of the cfotonnut with which he had been abundantly supplied in an early stage o^the malady. I insisted upon his being sluing, : so that we were protected fronvinjury .from his ^ickitig.or plunging. H(? ^uld beud;hj$ ga'ze upon we sW if he would search me through and through, and;WOuld prevail on me, if I could, to relieve him fi-om some dread- ful fvil by which he was threatened. He would then_ press. lii^ head against m;Bibosom, and keep it there a minute or more. All 9t once, however, the paroxysm would ret^Jrn. He did not attempt to bite.me ; bjit, had it not been for the sling, he would have plunged furiously about, and I might have found it difficult to escape. " I had previously attended another horse, which the owner refused to have destroyed, and to which attendance I only consented on condition of the animal being slung. He had been bitten in the near hind-leg. When I approached him on that side, he did not attempt to bite me, and he could not othenvise injure me ; but he was agitated and trembled, and straggled as well as he could ; and if I merely touched him with my finger, the pxd- sations were quickened full ten beats in a minute. When, however, I went round to the off" side, he permitted me to pat him, and I had to encounter his imploring gaze, and his head was pressed against me — and then presently ■would come the paroxysm ; but it came on almost before I could touch him, when I approached him on the other side. " These mild cases, however, are exceptions to a general rule. They are few and far between. The horse is the servant, and not the friend of man ; and if bis companion, yet an oppressed one. In proportion to his bulk he has far less of that por- tion of the brain with which intelligence is con- nected— less attachment — less gratitude. He is nevertheless a noble animal. 1 am not speaking dispai-agingly of him ; but I am comparing him with — next to man — the most intellectual of all quadrupeds. There is neither the motive for, nor the capability of, that attachment which the dog feels for his master, and therefore, under the in- 290 THE HORSE. fluence of this disase, lie abandons himself to all its dreadful excitenient. " The mare of Mr. Karslake, when the disease ■was fully developed, forgot her former drooping, dispirited state : her respiration was accelerated — her mouth was covered with foam — a violent per- spiration covered ever}' part of her, and her screams would cow the stoutest heart. She presently de- molished all the wood-work of the stable, and then she employed herself in beating to pieces the frag- ments, no human being daring to expose himself to her fury. " The symptoms of the malady of Mr. Money- ment's pony rapidly increased ; he bit everything within his reach, even diflerentparts of his own body ; he breathed laboriously ; his tail erect ; screaming dreadfully at short intervals, striking the ground with his fore-feet, and perspiring most profusely. At length he broke the top of his manger, and rushed out of the stall with it hanging to his halter. He made immediately towards the medi- cal attendant, and the spectators who were standing by. They fortunately succeeded iu getting out of his way, and he turned into the next stall, and dropped and died. " A young veterinary friend of mine veiy incau- tiously and fool-hardilj' attempted to ball a rabid hoi'se. The animal had previously shown himself to be dangerous, and had slightly bitten a person who gave him a ball on the preceding evening : he now seized the young student's hand, and lifted him from the ground, and shook him as a terrier would shake a rat. It was with the greatest diffi- culty, and not until the grooms had attacked the ferocious animal with their pitchforks, that they could compel him to relinquish his hold ; and, even then, not before he had bitten his victim to the bone, and nearly torn away the whole of the flesh from the upper and lower surfaces of the hand.* " There is also in the horse, whose attachment to his owner is often comparatively small, a degree of treachery which we rarely meet with in the nobler and more intellectual dog. A horse that had shown symptoms of great ferocity was standing in the comer of his box, with a heaving flank, and every muscle quivering from the degree of excite- ment under which he laboured. A groom, pre- suming on the former obedience of the animal, ventured in, and endeavoured to put a headstall upon him. Neither the master nor myself could persuade him to forbear. I was sure of mischief, for I had observed the ear lying flat upon the neck, and I could see the backward glance of the eye ; I therefore anned myself with a heavy twitch stick that was at hand, and climbed into the man- * In the Museum nf the Veterinary School at Alfort, is the lower jaw of a rabid horse, which was fractured in the violent ef- Torts ol' the animal to do mischiel'. ger of the next box. The man had not advanced two steps into the bo.x before I could see the shift- ing position of the fore feet, and the preparation to spring upon his victim ; and he would have sprang upon him, but my weapon fell, with all the force I could urge, upon liis head, and he dropped. The man escaped, but the brute was up again in an instant ; and we trembled lest the partition of the box should yield to his violence, and he would realize the graphic description of Mr. Blaine, when he speaks of the rabid horse as ' levelling everj'thing before him, himself sweating, and snorting, and foaming amidst the ruins.' " I have had occasion, more than once, to wit- ness the evident pain of the bitten part, and the manner in which the horse, in the intervals of his paroxysms, employs himself in licking or gnawing the cicatrix. One animal had been bitten in the ciiest ; and he, not in the intervals between the exacerbation, but when the paroxysm was most violent, would bite and tear himself until his breast was shockingly mangled, and the blood flowed from it in a stream. " The most interesting and satisfactoiysjTnptom is the evident dread of water which exists in the decided majority of cases, and the impossibility of swallowing a.nj considerable quantity. Professor Dupuy gives an account of this circumstance : — ' A rabid horse was confined in one of the sick boxes. His food was given to him through an opening over the door ; and a bucket was sus- pended from the door, and supplied with water by means of a copper tube. As soon as he heard the water falling into the pail, he fell int<3 violent con- vulsions, seized the tube, and crushed it to pieces. When the water in his bucket was agitated, the convulsions were renewed. He would occasionally approach the bucket as if he wished to drink, and then, after agitating the water for an instant, he would fall on his litter, uttering a hoarse cry ; but he would rise again almost immediately These symptoms were dreadfully increased if water was thrown upon his head. He would then endeavour to seize it as it fell, and bite with fury at every- thing within his reach, his whole frame being dreadfully convulsed.' "As the disease progresses, not only is the ani- mal rapidly debilitated, but there is the peculiar staggering gait which is obser\'able in the dog — referable to evident loss of power in the muscles of the lumbar region. I once saw a mare sitting on her haunches and unable to rise, yet using her fore feet with the utmost fury, and suffering no one to come within her reach. She, too, would sometimes plunge her muzzle into the offered pail, and immediately withdraw it in evident terror, while every limb trembled. At other times the lowering of the pail would affright her, and she would fall on her side and struggle furiously. Al- THE HORSE. S91 tliough this symptom is not often observed in the dog, it is a satisfactory identification of the disease, ^vhen it is so frequently seen in the horse, and so invariably in the human being. " The earliest and perhaps the most derisive symptom of the near approach of the rabies in the horse, is a spasmodic movement of the upper lip, particularly of the angles of the Hp. Close following on this, or contemporaneous with it, is the depressed and an.xious countenance and inquiring gaze, suddenly however lighted up, and becoming fierce and menacing from some unknown cause, or at the approach of a stranger. From time to time ditferent parts of the frame — the eyes — the jaws — particular limbs — will be con- vulsed. The eye will occasionally wander after some imaginary object, and the horse will snap again and again at that which has no real exist- ence. Then will come the irrepressible desire to bite the attendants or the animals within its reach. To this will succeed the demolition of the rack, the manger, and the whole furniture of the stable, accompanied by the peculiar dread of water which has been already described. " Towards the close of the disease there is gene- rally paralysis, usually confined to the loins and the hinder extremities, or involving those organs which derive their nervous influence from this portion of the spinal corel ; hence the distressing tenesmus which is occasionally seen. " The disease rarely extends beyond the third day. " After death, there is uniformly found inflam- mation at the back part of the mouth, and at the top of the windpipe, and likewise in the stomach, and on the membrane covering the lungs, and where the spinal marrow first issues from the brain." When the disease can be clearly connected with a previous bite, the sooner the animal is de- stroyed the better, for there is no cure. If the symptoms bear considerable resemblance to rabies, although no bite is suspected, the horse should at least be slung, and the medicine, if any is admin- istered, given in the form of a di'ink, and with the hand well protected ; for if it should be scratched in balling the horse, or the skin should have been previously broken, the saliva of the animal is ca- pable of communicating the disease. Several far- riers have lost their lives from being bitten or scratched in the act of administering medicine to a rabid horse. It is always dangerous to encourage any dogs about the stable, and especially if they become fond of the horses, and are in the habit of jumping up and licking them. The corners of the mouth of the horse are often sore from the pressure of the bit; and when a coach-dog in a gentleman's sta- ble— and it is likely to happen in every stable and with eveiy dog — becomes rabid and dies, the horse too frequently follows him at no great distance of time. If a horse is bitten by a dog under suspicious circumstances, he should be carefully examined, and every wound, and even the slightest scratch, well burned with the lunar caustic (nitrate of sil- ver). The scab should be removed and the opera- tion repeated on the third day. The hot iron does not answer so well, and other caustics are not so manageable. In the spring of 18:i7, four horses were bitten, near Hyde Park, by a mad dog. To one of them the lunar caustic was twice severely applied : he lived. The red-hot iron was unspar- ingly used on the others, and they died. The caustic must reach every part of the wound. At the expiration of the fourth month the horse may be considered to be safe. TET.\NtJS, OR LOCKED JAW. Tetanus is one of the most dreadful and fatal diseases to which the horse is subject. It is called LOCKED JAW, because the muscles of the jaw are earliest affected, and the mouth is obstinately and immovably closed. It is a constant spasm of all the voluntary muscles, and particularly of those of the neck, the spine, and the head. It is generally slow and treacherous in its attack. The horse, for a day or two, does not appear to be quite well ; he does not feed as usual ; he partly chews his food, and drops it ; and he gulps his water. The owner at length finds that the motion of the jaws is con- siderably limited, and some saliva is drivelling from the mouth. If he tries he can only open the mouth a very little way, or the jaws are perfectly and rigidly closed ; and thus the only period at which the disease could have been successfully combated is lost. A cut of a horse labouring under this disease is here given, which the reader will do well to examine carefully. The first thing that strikes the observer is a protrusion of the muscle, and stiffness of the neck ; and, on passing the hand down it, the muscles will be found singularly prominent, distinct, hard, knotty, and unyielding. There is diflBculty in bringing the head round, and still greater difficulty in bending it. The eye is drawii deep within the socket, and. in consequence of this, the fatty mat- ter behind the eye is pressed forward ; the haw is also protruded, and there is an appearance of stra- bismus, or squinting, in an outward direction. The ears are erect, pointed forward, and im- movable ; if the horse is spoken to, or threatened to be struck, they change not their position. Con- sidering the beautiful play of the ear in the horee when in health, and the kind of convereation which he maintains by the motion of it, there is not a more characteristic symptom of tetanus than this immobility of the ear. The nostril is expanded 298 THE HORSE. to the utmost, and there is little or no play of it, as in hurried or even natural breathing. The respiration is usually accelerated, yet not always so ; but it is uniformly laborious. The pulse gives little indication of the severity of the disease. ' It is sometimes scarcely affected. It will be rapidly accelerated when any one approaches the iiuimal and offers to touch him ; but it presently quiets down again almost to its natural standard. After a while, however, the heart begins to sympathise with the general excitation of the system, and the pulse increases in frequency and force until the animal becomes debilitated, when it beats yet quicker and quicker, but diminishes in power, and gradually flutters and dies away. The countenance is eager, anxious, haggard, and tells plainly enough wliat the animal suffers. The stiffness gradually e.xtends to the back. If the horse is in a narrow stall, it is impossible to turn him ; and, even with room and scope enough, he turns altogether like a deal-board. The extremities begin to participate in the spasm — the hinder ones generally first, but never to the extent to which it exists in the neck and back. The horse stands with his hind legs strad- dling apart in a singular way. The whole of the limb moves, or rather is dragged on, together, and anxious care is taken that no joint shall be flexed more than can possibly be helped. The fore limbs have a singular appearance ; they are as stiff as they can possibly be, but stretched forward and straddling. They have not unaptly been compared to the legs of a form. The abdominal muscles gradually become in- volved. They seem to contract with all the power they possess; and there is a degree of "hide- bound" appearance, and of tucking up of the belly, which is seen under no other complaint. The tail becomes in constant motion from the alternate and violent action of the muscles that elevate and depress it. Constipation, and to an almost insurmountable degree, now appears. The abdominal muscles are so powerfully contracted, that no portion of the contents of the abdomen can pass on and be discharged. By degrees the spasm extends and becomes everywhere more violent. The motion of the whole frame is lost, and the horse stands fixed in the unnatura,! posjture which he has assumed. The countenance becomes wilder and more haggard — its -expression can never be effaced from the me- mory, of him who cares about the feelings of a brute. The violent cramp of a single muscle, or set of muscles, makes the stoutest heart quail, and drarws forth the most piteous cries ; what, then, must it be for this tortm'e to pervade the whole frame, and to continue, with little respite, from day to day, and from week to week ! When his attendant approaches and touches him, he scarcely moves : but the despairing gaze, and the sudden acceleration of the pulse, indicate what he feels and fears. Tetanus then is evidently an affection of the nerves. A small fibre of some nen-e has been injured, and the effect of that injury has spread to the origin of the nerve ; the brain then becomes affected, and universal diseased action follows. Tetanus is spasm of the whole frame — not merely of one set of muscles, but of their antagonists also. The fixidity of the animal is the effect of opposed and violent muscular contraction. It belongs to the lower column of nerves only. The sensibility is unimpaired — perhaps it is heightened. The horse would eat if he could ; he tries to suck up some moisture from his mash ; and the avidity with which he lends himself to assist in the ad- ministering of a little giniel, shows that the feelings of hunger and thirst remain unimpaired. If the disease terminates fatally, it is usually from the sixth to the eighth day, when, if there has been no remission of tlie spasms, or only a slight one, the horse dies, exhausted by hard work. The task extorted by the whip and spur of the most brutal sportsman is not to be compared with it. About or a little before this time, there are THE HORSE. 293 Occasionally evident remissions. The spasm does not quite subside, but its force is materially les- sened. The jaw is not sufficiently relaxed to enable the animal to eat or to drink, or for advantage to be taken of an opportunity for the administration of medicine, while the slightest disturbance or fright recalls the spasmodic action with all its violence. If, however, the remission returns on the following day, and is a little lengthened, and particularly if there is more relaxation of the lower jaw, there yet is hope. If the patient should recover it will be very slowly, and he will be left sadly weak, and a mere walking skeleton. Ou post-mortem examination, the muscular fibre will exhibit sufficient proof of the labour which has been exacted from it. The muscles will appear as if they had been macerated — their tex- ture will be softened, and they will be torn with the greatest ease. The lungs will, in the majority of cases, be highly inflamed, for they have been laboming long and painfully to furnish arterial blood in sufficient quantity to support this great expenditure of animal power. The stomach will contain patches of inflammation, but the intestines, in most cases, will not exhibit much depaiture from the hue of health. The examination of the brain will be altogether unsatisfactoiy. There may be slight injection of some of the membranes, but, in the majority of cases, there wUl not be any morbid change worthy of record. Tetanus is usually the result of the injury of some nervous fibre, and the effect of that lesion propagated to the brain. The foot is the most frequent soui'ce or focus of tetanic injuiy. It has been pricked in shoeing, or wounded by something on the road. The horse becomes lame — the injury is carelessly treated, or not treated at all — the lameness, however, disappears, but the woimd has not healed. There is an mihealthiness about it, and at the expiration of eight or ten days, tetanus appears. Some nervous fibre has been irritated or inflamed by the accident, slight as it was. Docking and nicldng, especially when the stumji was seared too severely in the former, or the ban- dage had not been loosened sufficiently early in the latter, used to be frequent causes of tetanus. It is frequently connected with castration, when the colt had not been properly prepared for the operation, or the searing iron has been applied too severely, or the animal has been put to work too soon after the operation, or exposed to unusual cold. The records of veterinary proceedings con- tain accounts of tetanus following labour, brutally exacted beyond the animal's natural strength, in the draught of hea^'y loads. Horses that have been matched against time have too frequently died of tetanus a little while afterwards. Sudden exposm-e to cold after being heated by exercise has produced this dreadful state of nervous ac- tion, and especially if the horse has stood in a partial draught, or cold water has been dripping on the loins. The treatment of tetanus is simple, and would be oftener successful if carried to its full extent. The indication of cure is plain enough — the system must be tranquillized. The grand agent in accom- plishing this is the copious abstraction of blood. There is not a more powerful sedative in cases of muscular spasm than venesection. A double pur- pose is eff'ected. The determination of blood to the origins of the nerves, and by which they were enabled to secrete and to pour out this torrent of nervous influence, is lessened. The supply of blood to the muscular system is also diminished. The pabulum of the nervous and muscular system — the life of both of them — the capability of acting in the one, and of being acted upon by the other, is taken away. The proper course to be pursued, whether theory or e.xperience are consulted, is, ou the first access of tetanus, to bleed, and to bleed until the horse falters or falls. No attention should be paid to any specific quantity of blood to he abstracted, but the animal should bleed on untn he drops, or the pulse evidently falters. Twenty pounds have been taken before the object of the practitioner was accomplished, but he never had occasion to repent of the course which he pursued. Inflammatoi-y action like this must be subdued by the promptest and most efficient means ; and there is one unerring guide — the pulse. While that remains firm, the bleeding should continue. The practitioner is attacking the disease, and not in the slightest degree hazarding the permanent strength of the patient. Next in order, and equal in importance, is physic. The profuse bleeding just recommended will generally relax the muscles of the jaw so far as to enable a dose of physic to be given. Eight or ten drachms of aloes should be administered. If the remission of the spasm is slight, there is another purgative — not so certain in its action, but more powerful when it does act — the farina of the Croton nut. There is little or no danger of exciting inflammation of the mucous membrane of the intestines by this prompt and energetic administration of purgative medicine, for there is too much determination of vital power towards the nervous system — too much irritation there — to leave cause for dreading the possibility cf metas- tasis elsewhere. It would be desu-able if a certain degree of inflammation could be excited, because to that extent the irritation of the nervous system might be allayed. There is another reason, and a very powerful one — time is rapidly passing. The tetanic action may extend to the intestines, and the co-operation of the abdominal muscles in keeping up the peristaltic motion of the bowels, and expelling their contents, may be lost. 29i THE HORSE. Clysters will be useful in assisting t"he action ■of the purgative. A solution of Epsom salts will constitute the safest and best injection. As to iiiediciiie, opium is not only a valuable drag, but it is that on which alone dependence can be placed in this disease. It will be borne in doses, from half a drachm to two drachms. Blisters are completely out of the question in a disease the very essence of which is nervous irritability. The application of sheep-skins warm from the animal, and applied along the whole course of the spine, may somewhat unload the congested vessels of the part, and diminish the suflerings of the animal. They should be renewed as soon as they become offensive, and the patient should be covered from the poll to the tail with double or treble clothing. There is one kind of external application that h.as not been so much used, or so highly valued as it deserves, — gentle friction with the hand over the cour.se of the spine, beginning with the slightest jjossible pressure and never increasing it much. The horse is a little frightened at first, but he soon gets reconciled to it, and when at the same time an opiate liniment is used, relief has been obtained to a very marked degree. One thing should not be forgotten, namely, that a horse with locked jaw is as hungry as when in health, and eveiy possible contrivance should be adopted to furnish him with that nutriment which will support him under his torture, and possibly enable him to weather the storm. If a pail of good gruel is placed within liis reach, how will he nuzzle in it, and contrive to drink some of it too ! If a thoroughly wet mash is placed before him in a pail, he will bury his nose in it, and manage to extract no small portion of nutriment. By means of a small horn, or a bottle with a very narrow neck, it will often be possible to give him a small quantity of gruel ; hut the flexible pipe that accompanies Read's patent pump will render this of easier accomplishment, for the nutriment may be administered without elevating the head of the horse, or inflicting on him the extreme torture wiiich used to accompany the act of drench- ing. If the jaw is ever so closely clenched, the pipe may be introduced between the tushes and the grindei's, and carried tolerably far back into the moutii, and any quantity of gruel or medicine introduced into the stomach. It will also be good practice to let a small por- tion of food be in the manger. The horse will not at iirst be able to take up the slightest quantity, but he will attemjit to do so. Small portions may be placed between his grinders, and they will pre- sently-drop from his mouth scarcely or at all masticated : but some good will be done — there is the attempt to put the muscles of the jaw to their proper use. On the following day he will succeed a little better, and make some trifling advance towards breaking the chain of spasmodic action. Experience will teach the careful groom the value of these minutife of practice ; and the successful tennination of many a case may be traced to the careful nursing of the patient. When the horse is getting decidedly better, and the weather will permit, there can be no better practice than to turn him out for a few hours in the middle of the day. His toddling about will regain to him the use of his limbs ; the attempt to stoop in order to graze will diminish the spasm in his neck ; the act of grazing will relax the muscles of the jaws ; and he can have no better food than the fresh grass. This is a sudden, involuntary, and painful spasm of a particular muscle or set of muscles. It differs from tetanus in its shorter duration, and in its occasionally attacking the muscles of organic life. It may be termed a species of transitory tetanus, affecting mostly the hind extremities. It is generally obsen'ed when the horse is first brought out of the stable, and especially if he has been hardly worked. One of the legs appears stiff, inflexible, and is, to a slight degree, dragged after the animal. After he has proceeded a lew steps, the stiffness nearlj- or quite disappears, or only a slight degree of lameness remains during the greater part- of the day. Cramp j)roceeds from an accumulation of irri- tability in the muscles of the extensors, and is a sudden spasmodic action of them in order to balance the power which their antagonists have gained over them during the night. If a certain degree of lameness remains, the attendant on the horse should endeavour to find out the muscle chiefly affected, which he may easily do by a feeling of hardness, or an exjjressiou of pain, when he presses on the extensors of the hock somewiiat above that joint. He should then give plenty of good hand-rubbing, or a little more attention to the grooming generally, or a wider or more comfortable stall, as the circumstances of the case may ajipear to require. STRING HALT. This is a sudden and spiasmodic action of some of the muscles of the thigh when the horse is first led from the stable. One or both legs are caught up at every step with great rapidity and violence, so that the fetlock sometimes touches the belly ; but, after the horse has been out a little wiiile, this usuall}' goes off, and the natural action of the animal returns. In a few cases it does not perfectly disappear after exercise, but the horse continues to be slightly lame. THE HORSE. Zd^'. Strin'ghalt is not a perfectly involuntary action of a certain muscle, or a certain set of muscles. The limb is flexed at the command of the will, but it acts to a greater extent and with more violence than the will had prompted. There is au accumulation of excitability in the muscle, and the impulse which should have called it into natural and moderate action causes it to take on a spas- modic and, perhaps, a painful one. Many ingenious but contradictory theories have been advanced iu order to account for this pecu- liarity of gait. What muscles are concerned ? Clearly those by which the thigh is brought under the belly, and the hock is flexed, and the pasterns are first flexed and then extended. But by which of them is the effect principally jiroduced ? What muscle, or, more properly, what nerve is concerned? Instead of entering into any useless controversy on this point, a case shall be related, and one of the most interesting there is on record : the author was personally cognisant of every particular. Guildford, first called Roundhead, and then Landlord, was foaled in 18;i0. He was got by Hampden out of a Sir Harry Dimsdale mai'e. In 18QS, and being two years old, and the property of the Duke of Richmond, he won a fifty pound plate at Goodwood. In 18-^9, and belonging to Lord AV. Lennox, he won fifty-five guineas at Hampton. Being then transferred to Mr. Cole- man, he won fifty guineas at Guildford; and in the same year, having been purchased by Mr. Pearce, he won sixty guineas at Basingstoke. In the course of this year stringhalt began to appear in a slight degree, and it evidently, al- though slowly, increased. There soon began to be a little difficulty in getting him off'; but when he had once started, neither his speed nor his stoutness appeared to be in the slightest degree impaired. He continued o\\ the turf until 1836, and won for his different owners seventeen races, the produce of which, exclusive of bets, amounted to £1435. The difficulty and loss of advantage in stalling had now increased to a degree which rendered it pinident to withdraw him from the turf, and he came into the possession of Dockeray, who used him for the purpose of leading the young horses that he had under training. This is well known to be hard work, and his rider was a man of some weight. In addition to this, he was generally hunted twice in the week. His first starting into a gallop had something singular about it. It was a horrible kind of convulsive action, and so violent that he frequently knocked off his shoes on the very day that they were put on : but when he got a little warmed all this disappeared. He galloped beautifully, and was a ver}' sure fencer. The sport, Lowever, being over, and he returning to a slow pace, the stringhalt was as bad as ever. At length the old horse became artful, and it was with great difficulty that he could be made to lead. Sometimes he refused it altogether. la consequence of this he was sent to St. Martin's- Lane to be sold. The highest bidding for hiin was three pounds fourteen shillings, and the hero of the turf and the field was doomed to the omnibus. There he was cruelly used, and this spasmodic convulsion of his hind legs sadly aggravated his torture. The skin was presently rubbed from his shoulders, his hips and haunches were liruised in every part, and his stifles were continually and painfully coming in contact with t'-.e pole. In this situation he was seen by the veterinary surgeon to " The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals." There is a fund at the disposal of that society for the purchase of worn- out horses, who are immediately released from their misery by the pole-axe of the Imacker. The horse was bought for this purpose, another and laudable motive influencing the purchase, — the wish to ascertain what light the dissection of an animal that had had stringhalt to such an aggra- vated extent, and for so long a period, would cast on the nature of this disease. The author of this work saw him a little while before he was slaughtered. He was still a noble- looking animal, and seemed to possess all his former strength and spirit unimpaired ; but he was sadly scarred all over, in consequence of his being put to a kind of work for which his spasmodic complaint so entirely incapacitated him. So aggra- vated a case of stringhalt had rarely been seen. Both hind legs were affected, and both in au equal degree ; and the belly was fori:-ibly struck by the pastern joints every time the hind feet were lifted. The belly and the pastern joint were both denuded of hair, in consequence of this constant battering. He was' destroyed by the injection of prussic acid into the jugular vein, and the dissection of him was conducted by Professor Spooner, of the Royal Veterinary College. On taking otf the skin, all the muscles pre- sented their perfect healthy character. There was not the slightest enlargement or discolouration of the fasciiE. The muscles of both extremities were dissected from their origins to their tendinous terminations, and their fibrous structure carefully examined. They were all beautifully developed, presenting no inequality or irregularity of structure, nor aught that would warrant the suspicion that any one of them possessed an undue power or influence beyond the others. The only abnormal circumstance about them was tliat they were of a rather darker yellow in colom- than is usually found. This referred to them generally, and not to any particular muscle or sets of muscles. The lumbar, crm-al, and sciatic uen-es were examined from the spot at which thev emerge from u -i 296 THE HORSE. the spinal cord to their ultimate distributions. The crural and lumbar nerves were perfectly heal- thy. The sciatic nei-ve, at the aperture through •which it escapes from the spine, was darker in colom- than is usual, being of a yello\vish-bro^\Ti hue. Its texture was softened, and its fibrillas somewhat loosely connected together. The nei-ve was of its usual size ; but on tracing it in its course through the muscles of the haunch, several spots of ecchymosis presented themselves, and were more particularly marked on that part of the nerve which is connected with the sacrosciatic ligament. As the nerve approached the hock, it assumed its na- tural colour and tone ; and the fibres given oft' from it to the muscles situated inferior to the stifle-joint were of a perfectly healthy character. On dissecting out a portion of the nerve where it appeared to be in a diseased state, it was found that this ecchymosis was confined to the membra- neous investiture of the nerve, and that its sub- stance, when pressed from its sheath, presented a perfectly natural character. The cavity of the cranium, and the whole ex- tent of the spinal canal, were next laid open. The brain and spinal marrow were deprived of their mem- braneous coverings, and both the tliecfe and their contents diligently examined. There was no lesion in any part of them, not even at the lumbar region. The articulations of every joint of the hind ex- tremities then underwent inspection, and no disease could be detected in either of them. Professor Spooner was of opinion that this pe- culiar affection was not referrible to any diseased state of the brain or spinal cord, nor to any local affection of the muscles of the limbs, but simply to a morbid affection of the sciatic nerve. He had not dissected a single case of stringhalt in which he had not found disease of this nerve, which mainly contributes to supply the hind "extremities with sensation and the power of voluntaiy motion. Now comes a very important question. What connexion is there between stringhalt and the sup- posed value or deterioration of the horse? Some experienced practitioners have maintained that it is a pledge of more than usual muscular power. It is a common saying that " there never was a horse with stringhalt that was incapable of doing the work required of him." Most certainly we continually meet with horses having stringhalt that pleasantly discharge all ordinary, and even extra- ordinaiy, service ; and although stringhalt is excess or irregular distribution of nervous power, it at least shows the existence of that power, and the capability in the muscular system of being acted upon by it. Irregular distributions of vital energy are not, however, things to be desired. They argue disease and derangement of the system, and a predisposition to greater derangement. They ma- terially interfere with the speed of tlie horse. This was decidedly the case with regard to the poor fellow whose history has been related. Stringhalt is decided unsoundness. It is an irregular supply of the nervous influence, or a dis- eased state of the nervous or muscular system, or both. It prevents us from suddenly and at once calling upon the horse for the full exercise of his speed and power, and therefore it is imsoimdness ; but generally speaking, it so little interferes with the services of the animal, that although an un- soundness, it would not weigh a great deal against other manifest valuable qualities. CHOEEA. This is a convulsive involuntary twitching of some muscle or set of muscles. A few, and very few, cases of it in the horse are recorded. Profes- sor Gohier relates one in which it attacked both fore legs, and especially the left, but the affection was not constant. During five or six minutes the spasms were most violent, so that the horse was scarcely able to stand. The convulsions then be- came weaker, the interval between them increased, and at length they disappeared, leaving a slight but temporary lameness. All means of cure were fruitlessly tried, and the disease continued until the horse died of some other complaint. In ano- ther case it followed sudden suppression of the discharge of glanders and disappearance of the en- larged glands. This also was intermittent during the life of the animal. FITS, OE EPILEPSY. The Stream of nervous influence is sometimes rapid, or the suspensions are considerable. This is the theory of Fits, or Epilepsy. Fortunately the horse is not often afflicted with this chsease, although it is not unknown to the breeder. The attack is sudden. The animal stops— trembles- looks vacantly around him, and falls. Occasionally the convulsions that follow are slight; at other times they are terrible. The head and fore part of the horse are most affected, and the contortions are veiy singular. In a few minutes the convul- sions cease ; he gets up ; looks around him with a kind of stupid astonishment; shakes his ears; urines ; and eats or drinks as if nothing had hap- pened. The only hope of cure consists in discovering the cause of the fits : and an experienced practi- tioner must be consulted, if the animal is valuable. Generally spealdug, however, the cause is so diffi- cult to discover, and the habit of having fits is so soon formed, and these fits will so frequently return, even at a great distance of time, that he who values his own safety, or the lives of his family, will cease to use an epileptic horse PALSY. The Stream of nervous influence is sometimes THE HORSE. 297 stopped, and llieiice results palsy. The power of tlie muscle is unimpaired, but the nervous energy is deficient. In the human being general palsy sometimes occurs. The whole body — every organ of motion and of sense is paralysed. The records of oiu' practice, however, do not afford us a single instance of this; but of partial paralysis there are several cases, and most untractable ones they were. The cause of them may be altogether unknown. In the human being there is 3^61 another distinction, Hemiplegia, and Paraplegia. In the former the affection is confined to one side of the patient ; in the latter the posterior extremity on both sides is affected. Few cases of hemiplegia occur in the horse, and they are more manageable than those of paraplegia; but if the affection is not removed, they usually degenerate into paraplegia before the death of the animal. It would ajjpear singular that this should be the most common form of palsy in the human being, and so rarely seen in the qua- drupled. There are some considerations, however, that will partly account for this. Palsy in the horse usually proceeds from injury of the spinal cord ; and that cord is more developed, and far larger than in the human being. It is more exposed to injury, and to injui-y that will affect not one side only, but the whole of the cord. Palsy in the horse generally attacks the hind extremities. The reason of this is plain. The fore limbs are attached to the trunk by a dense mass of highly elastic substance. This was placed between the shoulder-blade and the ribs for the purjjose of preventing that concussion, which would be annoying and even dangerous to the horse or his rider. Excepit in consequence of a fall, there is scarcely the possibility of any serious injury to the anterior portion of the spine. The case is very different with regard to the hind limbs and their attachment to the trunk; they are necessarily liable to many a shock and sprain injurious to the spine and its contents. The loins and the back oftenest exhibit the lesions of palsy, because there are some of the most violent muscular efforts, and there is the greatest movement and the least sup- port. It may, consequently, be taken as an axiom to guide the judgment of the practitioner that palsy in the horse almost invariably proceeds from dis- ease or injury of the spine. On inquiry it is almost invariably found that the horse had lately fallen, or had been worked exceedingly hard, or that, covered with perspiration, he had been left exposed to cold and wet. It commences geiaerally in one hind leg, or, perhaps, both are equally affected. The animal can scarcely walk ; he walks on his fetlocks instead of his soles ; he staggers at every motion. At length he falls. He is raised with difficult)', or he never rises again. The sensibility of the part seems for a while to be dreadfully increased ; but, in general, this gradually subsides, it sinks below the usual standard, it ceases altogether. If he is examined after death, there will usually, about the region of the loins, be inflammation of the membranes of the spinal cord, or of the cord itself. The medullai^ matter will be found of a yellow colour, or injected with spots of blood, or it will be softened, and have become semifluid. The treatment is simple enough. It should commence with bleeding, and, as has been already recommended in inflammatory cases, until the cir- culation is evidently affected, until the pulse begins to falter or the horse to reel. To this should follow a dose of physic, strong compared with the size of the animal. The loins should be covered with a mustard poultice frequently renewed. The patient should be warmly clothed, supplied plentifully with mashes, but without a grain of corn in them ; and frequent injections should be had recourse to. This will soon render it evident whether the patient will recover or die. If favourable symptoms appear, the horse must not be in the slightest degree ne glected, nor the medical treatment suspended. There is no disease in which the animal is more liable to a relapse, or where a relapse would be so fatal. No misapprehension of the disease, or false humanity, should induce the attendant to give the smallest quantity of corn or of tonic medicine. Palsy in the horse is an inflammatory complaint, or the result of inflammation. If the heat and tenderness are abating, and the animal regains, to a slight degree, the use of his limbs, or if it is becoming a case of chronic palsy, an extensive and stimulating charge over the loins should be immediately applied. It will accomplish three purposes : there will be the principle of counter-irritation, a defence against the cold, and a useful support of the limbs. RHEUMATISM. It is only of late years that this has been ad- mitted into the list of the diseases of the horse, although it is in truth a very common affection. It is frequent in old horses that have been early abused, and among younger ones whose powers have been severely ta.xed. The lameness is frequently excessive, and the pain is evidently exciniciating. The animal dares not to rest the slightest portion of its weight on the limb, or even to touch the ground with his toe. He is heaving at the flanks, sweating profusely, his countenance plainly indi- cative of the agony he fVels ; but there is at first no heat, or swelling, or tenderness. With proper treatment, the pain and the lameness gradually disappear ; but in other instances the fascias of the muscles become thickened — the ligaments are also thickened and rigid — the capsules of the joint are loaded with a glairy fluid, and the joint is evidently enlai'ged. This is simply rheiima- .293 THE HORSE. tism ; Imt if it is neglected palsy soon associates itself with, or succeeds to. the complaint; and the loss of nervous po^Yer follows the difficulty or pain of moving. Every horseman will recollect cases in which the animal that seemed on the preceding day to be perfectlj' sound becomes decidedly lame, and limps as though he had lost the use of his limbs ; yet there is no thickening of the tendons, nor any e.xternal inflammatory action to show the seat of the complaint. Mr. Cooper, of Coleshill, relates a case very applicable to the present subject. A farmer purchased a horse, to all appearance sound, and rode him home, a distance of ten miles. He was worked on the two following days, without showing the least lameness. On the third day it was with great difficulty that he managed to limp out of the stable. Mr. Cooper was sent for to examine him. The horse had clean legs and ex- cellent feet. The owner would have him blistered , all round. It was done. The horse was turned out to grass for two months, and came up per- fectly sound. The weather soon afterwards be- came wet and cold, and the horse again was lame ; in fact, it presently appeared that the disease was entirely influenced by the changes of the atmo- sphere. " Thus," adds JNIr. C, " in the summer a horse of this description will be mostly sowid, while in the winter he will be generally lame." An account of acute rheumatism, by Mr. Thompson, of Beith, is too valuable to be omitted: "I have had," says he, "fourteen cases of this disease. The muscles of the shoul- ders and arms were generally the parts affected. The cure was effected in a few days, and consisted of a good bleeding from the jugular, and a sharp -purge. " One of these cases was imcommonly severe. The disease was in the back and loins. The horse brought forward his hind legs under his flanks, reached his back, and drew up his flanks with a convulsive twitch accompanied by a piteous groan, almost eveiy five minutes. The sympathetic fever was alarming, the pulse was 90, and there was obstinate constipation of the bowels. The horse literally roared aloud if any one attempted to shift him in the stall, and groaned excessively when lying. He was bled almost to fainting; and three moderate doses of aloes were given in the course of two days. Injections were adminis- tered, and warm fomentations were frequently ap- plied to the back and loins. On the third day the physic operated briskly, accompanied by con- siderable nausea and reduction of the pulse. From that time the animal gradually recovered. " These horses are well fed, and always in good condition ; but they are at times worked without mercy, which perhaps makes them so liable to these attacks." NEDEOTOMT. To enable the horse to accomplish many of the tasks we exact from him, we have nailed on his feet an iron defence. Without the protection of the shoe, he would not only be unable to travel over our hard roads, but he would speedily become useless to us. While, however, the iron protects his feet from being battered and bruised, it is ne- cessarily inflexible. It cramps and confines the hoof, and often, without great care, entails on our valuable servant bad disease and excessive torture. The division of the nerve, as a remedy for in- tense pain in any part of the frame, was systema- tically practised by human surgeons more than a century ago. Mr. Moorecroft has the honour of introducing the operation of neurotomy in the veterinaiy school. He had long devoted his powerful energies to the discovery of the causes and the cure of lame- ness in the fore-foot of the horse. It was a sub- ject worthy of him, for it involved the interest of the proprietor and the comfort of the slave. He found that, partly from the faulty constraction of the shoe, and more from the premature and cruel exaction of labour, the horse was subject to a variety of diseases of the foot : all of them accom- panied by a greater or less degree of pain — often of a very intense nature, and ceasing only with the life of the animal. He frequently met with a strangely formidable disease, in what was called " coffin-joint lameness," but to which Mr. James Turner afterwards gave the verj' appropriate name of " navicular-joint dis- ease." It was inflammation of the synovial mem- brane, either of the fle.\or tendon or navicular bone, or both, where the tendon plays over that bone ; and it was accompanied by pain, abrasion, and gra- dual destruction of these parts. For a long time he was foiled in every attempt which he made to remove or even to alleviate the disease. At length he turned his thoughts to the probability of subduing the increased sensibility of the part, by diminishing the proportion of nervous influence distributed on the foot. He laid bare one of the metacarpal nerves, and divided it with a pair of scissors. There was always an immediate and de- cided diminution of the lameness, and, sometimes, the horse rose perfectly sound. This happy result, however, was not always permanent, for the lame- ness returned after the lapse of a few weeks, or on much active exertion. He next cut out a small piece of the nerve. The freedom from lameness was of longer duration, but it eventually returned. He then tried a bolder experiment. He ex- cised a portion of the nerves going both to the inner and outer metacarpals. We transcribe his own account of the result of the first case of com- plete neurotomy — excision of the nerve on both sides of the leg — that ever was performed. THE HORSE. 299 " Tlie animiil, on rising, trotted boldly and without lameness, but now and then stumbled with the foot operated on. The wounds healed in a few days, and the patient was put to grass. Some weeks afterwards a favourable account was received of her soundness ; but she was soon brought again to us, on account of a large sore on the bottom of the foot operated on, and extending from the point of the frog to the middle and back part of the pas- tern. Tlie mare, in galloping over some broken glass bottles, had placed her foot upon a fragment of the bottom of one of them, and which had cut its way through the frog and tendon into the joint, and stuck fast in the joint for some seconds, while the animal continued its course apparently regard- less of injury. The wound bled profusely, but the mare was not lame. Many days had elapsed before 1 saw her, and large masses of loose flesh were cut from the edges of the wound, without the animal showing the slightest sign of suffering pain. The processes usually attending sores went on, with the same appearances that took place in sores of parts not deprived of sensibility. Such extensive injury, however, had been done to the joint as rendered the preservation of free motion iu it very improbable, even were the opening to close, which was a matter of doubt, and therefore she was destroyed. It ap- peared clearly from this, that hy the destruction of sensibility the repairing powers of the part icere not injured; but that the natural guard against injury being taken away by the division of both the nerves, an accident was rendei'ed destructive which, in the usual condition of the foot, might have been less injurious."* A The melacaTpal nerve on the inside of Ihe off leg at tlie edge of the shank bone, and behind the vein and artery. B The continuation of the same nerve on the pastern, and proceeding downward to supply the back part of the foot with feeling. C The division of the nerve on the fetlock joint. D The branch which .supplies with feeling the fore part of the foot. E The artery between the vein and F The continuation of the artery on the pastern, close to, and before the nerve. G The vein before the artery and H The same vein spreading over the pastern. I One of the flexor tendons, the perforatum (perforated). J The deeper flexor tendon, the per- forans ^perforating, contained within the other). K The tendinous band in which the flexors work. L One of the extensors of the foot. M The internal or sensible frog. N The posterior lateral ligament. O The fleshy or sensible lamina covering the coflin bone, the horny crust being removed. P The horny crust. Q The sole. • Veler.naiian, vol. ix. p. 363. The cut in the preceding column gives a view of the nerve inside of the leg, as it approaches the fet- lock. It vdW be seen that branches are given oiT above the fetlock, which go to the fore part of the foot and supply it ■nith feeling. The continuation of the nei-ve below the fetlock is given principally to the quarters and hinder part of the foot. The grand consideration, then, with the operator is — does he wish to deprive the whole of the foot of sensation, oris the cause of lameness principally in the hinder part of the foot, so that he can leave some degree of feeling in the fore part, and prevent that alter- ation in the tread and going of the horse, which the horseman so much dislikes ? The horse must be cast and secured, and the limb to be operated on removed from the hobViles and extended — the hair having been previously shaved from the part. The operator then feels for the throbbing of the artei-y, or the round firm body of the nerve itself, on the side of the shank bone or the larger pastern. The vein, artery, and nerve here nin close together, the vein nearest to the front of the leg, then the artery, and the nerve behind. He cautiously cuts through the skin for an inch and a half in length. The vessels will then be brought into view, and the neive will be distinguished from them by its lying behind the others, and by its whiteness. A crooked needle, armed with silk, is then passed under it, in order to raise it a little. It is dissected from the cellu- lar substance beneath, and about three quarters of an inch of it cut out : the first incision being made at the upper part, in which case the second inci- sion will not be felt. The horse must then be turned, and the operation performed on the other side ; for there is a nenous trunk on both sides. The wornids are now closed vdlh strips of adhesive plaster, a bandage placed over them, the head tied up for a couple of days, and the animal kept rather low, and as quiet as possible. The incisions will ge- nerally rapidly heal ; and in three weeks or a month, and sometimes earlier, the horse will be fit for work. For ring-bone — the side cartilages becoming bony, and there being partial stiffness of the pas- tern and coffin-joints — the operation of nei-ving will probably be beneficial. The sense of pain being taken away, the animal will use these parts more, and they will gradually recover their natm'al action and motion. For the same reason, in old contraction of the feet, it is highly beneficial. The torture occasioned by the pressure of the homy crust on the sensible parts within being no longer felt, and the foot coming fully and finnly in con- tact with the gi-ound, not only is lameness relieved, but the elasticity and form of the foot partially re- stored. Where lameness has long existed, unat- tended with heat of the foot or alteration of shape, and the seat of which could not be ascertained, although probably existing between the nawular bone and the back tendon that plaj-s over it. next- 300 THE HORSE. rotomy may be resorted to \vith decided advan- tage. Mifchief, however, ■will result from the opera" tion, if the j astern or coffin-joints are perfectly stiff, because the concussion occasioned by the forcible contact of the foot with the ground, and unbroken by the play of the joints, must necessa- rily still more injure the bone. When the sole of the foot is convex or ]nimiced, the effect of neuro- tomy will be most destructive. The sole, scarcely able to bear the pressure of the coffin-bone, even when pain induces the animal to put his foot as gently as possible on the ground, being forced be- low its natural situation, would be speedily worn through and destroyed. So if inflammation existed, although its pain might be removed, yet its pro- gress would be quickened by the bruising to which the parts might be subjected; and more especially would this be the case, if there was any ulceration of the ligaments or cartilages. The unfettered shoe of Mr. Turner being adopted, at leastso far as we can have it unfettered — attached to the foot on one side alone, and the in- ner quarter being left free — the foot gradually re- gains its original healthy form, and when, in process of time, a new portion of nen-e is produced, and the sensibility of the foot re-established, the horse continues to be sound. To some extent, immediate good effect is produced as it regards the actual disease. We remove that general constitutional irritability which long-continued pain occasions, and which heightens and pei-petuates local disease. We obtain for the patient an interval of repose, and every local ailment soon subsides or disappears, and the whole constitution becomes invigorated. Mr. Percivall relates two valuable cases of this. A mare with contracted feet was never subject to periodical oestnim, and her owner lamented in vain that he could not breed from her. She un- derwent the operation of neurotomy and became an excellent brood mare. A stallion with many a good point about him was useless in the stud : he was suffering from some disease in the feet. A portion of the nerve was excised : his constitution undeiTvent a complete change, and he became sire to a numerous and valuable progeny. By the operation of neurotomy we destroy pain ; and we may safely calculate on the simple effect of that, whether local or constitutional ; and, limiting our expectations to this, we shall rarely be disappointed. The operation of neurotomy having been per- formed, has the veterinary surgeon nothing else to do '? He has got rid of the pain which attended the ossified cartilage — the ring-bone and the an- ch}-losis of the pastern and the coffin-jomts ; shall he be satisfied with the benefit he has obtained, great as it is? He will, or he should now tiy whether Ins former means and appliances have not more power. He will see whether, by means of his blister or his firing-iron — the effect of which humanity forbade him to put to the full test before — he cannot rouse the absorbents to increased and more efficient action, and not only arrest the pro- gress of the b:heautiful crystallization is formed on the membrane without, and so we have the cutting tooth covered by its enamel. In the form- ation, however, of each of the grinders of the horse, there are originally five membranous bags in the upper-jaw, and four in the lower, filled with jelly. This, by degrees, gives place to bony matter, which is thrown out by little vessels penetrating into it, and is represented by the darker portions of the cut with central black spots. The crystal- lization of enamel can be traced around each, and there would be five distinct bones or teeth. A third siibstfince, however, is now secreted (which is represented by the white spaces), and is a powerful cement, uniting all these distinct bones into one body, and making one tooth of the five. This being done, another coat of enamel spreads over the sides, but not the top, and the tooth is completed. By no other contrivance could we have the grinding tooth capable, without injury and without wearing, to rub down the hay, and oats, and beans, which constitute the stable-food of horses. The grinders in the lower jaw, having origi- nally but four of these bags or shells, are smaller, and narrower, and more regular, than the upper ones. They are not placed horizontally in either jaw ; but in the lower, the higher side is within, and shelving gradually outward ; in the upper jaw the higher side is without, and shelving inward, and thus the grinding motion is most advanta- geously performed. There is also an evident dif- ference in the appearance and structure of each of the grinders, so that a careful observer could tell to which jaw every one belonged, and what situa- tion it occupied. At the completion of the first year, a fourth grinder usually comes up, and the yearling has then, or soon afterwards, six nippers, and four grinders above and below in each jaw, which, with the alteration in the appearance of the nippers that we have just described, will enable us to cal- culate nearly the age of the foal, subject to some variations arising from the period of weaning, and the nature of the food. At the age of one year and a-half, the mark in the central nippers will be much shorter and fainter ; that in the two other pairs will have un- dergone an evident <=~-^ change, and all the nippers will be flat. At two years this Avill be more manifest. The accompanying cut deserves attention, as giving an accurate re- presentation of the nippers in the lower jaw of a two-years-old colt. About this period a fifth grinder will appear> and now, likewise, will commence another process- The first teeth are adapted to the size and wants of the young animal. They are sufficiently large to occupy and fill the colt's jaws ; but when these bones have expanded with the increasing growth of the animal, the teeth are separated too far from each other to be useful, and another and larger set is required. Evident provision is made for them, even before the colt is foaled. In cavities in the jaw, beneath the first and temporaiy teeth, are to be seen the rudiments of a second and per- manent set. These gradually increase, some with greater rapidity than others, and, pressing upon the roots or fangs of the first teeth, do not, as would be imagined, force out the former ones, but the portion pressed upon gradually disappears. It is absorbed — taken up and carried away, by numerous minute vessels, whose office it is to get rid of the worn-out or useless part of the system. THE HORSE. 327 This absorption continues to proceed as the second teeth grow and press upwards, until the whole of the fang is gone, and the crown of the tooth, or that part of it which was above the gum, having no longer firm hold, drops out, and the second teeth appear, larger and stronger and permanent. In a few instances, however, the second teeth do not rise immediately under the temporary or milk teeth, but somewhat by their side ; and then, in- stead of this gradual process of absorption and dis- appearance from the point of the root upwards, the root being compressed sidewaj's, diminishes throughout its whole bulk. The crown of the tooth diminishes with the root and the whole is pushed out of its place, to the fore part of the first grinder, and remains for a considerable time, un- der the name of a wolf's tooth, causing swelling and soreness of the gums, and frequently wounding the cheeks. They would be gradually quite ab- sorbed, but the process might be slow and the annoyance would be great, and, therefore, they are extracted. The change of the teeth commences in those which earliest appeared, and, therefore, the front or first grinder gives way at the age of two years, and is succeeded by a larger and permanent tooth. During the period between the falling out of the central milk nippers, and the coming up of the permanent ones, the colt, having a broken mouth, may find some difficulty in grazing. If he should fall away considerably in condition, he should be fed with mashes and corn, or cut meat. The next cut will represent a three-years-old mouth. The central teeth are larger than the being actually four months over the two years, if they have been well nursed and fed, and ai-e strong and large, they may, with the inexperienced, have an additional year put upon them. The central nip- pers are piuiched or drawn out, and the others appear three or four months earlier than they other- wise would. In the natural process, they could only rise by long pressing upon, and causing the absorption of, the first set. But opposition from the first set being removed, it is easy to imagine that their progress will be more rapid. Three or four months \\ii\ he gained in the appearance of the teeth, and these three or four months may enable the breeder to term him a late colt of a preceding year. To him, however, who is accus- tomed to horses, the general form of the animal — the little development of the fore-hand — the con- tinuance of the mark on the next pair of nippers — its moi'e evident existence in the comer ones, some enlargement or irregularity about the gums from the violence used in forcing out the teeth — the small growth of the first and fifth grinders and the non-appearance of the sixth grinder, which if it is not through the gum at three years old, is swel- ling under it, and preparing to get through — any or all of these circumstances, carefully attended to, will be a sufficient security against deception. A horse at three years old ought to have the central permanent nippers growing — the other two pairs wasting — six grinders in each jaw, above and below — the first and fifth level with the others, and the sixth proti-uding. The sharp edge of the new incisors, although it could not be well expressed in the cut, will be very evident when compared with the neighbouring teeth. As the permanent nippers wear, and continue to grow, a narrower portion of the cone-shaped tooth is exposed to the attrition, and they look as if they had been compressed, but it is not so. The mark, of com-se, gradually disappears as the pit is worn awa}'. At three years and a half, or between that and four, the next pair of nippers will be changed, and others, with two grooves in the outer convex sur- face, and the mark is long, narrow, deep and black. Not having yet attained their full growth, they are rather lower than the others. The mai-k in the two next nippers is neaiiy worn out, and it is wearing away in the comer nippers. Is it possible Xo give this mouth to an early two-years-old ? The ages of all horses used to be reckoned from May, the mouth at that time cannot be mistaken. The but some are foaled even so eai-ly as January, and ' central nippers will have attained ueaiiy their full Y '2 328 THE HORSE. growth. A vacuity will be left where the second stood, or they will begin to peep above the gum, and the comer ones will be diminished in breadth, worn down, and the mark becoming small and faint. At this period, likewise, the second pair of grinders will be shed. Previously to this may be the attempt of the dealer to give to his three- years-old an additional year, but the fraud will be detected by an examination similar to that which has been ali-eady described. At four years, the central nippei^s will be fully developed : the shai'p edge somewhat worn off, and the mark shorter, wider, and fainter. The next pair will be up, but they will be small, with the mark deep, and extending quite across them. The comer nippers will be larger than the inside ones, yet smaller than they were, and flat, and the mark nearly effaced. The sixth grinder will have risen to a level with the others, and the tushes will be- gin to appear. Now, more than at any other time, will the dealer be anxious to put an additional year upon the animal, for the difference between a four-years- old colt, and a five-years-old horse, in strength, utility, and value, is veij great ; but, the want of wear in the other nippers — the small size of the comer ones — the little growth of the tush — the smallness of the second grinder — the low forehand — the legginess of the colt, and the thickness and little depth of the mouth, will, to the man of com- mon experience among horses, at once detect the cheat. The tushes (see p. 323) are four in number, two in each jaw, situated between the nippers and the grinders — much nearer to the former than the latter, and nearer in the lower jaw than in the upper, but this distance increasing in both jaws with the age of the animal. In shape it somewhat resembles a cone ; it protrudes about an inch from the gum, and has its extremity sharp-pointed and curved. At the age now under consideration, the tushes are almost peculiar to the horse, and castra- tion does not appear to prevent or retard their de- velopment. All mares, however, have the germs of them in the chambers of the jaw, and they appear externally in the majority of old mares. Their use is not evident. Perhaps in the vnld state of the animal they are weapons of offence, and he is enabled by them more firmly to seize, and more deeply wound his enemy. The breeder often attempts to hasten the appearance of the tush, and he cuts deeply through the gum to remove the opposition which that would afford. To a little extent he succeeds. He may possibly gain a few weeks, but not more. After all, there is much uncertainty as to the appearance of the tush, and it may vary from the fourth year to four years and six months. It belongs, in the upper jaw, both to the inferior and superior maxillary bones (see w, p. 265); for, while its fang is deeply imbedded in the inferior maxillarj', the tooth penetrates the process of the superior maxillary at the union of those bones. At four years and a-half, or between that and five, the last important change takes place in the mouth of the horse. The comer nippers are shed, and the permanent ones begin to appear. The central nippers are considerably worn, and the next pair are commencing to show marks of usage. The tush has now proti-uded, and is generally a full half-inch in height ; externally it has a rounded prominence, with a groove on either side, and it is evidently hollowed within. The reader needs not to be told that after the rising of the comer nipper the animal changes its name — the colt becomes a horse, and the filly a mare. At five years the horse's mouth is almost perfect. The comer nippers are quite up, with the long deep mark irregular on the inside ; and the other nippers bearing evident tokens of increasing wearing. The tush is much grown — the grooves have almost or quite disappeared, and the outer surface is regularly convex. It is still as concave within, and with the edge nearly as sharp, as it was six months before. The sixth molar is quite up, and the third molar is wanting. This last circumstance, if the general appearance of the animal, and particularly his forehand and the wearing of the centre nippers, and the growth and shape of the tushes, are likewise carefully attended to, will prevent deception, if a late four- years-old is attempted to be substituted for a five. The nippers may be brought up a few months before their time, and the tushes a few weeks, but the grinder is with difficulty displaced. The three last grinders and the tushes are never shed. At six yeai'S the tnark on the central nippers is worn out. There will stiU be a difference of colour in the centre of the tooth. The cement filling the hole, made by the dipping in of the enamel, will present a browner hue than the other part of the tooth, and it will be evidently sur- rounded by an edge of enamel, and there will even remain a little depression in the centre, and also THE HORSE. 329 a depression round the case of enamel : but the deep hole in the centre of the teeth, with the blackened surface which it presents, and the elevated edge of enamel, will have disappeared. Persons not much accustomed to horses have been puzzled here. They expected to find a plain surface of a uniform colour, and knew not what conclusion to draw when there was both discolou.r- ation and irregularity. In the next incisors the mark is shorter, broader, and fainter ; and in the corner teeth the edges of the enamel are more regular, and the surface is evidently worn. The tush has attained its full growth, being nearly or quite an inch in length ; convex outward, concave within ; tend- ing to a point, and the extremity somewhat curved. The third grinder is fairly up ; and all the grinders are level. The horse may now be said to have a perfect mouth. All the teeth are produced, fully grown, and have hitherto sustained no material injury. During these important changes of the teeth, the animal has suffered less than could be supposed possible. In children, the period of teething is fraught with danger. Dogs are subject to con- vulsions, and hundreds of them die, from the irritation caused by the cutting or shedding of their teeth ; but the horse appears to feel little inconvenience. The gums and palate are occa- sionally somewhat hot and swollen ; but the slight- est scarification will remove this. The teeth of the horse are more necessary to him than those of the other animals are to them. The child may be fed and the dog will bolt his food; but that of the horse must be well ground down, or the nutriment cannot be extracted from it. At seven years, the mark, in the way in which we have described it, is worn out in the four central nippers, and fast wearing away in the comer teeth ; the tush also is Ijeginnincf to be altered. It is rounded at the point ; rounded at the edges ; still round -without ; and beginning to get round inside. At eight years old, the tush is rounder in every way ; the mark is gone from all the bottom nippers, and it may almost be said to be out of the mouth. There is nothing remaining in the bottom nippers that can afterwards clearly show the age of the horse, or justify the most expe- rienced examiner in giving a positive opinion. Dishonest dealers have been said to resort to a method of prolonging the mark in the lower nippers. It is called bishoping, from the name of the scoundrel who invented it. The horse of eight or nine years old is thro^vn, and with an engraver's tool a hole is dug in the now almost plain surface of the comer teeth, and in shape and depth resembling the mark in a seven-yeai-s-old horse. The hole is then burned \\-ith a heated iron, and a permanent black stain is left. The next pair- of nippers are sometimes lightly touched. An ignorant man would be very easily imposed on by this trick : but the irregular appeai-auce of the cavity — the diffusion of the black stain aromid the tushes, the shai-pened edges and concave iuner sm-face of which can never be given again — the marks on the upper nippers, together \rith the general confoiTnation of the horee, can never deceive the careful exammer. Horsemen, after the animal is eight yeai's old, ai'e accustomed to look to the nippei-s in the upper jaw, and some conclusion has been drawn from the appearances which they present. It cannot be doubted that the mark remains in them some yeare after it has been obliterated from the nippers in the lower jaw ; because the 330 THE HOESE. hard substance, or kind of cement, by which the pit or funnel in the centre of the tooth is occupied, does not reach so high, and there is a greater depth of tooth to be \vorn away in order to come at it. To this it may be added, that the upper nippers are not so much exposed to friction and wear as the under. The lower jaw alone is moved, and pressed forcibly upon the food : the upper jaw is without motion, and has only to resist that pressure. There are various opinions as to the intervals between the disappearance of the marks from the different cutting-teeth in the upper jaw. Some have averaged it at two years and others at one. The author is inclined to adopt the latter opinion, and then the age will be thus determined : at nine years the mark will be worn out from the middle nippers — from the next pair at ten, and from all the upper nippers at eleven. During these periods the tush is likewise undergoing a manifest change — it is blunter, shorter, and rounder. In what degree this takes place in the different periods, long and most favourable opportunities for obser- vation can alone enable the horseman to decide. The tushes are exposed to but little wear and tear. The friction against them must be slight, proceeding only from the passage of the food over them, and from the motion of the tongue, or from the bit ; and their alteration of form, although generally as we have described it, is frequently uncertain. The tush will sometimes be blimt at eight ; at other times it will remain pointed at eighteen. The upper tush, although the latest in appearing, is soonest worn away. Are there any circumstances to guide our judgment after this ? There are those which will prepare us to guess at the age of the horse, or to approach within a few years of it, until he becomes very old ; but there are none which will enable us accurately to determine the question, and the indications of age must now be taken from the shape of the upper surface of the nippers. At eight, they are all oval, the length of the oval running across from tooth to tooth; but as the horse gets older the teeth diminish in size, and this commencing in their width, and not in their thickness. They become a little apart from each other, and their sm-faces are rounded. At nine, the centre nippers are evidently so ; at ten, the others begin to have the oval shortened. At eleven, the second pair of nippers are quite rounded ; and at thirteen the comer ones have that appearance. At fourteen, the faces of the central nippers become somewhat triangular. At seventeen, they are all so. At nineteen, the angles begin to wear off, and the central teeth are again oval, but in a reversed direction, viz., from outward; inward ; and at twenty-one tliey all wear this form. This is the opinion of some Conti- nental veterinary surgeons, and Mr. Percivall first presented them to us in an English dress. It would be folly to expect perfect accuracy at this advanced age of the horse, when we are bound to confess that the rales which w^e have laid down for determining this matter at an earlier period, although they are recognised by horsemen gene- rally and referred to in courts of justice, will not guide us in every case. Stabled horses have the mark sooner worn out than those that are at grass ; and a crib-biter may deceive the best judge by one or two years. The age of the horse, likewise, being formerly calculated from the first of May, it was exceedingly difficult, or almost impossible, to deteiTQine whether the animal was a late foal of one year, or an early one of the next. At nine or ten, the bars of the mouth become less promi- nent, and their regular diminution will designate increasing age. At eleven or twelve, the lower nippers change their original upright direction, and project forward or horizontally, and become of a yellow colour. They are yellow, because the teeth must grow in order to answer to their wear and tear ; but the enamel which covered their surface when they were first produced cannot be repaired, and that which wears this yellow colour in old age is the part which in youth was in the socket, and therefore destitute of enamel. The genera] indications of old age, indepen- dent of the teedi, are, deepening of the hollows over the eyes ; grey hairs, and particularly over the eyes and about the muzzle ; thinness and hanging do^vn of the lips ; sharpness of the withers ; sinking of the back ; lengthening of the quarters ; and the disappearance of wndgalls, spavins, and tumours of every kind. Of the natural age of the horse we should form a very erroneous estimate from the eai'ly period at which he is now worn out and destroyed. Mr. Blaine speaks of a gentleman who haa tnree horses that died at the ages of thirty-five, thirty- seven, and thirty-nine. Mr. Cully mentions one that received a hall in his neck, at the battle of Preston, in 1715, and which was extracted at his death, in 1758 ; and Mr. Percivall gives an account of a barge-horse that died in his sLxty second j'ear. There cannot be a severer satire on the Eng lish nation than this, that, from the absurd prac tice of running our race-horses at two and three 3'ears old, and working others, in various ways, long before their limbs are knit or their strength developed, and craelly exacting from them services far beyond their powers, their age does not ave- rage a sixth part of that of the last-mentioned horse. The scientific author of the " Animal Ivingdom" declai'es that " it may be safely asserted, that more horses are consumed in England, in everj' ten years, than in any other country in the THE HOUSE. 331 world in ten times that period, except those which perish in war." This affair has, with the English, been too long considered as one of mere profit and loss ; and it has been thonght to be cheaper to bring the young horse earlier into work, and prema- turely to exhaust his strength, than to maintain him for a long period, and at a considerable expense, almost useless. The matter requires much consideration, and much reformation too. DISEASES OF THE TEETH. Of the diseases of the teeth in the horse we know little. Carious or hollow teeth are occasion- ally but not often seen ; but the edges of the grinders, from the wearing off of the enamel or the irregular growth of the teeth, become rough, and wound the inside of the cheek ; it is then necessary to adopt a summary but effectual method of cure, namely, to rasp them smooth. Many bad ulcers have been produced in the mouth by the neglect of this. The teeth sometimes grow in-egularly in length, and this is particularly the case with the grinders, from not being in exact opposition to each other when the mouth is shut. The growth of the teeth still going on, and there being no mechanical opposition to it, one of the back teeth, or a portion of one of them, shoots up considerably above the others. Sometimes it penetrates the bars above, and causes soreness and ulceration : at other times it interferes partially, or altogether, with the grinding motion of the jaws, and the animal pines away without the cause being sus- pected. Here the saw should be used, and the projecting portion reduced to a level with the other teeth. The horse that has once been subjected to this operation should afterwards be frequently examined, and especially if he loses condition : and, indeed, evei-y horse that gets thin or out of condition, without fever, or other appa- rent cause, should have his teeth and mouth carefully examined, and especially if, without any indication of sore throat, he quids — partly chewing and then dropping — his food, or if he holds his head somewhat on one side, while he eats, in order to get the food between the outer edges of the teeth. A horse that has once had veiy irregular teeth is materially lessened in value, for, although they may be sawn down as carefully as possible, they will project again at no great distance of time. Such a horse is to all intents and purposes unsound. In order to be fit for service, he should be in possession of his full natural powers, and these powere cannot be sus- tained without perfect nutrition, and nutrition would be rendered sadly imperfect by any defect in the operation of mastication. Not only do some diseases of the teeth render the act of mastication difficult and troublesome, but, from the food acquiring a foetid odour during its deten- tion in the mouth, the horse acquires a distaste for aliment altogether. The continuance of a carious tooth often pro- duces disease of the neighbouring ones, and of the jaw itself. It should therefore be removed, as soon as its real state is erident. Dreadful cases of fungus hsematodes have arisen from the irritation caused by a carious tooth. The mode of extracting the teeth requires much reformation. The hammer and the punch should never be had recourse to. The keyed in- strument of the human subject, but on a larger scale, is the only one that should bs permitted. This is the proper place to speak more at length of the effect of dentition on the system ge- nerally. Horsemen in general think too lightly of it, and they scarcely dream of the animal suffer- ing to any considerable degree, or absolute illness being produced ; yet he who has to do with young horses will occasionally discover a considerable degree of febrile affection, which he can refer to this cause alone. Fever, cough, catarrhal affec- tions generally, disease of the eyes, cutaneous affections, diarrhcea, dysentery, loss of appetite, and general derangement, will frequently be traced by the cai'eful observer to irritation from teetliing. It is a rule scarcely admitting of the slightest deviation, that, when young horses ai'e labouring under any ferbrile affection, the mouth should be examined, and if the tushes are prominent and pushing against the gimis, a crucial incision should be made across them. " In this way," says Mr. Percivall, " I have seen catarrhal and bronchial inflammations abated, coughs relieved, lymphatic and other glandular tumours about the head reduced, cutaneous eruptions got rid of, de- ranged bowels restored to order, appetite returned, and lost condition repaired."* THE TONGUE. The tongue is the organ of taste. It is also employed in disposing the food for being ground between the teeth, and afterwards collecting it to- gether, and conveying it to the back part of the mouth, in order to be swallowed. It is likewise the main instrument in deglutition, and the canal through which the water passes in the act of drinTi- ing. The root of it is firmly fixed at the bottom of the mouth by a variety of muscles ; the fore part is loose in the mouth. It is covered by a continuation of the membrane that lines the mouth, and which, doubling beneath, and confin- ing the motions of the tongue, is called its fmnum, or bridle. On the back of the tongue, this mem brane is thickened and roughened, and is covered • PenMvairs Hippopathology, vol. ii., p. 173. 332 THE HORSE. witli numerous conical j^cipilltr, or little eminences, on which the fibres of a branch of the fifth pair of neiTes exj^and, communicating the sense of taste. The various motions of the tongue are accom- plished by means of the ninth pair of nerves. The substance of the tongue is composed of muscular fibres, with much fatty matter interposed between them, and which gives to this organ its peculiar softness. DISEASES OF THE TONGUE. The tongue is sometimes exposed to injmy from carelessness or violence in the act of drench- ing or administering a ball, it being pressed against and cut by the edges of the grinders. A little diluted tincture of myrrh, or alum dissolved in water, or even nature unassisted, will speedily heal the wound. The horse will sometimes bite his tongue, most frequently in his sleep. If the injury is tiifling, it requires little care ; but, in some instances, a portion of the tongue has been deeply, lacerated or bitten off. The assistance of a veterinary practitioner is here required. There are some interesting accounts of the results of this lesion. Mr. Dickens of Kimbolton found a portion of the tongue of the mare, e.^tend- ingas far as the fraenulum beneath, lying in the manger in a strangely lacerated condition, and fast approaching to decomposition. He had her cast, and, excising all the unhealthy portions, he dressed the wound with chloride of soda and tinc- ture of myrrh. In less than a week the laceration was nearly healed, and, soon afterwards, she could eat with veiy little difficulty, and keep herself in good condition. The injui-y was proved to have been inflicted by a brutal horsebreaker, in re- venge for some slight aiJront.* A curious case is recorded in the Memoirs of the Society of Calvados. A horse was difficult to groom. The soldier who had the care of him, in order the better to manage him, fixed in his mouth and on his tongue a strong chain of iron, deeply serrated, while another man gave to this chain a terrible jerk whenever the hoi'se was dis- posed to be rebellious. The animal, under such torture, became unmanageable, and the man who held the chain sawing away with all his strength, the tongue was completely cut off at the point which separates its base from the free portion of it. The wound healed favourably, and he was soon able to manage a mash. After that some hay was given to him in small quantities. He took it and formed it into a Idnd of pellet with his lips, and then, pressing it against the bottom of his manger, he gradually forced it sufficiently back into the mouth to be enabled to seize it with bis grinders. • Velerinarian, vol. vi., p. 22. Another horse came to an untimely end in a singular way. He had scarcely eaten anything for three weeks. He seemed to be unable to swallow. The channel beneath the lower jaw had much enlargement about it. There was not any known cause for this, nor any account of violence done to the tongue. At length a tumour- ap- peared under the jaw. Mr. Young of Muirhead pmictured it, and a considerable quantity of puni- lent matter escaped. The horse could drink his gruel after this, but not take any solid food. A week afterwards he was found dead. Upon sepa- rating the head from the tnink, and cutting trans- versely upon the tongue, nearly opposite to the se- cond grinder, a needle was found lying longitudi- nally, and which had penetrated from the side to the inferior portion of the tongue. It was an inch and a quarter in length, and the neighbour- ing substance was in a state of gangrene. Vesicles will sometimes appear along the un- der side of the tongue, which will increase to a considerable size. Ihe tongue itself will be much enlarged, the animal will be unable to swallow, and a gi'eat quantity of ropy saliva will drivel from the mouth. This disease often exists without the nature of it being suspected. If the mouth is opened, one large bladder, or a succes- sion of bladders, of a purple hue, will be seen ex- tending along the whole of the under side of the tongue. If they are lanced freely and deeply, from end to end, the swelling will veiy rapidly abate, and any little fever that remains may be subdued by cooling medicine. The cause of this disease is not clearly known. THE SALIVARY OLANDS. In order that the food may be properly com- minuted preparatory to digestion, it is necessary that it should be previously moistened. The food of the stabled horse, however, is dry, and his meal is generally concluded without any fluid being offered to him. Nature has made a provision for this. She has placed in the neighbourhood of the mouth various glands to secrete, and that plenti- fully, a limpid fluid, somewhat saline to the taste. This fluid is conveyed from the glands into the mouth, by various ducts, in the act of chewing, and, being mixed with tlie food, renders it more easily ground, more easily passed afterwards into the stomach, and better fitted for digestion. The principal of these is the parotid gland (see cut, p. .309). It is placed in the hollow which extends from the root of the ear to the angle of the lower jaw. A portion of it, q, is represented as turned up, to show the situation of the blood- vessels underneath. In almost every case of cold connected witli sore throat an enlai-gement of the parotid gland is evident to the feeling, and even to the eye. It is composed of numerous small THE HORSE. 3'6» glands connected together, and a minute tube pro- ceeding from each, to carry away the secreted riuid. These tubes unite in one common duct. At the letter u, the parotid duct is seen to pass under the angle of the lower jaw, together with the sub- maxillary artery, and a branch of the jugular vein, and they came out again at w. At r, the duct is seen separated from the other vessels, climbing up the cheek, and piercing it to discharge its contents into the mouth, opposite to the second grinder. The quantity of fluid thus poured into the mouth from each of the parotid glands amounts to a pint and a half in an hour, during the action of mastication ; and, sometimes, when the duct has been accidentally opened, it has spirted out to the distance of several feet. The parotid gland sympathises with every in- flammatory affection of the upper part of the throat, and therefore it is found swollen, hot, and tender, in almost every catarrh or cold. The ca- tarrh is to be treated in the usual wa}' ; while a stimulating application, almost amounting to a blister, well rubbed over the gland, will best sub- due the inflammation of that body. In bad strangles, and, sometimes, in violent cold, this gland will be much enlarged and ul- cerated, or an obstruction will take place in some part of the duct, and the accumulating fluid will burst the vessel, and a fistulous ulcer be formed that will be very difficult to heal. A veterinary surgeon alone will be competent to the treatment of either case ; and the principle by which he will be guided, will be to heal the abscess in the gland as speedily as he can, and, probably, by the appli- cation of the heated iron : or, if the ulcer is in the duct, either to restore the passage through the duct, or to form a new one, or to cut off the flow of the saliva by the destruction of the gland. A second source of the saliva is from the sub- maxillary glands, or the glands under the jaw. One of them is represented at s, p. 310. The submaxillary glands occupy the space underneath and between the sides of the lower jaw, and consist of numerous small bodies, each with its proper duct, uniting together, and forming on each side a common duct or vessel that pierces through the muscles at the root of the tongue, and opens in little projections, or heads, upon the freeman, or bridle of the tongue, about an inch and a half from the front teeth. When the horse has catarrh or cold, these glands, like the parotid gland, en- large. This is often to be observed after strangles, and several distinct kernels are to be felt under the jaw. It has already been stated that they may be distinguished from the swellings that ac- company or indicate glanders, by their being larger, generally not so distinct, more in the centre of the channel, or space between the jaws, and never adhering to the jaw-bones. The farriers call them vivos, and often adopt cruel and absurd methods to disperse them, — as burning them with a lighted candle, or hot iron, or even cutting them, out. They will, in the majority of instances, gradually disperse in proportion as the disease which produced them subsides ; or they will yield to slightly stimulating embrocations ; or, if they are obstinate in their continuance, they are of no further consequence, than as iudicating that the horse has laboured under severe cold or strangles. During catarrh or inflammation of the mouth, the little projections marking the opening of these ducts on either side of the bridle of the tongue are apt to enlarge, and the mouth under the tongue is a little red, and hot and tender. The farriers call these swellings barbs or paps ; and as soon as they discover them, mistaking the effect of disease for the cause of it, they set to work to cut them close off. The bleeding that follows this operation somewhat abates the local inflam- mation, and affords temporary relief; but the' wounds will not speedily heal. The saliva con- tinues to flow from the orifice of the duct, and, running into the irregularities of the wound, causes it to spread and deepen. Even when it heals, the mouth of the duct being frequently closed, and the saliva continuing to be secreted by the submax- illary gland, it accumulates in the duct, until that vessel bm-sts, and abscesses are formed which eat deeply under the root of the tongue and long torment the poor animal. When, after a great deal of trouble, they are closed, they are apt to break out again for months and years aftei-wards. All that is necessary with regard to these paps or barbs is to abate the inflammation or cold that caused them to appear, and they will verj- soon and perfectly subside. He who talks of cutting them out is not fit to be trusted with a horee. A third source of saliva is from glands under the tongue — the subliinjiial glands, which open by many little orifices under the tongue, resembling little folds of the skin of the mouth, hanging from the lower surface of this organ, or found on the bottom of the mouth. These likewise some- times enlarge during catai-rh or inflammation of the mouth, and are called giffs, and bladders, and flaps in the mouth. They have the appearance of small pimples, and tlie farrier is too apt to cut: them away, or bum them off. The better way is to let them alone — for in a few days they will ge- nerally disappear. Should any ulceration remain, a little tincture of myrrh, or a solution of alum, will readily heal them. Besides these three principal sources of saliva, there are small glands to be found on every pait of the mouth, cheeks, and lips, which pom- out a considerable quantity of fluid, to assist in moisten- ing and preparing the food. 334 THE HORSE. STRANGLES. This is a disease principally incident to j'oung horses — usually appearing between the fourth and fifth year, and oftener in the spring than in any other part of the year. It is preceded by cough, and can at first be scarcely distinguished from common cough, except that there is more discharge from the nostril, of a yellowish colour, mixed with pus, and generally without smell. There is like- wise a considerable discharge of ropy fluid from the mouth, and greater swelling than usual under the throat. This swelling increases vnth uncer- tain rapidity, accompanied by some fever, and dis- inclination to eat, partly arising from the fever, butmore from the pain which the animal feels in the act of mastication. There is considerable thirst, but after a gulp or two the horse ceases to drink, yet is evidently desirous of continuing his draught. In the attempt to swallow, and sometimes when not drinking, a convulsive cough comes on, which almost threatens to suffocate the animal — and thence, probably, the name of the disease.* The tumour is under the jaw, and about the centre of the channel. It soon fills the whole of the space, and is evidently one uniform body, and may thus be distinguished from glanders, or the enlarged glands of catarrh. In a few days it be- comes more prominent and soft, and evidently con- tains a fluid. This rapidly increases ; the tumour bursts, and a great quantity of pus is discharged. As soon as the tumour has broken, the cough sub- sides, and the horse speedily mends, although some degree of weakness may hang about him for a considerable time. Few JJorses, possibly none, escape its attack ; but, the disease having passed over, the animal is free from it for the remainder of his life. Catarrh may precede, or may predis- pose to, the attack, and, undoubtedly, the state of the atmosphere has much to do with it, for both its prevalence and its severity are connected with certain seasons of the year and clianges of the weather. There is no preventive for the disease, nor is there anything contagious about it. Many strange stories are told with regard to this ; but the explanation of the matter is, that when several horses in the same farm, or in the same neigh- bourhood, have had strangles at the same time, they have been exposed to the same powerful but unknown exciting cause. Messrs. Percivall and Castley have come the nearest to a satisfactory view of the nature of strangles. Mr. Castley f says, that " the period •OldGervaseMarkhampvcs the followiDg description of this disease, and of the origin of its name: — " Ills," says he, " a great and hard swelling between a horse's nether chaps, upon the rootes of his tongue, and about his throat, which swelling, if it be not prevented, will stop the horses mndpipe, and so stranak or ehoakehim: from which effect, and none other, the name of this disease tooke its derivation." + Veterinarian, iii., 406, and vi., 607. of strangles is often a much more trying and criti- cal time for young horses than most people seem to be aware of ; that when colts get well over this com- plaint, they generally begin to thrive and improve in a remarkable manner, or there is sometimes as great a change for the worse : in fact, it seems to effect some decided constitutional change in the animal." Mr. Percivall adds, "the explanation of the case appears to me to be, that the animal is suffer- ing more or less from what I would call strwigle- fever, — a fever the disposition and tendency of which is to produce local tumour and abscess, and, most commonly in that situation, underneath the jaws, in which it has obtained the name of strangles." Professor Dick, of Edinburgh, adds that which is conclusive on the subject, that " although the disease commonly terminates by an abscess under the jaw, 3'et it may, and occasionally does, give rise to collections of matter on other parts of the surface." To this conclusion then we are warranted in coming, that strangles is a specific affection to which horses are naturally subject at some period of their lives, and the natural cure of which seems to be a suppurative process. From some cause, of the nature of which we are ignorant, this suppu- rative process usually takes place in the space be- tween the branches of the maxillary bone, and occurring there it appears in the mildest form, and little danger attends. When the disease is ushered in by considerable febrile disturbance, and the suppuration takes place elsewhere, the horse too frequently sinks under the attack. The treatment of strangles is veiy simple. As the essence of the disease consists in the forma- tion and suppuration of the specific tumour, the prineijial, or almost the sole attention of the prac- titioner, should be directed to the hastening of these processes : therefore, as soon as the tumour of strangles is decidedly apparent, the part should be actively blistered. Old practitioners used to recommend poultices, which, from the thickness of the horse's sldn, must have very little effect, even if they could be confined on the part ; and from the difficulty and almost impossibility of this, and their getting cold and hard, they necessarily weakened the energies of nature, and delayed the ripening of the tumour. Fomentations are a little more effectual. A blister will not only secure the completion of the process, but hasten it by many days, and save the patient much pain and exhaus- tion. It will produce another good effect — it will, previously to the opening of the tumour, abate the internal inflammation and soreness of the throat, and thus lessen the cough and wheezing. As soon as the swelling is soft on its summit, and evidently contains matter, it should be freely THE HORSE. 33* and deeply lanced. It is a bad, although frequent practice, to suffer the tumour to burst naturally, for a ragged ulcer is formed, very slow to heal, and difficult of treatment. If the incision is deep and large enough, no second collection of matter will be formed : and that which is already there may be suffered to run out slowly, all pressure ^vith the fingers being avoided. The pai't should be kept clean, and a little friar's balsam daily in- jected into the wound. The remainder of the treatment will depend on the symptoms. If there is much fever, and evident affection of the chest, and which should carefully be distinguished from the oppression and choking occasioned by the pressure of the tumour, it will be proper to bleed. In the majority of cases, however, bleeding will not only be unneces- sary, but injurious. It will delay the suppuration of the tumour, and increase the subsequent de- bility. A few cooling medicines, as nitre, emetic tartar, and perhaps digitalis, may be g^iven, as the case requires. The appetite, or rather the abilit}' to eat, will return \vith the opening of the abscess. Bran-mashes, or fresh-cut grass or tares, should be liberally supplied, which will not only afford sufficient nourishment to recruit the strength of the animal, but keep the bowels gently open. If the weakness is not great, no farther medicine will be wanted, except a dose of mild phj-sic in order to prevent the swellings or eruptions which sometimes succeed to strangles. In cases of debility, a small quantity of tonic medicine, as chamomile, gentian, or ginger, may be adminis- tered.* THE PHARYNX. Proceeding to the back of the mouth, we find the pharynx (carrying or conveying the food to- wards the stomach). It commences at the root of the tongue (see 7, 8, and 9, p. 266) ; is separated from the mouth by the soft palate (7), which hangs down from the palatine bone at 8, and extends to * Mr. Percivall gives the following desmplion of some unto- ward cases : — '* The submaxillary tumour is often knotted and di- Tided on its first appearance, as if the glands received the primary attack. As it spreads, it becomes diffused in the cellular tissue included in the space between the sides and branches of the lower jaw, involving all the subcutaneous parts contained in that interval indiscriminately in one uniform mass of tumefaction. While this general turgescence is going on, various parts in the immediate vicinity oflen take on the same kind of action. In particular, the salivary glands, the parotid, sublingual, the throat, the pharynx and larynx, the nose, the lining membrane, the nostrils, the sinuses, the mouth, the tongue, tlie cheeks, the lips — in fine, in some violent cases, the whole head appears to be involved in one the epiglottis or covering to the windpipe. WTien the food has been sufficiently ground by the teeth, and mixed with the saliva, it is gathered together by the tongue, and by the action of the cheeks and tongue, and back part of the mouth, forced against the soft j)alate, which, giving way, and being raised upwards towards the entrance into the nostrils, prevents the food from proceeding that way. It passes to the pharynx, and the soft palate again falling doAMi, prevents its return to the mouth, and also prevents, except in extreme cases, the act of vomiting in the horse. Whatever is returned from the stomach of the horse, passes through the nose, as the cut will make evident. The sides of the pharynx are lined with muscles which now begin powerfully to contract, and by that contraction the bolus is forced on until it reaches the gullet (10), which is the terminar tion of the phaiynx. Before, however, the food proceeds so far, it has to jiass over the entrance into the windpipe (3), and should any portion of it enter that tube, much inconvenience and danger might result ; therefore, this opening is not only lined by muscles which close it at the pleasure of the animal, but is likemse covered by a heart-like elastic cartilage, the epiglottis (2), -nith its back towards the phai^ynx, and its hollow towards the aperture. The epiglottis yields to the pressure of the bolus passing over it, and lying flat over the opening into the windpipe, and prevents the possi- bility of anything entering into it. No sooner, however, has the food passed over it, than it rises again by its own elasticity, and leaves the upper part of the windpipe once more open for the pur- pose of breathing. The voice of animals is pro- duced by the passage of air through this aperture, communicating certain vibrations to certain folds of the membrane covering the part, and these vi- brations being afterwards modified in their passage through the cavities of the nose. In order to un- derstand the diseases of these parts, the anatomy of the neck generally must be considered. general mass of tumefaction, while every vent is running over with discharge. The patient experiencing this violent form of disease is in a truly pitiable plight. WTiile purulent matter is issuing in profusion from his swollen nostrils, and slaver foams out from be- tween his tumefied lips, it is distressing to hear the noise thai he makes in painful and laboured efforts to breathe. There is immi- nent danger of suffocation in such a case as this ; and even al- though some relief, so far as the breathing is concerned, may be obtained from the operation of hronclwtomy, yet, from the pain and irritation he is suffering, added to the impossibility of getting aliment into his stomach, he must speedily sink to rise no more.'* — Veterinarian, vol. vi. p. 611. 336 THE HORSE. CHAPTER IX. THE ANATOIIT AND DISEASES OF THE NECK AND NEIGHBOURING PAETS. The neck of the horse, and of every animal be- longing to the class mammalia, except one species, is composed of seven bones called vertebra, move- able or turning upon each other (see cut, p. 263). They are connected together by strong ligaments, and form so many distinct joints, in order to give sufficiently extensive motion to this important part of the body. The bone nearest to the skull is called the atlas (see cut, p. 263, and g, p. 266), because, in the human being, it supports the head. In the horse the head is suspended from it. It is a mere ring-shaped bone, with broad projections sideways ; but without the sharp and irregular processes which are found on all the others. The pack-wax, or ligament, by which the head is principally supported (/, p. 266), and which is strongly connected with all the other bones, passes over this without touching it, by which means the head is much more easily and e.\ten- sively moved. The junction of the atlas with the head is the seat of a very serious and troublesome ulcer, termed POLL-EVII.. From the horse rubbing and sometimes strik- ing his poll against the lower edge of the manger, or hanging back in the stall and bruising the part with the halter — or from the frequent and painful stretching of the ligaments and muscles by unne- cessary tight reining, and, occasionally, from a violent blow on the poll, carelessly or wantonly inflicted, inflammation ensues, and a swelling ap- pears, hot, tender, and painful. It used to be a disease of frequent occui-rence, but it is now, from better treatment of the animal, of comparatively rare occurrence. It has just been stated, that the ligament of the neck passes over the atlas, or first bone, with- out being attached to it, and the seat of inflamma- tion is between the ligament and the bone be- neath ; and being thus deeply situated, it is seri- ous m its nature and difficult of treatment. The first thing to be attempted is to abate the inflammation by bleeding, ph3'sio, and the applica- tion of cold lotions to the part. In a very early period of the case a blister might have considerable effect. Strong purgatives should also be employed. By these means the tumom- will sometimes be dispersed. This system, however, must not be pursued too far. If the swelling increases, and the heat and tenderness likewise increase, matter will form in the tumour ; and then our object should be to hasten its formation by warm fomen- tations, poultices, or stimulating embrocations. As soon as the matter is formed, which may be known by the softness of the tumour, and before it has time to spread ai'ound and eat into the neighbouring parts, it should be evacuated. Now comes the whole art of treating poll-evil ; the open- ing into the tumour must be so contrived that all the matter shall run out, and continue afterwards to run out as quickly as it is formed, and not col- lect at the bottom of the ulcer, irritating and cor- roding it. This can be effected by a seton alone. The needle should enter at the tojj of the tumour, penetrate through its bottom, and be brought out at the side of the neck, a little below the abscess. Without anytliing more than this, except frequent fomentation with warm water, in order to keep the part clean, and to obviate inflammation, poll- evil in its early stage will frequently be cured. If the ulcer has deepened and spread, and threatens to eat into the ligaments of the joints of the neck, it may be necessary to stimulate its surface, and perhaps painfully so, in order to bring it to a healthy state, and dispose it to fill up. In extreme cases, some highly stimulating appli- cation may be employed, but nothing resembling the scalding mLxture of the farriers of the olden time. This is abominable ! horrible ! ! All mea- sures, however, will be ineffectual, unless the pus or matter is, by the use of setons, perfectly evacuated. The apjilication of these setons will require the skill and anatomical knowledge of the veterinary surgeon. In desperate cases, the wound may not be fairly exposed to the action of the caustic without the division of the ligament of the neck. This may be eff'ected with perfect safety ; for although the ligament is carried on to the occipital bone, and some strength is gained by this prolongation of it, the main stress is on the second bone ; and the head will continue to be' supported. The divided ligament, also, will soon unite again, and its former usefulness will be restored when the wound is healed. The second bone of the neck is the dentata, having a process like a tooth, by which it forms a joint with the first bone. In the formation of that joint, a portion of the spinal marrow, which runs through a canal in the centre of all these bones, is exposed or covered only by ligament ; and by the division of the maiTOw at this spot an animal is instantly and humanely destroyed. The operation is called jnthing, from the name (the pith) given by butchers to the spinal marrow. The other neck, or rack bones, as they are THE HOUSE. 337 denominated by the farrier, (B, p. 303,) are of a strangely irregular shape, yet bearing consider- able resemblance to each other. They consist of a central bone, perforated for the passage of the spinal marrow with a ridge on the top for the attachment of the ligament of the neck, and four irregular plates or processes from the sides, for the attachment of muscles ; at the base of one of which, on either side, are holes for the passage of the large arteries and veins. At the upper end of each, is a round head or ball, and at the lower end, a cavity or cup, and the head of the one being received into the cup of the other, they are united together, forming so many joints. They are like- wise united by ligaments from these processes, as well as the proper ligaments of the joints, and so securely, that no dislocation can take place between any of them, except the first and second, the consequence of which would be the immediate death of the animal. The last, or seventh bone, has the elevation on the back or top of it continued into a long and sharp prolongation {a spinous process), and is the beginning of that ridge of bones denominated the withers (see cut, pp. 263 and 344) ; and as it is the base of the column of neck bones, and there must be a great pressure on it from the weight of the head and neck, it is curiously contrived to rest upon and unite with the two first ribs. THE MUSCLES AND PEOPEB FORM OF THE NECK. The bones of the neck serve as the frame- work to which numerous muscles concerned in the motions of the head and neck are attached. The weight of the head and neck is supported by the ligament without muscular aid, and without fatigue to the animal ; but in order to raise the head higher, or to lower it, or to turn it in every direction, a complicated system of muscles is necessarj'. Those whose office it is to raise the head are most numerous and powerful, and are placed on the upper and side part of the neck. The cut in p. 309 contains a few of them. c marks a tendon common to two of the most important of them, the spJenius or splint-like muscle, and the complexits major, or larger com- plicated muscle. The splenius constitutes the principal bulk of the neck above, arising from the ligament of the neck all the way down it, and going to the processes of all the bones of the neck, hut the first, and tendons running from the upper part of it, to the first bone of the neck, and to a process of the temporal bone of the head. Its action is sufficiently evident, namely, very power- fully to elevate the head and neck. The principal -beauty of the neck depends on this muscle. It was admirably developed in the horse of whose neck the annexed cut gives an accurate delinea- tion. If the curve were quite regular from the poll to the withers, we should call it a perfect neck. It is rather a long neck, and we do not like it the less for that. In the carriage horse, a neck that is not half concealed by the collar is indispensable, so far as appearance goes ; and it is only the horse with a neck of tolerable length that will bear to be reined up, so as to give this part the arched and beautiful appearance which fashion demands. It is no detriment to the riding-horse, and there are few horses of extraor- dinary speed that have not the neck rather long. The race-horse at the top of his speed not only extends it as far as he can, that the air-passages may be as straight as he can make them, and that he may therefore be able to breathe more freel)', but the weight of the head and neck, and the effect increasing with their distance from the trunk, add materially to the rapidity of the animal's motion. It has been said, that a horse with a long neck will bear heavy on the hand ; neither the length of the neck nor even the bulk of the head has any influence in causing tliis. They ai-e botli counterbalanced by the power of the ligament of the neck. The settinff on of the head is most of all connected with heavy bearing on the hand, and a short-necked horse will bear heavily, because, from the thickness of the lower part of the neck, consequent on its shortness, the head cannot be rightly placed, nor, generally, the shoulder. Connected \vith the s/)/(?»!i(s muscle, and partly produced by it, are the thickness and muscularity of the neck, as it springs from the shoulders, in this cut ; the height at which it comes out from them forming nearly a line \Tith the withers ; and the manner in which it tapers as it approaches the head. The neck of a well-formed horse, however fine at the top, should be muscular at the bottom, or the horse will generally be weak and worthless. Necks devoid of this muscularity are called 338 THE HORSE. loose necks by liorsemen, and are alwaj's considered a very serious objection to the animal. If the neck is thin and lean at the upper part, and is otherwise well shaped, the horse will usually carry himself well, and the head will be properly curved for beauty of appearance and ease of riding. When an instance to the contrary occurs, it is to be traced to veiy improper management, or the space between the jaws being unnaturally small. The sphnius muscle, although a main agent in raising the head and neck, may be too large, or covered with too much cellular substance or fat, thus giving an appearance of heaviness or even clumsiness to the neck. This peculiarity of form constitutes the distinction between the perfect horse and the mare, and also the gelding, unless castrated at a very late period. This tendon, c, belongs also to another muscle, which makes up the principal bulk of the lower part of the neck, and is called the complexity major, or larger complicated muscle. It arises partly as low as the transverse processes of the four or five first bones of the back, and from the five lower bones of the neck ; and, the fibres from these various sources uniting together, form a very large and powerful muscle, the largest and strongest in the neck. As it approaches the head, it lessens in bulk, and terminates partly with the splenius, in this tendon, but is principally inserted into the back part of the occipital bone, by the side of the ligament of the neck. In the cut, (p. 309,) almost its whole course can be distinctly traced. Its office is to raise the neck and elevate the head ; and being inserted into such a part of the occiput, it will more particularly protinide the nose, while it raises the head. Its action, however, may be too powerful ; it may be habitually so, and then it may produce deformity. The back of the head being pulled back, and the muzzle protruded, the horse cannot by possibility carry his head well. He will become what is technically called a stai'-gazer ; — heavy in hand, boring upon the bit, and unsafe. To remedy this, recourse is had, and in the majority of cases ivithout avail, to the mai'tingale, against which the horse is continually fighting, and which is often a complete anno3'ance to the rider. Such a horse is almost useless for harness. Inseparable from this is another sad defect, so far as the beauty of the horse is concerned ; — he becomes eive-necked, i. e., he has a neck like a ewe — not arched above, and straight below, until near to the head, but hollow above and projecting below ; and the neck rising low out of tlie chest, even lower sometimes than the pomts of the shoulders. There can scarcely be anything more unsightly in a horse. His head can never be got fairly down ; and the bearing rein of harness must be to him a source of constant torture. In regard- ing, however, the length and the form of the neck, reference must be had to the purpose for which the horse is intended. In a hackney few things can be more abominable than a neck so dispropor- tionable, so long that the hand of the rider gets tired in managing the head of the horse. In a race-horse this lengthening of the neck is a decided advantage. Among the muscles employed in raising the head, are the complexus minores (smaller compli- cated), and the recti (straight), and the oblique muscles of the upper part of the neck, and be- longing principally to the two first bones of the neck, and portions of which may be seen under the tendon of the $2}leHius c, and between it and the ligament a. Among the muscles employed in lowering the head, some of which are given in the same cut, is the ste7-no-ma.riUaiis, d, belonging to the breast- bone, and the upper jaw. It can likewise be traced, although not quite distinctly, in the cut, p. 337. It lies immediately under the skin. It' arises from the cartilage projecting from, or con- stituting the front of the breast-bone (H, p. 263), and proceeds up the neck, of no great bulk or strength. At about three-fourths of its length upwai-d, it changes to a flat tendon, which is seen {d, p. 309) to insinuate itself between the parotid and submaxillaiy glands, in order to be inserted into the angle of the lower jaw. It is used in bending the head towards the chest. Another muscle, the tennination of which is seen, is the levator humeri, raiser of the shoulder, b. This is a much larger muscle than the last, because it has more duty to perform. It rises from the back of the head and four first bones of the neck and the ligament of the neck, and is car- ried down to the shoulder, mixing itself partly with some of the muscles of the shoulder, and finally continued down to and terminating on the humenis (J, p. 263). Its office is double. If the horse is in action, and the head and neck are fixed points, the contraction of this muscle will draw forward the shoulder and arm ; if the horse is standing, and the shoulder and arm are fixed points, this muscle will depress the head and neck. The muscles of the neck are all in pairs. One of them is found on each side of the neck, and the office which has been attributed to them can only be accomplished when both act together ; but sup- posing that one alone of the elevating muscles should act, the head would be raised, but it would at the same time be turned towards that side. If one only of the depressor muscles were to act, tlie head would be bent downwards, but it would like- wise be turned towards that side. Then it will be easily seen that by this simple method of having the muscles in pairs, provision is made for eveiy kind THE HOUSE. 339 of motion, upwards, downwards, or on either side, for which the animal can possibly have occasion. Little more of a practical nature could be said of the muscles of the neck, although thej' are proper and interesting studies for the anatomist. This is the proper place to speak of the mane, that long hair whicli covers the crest of the neck, and adds so much to the beauty of the animal. This, however, is not its only praise. In a wild state the horse has many battles to fight, and his neck deprived of the mane would be a vulnerable part. The hair of the mane, the tail, and the legs, is not shed in the same manner as that on the body. It does not fall so regularly nor so often ; for if all were shed at once, the parts would be left for a long time defenceless. The mane is generally dressed so as to lie on the right side — some pereons divide it equally on both sides. For ponies it used to be cut off near the roots, only a few stumps being left to stand perpendicularly. This was termed the hog-mane. The groom sometimes bestows a great deal of pains in getting the mane of his hoi-se into good and fashionable order. It is wetted, and plaited, and loaded with lead ; and every hair that is a little too long is pulled out. The mane and tail of the heavy draught-horse are seldom thin, but on the well-bred horse the thin well-arranged mane is very ornamental. * THE BLOOD-VESSELS OF THE KECK. Running down the under part of the neck are the principal blood-vessels going to and returning from the head,. with the windpipe and gullet. Our cut could not give a view of the arteries that cany the blood from the heart to the head, beause' they are too deeply seated. The external arteries are the carotid, of which there are two. They ascend the neck on either side, close to the windpipe, until they have reached the middle of the neck, where they somewhat diverge, and lie more deeply. They are covered by the stemo-maxillaris muscle, which has been just described, and are separated from the jugulars by a small portion of muscular substance. Having reached the laiynx, they divide into two branches, the external and the internal ; the first goes to every part of the face, and the second to the brain The vertebral arteries run through canals in the bones of the neck, supplying the neighbouring parts as they climb, and at length enter the skull at the large hole in the occipital bone, and ramify on and supply the braifl. Few cases can happen in which it would be either necessary or justifiable to bleed from an artery. Even in mad-staggers the bleeding is more practicable, safer, and more effectual, from the jugular vein than from the temporal or any • Stewart's Stable CEconomy, p. 110. other arter)'. If an artery is opened in the direc- tion in which it runs, there is sometimes very great difficulty in stopping the bleeding; it has even been necessary to tie the vessel in order to accomplish this purpose. If the artery is cut across, its coats are so elastic that the two ends are often immediately drawn apart under the flesh at each side, and are thereby closed; and after the first gush of blood no more can be obtained. THE VEINS OF THE NECK. The external veins which return the blood from the head to the heart are the jugulars. The horse has but one on either side. The human being and the ox have two. The jugular takes its rise from the base of the skull ; it then descends, receiving other branches in its way towards the angle of the jaw and behind the parotid gland ; and emerging from that, as seen at t, p. 309, and being united to a large branch from the face, it takes its course down the neck. Veteriuai-y surgeons and horse- men have agreed to adopt the jugular, a little way below the union of these two branches, as the usual place for bleeding ; and a veiy convenient one it is, for it is easily got at, and the vessel is large. The manner of bleeding, and the states of constitution and disease in which it is proper, will be hereafter spoken of ; an occasional consequence of bleeding being at present taken under consider- ation. INFLAMMATION OF THE VEIN. It is usual and proper, after bleeding, to bring the edges of tlie woimd carefully together, and to hold them in contact by inserting a pin through the skin, with a little tow twisted round it. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the wound quickly heals, and gives no trouble : but in a few instances, from using a blunt instrument, or a dirty or rusty one ; or striking too hard and bruising the vein ; or, in the act of pinning up, pulling the skin too far from the neck and suffering some blood to insinuate itself into the cellular texture ; or ne- glecting to tie the horse up for a little while, and thus enabling him to rub the bleeding place against tlie manger and tear out the pin ; or from the animal being worked immediately aften\ard ; or the reins of the bridle rubbing against it ; or several blows having been clunisUy given, and a large and ragged wound made ; or from some dis- position to iutlammation about the horse (for the bleeder is not always in fault) the wound does not heal, or if it closes for a little while, it re-opens. A slight bleeding appears — some tumefaction com- mences— the edges of the orifice separate, and he- come swollen and red— a dischai-ge of sanious bloody fluid proceeds from the wound, followed, perhaps, in a few days by punilent matter. The neck swells, and is hot and tender both above and below the incision. The lips of the wound become everted — the swelling increases, particularly above 340 tHE HORSE. the -wouncl, where the vein is most hard and cordy — the horse begins to loathe his food, and little abscesses form round the orifice. The cordiness of the vein rapidly increases. Not only the vein itself has become obstructed and its coats thick- ened, but the cellular tissue inflamed and hardened, and is an additional source of irritation and torture. The thickening of the vein extends to the bi- furcation above : it occupies both branches, and extends downwards to the chest — even to the vei-y heart itself, and the patient dies. The two grand questions here are, the cause and the cure. The first would seem to admit of an easy reply. A long list of circumstances has been just given which would seem to refer the matter entirely to the operator ; yet, on the other hand, experience tells us that he has little to do with these morbid effects of bleeding. Mr. Perci- vall states, that Mr. Cherry tried several times to produce inflammation by the use of msty lancets, and escharotics of various kinds, and ligatures, and frequent separation and friction of the granulating edges, but in vain. Professor Spooner tried to produce the disease, but could not. On the other hand, it is well knowii that while inflammation rarely or never follows the operation of bleeding by some practitioners, others are con- tinually getting into scrapes about it, The writer of this work had three house-pupils, two of whom he used to trust to bleed his patients, and no un- toward circumstance ever occurred ; but as surely as he sent the third, he had an inflamed vein to take care of. There is something yet undivulged in the pro- cess of healing the vein, or in the circumstances by which that healing is prevented. The most powerful causes probably are, that the lips of the woimd have not been brought into immediate ap- position, or that a portion of the hair — a single hair is sufficient — has insinuated itself. The horse has not, perhaps, had his head tied up to the rack after bleeding, which should always be done for at least an hour, during which time the extravasated blood will become firmly coagula- ted, and the flow of blood to the heart will estab- lish its uninternipted course. It is also probable that atmospheric agency may be concerned in the affair, or a diseased condition of the horse, and particularly a susceptibility of taking on inflamma- tory action, although the exciting cause may be exceedingly slight. Of the means of cure it is difficult to speak confidently. The wound should be carefully ex- amined— the divided edges brought into exact apposition, and any hair interposed between them removed— the pin withdra\vn or not, according to circumstances — the part carefully and long fo- mented, and a dose of physic administered. If two or three days have passed and the discharge still remains, the application of the budding-iron — not too large or too hot — may produce engorge- ment of the neighbom-ing parts, and union of the lips of the wound. This should be daily, or every second day, repeated, according to circumstances. A blister applied over the orifice, or as far as the mischief extends, will often be serviceable. Here, likewise, the parts will be brought into contact with each other, and pressed together, and union may be effected. " Sometimes," says Mr. Cart- wright, " when the vein is in an ulcerative state, I have laid it open, and applied caustic dressing, and it has healed up. I have lately had a case in which five or six abscesses had formed above the original wound, and the two superior ones burst through the parotid gland, the extent of the ulcer- ation being evident in the quantity of saliva that flowed through each orifice."* The owner of the horse will find it his interest to apply to a veterinary practitioner as soon as a case of inflamed vein occurs. Should the vein be destroyed, the horse will not be irreparably injm-ed, and perhaps, at no gieat distance of time, scarcely injured at all ; for nature is ingenious in making provision to cany on the circulation of the blood. All the vessels con- veying the blood from the heart to the different parts of the frame, or bringing it back again to the heart, communicate with each other by so many channels, and in such various ways, that it is im- possible by the closure or loss of any one of them long materially to impede the flow of the vital current. If the jugular is destroyed, the blood will circulate through other vessels almost as freely as before ; but the horse could not be considered as sound, for he might not be equal to the whole of the work required of him. THE PAIATE (RESDMED). At the back of the palate (see p. 266), and at- tached to the crescent-shaped border of the pala- tine bone, is a dense membranous curtain. Its superior and back surface is a continuation of the lining membrane of the nose, and its anterior or inferior one that of the palate. It is called the velum palati, or veil of the palate. It extends as far back as the larynx, and lies upon the dorsum of the epiglottis, and is a perfect veil or curtain interposed between the cavities of the nose and mouth, cutting off all communication between them. Tied by its attachment to the palatine bone, it will open but a little way, and that only in one direction. It will permit a pellet of food to pass into the cesophagus ; but it will close when any pressure is made upon it from behind. Two singular facts necessarily follow from this : the horse breathes through the nostrils alone, and these are capacious and easily expansible to a degree seen in no other ♦Abstract of the Veterinary Medical Association, vol. iv. p. 185. THK lIOltSK. :^ i I niiimal, aiiil full}' commen-mrate to the wants of the animal. It is also evident that, in the act of vomiting, the contents of the stomach must be returned through the nostril, and not through the mouth. On this account it is that the horse can with great difficulty be excited to vomit. There is a structure at the entrance to the stomach wliich, except under very peculiar circumstances, prevents its return to the throat, and consequently to the mouth. The muscles of this singular curtain are very intelligibly and correctly described by Mr. Perci- vall, in his " Anatomy of the Horse," to which the reader is referred. The same remark is applicable to a very singular and important bone, and its muscular apparatus, the os hyoides. THE LARYNX Is placed on the top of the windpipe (see 1, p. 266), and is the inner guard of the limgs if any injurious substance should penetrate so far; it is the main protection against the passage of food into the respiratory tubes, and it is at the same time the instrument of voice. In this last chai'acter it loses much of its importance in the quadruped, because in the dumb animal it is a beautiful piece of mechanism. The Epiglottis (see 2, p. 266) is a heart-shaped cartilage, placed at the extremity of the opening into the windpipe, with its back opposed to the pharynx, so that when a pellet of food passes from the pharynx in its way to the oesophagus, it jJresses down the epiglottis, and by tliis means, as already described, closes the aperture of the larynx, and prevents any portion of the food from entering it. Tlie food having passed over the epiglottis, from its own elasticity and that of the membrane at its base, and more particularly the power of the hyo- epiglotideus muscle, rises again and resumes its for- mer situation. The Thyroid Cartilage (see 1, p. 266) occupies almost the whole of the external jiart of the larynx, both anteriorly and laterally. It envelopes and protects all the rest ; a point of considerable im- portance, considering the injury to which the larynx is exposed, by our system of curbing and tight reining. It also forms a point of attachment for the insertion of the greater part of the delicate muscles by which the other cartilages are moved. The beautiful mechanism of the larynx is go- verned or worked by a somewhat complicated sys- tem of muscles, for a description of which the reader is referred to the 5th vol. of the Veterin- arian, p. 447. It is plentifully supplied with nerves from the respiratory system, and there are also frequent anastomoses with the motor nerves of the spinal cord. The sole process of respiration is partly under the control of the will, and the muscles of the ]ar\-nx concerned in one stage of it are likewise so, hut they al-in net iMdfpendently of the will, for during sleep aud uuconsciousne.s.s the machine continues to work. The origin of the artery which supplies these parts with blood is sometimes derived from the main trunk of the carotid, but oftener it is a bi-anch of the thyroideal artery. The lining membrane is a continuation of that of the pharynx above and the trachea below. It is covered with innumerable follicular glands, from whose mouths there oozes a mucous fluid that moistens and lubricates its surface. It is pos- sessed of very great sensibility, and its function requires it. It is, as has been already stated, the inner guard of the lungs, and the larynx must un- dergo a multitude of changes of form in order to adapt itself to certain changes in the act of respi- ration, and in order to produce the voice. The voice of the horse is, however, extremely limited, compared with that of the human being : the same sensibility, therefore, is not required, and exposed as our quadruped slaves are to absurd and barba- rous usage, too great sensibility of any part, and particularly of this, would be a curse to the animal. THE TRACHEA OR WINDPIPE. The course of the inspired air from the larynx to the lungs is now to be traced, and it will be found to be conveyed through a singularly con- structed tube (6, p. 266), passing along the ante- rior portion of the neck, and reaching from the lower edge of the cricoid cartilage (11, p. 266) to the hmgs. In the commencement of its coarse it is somewhat superficially placed, but as it de- scends towards the thorax it becomes gradually deeper, and more concealed. In order to dis- charge its functions as an air-tube, it is essential that it should always be pen-ious, or, at least, that anv obstraction to the process of respiration should be but momentary. Attached to a jjart endowed with such extensive motion as the neck, it is also necessary that it should be flexible. It is compo- sed of cartilage, an exceedingly elastic substance, and at the same time possessing a certain degree of flexibility. The windpipe is composed of cartilage, but not of one entire piece, for that would necess;u-ily be either too thick and firm to be flexilde, or if it were suffigiently flexible to accommodate itself to the action of the neck, it would be too weak to re- sist even common pressure or injmy, and the pas- sage through ifwould often be inconveniently or dangerously obstructed. Besides, it is necessary that this tube should occasionally admit of elonga- tion to a considerable degree. When the neck is extended in the act of grazing or otherwise, the trachea must be lengthened. The structure of the cartilage of the windpipe is admirably adapted to effect every purpose It 342 THE HORSE. is divided into rings, fifty or fifty-two in number, each possessing sufficient thickness and strength to resist ordinary pressure, and each constituting a joint with the one above and below, and thus ad- mitting of all the flexibility that could be required. These rings are connected together by an inter- posed fibro-ligamentous substance, e.xtensible, elas- tic, and 3'et so strong that it is scarcely possible to rupture it ; and the fibres of that ligament not running vertically from one to another, and there- fore admitting of little more motion than the rotation of the head, but composed of two layers running obliquely, and m contrary directions, so as to adapt themselves to every variety of motion. These rings are thickest in front, and project circularly, opposing anarch-like form. There, too, the ligament is widest, in order to admit of the greatest motion in the direction in which it is most needed, when the head is elevated or de- pressed. Laterally these rings are thinner, because they are, to a great degree, protected by the sur- rounding parts ; and, posteriorly, they overlap each other, and the overlapping portions are connected together by a strong ligamentous substance. This, while it does not impede the motion of the tube, gives firmness and stability to it. Within the trachea is another very curious structure. At the points at which, posteriorly, the rings begin to bend inwardly, a muscle is found stretching across the windpipe, dividing the canal into two unequal portions — the anterior one con- stituting the proper air-passage, and the posterior one occupied by cellular te.xture. It is to give additional strength to parts. It is the tie which prevents the arch from spurring out. In the na- tural state of the wind^pe this muscle is, probably, quiescent ; but when kiiy considerable pressure is made on the crown of the arch at the upper part by tight reining, or at the lower by an ill-made collar, or anywhere by bnital or accidental violence, this muscle contracts, every serious expansion or depression of the arch is prevented, and the part is preserved from serious injury. It may also be readily imagined that, when in violent exertion, every part of the respiratory canal is on the stretch, this band may preserve the wind- pipe from injury or laceration. There are many beautiful points in the physiology of the horse which deserve much greater attention than has hitherto been paid to them. The windpipe should project from the neck. It should almost seem as if it were detached from the deck, fur two important reasons : first, that it may easily enter between the channels of the jaw, so that the horse may be reined up without suffer- ing inconvenience ; and next, that being more loosely attached to the neck, it may more readily adapt itself to the changes required than if it were enveloped by fat, or muscle to a certain degree unyielding: therefore, in every well-formed neck — and it will be seen in the cut (p. 337) — it is indispensible that the windpipe should be promi- nent and loose on the neck. This is not required in the heavy cart-horse, and we do not often find it, because he is not so much exposed to those circumstances which will hurry respiration, and require an enlargement in the size of the principal air-tube. When the trachea arrives at the thorax, it suddenly alters its form, in order to adapt itself to the narrow triangular aperture through which it has to pass. It preserves the same cartilaginous structui'e ; for if it has not the pressure of the external muscles, or of accidental violence, to resist, it is exposed to the pressure of the lungs when they are inflating, and it shares in the pres- sure of the diaphragm, and of the intercostal muscles, in the act of expiration. Having entered the chest, it passes a little to the right, leaving the oesophagus, or gullet, on the left ; it separates from the dorsal vertebras ; it passes through the duplicature of the mediastinum to the base of the heart, and it divides beneath the posterior aorta. Its divisions are called the bronchial tubes, and have much to do with the well-being of the horse. Its rings remain as perfect as before, hut a new portion of cartilage begins to present itself : it may be traced as high as the tenth ring from the bottom ; it spreads over the union between the posterior terminations of the rings; it holds them in closer and firmer connexion with each other ; it discharges the duty of the transverse muscle, which begins here to disappear, and the support of the cervical and dorsal vertebra? ; it prevents the separation of the rings when the trachea is distended ; it spreads down upon, and defends the commencement of the bronchial tubes. Some other small plates of cartilage reach a con- siderable way down the divisions of tlie bronchi, and the last ring has a central triangular projec- tion, which covers and defends the bifurcation of the trachea. TEACHEOTOMT. The respirator}' canal is occasionally obstructed, to an annoying and dangerous degree. Polypi have been described as occupying the nostrils ; long tumours have formed in them. Tumours of other kinds have pressed into the pharjiix. The tumour of strangles has, for a while, occupied the passage. The larjTix has been distorted ; the membrane of the windpipe, on the laiynx, has been thickened, and ulcers have formed in one or both, and have been so painful that the act of breathing was laborious and torturing. In all these cases it has been anxiously inquired whether there might not be established an artificial opening for the passage of the air, when the natural one THE HORSE. 813 could no longer be used ; and it has been ascer- tained that it is both a simple and safe operation, to excise a portion of the trachea, on or below the point of obstruction. The operation must be performed while the horse is standing, and secured by a side-line, for he would, propably, be suffocated amidst the strug- gles with which he would resist the act of throwing. The twitch is then firmly fixed on the muzzle ; the operator stands on a stool or pail, by which means he can more perfectly command the part, and an assistant holds a scalpel, a bistoury, scis- sors, curved needles anned, and a moist sponge. The operator should once more examine the whole course of the wndpipe, and the different sounds which he will be able to detect by the application of the ear, and likewise the different degrees of temperature and of tenderness which the finger will detect, will guide to the seat of the evil. The hair is to be closely cut off from the part, the skin tightened across the trachea with the thumb and fingers of the left hand, and then a longitudinal incision cautiouslj' made through the skin, three inches in length. This is usually effected when there is no express indication to the contrary on the fifth and sixth rings ; a slip from which, and the connecting ligament above and below, about half the width of each ring, should be excised with the intervening ligament. The remaining portion will then be strong enough to retain the perfect arched form of the trachea. If the orifice is only to be kept open while some foreign body is extracted, or tumour removed, or ulcer healed, or inflammation subdued, nothing more is necessary than to keep the lips of the wound a little apart, by passing some thread through each, and slightly everting them, and tying the threads to the mane. If, however, there is any permanent obstruc- tion, a tube will be necessary. It should be two or three inches long, curved at the top, and the external orifice turning downwards with a little ring on each side, by which, through the means of tubes, it may be retained in its situation. The purpose of the operation being answered, the flaps of integument must be brought over the wound, the edges, if necessary, diminished, and the parts kept in apposition by a few stitches. The cartilage will be perfectly reproduced, only the rings will be a little thicker and wider. The following account will illustrate the use and the danger of the tracheotomy tube. A mare at Alfort had great distortion of the rings of the trachea. She breathed wth difficulty. She became a roarer almost to suffocation, and was quite use- less. Tracheotomy was effected on the distorted rings, and a short canula introduced. She was so much relieved that she trotted and galloped imme- diately aftenvards without the slightest distress. SLx months later she again began to roar. It seemed that the lings were now distorted below the former place. M. Barthelemy introduced another canula, seven inches long, and which reached below the new distortion. She was once more relieved. She speedily improved in condition, and regularly drew a cabriolet at the rate of seven or eight miles in the hour ; and this she continued to do for three years, when the canula became accidentally displaced in the night, and she was found dead in the moi'ning. THE BRONCHIAL TUBES. The windpipe has been traced through its course down the neck into the chest. It is there contiuued through the mediastinum to the base of the heart, and then divided into two tubes corres- ponding with the two divisions of the lungs — the Bronchial Tubes. These trunks enter deeply into the substance of the lungs. They presently sub- divide, and the subdivision is continued in every direction, until branches from the trachea penetrate every assignable portion and part of the lungs. They are still air-passages, carrying on this fluid to its destination, for the accomplishment of a vital purpose. They also continue exposed to pressure ; but it is pressure of a new kind, a pressure alternately applied and removed. The lungs in which they are embedded alternately contract and expand ; and these tubes must contract and expand likewise. Embedded in the lungs, the cartilaginous ring of the bronchi remains, but it is divided into five or six segments connected with each other. The lungs being compressed, the segments overlap each other, and fold up and occupy little space ; but the principle of elasticity is still at work ; and as the pressure is removed, they start again, and resume their previous form and calibre. It is a beautiful contrivance, and exquisitely adapted to the situation in which these tubes are placed, and the functions they have to discharge. But we must pause a little and consider the structure and functions of the chest. zS 3U THE HORSE. CHAPTER X. THE CHEST, a The first rib. h The cartilages of the eleven hindermost, or fake ribs, connected together, and uniting with that of the seventh or last true rib. c The breast-bone. d The top, or point, of the withers, which are formed by the lengthened spinous, or upright processes of the ten or eleven lirst bones of the back. The bones of the back are eighteen in number. e The ribs, usually eighteen on each side ; the seven first united to The chest, in the horizontal position in which it is placed in the cut, is of a somewhat oval figure, with its extremities truncated. The spine is its roof; the sternum, or breast, its floor; the ribs, its sides ; the trachea, oesophagus, and great blood- vessels passing through its anterior extremity aud the diaphragm, being its posterior. It is con- tracted in front, broad and deep towards the central boundaiy, and again contracted posteriorly. It encloses the heart and the lungs, the origin of the arterial, and the termination of the venous trunks and the collected vessels of the absorbents. The windpipe penetrates into it, and the cesophagus traverses its whole extent. A ca\ity whose contents are thus important should be securely defended. The roof is not composed of one unyielding prolongation of bone, which might possibly have been strong enough, yet would have subjected it to a thousand rude and dangerous shocks ; but there is a curiously- contrived series of bones, knit together by strong ligaments and dense cartilaginous substance, form- ing so many joints, each possessed but of little individual motion, but the whole united and con- stituting a column of such exquisitely-contrived flexibility and strength, that all concussion is avoided, aud no external violence or weight can injure that which it protects. It is supported chiefly by the anterior extremities, and beautiful are the contrivances adopted to prevent injurious connexion. There is no inflexible bony union between the shoulders and the chest ; but while the spine is formed to neutralise much of the con- cussion that might be received — while the elastic the breast-bone by cartilage ; the cartilages of the remaining eleven united to each other, as at b. f That portion of the spine where the loins commence, and com- posed of five bones. g The bones forming the hip, or haunch, and into the hole at the bottom of which the bead of the thigh-bone is received. k The portion of the spine belonging to the haunch, and consisting of five pieces. i The bones of the tail, usually thirteen in number, connexions between the vertebree of the back, alternately affording a yielding resistance to the shock, and regaining their natural situation when the external force is removed, go far, by this play- ful motion, to render harmless the rudest motion — there is a provision made by the attachment of the shoulder-blade to the chest calculated to pre- vent the possibility of any rude concussion reaching the thorax.* At the shoulder is a muscle of immense strength, and tendinous elastic comjjosition, the serrdtus ma- jor, spreading over the internal surface of the shoulder-blade and a portion of the chest. A spring of easier play could not have been attached to the carriage of any invalid. It is a carriage hung by springs between the scapulae, and a delightful one it is for easy travelling; while there is combined ■with it, and the union is not a little difficult, strength enough to resist the jolting of the roughest road and the most rapid pace. Laterally there is sufficient defence against all common injuiy by the expansion of the shoulder over the chest from between the first and second to the seventh rib ; and behind and below that there is the bony structure of the ribs, of no little * " Had," says Mr. Percivall, " the entire rib been one solid piece of bone, a violent blow might have broken it to pieces. On the other hand, had the ribs been composed from end to end of cartilage only, the form of the arch could not have been sustained, but, sooner or later, it must have bent inward, and so have encroached upon the cavity of the chest as to have compressed the organs of respiration and circulation to that degree that could not but have ended in suffocation and death of the animal. It was only the judicious and well-an'anged combination of bone and gristle in the construction of the chest that could answer the ends an all-wise Providence had in view." — VeUrinarian ,\o\. xv. p. 184. THE HOKSE. strength ; and tlieir aivbed form, altliuiigli a flat- tened arch ; and the 3aelding motion at the base of each rib, resulting from its jointed connexion with the spine above and its cartilaginous union ■with the sternum below. A still more important consideration with re- gard to the parietes of the thorax is th© manner in which the}' can adapt themselves to the changing bulk of the contents of the cavity. The capacity of the chest is little affected by the external con- traction and dilatation of the heart, for when its ventricles are collapsed its auiicles are distended, and when its auricles are compressed its ventricles expand ; but with regard to the kmgs it is a very different affair. In their state of collapse and expansion they vaiy in comparative bulk, one-sixth pai't or more, and, in either state, it is necessaiy for the proper dischai-ge of the function of respira- tion that the parietes of the chest should be in contact with them. The ribs are eighteen in number on either side. Nine of them are perfect, and commonly called the true, or, more properly, sternal ribs, extending from the spine to the sternum. The remaining nine are posterior and shorter, and are only indirectly connected with the sternum. The ribs are united to the corresponding ver- tebrae or bones of the spine, so as to form perfect Joints — or, rather, each rib forms two joints. The head of the rib is received between the vertebrae and bones of the spine, before and behind, so that it shall always present two articulating surfaces, one opposed to the vertebrae immediately before, and the other to that immediately behind, and both forming one joint, with a perfect ca^isular ligament, and admitting of a rotatoiy motion. The head of the rib seems to be received into the cartilaginous ligamentous siibstance between the vertebrae. No- thing could be more admirably devised for motion, so far as it is required, and for sti-ength of union, that can scarcely be broken. Before the ribs reach the sternum, they termi- nate in a cartilaginous prolongation, or the lower part of the rib may be said to be cartilaginous. There is between the bony part and tins, cartilage a joint with a true capsular ligament, and- admit- ting of a certain degree of motion ; and where it unites with the sternum there is a fourth joint, with a perfect and complete capsular ligament. The cartilage of the posterior ribsai-e united to the bony portion by a Idnd of joint. They are not, however, prolonged so far as the sternum ; but the extremity of one lies upon the body of that which is immediately before it, bound do^Ti upon it by a cellular substance approaching to the nature of ligament, yet each having some separate motion, and all of them connected indirectly with the ster- num by means of the last sternal rib. It is an admirable contrivance to preserve the requisite | motion which must attend every act of breathing, every extension and contraction of the chest, with a degree of strength which scarcely any accident can break through. The sternum, or breast-bone, is more compli- cated than it at first appears to be. It constitutes the floor of the chest, and is a long flat spongy bone, fixed between the ribs on either side, articu- lating with these cartilages, and serving as a point of support to them. It is composed of from seven to nine pieces, united together by cartilage ; and whatever changes may take place in other parts of the frame, this cartilage- is not converted to bone even in extreme old age, although there may, possibly, be some spots of osslQc matter found in it. The point of the breast-bone may be occasion- ally injured by blows or by the pressure of the collar. It has been, by brutal violence, completely broken off from the sternum ; but aftener. and that from some cruel usage, a kind of tumour has been formed on the point of it, which has occasionally ulcerated, and proved very difficult to heal. The front of the chest is a very important consideration in the structure of the horae. It should be prominent and broad, and full, and the sides of it well occupied. When the breast is nar- row, the chest has generally the same appearance : the animal is flat-sided, the proper cavity of the chest is diminished, and the stamina of the horse are materially diminished, although, perhaps, his speed for short distances may not be affected. When the chest is narrow and the fore legs are too close together, in addition to the want of bottom they will interfere with each other, and • there will be wounds on the fetlocks, and bruises- below the knee. A chest too broad is not desirable-, but a fleshy and a prominent one ; yet even this, perhaps, may require some explanation:' When the fore legs appear to recede and to shelter themselves under the body, there is a faulty position of the fore limbs, a bend or standing over, an- uaii»tural lengthiness about the fore parts of the'^i^ist, sadly disadvan- tageous in progi'ession. J^^' There is also a poster^ appendix to the ster- num, which is also cartila^nous. It is called the ensiform cartilage, although it bears little resem- blance to a sword. It is flat and flexible, yet strong, and serves as the commencement of the floor or support of the abdomen. It also gives in- sertion to some of the abdominal muscles, and more conveniently than it could have been ob- tained from the body of the sternum. The intercostal 7nuscl.s. — The borders of the ribs are anteriorly concave, thin, and shai-p — poste- riorly rounded, and presenting underneath a longi- tudinal depression or cha mel, in which run both blood-vessels and neiTes. The space between them 346 THE HORSE. is occupied by muscular substance firmly attached to the borders of the ribs. These muscles are sinut of a different character, for they now consist of pus. The pus increases ; the cyst becomes more and more dis- tended ; it encroaches on the substance of the lungs; it comes into contact with other tubercles, and the walls opposed to each other are absorl)ed by their mutual pressure ; they run together, and form one cyst, or regular excavation, and this sometimes proceeds until a considerable portion of the limg is, as it were, hollowed out. By and by, however, the vomica presses upon some bronchial passage : the cyst gives way, and the purulent con- tents are poured into the bronchife, and got rid of by the act of coughing. At other times the quan- tity is too great to be thus disposed of, and the animal is suffocated. Occasionally it will break through the pleuritic covering of the lung, and pour its contents into the thorax. Abscesses may exist in the lungs undisco- vered.— It is scarcely conceivable to what exient they sometimes exist in animals of slow work, without being detected by the usual means of exa- mination. Mr. Hales says that he gave a physic- ball to a cart-mare with a bad foot, and she soon afterwards died suddenly. When inquiring as to the cause of death, he was told, and not very good- humouredly, that his physic had killed her. He asked, if it had purged her violently? " Xo! " it was replied, "it had not operated at all." She was opened, and the mystery was all unravelled. The thorax was deluged with pus, and there were then in the lungs several large abscesses, one of which contained at least a quart of pus. The mare had not shown a symptom of chest affection, and the gentleman to whom she belonged declared that he had believed her to be as sound as any horse he had in his possession. The resolution or gradual abatement of inflam- mation is the termination most to be desired in this state of disease, for then the engorgement of the vessels will gradually cease, and the thickening of the membrane and the interstitial deposit be taken up, and the eftusion into the cells likewise absorbed, and the lungs will gradually resume their former cellular texture, yet not perfectly : for there will be some induration, slight but general ; or some more perfect induration of certain parts ; or the rupture of some of the air-cells : or an irritability of membrane predisposing to renewed iuflamnux- tion. The horse will not always be as useful as 380 THE HOUSE. before; there will be chronic cough, thick-wind, broken- wind; but these merit distinct considera- tion ; and, for tlie present, we proceed to the treat- ment of pneumonia. There is inflammation of that organ through which all the blood in the frame passes — that organ most of all subject to congestion. Then nothing can be so important as to lessen the quantity of blood which the heart is endeavouring to foi'ce through the minute vessels of the lungs, distended, irritated, breaking. Immediate recourse must be had to the lancet, and the stream of blood must be suffered to flow on until the pulse falters, and the animal bears heavy upon the pail. This blood must be extracted as quickly as possible, and the lancet should be broad-shouldered, and the orifice large. This is the secret of treating inflammation of a vital organ. The disease is weakened or de- stroyed without permanently impairing the strength of the patient ; whereas by small bleedings, and with a small stream, the strength of the patient is sapped, while the disease remains untouched. Next comes purging, if we dared ; for by having recourse to it some cause of excitement would be got rid of, the circulating fluid would be lessened, and a new determination of the vital current pro- duced ; but experience teaches, that in pneumonia there is so much sympathy with the abdominal viscera, — there is such a fatal tendency in the inflammation to spread over eveiy mucous mem- brane, that purging is almost to a certainty fol- lowed by inflammation, and that inflammation bids defiance to every attempt to arrest it. It may be said with perfect confidence that, in the majority of cases, a physic-ball would be a dose of poison to a horse labouring under pneumonia. May we not relax the bowels? Yes, if we can stop there. We maj', after the inflammation has evidently a little subsided, venture upon, yet very cautiousl3', small doses of aloes in our fever medi- cine, and we may quicken their operation by fre- quent injections of warm and soap water ; omitting the purgative, however, the moment the fteces are becoming pultaceous. We must, however, be assured that the inflammation is subsiding, and there must be considerable constipation, or the purgative had better be let alone. If we must not give physic, we must endeavour to find some other auxiliary to the bleeding, and we have it in the compound of diijitalis, nitre, and emetic tartar, wliich has been so often recommended. The greatest care should be taken of the patient labouring under this complaint. His legs should be well hand-rubbed, in order to restore, if pos- sible, the circulation to the extremities. Com- fortable flannel rollers should encase the legs from the foot to the knee. He should be covered up warm. There cannot be a doubt about this. As for air, in warm weather he cannot have too much. In cold weather his box must be airy, but not chilly. We want to determine the blood to the extremities and the skin, but not all the clothing in the world will keep om- patient warm, if he is placed in a cold and uncomfortable situation. As for food, we think not of it. In nine cases out of ten he will not touch anything ; or if he is inclined to eat, we give him nothing but a bran- mash, or a little green-meat, or a few carrots. We now look about us for some counter-irritant. We wish to excite some powerful action in another part of the frame, and which shall divert the cur- rent of blood from that which was first affected. We recognise it as a law of nature, and of which we here eagerly avail ourselves, that if we have a morbid action in some vital organ — an unusual determination of blood to it — we can abate, perhaps we can at once arrest, that morbid action by exciting a similar or a greater disturbance in some contigu- ous and not dangerous part. Therefore we blister the sides and the brisket, and produce all the irri- tation we can on the integument ; and in proportion as we do so, we abate, or stand a chance of abat- ing, the inflammation within. We have recourse to a blister in preference to a seton ; and decidedly so, for our stimulus can be spread over a larger surface, — there is more chance of its being applied to the immediate neighbour- hood of the original inflammation — and, most assuredly, from the extent of surface on which we can act, we can employ a quantity of stimulus be- yond comparison greater than a seton would permit us to do. Bowels are frequently excellent adjuvants to the blister, butshould not be depended uponalone. In the latter stage of disease the blister will not act, because the powers of nature are exhausted. We must repeat it, — we must rouse the sinking energies of the frame, if we can. although the effort will generally be fruitless. The not rising of a blister, in the latter stage of the disease, may, too often, be regarded as the precursor of death, espe- cially if it is accompanied by a livid or bromi colour of the membrane of the nose. Pneumonia, like brocliitis, requires anxious watching. The first object is to subdue the in- flammation, and our measures must be prompt and decisive. If the mouth continues hot, and the extremities cold, and the nose red, we must bleed again and again, and that in rajiid succession. The good which we can do must be done at first, or not at all. When we have obtained a little returning warmth to the extremities, we must continue to administer our sedative medicmes without one grain of a carminative or a tonic : and the return of the deathy-cold foot will be a signal for farther depletion. The commencement of the state of convales- cence requires the same guarded practice, as in THE HORSE. 381 bronchitis. As many horses are lost by impa- tience now, as by want of decision at first. If we have subdued the disease, we should let well alone. We should guard against the return of the foe by the continued administration of our sedatives in smaller quantities ; but give no tonics unless debi- lity is I'apiiUy succeeding. When we have appa- rently weathered the storm, we must still be cau- tious ; we must consider the nature and the seat of the disease, and the predisposition to returning inflammation. If the season will permit, two or three months' run at grass should succeed to our medical treatment ; but if this is impracticable, we must put off the period of active worli as long as it can be delayed ; and even after that, permit the horse to return as gradually as may be to his usual employment and food. Most frequent in occurrence among the conse- quences of inflammation of the lungs, is GHEONIC COUGH. It would occupy more space than can be de- voted to this part of our subject, to treat of all the causes of obstinate cough. The irritability of so great a portion of the air-passages, occasioned by previous and violent inflammation of them, is the most frequent. It is sometimes connected with worms. There is much sympathy between the lungs and the intestines, and the one readily jiar- ticipates in the irritation produced in the other. That it is caused by glanders can be easily ima- gined, because that disease is, in its early stage, seated in or near the principal air-passages, and little time passes before the lungs become affected. It is the necessaiy attendant of thick-wind and broken-wind, for these proceed from alterations of the structure of the lungs. Notwithstanding the clearness of the cause, the cure is not so evident. If a harsh hollow cough is accompanied by a staring coat, and the appearance of worms, — a few worm-balls may expel these para- sites, and remove the irritation of the intestinal canal. If it proceeds from irritability of the air- passages, which will be discovered by the horse coughing after drinking, or when he first goes out of the stable in the morning, or by his occasionally snortuig out thick mucus from the nose, medicines may be given, and sometimes with advantage, to diminish irritation generally. Small doses of digi- talis, emetic tartar, and nitre, administered every night, frequently have a beneficial effect, especially when mixed ^ith tai", which seems to have a power- ful influence in allaying the irritation. These balls should, if necessary, be regularly given for a consi- derable time. They are sufliciently powerful to quiet slight excitement of this kind, but not to nauseate the horse, or interfere with his food or his work. A blister, extending from the root of one ear to that of the other, taking in the whole of the channel, and reaching six or eight inches down the windpipe, has been tried, and often with good effect, on the supposition that the irritation may exist in the fauces or the larynx. The blister has sometimes been extended through the whole course of the windpipe, until it enters the chest. Feeding has much influence on this complaint. Too much dry meat, and especially chaff, increase it. It is aggravated when the horse is suffered to eat his litter ; and it is often relieved when spring tares are given. Carrots aflbrd decided relief. The seat of the disease, however, is so uncer- tain, and all oiu' means and appliances so ineffica- cious, and the cough itself so little interfering, and sometimes interfering not at all with the health of the animal, that it is scarcely worth while to per- severe in any mode of treatment that is not evi- dently attended with benefit. The principal con- sideration to induce us to meddle at all with chronic cough is the knowledge that horses afflicted with it are more liable than others to be affected by changes of temperature, and that inflammation oif the lungs, or of the respiratory passages, often assumes in them a very alarming character; to which, perhaps, may he added, that a horse with chronic cough cannot be warranted sound. W^hen chronic cough chiefly occurs after eating, the seat of the disease is evidently in the substance of the lungs. The stomach distended with food presses upon the diaphragm, and the diaphragm upon the lungs ; and the lungs, already laboming under some congestion, are less capable of trans- mitting the air. In the violent effort to discharge their function, irritation is produced ; and the act of coughing is the consequence of that irritation. The veterinary surgeon labours under great disadvantage in the treatment of his patients. He must not only subdue the malady, but he must remove all its consequences. He must leave his patKiit pci-fecthj sound, or he has done comparatively nothinij. This is a task always difficult, and some- times impossible to be accomplished. The two most frec^uent consequences of severe chest affec- tions in the horse are recognised under the terms thick- wind and hrolien-wind. The breathing is hurried in both, and the horse is generally much distressed when put upon his speed ; but it is simply quick breathing in the first, -nith a peculiar sound like half roarinr/ — the inspirations and ex- pirations being rapid, forcible, but equal. In the second, the breathing is also hurried, but the in- spiration does not differ materially from the natural one, while the expiration is difficult, or doubly Laborious. The changes of structure which accom- pany these states of morbid respiration are as op- posite as can be imagined. Induration of the sub- stance of the lungs, diminution of the number or the caliber of the air-passages, are the causes of thick-ivind. If the portion of lung employed i 382 THE HORSE. is lessened, or the bronchial tubes will not admit so much air, the quick succession of efforts must make up for the diminished effect produced by each. In broken-wind there is rupture of the air- cells, and an unnatural inter-communication be- tween them in the same lobule, or between those of the neighbouring lobuli. The stnieture of tlie lung, and the discharge of function, and the treat- ment, too, being so different, these diseases require sepai'ate consideration. THICK-WIND. When treating of pneumonia, it was observed, that not only are the vessels which ramify over the delicate membrane of the air-cells gorged with blood, but they are sometimes ruptured, and the cells are filled with blood. The black, softened, pulpy appearance of the lungs thus produced, is the rottenness of the groom and farrier, proving equally the intensity of the inflammation, and that it is of recent date. If the horse is not speedily destroyed by this lesion of the substance of the lungs, the serous portion of the effused blood is absorbed, and the solid becomes organised. The cells are obliterated, and the lung is hepatizcd, — its structure bears considerable resemlilance to that of the liver. This may occur in patches, or it may involve a considerable portion of the long. If a portion of the lung is thus rendered im- pervious, the remainder will have additional work to jierform. The same quantity of blood must be supplied with air ; and if the working part of the machine is diminished, it must move with greater velocity as well as force — the resiiiration must be quicker and more laborious. This quick and laboured breathing can be detected even when the animal is at rest, and it is indicated plainly enough by his sad distress when he is urged to unusual or continued speed. The inspirations and the expira- tions are shorter, as well as more violent ; the air must be more rapidly admitted and more thoroughly pressed out ; and this is accompanied by a peculiar sound that can rarely be mistaken. We may guess at the commencement of the evil, by the laborious heaving of the flanks ; but by auscultation alone can we ascertain its progress. The increase of the crepitus will tell us that the mischief is begiiming, and the cessation of the murmiu- will clearly mark out the extent of the congestion. The inflammatory stage of the disease having passed, and comparative health being restored, and some return to usefulness having been esta- blished,— the horse being now thick-winded, auscul- tation will be far more valuable than is generally imagined. It will faithfully indicate the quantity of hepatization, and so give a clue to the degree of usefulness, or the extent to which we may tax the respiratory system ; and it will also serve to dis- tinguish, and that very clearly, between this cause of thick-wind, and the morbid changes that may have resulted from bronchitis, or thickening of the parietes of the air-passages, and not the obliteration of the air-cells. Of the Treatment little can be said. We know not by what means we can excite the absorbents to take up the solid organised mass of hepatization, or restore the membrane of the cells and the minute vessels ramifying over them, now con- founded and lost. We have a somewhat better chance, and yet not much, in removing the thick- ening of the membrane, for counter-irritants, extensively and perseveringly applied to the ex- ternal parietes of the chest, may do something. If thick-wind immediately followed bronchitis, it would certainly be justifiable practice to blister the brisket and sides, and that repeatedly ; and to administer purgatives if we dared, or diuretics, more effectual than the purgatives and always safe. Our attention must be principally confined to diet and management. A thick-winded horse should have his full proportion, or rather more than his proportion, of corn, and a diminished quantity of less nutritious food, in order that the stomach may never be overloaded, and press upon the diaphragm, and so upon the lungs, and increase the labour of these already over-worked organs. Particular care should be taken that the horse is not worked immediately after a full meal. The overcoming of the pressure and weight of the stomach will be a serious addition to the extra work which the lungs already have to perform from their altered structure. Something may be done in the jMlliation of thick-wind, and more than has been generally supposed, by means of exercise. If the thick- winded horse is put, as it were, into a regular system of training ; if he is daily exercised to the fair extent of his power, and without seriously distressing him, his breathing will become freer and deeper, and his wind will materially improve. We shall call to our aid one of the most powerful excitants of the absorbent system — pressure, that of the air upon the tube — the working part of the lung upon the disorganised — and, adjusting this so as not to excite irritation or inflammation, we may sometimes do wonders. This is the very secret of training, and the power and the durability of the hunter and the racer depend entirely upon this. Thick- wind, however, is not always the conse- quence of disease. There are certain cloddy, round-chested horses, that are naturally thick- winded, at least to a certain extent. They are capable of that slow exertion for which nature designed them, but they are immediately dis- tressed if put a little out of their usual pace. A circular chest, whether the horse is large or small, THE HOUSE. 383 indicates tliick-'wind. Tlie circular chest is a capacious one, and the hmgs which fill it are large, and they supply sufficient arterialised blood to produce plenty of flesh and fat, and these horses are always fat. 'J his is the point of proof to which Ave look, when all that we want from tlie animal is Jlesh and fat ; but the expanding form of the chest is that which we require in the animal of speed — the deep as well as the broad chest — always capa- cious for the pui'pose of muscular strength, and becoming considerably more so when ai'terialised blood is rapidly expended iu quick progression. We cannot enlarge the capacity of a circle ; and if more blood is to be furnished, that which cannot be done by increase of surface must be accomplished by frequency of action. Therefore it is that all our heavy draught-horses are thick-winded. It is of little detriment to them, for their work is slow ; or rather it is an advantage to them, for the circu- lar chest, always at its greatest capacity, enables them to acquire that weight which it is so advan- tageous for them to throw into the collar. Br,OKEN-WIND. This is immediately recognisable by the man- ner of breathing. The inspiration is performed in somewhat less than the natural time, and with an increased degree of labour : but the expiration has a peculiar difficulty accompanying it. It is accom- plished by a double effort, in the first of which, as Mr. Blaine has well explained it, " the usual muscles operate ; and in the other the auxiliary muscles, particularly the abdominal, are put on the stretch to complete the expulsion more per- fectly ; and, that being done, the flank falls, or the abdominal muscles I'elax with a land of jerk or spasm." The majority of veterinary surgeons attribute broken-wind to an emphysematous state of the lungs. In almost every broken-winded horse which he has examined after death, the author of this work has found dilatation of some of the air-cells, and particularly towards the edges of the lobes. There has been mpture through the parietes of some of the cells, and they have evidently com- municated with one another, and the air could be easily forced from one portion of the cells to another. There was also a crepitating noise while this pressure was made, as if the attenuated mem- brane of some of the cells had given way. These were the true broken cells, and hence the derivation of the name of the disease. Broken-wind is preceded or accompanied by cough — a cough perfectly charactei'istic, and by which the horseman would, in the dark, detect the existence of the disease. It is short — seemingly cut short — grunting, and followed by wheezing. When the animal is suddenly struck or threatened, there is a low grunt of the same nature as that of roaring, but not so loud. Broken-wind is usually preceded by cough ; the cough becomes chronic, leads on to thick-wind, and then there is but a step to broken-wind. It is the consequence of the cough which accompanies catarrh and bronchitis oftener than that attending or following pneumo- nia; and of inflammation, and, probably, thickening of the membrane of the bronchia-, rather than of congestion of the air-cells. Laennec, whose illustrations of the diseases of the chest are invaluable to the human surgeon, comes to our assistance, and, while describing emphysema of the lungs of the human being, gives us an explication of broken-wind, more satis- factory than is to be found in any of our veterinaiy writers. He attributes what he calls dry catarrh " to the partial obstruction of the smaller bronchial tubes, by the swelling of their inner membrane. The muscles of inspiration are numerous and powerful, while expiration is chiefly left to the elasticity of the parts: then it may happen that the air which, during inspiration, had overcome' the resistance opposed to its entrance by the tumid state of the membrane, is unable to force its way through the same obstacle during expiration, and remains imprisoned in the cells, as it were, by a valve. The succeeding inspirations introduce a fresh supply of air, and gradu;illy dilate the cells to a greater or less extent ; and if the obstruction is of some continuance, the dilated condition of the cells becomes permanent." Some circumstances attending this disease may now, probably, be accounted for. A troublesome cough, and sometimes of long contimiance, is the foundation of the disease, or indicates that irritable state of the bronchial membrane with which broken wind is almost necessarily associated. Horses that are greed}' feeders, or devour large quantities of slightly nutritious food, or are worked witli a stomach distended by this food, are veiy subject to broken-wind. More depends upon the manage- ment of the food and exercise than is generally supposed. The post-horse, the coach-horse, and the racer, are comparatively seldom broken-winded. They are fed, at stated periods, on nutritious food that lies in little compass, and their hours of feed- ing and of exertion are so arranged that they seldom work on a full stomach. The agricultural horse is too often fed on the very refuse of the farm, and his hours of feeding, and his hours of work, are frequently irregular; and the carriage- horse, although fed on more nutritious food, is often summoned to work, by his capricious master, the moment his meal is devoured. A rapid gallop on a fidl stomach has often produced broken-wind. When the exertion has been considerable and long continued, we can easilv conceive a rupture of the air-cells of the soundest lungs ; but we are inclined to believe, 884 THE HORSE. that, were the history of these cases known, there would be found to have been a gradual preparation for this result. There would have been chronic cough, or more than usually disturbed respiration after exercise, and then it required little more to perfect the mischief. Galloping after drinking has been censured as a cause of broken-wind, yet we cannot think that it is half so dangerous as galloping with a stomach distended by solid food. It is said that broken-winded horses are foul feeders, because they devour almost everything that comes in their way, and thus impede the play of the lungs ; but there is so much sympathy between the respiratory and digestive systems, that one cannot be much deranged without the other evidently suffering. Flatulence, and a de- praved appetite, may be the consequence as well as tlie cause of brolien-wiud ; and there is no pathological fact of more frequent occurrence than the co-existence of indigestion and flatulence with broken-mud. Flatulence seems so invariable a concomitant of broken-wind, that the old farriers used to think the air found its way from the lungs to the abdomen in some inexplicable manner; and hence their " holes to let out broken-wind." They used literally to make a hole near to or above the fundament in order to give vent to the imprisoned wind. The sphincter muscle was generally divided ; and although the trumping ceased, tliere was a constant, although silent, emission of fcetid gas, that made the remedy worse than the disease. Tlie narrow-chested horse is more subject to broken-wind than the broader and deeper chested one, for there is not so much room for the lungs to expand when rapid progression requires the full discharge of their function. Is broken-wind hereditary ? AVe believe so. It may be referred to hereditary conformation — to a narrower chest, and more fragile membrane — and predisposition to take on those inflamraatoi'y diseases which end in broken-wind ; and the circu- lar chest, which cannot enlai-ge its capacity when exertion requires it, must render both thick and broken wind of more probable occurrence. Is there any cure for broken-wind ? None ! No medical skill can repair the broken-down struc- ture of the lungs. If, however, we cannot cure, we may in some degree palliate broken-wind ; and, first of all, we must attend carefully to the feeding. The food should lie in little compass, — plenty of oats and little hay, but no chaff. Chaff is particularly objectionable, from the rapidity \nth wliich it is devoured, and the stomach distended. Water should be given in moderate quantities, but the horse should not be suffered to drink as much as he likes until the day's work is over. Green meat will always be serviceable. Carrots are particularly useful. They are readily digested, and appear to have a peculiarly beneficial effect on the respiratory system. It is from the want of proper attention to the feeding that many horses become broken- winded, even in the straw-yard. There is little nutriment in the provender which they find there ; and in order to obtain enough for the support of life, they are compelled to keep the stomach constantly full, and pressing upon the lungs. It has been the same when they have been turned out in coarse and innutritive pasturage. The stomach was perpetually gorged, and the habitual pressure on the lungs cramped and confined their action, and inevitabl}' ruptured the cells when the horse gambolled with his companions, or was wantonly driven about. Next in importance stands exercise. The pur- sive or broken-winded horse should not stand idle in the stable a single day. It is almost incredible how much may be done by attention to food and exercise. The broken-winded horse may thus be rendered comfortable to himself, and no great nuisance to his owner ;^but inattention to feeding, or one hard journey — the animal unprepared, and the stomach full, — may bring on inflammation, congestion, and death. Occasional physic, or alterative medicine, will often give considerable relief. Thick-wind and broken-wind exist in various degrees, and many shades of difference. Dealers and horsemen generally have characterised them by names that can boast no elegance, but are con- siderably expressive of the state of the animal. Our readers should not be ignorant of them. Some horses make a shrill noise wlien in quick action — they are said to be Pipers. This is a species of Roaring. There is usually a ring of coagulated matter round the inside of the wind- pipe, by which the cavity is materially diminished, and the sound produced in quick breathing must evidently be shriller. Sometimes the piping is produced by a contraction of the small passages of the lungs. The Wheezer utters a sound not unlike that of an asthmatic person when a little hurried. This is a kind of thick-wind, and is caused by the lodg- ment of some mucous fluid in the small passages of the lungs. It frequently accompanies bron- chitis. Wheezing can be heard at all times, even when the horse is at rest in the stable ; roaring is confined to the increased breathing of considerable exertion. The Whistler utters a shriller sound than the wheezer, but only when in exercise, and that of some continuance. A sudden motion will not always produce it. It seems to be referable to some contraction in the windpipe or the larynx. The sotmd is a great nuisance to the rider, and the whistler very speedily becomes distressed. A THE UORSE. 885 sharp gallop np-liill \Yill speedily detect tbe ailment. When the obstniction seems to he principally in the nose, the horse loudly puiTs and blows, and the nostrils are dilated to the utmost, while the flanks are comparatively quiet. This animal is said to be a High-blower. With all his apparent distress, he often possesses great speed and en- durance. The sound is unpleasant, but the lungs maj' be perfectly sound. Every horse violently exercised on a full sto- mach, or when overloaded with fat, will gi-unt almost like a hog. The pressure of the stomach on the lungs, or that of the fat accumulated ai'ound the heart, will so much impede the breathing, that the act of forcible expiration will be accompanied by this kind of sound : but there are some horses who will at all times emit it, if suddenly touched with the whip or spur. They are called Grunters, and should be avoided. There is some altered struc- ture of the lungs, which prevents them from sud- denly accommodating themselves to an unexpected demand for e.xertion. It is the consequence of previous disease, and is frequently followed by thick or broken wind, or roaiing. PHTHISIS PDLMONALIS, OE CONSUMPTION. 'When describing the accompaniments and consequences of inflammation of the lungs in the horse, mention was made of this fatal complaint. It is usually connected with or the consequence of pneumonia or pleurisy, and especially in horses of a peculiar formation or temperament. If a narrow-chested, flat-sided horse is attacked Viy inflammation of the limgs, or severe catarrhal fever, experience tells us that we shall have niore difficulty in subduing the disease in him, than iu one deeper in the girth or rounder in the chest. The lungs, deficient in bulk according to the dimi- nished contents of the chest, have been overworked in supplying the quantity of arterial blood ex- pended in the various purposes of life, and parti- cularly that which has been required under unusual and violent exertion. Inflammation of the lungs has consequently ensued, and that inflammatory action has acquired an intense character, under circumstances by which another horse would be scarcely affected. When this disease has been properly treated, and apparently subdued, this horse cannot be quickly and summarily dismissed to his work. He is sadly emaciated — he long continues so — his coat stares — his skin clings to bis ribs — his belly is tucked up, notwithstanding that he may have plenty of mashes, and carrots, and green meat, and medicine — his former gaiety and spirit do not return, or if he is willing to work he is easily tired, sweating on the least exertion, and the sweat most profuse about the chest and sides — his appetite is not restored, or, perhaps, never has been good, and the slightest exertion puts him completely off his feed. We observe him more attentively, and, even as he stands quiet in his stall, the flanks heave a little more laboriously than they should do, and that heaving is painfully quickened when sudden exertion is required. He coughs sorely, and dis- charges from the nose a mucus tinged with blood, or a fluid decidedly punilent — the breath becomes offensive — the pulse is always above 40, and strangely increased by the slightest exertion. When many of these symptoms are developed, the animal will exliibit considerable pain on being geutly struck on some part of the chest; the cough then becomes more frequent and painful ; the discharge from the nose more abundant and foetid, and the emaciation and consequent debility more rapid, until death closes the scene. The lesions that are presented after death are veiy uncertain. Generally there are tubercles ; sometimes very minute, at other times large in size. They are in diflereut states of softening, and some of them have burst into the bronchial passages, and exhibit abscesses of enormous bulk Other portions of the lungs are shrunk, flaccid, indurated or hepatized, and of a pale or red brown colour ; and there are occasional adhesions between the lungs and the sides of the chest. Is this an hereditar}' disease ? There is some difficulty in deciding the point. It has been scarcely mooted among horsemen. One thing only is loiowni, that the side has been flat, and the belly turked up, and the animal has had much more ardour and willingness than physical strength ^ These conformations, and this disposition, we know to be hereditaiy, and thus far phthisis may be said to be so too. Low and damp situations, or a variable and ungenial climate, may render horses peculiarly susceptible of chest affections. All the absurd, or cruel, or accidental causes of pneumonia lay the foundation for phthisis ; and, particularly, those causes which tend to deliilitate the frame generally, render the horse more liable to chest affections, and less able to ward off their fatal consequences. The most numerous in- stances of phthisis occur in those poor persecuted animals that are worn out before their time, and they are frequent enough among cavalry horses after the deprivations and fatigues of a long campaign. What is the medical treatment of confirmed phthisis? The practitioner must be guided by circumstances. If the horse is not very bad, and it is the spring of the year, a run at grass may be tried. It will generally seem to renovate the animal, but the apparejit amelioration is too often treacherous. It should always be tried, for it is the best foundation for other treatment. The 380 THE HORSE. summer, however, having set in, the medicinal effect of the grass ceases, and the flies tease and irritate the animal. The medical treatment, if any is tried, vnll depend on two simple and unerring guides, the pulse and the membrane of the nose. If the first is quioli and hard, and the second streaked with red, veiusection should be resorted to. Small bleedings of one or two quarts, omitted when the pulse is quieted and the nostril is pale, may be effected. Counter-irritants will rarely do harm. They should be applied in the form of blisters, extending over the sides, and thus brought as near as possible to the affected part. Sedative medicines should be perseveringly administered ; and here, as in acute inflammation, the chief de- pendence wfll be placed on digitalis. It should be given in small doses until a slightly inter- mittent pulse is produced, and that state of the constitution should be maintained by a conti- nued exhibition of the medicine. Nitre may be added as a diuretic, and pulvis antimonialis as a diaphoretic. Any tonics here ? Yes, the tonic effect of mild and nutritious food — green meat of almost every kind, carrots particularly, mashes, and now and then a malt mash. Nothing further than this ? We may tiy, but very cautiously, tliose tonics which stimulate the digestive system, yet compa- ratively little affect the circulatory one. Small doses of camomile and gentian may be given, but carefully watched and omitted if the flanks should heave more, or the cough be aggravated. The treatment of phthisis is a most unsatis- factory subject of consideration as it regards the practice of the veterinarian. If, after the human being has been subjected to medical treatment for a long course of time and at very considerable expense, he so far recovers that life is rendered tolerably comfortalile to him, he and his con- nexions are thankful and satisfied, and he will submit to many a privation in order to ward off the return of a disease, to which he is conscious there will ever be a strong predisposition : but the case is different \vith the horee ; and this, the scope and bound of the human practitioner's hope, is worthless to the veterinarian. His patient must not only live, but must be sound again. Every energy, every capability must be restored. Can we cause the tubercles of the lungs to be absorbed ? Can we disperse or dispel the hepatization ? Can we remodel the disorganised structure of the lungs? Our consideration, then, will be chiefly directed to the detection of the disease in its earliest state, and the allaying of the irritation which- causes or accompanies the growth of the tubercles. This must be the scope and bound of the veterinarian's practice — always remembering that the owner should be forewarned of the gene- ral hopelessness of the ease, and that the continu- ance of his efforts should be regulated by the wish of the proprietor and the value of the patient. PLEUHISY. The investing membrane of the lungs, and of the thoracic cavity, namely, the pleura, now de- mands consideration. We are indebted to Mr. John Field, one of the noblest ornaments of the veterinary profession- — but cut off in the prime of his days— for the greater part of our knowledge of this disease, and for the power of distinguishing between it and pneumonia, as readily and as surely as we do between pneumonia and bronchitis and epidemic catarrh. The prevailing causes of pleurisy are the same as those which produce pneumonia — exposure to wet and cold, sudden alternations of temperature, partial exposure to cold, riding against a keen wind, immersion as high as the chest in cold water, drinking cold water, and extra work of the respi- ratory machine. To these may be added, wounds penetrating into the thorax and lacerating the pleura, fracture of the ribs, or violent contusions on the side, the inflammation produced by which is propagated through the parietes of the chest. It is sometimes confined to one side, or to one of the pleura; on either side, or even to patches on that pleura, whether pulmonary or costal. The inflammation of the lungs which occasionally ac- companies rabifis is characterised by a singular patchy appearance. That produced on the costa jileura, arising from violence or other causes, rarely reaches the pulmonary covering ; and that Avhich is communicated to the tunic of the lungs, by means of the intensity of the action within, does not often involve the costal pleura. In some cases, however, it affects both pleurae and both sides, and spreads rapidly from one to the other. The first symptom is rifior, followed by in- creased heat and partial sweats, to these succeed loss of appetite and spirits, and a low and painful cough. The inspiration is a short, sudden etfort, and broken off before it is fully accomplished, in- dicating the pain felt from the distension of the irritable, because inflamed, membrane. This symptom is exceedingly characteristic. In the human being it is well expressed by the term stiich, and an exceedingly painful feeling it is. The expiration is retarded, as much as possible, by the use of all the auxiliary muscles which the animal can press into the service; hut it at length finishes abruptly in a kind of spasm. This pecu- liarity of breathing, once cai'efully observed, can- not be forgotten. The next character is found in the tenderness of the sides when the costal pleura is affected. This tenderaess often exists to a de- gree scarcely credible. If the side is pressed upon, the horse will recede mlh a low painful grunt ; he THE HOUSE. 887 will tremble, and try to get out of the way before the hand touches him again. Then comes another indication, both of pain and the region of that pain — the intercostal muscles, affected by contiguous pleiu'a, and in their turn affecting the panniculus camosus, or subcuUiueous muscular expansion without — there are twitchings of the skin on the side — corrugations — waves creeping over the in- tegument. This is never seen in pneumonia. There is, however, as we may e.'cpect, the same disinclination to move, for every motion must give intense pain. The pulse should be anxiously studied. It presents a decided ditl'erence of character from that of pneumonia. It is increased in rapiditj', but in- stead of being oppressed and sometimes almost unappreciable, as in pneumonia, it is round, full, and strong. Even at the last, when the strength of the constitution begins to yield, the pulse is wiry, although small. The extremities are never deathy cold ; they may be cool, they are oftener variable, and they sometimes present increased heat. The body is far more liable to variations of temperature ; and the cold and the hot fit more frequently succeed each other. The mouth is not so hot as in pneu- monia, aud the breath is rarely above its usual temperature. A difference of character in the two diseases is iiere particularly evident on the membrane of the nose. Neither the crimson nor the purple injection of pneumonia is seen on the lining of the nose, but a somewhat dai-ker, dingier hue. Both the pneumonic and plem-itic horse will look at his flanks, thus pointing out the seat of disease and pain ; but the horse with pneumonia will tm-n himself more slowly round, and long and steadfastly gaze at his side, while the action of the horse with pleurisy is more sudden, agitated, spas- modic. The countenance of the one is that of settled distress ; the other brightens up occa- sionally. The pang is sevei-e, but it is transient, and there are intervals of relief. ^Miile neither will lie down or willingly move, and the pneumonic horse stands fixed as a statue, the plemitic one shrinlis, and crouches almost to falling. If he lies down, it is on the affected side, when the dis- ease is confined to one side oiilj. The head of the horse, with inflammation of the substance of the lungs, hangs heavily ; that of the other is protnided. We here derive most important assistance from Auscultation. In a case of pleurisy we have no crepitating, crackling sound, referable to the infiltration of the blood through the gossamer membrane of the air-cells ; we have not even a louder and distincter mumiur. Perhaps there is no variation from the sound of health, or, if there is any difference, the mm'mur is fainter; for the pleural membrane is thickened, and its elasticity is imjiaired, and the soimd is not so readily transmitted. There is sometimes a sligiit nibbing sound, and especially towards the superior region of the chest, as if there was friction between the thickened and indurated membranes. To this may be added the different character of the cough, sore and painful enough in both, but in pneumonia generally hard, and full, and fre- quent. In pleurisy it is not so frequent, but faint, suppressed, cut short, and rarely attended by dis- charge from the nose. These are sufficient guides in the early stage of the disease, when it is most of all of importance to distinguish the one from the other. If after a few days the breathing becomes a little more natural, the inspiration lengthened and regular, and the expiration, although still pro- longed, is suffered to be completed — if the twitch- ings are less e\ident and less frequent — if the cough can be fully expressed — if the pulse softens, although it may not diminish in frequency, and if the animal begins to lie down, or walks about of his own accord, there is hope of recovery. But if the pulse quickens, aud although smaller, yet possesses the wiiy character of inflammation — if the gaze at the flanks, previously by starts, be- comes fixed as well as anxious, aud the difficulty of breathing continues (the difficulty of accomplish- huj it, although the efforts are oftener repeated) — if patches of sweat break out, and the animal gets restless — paws — shifts his posture every minute — is miable longer to stand yet hesitates whether he shall lie down — determines on it again and again, but fears, and at length drops, rather than lies gently down, a fatal termination is at hand. For some time before his death, the effusion and its extent will be evident enough. He not only walks unwillingly, but on the slightest exercise his pulse is strangely accelerated ; the feeling of suffocation comes over him, and he stops all of a sudden, and looks wildly about and trembles ; but he quickly recovei-s himself and proceeds. There is also, when the effusion is confinned, ccdema of some external part, and that occasionally to a very great extent. This is oftenest observed in the ab- domen, the chest, aud the point of the breast. The immediate cause of death is effusion in the chest, compressing the lungs on eveiy side, ren- dering expiration difficult, and at length impossible, and destroying the animal by suffocation. The \ery commencement of effusion may be detected by auscultation. There will be the cessation of the respirator}' murmur at the sternum, and the increased grating — not the crepitating, crackling noise as when congestion is going on — not the feebler murmr as congestion advances ; but the ab- sence of it, beginning from the bottom of the chest. It is painfully interesting to watch the progress 388 THE HOUSE. of the effusion — how the stilhiess creeps up, and 1 the murmur gets louder above, aud the grating sound louder too, until at length there is no longer room for the lungs to play, and suffocation ensues. The fluid contained in the chest varies in quantity as well as appearance and consistence. Many gallons have been found in the two sacs, pale, or yellow, or bloody, or often differing iu the two sides of the thorax ; occasionally a thick adven- titious coat covering the costal or the pulmonary pleura — rarely much adhesion, but the lungs pui-ple-coloured, flaccid, compressed, not one-fourth of their usual size, immersed in the fluid, and rendered incapable of expanding by its pressure. Here, as in pneumonia, the bleeding should he prompt and copious. Next, and of great im- portance, aperient medicine should be administered — that, the effect of which is so desirable, but which we do not dare to give when the mucous membrane of the respiratory passages is the seat of disease. Here we have' to do with a serous membrane, and there is less sympathy \\'ith the mucous membi'anes of either cavity. Small doses of aloes should be given with the usual fe\-er medi- cine, and repeated morning and night until the dung becomes pultaceous, when it will always be prudent to stop. The sedative medicine is that which has been recommended iu pneumonia, and iu the same doses. Next should follow a blister on the chests and sides. It is far preferable to setons, for it can be brought almost into contact with the inflamed surface, and extended over the w^hole of that surface. An airj% but a comfortable box, is likewise even more necessary than in pneu- monia, and the practive of exposure, uncovered, to the cold even more absurd than destructive. The blood, repielled from the skin by the conti'actile, dejDressing influence of the cold, would rash with fatal impetus to the neighbouring membrane, to which it was before dangerously determined. Warm and comfortable clothing cannot be dis- pensed with in pleurisy. The sedative medicines, however, should be omitted much sooner than in pneumonia, and suc- ceeded by diuretics. The common turpentine is as good as any, made into a ball with linseed meal, and given in doses of two or three drachms twice in the day. If the constitution is much impaired, tonics may be cautiously given, as soon as the violence of the disease is abated. The spirit of nitrous ether is a mild stimulant and a diuretic. Small quantities of gentian and ginger may be added, but the turpentine must not be omitted. By auscultation and other modes of examma- tion, the existence of effusion in the chest is perhaps ascertained, and, possibly, it is increasing. Is there any mechanical way of getting rid of it ? There is one to which recourse should be had as soon as it is evident that there is considerable fluid in the chest. The operation of Paracen- tesis, or tapping, should be performed ; it is a veiy simple one. The side-line may be had recourse to, or the twitch alone may be used. One of the horse's legs being held up, and, counting back from the sternum to between the seventh and eighth ribs, the surgeon should pass a moderate sized trochar into the chest immediately above the cartilages. He will not have selected the most dependent situation, but as near it as he could with safety select ; for there would not have been room between the cartilages if the puncture bad been lower ; and these would have been injui-ed in the forcing of the instrument between them, or, what is worse, there would have been great hazard of wounding the pericardium, for the apex of the heart rests on the sternum. Through this aper- ture, close to the cartilages, the far greater part of the fluid may be evacuated. The operator will now withdraw the stilette, and let the fluid run through the canula. He will not trouble himself afterwards about the wound ; it will heal readily enough ; perhaps too quickly, for could it be kept open a few days, it might act as a very useful drain. It sjiould be attempted early. Recourse should be had to the operation as soon as it is acettained that there is considerable fluid in the chest, for the animal will at least be relieved for a ^^■hile, arid some time will have been given for repose to the overlaboured lungs, and for the sys- tem generally to be recruited. The fluid will be evacuated before the lungs are too much debilitated by laborious action against the pressure of the water, and a state of collapse brought on, from which they will be incapable of recovering. They only who have seen the collapsed and condensed state of the lung that had been long compressed by the fluid, can conceive of the extent to which tins is carried. It should be added — a fact im- portant aud alarming — that the records of vete- rinaiy surgery contain very few cases of perma- nently successful performance of the operation. This should not discom'age the practitioner from attempting it, but should induce him to consider whether he may not perform it imder happier auspices, before the lungs aud the serous membrane which lines the cavity have been too much disor- ganised, and the constitution itself sadly debilitated. There could not be any well-founded objection to an earlier resort to paracentesis, and he must be a bungler indeed who wounded any important part. It should be ascertained by auscultation whe- ther there is fluid in both cavities. If there should be, and in considerable quantity, it will not be jiru- dent to operate on both sides at once. If much fluid is discharged there will be acceleration and difficulty of respiration to a very great degree. The practitioner must not be alarmed at this ; it will pass over, and on the next day he may THE HORSE. SHi) attack tlie other side; or open both at once, if there is but little fluid in either. Having resorted to this operation, a course of diuretics with tonics should be immediately com- menced, and the absorbents roused to action before the cavity fills again. There is in pleurisy a far greater tendency to relapse than in pneumonia. The lungs do not perfectly recover from their state of collapse, nor the serous membrane from its long maceration in the effused fluid : oedema, cough, disinclination to ■work, incapability of rapid progression, colicky pains — as the unobservant practitioner would call them — but in truth pleuritic stitches ; these are the frequent sequelae of pleurisy. This will afford another reason why the important operation of paracentesis should not be deferred too long. There is much greater disposition to metastasis tlian in pneumonia : indeed it is easy to imagine that the inflammation of a mere membrane may more readily and oftener shift than that of the substance of so large a viscus as the lungs. The inflammation shifting its first ground, attacks almost every pai't indiscriminately, and appears under a strangely puzzling variety of forms. Dropsy is the most frequent change. Effusion in the abdomen is substituted for that of the chest, or rather the exhaleut or absorbent vessels of the abdomen, or both of them, soon sympathise in the debility of those of the thorax. CHAPTER XIII. THE ABDOMEN AND ITS CONTENTS. THE STOMACH. a The cesophagus or gullet, extending to the stomach. b The entrance of the gullet into the stomach. The circular layers of the muscles are very thick and strong, and which, by their contractions, help to render it difficult for the food to be returned or vomited. c The portion of the stomach which is covered by cuticle, or insensible skin. d d The margin, which separates the culicular from the villous portion. The oesophagus, as has already been stated, consists of a muscular membranous tube, extend- ing from the posterior part of the mouth down the left side of the neck, pursuing its course through the chest, penetrating through the crui'a of the diaphragm, and reaching to and terminating in e e The mucous, or villous (velvet) portion of the stomach, in which the food is principally digested. / The communication between the stomach and the first intes tine. g The common orifice through which the bile and the secretion from the pancreas pass into the first intestine. The two pins mark the two tubes here united. k A smaller orifice, through which a portion of the secretion of the pancreas enters the intestines. the stomach. It does not, however, enter straight into the stomach, and ■vvith a large open orifice ; but there is an admirable provision made to prevent the regurgitation of the food when the stomach is filled and the horse suddenly called upon to perform unusually hard work. The 390 THE HORSE. ceaopliagus enters the stomach in a somewhat curved direction— it runs obHquely through the muscular and cuticular coats for some distance, and then its fibres arrange themselves around the opening into tlie stomach. Close observation has shown, that they form themselves into segments of circles, interlacing each other, and by their contraction plainly and forcibly closing the open- ing, so that the regurgitation of the food is almost impossible. The following is a simple but accurate delinea- tion of the stmcture of the termination of the oeso- phagus, and the manner in which it encircles the orifice of the stomach. We are indebted to Mr. Ferguson, of Dublin, for this interesting discovery. A microscope of very feeble power will beauti- fully show this singular construction. It is not precisely either a sphincter muscle or a valve, but it is a strong and almost insuperable obstacle to the regurgitation of the food. The left side of the stomach is in contact with the diiipliragm. It is pressed upon by eveiy motion of the diaphragm, and hence the reason why the stomach is so small compared with the size of the animal. It is indeed strangely small, in order that it might not press too hardly upon the diaphragm, or painfully interfere with the process of respiration, when the utmost energies of the horse are occasionally taxed immediately after he has been fed. At the lower or pyloric orifice, the muscles are also increased in number and in size. These are arranged in the same maimer, with sufficient power to resist the pressure of the diaphragm, and retain the contents of the stomach until they have undergone the digestive process. The situation of the stomach will at once explain the reason why a horse is so much dis- tressed, and sometimes irreparably injured, if worked hard immediately after a full meal. The stomach must be displaced and driven back by eveiy contraction of the diaphragm or act of inspi- ration ; and in proportion to the fulness of the stomach will be the weight to be overcome, and the labour of the diaphragm, and the exhaustion of the animal. If the stomach is much distended, it may be too weighty to be forced sufficiently far back to make room for the quantity of air which the animal in a state of exertion requires. Hence the frequency and labour of the breathing, and the quickness with which such a horse is blown, or possibly destroyed. Hence also the folly of giving too full a meal, or too much water, before the horse starts ou a journey or for the chase ; and, in like manner, the absurdity and danger of that unpardonable custom of some grooms to gallop the horse after his drink, in order to warm it in his belly, and prevent gripes. The horse was destined to be the servant of man, and to be always at his call whether fasting or full : it would seem, therefore, that to lessen much inconvenience or danger, a smaller stomach, in proportion to his size, is given to the horse than to almost any other animal. The bulk of the horse, and the services required of him, demand much nu- triment, and that of such a nature as to occujiy a veiy considerable space ; yet his stomach, com- pared with his bulk, is not half so large as that of the human being: therefore, although he, like every other animal, feels inconvenience from great exertion immediately after a full meal, he suffers not so much as other quadrupeds, for his stomach is small, and his food passes rapidly through it, and descends to a part of the intestines distant from the diaphragm, and where the existence and pres- sure of the food cannot cause him any annoyance. The stomach has four coats. The outermost is the lining of the cavity of the belly, and the common covering of all the intestines — that by which they are confined in their respective situa- tions, and from which the fluid is secreted that prevents all friction between them. This is called the peritoneum — that which stretches round the inside of the stomach. The second is the muscular coat, consisting of two layers of fibres, one running lengthways, and the other circularly, and by means of which a con stant gentle motion is communicated to the stomach, mingling the food more intimately together, and preparing it for digestion, and by the pressure of which the food when properly prepared is ui'ged on into the intestines. The third, or cuticular [skin-like) coat, c, covers but a portion of the inside of the stomach. It is a continuation of the lining of the gullet. There are numerous glands on it, which secrete a mucous fluid ; and it is probably intended to be a reservoir in which a portion of the food is retained for a while, and softened and better prepared for the action of the other or true digestive portion of the stomach. The cuticular coat occupies nearly one- half of the inside of the stomach. The fourth coat is the mucous or villous (velvet) coat, e, where the work of digestion properly com- mences. The mouths of numerous little vessels THE HOUSE. a9i open upon it, pouring out a peculiar fluid, the gastric (stomacli) juice, which mixes with the food ah'eady softened, and converts it into a fluid called chyme. As this is formed, it passes out of the other orifice of the stomach, the pylorus (doorkeepers), /, and enters the first small intestine ; the harder and undissolved parts being turned back to undergo farther action. Every portion of the muscular coat has the power of successively contracting and relaxing, and thus, in the language of Dr. Bostock, " the successive contraction of each part of the stomach, by producing a series of folds and wrinkles, serves to agitate the alimentary mass, and, by bringing every part of it in its turn to the surface, to expose it to the influence of the gastric juice, while at the same time the whole of the contents are gradually propelled forwards, from the orifice which is con- nected with the oesophagus to that by which they are discharged." The cerebro-visceral nerve is the agent in pro- ducing these alteiTiate contractions and relaxations. It is the motor nerve belonging to these parts. It has to keep the parietes of the stomach in contact ■with the food, and the food in contact with the gastric juice. It has to bring the different parts of the food in successive contact with the stomach, and to propel them through this portion of the ali- mentary canal in order that they may be discharged into the duodenum. A viscus thus situated and thus employed must occasionally be subject to inflammation, and various other lesions. The symptoms, however, are ob- scure and fi-ec[uently mistaken. They resemble those of colic more than anything else, and should be met by bleeding, oleaginous purges, mashes, tepid gruel, and the application of the stomach-pump : but, when, in addition to the colicky pains, there appear indistinctness of the pulse — and a very characteristic symptom that is — pallidness of the membranes, coldness of the mouth, frequent lying down and in such position that the weight of the horse may rest on the chest, frequently pointing ■with his muzzle at the seat of pain, and especially, if these symptoms are accompanied or followed by vomiting, rupture of the stomach is plainly indi- cated. Considering the situation of the stomach, and the concussions and violence to which it is exposed from the diaphragm and from the viscera around it, this accident will not appear extraordi- naiy. The horse does not necessarily die as soon as this accident occurs. In a case related by Mr. Rogei-s, the animal died in about four hours after the accident ; * but in one that occurred in the practice of the author, three days elapsed between the probable rupture of the stomach, from a sudden * The Farrier and Naturalist, vol. ii., p. 9, and violent fall, and the death of the animal, and in which interval he several times ate a little food. The rupture was at the right extremity of the Bto- mach, and there were several distinct layers of impacted food between it and the liver. The liver seemed to have acted as a kind of valve. The stomach was found still distended, the edges of the rupture having the dull and sodden appearance of an old wound. There was comparatively little fluid in the abdominal cavity, and no disposition to vomit occurred during any period.f A case showing the insensibility of the stomach, wisely and kindly given, considering the shocks and dangers to which this viscus is exposed, is recorded by Mr. Hayes. J A drench was ordered for a horse. For want of a horn, the stable-keeper made use of a wine-bottle, without examining whether it was clean or foul. Shortly afterwards it was discovered that the bottle had contained three or four ounces of liquid blister. This was kept a profound secret until the death of the animal, and that did not happen until twelve days afterwards. The horse had eaten his provender in the same manner as usual, and had performed his usual work until about two hours before his death, when he lay down, rolled about, bruised himself sadly, and died. The food, consisting of hay, oats, and beans, was lodged and impacted between the folds of the intestines, and the whole abdominal viscera ap- peared as if they had been thus surrounded a con- siderable time before death. The stomach was ruptured in many directions, and almost decom- posed. Its coats were nearly destroyed, and hung like rags about the orifice through which the food was received, and that through which it naturally was expelled. This account proves how little we are to depend upon any apparent symptoms as in- dicating the real state of the stomach in the horse. Mr. Brown relates a case of pol\'pus found in the stomach, and which had remained there mi- suspected until it weighed nearly half a pound, it then became entangled in the pyloric orifice, and prevented the passage of the food, and destroyed the horse. 1 1 In the spring and early part of the summer, horses are much troubled by a grub or caterpillar, which crawls out of the anus, fastens itself under the tail, and seems to cause a great deal of itching or uneasiness. Grooms are sometimes alarmed at the appearance of these insects. Their history is curious, and will dispel every fear with regard to them. We are indebted to Mr. Bracy Clark for almost all we know of the hot. + The Veterinary Medical Association, 1838-7, p. 100, t The Veterinarian, vol. x., p, 614. Ihid., vol. vii., p. 78. ;392 THE HORSE. CUT OF THE DOT. a and b The eggs of the gad-fly, adhering to the hair of the horse. c The appearance of the bots on the stomach, firmly adhering by their hoolied mouths. The marlts or depressions are seen which are left on the coat of the stomach when the bots are detached from their hold. A species of gad-fly, e, the cestrus equi, is in tlie latter part of the summer exceedingly busy about the horse. It is observed to be darting with great rapidity towards the knees and sides of the the animal. The females are depositing their eggs on the hair, and which adhere to it by means of a glutinous fluid with which they are surrounded {a and b). In a few days the eggs are ready to be hatched, and the slightest application of warmth and moisture will liberate the little animals which they contain. The horse in licking himself touches the egg ; it bursts, and a small worm escapes, which adheres to the tongue, and is conveyed with the food into the stomach. There it clings to the cuticular portion of the stomach, c, by means of a hook on either side of its mouth ; and its hold is so firm and so obstinate, that it must be broken before it can be detached. It remains there feed- mg on the mucus of the stomach during the whole of the winter, and imtil the end of the ensuing spring ; when, having attained a considerable size, d, and being destined to undergo a certain trans- formation, it disengages itself from the cuticular coat, is carried into the villous portion of the stomach with the food, passes out of it with the chyme, and is evacuated with the dung. The larva or maggot seeks shelter in the ground, and buries itself there ; it contracts in size, and becomes a chrysalis or grub, in which state it lies inactive for a few weeks, and then, bursting from its confinement, assumes the form of a fly. The female, becoming impregnated, quickly deposits her eggs on those parts of the horse which he is most accustomed to lick, and thus the species is perpetuated. There are several plain conclusions to be drawn d The hot detached. e The female of the gad-fly, of the horse, prepared to depcsil her / The gad-fly by which the red bots are produced. g The smaller, or red hot. from this history. The bots cannot, while they inhabit the stomach of the horse, give the animal any pain, for they have fastened on the cuticular and insensible coat. They cannot stimulate the stomach, and increase its digestive power, for they are not on the digestive portion of the stomach. They cannot, by their roughness, assist the tri- turation or rubbing down of tlie food, for no such office is performed in that part of the stomach — the food is softened, not rubbed down. They cannot be injurious to the horse, for he enjoys the most per- fect health when the cuticular part of his stomach is filled with them, and their presence is not even suspected until they appear at the anus. They cannot be removed by medicine, because they are not in that part of the stomach to which medicine is usually conveyed ; and if they were, their mouths are too deeply buried in the mucus for any medi- cine, that can safely be administered, to aSect them ; and, last of all, in due course of time they detach themselves, and come away. Therefore, the wise man will leave them to themselves, or content himself with picking them off when they collect under the tail and annoy the animal. The smaller hot, / and g, is not so frequently found. Of inflammation of the stomach of the horse, except from poisonous herbs or drugs, we know little. It rarely occurs. It can with difficulty be distinguished from inflammation of the bowels ; and, in either case, the assistance of the veterinaiy surgeon is required. Few horses are destroyed by poisonous plants in our meadows. Natural instinct teaches the animal to avoid the greater part of those that would be injurious THE IIOKSE. 303 We cannot do better tliau .abbreviate the list of poisonous agents, and the means of averting their fatal influence, given by Mr. Morton, the Pro- fessor of Chemistry and Materia Medica at the Royal Veterinary College. =i= Jt will occasionally be exceedingly useful to the proprietor of horses. He begins wth the Animal Poisons. The bite of the viper has been occasionally fatal to dogs and sheep. A horse was brought to the Veterinary College that had been bitten in the hind leg while hunting. There was considerable swelling, and the place of the bite was evident enough. Mr. Armstrong mentions a case in which a horse, bitten by a viper, sunk into a kind of coma, from which he could not be roused. The antidote, which seldom or never fails, is an alkaline solution of almost any kind, taken internally and applied externally. There is no chemical effect on the cir- culation, but the alkali acts as a powerful counter- irritant. In very bad cases opium may be added to the alkaline solution. Hornets, Wasps, dr. — These are spoken of, because there are records of horses being attacked by a swarm of them, and destroyed. The spirit of turpentine is the best external application, and, if given in not undue quantities and guarded by an admixture with oil, may be useful. Cantharides constitute a useful drug in some few cases. It is one of the applications used in order to excite the process of blistering. It was occasionally employed as a medicine in small quantities, and, combined with vegetable tonics, it has been given in small doses, for the cure of glanders, farcy, and nasal gleet. It is valuable ia cases of general and extreme debility. It is a useful general stimulant when judiciously applied : but it must be given in small doses, and never except imder the direction of a sldlful practitioner. A drachm of the powdered fly would destroy almost any horse. In the breeding season it is too often shamefully given as an excitant to the horse and the mare, and many a valuable animal has been destroyed by this abominable practice. It is usually given in the form of ball, in which case it may be detected by the appearance of small glittering portions of the fly, which are separated on the inner side of the dung-ball in hot water. If the accidental or too powerful admi- nistration of it is suspected, recourse should be had to bleeding, purging, and plentiful drenching with oily and demulcent fluids. The leaves of the Yew are said to be dangerous to the horse, as well as to many other animals. " Two horees that had been employed in carrying fodder, were thoughtlessly placed under a large yew-tree, which they cropped with eagerness. In three hours they began to stagger — both of them • Veterinary Medical Association, 1836-7, p. 41. dropped, and, before the harness could be taken off, they were dead. A great quantity of yew leaves were found in the stomachs, which wei*e contracted and inflamed. ''f Mr. W. C. Spooner mentions a case of violent suspicion of the poison- ing of an ass and a mare in the same way-t Ou the other hand, Professor Sewell says that on the farm on which he resided in his early years, the horses and cattle had every opportunity of eating yew. They pastured and slept under the shelter of yew-trees, and were often observed to browse on the branches. 11 He thinks that these supposed cases of poisoning have taken place only when enormous quantities of the yew have been eaten, and that it was more acute indigestion than poison- ing. There are, however, too many cases of horses dying after feeding on the yew to render it safe to cultivate it in the neighboui'hood of a farm, either in the form of tree or hedge. The Hydrocyanic or Priissic Acid belongs to the class of vegetable poisons, but it is scarcely possible for the horse to be accidentally injured or destroj'ed by it. Ten grains of the farina of the croton nut should be given as soon as the poison is suspected, and the patient should be drenched largely with equal parts of vinegar and thin gruel, and the croton repeated after the lapse of sLx hours, if it has not previously operated. The Water Dropu-ort [Qinanthe Jistulosa), com- mon in ditches and marshy places, is generally refused by horses : but brood mares, with appetite somewhat vitiated by their being in foal, have been destroyed by it. The antidote would be vmegar and gniel, and bleeding if there is inflam- mation. The Water Parsley i^Mthiisa Cynajnum) de- serves not all the bad reputation it has acquired ; although, when eaten in too great quantities, it has produced palsy in the horse, which has been strangely attributed to a harmless beetle that in- habits the stem. Of the Common Hemlock (Conium inandatum), and the Water Hemlock (CEiianthe crocata), the author knows no harm, as far as the horse is con- cerned. He has repeatedly seen him eat the latter without any bad eff'ect ; but cows have been poisoned by it. The Euphorhium, or Spurge, so common and infamous an ingredient in the Farrier's Blister, has destroyed many a horse from the irritation which it has set up, and the torture it has occa- sioned, and should never find a place in the Vete- rinary Pharmacopoeia. Colocynth and Elaterium fairly rank among the substances that ai'e poisonous to the horse + I^udon's Magazine of Nat. Hist., vol. * Vcttiinarian, vol. s. p. 685. II Abstract of the Vet. Med. Association, ol. i p. 62. 394 THE HORSE. and so does the Bi-yony Root (Bryonia dioica), notwithstanding that it is frequently given to horses, in many parts of the country, as a great promoter of condition. Many a young horse has been brought into a state of artificial condition and excitement by the use of the Bryony. It is one of the abominable secrets of the horse-breaker. This state of excitation, however, soon passes away, and is succeeded by temporary or perma- nent diminution of vital power. We have occa- sionally traced much mischief to this infamous practice. Not lessinjuriousis the Sovin (Jimiperus Sabina). It is well known as a vermifuge in the human sub- j ect, and it is occasionally given to the horse for the same purpose ; but it is a favourite with the carter and the groom as a promoter of condition. A very great proportion of farmers' servants regard it as a drug effecting some good purpose, although they can scarcely define what that purpose is ; and there is scarcely a country stable in which it is not occasionally found, and in which the horse is not endangered or perhaps destroyed by its use. It is high time that the horse-master looked more carefully to this, and suffered no drug to be admi- nistered to his horses and cattle, except by his di- rection or that of the medical attendant. The farmer and the gentleman can scarcely conceive to what an abominable extent this vile practice pre- vails. The presence of savine will be best de- tected in the stomach of a horse that has died under suspicious circumstances, by the black-cur- rant-lea/ smell of the contents when boiled in a little water, or beaten in a mortar. The Common Brake (Pteris aqmlina) and the Stone Fern [Pteris crispa) are violent and danger- ous diuretics, and, on account of their possessing this property, are probably favourites with the horse-keeper and the groom. The diuretic influ- ence is usually evident enough, but not the injuri- ous effect which it has on the lining membrane of the bladder, and the predisposition to inflamma- tion which it excites in the urinary organs. This has been too much underrated, even by those who have inquired into the subject. If the cuticular coat of the stomach is found not merely in a state of great inflammation, but will readily peel or wash off, it must necessarily be a dangerous medi- cament, and should be banished entirely from the stable.-' Of the mineral poisons it will be necessary to mention only two. Arsenic was once in great re- pute as a tonic and vermifuge. Doses sufficient to kill three or four men were daily administered, and generally with impunity. In some cases, however, the dose was too powerful, and the animal was destroyed. Two of the pupils of the author .. *„'^"° *" *'''^'"'"' of soine experiments on these substances, by Mr. Cupiss, in the early numbers of " The Sportsman." were attending the patients of a veterinary surgeon who was confined in consequence of a serious ac- cident. Among them was a valuable horse la- bouring under inflammation of the lungs. The disease was subdued, and the patient was conva- lescent. At this period our friend began to regain sufficient strength to travel a short distance. The first patient that he visited was this horse, whose ailments had all passed away. He could not, however, let well alone, but sent some arsenic balls. In less than a week this noble animal was taken to the knacker's. There are far better vermifuges and tonics than this dangerous drug, which will probably soon be discarded from vete- rinary practice. Corrosive Sublimate is given internally, and occasionally with advantage, in farcy, and, as an external application, it is used to destroy vermin, to cure mange, and to dispose deep and fistulous ulcers to heal. It may, however, be given in too large a dose, the symptoms of which are loss of appetite, dis- charge of saliva from the mouth, pawing, looking eagerly at the flanks, rolling, profuse perspiration, thready pulse, rapid weakness, violent purging and straining, con^Tilsions, and death. The stomach -will be found intensely inflamed, with patches of yet greater inflammation. The whole course of the intestines will be inflamed, with particular parts black and gangrenous. The antidote, if it is not too late to administer it, would be — for arsenic, lime-water, or chalk and water, or soap and water, given in great quantities by means of the stomach-pump ; and for corrosive sublimate, the white of eggs mixed with water, or thick starch, or arrow-root. Is there really occasion for the owner of horses to be acquainted with these things ? Long expe- rience has taught the author that poisoning with these drags is not so rare a circumstance as some imagine. In the farmer's stable he has occa- sionally been compelled unwillingly to decide that the death of one or more horses has been attribu- table to arsenic or corrosive sublimate, and not to any peculiar disease, or to anything wrong in the manner of feeding. A scoundrel was executed in 1812 for administering arsenic and corrosive sub- limate to several horses. He had been engaged in these enormities during four long years. The discarded or offended carter has wreaked his re- venge in a similar way ; but, oftener, in his eager- ness to get a more glossy coat on his horses than a rival servant could exhibit, he has tampered with these dangerous drugs. The owner may easily detect this. "Arsenic, if mixed with charcoal and heated, emits a veiy perceptible smell of garlic. Sulphuretted hydrogen, added to a watery solution of arsenic, throws down a yellow precipitate — lime-water a white THE HOUSE. 895 one — and the ammoniaco-sulphate of copper a green one."* The following are the tests of corrosive subli- mate :— " It is sublimed by heat, leaving no resi- duum, and is soluble in water, alcohol, and sul- phuric ether. Lime-water gives either a lemon- yellow precipitate, or a brick-dust red one. The iodide of potash occasions a scarlet precipitate. The most curious test is, however, by means of galvanism. A drop of the suspected solution is placed on a sovereign, and a small key being brought into contact simultaneously with both the gold and the solution, an electric current is pro- duced which decomposes the bichloride of mercury, for such it is. The chlorine unites with the iron, and the mercury with the gold."f THE INTESTINES. The food having been partially digested in the stomach, and converted into chyme, passes through the pj'loric orifice into the intestines. {f ^.^S^JJr N2 CDT OF THB INTESTINES. a The commencement of the small intestines. The ducts which convey the bile and the secretion from the pancreas are seen entering a little below. b b The convolutions or winding of the smaU intestines. c A portion of the mesentery. d The small intestines, terminating in the cEBCum. The intestines of a full-gro^vn horse are not less than ninety feet in length. The length of the bowels in different animals depends on the nature of the food. The nutritive matter is with much more difficulty extracted from vegetable than animal substances; therefore the alimentary canal is large, long, and complicated in those which, like the horse, are principally or entirely fed on com or herbs. They are dinded into the small and large intestines ; the former of which occupy about sixty-sk feet, and the latter twenty- four. The intestines, like the stomach, are com- posed of three coats. The outer one consists of the peritoneum — that membrane which has been already described as investing the contents of the abdomen. By means of this coat, the intestines are confined in their • Manual of Pharmacy, by Professor Morton, Lecturer on Veterinary Medicine at the St. Pancras Veterinary College, p. 42. e The ccecum, or blind gut, with the bands running along it, puckering and dividing it into numerous cells. / The beginning of the colon. g The continuation and expansion of the colon, divided, like the csecum, into cells. h The termination of the colon in the rectum. i The termination of the rectum at the anus. proper situations ; and, this membrane being smooth and moist, all friction and concussion are prevented. Did the bowels float loosely in the abdomen, they would be subject to constant en- tanglement and injuiy amid the rapid and violent motions of the horse. The middle coat, like that of the stomach, is muscular, and composed of two layers of fibres, one running longitudmally and the other circu- larly ; and by means of these muscles, which are continually contracting and rela.xing in a direction from the upper part of the intestines to the lower, the food is propelled along the bowels. The inner coat is the mucous or villous one. It abounds with innumerable small glands, which secrete a mucous fluid to lubricate the passage and defend it from irritating or acrimonious sub- stances ; and it is said to be villous from its soft velvet-like feeling. This coat is crowded with in- ♦ Ditto, p. 184. THE HOUSE. numerable minute orifices that are the commence- ment of vessels by which the imtritive part of the food is taken up ; and these vessels, uniting and passing over the mesentery, carry this nutritive matter to a proper receptacle for it, whence it is conveyed into the ckculation, and distributed to every part. The intestines are chiefly retained in their relative positions by the mesentery, c (middle of the intestines), which is a doubling of the perito- neum, including each intestine in its folds, and also inclosing in its dujilicatures the arteries, the veins, the nerves, and the vessels which convey the nutriment from the intestines to the circula- tion. The first of the small intestines, and com- mencing from the right extremity of the stomach, is the duodenum, a, a very improper name for it in the horse, for in that animal it is nearly two feet in length. It is the largest and shortest of all the small intestines. It receives the food par- tially converted into chyme by the digestive power of the stomach,* and in which it undergoes another and very important change ; a portion of it being converted into chyle. It is here mixed with the bile and the secretion from the pancreas, which enter this intestine about five inches from its commencement. The bile seems to be the prin- cipal agent in this change, for no sooner does it mingle with the chyme than that fluid begins to be separated into two distinct ingredients — a white thick liquid termed chyle and containing the nu- tritive part of the food, and a yellow pulpy sub- stance, the innutritive portion, which, when the chyle is all pressed from it, is evacuated through the rectum. The next portion of the small intestines is the jejumim, so called because it is generally found to be empty. It is smaller in bulk and paler in colour than the duodenum. It is more loosely confined in the abdomen — floating comparatively unattached in the cavity of the abdomen, and the passage of the food being comparatively rapid through it. Tliere is no separation or distinction between it and the next intestine — the ileum. There is no point at which the jejunum can be said to ter- minate and the ileum commence. Together they form that portion of the intestinal tube which floats in the umbilical region : the latter, however, is said to occupy three-fifths, and the former two-fifths, of this portion of the intestines, and the five would contain about eleven gallons of fluid. The ileum is evidently less vascular than the jejunum, and • The conversion of food into chyme is very imperfectly per- formed in the stomach of the horse, on account of the smallness of that \-iscu5, and the portion of it which is occupied by cuticle : therefore, he needs in the upper part of the duodenum a kind of second stomach, to mix up and dissolve the food. That apparatus is evident enough until we arrive at the pancreatic and biUary orifices. gradually diminishes in size as it approaches the larger intestines. These two intestines are attached to the spine by a loose doubling of the peritoneum, and float freely in the abdominal cavity, their movements and their relative positions being regulated only by the size or fulness of the stomach, and the stage of the digestive process.-]- The small intestines derive their blood from the anterior mesenteric artery, which divides into innumerable minute branches that ramify between their muscular and villous coats. Then- veins, which are destitute of valves, return the blood into the vena cava. The prime agent in producing all these effects is the cerebro visceral nerve. J The large intestines are three in number: — the ccecum, the colon, and the rectum. The first of them is the cacum (blind gut), c, j) — it has but one opening into it, and consequently everything that passes into it, having reached the blind or closed end, must return, in order to escape. It is not a continuation of the ileum, but the ileum pierces the head of it, as it were, at right angles (d, J)), and projects some way into it, and has a valve — the valvula coli — at its extremity, so that what has traversed the ileum, and entered the head of the colon, cannot return into the ileum. Along the outside of the crecum run three strong bands, each of them shorter than that intestine, and thus puckering it up, and forming it into three sets of cells, as shown in the above cut. That portion of the food which has not been taken up by the lacteals or absorbent vessels of the small intestines, passes through this valvular open- ing of the ileum, and a part of it enters the colon, while the remainder flows into the caecum. Then, from this being a blind pouch, and from the cellu- lar structure of this pouch, the food must be de- tained in it a very long time ; and in order that, during this detention, all the nutriment may be extracted, the caecum and its cells are largely sup- ■f Percivall's Anatomy of the Horse, p. 256. t Ycjuatt s Lectures on the Nervous System, Veterinarian, vol. vii. p. 351. THE HORSE. 397 plied with Wood vessels and absorbents. It is principally the fluid part of the food that seems to enter the csecum. A horse will drink at one time a great deal more than his stomach will contain ; or even if he drinks a less quantit}', it remains not in the stomach or small intestines, but passes on to the csecum, and there is retained, as in a reser- voir, to supply the wants of the system. In his state of servitude the horse does not often drink more than twice or thrice in a day, and the food of the stabled horse being chiefly dry, this water stomach is most useful to him. The ca3cum will hold four gallons. The colon is an intestine of exceedingly large dimensions, and is capable of containing no less tbau twelve gallons of liquid or pulpy food. At its union with the caecum and the ileum, although larger than the latter intestine (/), it is of compa- ratively small bulk ; but it soon swells out to an enormous extent. It has likemse, in the greater part of its course, three bands like the csecum, which also divide it, internally, into the same de- scription of cells. The intention of this is evident, — to retard the progress of the food, and to give a more extensive surface on which the vessels of the lacteals may open ; and therefore, in the colon, all the chyle is finally separated and taken up. When this is nearly accomplished, the coustnietion of the colon is somewbat changed : we find but two bands towards the rectum, and these not puckering the intestine so much, or forming such numerous or deep cells. The food does not require to be much longer detained, and the mechanism for detaining it is gradually disappearing. The blood-vessels and absorbents are likewise rapidly diminishing. The colon, also, once more contracts in size, and the chyle having been all absorbed, the remauiing mass, being of a harder consistence, is moulded into pellets or balls in its passage through these shallower cells. At the tennination of the colon, the rectum (straight gut) commences. It is smaller in cir- cumference and capacity than the colon, although it will contain at least three gallons of water. It sen'es as a reser\'oir for the dung until it is evacu- ated. It has none of these bands, because, all the nutriment being extracted, the passage of the ex- crement that remains should be hastened and not retarded. The ffeces descend to the rectum, which somewhat enlarges to receive them ; and when they have accumulated to a certain extent, the animal, by the aid of the diaphragm and the muscles of the belly, presses upon them, and they ai-e evacuated. A curious circular muscle, and always in action, called the sphincter (constrictor muscle), is placed at the anus, to prevent the constant and unpleasant dropping of the ffeces, and to retain them until the horse is disposed volmitarily to expel them. This is effected by the efforts of the animal, assisted by the muscular coat of the rectum, which is stronger than that of any of the other intestines, and aided by the compression of the internal oblique and transverse muscles. The larger intestines derive their blood from the posterior mesenteric artery. Their veins ter- minate in the vena portae. THE LIVER. Between the stomach and the diaphragm — its right lobe or division in contact with the diaphragm, the duodenum and the right kidney, and the middle and left divisions with tjie stomach — is the liver. It is an irregularly-shaped, reddish-brown sub- stance, of considerable bulk, and performs a very singular and important office. It has been already stated (p. 341) that the blood, which has been conveyed to the different parts of the body by the arteries, is brought back to the heart by the veins ; but that which is returned from the stomach and intestines and spleen and pancreas and mesentery, instead of flowing directly to the heart, passes first through the liver. It enters by two large vessels that spread by means of innumerable minute branches through eveiy part of the liver. As the blood traverses this organ, a fluid is separated from it, called the hile. It is probably a Idndof excrement, the continuance of which in the blood would be injurious ; but, while it is thrown off, another important purjjose is answered — the process of digestion is promoted, by the bile changing the nutritive portion of the food from chyme into chyle, and separating it from that which, containing little or no nutriment, is voided as excrement. Almost every part of it is closely invested by the peritoneum, which seems to discharge the office of a capsule to this \-iscus. Its arteries are veiy small, considering the bulk of the liver; but tlieir place is curiously supplied by a vein — the vena porta- — a vessel formed by the union of the splenic and mesenteric veins, and which seems, if it does not quite usui-p the office and discharge the duty of the artery, to be far more concerned thaji it in the secretion of the bile. There is a free Lnter- com-se between the vessels of the two. There are, scattered tlirough the substance of the liver, numerous little granules, called acini, from then- resemblance to the small stones of cer- tain berries. They are united together by a fine cellular web, whose intimate stnicture has never yet been satisfactorily explained. From tlie blood which enters the liver there is a constant secretion of a yellow bitter fluid, called hile. The separation of the bile from the blood probably takes place within the acini; the secreting vessels are the penicelli, or those which compose this fine celluliir web, and the fluid — the bfle — is taken up by the pori hiliarii, small vessels, from which a yellowish 898 THE HORSE. fluid is seen exuding into whatever part of the hver we cut, and is carried by them into the main vessel, the hepatic duct. The bile, thus formed, is in most animals re- ceived into a reservoir, the gall-bladder, whence it is conveyed into the duodenum {g. p. 389) at the times, and in the quantities, which the purposes of digestion require ; but the horse lias no gall- bladder, and, consequently, the bile flows into the intestine as rapidly as it is separated from the blood. The reason of this is plain. A small stomach was given to the horse in order that the food might quickly pass ont of it, and the diaphragm and the lungs might not be injuriously pressed upon, when we require his utmost speed ; and also that we might use him with little danger compared with that which would attach to other animals, even when his stomach is distended with food. Then the stomach, so small, and so speedily emptied, must be oftener replenished ; the horse must be oftener eating, and food oftener or almost continu- ously passing out of his stomach. How admirably does this comport with the uninternipted supply of bile ! THE PANCREAS, In the domestic animals which are used for food, this organ is called the sweet-bread. It lies between the stomach and left kidney. It much resembles in stnicture the salivary glands in the neighbourhood of the mouth, and the fluid which it secretes has been erroneously supposed to re- semble the saliva in its properties. The pancreatic fluid is carried into the intestines by a duct which enters at the same aperture with that from the liver. It contains a large proportion of albumen, caseous matter, and a little free acid. Its use, whether to dilute the bile or the chyme, or to as- sist in the separation of the chyme from the feculent matter, has never been ascertained : it is. however, clearlj' emploj'ed in aiding the process of digestion. THE SPLEEN. This organ, often called the melt, is a long, bluish-brown substance, broad and thick at one end, and tapering at the other ; lying along the left side of the stomach, and between it and the short ribs. It is of a spongy nature, divided into numerous little cells not unlike a honeycomb, and over which thousands of minute vessels thickly spread. The particular use of this organ has never been clearly ascertained, for in some cruel experi- ments it has been removed, without apparent injury to digestion or any other function. It is, however, useful, at least occasionally, or it would not have been given to the animal. It is perhaps a reser- voir or receptacle for any fluid that may be conveyed into the stomach beyond that which is sufficient for the purposes of digestion. THE OMENTUM, Or caivl, is a doubling of the peritoneum, or rather consists of four layers of it. It has been supposed to have been placed between the intestines and the walls of the belly, in order to prevent concus- sion and injury during the rapid movement of the animal. That, however, cannot be its principal use in the horse, from whom the most rapid move- ments are required ; for in him it is unusually short, extending only to the pancreas and a small portion of the colon. Being, however, thus short, the horse is exempt from a very troublesome and, occasionally, fatal species of rupture, wlien a por- tion of the omentum penetrates through some acci- dental opening in the covering of the belly. The structure of the urinary organs and the diseases to which they are exposed will be here- after considered. CHAPTER XIV. THE DISEASES OF THE INTESTINES. These form a very important and mysterious class of ailments. They will be considered in the order in which the various contents of the abdomen have been described. THE DUODENUM. This intestine is subject to many more diseases than are included in the present imperfect veteri- nary nosology. The passage of the food through it has been impeded by stricture. A singular case is related by Mr. Tombs : — " An aged horse was taken sudfenly ill. He lay down, rolled upon his back, and perspired profusely, wath a pulse quick and hard ; presentlj' he became sick, and the con- tents of the stomach were voided thi-ough the mouth and nostrils. Blood-letting, purgatives, fomentations, &c. were resorted to, but in sixteen hours after the first attack the horse died. The stomach was distended with food, and there was a complete stricture of the duodenum, three inches posterior to the entrance of the hepatic duct. The portion of the intestine anterior to the stricture was distended and in a gangrenous state."* * Vettrinarian, vol. viii. p. 329. THE HORSE. 399 Mr. Dickens records a somewhat similar case. " A horse was attacked by apparent colic. Proper treatment was adopted, and he got seemingly well. Nine days afterwards the apparent colic returned. He threw himself down, rolled upon his back, beat- ing his chest with his fore feet, or sitting upon his haunches like a dog. All possible remedial mea- sures were adopted, but he died thirty-six hours after the second attack. At the distance of ten inches from the stomach was a stricture which ■would scarcely admit of the passage of a tobacco- pipe, and about which were marks of mechanical injury, as if from a nail or other hard substance. The anterior portion of the intestines was strangely distended."* It has been perforated by bots. Mr. Brewer describes a case, the symptoms of which were simi- lar to those already related. " On examining the patient after death, the intestines were found to be altogether free from disease, except a portion of the duodenum, which was perforated by bots, several of which had escaped into the abdomen. Around the aperture the duodenum was in a gan- grenous state."! The diseases of the jejunum and the ileum consist either of spasmodic affection or inflamma- tion. SPASMODIC COLIC. The passage of the food through the intestinal canal is effected b}' the alternate contraction and relaxation of the muscidar coat of the intestines. When that action is simply increased through the ■whole of the canal, the food passes more rapidly, and purging is produced ; but the muscles of every part of the frame are liable to irregular and spas- modic action, and the muscular coat of some portion of the intestines may be thus affected. The spasm may be confined to a very small part of the canal. The gut has been found, after death, strangely con- tracted in various places, but the contraction not exceeding five or sLx inches in any of them. In the horse, the ileum is the usual seat of this disease. It is of much importance to distinguish between spasmodic colic and inflammation of the bowels, for the symptoms have considerable resemblance, although the mode of treatment should be very different. The attack of colic is usually very sudden. There is often not the slightest warning. The horse begins to shift his posture, look round at his flanks, paw violently, strike his belly with his feet, and crouch in a peculiar manner, advancing his hind limbs under him ; he will then suddenly lie, or rather fall down, and balance himself upon his back, with his feet resting on his belly. The pain now seems to cease for a little while, and he gets • Veterinarian, vol. x. p. 553. + Ibid, vol. V. p. 493. up, and shakes himself, and begins to feed ; the respite, however, is but short — the spasm returns more violentl}' — every indication of pain is in- creased— he heaves at the flanks, breaks out into a profuse perspiration, and throws himself more recklessly about. In the space of an hour or two, either the spasms begin to relax, and the remissions are of longer duration, or the torture is augmented at every paroxysm ; the intervals of ease are fewer and less marked, and inflammation and death supervene. The pulse is but little affected at the commencement, but it soon becomes fre- quent and contracted, and at length is scarcely tangible. It will presently be seen that many of the symptoms very closely resemble those of inflam- mation of the mucous membrane of the bowels : it may therefore be useful to point out the leading distinctions between them. COLIC. Siulden in its attack. Pulse rarely much quickened in the early period of the disease and during the intervals of ease ; but*evidently fuller. Legs and ears of the natural teroperature. Relief obtained fnim rubbing the belly. Relief obtained frnm motion. Intervals of rest. Strength scarcely atfected. INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. Gradual in its approach, with previous indications of fi^vtT, Pulse very much quickened, but small, and often scarcely to b« felt. Legs and ears cold. Belly exceedingly tender and painful to the touch. Motion evidently increasing the pain Constant pain Rapid and great weakness. Among the causes of colic are, the drinking of cold water when the horse is heated. There is not a surer origin of violent spasm than this. Hard water is very apt to produce this effect. Colic will sometimes follow the exposure of a horse to the cold air, or a cold wind after strong exercise. Green meat, although, generally speaking, most beneficial to the horse, yet, given in too large a quantity, or when he is hot. \vill frequently produce gripes. Doses of aloes, both large and small, are not unfreijuent causes of colic. In some horses there seems to be a constitutional predisposition to colic. They cannot be hardly worked, or ex- posed to unusual cold, without a fit of it. In many cases, when these horses have died, calculi have been found in some part of the alimentary canal. Habitual costiveness and the presence of calculi are frequent causes of spasmodic colic. The seat of colic is occasionally the duodenum, but oftener the ileum or the jejunum ; sometimes, however, both the csecum and colon are affected. Fortunately, we are acquainted ■with several medicines that allay these spasms ; and the disease often ceases almost as suddenly as it appeared. Turpentine is one of the most powerful remedies, especially in union with opium, and in good warm ale. The account that has just been given of the 400 THE HOUSE. caecum will not be forgotten liere. A solution of aloes will be advantageously added to the turpentine and opium. If relief is not obtained in half an hour, it will be prudent to bleed, for the continuance of violent spasm may produce inflammation. Some prac- titioners bleed at first, and it is far from bad prac- tice ; for although the majority of cases will yield to turpentine, opium, and aloes, an early bleeding may occasionally prevent the recurrence of inflam- mation, or at least mitigate it. If it is clearly a case of colic, half of the first dose may be repeated, with aloes dissolved in warm water. The stimulus produced on the inner surface of the bowels by the purgative, may counteract the irritation that caused the spasm. The belly should be well nibbed with a brush orwann cloth, but not bruised and injured by the broom-handle rubbed over it, with all their strength, by two great fellows. The horse should be walked about, or trotted moderately. The mo- tion thus produced in the bowels, and the friction of one intestine over the other, may relax the spasm, but the hasty gallop might speedily cause inflammation to succeed to colic. Clysters of warm water, or containing a solution of aloes, should be injected. The patent syringe will hei'e be exceed- ingly useful. A clyster of tobacco-smoke may be thrown up as a last resort. When relief has been obtained, the clothing of the horse, saturated with perspiration, should be removed, and fresh and dry clothes substituted. He should be well littered down in a warm stable or box, and have bran mashes and luke-warm water for the two or three next days. Some persons give gin, or gin and pepper, or even spirit of pimento, in cases of gripes. This com'se of procceeding is, however, exceedingly ob- jectionable. It may be useful, or even sufficient, in ordinal^ cases of colic ; but if there should be any inflammation, or tendency to inflammation, it cannot fiiil to be highly injurious. FLATULENT COLIC. This is altogether a different disease from the former. It is not spasm of the bowels, but infla- tion of them from the presence of gas emitted by undigested food. Whether collected in the stomach, or small or large intestines, all kinds of vegetable matter are liable to ferment. In consequence of this fermentation, gas is evolved to a greater or less extent — perhaps to twenty or thirty times the bulk of the food. This may take place in the stomach ; and if so, the life of the horse is in im- mediate danger, for, as will plainly appear from the account that has been given of the oesophagus and upper orifice of the stomach, the animal has no power to expel this dangerous flatus by eructa- tion. This extrication of gas usually takes place in the colon and coecum, and the distention may be so great as to nipture either the one or the other, or sometimes to produce death, without either rup- ture or strangulation, and that in the course of from four to twenty-four hours. In some ill-conducted establishments, and far oftener on the north than the south of the Tweed, it is a highly dangerous disease, and is especially fatal to horses of heavy draught. An overloaded stomach is one cause of it, and particularly so when water is given either immediately before or after a plentiful meal, or food to which the horse has not been accustomed is given. The symptoms, according to Professor Stewart, are, " the horse suddenly slackening his pace — preparing to lie down, or falling down as if he were shot. In the stable he paws the ground with his fore feet, lies down, rolls, starts up all at once, and throws himself down again with great violence, looking wistfully at his flanks, and making many fruitless attemjDts to void his urine." Hitherto the symptoms are not much unlike spasmodic colic, but the real character of the disease soon begins to develope itself. It is in one of the large intestines, and the belly swells all round, but mostly on the right flank. As the disease proceeds, the pain becomes more intense, the horse more violent, and at length death closes the scene. The treatment is considerably different from that of spasmodic colic. The spirit of pimento would be here allowed, or the turpentine and opium drink ; but if the pain, and especially the swelling, do not abate, the gas, which is the cause of it, must be got rid of, or the animal is inevitably lost. This is usually or almost invariably a combi- nation of hydrogen with some other gas. It has a strong affinity for chlorine. Then if some com- pound of chlorine — the chloride of lime — dissolved in water, is administered in the form of a drink, the chlorine sepai-ates from the lime as soon as it comes into contact with the hydrogen, and mwiatic gas is formed. This gas having a strong affinity for water, is absorbed by any fluid that may be present, and, quittuig its gaseous form, either dis- appears, or does not retain a thousandth part of its former bulk. All this may be very rapidly accom- plished, for the fluid is quickly conveyed from the mouth to every part of the intestinal canal. Where these two medicines are not at hand, and the danger is imminent, the trochar may be used, in order to open a way for the escape of the gas. The trochar should be small but longer than that which is used for the cow, and the puncture should be made in the middle of the right flank, for there the large intestines are most easily reached. In such a disease it cannot be expected that the intestines shall always be found precisely in their THE HORSE. 401 natural situations, but usually the origin of the ascending portion of the colon, or the base of the caecum, will be pierced. The author of this work, however, deems it his duty to add, that it is only when the practitioner despairs of otherwise saving the life of the animal, that this operation should be attempted. Much of the danger would be avoided by using a very small trocliar, and by withdrawing it as soon as the gas has escaped. The wound in the intestines will then probably close, from the innate elasticity of the parts. INFLAlTMAnON OF THE BOWELS. There are two varieties of this malady. The first is inflammation of the external coats of the intestines, accompanied by considerable fever, and usually costiveness. The second is that of the internal or mucous coat, and almost invariably connected with purging. The musculai' coat is that which is ofteuest affected. Inflammation of the e.xtemal coats of the stomach, whether the peritoneal or muscular, or both, is a very frequent and fatal disease. It speedily nins its course, and it is of great conse- quence that its early symptoms should be known. If the horse has been carefull}' observed, restless- ness and fever will have been seen to precede the attack. In many cases a direct shivering fit will occur : the mouth will be hot, and the nose red. The animal \vill soon express the most dreadful pain, by pairing, striking at his belly, looking ■wildly at his flanks, groaning, and rolling. The pulse will be quickened and small ; the ears and legs cold ; the belly tender, and sometimes hot ; the breathing quickened ; the bowels costive ; and the animal becoming rapidly and feai'fully weak. The reader will probably here recur to the sketch given in page 399 of the distinction between spasmodic colic and inflammation of the bowels, or enteritis. The causes of tliis disease are, first of all and most frequently, sudden exposure to cold. If a horse that has been highly fed, carefully groomed, and kept in a warm stable, is heated ndth exercise, and has been during some hours without food, and in this state of exhaustion is suffered to drink freely of cold water, or is drenched -with rain, or have his legs and belly washed with cold water, an attack of inflammation of the bowels will often follow. An over-fed hoi-se, subjected to severe and long-continued exertion, if his lungs were previously weak, will probably be attacked by inflammation of them ; but if the lungs were sound, the bowels will on the following day be the seat of disease. Stones in the intestines are an occasional cause of inflam- mation, and colic neglected or wrongly treated will terminate in it. The horse paws and stamps as in colic, but without the intervals of ease that occur in that disease. The pulse also is far quicker than in colic. The breathing is more hurried, and the indication of suffering more evident. " The next stage," in the graphic language of Mr. Per<;iva]l, " borders on delirium. The eye acquires a -nild, haggard, unnatural stare — the pupil dilates — his heedless and dreadful throes render approach to liim quite perilous. He is an object not only of compassion but of apprehension, and seems fast hurrying to his end ; when, all at once, in the midst of agonising torments, he stands quiet, as though eveiy pain had left him, and he were going to recover. His breathing becomes tranquillised — his pulse sunk beyond all perception — his body bedewed with a cold clammy sweat — he is in a tremour from head to foot, and about the legs and ears has even a death-like feel. The mouth feels deadly chill ; the lips drop pendulous ; and the eye seems unconscious of objects. In fine, death, not recoveiy, is at hand. Mortification has seized the inflamed bowel — pain can no longer be felt in that wliich a few minutes ago was the seat of exquisite suffering. He again becomes convulsed, and in a few more struggles, less violent than the former, he expires."* The treatment of inflammation of the bowels, like that of the lungs, should be prompt and ener- getic The first and most powerful means of cure will be bleeding. From six to eight or ten quarts of blood, in fact, as much as the horse can bear, should be abstracted as soon as possible ; and the bleeding repeated to the extent of four or five quai'ts more, if the pain is not relieved and the pulse has not become rounder and fuller. The speedy weakness that accompanies this disease should not deter from bleeding largely. That weakness is the consequence of violent inflamma- tion of these parts ; and if that inflammation is subdued by the loss of blood, the weakness will disappear. The bleeding should be effected on the first appearance of the disease, for there is no malady that more quickly runs its course. A strong solution of aloes should immediately follow the bleeding, but, considering the initable state of the intestines at this period, guai'ded by opium. This should be quickly followed by back- raking, and injections consisting of warm water, or veiy thin gruel, in which Epsom salts or aloes have been dissolved ; and too much fluid can scarcely be thrown up. If the common ox-bladder and pipe is used, it should be frequently replenished ; but with Read's patent pump, already referred to, sufficient may be injected to penetrate beyond the rectum, and reach to the colon and ctecum, and dispose them to evacuate their contents. The horse should likewise be eucom-aged to drink pleu- • Percivai: s Hijipopatholosy, vol. ii. p. 246. 402 TEIE HORSE. tifully of warm water or thin gruel ; and draughts, each containing a couple of drachms of dissolved aloes, with a little opium, should be given eveiy six hours, until the bowels are freely opened. It will now be prudent to endeavour to excite considerable external inflammation as near as pos- sible to the seat of internal disease, and therefore the whole of the belly should be blistered. In a well-marked case of this disease, no time should be lost in applying fomentations, but the blister at once resorted to. The tincture of Spanish flies, whether made with spirit of wine or turpentine, should be thoroughly rubbed in. Tlie legs should be well bandaged in order to restore the circu- lation in them and thus lessen the flow of blood to the inflamed part ; and, for the same reason, the horse should be warmly clothed; but the air of the stable or box should be cool. No corn or hay should be allowed during the disease, but bran mashes, and green meat if it can be procured. The latter will be the best of all food, and may be given without the slightest apprehension of danger. When the horse begins to recover, a handful of com may be given two or three times in the day ; and, if the weather is warm, he may be turned into a paddock for a few hours in the middle of the day. Clysters of gruel should be continued for three or four days after the inflammation is beginning to subside, and good hand-rubbing applied to the legs. The second variety of inflammation of the bowels aff'ects the iutenial or mucous coat, and is generally the consequence of physic in too great quantity, or of an improper kind. The purging is more violent and continues longer than was intended ; the animal shows that he is suffering great pain ; he frequently looks round at his flanks ; his breathing is laborious, and the pulse is quick and small — not so small, however, as in inflammation of the peritoneal coat, and, contrary to some of the most frequent and characteristic symptoms of that disease, the mouth is hot and the legs and ears are warm. Unless the purging is excessive, and the pain and distress great, the surgeon should hesitate at giving any astringent medicine at first ; but he should plentifully administer gruel or thin starch, or arrow-root, by the mouth and by clyster, removing all hay and corn, and particularly green meat. He should thus endeavour to soothe the irritated surface of the bowels, while he permits all remains of the purgative to be carried off. If, however, twelve hours have passed, and the purging and the paui remain undiminished, he should continue the gruel, adding to it chalk, catechu, and opium, repeated every six hours. As soon as the purging begins to subside, the astringent medicme should be lessened in quantity, and gradually discontinued. Bleeding will rarely be necessaij, unless the inflammation is very great, and attended by symp- toms of general fever. The horse should be warmly clothed, and placed in a comfortable stable, and his legs should be hand-rubbed and bandaged. Violent purging, and attended with much inflammation and fever, will occur from other causes. Green meat will frequently purge. A horse worked hard upon green meat will some- times scour. The remedy is change of diet, or less labour. Young horses will often be strongly purged, without any apparent cause. Astringents should be used with much caution here. It is probably an effort of nature to get rid of something that offends. A few doses of gruel will assist in effecting this pui-pose, and the purging will cease without astringent medicine. Many horses that are not well-ribbed home — having too great space between the last rib and the hip-bone — are subject to purging if more than usual exertion is required from them. They are recognised by the tenn of ivashy horses. They are often free and fleet, but destitute of continu- ance. The}' should have rather more than the usual allowance of com, with beans, when at work. A cordial ball, with catechu and opium, will often be serviceable either before or after a journey. PHYSICKING. This would seem to be the proper place to speak of physicking horses — a mode of treatment necessaiy under various diseases often useful for the augmentation of health, and yet which has often injured the constitution and absolutely destroyed thousands of animals. When a horse comes from grass to hard meat, or from the cool open air to a heated stable, a dose or even two doses of physic may be useful to prevent the ten- dency to inflammation which is the necessary consequence of so sudden and great a change. To a horse that is becoming too fat, or has surfeit, or grease, or mange, or that is out of condition from inactivity of the digestive organs, a dose of physic is often most serviceable ; but the reflecting man will enter his protest against the periodical physicking of all horses in the spring and the autumn, and more particularly against that severe system which is thought to be necessaiy in order to train them for work, and also the absurd method of treating the animal when under the operation of physic. A horse should be carefully prepared for tire action of physic. Two or three bran mashes given on that or the preceding day are far from sufficient when a horse is about to be physicked, whether to promote his condition or in obedience to custom. Mashes should be given until the dung becomes softened. A less quantity of physic will then suffice, and it will more quickly pass through the TIIK HORSE. 408 intestiues, and be more readily diffused over them. Five drachms of aloes, given when the dung has thus beeu softened, will act much more effectually and mucli more safely than seven drachms, when the lower intestines are obstructed by hardened ffeces. On the day on which the physic is given, the horse should have walking exercise, or may be gently trotted for a quarter of an hour twice in the day ; but after the physic begins to work, he should not be moved from his stall. Exercise would then produce gripes, irritation, and, possibly, dangerous inflannnation. The common and absurd practice is to give the horse most exercise after the physic has begun to operate. A little hay may be put into the rack. As much mash should be given as the horse will eat, and as much water, with the coldness of it taken off, as he will drink. If, however, he obstinately refuses to drink warm water, it is better that he should have it cold, than to continue without taking any fluid ; but in such ease he should not be suffered to take more than a quart at a time, with an interval of at least an hour between each draught. When the purging has ceased, or the physic is set, a mash should be given once or twice every day until the next dose is taken, between which and the setting of the first there should be an interval of a week. The horse should recover from the languor and debility occasioned by the first dose, before he is harassed by a second. Eight or ten tolerably copious motions will be perfectly sufficient to answer every good purpose, akh(]ugh the groom or the carter may not be satisfied unless double the quantity are procured. The consequence of too strong purgation will be, that weakness will hang about the animal for several days or weeks, and inflammation will often ensue from the over-irritation of the intestinal canal. Long-continued custom has made Aloes the almost invariable purgative of the horse, and very properly so ; for there is no other at once so sure and so safe. The Barbadoes aloes, although sometimes very dear, should alone be used. The dose, with a horse properly prepared, will vary from four to seven drachms. The preposterous doses of nine, ten, or even twelve drachms, are now, happily for the horse, generally abandoned. Custom has assigned the form of a ball to physic, but good sense will in due time introduce the solution of aloes, as acting more speedily, effectu ally, and safely. The only other purgative on which dependence can be placed is the Croton. The farina or meal of the nut is generally used ; but from its acri- mony it should be given in the form of ball, with linseed meal. The dose varies from a scruple to half a di-achm. It acts more speedily than the aloes, and without the nausea which they produce ; but it causes more watery stools, and, consequently, more debility. Linseed-oil is an uncertain but safe purga- tive, in doses from a pound to a pound and a half. Olive-oil is more uncertain, but safe ; but Castor- oil, that mild aperient in the hum.on being, is both uncertain and unsafe. Epsom-salts are inefficacious, except in the immense dose of a pound and a half, and then they are not always safe. CALCULI, OR STONES IN THE INTESTINES. These are a cause of inflammation in the bowels of the horse, and more frequently of colic. They are generally found in the ccEcum or colon, varying considerably in shape according to the nucleus round which the sabulous or other earthy matter collects, or the form of the cell in which they have beeu lodged. They differ in size and weight, from a few grains to several pounds. From the horizontal position of the carcase of the horse, the calculus, when it begins to form, does not gravitate so much as in the human being, and therefore calctdous concretions remain and accu- mulate until their very size prevents their expul- sion, and a fatal irritation is too frequently pro- duced by their motion and weight. They are oftenest found in heavy draught and in millers' horses. In some of these horses they have the appearance of grit-stone or crystallized r/neiss. It is probable that they partly consist of these very minerals, combined with the bran which is conti- nually floating about. An analysis of the Calculi favours this supposition. They are a source of continual irritation wherever they are placed, and are a fruitful cause of colic. Spasms of the most fearful kind have been clearly traced to them.* Professor Morton, of the Royal Veterinary College, in his Essay on Calculous Concretions, — a work that is far too valuable to be withdrawn from the public view, — gives an interesting account of these substances in the intestinal canal of the horse. Little advance has been or can be made to procure their expulsion, or even to determine tlieir existence ; and even when they have passed into the rectum, although some have been expelled, others have been so firmly impacted as to resist all medicinal means of withdrawal, and a few have broken their way through the parietes of the rectum, and lodged in the abdominal cavity. Mr. Percivall, in his " Eleraentaiy Lectures on the Veterinary Art," has recorded several fearful cases of this, f Other concretions are described under the title of oat-hair calculi. Their surface is tuber- culated and their forms irregular. They are Veterinarian, IX., 161. + Vol. II., p. 449. 404 THE HORSE. usually without any distinct nuclei, and are prin- cipally composed of the hairy fibrous matter which enters into the composition of the oat. The pro- fessor very properly adds, and it is a cii'cumstance ■which deserves much consideration, that such oats as are husky, with a deficiency of farinaceous matter, are likely to give rise to these accumula- tions, whenever impaired digestion exists. It is also an undoubted fact, that a great proportion of horses affected with calculi are the property of millers, or brewers. A third species of concretion too frequently existing is the dung-hall, or mixed calculm. It is made up of coarse, indigestible, excrementitious matter, mixed with portions of the ''oat-air calculus" and many foreign sub- stances, such as pieces of coal, gravel, &c., and the whole agglutinated together. They are com- monly met with in horses that are voracious feeders, and mingled with particles of coal and stone. INTEOSDSCEPTION OF THE INTESTINES. The spasmodic action of the ileum being long continued, may be succeeded by an inverted one from the coecum towards the stomach, more powerful than in the natural direction ; and the contracted portion of the intestine will be thus forced into another above it that retains its natural calibre. The irritation caused by this increases the inverted action, and an obstruction is formed which no power can overcome. Even the natural motion of the bowels will be sufficient to produce introsusception, when the contraction of a portion of the ileum is very great. There are no symp- toms to indicate the presence of this, except con- tinued and increasing pain ; or, if there were, all our means of relief would here fail. Introsusception is not confined to any parti- cular situation. A portion of the jejunum has been found invaginated within the duodenum, — and also wthin the ileum, and the ileum within the coecum — and one portion of the colon within another, and within the rectum. The ileum and jejunum are occasionally invaginated in various places. More than a dozen distinct cases of in- trosusception have occurred in one animal, and sometimes unconnected with any appearance of inflammation, but in other cases, or in other parts of the intestinal canal of the same animal, there will be inflammation of the most intense cha- racter. In the majority of cases, perhaps it is an accidental consequence of pre-existing disease, and occasioned by some irregular action of the mus- cular tunic, or some initation of the mucous surface. A more formidable, but not so_ frequent dis- ease is , ENTANGLEMENT OF THE BOWELS. This is another and singular consequence of THE HORSE. 405 colio. Although the ileum is enveloped in the mesentery, ;v\d its motion to a considerable degree confined, j'et under the spasm of colic, and during the violence with which the animal rolls and throws himself about, portions of the intestine become so entangled as to be twisted into nooses and knots, drawn toget^her with a degree of tight- ness scarcely credible. Nothing but the extreme and continued torture of the animal can lead us to suspect that this has taken jilace, and, could we ascertain its existence, there would be no cure. An interesting case occurred in the practice of Mr. Sjiooner of Southampton. A mare at grass was suddenly taken ill. She discovered symp- toms of violent colic, for which anti-spasmodic aud aperient medicines were promptly administered, aud she was copiously bled. The most active treatment was had recourse to, but without avail, and she died in less than four-aud-twenty hours without a momentary relief from pain. The small intestines were completely black from inflammation, and portions of them were knotted together in the singular way delineated in the preceding cut. The parts are a little loosened in oi'der better to show the entanglement of the intestines, but in the animal they were drawn into a tight knot, and completely intercepted all passage. The cause of this was probably some acrid principle in the grass, and many a horse is thus destroyed by the abominable and poisonous drinks of the farrier.* Worms of different kinds inhabit the intestines ; but, except when they exist in very great numbers, they are not so hurtful as is generally supposed, although the groom or carter may trace to them hidebound, and cough, and loss of appetite, and gripes, and megrims, and a variety of other ail- ments. Of the origin or mode of propagation of these parasitical animals we can say little ; neither writers on medicine, nor even on natural history, have given us any satisfactory account of the matter. The long white worm {lumhicus teres), much resembling the common earth-worm, and being from six to ten inches in length, inhabits the small intestines. It is a formidable looking animal, and if there are many of them they may consume more than can be spared of the nutritive part of the food or the mucus of the bowels. A tight skin, and rough coat, and tucked up bell}', are sometimes connected with their presence. They are then, however, voided in large quantities. A dose of physic will sometimes bring away almost incredible quantities of them. Calomel is frequently given as a vermifuge. The seldomer this drug is admi- nistered to the horse the better. It is the prin- cipal ingi-edient in some quack medicines for the * Veterinarian, VI. 12. expulsion of worms in the human subject, and tlience, perhaps, it came to be used for the horse, but in him we lielieve it to be inert as a vermifuge, or only useful as quickening the operation of the aloes. When the horse can be spared, a strong dose of physic is an excellent vermifuge, so far as the long round worm is concerned ; but a better medicine, and not interfering with either the feed- ing or work of the horse, is emetic tartar, with ginger, made into a ball with linseed meal and treacle, and given every morning half an hour be- fore the horse is fed. A smaller, darkei'-coloured worm, called the needle-worm, or ascaris, inhabits the large intes- tines. Hundreds of them sometimes descend into the rectum, and immense quantities have been found in the caecum. These are a more serious nuisaiice than the former, for they cause a very troublesome irritation about the fundament, wiiich sometimes sadly annoys the horse. Then- existence can generally be discovered by a small portion of mucus, which, hardening, is found adhering to the anus. Physic will sometimes bring away great numbers of these worms, but when there is much irritation about the tail, and much of this mucus, indicating that they have descended into the rectum, an injection of linseed oil, or of aloes dissolved in warm water, will be a more effectual remedy. The tape-worm is seldom found in the horse. HERNIA, OR RUPTURE. A portion of the intestine protrudes out of the cavity of the belly, either through some natural or artificial opening. In some cases it may be re- turned, but from the impossibility of applying a truss or bandage, it soon escapes again. At other times the opening is so narrow that the gut, gradu- ally distended by f;Eces, or thickened by inflamma- tion, cannot be returned, and stranrjidated hernia is then said to exist. The seat of hernia is either in the scrotum of the perfect horse, or the groin of the gelding. The causes are violent stniggling when under opei-atious, over-exertion, kicks, or accidents. The assistance of a veterinary surgeon is here indispensable.f + The following case of operation for hernia will be acceptable to the owner of horses as well as to the veterinary surgeon. It occurred in the practice of Professor SimonJs, of the Koyal Veteri- nary College. We borrow his account of it from ' The Veteri- narian.' " The patient was an aged black cai't-mare, that had been lent by the owner to a neighbour for a day or two. I cannot speak positively as to the cause of the iiiiury which she received, but 1 believe that it resulted from lier falling in tlie shafts of a cai t laden with maiiure. She was brought to my inlirmarv on the next day, October 18, 1837. " The most extensive ni} ture I had ever seen presented itself on the left side. The sac formed by the skin, which was not broken, nor even the hair rubbed otF, extended as far forwards a^ the car- tilages of the false ribs, and backwards to the udder. A perpen- dicular line, drawn from the superior to the inferior part of the tumour, measured more than twelve inches It appeared, from it;! immense size and weight, as if by far the larger part of the colon hail protruded. D D 400 THE HORSE DISEASES OF THE LIVER. As veterinary practice has improvcfl, much light has heen thrown on the diseases of the liver — not perhaps on the more advanced and fatal stages ; hut giving us the promise that, in process of time, they may be detected at an earlier period, and in a move manageable state. ** To ray surprise, there was comparatively little constitutional disturbance. The pulse was 45, and full, with no other indication of fever, and no expression of pain on pressing the tumour. " She was bled until the pulse was considerably lowered. A cathartic was given, and the sac ordered to be kept constantly wet with cold water, and to be supported with a wide bandage. She was placed on a restricted and mash diet. " On the nest day, being honoured with a visit by Messrs. Morton, Spooner, and Youatt, I had the pleasure and advantage of submitting the case to their examination, and obtaining their opinion. They urged me to attempt to return the protruding viscera, and secure them by a surgical operation ; and Mr. Spooner kindly offered to be present, and to give me his valuable assistance. " On the 24th, our patient was considered to have had sufficient preparatory treatment, and she was operated upon. We availed ourselves of the opportunity of putting to the test that which some among us had doubted, and others had positively denied, but which had always been maintained by our talented chemical lecturer — the power of opi ura to lull the sensation of pain in the horse. We therefore gave her two ounces and a half of the tincture of opium, shortly before she was led from the box to the operating house, and the power of the drug was evident through the whole of the opera- tion. " After a car'ful examination, externally, as well as per rectum, in order to ascertain the situation and probable size of the lacera- tion of the muscles, an incision was carefully made through the integument into tlie sac, in a line with the inferior border of the cartilagi's of the false ribs, which incision was about seven inches in length. This, as we had hoped, proved to be directly upon the aperture in the muscular parietes of the abdomen. The intestines were exposed ; and, after having sufficiently dilated the opening to permit the introduction of the hand, they were quickly returned, portion after portion, into their proper cavity, together with a part of the omentum, which we found somewhat annoying, it being fre- quently forced back again through the laceration. " At times it required the exertion of our united strength to prevent the escape of the intestines, and which was onlyetfecied by placing oiu" hands side by side, covering and pressing upon the opening. By these means we succeeded in keeping in the viscera, until we were satisfied that we had placed them ;'ll within their proper cavity. At about the central part of the aperture, we decidedly found the greatest pressure of the inttsiines to effect an escape. " A strong metallic suture of flexible wire was then passed through the edges of the laceration, taking in the peritoneum and portions of the transversalis, rectus, and internal abdominal muscles ; and other sutures, embracing the same parts, were placed at con- venient distances, so as nearly to close the aperture. Two sutures of smaller metallic wire, and three of stout silk cord, were then passed through the external abdominal muscles, and their aponeu- roses, which effectually shut up the opening into the abdomen. The integiuncnt was then brought toge^er by the inteiTupted suture, taking care to bring out the ends of the other sutures, and which had been purposely left long, so that in case of supervening inflam- maiion, or swelling, they might be readily examined. The whole operation occupied rather lens than an hour, our poor patient being occasionally refreshed with some warm gi'uel. *' The hobbles were now quii ily removed, and, after lying a few minutes, she got up, and was placed in a large close box. A compress and a suspensory bandage, that could he tightened at pleasure, were applied to the wound. The pulse was now 84. She was ordered to be watched, and to have some tepid water placed within her reach, but on no account to be disturbed. " At 10, P.M., the pulse had sunk to 6Q. The respiration, which had been much aci^eleraterl, was quieter. She was resting the leg on the side operated upon, but did not appear to be suffering any great pain. Some ftDces had passed, and slie had taken a small quan- tity of bran mash. The paits were well fomented with tepid water, an oleaginous draught was administered, and likewise an enema. If horses, destroyed on account of other com- plaints, are examined when they are not more than tive years old, the liver is usually found in the most healthy state ; hut when they arrive at eight or nine or ten years, this viscus is frequently in- creased in size — it is less elastic under pressure — it has assumed more of a granulated or broken down appearance — the blood does not so readily " 25th — The pulse is a little quickened ; the sac which had con- tained the protruded intestine was tilled with a serous effusion. I made a dependent orifice in it, and from three to four pints of fluid escaped. This much relieved her, and she continued to go on favourably throughout the day. " 26ih — Suppuration now began to be established, and the parts were dressed with the compound tincture of myrrh. *' 30th — She was enabled to take a little walking exercise ; and on this day some of the integumental sutures came away. " Nov. 4th — The sloughing process being now set up, three of the smaller metallic sutures, that had been used to bring the edges of the laceration together in the external abdominal muscles, came away. The parts were minutely examined, and we delected a sinus running towards the manimai, and filled with pus. With some little difficulty it was opened, and a tape passed through it, so as to allow the pus to escape as quitrkly as it was formed. The appetite was tolerably good, and the pulse ranged from 52 to 56, *' 6th — The patient was so far recovered that 1 ventured to turn her into one of the paddocks for a few hours* exercise, taking care to avoid any exposure to cold, if the weather was stormy. "11 th — An incident occurred which nearly brought our hitherto successful case to a fatal termination. I saw her safe about 1, P.M. ; but at two o'clock a messenger came in haste to apprise me that she was in a pond at the bottom of the paddock, and fixed in the mud. There, indeed, I found her, at a considerable distance from the bank, and making the most violent efforts to release her- self. With considerable difficulty, and after many unsuccessful attempts, we succeeded in dragging her ashore, so much exhausted as to be utterly incapable ol ri-^ing. A gate was procured, and being well covered with straw, she was drawn homeward by two horses ; I following, regretting what had occurred, and not a little blaming myself for having exposed her to this misfortune. " Having placed her in her box, our first object was her restora- tion and comfort. Men were set to work to rub her perfectly dry, ;ind some warm gi'uel, with a little cordial medicine, was given. The stale of the wound was next examined, and it was well cleaned with tepid water. It was very dark-ci)loured. The vitality of the yoimg granulations was appaiently destroyed, and it emitted, in some degree, perhaps, from the mud which had been so long in contact with it, an otlensive effluvium. It was well dresstd with the spirit of nitrous ether, and properly bandaged — in order to pre- vent its receiving any fuither injury in her ineffectual attempts to " We soon, however, began to fear some ill consequence from the continuance of these efforts, and we determined to raise her with the slings, those useful appendiigcs to every vetcriuiiry esta- blishment. This was soon effected. W'e allowed very little bearing on the abdomen, except when she was compelled, in oider to ease her hind extremities, which were yet unable to support their share of the weight of the body. Pnctions, stimulants, and bandages, were applied to the extremities. An enema was given, the wound again attended to, and &omc giuel placed within her reach. " At midnight she was standing at ease in what may not inap- propriately be called her cradle. The legs were tolerably warm ; the pulse 60, and full ; the enema had done its duty, and she was in a much more comfortable state than I had any right to expect. I ordered her a warm mash and some giuel, for hope began once more to cheer me. *' On the following and succeeding days she continued gradually to regain her strength, but she required great care and attention, and it was not until the expiration of the fouilh day that I dared to remove her from the shngs,and then only lor a few hom-s during the day, careftdly replacing lier in ihtm at night. Some slight sloughing took place from the wound ; but the principal edect of her immersion was a severe catarrh. She required occasional attendance to the wound ; and it was not until the 12tli of January — more than twelve weeks after the op eration — that the last of tlie metallic sulures came away. She s,oon afterwards returned to her usual work." I THE HORSE. 407 peiTQeate its vessels, and, at length, in a greater or less quantity, it begins to exiule, and is cither con- fined under the poritoiioal covering, or oozos into the cavity of the belly. There is nothing for awhile to indicate the existence of this. The horse feeds well, is in apparent health, in good condition, and capable of constant work, notwith- standing so fatal a change is taking place in this important viscus ; but, at length, the peritoneal covering of the liver suddenly gives way, and the contents of the abdomen are deluged with blood, or a sufficient quantity of this fluid has gradually oozed out to interfere with the functions of the viscera. The symptoms of this sudden change are paw- ing, shifting the posture, distension of the belly, curling of the upper lip, sighing frequently and deeply, the mouth and nostrils pale and blanched, the breathing quickened, restlessness, debility, fainting, and death. On opening the abdomen, the intestines are found to be deluged with dark venous blood. The liver is either of a fa\vn, or light yellow, or brown colour — easily torn by the finger, and, in some cases, completely broken down. If the htermorrhage has been slight at the commencement, and fortunately arrested, yet a singular consequence will frequently result. ' The sight will gradually fail ; the pupil of one or both eyes will gradually dilate, the animal will have gntta serena, and become perfectly blind. This will almost assuredly take place on a return of the afifection of the liver. Little can be done in a medical point of view. Astringent and styptic medicines may, however, be tried. Turpentine, alum, or sulphuric acid, will afford the only chance. The veterinary world is indebted to the late Mr. John Field, for almost all that is known of this sad disease. Commonly called the yellows, is a more frequent but more tractable disease. It is the introduction of bile into the general circulation. This is usually caused by some obstmction in the ducts or tubes that convey the bile from the liver to the intes- tmes. The horse, however, has but one duct, through which the bile usually flows as quickly as it is formed, and there is no gall-bladder in which it can become thickened, or hardened into masses so firm as to be appropriately called gall-stones. Jaundice does, however, occasionally appear either from an increased flow or altered quality of the bile, or obstruction even in this simple tube. The yellowness of the eyes and mouth, and of the skin where it is not covered with hair, mark it sufficiently plainly. The dung is small and hard ; the urine highly coloured ; the horse languid, and the appe- tite impaired. If he is not soon relieved, he some- times begins to express considerable uneasiness ; at other times he is dull, heavy, and stupid. A characteristic symptom is lameness of the right fore leg, resembling the pain in the right shoulder of the human being in hepatic affections. The principal causes are overfVeding or over-exertion in sultry weather, or too little work generally speak- ing, or inflammation or other disease of the liver itself. It is first necessary to inquire whether this affection of the liver is not the consequence of the sympathy of that organ with some other part, for, to a very considerable degree, it frequently accom- panies inflammation of the bowels and the lungs. These diseases being subdued, jaundice will dis- appear. If there is no other apparent disease to any great extent, an endeavour to restore the natu- ral passage of the bile by purgatives may be tried, not consisting of large doses, lest there should be some undetected inflammation of the lungs or bowels, in either of which a strong purgative would be dangerous ; but, given in small quantities, re- peated at short intervals, and until the bowels are freely opened. Bleeding should always be resorted to, regulated according to the apparent degree of inflammation, and the occasional stupor of the animal. Plenty of water, slightly warmed, or thin gruel, should be given. The horse should be warmly clothed, and the stable well ventilated, but not cold. Carrots or green meat will be very beneficial. Should the purging, when once ex- cited, prove violent, we need not be in any haste to stop it, unless inflammation is beginning to be connected with it, or the horse is very weak. The medicine recommended under diarrhcea may then be exhibited. A few slight tonics should be given when the horse is recovering from an attack of jaundice. The Spleen is sometimes very extraordinarily enlarged, and has been ruptured. We are not aware of any means by which this may be dis- covered, except manual examination by means or the aid of the rectum. The state of the animal would clearly enough point out the treatment to be adopted. The Pancreas. We know not of any disease to which it is liable. The blood contains a great quantity of watery fluid tuniecessary for the nutriment or repair of the frame. There likewise mingle with it niattei-s that would be noxious if suffered to accumulate too much. THE KIDNEYS Are actively employed in separating this fluid, and likewise canying off a substance which constitutes the peculiar ingredient in urine, called the urea, and consisting principally of that which would be poisonous to the animal. Tlie kidneys are two D D vj 408 THE HOESE. ]arge glandular bodies, placed under the loins, of tlie t.liape of a kidney-bean, of immense size. The right kidnej' is most forward, lying under the liver ; the left is pushed more backward by the stomach and spleen. A large artery runs to each, carrying not less than a sixth part of the whole of the blood that circulates through the frame. This artery is divided into innumerable little branches, most curiously complicated and coiled upon each other ; and the blood, traversing these convolutions, has its watery parts, and others the retaining of which would be injurious, separated from it. The fluid thus separated varies materially both in quantity and composition, even during health. There is no animal in which it varies so much as in the horse, — there is no organ in that animal so much under our command as the kidney ; and no medicines are so useful, or may be so injurious, as diuretics — such as nitre, and digitalis — not only on account of their febrifuge or sedative effects, but because of the power which they exert. They stinuilate the kidneys to separate more aqueous fluid than they othenvise would do, and thus lessen the quantity of blood which the heart is labouring to lirculate through the frame, and also that which is determined or driven to parts already overloaded. The main objects to be accomplished in these diseases is to reduce the force of the circulation, and to calm the violence of excitement. Diuretics, by lessening the quantity of blood, are useful assist- ants in accomplishing these purjioses. The horse is subject to eflusions of fluid in particular parts. Swelled legs are a disease almost peculiar to him. The ox, the sheep, the dog, the ass, and even the mule, seldom have it, but it is for the removal of this deposit of fluid in the cellular substance of the legs of the horse that we have recourse to diuretics. The legs of many horses cannot be rendered fine, or kept so, with- out the use of diuretics ; nor can grease — often connected with these swellings, producing them or caused by them — be otherwise subdued. It is on this account that diuretics are ranked among the most useful of veteriuai^ medicines. In injudicious hands, however, these medicines are sadly abused. Among the absurdities of sta- ble-management there is nothing so injurious as tlie frequent use of diuretics. Not only are the kidneys often over-ex,cited, weakened, and dis- posed to disease, but the whole frame becomes debilitated ; for the absorbents have carried away a great part of that which was necessary to the health and condition of the horse, in order to sup- ply the deficiency of blood occasioned by the inor- dinate disidiarge of urine. There is likewise one important fact of which the groom or the horseman seldom thinks, viz. : — That, when he is removing these humours by the jmprudent use of diuretics, he is only attacking a symptom or a consequence of disease, and not the disease itself The legs will fill again, and the grease will return. While the cause remains, the effect will be produced. In the administration of diuretics, one thing should be attended to, and the good effect of which the testimony of every intelligent man will confirm : the horse shottld hare plenty to drink. Not only will inflammation be prevented, but the operation of the medicine will be much promoted. INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS. This is no uncommon disease in the horse, and is more unskilfully and fatally treated than almost any other. The early symptoms are those of fever generally, but the seat of the disease soon becomes evident. The horse looks anxiously round at his flanks ; stands with his hinder legs wide apart ; is unwilling to lie down ; straddles as he walks ; expresses pain in turning ; shrinks when the loins are pressed, and some degree of heat is felt there. The urine is voided in small quantities ; frequently it is high-coloured, and sometimes bloody. The attempt to urinate becomes more frequent, and the quantity voided smaller, until the animal strains painfully and violently, but the discharge is nearly or quite suppressed. The pulse is quick and hard ; full in the early stage of the disease, but rapidly becoming small, yet not losing its character of hardness. These symptoms clearly indicate an affection of tlie urinary organs ; but they do not distinguish inflammation of the kidney from that of the bladder. In order to effect this, the hand must be introduced into the rectum. If the bladder is felt full and hard under the rectum, there is inflammation of the neck of it ; if it is empty, yet on the portion of the intestines immediately over it there is more than natural heat and tenderness, there is inflam- mation of the body of the bladder; and if the bladder is empty, and there is no increased heat or tendei-ness, there is inflammation of the kidney. Among the causes of diabetes are improper food, and particularly hay that has been mow- bunit, or oats that are musty. The farmer should look well to this. Oats that have been dried on a kiln acquire a diuretic property, and if horses are long fed on them, the continual excitement of this organ which they produce will degenerate into in- flammation. Too powerful or too often repeated dim'etics induce inflammation of the kidney, or a degree of irritation and weakness of that organ that disposes to inflammation from causes that would otherwise have no injurious effect. If a horse is sprained in the loins by being urged on, far or fast, by a heavy rider, or compelled to take too wide a leap, or by being suddenly pulled up on his haunches, the inflammation of the muscles of the loins is often speedily transferred to the kidneys, with which they lie in contact. Expo- THE HORSE. 409 sure to cold is another frequent origin of this malady, especially if the horse is drenched with rain, or the wet drips upon his loins ; and, more particularly, if he was previously disposed to in- llammation, or these organs had been previously %veakened. For this reason, hackney-coach horses and others, exposed to the vicissitudes of the wea- ther, and often fed on unwholesome provender, have, or should have, their loins protected by leather or some other clothing. The grand cause, however, of nephritis is the unnecessary quantity or undue strength of the diuretic medicines that are forced on the horse by the ignorant groom. This is an evil carried to an infamous extent, and against which e\ery horseman should sternly oppose himself. The treatment will only vary from that of in- flammation of other parts by a consideration of the peculiarity of the organ affected. Bleeding must be promptly resorted to, and carried to its full extent. An active purge should next be ad- ministered ; and a counter-inflammation excited as nearly as possible to the seat of disease. For this purpose the loins should be fomented with hot water, or covered with a mustard poultice — the horse should be warmly clothed ; but no cantha- rides or turpentine should be used, and, most of all, no diuretic be given internally. When the groom finds this difficulty or suppression of staling, he immediately has recoiu'se to a diuretic ball to force on the urine : aud by thus needlessly irri- tating a part already too much excited, he adds fuel to fire, and frequently destroys the horse. The action of the purgative having begmr a little to cease, white hellebore may be administered in small doses, with or without emetic tartar. The patient should be warmly clothed ; his legs well bandaged ; and plenty of water offered to him. The food should be carefully examined, and any- thing that could have excited or that may prolong the irritation carefully removed. DIABETES, OR PEOFUSE STALING, Is a comparatively rare disease. It is generally the consequence of undue irritation of the kidney by bad food or strong diuretics, and sometimes follows inflannnation of that organ. It can seldom be traced in the horse to any disease of the di- gestive organs. The treatment is obscure, and the result often uncertain. It is evidently in- creased action of the kidneys, and therefore the most rational plan of treatment is to endeavour to abate that action. In order to effect this, the same course should be pursued in the early stage of diabetes as in actual inflammation ; but the lowering system must not be carried to so great an extent. To bleeding, purging, and comiter-irrita- tion, medicines of an astringent quality should succeed, as catechu, the powdered leaf of the whortle-berry (uva ursi), and opium. Very careful attention should be paid to the food. The hay and oats should be of the best quality. Green meat, and especially carrots, will be very serviceable. BLOODY URINE — H.EMATDHIA. The discharge of urine of this character is of occasional occurrence. Pure blood is sometimes discharged which immediately coagulates — at other times it is more or less mixed with the urine, and does not coagulute. The cause of its appearance and the source whence it proceeds cannot always be determined, but it is probably the result of some strain or blow. It may or may not be accompanied by inflammation. Should it be the result of strain or violence, or be evidently attended by iiifliimmatiou, soothing and depleting measures should be adopted. Per- haps counter-irritation on the loins might be use- ful. If there is no apparent inflammation, some gentle stimulus may be administered internally. ALBUMINOUS DEINE. A peculiar mucous state of the urine of some horses has lately attracted attention. It has been associated with stretching out of the legs, stiffness, disinclination to move, a degree of fever, aud costiveuess. Slight bleeding, mild physic, the application of gentle stimulants to the loins, quietness, and gentle opiates, have been of service. We are indebted to Mr. Percivall for what we do know of the disease. It is a subject worthy of the attention of the veterinary surgeon. THE BLADDER. The urine separated from the blood is dis- charged by the minute vessels, of which we have spoken, into some larger canals, which terminate in a cavity or reservoir in the body of each kidney, designated its pelvis. Thence it is conveyed by a duct called the ureter, to a large reservoir, the bladder. It is constantly flowing from the kidney through the ureter ; and were there not this pro- vision for its detention, it would be incessantly and annoyingly dribbling from the animal. The bladder lies in, and when distended by urine nearly fills, the cavity of the great bones of the haunch, termed the pelvis. It has three coats, the outer one covering the greater pait of it, and being a portion of the peritoneum : the muscular, consisting of two layers of fibres, as in the sto- mach ; the external, i-unning longitudinally, and the inner circularly, so that it may yield to the pressure of the urine as it enters, and contract again into an exceetUugly small space as it runs out, and by that contraction assist in the expul- sion of the urine. The inner coat contains nu- merous little glands, which secrete a mucous fluid to defend the bladder from the acrimony of the urine. The bladder terminates in a small 110 THE HOKSE. neck, round which is a strong muscle, keeping tlie passage closed, and retaining the urine until, at the will of the animal, or when the bladder con- tains a certain quantity of fluid, the muscular coat begins to contract, the diaphragm is rendered con- vex towards the intestines, and presses them on the bladder, and by these united powers the fluid is forced through the sphincter muscle at the neck of the bladder, and escapes. INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. There are two varieties of this disease, inflam- mation of the body of the bladder, and of its neck. The symptoms are nearly the same with those of inflammation of the Iddney, except that there is rarely a total suppression of urine, and there is heat felt in the rectum over the situation of the bladder. The causes are the presence of some acrid or irritant matter in the urine, or of calculus or stone ui the bladder. With reference to inflam- mation of the body of the bladder, mischief has occasionally been done by the introduction of can- tharides or some other irritating matter, in order to hasten the period of horsing in the mare. The treatment in this case will be the same as in inflammation of the kidneys, except that it is of more consequence that the animal should drink freely of water or thin gruel. In inflammation of the neck of the bladder there is the same frequent voiding of urine in small quantities, generally appearing in an advanced stage of the disease, and often ending in almost total suppression. There is also this circumstance, which can never be mistaken by him who will pay Buificient attention to the case, that the bladder is distended with urine, and can be distinctly felt under the rectum. It is spasm of the part, closing the neck of the bladder so powerfully that the contraction of the bladder and tlie pressure of the muscles are unable to force out the urine. Here the object to be attempted is sufficiently plain. This spasm must be relaxed, and the most likely means to effect it is to bleed largely, and even to fainting. This will sometimes succeed, and there will be at once an end to the disease. To the exhaustion and loss of muscular power occasioned by copious bleeding, should be added the nausea consequent on physic. Should not this speedily have effect, another mode of abating spasm must be tried — powdered opium made into a ball or drink, should be given every two or three hours ; while an active blister is applied externally. The evacuation of the bladder, both in the mare and the horse, should be effected through the medium of a veterinai-y surgeon. STONE IN THE BLADDER. The urine is a very compound fluid. In a state of health it contains several acids and alkalies variously combined, which, under disease, aie increased both in mimber and quantity. It is very easy to conceive that some 'of these may be occasionally separated from the rest, and assume a solid form both in the pelvis of the kidney and iu the bladder. This is known to be the case both iu the human being and the brute. These calculi or stones are in the horse oftener found in the kidney than in the bladder, contrary to the experience of the human surgeon. The explanation of this, however, is not difficult. In the hmnan being the kidney is situated above the bladder, and these concretious descend from it to the bladder by their weight. The belly of the horse is horizontal, and the force of gravity can in no way affect the pas- sage of the calculus ; therefore it occasionally remains in the pelvis of the kidney, until it has increased so mucli in size as to fill it. We know not of any symptoms that would satisfactorily indicate the presence of a stone in the ludney ; and if the disease could be ascertained, we are unable to say what remedial measures could be adopted. The symptoms of stone iu the bladder much resemble those of spasmodic colic, except that, on careful inquiiy, it ^vill be found that there has been nmch irregularity in the discharge of urine and occasional suppression of it. When fits of appa- rent colic frequently return, and are accompanied by any peculiarity in the appearance or the discharge of the urine, the horse should be carefully examined. For this puri)ose he must be thrown. If there is stone in the bladder, it will, while the horse lies on its back, jiress on the rectum, and may be distinctly felt iif the hand is introduced into the rectum. Several cases have lately occurred of successful extraction of the culculus ; but to elfect this it will always be neces- sary to have recourse to the aid of a veterinary practitioner. Both the practitioner and the amateur will be gratified by the desci'iption of a catheter, invented by Mr. Taylor, a veterinary surgeon of Nottingham, which may be introduced into the bladder without difficulty or pain, and the existence and situation of the calculus readily ascertained. It is made of polished round iron, three feet long, one and a half inch in circumference, and with eight joints at its farther extremity. The solid part between eacli joint is one and a quarter inch in length, and one and a half in circumference, the moveable part being ten inches, and the solid part two feet two inches. The latter has a slight curve commencing one foot from the handle, and continuing to the first joint of the moveable jiart, in order to give it facility in passing the urethra, where it is attached to the paretics of the abdomen. The joints are on the principle of a half joint, so that the moveable part would only act in a straight line, or curve in one direction. The joints are THE HORSE. dll pcrfoctly rouuJoJ and smooth when acting either i both in its strai;,'ht unj carved state in the foUow- iu a straight line or a curve. It is represouted | ing cuts. Many horses occasionally void a considerable quantity of gravel, sometimes without inconven- ience, and at others with evident spasm or jiaiu. A diuretic might be useful in such case, as increasing the flow of urine, and possibly washing out the con- cretions before they become too numerous or bulky. The urine having passed the neck of the bladder, flows along the urethra, and is discharged. The sheath of the penis is sometimes considerably enlarged. When at the close of acute disease, there are swellings and eflusions of fluid, under the chest and belly, this part seldom escapes. Diure- tics, with a small portion of cordial medicme, will be beneficial, but in extreme cases slight scarifi- cations may be necessary. The inside of the sheath is often the seat of disease. The mucous matter, naturally secreted there to defend the jiart from the acrimony of the urine, accumulates and becomes e.\ceedingly otfensive, and produces swel- ling, tenderness, and even e.xcoriation, with consi- derable discharge. Fomentation with warm water, and the cleansing of the part with soap and water, aided perhajjs by the administration of a diuretic ball, will speedily remove every inconvenience. Carters arc too apt to neglect cleanliness in this respect. CHAPTER XV. BREEDING, CASTnATION, &C. This may be a proper period to recur to the subject of breeding, and peculiarly important when there cannot be a doubt that our breeed of horses has, within the last twenty years, undergone a material change. Our running horses still maintain their speed, although their endurance is, generally speak- ing, considerably diminished ; our draught and carri- age horses are perhaps improved in value ; but our hunters and hackneys are not what they used to be. Our observations on this will be of a general nature, and very simple. The first axiom we would lay down is, that " like will produce like," and that the progeny will inhe'rit the general or mingled qualities of the parents. There is scarcely a disease by which either of the parents is affected that the foal does not often inherit, or at least occasionally show a predisposition to it. Even the consequences of ill usage or hard work will descend to the progeny. There has been proof upon proof, that blindness, roaring, thick wind, broken wind, spavins, curbs, ringbones, and founder, have been bequeathed to their offspring, both by the sire and the dam. It should likewise be recollected that although these blemishes may not . appear in the immediate progeny, they frequently do in the next, or even more distant generation. Hence the necessity of some knowledge of the parentage both of the sire and the dam. Peculiarity of form and constitution will also be inherited. This is a most important but neglected consideration; for, however desirable or even perfect may have been the conformation of the sire, every good point may be neutralized or lost by the defec- tive structure of the mare. The essential points should be good in both parents, or some minor defect in either be met, and got rid of, by excel- lence in that particular point in the other. The unskilful or careless breeder too often so badly pairs the animals, that the good points of each are almost lost: the defects of both increased, and the pi'oduce is far inferior to both sire and dam. Mr. Baker, of Reigate, places this in a striking point of view. He speaks of liis own experience : " A foal had apparently clear and good eyes, but the first day had not passed, before it was evident that it was totally blind. It had gutta serena. " Inquiry was then made about the sire, for the mare had good eyes. His were, on the slightest inspection, evidently bad, and not one of liis colts had escaped the direful effects of his im- perfect vision. "A mare had been the subject of farcical enlargements, and not being capable of performing much work, a foal was procured from her. She survived ; but the foal soon after birth evinced symptoms of fai'cy, and died. 412 THE HORSE. " A mare was lame from navicular disease. A foal was bred from her that at five years could scarcely go across the country, and was sold for a few pounds. The mare 'svas a rank jib in single harness ; the foal was as bad." It is useless to multiply these examples. They occur in the e.xperience of every one, and yet they are strangely disregarded. The mare is sometimes put to the horse at too early an age ; or, what is of more frequent occur- rence, the mare is incapacitated for work by old age. The owner is unmlling to destroy her, and he determines that she shall bear a foal, and thus remunerate him for her keep. What is the conse- quence? The foal exhibits an uukindliness of growth, — a corresponding weakness, — and there is scarcely an organ that possesses its natural and proper strength. Of late years, these principles have been much lost sightof in the breedmg of horses for general use ; and the following is the explanation of it. There are nearly as good stallions as there used to be. Few but well-formed and valuable horses will be selected and used as stallions. They are always the very prime of the breed ; but the mares are not lehat they used to he. Poverty has induced many of the breeders to part with the mares from which they used to raise their stock, and which were worth their weight in gold ; and the jade on which the farmer now rides to market, or which he uses in his farm, costs him but little money, and is onlj' retained because he cannot get much money for her. It has likewise become the fashion for gen- tlemen to ride mares, almost as frequently as geldings ; and thus the better kind are taken from the breeding service, until old age or injury renders them worth little for it. An intelligent veterinary surgeon, Mr. Castley, has placed this in a very strong light.* It shouldbe impressed on the-minds of breeders, that peculiarity of form and constitution are inhe- rited from both parents, — that the e.xcellence of the mare is a point of quite as much importance as that of the horse,- — and that, out of a sorry mare, let the horse be as perfect as he ma}', a good foal will rarely be produced. All this is recognised upon the turf, though poverty or carelessness have made the general breeder neglect or forget it. That the constitution and endurance of the horse are inherited, no sporting man ever doubted. The qualities of the sire or the dam descend from generation to generation, and the e.xcel- lencies or defects of certain horses are often traced, and justly so, to some peculiarity iu a far- distant ancestor. It may, perhaps, be justly affirmed, that there is more difficultj' in selecting a good mare to breed from than a good horse, because she should possess somewhat opposite qualities. Her carcase should be long, iu order to give room for the growth of the foetus ; and yet with this there should be com- pactness of form and shortness of leg. What can they expect whose practice it is to purchase worn- out, spavined, foundered mares, about whom they fancy there have been some good points, and send them far into the country to breed from, and, with all their variety of shape, to be covered by the same horse ? In a lottery like this there may be now and then a prize, but there must be many blanks. If horse-breeders, possessed of good judgment, would pay the same attention to breed and shape as Mr. Bakewell did with his sheep, they would probably attain tlieir wishes in an equal degree, and greatly to tlieir advantage, whether for the collar or the road, for racing or for hunting. As to the shape of the stallion, little satisfac- toYj can be said. It must depend on that of the mare, and the Idnd of horse wished to be bred : but if there is one point absolutely essential, it is " compactness" — as much goodness and strength as possible condensed into a little space. Next to comjiactness, the inclination of the shoulder will be regarded. A huge stallion, with upright shoulders, never got a capital hunter or hackney. From him the breeder can obtain nothing but a cart or dray horse, and that, per- haps, spoiled by the opposite form of the mare. On the other hand, an upright shoulder is de- sirable, if not absolutely necessary, when a mere slow draught-horse is reqiured. On the subject of breeding in and iu, that is. • " Any one," .says he, *' who during the last twenty or five-and- twenty years, has bad frequent oppoitunities of vi.siting some of our great horse fairs in the north of England, must be struek with the sad falling-oif there is everywhere to be remarked in the (luality of the one-half and three-part hrcA horses exhibited for sale. The farmers, when taxed with this, complain that breeding horses does not sufficiently repay them ; and yet we hnd large sums of money always given at fairs for any horses that are really good, but bad ones are not at any time likely to pay for rearing, and le.ss now than ever, on accountof the advanced rate ofland, and the increased expense of producliiiji. The tiuth is, that farmers do not, no\v-a- days, breed liorses so generally good as they used to do, and this is owing to the inleriorquality of the mares which they now commonly emplny ill brii'ding. They have, to a great degree, been tempted t.) part with Ilirir best marcs, and thus lareed from the refuse. The stock couscipicnlly dctcrioiates, and they are disappointed. " The great demand for mares has also contributed to get the best material for breeding out of the farmer's hands. Thirty years ago few gentlemen would be seen riding a mare — it was unlashion- alile. There was, conseriuently, but little demand for her, and she was left for the most part in the farmers' bauds, who were then to be seen riding to market, mounted on the finest mares, and trom .Tmong which they selected the best for the purpose of breeding. Like will produce like, and the stock would seldom disappoint thcin. " Then there is the demand for the foreign market. Willuu the last twenty years, a great number of our finest thrce-parts-bied mares have been exported to various portiuus of the Cttntincnt, and particidarly to France and Germany. They never find their way back again. The money brought into our country by Ili^ir export is a mere tritle — a dnip in the ocean — while we are doing ourselves incalcidable mischief by allowing some of our best niite- rials to pass out of our hands forever." — X'e/er/nar/aH,!!!., p. 371. THE HORSE. 413 persevering in the same breed, and selecting the best on either side, much has been said. Tlie system of crossing requires more judgment and experience than lireeders usually possess. The bad qualities of the cross are too soon engrafted ou the original stock, and, once engrafted there, are not, for many generations, eradicated. The good qualities of both are occasionally neutralized to a most mortifying degree. On the other hand, it is the fact, however some may deny it, that strict confinement to one breed, however valuable or perfect, produces gradual deterioration. Cross- ing should be attempted with great caution. The valuable points of the old breed should be re- tained, but varied or improved by the introduction of some new and valuable quality, with reference to beauty, strength, or speed. This is the secret of the turf. The pure south-eastern blood is never left, but the stock is often changed with manifest advantage. A mare is capable of breeding at three or four years old. Some have injudiciously com- menced at two years, before her form or her strength is sufficiently developed, and wth the development of which this early breeding will materially interfere. If a mare does little more than farm-work, she may continue to be bred from until she is nearly twenty ; but if she has been hardly worked, and bears the marks of it, let her have been what she will in her youth, she will de- ceive the expectations of the breeder u^ her old age. From the time of C(5vering, to within a few days of the expected period of foaling, the cart mare may be kepit at moderate laliour, not only without injury, but with decided advantage. It will then be prudent to release her from work, and keep her near home, and under the frequent inspection of some careful person. When nearly half the time of pregnancy has elapsed, the mare should have a little better food. She slioidd be allowed one or two feeds of corn in the day. This is about the period when they are accustomed to slink their foals, or when abortion occurs : the eye of the owner should, therefore, be frequently upon them. Good feed- ing and moderate exercise will be the best pre- ventives of this mishap. The mare that has once aborted is liable to a repetition of the acciden', and therefore should never be suffered to be with other mares between the fourth and fifth months : for such is the power of imagination or of sympa- thy in the mare, that if one suffers abortion, others in the same pastm-e will too often share the same fate. Farmers wash, and paint, and tar their stables, to prevent some supposed infection ; the infection lies in the imngination. The thorough-bred mare — the stock being in- tended for sporting purposes — should be kept quiet and apart from other horses, after the first four or five months When the period of parturition is dramng near, she should be watched, and shut up during the night in a safe yard or loose box. If the mare, whether of the pure or common breed, .be thus taken care of, and be in good health while in foal, little danger will attend the act of par- turition. If there is false presentation of the foetus, or difficulty in producing it, it will be better to have recourse to a well-informed practitioner, than to in- jure the mother by the violent and injurious at- tempts that are often made to relieve her. The parturition being over, the mare should be turned into some well-sheltered pasture, wich a hovel or shed to run into when she pleases ; and as, supposing that she has foaled in April, '■:= the grass is scanty, she should have a couple of feeds of corn daily. The breeder may depend upon it, that nothing is gained by starving the mother and stinting the foal at this time. It is the most importiint period of the life of the horse ; and if, from false econom}', his gnjwth is arrested, his puny form and want of endurance will ever afterwards testify the error that has been com- mitted. The corn should be given in a trough on the ground, that llie foal may partake of it with the mother. When the new grass is plentiful, tha quantity of corn may be gradually diminished. The mare will usually be found again at heat at or before the expiration of a month from the time of foaling, when, if she is principally kept for breeding purposes, she may be put again to the horse. At the same time, also, if she is used for agricultural purposes, she may go again to work. Tlie foal is at first shut in the stable during the hours of work ; but as soon as it acquires suffi- cient strength to toddle after the mare, and espe- cially when she is at slow work, it will be better for the foal and the dam that they should be to- gether. The work will contribute to the health of the mother ; the foal will more frequently draw the milk, and thrive better, and will be hardy and tractable, and gradually familiarised with the objects among which it is afterwards to live. While the mother, however, is thus worked, she and the foal should be well fed ; and two feeds of corn, at least, should be added to the green food which they get when turned out after their work, and at night. In five or six months, according to the growth of the foal, it may be weaned. It should then be housed for three weeks or a month, or turned into some distant rick-yard. There can be no better place for the foal than the latter, as atlord- ing, and that without trouble, both food and * By the present rules of the jockey-club the age of turf horses is reckoned from the 1st of Jaiuuiry, but this has not by any common consent extended to the hidf-breds. The 1st of Muy is nearest to the general time of foaling, and the age of the cavalry hoi-.^es is dated from that period. 414 THE HORSE. shelter. Tlie mother should be put to harder work, and have drier meat. One or two urine- balls, or a physic-ball, will be useful if the milk should be troublesome, or she should pine after her foal. There is no principle of greater importance than the liberal feeding of the foal during the whole of his growth, and at this time in parti- cular. Bruised oats and bran should fonn a con- siderable part of his daily provender. The farmer may be assured that the money is well laid out which is e.\peuded on the liberal nourishment of the growing colt: yet while he is well fed, he should not be rendered delicate by excess of care. A racing colt is often stabled ; but one that is destined to be a hunter, a hackney, or an agricultural horse, should have a square rick, under the leeward side of which he may shelter liimself; or a hovel, into which he may run at night, and out of the rain. " Too often, however, the foal, after weaning, is left to struggle on as he can, and becomes poor and dispirited. He is to be seen shrinking under a hedge, cold and almost shivering, his head hanging do^vn, and rheum dis- tilling from his eyes. If he is made to move, he listlessly drags his limbs along, evidently weak, and generally in pain. He is a sad specimen of poverty and of misery. This is the first scene of cruelty to the horse of inferior breed, and destined for inferior purpose."* The process of breaking-in should commence from tlie very period of weaning. The foal should be daily handled, partially dressed, accustomed to the halter when led about, and even tied up. The tractability, and good temper, and value of the horse, depend a great deal more upon this than breeders are aware. Everything should be done, as much as pos- sible, by the man who feeds the colt, and whose management of him should be always kind and gentle. Tliere is no fault for which a breeder should so invariably discharge his sen'ant as cruelty, or even harshness, towards the rising stock ; for the principle on which their after use- fulness is founded, is early attachment to, and confidence in man, and obedience, implicit obe- dience, resulting principally from this. After the second winter the work of breaking- in may commence in good earnest. The colt may be bitted, and a bit selected that will not hurt his mouth, and much smaller than those in common use. With this he may be suffered to amuse himself, and to play, and to champ it for an hour, on a few successive days. Having become a little tractable, portions of the harness may be put upon him, concluding with the blind winkers ; and, a few days after- * Yoiiatt on Humanily to Animals, p. llo. wards, he may go into the team. It woidd be better if there could be one horse before, and one behind him, beside the shaft horse. There should at first be the mere empty waggon. Nothing should be done to him, except that he should have an occasional pat or kind word. The other horses will keep him moving, and in his place ; and no great time will pass, sometimes not even the first day, before he will begin to pull with the rest. The load may then be gradually increased. The agricultural horse is sometimes wanted to ride as well as to draw. Let his first lesson be given when he is in the team. Let his feeder, if possible, be first put upon him. He will be too much hampered by his harness, and by the other horses, to make much resistance ; and, in the majority of cases, will quietly and at once submit. We need not to repeat, that no whip or spur should be used in giving the first lessons in riding. When he begins a little to understand his business, backing — the most difficult part of his work — may be taught him ; first to back well without anything behind him, and then with a light cart, and afterwards with some serious load — always taking the greatest care not seriously to hurt his mouth. If the first lesson causes much soreness of the gums, the colt will not readily sub- mit to a second. If he has been previously rendered tractable by kind usage, time and patience will do everything that can be wished. Some carters are in the habit of blinding the colt when teaching him to back. This may be necessary with a restive and obstinate one, but should be used only as a last resort. The colt having been thus partially broken-in, the necessity of implicit obedience must be taught him, and that not by severity, but by firmness and steadiness. The voice will go a great way, but the whip or the spur is sometimes indispen- sable— not so severely applied as to excite the animal to resistance, but to convince him that we have the power to enforce submission. Few — it may almost be said, no — horses, are naturally vici- ous. It is cruel usage which has firet provoked resistance. That resistance has been followed by greater severity, and the stubbornness of the animal has increased. Open warfare has ensued, in which the man has seldom gained advantage, and the horse has been frequently rendered un- serviceable. Correction may, or must be used, to enforce implicit obedience after the education has proceeded to a certain extent, but the early lessons should be inculcated with kindness alone. Young colts are sometimes very perverse. Many days will occasionally pass before they will permit the bridle to be put on, or the saddle to be worn ; and one act of harshness will double or treble this time : patience and kindness, however, -will always prevail. On some morning, when he is m a THE HOUSE. 419 better Immour than usual, the bridle may be put on, and the saddle may be worn ; and, this com- pliance being followed by kindness and soothing on the part of the breaker, and no inconvenience or pain being sullered by the animal, all resistance will be at an end. The same principles will apply to the break- ing-in of the horse for the road or the chase. The handling, and some portion of instruction, should commence from the time of weaning. The future tractability of the horse will much depend on this. At two years and a half, or three years, the regular jirocess of breaking-in should commence. If it is delayed until the animal is four years old, his strength and obstinacy will be more difficult to overcome. The plan usually pursued by the breaker cannot perhaps be much improved, except that there should be much more kindness and patience, and far less harshness and cnielty, than these persons are accustomed to exhibit, and a gi'eat deal more attention to the form and natural action of the horse. A headstall is put on the colt, and a cavessou (or apparatus to confine and pinch the nose) alfixed to it, with long reins. He is first accustomed to the rein, then led round a ring on soft ground, and at length mounted and taught his paces. Next to preserving the temper and docility of the horse, there is nothing of so much importance as to teach him every pace, and every part of his duty, distinctly and thoroughly. Each must constitute a separate and sometimes long- continued lesson, and that taught by a man who will never suffer his passion to get the better of his discretion. After the cavesson has been attached to the headstall, and the long rein put on, the colt should be quietly led about by the breaker — a steady boy following behind, by occasional threat- ening with the whip, but never by an actual blow, to keep him moving. When the animal follows readily and quietly, he may be taken to the ring, and walked round, right and left, in a very small circle. Care should be taken to teach him this pace thoroughly, never suffering him to break into a trot. The boy with his whip may here again be necessary, but not a single blow should actually fiiU. Becoming tolerably perfect in the walk, he should be quickened to a trot, and kept steadily at it; the whip of the boy, if needful, urging him on, and the cavesson restraining him. These les- sons should be short. The pace should be kept perfect, and distinct in each ; and docility and im- provement rewarded with frequent caresses, and haudfuls of corn. The length of the rein may now be gradually increased, and the pace quickened, and the time extended, until the animal becomes tractable in these his first lessons, towards the con- clusion of which, crupper-straps, or something similai', may be attached to the clothing. These, playing about the sides and flanks, accustom him to the flapping of the coat of the rider. The annoyance which they occasion will pass over in a day or two ; for when the animal finds that no hann comes to him, he will cease to regard them. Next comes the bitting. The bit should be large and smooth, and the reins Inickled to a ring on either side of the pad. There are many curious and expensive machines for this purpose, but the simple rein will be quite sufficient. It should at first be slack, and then very gradually tightened. This will prepare for the more perfect manner in which the head will be afterwards got into its proper position, when the colt is accustomed to the saddle. Occasionally the breaker should stand in front of the colt, and take hold of each side rein near to the mouth, and press ujion it, and thus begin to teach him to stop and to back on the pres- sure of the rein, rewarding every act of docility, and not being too eager to punish occasional carelessness or waywardness. The colt may now be taken into the road or street, to be gradually accustomed to the objects among whicli his services will be required. Here, from fear or playfulness, a considerable degree of starting and shying may be exhibited. As little notice as possible should be taken of it. The same or a similar object should lie soon passed again, but at a greater distance. If the colt still shies, let the distance be farther increased, until he takes no notice of the object. Then he may be gradually brought nearer to it, and this will be usually effected without the slightest difficulty ; whereas, had there been an attempt to force him close to it in the first instance, the remembrance of the con- test would have been associated with every appear- ance of the object, and the habit of shying would have been established. Hitherto, with a cool and patient brcalver, the whip may have been shown, but will scarcely have been used ; the colt must now, however, be accus- tomed to this necessary instmment of authority. Let the breaker walk by the side of the animal, and throw his right arm over his back, hokUng the reins in his left, occasionally quickening his pace, and at the moment of doing this, tapping the horse with the whip in his right hand, and at first very gently. The tap of the whip and the quickening of the pace will soon become associated in the mind of the animal. If necessary, these reminders may gradually fall a little heavier, and the feeling of pain be the monitor of the necessity of increased exertion. The lessons of reining in and stopping, and backing on the pressure of the bit, may con- tinue to be j)ractised at the same time. He may now be taught to bear the saddle. Some little caution \\i\] be necessary at the firet putting of it on. The breaker should stand at the head of the colt, patting him, and engaging his -r*' i! 416 THE H0R3E. attention, while one assistant, on the off-side, gently places the saddle on the back of the animal ; and another, on the near side, slowly tightens the girths. If he submits quietly to this, as he gene- rally will when the previous i)rocess of breaking-in has been properly conducted, the ceremony of mounting may be attempted on the following, or on the third day. The breaker will need two assistants in order to accomplish this. He will remain at the head of the colt, patting and making much of him. The rider will put his foot into the stirrup, and bear a little weight upon it, while the man on the off-side presses equally on the other stirrup-leather; and, according to the docility of the animal, he will gradually increase the weight, until he balances himself on the stirrup. If the colt is uneasy or fearful, he should 1)6 spoken to kindly and patted, or a mouthful of corn be given to him ; but if he offers serious resistance, the lessons must terminate for that day. He may probably be in better humour on the morrow. When the rider has balanced himself for a minute or two, he may gently throw his leg over, and quietly seat himself in the saddle. The breaker will then lead the animal round the ring, the rider sitting perfectly still. After a few minutes he will take the reins, and handle them as gently as pos- sible, and guide the horse by the pressure of them ; patting him frequently, and especially when he thinks of dismoimting, — and, after having dis- mounted, offering him a little corn or green meat. The use of the rein in checking him, and of the pressure of the leg and the touch of the heel in quickening his pace, will soon be taught, and his education will be nearly completed. The horse having thus far submitted himself to the breaker, these pattings and rewards must be gradually diminished, and implicit obedience mildly but firmly enforced. Severity will not often be necessary. In the great majority of cases it will be altogether uncalled for ; but should the animal, in a moment of waywardness, dispute the command of the breaker, he must at once be taught that he is the slave of man, and that we have the power, by other means than those of kindness, to bend him to our will. The education of the horse should be that of a child. Pleasure is, as much as possi- ble, associated with the early lessons ; but firmness, or, if need be, coercion, must establish the habit of obedience. Tyranny and cruelty will, more speedily in the horse than even in the child, provoke the wish to disobey ; and, on every practicable occasion, the resistance to command. The restive and vicious horse is, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, made so by ill-usage, and not by nature. None but those who will take the trouble to try the experiment, are aware how absolute a command the due admixture of firmness and kindness wHl soon give us over any horse. The period at which this operation may be best performed depends much on the breed and form of the colt, and the purpose for which he is destined. For the common agricultural horse, the age of four or five months will be the most proper time, or, at least before he is weaned. Few horses are lost when cut at that age. Care, however, should be taken that the weather is not too hot, nor the fliea too numerous. We enter our decided protest, however, against the recommendation of valuable but incautious agricultural writers, that " colts should be cut in the months of June or July, when flies pester the horses, and cause them to be con- tinually moving about, and thereby prevent swell- ing." One moment's reflection will convince the reader that nothing can be more likely to produce inflammation, and consequent swellmg and danger, than the torture of the flies hovering round and slinging the sore part. If the horse is designed either for the carriage or for heavy draught, the farmer should not think of castrating him until he is at least a twelve month old ; and, even then, the colt should be carefully examined. If he is thin and spare about the neck and shoulders, and low in the withers, he will materially improve by remaining uncut another six months ; but if his fore-quarters are fairly develojied at the age of a twelve-month, the operation should not be delayed, lest he become heavy and gross before, and perhaps has begun too decidedly to have a will of his own. No specific age, then, can be fixed ; but the castration should be performed rather late in the spring or early in the autumn, when the air is temperate, and particularly ^Yhen the weather is dry. No preparation is necessary for the sucking colt, but it may be prudent to bleed and to physic one of more advanced age. In the majority of cases, no after-treatment will be neces- SAVj, except that the animal should be sheltered from intense heat, and more particularly from wet. In temperate weather he will do much better running in the field than nursed in a close and hot stable. The moderate exercise that he will take in grazing will be preferable to perfect inaction. A large and well-ventilated box, however, maybe permitted. The manner in which the operation is performed will be properly left to the veterinary surgeon. The haste, carelessness, and brutality, of the conunon gelder should no longer be permitted ; but the veterinary surgeon should be able and willing to discharge every portion of his duty. The old method of opening the scrotum on either side, and cutting off the testicles, and preventing haemorrhage by a temporary compression of the vessels while they are seared with a hot iron must not, perhaps, be abandoned ; but there is no necessity for that extra pain, and that appearance, at least, of bru- I 'flit, aul THE HORSE. 417 tality, which occur when the spemnatic cord (the blood-vessels and the nene) is as tightly com- pressed between two pieces of wood as in a power- ful vice, and left there until either the testicle drops off, or is removed on the following day by the operator. To the practice of some farmers, of twitching their colts at an early period, sometimes even so early as a month, there is stronger objection. When the operation of twitching is performed, a small cord is drawn as tightly as possilile round the bag, between the testicle and the belly. The cir- culation is thus stopped, and, in a few days, the testicles and the bag drop off; but not until the animal has sadly suffered. It is occasionally neces- saiT to tighten the cord on the second or third day, and inflammation and death have frequently ensued. Another mode of ca.stration has been lately introduced, which bids fair to supersede every other : it is called the operation by Torsion. An incision is made into the scrotum, as in the other modes of operation, and the vas deferens is e.xposed and divided. The artery is then seized by a pair of forceps contrived for the purpose, and twisted six or seven times round. It retracts as soon as the hold on it is quitted, the coils are not untwisted, and all bleeding has ceased. The testicle is re- moved, and there is no sloughuig or danger. The most painful part of the operation— the application of the firing iron or the clams — is avoided, and the wound readily heals. CHAPTER XVI. THE FORE LEGS. We arrive now at those parts of the frame which are most essentially connected with the action and value of the horse, and oftenest, and most annoy- iiigly, the sulijects of disease. The extremities contain the whole apparatus of voluntary motion, with which the action, and speed, and strength of the horse are mo-.t concerned. We commence with the upper portion, of which the fore extremity, the shoulder, is seen at G, page •MS. THE SHOULUEB. The scapula or shoulder-blade, situated forward on the side of the chest, is a bone of a somewhat triangular shape, with its apex or narrowest point do\niward, and its broad and thin expansion upward. The point of the shoulder lies opposite to the first and second ribs ; the hinder expansion of the base reaches as far back as the seventh rib ; it therefore extends obliquely along the chest. It is di\ided, externallv, into two unequal portions by a ridge or spine i-unning through almost the whole of its ex- tent, and designed, as will be presently seen, for the attachment of important muscles. The broad or upper part having no muscles of any consequence attached to it, is terminated by cartilage. The shoulder-blade is united to the chest by muscle alone. There is one large muscle, with very remarkable tendinous fibres and of immense strength (the serratits major, greater saw-shaped muscle), .attached to the chest, and to the extensive smooth inteniiil surface of the shoulder-blade, and bv which, assisted, or rather strengthened, by the muscles of the breast, the weight of the body is supported, and the shock of the widest leap, or the most rapid motion, sustained. Had there been a bony union between the shoulder and the body, the vital parts contained in the chest could not have endured the dreadful shock which they would occa- sionally have experienced ; nor could any bone have long remained whole if exposed to such violence. The muscles within the shoulder-blade act as powerful and safe springs. They vield, as far as necessary, to the force impressed upon them. By then- gradual yielding they destroy the violence of the shock, and then, by their elastic power, imme- diately regain their former situation. SPR.UX OF THE SHOULDER. These muscles are occasionally injured by some unexpected shock. Although in not more than one case in twenty is the faiTier right when he talks of his shoulder-lameness, yet it cannot be denied, that the muscles of the shoulder are occa- sionally sprained. This is effected oftener by a slip or side-fall, than by fair, although violent exer- tion. It is of considerable importance to be able to distinguish this shoulder-lameness from injuries of other parts of the fore extremity. There is not much tenderness, or heat, or swelling. It is a sprain of muscles deeply seated, and where these symptoms of injury are not immediately evident. If, on standing hefore the hoi-se, and looking at the size of the two- shoulders, or rather their points, one should appear e\idently larger than the other, this must not be considered as indicative of sprain of the muscles of the shoulder. It probablv arises from bniise of the point of the shoulder, which a slight examination will determme. The symptoms, however, of shoulder-lameness can scarcely be mistaken ; and, when we relate them, the farmer will recollect that they very 418 THE HOKSE. seldom occurred when the village smith pointed to the shoulder as tho seat of disease, and punished the animal to no purpose. In sprain of the shoulder the horse evidently suffers extreme pain while moving, and, the muscle underneath being inflamed and tender, he will extend it as little as possible. He will drag his toe along the ground. It is in the lifting of the foot that the shoulder is principally moved. If the foot is lifted high, let the horse be ever so lame, the shoulder is little, if at all, affected. In sprain of the back sinews, it is only when the horse is in motion that the mjured parts are put to most pain ; the pain is greatest here when the ■weight rests on the limb in shoulder-lameness, and there is a peculiar quickness in catching up the limb tho moment the weight is thrown on it. This is particularly evident when the horse is going down hill, and the injured limb bears an additional portion of the weight. In the stable, too, when, in other cases, the horse points or projects one foot before the other, that foot is usually flat on the ground. In shoulder-lameness, the toe alone rests on the ground. The circumstance which most of all characterises this affection is, that when the foot is lifted and then brought considerably forward, the horse will express very great pain, which he wfill not do if the lameness is in the foot or the leg. This point has been longer dwelt upon, in order that the reader may be enabled to put to the test the many cases of shoulder-lameness, which exist only in the imagination of the groom or the farrier. In sprain of the internal muscles of the shoulder, few local measures can be adopted. The horse should be bled from the vein on the inside of the arm (the plate vein), because the blood is then abstracted more immediately from the inflamed part. A dose of physic should be given, and fomentations applied, and principally on the inside of the arm, close to the chest, and the horse should be kept as quiet as possible. The injury is too deeply seated for external stimulants to have very great effect, yet a blister will properly be resorted to, if the lameness is not speedily removed. The swimming of the horse is an inhuman practice : it tortures the animal, and increases the inflammation. The pegging of the shoulder (puncturing the skin, and blowing into the cellular stiiicture beneath until it is considerably puffed up) is another relic of ignorance and barbarity. SLANTING DIRECTION OF THE SHODLDEB. The lessening or breaking of the shock, from the weight being thrown violently on the fore legs, is effected in another way. It will be observed, that (see G and J, p. '263) the shoulder-blade and the lower bone of the shoulder are not connected together in a straight line, but form a very con- siderable angle witli each other. This will be moi-e evident from the following cut, which repre- sents the fore and hind extremities in the situations which they occupy in the horse. This angidar construction of the limbs reminds us of the similar arrangement of the springs of a carriage, and the ease of motion, and almost perfect freedom from jolting, which are thereby obtiiined. THE HORSE. 419 It must not perhaps be said, that the form of (ho spring was borrowed from this construction of the limbs of tlic horse, but the cfFect of the carriage-spring beautifully illustrates the connex- ion of the different bones in the extremities of this quadruped. The obliquity or slanting direction of the shoulder effects other veiy useful purposes. That the stride in the gallop, or the space passed over in the trot, may be extensive, it is necessaiy that the fore part of the animal should be considerably elevated. The shoulder, by means of the muscles which extend from it to the inferior part of the limb, is the grand agent in effecting this. Had the bones of the shoulder been placed more upright than we see them, they could not then have been of the length which they now are, — their connexion with the chest could not have been so secure, — and their movements upon each other would have been comparatively restricted. The slightest inspection of tills cut, or of that at page 263, will show that, just in proportion as the point of the shoulder is brouglit forward and elevated, will be the for- ward action and elevation of the limb, or the space passed over at every effort. The slanting shoulder accomplishes a most useful object. The nuiscles extending from the shoulder-blade to the lower bone of the shoulder are the powers by which motion is given to the whole of the limb. The extent and energy of that motion depend much on the force exerted or the strength of the muscle, but there are circumstances in the relative situations of the different bones which have far greater influence. Let it be supposed that, by means of a lever, some one is endeavouring to raise a ceilain weight. A is a lever, resting or turning on a pivot B ; C is the weight to be raised ; and D is the power, er the situation at which the power is applied. If the strength is applied in a direction pei-pendicular to the lever, as represented by the line E, the r'^x. o power which must be exerted can easily be calcu- lated. In proportion as the distance of the power from the pivot or centre of motion exceeds that of the weight from the same place, so will be the advantage gained. The power here is twice as far from the centre as the weight is, and therefore advantage is gained in the proportion of two to one : or if the weight is equal to 2001bs., a force of lODlbs. will balance it. If the direction in which the power is applied is altered, and it is in that of the line F, will lOOlbs. effect the purpose? No; nothing like it. How, then, is the necessary power to be calculated? The calculation of the force which must be exerted in a direction inter- mediate between the directions of the line E, and of the lever A B, involves questions of geometry, somewhat foreign to the object of these pages. But though the exact estimation of the power to be exerted at intermediate positions is a question of some difficulty, a very little consideration will sene to show that the force to be applied, increases with, and in a greater degree than, the angle between the directions of E and F. For suppose the direction of F to coincide with that of A B, then no force exerted, however great, would sup- port C, the whole effect being to move the lever in the direction of its length. Let the shoulder of the horse be considered. The point of the shoulder — the shoulder-joint — is the pivot or centre of motion ; the leg attached to the bone of the arm is the weight ; the shoulder- blade being more fixed, is the part whence the power emanates, and the muscles extending from the one to the other are the lines in which that power is exerted. These lines approach much more nearly to a perpendicular in the oblique than in the upright shoulder (see cut). In the upright one, the shoulder-blade and the bone of the arm are almost in a straight line, and the real action and power of the muscle are most strangely dimin- ished. In this point of view the oblique shoulder is most important. It not only gives extensive action, but facility of action. The power of the muscles is more than doubled by being exerted in a line approaching so much nearer to a perpen- dicular. There is yet another advantage of the oblique shoulder. The point of the shoulder is projected forward ; and therefore the pillars which support the fore-part of the horse are likewise placed pro- portionably forward, and they have less weight to 420 THE HORSE. carry. They are exposed to less concussion, and especially concussion in rapid action. The horse is also much safer; for having less weight situated before the pillars of support, he is not so likely to have the centre of gravity thrown before and be- yond them by an accidental trip ; or, in other woi'ds, he is not so likely to fall ; and he rides more pleasantly, for there is far less weight bear- ing on the hand of the rider, and annoying and tiling him. It likewise unfortunately happens that nature, as it were to supply the deficiency of action and of power in an upright shoulder, has accumulated on it more muscle, and therefore the upright shoulder is proverbially thick and cloddy ; and the muscles of the breast which weie designed to strengthen the attachment of the shoulders to the chest, and to bind them together, must, when the point of the shoulder lies backward, and under the horse, be proportionably thickened and strengthened, and the horse is thus still more heavy before, more unpleasant, and more unsafe to ride. Then, ought every horse to have an oblique shoulder ? No ! The question has relation to those horses that are designed to ride pleasantly, or from which extensive and rapid action is re- quired. In them it has been said that an oblique shoulder is indispensable : but there are others which are seldom ridden ; whose pace is slow and who have nothing to do but to throw as much weight as possible into the collar. To them an upright shoulder is an advantage, because its iidditional thickness gives them additional weight to throw into the collar, which the power of their hinder quartere is fully sufficient to accom- plish; and because the upright position of the shoulder gives that direction to the collar which enables the horse to act upon every part of it, and that inclination of the traces which vrill enable his weight or power to be most advantageously em- ployed. An improved breed of our heavy draught- horses has of late years been attempted, and with much success. Sufficient uprightness of shoulder is retained for the purposes of draught, while a slight degree of obliquity has materially quickened the pace and improved the appearance. Above its junction with the humenis, or lower division of the limb, the shoulder-blade forms what is called the point of the shoulder. There is a round blunted projection best seen in the cut (p. 418). The neck of the shoulder-blade there forms a shallow cavity, into which the head of the next bone is received. The cavity is shallow because extensive motion is required, and because both of the bones being so moveable, and the motion of the one connected so much with that of the other, dislocation was less likely to occur. A capsular ligament, or one extending round the heads of both bones, confines them securely together. This joint is rarely or never dislocated ; and, should it suffer dislocation, the muscles of the shoulder-blade and the lower bone of the shoulder are so strong, that the reduction of it would be impossible. The point of the shoulder, however, projecting considerably, is much exposed to injury from accident or violence. Even turning in a nar- row stall has inflicted a serious bruise. Fomenta- tions of warm water will usually remove the tenderness and lameness, but should they fail, blood should be taken from the plate vein, or, in very obstinate cases a blister should be resorted to. A description of the principal muscles of the shoulder-blade, their situation, attachments, and use, may not be uninteresting to the lover of the horse, and may guide his judgment as to the capability and proper form of that noble animal. CUT OF MUSCLES ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE SHOULDER. a and 6, in the above cut, represent a por- tion of the Trapezius muscle attached to the longer THE HORSE. 4-«t injnrr 'I'b** h^"*! ^«r?r« of 1' protfrted. If the jMwr of tk* i .kxal* or ftiafi «k« > ippofft Mid flonianMBtaf A (MM iIm taaJfaMB haad k Ix^ ■ CmmI haaMfdk u.«d aad tVMd h«k. -b-booM •• Ik* Miflc bwrthMth* It pncM^i tiMimMd tU I wIot tk* p«t «r tWa iM m4 ^ ;>- • »•# in tW fruae. It t» *ko(t mk^ •»ir. <«« <« tW ^ X^ THE HORSE. 439 M called rastus. from its gree bulk. Some have divided this iuto two muscb : the external and internal. The external arisi:; from the outer sur- face of the upper bone of th thigh ; the internal from the inner surface : and ney are inserted iuto the upper part of the bone othe stitle, both on the inner and outer side. TheS' muscles act at con- siderable mechanical disadvitage. The_v form a very slight angle, not at all aproachiug to a right angle ; but they are muses of immense size, and occupy all the fore part :' the thigh from the stifle upwards. They are swerful extensors of the thigh, and of the huider 1^ generally ; for they are all inserted into the bonof the knee, and that is connected by strong teutns with the bone of the tnie leg. On the inside of the tlgh are several other large fleshy muscles, whi' Iwill be easily recog- nised on the thigh of tlio :Mg horse. First is a long, narrow, promuieut n ale, the saitoritis, d, arising partly from the luiair vertebrae, and ex- tending dovra the thigh — asisting in binding the leg, and turning it inward-giving it a rotatory motion, and also aitling ianany of die natui-jil actions of the horse. Next comes a broad, thi muscle, the gracilis, e, occupying the greater paion of the surface of the inner part of the thiijb and particularly the prominent part of it. It -ises from the lower portion of the haunch-bom and, in its passage downward uniting with the st muscle, is inserted with it into the inner and u^er part of the tibia. It acts with great mechanal disadvantage, but its power is equal to the tik. It bends the leg and rotates it inward. Still, on the inside of t\ thigh, and forming the posterior edge of the tL;li inwards, and con- tributing much to its bulk is another important muscle, the pectineiis. Pa of it acts with very great mechanical advantage uid powerfully flexes the thigh on the pelvis, ari lifts and bends the leg. It is one of the most eectual of the extensor muscles. Considering the eight of limb which it has to raise and flex, it haneed to possess great power. We now turn to some o the muscles that are evident to the eye on the oiside of the thigh. First is the f/lutceus e.'Tnus, situated in the liddle of the external part f the haunch. It is of a triangular figure, at -lied to the antero- luperior and to the uii'tri spines of the ilium, id is inserted into the su.ler outer prominence I the upper bone of the th h. Next is the great fceus muscle, arising liin the spinous and Bsverse processes of seval of the bones of the B, and from the sacrumaid from the different of the ilium, and inse ed into the great pro- ance of the upper bonof the thigh (p. ^63), ^d and a little above tt joint that unites the thigh to the haunch-bone. It is seen at c, in this cut. It constitutes the upper and outer pai't of the MDSCLKS OF THE ODTSIDE OF THE THIGU. haunch, and gives that fidness and rouudnesi which good judges so much admire in the quari the horse. It is one of the main instrume: progression. When the thigh has been brou; ward under the body by the muscles al described, the plain action of these glutsei mi is to extend the haunch, and force or p: body onward. To effect this they mustS powerful, and therefore they are so large from such an extensive surface. They ought to act at great mechanical advantage, and so, sense, they do. Springing from the loins an^ ilium and the sacrum, they act almost in a or perpendicular line ; in that line in which have seen that the greatest power is gained There is another and smaller glutmis niuscli under that which has been last described, arising likewise from the back of the ilium, inserted into the same protuberance of the thigh-bone, and assist- ing in the same office. It is not visible iti the cut. These muscles, as Mr. Percivall well explains it, are extensors either of the femoris upon the pelvis, or the pelvis and loins upon the hind quar- ter. When the limb has been carried in advance under the body by the muscles of the anterior F I- -i 442 THE HORSE. ■flexor metatarsi, or bender of tlie leg ; arising from the exteraal condyle of the os femoris, and inserted into the large and small metatarsal bones It is a muscle of considerable jjower, although disadvantageously situated, both as to its direction and its being inserted so near to the joint. It flexes the hock, the joint turning somewhat imvards. At A; is a short muscle extending from the upper to the lower thigh-bones (the popliteus), bending the stifle and turning the limb inward. These cuts represent the situation of some of the principal blood-vessels and nerves of the hind extremities. In the cut of the inside of the thigh, p. 438, p represents the course of the principal artery ; at q are blood-vessels belonging to the groin ; at r is the large cutaneous vein, or the vein immediately under the skin. The principal nerves on the fore part of the inside of the thigh pursue their course at t, in the direction of the subcutaneous vein ; and those of the posterior part are seen at s, while at u are those important ligamentous bands at the bending of the hock which confine the tendons. In the cut of the outside of the thigh, p. 489, p will give the course of the anterior arteries and veins ; q that of the principal nerves, and coming into sight below; and r the bands described in the former plate. Also, in the cut of the outside of the shoulder and arm, p. 420, the figm-es 1, 2, and 3, designate the places of the principal artery, nerve, and vein of the leg ; 4 gives the subcutaneous vein running ■within the arm ; and 5 the subcutaneous vein of the side of the chest. In the cut of the inside of the arm, p. 422, the lines above represent, in the order from the front, the principal nerves, arteries, and veins of the shoulder and arm ; and, on the muscles, k represents the principal subcutaneous vein of the inside of the arm, and i the artery by which it is accompanied. The stifle joint is not often subject to sprain. The heat and tenderness will guide to the seat of injury. Occasionally, dislocation of the patella has occurred, and the horse drags the injured limb after him, or rests it on the fetlock ; the aid of a veterinary surgeon is here requisite. The muscles of the inside of the thigh have sometimes been sprained. This may be detected by difiused heat, or heat on the inside of the thigh above the stifle. Rest, fomentations, bleedmg, and physic, will be the proper means of cure. THOKOHGH-PIN. Mention has been made of u-ind-gaJh and their treatment. A similar enlargement is found above the hock, between the tendons of the flexor of the foot and the extensor of the hock. As from its situation it must necessarily project on both sides of the hock, in the form of a round swelling, it is called a tlwrovglt-inn, a, p. 440. It is an in- dication of considerable work, but is rarely at- tended by lameness. The mode of treatment must resemble that for wind-galls. Although thorough- pin cannot, perhaps, be pronounced to be unsound- ness, it behoves the buyer to examine well a horse that is disfigured by it, and to ascertain whether undue work may not have injured him in other respects. THE HOCK. This is a most important joint, occasionally the evident, and much oftener the unsuspected seat of lameness, and the proper formation of \Yhich is essentially connected with the value of the horse. It answers to the ankle in the human being. The inferior head of the tibia is formed into two deep grooves, with three sharpened ridges, one se- pai'ating the grooves, and the other two constituting the sides of them. It is seen at a in the following cut. It rests upon a singularly-shaped bone, b, the astragalus, which has two chcular risings or projections, and, with a depression between them, answering exactly to the irregularities of the tibia. These are received and morticed into each other. At the posterior part its convex surface is re- ceived into a concavity near the base of another bone, and with which it is united by veiy strong ligaments. This bone, c, is called the os calcis, or bone of the heel, and it prjoects upwards, flattened at its sides, and receives, strongly im- planted into it, the tendons of powerful muscles. These bones rest on two others, the os cuboides, d (cube-formed), behind, and the larger cuneiform or wedge-shaped bone e, in front. The larger wedge-shaped bone is supported by two smaller ones, /, and these two smaller ones and the cu- boides by the upper heads of the shank-bone g, and the splint-bones h. The cuboides is placed on the external splint-bone, and the cannon-bone, or principal bone of the leg ; the small wedge- bone is principally evident on the inner splint- bone, not seen in the cut ; and the middle wedge- bone on the shank-bone only, g. These bones are all connected together by veiy strong liga- 1 ments, which prevent dislocation, but allow a slight degree of motion between them, and the surfaces which are opposed to each other are thickly covered by elastic cartilage. Considering the situation and action of this joint, the weight and stress thrown upon it must be exceedingly great, and it is necessarily liable to much injury in rapid and powerful motion. What are the provisions to prevent injuij ? The grooved or pulley -like heads of the tibia and the astragalus, received deeply into one another, and confined by powerful ligaments, admitting freely of liinge like THE HORSE. U3 action, but of uo side motion, to wliich the joint would otherwise be exposed in rajoid movement, or CUT OF THE UOCK. '^^ on an une\en suiface A shght inspection of the cut will show that the stress or weight throwni by the tibia a on the astragalus 6, does not descend perpendicularly, but in a slanting direction. By this much concussion is avoided, or more readily diffused among the different bones ; and, the joint consisting of six bones, each of them covered with elastic cartilage, and each admitting of a certain degree of motion, the diminished concus- sion is diffused among them all, and thereby neu- tralised and rendered comparatively harmless. Each of these bones is covered not onl}^ by cartilage, but by a membrane secreting synovia ; so that, in fact, these bones are formed into so many distinct joints, separated from each other, and thereby guarded from injury, yet united by various ligaments — possessing altogether sufficient motion, yet bound together so strongly as to defy dislocation. When, however, the work which this joint has to perform, and the thoughtlessness and cruelty with which that work is often exacted, are considered, it will not excite any sui-prise if this necessarily complicated mechanism is sometimes deranged. The hock, from its complicated struc- ture and its work, is the principal seat of lameness behind. ENLARGEMENT OF THE HOCK. First, there is inflammation, or sprain of the hochjoint generalhj, arising from sudden violent concussion, by some check at speed, or over- weight, and attended with enlargement of the whole joint, and great tenderness and lameness. This, however, like other diffused inflammations, is not so untractable as an intense one of a more circumscribed nature, and by rest and fomentation, or, perchance, firing, the limb recovers its action, and the horse becomes fit for ordinary work. The swelling, however, does not always subside. Enlargement, spread over the whole of the hock- joint, remains. A horse with an enlarged hock must always be regarded with suspicion. In truth, he is unsound. The parts, altered in structure, must be to a certain degree weakened. The animal may discharge his usual work during a long period, without return of lameness ; but if one of those emergencies should occur when all his energies require to be exerted, the disorganised and weak- ened part will fail. The purchase, therefore, of a horse with enlarged hock will depend on circum- stances. If he has other excellences, he will not be uniformly rejected ; for he may be ridden or driven moderately for many a year without inconvenience, yet one extra hard day's work may lame him for ever. CURB. There are often injuries of particular parts of the hock-joint. Curb is an affection of this kind. It is an enlargement at the back of the hock, three or four inches below its point. It is represented at d, p. 4-10, and it is either a strain of the ring-like ligament which binds the tendons in their place, or of the sheath of the tendons; oftener, however, of the ligament than of the sheath. Any sudden action of the limb of more than usual violence may produce it, and therefore horses are found to " throw out curbs" after a hardly-contested race, an extraordinaiy leap, a severe gallop over heavy ground, or a sudden check in the gallop. Young horses are particularly liable to it, and horses that are coic-hocked (vide cut, p. 440), — whose hocks and legs resemble those of the cow, the hocks being turned inward, and the legs forming a con- siderable angle outwards. This is intelligible enough ; for in hoclvs so formed, the annular liga- ment must be continually on the stretch, in order to contiue the tendon. lU THE HORSE. Curbs are generally accompanied by considerable lameness at their first appearance, but the swel- linfi; is not always great. They are best detected by observing the leg sideway. Tlie first oV>ject in attempting the cvu-e is to abate inflammation, and this will be most readily accomplished by cold evaporating lotions frequently applied to the part. Equal portions of spirit of wine, water, and vinegar, will afford an excellent application. It will be almost impossible to keep a bandage on. If the heat and lameness are considerable, it will be prudent to give a dose of physic, and to bleed from the subcutaneous vein, whose course is represented at r, page 438 ; and whether the injury is of the annular ligament, or the sheath of the tendon, more active means will be necessaiy to perfect the cure. Either a liquid blister should be rubbed on the part, consisting of a ^^nous or turpentine tinc- ture of cantharides, and this daily applied until some considerable swelling takes place ; or, what is tlie preferable plan, the hair should be cut off, and the part blistered as soon as the heat has been subdued. The blister should be repeated until the swelling has disappeared, and the horse goes sound. In severe cases it may be necessary to fire ; but a fair trial, however, should be given to milder measures. If the iron is used, it should be applied in straight lines. There are few lamenesses in which absolute and long-continued rest is more requisite. It leaves the parts materially weakened, and, if the horse is soon put to work again, the lameness will frequently return. No horse that has had curbs should be put even to ordinary work in less than a month after the apparent cure, and, even then, he sliould very gradually resume his former habits. A horse with a curb is manifestly unsound. A horse with the vestige of curb should be regarded with much suspicion, or generally condemned as unsound. Curb is also an hereditary complaint, and therefore a horse that has once suffered from it should always be regai-ded with suspicion, espe- cially if either of the parents has e.thibited it. BOG SPAVIN. The hock is plentifully furnished with reser- voirs of mucus to lubricate the different portions of this complicated joint. Some of these are found on the inside of the joint, which could not be represented in the cut, page 443. From over- exertion of the joint they become inflamed, and considerably enlarged. They are mnd-galls of the hock. The subcutaneous vein passes over the inside of the hock, and over some of these enlarged mucous reservoirs, and is compressed between them and the external integument, — the course of the blood is partially arrested, and a portion of the vein below the impediment, and between it and the next valve, is distended, and causes the soft tumour on the inside of the hock, called Bog or Blood spavin. This is a very serious disease, attended with no great, but often permanent lameness, and too apt to return when the enlargement has subsided under medical treatment. It must be considered as decided unsoundness. In a horse for slow draught it is scarcely worth while even to attack it. And in one destined to more rapid action, the probability of a relapse should not be forgotten, w'hen the chances of success and the expenses of treatment are calculated. The cause of the disease — the enlarged mucous capsule — lies deep, and is with difficulty operated upon. Uniform pressure would sometimes cause the absorption of the fluid contained in cysts or bags like these, but, in a joint of such extensive motion as the hook, it is difficult, or almost impos- sible, to confine the pressure on the precise spot at which it is required. Could it be made to bear on the enlarged bag, it would likewise press on the vein, and to a greater degree hinder the passage of the blood, and increase the dilatation below the obstruction. The old and absurd method of pass- ing a ligature above and below the enlarged portion of the vein, and then dissecting out the tumour, is not, in the advanced stage of veterinary science, practised by any surgeon who regards his reputa- tion. The only method of relief which holds out any promise even of temporary success is exciting considerable inflammation on the skin, and thus rousing the deeper seated absorbents to cany away the fluid etfused in the enlarged bag. For this purpose, blisters or firing may be tried ; but in the majority of cases the disease will bid defi- ance to all appliances, or will return and baffle our hopes when we had seemed to be accom2)lishing our object. A horse with bog spavin will do for ordinary work. He may draw in a cart, or trot fairly in a lighter carriage, with little detriment to his utility ; but he will never do for hard or rapid work. BONE SPAVIN. A still more formidable disease ranks under the name of Spavin, and is an affection of the bones of the hock-joint. It has been stated that the bones of the leg, the shank-bone g, page 443, and the two small splint-bones behind, h, support the lower layer of the bones of the hock. The cube-bone, d, rests principally on the shank-bone, and in a slight degree on the outer splint-bone. The middle wedge-bone, /, rests entirely upon the shank-bone, and the smaller wedge-bone presses (not seen in the cut) in a very slight degree on the shank-bone, but principally or almost entirely on the inner splint-bone. Then the spHnt-bones sus- THE HOUSE. 445 tain a very unequal degree of concussion and ■weight. Not only is the inner one placed more under the body and nearer the centre of gravity, but it has almost the whole of the weight and con- cussion communicated to the smaller cuneiform bone carried on to it. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at tliat, in the violent action of this joint in galloping, leaping, heavy draught, and especially in young horses, and before the limbs have become properly knit, the inner splint-bone, or its ligaments, or the substance which connects it with the shank-bone, should suffer material injury. The smith increases the tendency to this by his injudicious management of the feet. It is a common notion that cutting, and wounds in the feet — from one foot treading on the other — are prevented by putting on a shoe with a calkin on the outer heel, that is, the extremity of the heel being considerably raised from the ground. It is not unusual to see whole teams of horses with the outer heel of the hind foot considerably raised above the other. This unequal bearing, or distri- bution of the weight, cannot fail of being injurious. It places an unequal strain on the ligaments of the joints, and particularly of the hock-joint, and increases the tendency to spavin. The weight and concussion thus thrown on the inner splint-bone produce inflammation of the cartilaginous substance that unites it to the shank- bone. In consequence of it, the cartilage is absorbed, and bone deposited ; the union between the splint-bone and the shank becomes bony, instead of cartilaginous ; the degree of elastic action between them is destroyed, and there is formed a splint of the hind leg. This is uniformly on the inside of the hind leg, because the greatest weight and concussion are thrown on the inner splint-bones. As in the fore leg, the disposition to form bony matter having commenced, and the cause which produced it continuing to act, bone continues to be deposited, and it generally appears in the form of a tumour, where the head of the splint-bone is united with the shank, and in front of that imion. It is seen at c, page 440. This is called Bone Spavin. Inflammation of the liga- ments of any of the small bones of the hock, pro- ceeding to bony tumour, would equally class under the name of spavin ; but, commonly, the disease commences on the precise spot that has been described. While spavin is forming there is always lame- ness, and that frequently to a very great degree : but when the membrane of the bone has accomo- dated itself to the tumour that extended it, the lameness subsides or disappeai"s, or depends upon the degree in which the bony deposit interferes with the motion of the joint. It is well known to horsemen, that many a hunter, with spavin that would cause his rejection by a veterinary surgeon, stands his work without lameness. The explana- tion is this : there is no reason why an old bony tumour on the outside of any of the bones of the hock, free from connexion with the next bone, and from any tendon, should be at all injurious; as, for instance, one immediately under e or/, p. 443 : but from the complicated nature of the liock, it is difficult, if not impossible, to be quite sure of the place, or extent, from inspection, of the tumour, and, besides, the disposition to throw out bone covered by the tumour, may continue and extend to the joint. The surgeon, therefore, cannot be perfectly safe in pronouncing a bone spavin to be of no consequence. Horses with exceedingly large spavins are often seen that are only slightly lame, or that merely have a stiffness in their gait at first starting, but which gradually goes off after a little motion; while others, with the bony tumour comparatively small, have the lameness so great as to destroy the usefulness of the horse. There is always this peculiarity in the lameness of spavin, that it abates, and sometimes disappears, on exer- cise ; and, therefore, a horse with regard to which there is any suspicion of this affection should be examined when first in the morning it is taken from the stable. If the spavin continues to increase, the bony deposit first spreads over the lower wedge-bones /, p. 44-3, for these are nearest to its original seat. They are capable of slight motion, and share in every action of the joint, but their principal design is to obviate concussion. The chief motion of the joint, and that compared with which the motion of the other bones is scarcely to be regarded, is confined to the tibia «, and the astragalus h, and therefore stiffness rather than lameness may ac- company spavin, even when it is beginning to affect the small bones of the joint. Hence, too, is the advantage of these bones having each its sepa- rate ligaments and membranes, and constituting so many distinct joints, since injury may happen to some of them, without the effect being propagated to the rest. When the bony deposit continues to enlarge, and takes in the second layer of bones — the larger wedge-bones e — and even spreads to the cuboid bones on the other side, the lameness may not be veiy great, because these are joints, or parts of the joint, in which the motion is small : but when it extends to the union of the tibia a, and the astragalus h — when the joint, in which is the chief motion of the hock, is attacked — the lame- ness is indeed formidable, and the horse becomes nearly quite useless. Spavined horses are generally capable of slow work. Tbey are equal to the greater part of the work of the farm, and therefore they shoidd not be always rejected by the small farmer, as they may generally be procured at little price. These 446 THE HOESE. horses are not only capable of agricultural ^York, but they generally improve under it. The lame- ness in some degree abates, and even the bony tumour to a certain degree diminishes. There is sufficient moderate motion and friction of the limb to rouse the absorbents to action, and cause them to take up a portion of the bony matter thrown out, but not enough to renew or prolong inflammation. It cannot be said that the plough affords a cure for spavin, but the spavined horse often materially im- proves while working at it. For fast work, and for work that must be regu- larly performed, spavined horses are not well cal- culated ; for this lameness behind produces great difficulty in rising, and the consciousness that he ■will not be able to rise without painful effort occa- sionally prevents the horse from lying down at all ; and the animal that cannot rest well, cannot long travel far or fast. The treatment of spavin is simple enough, but far from being always effectual. The owner of the horse will neither consult his own interest nor the dictates of humanity, if he suffers the chisel and mallet, or the gimlet, or the pointed iron, or arsenic, to be used ; yet measures of considerable severity must be resorted to. Repeated blisters will usually cause either the absorption of the bony deposit, or the abatement or removal of the inflam- mation of the ligaments, or, as a last resource, the heated iron may be applied. The account of the diseases of the hock is not yet completed. It is well known that the horse is frequently subject to lameness behind, when no ostensible cause for it can be found, and there is no external heat or enlargement to indicate its seat. Farriers and grooms pronounce these to be affections of the stifle, or round bone ; or, if the gait of the horse and peculiar stiffness of motion point out the hock as the affected part, yet the joint may be of its natural size, and neither heat nor tenderness can be discovered. The groom has his own method of unravelling the mystery. He says that it is the beginning of spavin ; but months and years pass away, and the spavin does not appear, and the horse is at length destroyed as incurably lame. Horsemen are indebted to Mr. W. J. Goodwin, V.S. to Her Majesty, for the discovery of the seat of frequent lameness behind. The cut, p. 443, represents the two layers of small bones within the hock — the larger wedge-like bone e, above ; and the middle /, and the smaller one below, and it will be seen that almost the whole of the weight of the horse, communicated by the tibia a, is thrown upon these bones. The cube-bone d does little more than support the point of the hock c. It is then easy to imagine that, in the concussion of hard work or rapid travelling, these bones, or the delicate and sensible membranes iu which they are wrapped, may be severely injured. Repeated dissections of horses that have been incurably lame behind, without anything external, during life, to point out the place or cause of lameness, have shown that inflammation of the membranes lining these joints, and secreting the fluid that lubricates them, has taken place.* Mr. Goodwin narrates a very interesting case in corroboration of this account of hock lameness. The author of this work had the honour cjf being present when the examination took place. " The patient was a harness horse of unusual perfection, both in shape and action, and was a great favourite with an illustrious personage. He suddenly be- came lame behind on the off leg, but without the least accident or alteration of structure to acco3 extent the expansion of the foot. Wlien the foot is placed on the ground, and the weight of the animal is thrown on the leaves of whii^h mention has just been made, these arches will shorten and widen, in order to admit of the expansion of the quarters — the bow returning to its natural curve, aiul powerfully assisting the foot in regaining its usual form. It can also be conceived that these bars must form a powerful protection against the contraction, or u'iring in, of the quarters. A mo- ment's inspection of the cut {aee g, p. 4.51) will show that, if the bars are taken away, there will be nothing to resist the contraction or falling in of the quarters when the foot is exposed to any disease or bad management that would induce it to con- tract. One moment's observation of them will also render evident the security which they afford to the frog (/), and the effectual protection which they give to the lateral portions of the foot. Then appears the necessity of jiassing lightly over them, and leaving prominent, when the foot is pared for shoeing, that which so many smiths cut perfectly away. They imagine that it gives a more open appearance to the foot of the horse. Horses shod for the purpose of sale have usually the bars removed with this view ; and the smiths in the neighbourhood of the metropolis and large towns, shoeing for dealers, too often habitually piursue, with regard to all their customers, the in- jui'ious practice of removing the bars. The hornj' frog, deprived of its guard, will speedily contract, and become elevated and thrushy ; and the whole of the heel, having lost the power of resilience, or reaction, which the curve between the bar c and the crust rf gave it (vide p. 451, cut), will speedily fall in. THE HOENT LAMIN-E. The inside of the cn management of the farmer's horse that is often turned out after his daily task is ex- acted, or whose work is generally performed where the feet are exposed to moisture, is an excellent preventive against contraction. Some persons have complained much of the influence of litter. If the horse stands many hours in the day with his feet imbedded in straw, it is supposed that the hoof must be unnaturally heated ; and it is said that the horn will contract under the influence of heat. It is seldom, however, that the foot is so surrounded by the litter that its heat will be sufficiently increased to produce this effect. It will be difficult to produce the case in which con- traction, or thmsh, or tenderness, have been pro- duced by the horse standing on dry litter. There THE HORSE. 461 are thousands of horses that stand upon straw twenty hours out of the tw^ent3'-four, without receiv- ing the slightest injury from it. The autlior of this work is not one of those who would, during the day, remove all litter from under the horse. It gives a naked and uncomfortable appearance to the stable. There is a considerable difference in our own feelings whether we stand for an hour or two on the hard stones, or a soft carpet, and especially whether we beat our feet upon the one or the other. Humanity and a proper care of the foot of the horse should induce the owner to keep some litter under the animal during the day ; but his feet need not sink so deeply in it that their temperature be- comes much affected. If the straw is suffered to remain until it is wet, hot, and rotten, the effluvia jiroceeding from it may produce cough, or inflam- mation of the eyes, or thrushes in the feet ; but a light bed of straw, with tolerable attention to clean- liness, can never do harm. " There are horses," says Professor Stewart, " that, in the habit of paw- ing and stamping, slip about and sometimes lame themselves on the bare stones ; many disposed to lie down during the day, will not, or ought not, to do it, with a slight portion of litter under them. It is a frequent observation with regard to road horses, and many others, that the more a horse lies the better he works. Lame or tender-footed horses cannot lie too much, and a great deal of standing- ruins the best legs and feet. Some horses, indeed, do not need this day-bedding, but many are the better for it, and none are the worse."* Thrushes are much oftener the consequence than the cause of contraction. The horny frog, yielding to the pressure of the contracted quarters, is diminished in size, and the lower portion of the fleshy frog becomes iinprisoned, irritated, and in- flamed, and pus or matter is discharged at the cleft ; yet there are many heels in the last stage of con- traction that are not thrushy. On the other hand, thrush never long existed, accompanied by much discharge, without producing a disposition to con- traction ; therefore, thrush may be considei'ed as both the cause and consequence of "contraction. The removal of the bars takes away a main impediment to contraction. Their use in assisting tlie expansion of the foot has been already stated, and should a disposition to contraction be produced by any other cause, the cutting aviaj of the bars would hasten and aggravate the e\il ; but the loss of the bar would not of itself produce contraction. The contraction, however, that is connected with permanent lameness, although increased by the circumstances which we have mentioned, usually derives its origin from a different source, and from one that acts violently and suddenly. Inflamma- tion of the little plates covering the coflin-bone is the most usual cause ; and a degree of inflammation • Stewart's Stable Economy, p. ]39. not sufficiently intense to be characteristd as acute founder, but quickly leading to sad results, may and does spring from causes almost unsuspected. There is one fact to which we have alluded, and that cannot be doubted, that contraction is exceed- ingly rare in the agricultural horse, but frequently occurs in the stable of the gentleman and the coach-proprietor. It is rare where the horse is seemingly neglected and badly shod ; and frequent where every care is taken of the animal, and the shoes are unexceptionable and skilfully applied. Something may depend upon the breed. Blood horses are particularly liable to contraction. Not only is the foot naturally small, but it is disposed to become narrower at the heels. On the other hand, the broad, flat foot of the cart-horse is subject to diseases enough, but contraction is seldom one of the number.f In horses of equal blood not a little seems to depend upon the colour, and the dark chesnut is proverbially prone to con- traction. Whatever is the cause of that rapid contraction or narrowing of the heels which is accom25anied by severe lameness, the symptoms may be easily dis- tinguished. While standing in the stable the horse will point with, or place forward, the contracted foot, or, if both feet are affected, he will alternately place one before the other. When he is taken out of the stable, he will not, perhaps, exhibit the de- cided lameness which characterises sprain of the flexor tendon, or some diseases of the foot ; but his step will be peculiarly short and quick, and the feet will be placed gently and tenderly on the ground, or scarcely lifted from it in the walk or the trot. It would seem as if the slightest irregularity of surface would throw the animal down, and so it threatens to do, for he is constantly tripping and stumbling. If the fore feet are carefully observed, one or both of them will be narrowed across the quarters and towards the heels. In a few cases the whole of the foot appears to be contracted and shrunli ; but in the majority of instances, while tlie heels are narrower, the foot is longer. The con- traction appears sometimes in both heels : at other times in the inner heel only ; or, if both are affected, the inner one is wired in the most, either from the coronet to the base of the foot, or only or principally at the coronet — oftener near the base of the foot — but in most cases the hollow being gi-eatest about + A vjilni ,1 r.ir;, OM>n-h!it sviggcsts, that the difference between these two l-i: ■ i i, - ^ may perhaps throw some light on the subjec^t. 11. liid and heavy pressure on the frog in the cart-hol.^. i ..ui;iLc^ '.■.•>-iiieation of the cartilages from which Uie blood-horse ij. free. In the quiclincss of the action of the blond- horse, the expansion of the frog is not sufficiently continued to pro- duce this efleci : hut the concussion is severe, and the frog and the shorter lumiua towards the heel are the first to suffer, and contrac- tion ensues. We do not find contraction in the hind feet, where there is little contraction, nor ossification, because the pressure is chiefly on the toe. Quick draught horses have it both ways, but chielly in contraelioii. The reader will form his own opinion on this subject. 4 02 THE HORSE. mid-way between the coronet and the bottom of the foot. This irregulaiity of contraction, and uncer- tainty as to the place of it, prove that it is some internal disorganization, the seat of which varies with the portion of the attachment between the hoof and the foot that was principally strained or injured. In every recent case the contracted part will be hotter- than the rest of the foot, and the sole toII, in the majority of cases, be unnaturally concave. Of the treatment of contraction attended with lameness, little can be said that will be satisfactory. Numberless have been the mechanical contrivances to oppose the progress of contraction, or to force back the foot to its original shape, and many of them have enjoyed considerable but short-lived reputation. A clip was placed at the inside of each heel, which, resting on the bars, was intended to afford an insurmountable obstacle to the further wu-ing in of the foot, while the heels of the shoe were bevelled outward in order to give the foot a tendency to expand. The foot, however, continued to contract, until the clip was imbedded in the horn, and worse lameness was produced. A shoe jointed at the toe, and with a screw adapted to the heels, was contrived,by which, when softened by poulticing, or immei'sion in wai'm water, the quartei-s were to be irresistibly widened. They were widened by the daily and cautious use of the screw until the foot seemed to assume its natural form, and the inventor began to exult in having discovered a cure for contraction : but, no sooner was the common shoe again applied, and the horse had returned to his work, than the heels began to narrow, and the foot became as contracted as ever. Common sense would have foretold that such must have been the result of this expansive process ; for the heels could have been only thus forced asunder at the expense of partial or total separation from the interior portions of the foot with which ihej were in contact. The contracted heel can rarely or never perma- nently expand, for this plain reason, that although we may have power over the crust, we cannot renew the laminse, or restore the portion of the frog that has been absorbed. If the action of the horse is not materially impaired, it is better to let the contraction alone, be it as great as it will. If the contraction has evidently produced considerable lameness, the owuer of the horse will have to calculate between his value if cured, the expense of the cure, and the probability of failure. The medical treatment should alone be undei'- taken by a sldlful veterinary surgeon, and it will principally consist in abating any mflammation that may exist, by local bleeding and physic, paring the sole to the utmost extent that it will bear ; rasping the quarters as deeply as can be, without their being too much weakened, or the coronary ring (see- b, p. 4.33) injured ; rasping deeply likewise at the toe, and perhaps scoring at the toe. The horse is afterwards made to stand during the day in wet clay, placed in one of the stalls. He is at night moved into another stall, and his feet bound up thickly in wet cloths ; or he is turned out into wet pasturage, with tips, or, if possible^ without them, and his feet are frequently pared out, and the quarters lightly rasped. In five or six months the horn will generally have grown do^\Ti, when he may be taken up, and shod with shoes unattached by nails on the inner side of the foot, and put to gentle work. The foot will be found very considerably enlarged, and the owner will, perhaps, think that the cure is accomplished. The horse may, possibly, for a time stand very gentle work, and the inner side of the foot being left at liberty, its natural expansive process may be resumed : the internal part of the foot, however, has not been healthily filled up ^vith the expansion of the crust. If that expansion has been effected forward on the quarters, the crust will no longer be in contact with the lengthened and narrowed heels of the coffin-bone. There will not be the natural adhesion and strength, and a very slight cause, or even the very habit of contraction, will, in spite of all care and the free- dom of the inner quarter, in very many instances, cause the foot to wire in again as badly as before. THE NAVICDLAR-JOIST DISEASE. Many liorses with well-formed and open feet become sadly and permanently lame, and vete- rinary surgeons have been puzzled to discover tlie cause. The farrier has had his convenient exj^la- nation "the shoulder;" but the scientific jsracti- tioner may not have been able to discover an os- tensible cause of lameness in the whole limb. There is no one accustomed to horses who does not recollect an instance of this. By reference to the cut, e, p. 433, it will be seen that, behind and beneath the lower pastern- bone, and behind and above the heel of the coffin- bone, is a small bone called the navicular or shuttle bone. It is so placed as to strengthen the union between the lower pastern and the coffin-bone, and to enable the flexor tendon, which passes over it in order to be inserted into the bottom of the coffin-bone, to act with more advan- tage. It forms a kind of joint with that tendon. There is a great deal of weight thrown on the navicular-bone, and from the navicular-bone on the tendon ; and there is a great deal of motion or play between them in the bending and extension of the pasterns. It is very easy to conceive that, from sudden concussion, or from rapid and over- strained motion, and that, perhaps, after the animal has been sometime at rest, and the parts have not adapted themselves for motion, there THE HOUKE. 40 '3 may be too much play liehveen the bone and the tendon — the dehcate membrane which covers the bone, or the cartilage of the bone, may be bruised, and inflamed, and destroyed ; that all the painful effects of an inflamed and open joint may ensue, and the horse be irrecoverably lame. Numerous dissections have shown that this joint, formed by the tendon and the bone, has been the frequent, and the almost invariable, seat of these obscure lamenesses. The membrane covering the carti- lage of the bone has been found in an ulcerated state ; the cartilage itself has been ulcerated and eaten away ; the bone has become carious or de- cayed, and bony adhesions have taken place be- tween the navicular and the pastern and the coffin-bones, and this part of the foot has often become completely disorganised and useless. This joint is probably the seat of lameness, not only in well-formed and perfect feet, but in those which become lame after contraction ; for in proportion as the inner frog is compressed by the contraction of the heels, and is absorbed by that pressure, and the sole is become concave, and the horny frog, and the coffin-bone too, thereby elevated, there will be less room for the action of this joint, and more danger of the tendon and the delicate mem- brane of the navioular-bone being cnished be- tween that bone and the homy frog. Stable management has little to do with the production of this disease, any farther than if a horse stands idle in the stable several days, and the structure of the foot, and all the apparatus connected with motion, become unused to exer- tion, and indisposed for it, and he is then sud- denly and violently exercised, this membrane is very liable to be bniised and injured. This, amongst other evils, will be lessened by a loose box, in which a horse will always take some exercise.* The cure of navicular disease is difficult and uncertain. The first and all-important point is the removal of the inflammation in this very sus- ceptible membrane. Local bleediug, poidtioiug, and physic will be bur principal resources. If there is contraction, this must, if possible, be re- moved by the means already pointed out. If * To Mr. James TLiiner the veterinary profession is indebted for a knowledije of the seat and cunse of tLis lameness. In the year 1816 he first alluded to it, and the tiuth and importance of his discovery is now universally allowed. According to Mr. Turner, conti-action of the hoof is more or less apparent in the majority of horses that have been accustomed to be shod. This is often long before they have attained the highest value for work, and not unfreqiiently before they are five years old. This contraction is not, however, necessarily con- nected with lameness — a large proportion of horses in the very miclst of labour are perfectly free from lameness. The next deviation from nature is the passive state to which the foot is submitted at least twenty-two or twenty.thi'ee hours out iif the twenty-four, and sometimes for several ctmsecutive days. Let this be compared with the few hours during which the feet of a horse at paslui-e are in a quiescent state, and there will be no cause of surprise in tlie chai'ge of form and position, and cha- there is no contraction, it will nevertheless bo prudent to get rid of all surrounding pressure, and to unfetter, as much as possible, the inside heel of the colEn-bone, by paring the sole and i-asping the quarters, and using the shoe without nails on the inner quarter, and ajiplying cold poultices to the coronet and the whole of the foot. Thi.s is a case, however, which must be turned over to the veterinary surgeon, for be tdone, from his know- ledge of the anatomy of the foot, and the precise seat of the disease, is competent to treat it. If attacked on its earliest appearance, and before ulceration of the membrane of the joint has taken place, it may be radically cured : but ulceration of the membrane -nill be with difficulty healed, and caries of the bone will for ever remain. Blistering the coronet will often assist in pro- moting a cure by diverting the inflammation to another part, and it will materially quicken the growth of the horn. A setou passed through the frog by a skilful operator, and approaching as nearly as possible to the seat of disease, has been seiwiceable. In cases of old contraction, attended by a short and feeling step, neurotomy, or the excision of a portion of the nerve (for an explanation of the nature and effects of which see p. '299), may be resorted to with decided advantage. Not only will the lameness be removed, but, by the foot being again brought fidly and firmly upon the ground, the inner side of the shoe being unfet- tered by nails, a portion of the contraction may be removed by the sole being allowed to descend and the foot to expand at each contact with the ground. Even when the navioular-joint is particularly suspected, if there is no apparent inflammation (and that would be readily detected by the heat of the foot), neurotomy may be practised with tlie hope of alleviating the sufferings of the animal, and thus removing a portion of the lameness ; but if the lameness is extreme, either with or without contraction, and especially if there is heat about the foot, the operation is dangerous. There is, probably, ulceration of the membrane — possibly, decay of the bone ; and the additional friction to which the parts would be subjected, by the freer racter, and the state of contraction — which takes place in the foot deprived of its natural pressure and motion. The first consequence of contraction is the gradual displace- ment of the navicular and coifin bones. They ascend within the hoof An unnatural arch is formed by the ascent of the frog, and the delicate synovial membrane lining the joint is crushed and bruised by the very material which nature has bestowed as a de- fence. This bruise of the synovial membrane lining the joint is the veiitable source of this complaint, the actual cause of the whole not consisting in the wear and tear of the part, but having its origin in rest. It is engendered in the stable, but it becomes permanently established by sudden violence out of it. General contraction of the foot of tlie horse may take place to a great ex- tent with comparative impunity, but it is a partial contraction or pressure which is the root of the evil. — Turner on ihc Xavkular Disease, Veterinarian, vol. ii.,p. o3. IG4 THE HORSE. action of the horse, the sense of pain being re- moved, would cause that ulceration or decaj to proceed more rapidly until the foot would be com- pletely disorganised, or the tendon would be gra- dually worn through by rubbing against the roughened surface of the bone. SAND-CKACK. This, as its name imports, is a crack or divi- sion of the hoof from above downward, and into which sand and dirt are too apt to insinuate themselves. It is so called, because it most fre- quently occurs in sandy districts, the heat of the sand applied to the feet giving them a disposition to crack. It occurs both in the fore and the hind feet. In the fore feet it is usually found in the inner quarter (see g, p. 4301, but occasionally in the outer quarter, because there is the jDrincipal stress or effort towards expansion in the foot, and the inner quarter is weaker than the outer. In the hind feet the crack is almost invariably found in the front, because in the digging of the toe into the ground in the act of drawing, the prin- cipal stress is in front. This is a most serious defect. It indicates a brittleness of the crust, sometimes natural, but oftener the consequence of mismanagement or disease, which, in spite of every means adopted, will probably be the source of future annoyance. On a hoof that has once been thus divided no de- jiendence can be placed, unless, by great care, the natural suppleness of the horn has been restored and is I'etained. Sand-crack may happen in an instant from a false step or over-exertion, and therefore a horse, although he may spring a sand-crack within an hour after the purchase, cannot be returned on that account. It is always necessary to examine the inner quarter of the foot at the time of pm-chase, for it has more than once occuiTsd that, by low dealers, and particularly at fairs, a sand-crack has been neatly covered with pitch, and then, the whole of the hoof having been oiled, the injury was so adroitly concealed that an incautious person might be easily deceived. Tlie crack sometimes does not penetrate through the horn. It then causes no lameness ; nevertheless, it must not be neglected. It shows that there is brittleness, which should induce the purchaser to pause ; and, if proper means are not taken, it will generally soon penetrate to the quick. It should be pared or rasped fairly out ; and if the paring or rasping has been deep, the foot should be strengthened by a coating of pitch, with coarse tape bound over it, and a second coating of pitch covering this. Every crack should be pared or rasped to ascertain its depth. If it penetrates through the crust, even although no lameness exists, a firing-ii-on, red-hot, should be passed somewhat deeply above and below it, in order to prevent its lengthening — the edges should lie thinned to remove any painful or injurious pressure, and the foot should be bound up in the manner directed, care being taken that the shoe does not press upon the crust immediately under the sand-crack. If the crack has penetrated through the ciiist, and lameness has ensued, the case is more serious. It must be carefully examined, in order to ascer- tain that no dirt or sand has got into it ; the edges must be more considerably thinned, and if any fungus is beginning to pirotrude through the crack, and is imprisoned there, it must be destroyed by the application of the butyr (chloride) of antimony. This is preferable to the cautery, because the edges of the born will not be thickened or rough- ened, and thus become a source of after-irritation. The iron must then be run deeply across, above, and below the crack, as in the other case ; a pledget of dry tow being placed in the crack, in and over it, and the whole bomid down as tightly as possible. On the third day the part should be examined, and the caustic again applied if neces- sary : but if the crack is dr3% and defended by a hard homy crust, the sooner the pitch plaster is put on the better. The most serious case is, when, from tread or neglect, the coronet is divided. The growth of horn proceeds from the coronaiy ligament, and unless this ligament is sound the horn will grow down dismiited. The method to be here adopted is to run the back of the firing-iron over the coro- net where it is divided. Some inflammation ^vill ensue ; and when the scab produced by the cauteiy peels off, as it will in a few days, the division will be obliterated, and sound and united horn ■will grow down. When there is sufficient horn above the crack, a horizontal line should be drawn with a firing-iron between the sound horn and the crack. The connexion between the sound part and the crack will thus be prevented, and the new horn will gradually and safely descend, but the horse should not be used until sufficient horn has grown down fairly to isolate the crack. In this case, as in almost every one of sand-crack, the horse should be kept as quiet as possible. It is not in the power of the surgeon to effect a perfect cure, if the owner will continue to use the animal. When the horn is divided at the coronet, it will be five or six months before it will grow fairly down, and not before that, should the animal be used even for ordinary work. When, however, the horn has grown an inch from the coronet, the horse may be turned out — the foot being well de- fended by the pitch plaster, and that renewed as often as it becomes loose — a bar-shoe being worn, chambered so as not to press upon the hoof imme- THE HORSE. 4C5 (liately under the crack, and that shoe being taken off, the sole pared out, and any bulbous projection of new horn being removed once in every three weeks. To remedy the undue brittleness of the hoof, there is no better application than that recom- mended in page 457, the sole being covered at the same time with the common cow-dung or felt stopping. TEEAD AND OVEB-EEACU. Under these terms are comprised bruises and ■wound of the coronet, inflicted by the other feet. A Tread is said to have taken place when the inside of the coronet of one hind foot is struck by the calldu of the shoe of the other, and a bruised or contused wound is inflicted. The coronary ring is highly vascular externally, and within it is car- tilaginous ; the blow, therefore, often produces much pain and hemorrhage, and contusion and destruction of the parts. The womid may appear to be simple, but it is often of a sadly complicated natm-e, and much time and care will need to be expended in repairing the mischief. Mr. Perci- vall veiy accurately states that " the wound has, in the first place, to cast oft' a slough, consisting of the bruised, separated, aud deadened parts ; then the chasm thereby exposed has to granulate ; and finally, the sore has to cicatrize and form new lioni."-' A tread, or wound of the coronet, must never be neglected, lest gravel should insinuate itself into the wound, and form deep ulcerations, called sinuses or jjijics, and which constitute quittor. Although some mildly stimulating escharotic may be occasionally required, the caustic, too frequently used by farriers, should be carefully avoided, not only lest quittor should be formed, but lest the coronary ligament should be so injured as to be afterwards incapable of secreting perfect horn. When properly treated, a tread is seldom produc- tive of much injury. If the dirt is well washed out of it, and a pledget of tow, dipped in Friar's balsam, bound over the wound, it will, in the ma- jority of cases, speedily heal. Should the bruise be extensive or the wound deep, a poultice may be applied for one or two days, and then the Friar's balsam, or digestive ointment. Sometimes a soft tumour will form ou the part, which will be quickly brought to suppui'ation by a poultice ; and when the matter has run out, the ulcer will heal by the application of the Friar's balsam, or a weak solution of blue vitriol. An Over-reach is a tread upon the heel of the coronet of the fore foot by the shoe of the corres- ponding hind foot, and either inflicted by the toe or by the inner edge of the inside of the shoe. * Pcrcivall'sHippopathoIogy, vol. i., p. 2JS. The preventive treatment is the bevelling, or rounding off, of the inside edge or rim of the hind shoes. The cure is, the cutting away of the loose parts, the application of Friar's balsam, and pro- tection from the dirt. There is a singular species of over-reaching, termed Forging or Clicking. The horse, in the act of trotting, strikes the toes of the hind shoes against the fore ones. The noise of the clicking is unpleasant, and the trick or habit is not altoge- ther free from danger. It is most frequent in young horses, and is attributable to too great acti- vity or length of stride in the hind legs. The rider may do something by keeping the head of the horse well up ; but the smith can effect more by making the hind shoes of clicking horses short in the toe, and having the web broad. When they are too long, they are apt to be torn off — when too narrow, the hind foot may bi-uise the sole of the fore one, or may be locked fast between the branches of the fore shoe.f FALSE QUAETEE. If the coronary ligament, by which the hom of the crast is secreted, is divided by some cut or bruise, or eaten through by any caustic, there will occasionally be a division in the horn as it grows down, either in the form of a pemiauent sand- crack, or one portion of the hom overlapping the other. It occasionally follows neglected sand- crack, or it may be the consequence of quittor. This is exteriorly an evident fissure in the hom, and extending from the coronet to the sole, but not always penetrating to the laminfe. It is a very serious defect, and exceedingly difficult to remedy; for occasionally, if the horse is over-weighted or hurried on his journey, the fissure will open and bleed, and very serious inconvenience and lameness may ensue. Grit and dii't may insinuate itself into the aperture, and penetrate to the sensible lamin®. Inflammation will almost of necessity be produced ; and much mischief will be effected. 'While the energies of the animal are not severely taxed, he may not experience much inconvenience or pain; but' the slightest exertion will cause the fissui-e to expand, and painful lameness to follow. This is not only a vei-y serious defect, but one exceedingly difliciilt to remedy. The coronary ligament must be restored to its perfect state, or at° least to the discharge of its perfect function Much danger would attend the application of the caustic in order to effect this. A bhster is rarely sufficiently active: but the application, not too severely, of a heated flat or rounded iron to the coronet, at the injured part, affords the best chance of success — the edges of the horn on either side of the crack being thinned, the hoof supported, + Stewart's Stable Economy, p. 3U3. 460 THE HORSE. and the separated parts held together by a firm encasement of pitch, as described when speaking of the treatment of sand-crack. The coronet must be examined at least once in every fortnight, in order to ascertain whether the desired union has taken place ; and, as a palliative during the treatment of the case, or if the treatment should he unsuccessful, a bar-shoe may be used, and care taken that there be no bearing at or immediately under the separation of the horn. This will be best effected, when the crust is thick and the quar- ters strong, by piaring off a little of the bottom of the crust at the part, so that it shall not touch the shoe ; but if the foot is weak, an indentation or hollow should be made in the shoe. Strain or con- cussion on the immediate part will thus be avoided, and, in sudden.or violent exertion, the crack will not be so likely to extend upward to the coronet, when whole and somid horn has begun to be formed there- in some cases false quarter assumes a less serious character. The horn grows down whole, but the ligament is unable to secrete that which is perfectly healthy, and, therefore, a narrow-slip of horn of a different and lighter colour is produced. This is sometimes the best result that can be jDro- cured when the surgeon has been able to obliterate the absolute crack or separation. It is, however, to be regarded as a defect, not sufficient to con- demn the horse, but indicating that he has had sand-crack, and that a disposition to sand-crack may possibly remain. There will also, in the generality of cases, be some degree of tenderness in that quarter, which may produce slight lameness when unusual exertion is required from the horse, or the shoe is suffered long to press on the part. QtllTTOR. This has been described as being the result of neglected or bad tread or over-reach ; but it may be the consequence of any wound in the foot, and in any part of the foot. In the natural process of ulceration, matter is thrown out from the wound. It precedes the actual healing of the part. The matter which is secreted in wounds of the foot is usually pent up there, and, increasing in quantity, and urging its way in every direction, it forces the little fleshy plates of the coffin-bone, from the horny ones of the crust, or the horny sole from the fleshy sole, or even eats deeply into the internal parts of the foot. These pipes or sinuses run in every direction, and constitute the essence oiquittor. * James Chirk, wLose works have not been valued as they deserve, expresses in few words the real state of the case, and the course that should be pursued : — " We may so far palbate the complaint as to render the horse sometiiing useful by using a shoe of sucli a construction as will support the limb without resting or pressing too much upon the weakened quarter." A proper slopping should also cover the sole, on which some coarse tnw may be pliiced, and a piece of leather over that ; the whole being coniincd by a broad web-shoe. If it arises from a wound at the bottom of the foot, the purulent matter which is rapidly formed is pent up there, and the nail of the shoe or the stub remains in the wound, or the small aperture which was made is immediately closed again. This mat- ter, however, continues to be secreted, and separates, the horny sole from the fleshy one to a considerable extent, and at length forces its way upwards, and appears at the coronet, and usually at the quarter, and there slowly oozes out, while the aperture and the quantity discharged are so small 'that the inex- jDerieuced would have no suspicion of the extentef the mischief within, and the difficulty of repairing it. The opening may scarcely admit a probe into it, yet over the greater part of the quarter and the sole the horn may have separated from the foot, and the matter may have penetrated under the carti- lages and ligaments, and into the coffin-joint. Not only so, but two mischievous results may. have been produced, — the pressure of the matter wherever it has gone has formed. ulcerations thatare indisposed to heal, and that .require the application of strong and painful stimulants to induce them to heal ; and, worse than this, the horn, once separated from the sensible parts beneath, will never again unite ■ with them. Quitter may occur in both the fore and the hind feet. It will be sufficiently plain that the aid of a skilful practitioner is here requisite, and also the full exercise of patience in the proprietor of the horse. It may te necessary to remove much of the homy sole, which will be speedily reproduced when the fleshy surface beneath can be brought to a healthy condition ; but if much of the horn at the quarters must be taken away, five or six months may probably elapse before it will be sufficiently grown down agam to render the horse useful. Measures of considerable severity are indispen- sable. The application of some caustic will alone produce a healthy action on the ulcerated surfaces ; but on the ground of interest and of humanity we protest against that brtital practice, or at least the extent to which it is carried, that is pursued by many ignorant smiths, of coring out, or deeply destroying the healthy as well as the diseased parts — and parts whi(di no process will again restore. The unhealthy surface must be removed ; but the cartilages and ligaments, and even portions of the bone, need not to be sacrificed. The experienced veterinary surgeon will alone be able to counsel the proprietor of the horse when, in cases of confirmed quitter, there is reasonable hope of permanent cure. A knowledge of the anatomy of the foot is necessary to enable him to decide what jmrts, indispensable to the action of the animal, may have been irreparably injured or de- stroyed, or to save these parts from the destructive effect of torturing caustics. When any portion of the bone can be felt by the probe the chances of THE HORSE. 4C7 success are diminished, and the owner and the operator should pause. When the joints are ex- posed, the case is hopeless, althougli, in a great many iustancesi, the hones and the joints are e.\- posed hy the remedy and not by the disease. One hint may not be necessary to the practitioner, but it may guide the determination and hopes of the owner : if, when a probe is introduced into the fis- tulous orifice on the coronet, the direction of the sinuses or jnjies is backward, there is much proba- bility that a perfect cure may be effected ; but if the direction of tlie sinuses is forward, the cure is at best doubtful. In the first instance, there is neither bone nor joint to be injured ; in the other, the more important parts of the foot are ui danger, and the principal action and concussion are found. Neglected bruises of the sole sometimes lay the foundation for quittor. When the foot is flat, it is very liable to be hniised if the horse is ridden fast over a rough and stony road ; or, a small stone, insi- nuating itself between the shoe and the sole, or con- fined hy the curvature of the shoe, will frequently lame the horse: The heat and tenderness of the part, the occasional redness of the horn, and-the absence of puncture, will clearly mark the bruise. The sole must then be thinned, and particularly over the bruised jiart, and, in neglected oases, it must be pared even to the quick, in order to ascer- tain whether the inflammation has run on to sup- puration. Bleeding at the toe will be clearly indi- cated ; and poultices, and such other means as have either been described under " Inflammation of the Feet," or will be pointed out under the next head. The principal causes of bruises of the foot are leaving the sole too much exposed by means of a narrow-webbed shoe, or the smith paring out the sole too closely, or the pressure of the shoe on the sole, or the introduction of gravel or stones between the shoe and the sole. The author subjoins the mode of cure in this diseiise, as it has been practised by two veterinaiy surgeons. They are both excellent, and, so far as can well be the case, satisfactory. Mr. Peixivall says : — " The ordinaiy mode of cure consists in the introduction of caustic into the sinus ; and so long as the cartilage pireserves its integrity — hy which I mean, is free from caries — tliis is perhaps the most prompt and effectual mode of proceeding. The farrier's practice is to mix ab(jut half a drachm of corrosive sublimate in piow- der ^^ith tmce or thrice the quantity of flour, and make them into a paste with water. This he takes up hy little at a time with the point of his probe, and works it about in the sinus until the paste ap- pears rising in the orifice above. After this is done he commonly has the horse walked about for an hour or two, or even sent to slow work again, which produces a still more effectual solution of the caustic, at the same time that it tends greatly to its uniform and thorough diffusion into every re- cess and winding of the sinus. The consequence of this sharp caustic dressing is a general slough from the sinus. Every part of its interior surface is destroyed, and the dead particles become agglu- tinated, and cast off along with the discharges in the form cif a dark firm curdled mass, which the fan'ier calls the core ; and so it commonly proves, for gi'anulations follow close behind it, and fill up the sinus."* The other mode of treatment, is that of Mr. Newport, a surgeon of long standing : — " After the shoe has been removed, thin the sole until it will yield to the pressure of the thumb ; then cut the under parts of the wall in an oblique direction from the heel to the anterior part, immediately under the seat of complaint, and only as far as it extends, and rasp the side' of the wall thin enough to give way to the pressure of the over-distended parts, and put on a bar-shoe rather elevated from the frog. Ascertain with a probe the direction of the sinuses, and introduce into them a saturated solution of sulphate of zinc, by means of a small syringe. Place over this dressing the common ca- taplasm, or the tui-pentine ointment, and renew the -application every twenty-four hours. I have frequently found three or four such applications complete a cure. I should recommend that ^vhen the probe is introduced, in order to ascertain the pi'ogress of cure, that it be gently and carefully used, otherwise it may break doTvn the new-formed lymph. I have found the solution very valuable, w'here the synovial fluid has escaped, but not to be used if the inflammation of the parts is great. "f PRICK OR WOUND IN THE SOLE OR CKUST. This is the most frequent cause of quittor. It is evident that the sole is veiy liable to be wounded by nails, pieces of glass, or even shai-p flints. Every part of the foot is subject to injuries of this description. The usual place at which these wounds are found is in the hollow between the bars and the frog, or in the frog itself In the fore feet the injur}' will be generallj' recognised on the inner quarter, and on the hind feet near the toe. In fact these are the thinnest parts of the fore and hind feet. Much more frequently the lamiuoe are wounded by the nail in shoeing ; or if the nail does not penetrate through the internal surface of the crust, it is driven so close to it that it presses upon the fleshy parts beneath, and causes irritation and inflammation, and at length ulceration. When a horse becomes suddenly lame, after the legs have been carefully examined, and no cause of lameness appears in them, the shoe should be taken off. In many cases the oflending substance ^vill be imme- diately detected, or the additional heat felt in some * Percivair.s Hiiipop.ithology, vol. i., p. 218. + The Veterinarian, vol. i., p. 329, 468 THE HORSE. part of the foot will point out tlie seat of injury ; or, if the crust is rapped with the hammer all round, the flinching of the horse will discover it ; or pressure with the pincers will render it evident. When the shoe is removed for this examina- tion the smith should never be permitted to wrench it off, but each nail should be drawn sepa- rately, and examined as it is drawn, when some moisture appearing vipon it will not unfreipiently reveal the spot at which matter has been thrown out. Sudden lameness occurring within two or three days after the horse has been shod, will lead to the suspicion that the smith has been in fault ; yet no one who cousidei's the thinness of the crust, and the difficulty of shoeing many feet, will blame him for sometimes pricking the animal. His fault will consist in concealing or denying that of which he will almost always be aware at the time of shoeing, from the flinching of the horse, or the dead sound, or the peculiar resistance that may be noticed in the driving of the nail. We would plead the cause of the honest portion of an humble class of men, who discharge this mechanical part of their busi- ness with a skill and good fortune scarcely credible : but we resign those to the reproaches and the punishment of the owner of the horse who too often, and with bad policy, deny that which acci- dent, or possibly momentary carelessness, might have occasioned, and the neglect of which is fraught with danger, although the mischief resulting from it might at the time have been easily remedied. When the seat of mischief is ascertained, the sole should be thinned round it, and at the nail- hole, or the puncture, it should be pared to the quick. The escape of some matter will now pro- bably tell the nature of the injury, and remove its consequences. If it be punctm-e of the sole effected by some nail, or any similar body, picked up on the road, all that will be necessary is a little to enlarge the opening, and then to place on it a pled- get of tow dipped in Friar "s balsam, and over that a little common stopping. If there is much heat and lameness, a poultice should be applied. The part of the sole that is wounded and the depth of the wound should be taken into considera- tion. It will be seen, by reference to the cut in p. 432, that a deep puncture towards the back part of the sole, and penetrating even into the sensible frog, may not be productive of serious con- sequence. There is no great motion in the part, and there are no tendons or bones in danger. A puncture near the toe may not be followed by much injury. There is little motion in that part of the foot, and the internal sole covering the coflln-boue will soon heal. A punctm-e, however, about the centre of the sole may wound the flexor tendon where it is inserted into the coffin-bone, or may even peiiotxate the joint which unites the na- vicular bone with the coffin-bone, or pierce through the tendon into the joint which it forms with the navicular bone, and a degree of inflammation may ensue, that, if neglected, may be fatal. Many horses have been lost by the smallest puncture of the sole in these dangerous points. All the ana- tomical skill of the veterinarian should be called into requisition, when he is examining the most trifling wound of the foot. If the foot has been wounded by the wrong direction of a nail in shoeing, and the sole is well- pared out over the jiart on the first appearance of lameness, little more will be necessary to be done. The opening should be somewhat enlarged, the Friar's balsam applied, and the shoe tacked on with or without a poultice, according to the degree of lameness or heat, and on the following day all will often be well. It may, however, be prudent to keep the foot stopped for a few days. If the accident has been neglected, and matter begins to be formed, and to be pent up and to pi'ess on the neighbom'ing parts, and the horse evidently suffers extreme pain, and is sometimes scarcely able to put his foot to the ground, and much matter is poured out when the opening is enlarged, further precautions must be adopted. The fact must be recollected that the living and dead horn will never unite, and every jwrtion of the horny sole that has separated from the fleshy sole above must be removed. The sejxtration must he followed as far as it reaches. Much of the success of the treatment depends on this. No small strip or edge of sepa- rated horn must be suffered to press upon any part of the wound. The exposed fleshy sole must then be touched, but not too severelj', with the butyr (chloride) of antimony, some soft and dry tow being spread on the part, the foot stopped, and a poultice placed over all if the inflammation seems to re(iuire it. On the following day a thin pellicle of horn will frequently be found over a part or the whole of the wound. This should be, yet very lightly, again touched with the caustic ; but if there is an appearance of fungus sprouting from the exposed surface, the apjilication of the butyr must be more severe, the tow being again placed over it, so as to afford considerable yet imiform pressure. Many days do not often elapse before the new horn covers the whole of the wound. In these exten- sive openings the Friar's balsam will not always be successful, but the cure must be effected by the judicious and never-too-severe use of the caustic. Bleeding at the toe, and physic, will be resorted to as useful auxiliaries when much inflammation arises. In searching the foot in order to ascertain the existence of prick, there is often something very censurable in the carelessness with which the honi is cut away between the bottom of the crust and the sole, so as to leave little or no hold for the THE HORSE 4G!} nails, altbough some months must elapse before the horn will grow down sufficiently far for the shoe to be securely fastened. When a free opening has been made below, and matter has not broken ont at the coronet, it will rarely be necessary to remove any portion of the horn at the quarters, although we may be able to ascertain by the use of the probe that the separation of the crust extends for a considerable space above the sole. In the angle between the bars (c, p. 452) and the quarters, the horn of the sole has some- times a red appearance, and is more spongy and softer than at any other part. The horse flinches when this portion of the horn is pressed upou, and occasional or permanent lameness is produced. This disease of the foot is termed Corns ; bearing this resemblance to the corn of the human being, that it is produced by pressure and is a cause of lameness. When corns are neglected, so much inflammation is produced in that part of the sen- sible sole, that suppuration follows, and to that, quitter succeeds, and the matter either undermines the horuy sole, or is discharged at the coronet. The pressure hereby produced manifests itself in various ways. When the foot becomes con- tracted, the part of the sole enclosed between the external crust that is wiring in, and the bars that are opposing that contraction (see cut, p. 45^), is placed in a kind of vice, and becomes inflamed ; hence it is rare to see a contracted foot without corns. When the shoe is suffered to remain on too long, it becomes imbedded in the heel of the foot ; the external crust grows down on the outside of it, and the bearing is thrown on this angular por- tion of the sole. No part of the sole can bear continued pressure, and inflammation and corns are the result. From the length of wear the shoe sometimes becomes loosened at the heels, and gravel insinuates itself between the shoe and the cmst, and accumulates in this angle, and some- times seriously wounds it. The bars are too freqviently cut away, and then the heel of the shoe must be bevelled inward, in order to answer to this absm'd and injurious shap- ing of the foot. By this slanting direction of the heel of the shoe inward, an unnatural disposition to con- traction is given, and the sole must sulfer in two ways — in being pressed upou by the shoe, and squeezed between the outer crust and the external portion of the bar. The shoe is often made unnecessarily narrow at the heels, by which this angle, seem- ingly le^s disposed to bear pressure than any other part of the foot, is exposed to accidental bruises. If, in the paring out of the foot, the smith should leave the bars prominent, he too frequently neglects to pare away the horn in the angle between the bars and the external crust ; or if he cuts away the bars, he scarcely touches the horn at this point ; and thus, before the horse has been shod a fortnight, the shoe rests on this angle and produces corns. The use of a shoe for the fore feet, thickened at the heels, is, and especially in weak feet, a source of corns, from the undue bearing there is on the heels, and the concussion to which they are subject. The unshod colt rarely has corns. The heels have their natural power of expansion, and the sensible sole at this part can scarcely be imprisoned, while the projection of the heel of the crust and the bar is a sufficient defence from external injury. Corns seem to be the almost inevitable conse- quence of shoeing, which, by limiting, or in a man- ner destroj-ing, the expansibility of the foot, must, when the sole attempts to descend, or the coffin- bone has a backward and downward direction (see cut, p. 43^), imprison and injure this portion of the sole. This evil consequence is increased when the shoe is badly formed, or kept on too long, or when the paring is omitted or injudiciously extended to the bars. By this unnatural pressure of the sole, blood is thrown out, and enters into the pores of the soft and diseased horn which is then secreted ; therefore the existence and the extent of the corn is judged of by the colour and softness of the horn at this place. Corns are most frequent and serious in horses with thin horn and flat soles, and low weak heels. They do not often occur in the outside heel. It is of a stronger construction than the inside one. The method adopted by shoeing-smiths to ascer- tain the existence of corn by the pain evinced when they pinch the bar and crust with their irons, is very fallacious. If the horn is naturally thin, the horse will shrink under no great pressure although he has no corn, and occasionally the bars are so strong as not to give way under any pressure. The cure of old corns is difficult ; for as all shoeing has some tendency to produce pressure here, the habit of throwing out this diseased horn is difficult to get rid of when once contracted ; recent corns, however, will yield to good shoeing. The first thing to be done is well to pare out the angle between the crust and the bars. Two objects are answered by this : the extent of the disease will be ascertained, and one cause of it removed. A very small drawing knife must be used for this purpose. The corn must be pared out to the very bottom, taking care not to wound the sole. It may then be discovered whether there is any eff'usion of blood or matter under- neath. If this is suspected, an opening must be made tla-ough the horn, the matter evacuated, the separated liorn taken away, the com'se and ex- tent of the sinuses explored, and the treatment recommended for quittor adopted. Should there 470 THE HORSE. be no collection of fluid, the but}'!- of antimony should be applied over the whole extent of the com, after the horn has been thinned as closely as possible. The object of this is to stimulate the sole to throw out more healthy horn. In bad cases a bar-shoe may be put on, so chambered, that there shall be no pressure on the diseased part. This may be worn for one or two shoeings, but not constantly, for there are few frogs that would bear the constant pressure of the bar-shoe ; and the want of pressure on the heel, generally occasioned by their use, would produce a softened and bul- bous state of the heels, that would of itself be an inevitable soiu'ce of lameness. Mr. Turner is in the habit of using a shoe that promises to lessen to a -very material degree the sufferings of the horse. The ground surface of the shoe is so bevelled off, that it does not come into contact with the ground, and thus much concussion is saved to the horse. A slight space, however, should be left betvi'cen the heel of the foot, and that of the shoe ; and which cannot be better occupied than by the leather sole, prevent- ing the insinuation of foreign bodies, and yet pre- serving the heel from concussion. In unusually troublesome cases of corns, I'e- course should be had to the bar-shoe. Mr. Spooner, of Southampton, very properly states, that the corns occasionally festei', and the purulent matter which is secreted, having no de- pendent orifice, ascends, torturing the animal to a dreadful extent, and breaks out at the coronet. These cases are very troublesome. Sinuses are formed, and the evil may end in quittor. A large and free dependent orifice must then be made, and poultice applied ; to which should succeed a solu- tion of sulphate of zinc, with the application of the compound tar ointment. The cause of corn is a most important subject of inquiry, and wliich a careful examination of the foot and the shoe will easily discover. The cause being ascertained, the effect may, to a great extent be afterwards removed. Turning out to grass, after the horn is a little grown, first with a bar- shoe, and afterwards with the shoe fettered on one side, or with tips, will often be serviceable. A horse that has once had corns to any considerable extent should, at every shoeing, have the seat of corn well pared out, and the butyr of antimony applied. The seated shoe (hereafter to be described) should be used, with a web sufficiently thick to cover the place of corn, and extending as far back as it can be made to do without injury to the frog. Low weak heels should be rarely touched with the knife, or anything more be done to them, than liglitly to rasp them, in order to give them a level surface. The inner heel should he particularly spared. Corns are seldom found in the hind feet, because the hesls are stronger, and the feet are not exposed to so much concussion ; and when they are found there, they are rarely or never pro- ductive of lameness. There is nothing perhaps in which the improvement in the veterinary art has relieved the horse from so much suffering as shoeing. Where corns now exist of any conse- quence, they are a disgrace to the smith, the groom, and even to the owner. This is a discharge of offensive matter from the cleft of the frog. It is inflammation of the lower surface of the sensible frog, and during which pus is secreted together with, or instead of horn. When the frog is in its sound state the cleft sinks but a little way into it ; but when it becomes con- tracted or otherwise diseased, it extends in length, and penetrates even to the sensible horn within, and through this unnaturally deepened fissure the thrushy discharge proceeds. A plethoric state of the body may be a predisposing cause of thrush, but the immediate and grand cause is moisture. This should never be forgotten, for it will lead a great way towards the proper treatment of the disease. If the feet are habitually covered with any moist application — his standing so much on his own dung is a fair example — thrush will inevitably appear. It is caused by anything that interferes with the healthy structure and actioji of the frog. We find it in the hinder feet oftener and worse than in the fore, because in our stable manage- ment the hinder feet are too much exposed to the peniicious effects of the dung and the urine, moistening, or as it were macerating, and at the same time irritating them. The distance of the hinder feet from the centre of the circulation would also, as in a case of grease, more expose them to accumulations of fluid and discharges of this kind. In the fore feet, thrushes are usually connected with contraction. We have stated that they are both the cause and the effect of contraction. The pressure on the frog from the wiring in of the heels will produce pain and inflammation ; and the inflammation, by the increased heat and sus- pended function of the part, will dispose to con- traction. Horses of all ages, and in almost all situations, are subject to thnish. The unshod colt is frequently thus diseased Thrushes are not always accompanied by lame- ness. In a great many cases the appearance of the foot is scarcely, or not at all altered, and the disease can only be detected by close examination, or the peculiar smell of the discharge. The frog may not appear to be rendered in the slightest degree tender by it, and therefore the horse may not be considered by many as unsound. Every disease, however, should be considered as legal unsoundness, and especially a disease which, although not attended with present detriment, THE HOKSE. 471 must not be neglected, for it will eventually injure and lame the horse. All other things being right, a horse should not be rejected because he has a slight thrush, for if the shape of the hoof is not altered, experience tells that the thrush is easily removed ; but if this is not soon done, the shape of the foot and the action of the horse will be altered, and manifest unsoundness will result. The progress of a neglected thrush, although sometimes slow, is sure. The frog begins to con- tract in size — it becomes rough, ragged, brittle, tender — the discharge is more copious and more offensive — the horn gradually disappears— a mass of hardened mucus usurps its place — this easily peals off, and the sensible frog remains exposed — the horse cannot bear it to be touched — fungous granulations spring from it — they spread around — tne sole becomes under-run, and canker steals over the greater part of the foot. There are few errors more common or more dangerous tlian this, that the existence of thrush is a matter of little conser[uence, or even, as some suppose, a benefit to the horse — a discharge for superabundant humours— and that it should not be dried up too qiuckly, and in some cases not dried up at all. If a young colt, fat and full of blood, has a bad thrush, with much discharge, it will be prudent to accompany the attempt at cure by a dose of physic or a course of diuretics. A few diuretics may not be injurious when we are endeavoui'iug to dry up thrush in older horses : but the disease can scarcely be attacked too soon, or subdued too rapidly, and especially when it steels on so insidiously, and has such fatal conse- quences in its train. If the heels once begin to contract through the baneful effect of thrush, it will, with difficulty, or not at all, be afterwards removed. There are many recipes to stop a running thrush. Almost every application of an astrhigent, but not of too caustic nature, will have the effect. The common ^gyptiacum (vinegar boiled with honey and verdigrease) is a good liniment ; but the most effectual and the safest — drying up the dis- charge speedily, but not suddenly — is a paste com- posed of blue vitriol, tar, and lard, in proportions according to the virulence of the canker. A pledget of tow covered with it should be introduced as deeply as possible, yet without force, into the cleft of the frog eveiT night, and removed in the morning be- fore the horse goes to work. Attention should at the same time, as in other diseases of the foot, be paid to the apparent cause of the complaint, and that cause should be carefully obviated or removed. Before the application of the paste, the frog should be examined, and every loose part of the horn or hardened discharge removed ; and if much of the frog is then exposed, a larger and wider piece of tow covered with the paste may be placed over it, in addition to the pledget introduced into the cleft of the frog. It will be necessary to preserve the frog moist while the cure is in progress, and this may be done by filling the feet with tow covered by common stopping, or using the felt pad, likewise covered with it. Turning out would be prejudicial rather than of benefit to thrushy feet, except the dressing is continued, and the feet defended from moisture. Is a separation of the horn from the sensible part of the foot, and the sprouting of fungous matter instead of it, occupying a portion or even the whole of the sole and frog. It is the occasional conse- quence of bruise, puncture, com, quittor, and thnisli, and is exceedingly difficult to cure. It is more freijuently the consequence of neglected thmsh than of any other disease of the foot, or rather it is thrush involving the frog, the bars, and the S(de, and making the foot in one mass of rank jiutrefaction. It is oftenest found in, and is almost peculiar to the heavy breed of cart horses, and partly result- ing from constitutional predisposition. Horses with white legs and thick skins, and much hair upon their legs, — the very character of many dray horses, — are subject to canker, especially if they have had an attack of grease, or their heels are habitually thick and greasy. The disposition to canker is certainly hereditary. The dray horse likewise has this disadvantage, that in order to give him font-hold, it is sometimes necessary to raise the heels of the hinder feet so high, that all pres- sure on the frog is taken away ; its functions are destroyed, and it is rendered liable to disease. Canker, however, arises mostly from the peculiar injury to which the feet of these horses are subject from the enormous shoes with which they are covered — the bulk of the nails with v.hieh these shoes are fastened to the foot, the strain of the foot in the violent although short exertion of moving heavy weights ; but, most of all, neglect of the feet and the filthiuess of the stable in these establish- ments. Although canker is a disease most difficult to remove, it is easily prevented. Attention to the jJunctures to which these heavy horses, with their clubbed feet and brittle hoofs, are more than any others subject in shoeing, and to the bruises and treads on the coronet, to which from their awkward- ness and weight they are so liable, and the greasy heels which a very slight degree of negligence will produce in them, and the stopping of the thrushes, which are so apt in them to run on to the separa- tion of the horn from the sensible frog, will most materially lessen the number of cankered feet. Where this disease often occurs, the owiier of the team may be well assured that there is gross mis- management either iu himself or his horsokeeper, H n 2 472 THE HORSE. or the smith, or the surgeon, and it will rarely be a difficult matter to detect the precise nature of that mismanagement. The cure of canker is the business of the vete- rinary surgeon, and a most painful and tedious business it is. The principles on which he pro- ceeds are, first of all, to remove the extraneous fungous growth, and for tliis purpose he will need the aid of the knife and the caustic, or the cauteiy, for he should cut away eveiy portion of horn which is in the slightest degree separated from the sen- sible parts beneath. He will have to discourage the growth of fresh fungus, and to bring the foot into that state in which it will again secrete healthy lioni. Here he will remember that he has to do with the surface of the foot ; that this is a disease of the surface only, and that there will be no neces- sity for those deeply-corroding and torturing caus- tics which penetrate to the very lione. A slight and daily application of the chloride of antimony, and that not where the new horn is forming, but on the surface which continues to be diseased, and accompanied by as firm but equal pressure as can be made — the careful avoidance of the slightest degree of moisture — the horse being exercised or worked in the mill, or wherever the foot will not be exposed to wet, and that exercise adopted as early as possible, and even from the beginning if the malady is confined to the sole and fi'og — these means will succeed if the disease is capable of cure. Humanity, perhaps, will dictate that, considering the long process of cure in a cankered foot, and the daily torture of the caustic, and the sutferiug which would otherwise result from so large or exposed a smiace, the nerves of the leg should be divided in order to take away the sense of pain ; but then, especial care must be taken that the horse is placed in such a situation, and exposed to such work, that, bemg insensible to pain, he may not injuriously batter and bruise the diseased parts. Medicine is not of much avail in the cure of canker. It is a mere local disease ; or the only cause of fear is, that so great a determination of blood to the extremities having existed during the long progress of cure, it may in some degree con- tinue, and produce injury in another form. Grease has occasionally followed canker. They have been known to alternate. It may, therefore, he prudent, when the cure of a cankered foot is nearly efi'ected, to subject the horse to a course of alteratives or diuretics. OSSIFICATION OF THE CARTILAGES. Mention has been made of the side cartilages of the foot, occupying (see cut, page 43.5) a con- siderable portion of the external side and back part of the foot. They are designed to preserve the expansion of the upper part of the foot, and espe- cially when that of the lower part is limited or destroyed by careless shoeing. These cartilages are subject to inflammation, and the result of that inflammation is, that the cartilages are absorbed, and bone substituted in their stead. This ossifica- tion of the cartilages frequently accompanies ring- bone, but it may exist without any affection of the pastern joint. It is oftenest found in horses of heavy draught. It arises not so much from con- cussion, as from sprain, for the pace of the horse is slow. The cause, indeed, is not well understood, but of the effect there are too numerous instances. Veiy few heavy draught horses arrive at old age without tills change of stnicture ; and particularly if they are much employed in the paved streets. The change commences sometimes at the anterior part of the cartilage, but much oftener at the pos- terior and inferior part. " From the combined operation of great weight and high action, the feet, and particularly the heels, come with great force on the ground. The cartilages, being imbedded in the heels of the feet, are, therefore, the parts that receive the greatest degree of concussion, the consequence of which is that subacute inflammation is set up, and the secreting vessels deposit ossific instead of cartilaginous matter, in the I'oom of that which is absorbed in the usual process of nature."* No evident inflammation of the foot, or great, or perhaps even perceptible lameness, accompanies this change ; a mere slight degree of stiffness may have been observed, which, in a horse of more rapid jiace, would have been lameness. Even when the change is completed, there is not in many cases anything more than a slight increase of stiff'- ness, little or not at all interfering with the useful- ness of the horse. When this altered stracture appears in the lighter horse, the lameness is more decided, and means should be taken to arrest the progress of the change. These are blisters or firing ; but, after the parts have become bony, no operation will restore the cartilage. Some benefit, however, will be derived from the use of leather soles. Advantage has resulted from bar-shoes in conjunction with leather. Connected with ringbone the lameness may be very great. This has been spoken of iu page 436. WEAKNESS OF THE FOOT. This is more accurately a bad formation, than a disease ; often, indeed, the result of disease, but in many instances the natui'al construction of the foot. The term iceak foot is familiar to every horseman, and the consequence is too severely felt by all who have to do with horses. In the slanting of the crust from the coronet to the toe, a less angle is almost invariably formed, amounting pro- bably to not more than forty instead of forty-five degrees ; and, after the horse has been worked for one or two years the line is not straight, but a little • W. C. Spooner on the Foot of the Horse, p. 249. THE IJOltSE. 473 indented or hollow, midway between the coronet and the toe. This h^is been described as the ac- companiment of pumiced feet, bat it is often seen in weak feet, that, although they might become pumiced by severity of work, do not otlierwise have the sole convex. The crust is not only less oblique than it ought to be, but it has not the smooth, even appearance of the good foot. The surface is sometimes irregularly roughened, but it is much ofceuer roughened in circles or rings. The form of the crust likewise presents too much the appear- ance of a cone ; the bottom of the foot is unnatu- rally wide in proportion to the coronet ; and the whole of the foot is generally, but not always, larger than it should be. When the foot is lifted, it will often present a round and circular appearance, with a fulness of frog, that would mislead the inexperienced, and indeed be considered as almost the perfection of structure ; but, being examined more closely, many glaring defects will be seen. The sole is flat, and the smith finds that it will bear little or uo paring. The bars are small in size. They are not cut away by the smith, but tliey can be scarcely said to have any existence. The heels are low, so low that the very coronet seems almost to touch the ground ; and the crust, if examined, appears scarcely thick enough to hold the nails. Horses with these feet can never stand much work. They will be subject to corns, to bruise.s of the sole, to convexity of the sole, to jiuuctures in nailing, to breaking away of the crust, to inflam- mation of the foot, and to sprain and injuiy of the pastern, and the fetlock, and the flexor tendon. These feet admit of little improvement. Shoe- ing as seldom as may be, and with a light yet wide concave web ; little or no paring at the time of shoeing, and as little violent work as possible, and especially on rough roads, may protract for a long period the evil day, but he who buys a horse with these feet will sooner or later have cause to repent his bargain. CHAPTER XX. FRACTURES. AccrDENTS of this description are not of frequent occurrence, but when' they do happen it is not always that the mischief can be repaired ; occa- sionally, however, and much more frequently than is generally imagined, the life of a valuable animal might be saved if the owner, or the veterinary surgeon, would take a little trouble, and the patient is fairly tractable, and that, in the majority of cases, he will soon become. The number of valuable animals is far too great that are destroyed under a confused notion of the difficulties of controlling the patient, or the incurable character of the acci- dent. Messrs. Blaine and Percivall have given a valuable record of the usual cases and treatment of fracture which occur in the practice of the Eng- lish veterinary surgeon, and the splendid work of Hurtrel d'Arboval contains a record of all that has been attempted or effected on the Continent. The author of this volume must confine himself to a rapid survey of that which they have described, adding a few cases that have been brought under his own observation, or communicated to himby others. With the exception of accidents that occur in casting the animal for certain operations, and his struggles duriug the operation, the causes of Fracture are usually blows, kicks, or falls, and the lesion may be considered as simple, confined to one bone, and not protruding through the skin — or compound, the bone or bones protruding through the skin — or complicated, where the bone is broken or splintered in more than one direction. The duty of the veterinary surgeon resolves itself into the replacing of the displaced bones in their natural position, the keeping of them in that posi- tion, the healing of the integument, and the taking of such measures as will prevent any untowai-d circumstances from afterwards occrn'ring. In the greater number of cases of fracture ti will be necessary to place the horse under consi- derable restraint, and even to suspend or sling him. The cut in the next page contains a view of the suspensory apparatus used by INIr. Percivall. A broad piece of sail-cloth, furaished with two breechings, and two breast-girths, is placed under the animal's belly, and, by means of ropes and pulleys attached to a cross beam above, he is elevated or lowered as circumstances may require. It will seldom be necessary to lift the patient quite off the ground, and the horse will be quietest, and most at his ease, when his feet are suffered just to touch it. The head is confined by two collar ropes, and the head-stall well padded. Many horses may plunge about and be difficult to manage at first, but, generally spealdug, it is not long ere they become perfectly passive. The use of the different buckles and straps which are attached to the sail-cloth will be evident on inspection. If the horse exhibits more than usual uneasiness, other ropes may be attached to the corners of the sail-cloth. This will afford considerable relief to the patient, as well as add to the security of the bandages In many cases the fracture, alilinugli a simple one, may be visible on the slightest inspection ; in others, there may be merely a suspicion of its ex- istence. Here will be exhibited the skill and the humanity of the educated surgeon, or the reckless- ness and brutality of the empiric. The former ■will carefully place his patient in the position at once the least painful to the sufferer, and the most commodious for himself. He will proceed with gentleness, patience, and management — no rough handling or motion of the parts, inflicting torture on the animal, and adding to the injury already re- ceived. It is interesting to observe how soon the horse comprehends all this, and submits to the ne- cessary inspection ; and how complete and satis- factory the examination terminates under the super- intendence of the humane and cautious practitioner, while the brute in human shape fails in compre- hending the real state of the case. Heat, swelling, tenderness, fearfulness of the slinhtest motion, crepitus, and especially change of the natural position of the limb, are the most fre- q^uent indications of fracture. The probability of reunion of the parts depends upon the depth of the wound connected with the fracture — the contusion of the soft parts in the im- mediate neighbourhood of it — the blood-vessels, arterial or venous, that have been wounded — the propinquity of some large joint to which the in- flammation may be communicated — dislocation of the extremities of the fractured joint — injuries of the -periosteum — the existence of sinuses, caries, or necrosis, or the fracture being compound, or broken into numerous spiculae or splinters. In a horse tliat is fidl of flesh, the cure of frac- ture is diflBcult ; likewise in an old or wom-out horse — or when the part is inaccessible to the hand or to instruments — or when separation has taken place between the parts that were beginning to unite — or where the surrounding tissues have been or are losing their vitality — or when the patient is already afflicted with any old or permanent disease. It may be useful briefly to review the various seats of fracture. FRACTURE OF THE SKULL. The skull of the horse is so securely defended by the yielding I'esistance of the tempioral muscle, that fracture rarely occurs except at the occipital ridge ; and should a depression of bone be there effected, it will produce complete coma, and bid defiance to all surgical skill. Fracture of the skull is generally accompanied by stupidity, convulsive niotions of the head or limbs, laborious breathing, and a staggering walk. The eyes are almost or quite closed, the head is carried low, and the lower lip hangs down. Blows on the cranium, which the bnitality of man too often inflicts, as well as many accidents, are very serious matters, and require considerable attention, for, although it may have been ascertained that the cranium is uninjured, there may be considerable concussion of the brain. It having been known that a horse had received a violent blow on the head, the strictest examina- tion of the part should take place. An artilleiy horse broke loose from his groom, and, after gal- loping about, dashed in to his own stall with such force as sadly to cut his face under the forelock. The farrier on duty sewed up the wound, proper THE HORSE. 475 dressings were applied, and in a little more than a fortnight the wound was healed and tlie horse dis- missed, apparently well. Four daj's afterwards the patient moved stiffly ; the jaws could not he separated more than a couple of inches, and there was evident locked jaw. The horse was cast, and the place where the wound had been was most carefully examined. On cutting to the bottom of it, a frac- ture was discovered, and a piece of bone three- fourths of an inch long was found on the centre of the parietal suture. This was removed — the would was properly dressed, and a strong aloeiic drink was given with great difficulty. The aloetic drink was repeated — the bowels became loosened —the tetanic symptoms diminished, and in less than three weeks the horse was perfectly cured.* This is a very interesting case. There was some carelessness in entrusting the treatment of the wound to the farrier ; but the surgeon after- wards repaired the error as well as he could, and no one was better pleased than he was at the result. A violent blow being received on the forehead, the part should always be most carefully examined. Hurtrel D'Arboval relates three cases of fi-ac- ture of the skull. One occurred in a mare that ran violently against a carriage. The skull was de- pressed, and a portion of bone was removed, but it was four months ere complete reunion of the edges was effected. Another horse received a ^iolent kick on the forehead. The union of the dejiressed bones was effected after the external wound was healed, but there was always a depression, an inch in length. An aged mare met with the same acci- dent. A depression here remained as large as a finger. FKACTL'KE OF THE AECH OF THE CEBIT OF THE EYE. A very interesting accomit of this, followed by perfect cure, is related at p. 284. FRACTURE OF THE NASAL EONES. This will sometimes occur from falling, or he produced by a kickfi-om another horse, or the bm- tality of the attendant or the rider. We have seen a passionate man strike a liorse about the head with a heavy hunting-whip. The danger of punishment of this kind is obvious ; and so would be the propriety of using the whip for another purpose. A fracture of this kind is generally accompanied by a lacera- tion of the membrane of the nose, and considerable hiemorrhage, which, however, may generally be arrested by the application of cold water. The fractured portion of bone is usually depressed, and, the space for breathing being diminished, ditBculty of respiration occurs. The author had a case of fracture of both nasal bones. He was ena- bled to elevate the depressed parts, but the intlam- • Veterinarian, vol. vii., p. 142. maticm and swelling were so great, that the animal was threatened will) suflFucaliijn. The operation of tracheotomy wasresorted to, and the animal did well. If there is fracture of the nasal hones with de- pression, and only a little way from the central arch and the section between the nostrils, a slightly curved steel rod may be cautiously introduced into the passage, and the depressed portions carefully raised. If this cannot be effected, the trephine must be applied a little above or below the fracture, and the elevator or steel rod be introduced through the aperture. If the fracture is in any other pHrt of the bone, it will be impossible to reach it with the elevator, for the turbinated bones are in the way. The trephine must then he resorted to in the first instance. The wound, if there is any, must be covered, and a compress kept on it. A writer in a French journal relates a case in which a horse was violently kicked, and there was a contused wound with depression of bone. The trephine was applied. Fifteen splinters were ex- tracted, and the case terminated well. It never- theless too often happens that, in the^e injmies of the nasal membrane, the inflammation will obsti- nately continue in despite of all that the surgeon (•an do, and the natural termination of every injiuy of the membrane of the nose, and, in fact, of every chronic disease of the frame, will appear — glanders. If, however, gkanders do not appear, some por- tion of bone may remain depressed, or the mem- brane may be thickened by inflammation. The nasal passage will then be obstructed, and a diffi- culty of breatliing, resembling roaring, w"ill ensue. THE SUPEEIOE MAXIT.LAJIY OE UPPER JAW-BONE Will occasionally be fractured. Mr. Cartwright had a case in which it was fractm'ed by a kick at the situation where it unites with the laclir}-mal and malar bones. He applied the tre- phine, and removed many small pieces of bone. The wound was then covered by adhesive plaster, and in a month the parts were healed. i\Ir. Clayworth speaks of a mare who, being ridden almost at speed, fell and fractured the upper jaw, three inches above the comer incisors. The front teeth and jaw were turned like a hook com- pletely within the lower ones. She was cast, a balling iron put into her mouth, and the surgeon, exerting considerable force, pulled the teeth out- ward into their former and proper situation. She was then tied up so that she could not rah her muzzle against anything, and was well fed with bean-meal, and linseed tea. ]\Iuch inflammation ensued, but it gradually subsided, and, at the ex- piration of the sixth week, tlie mouth was quite healed, and scarcely a vestige of the fracture re- mained. A veiy extraordinary and almost incredible ac- 47(5 THE HOKSE. count of a fracture of tlie superior maxillarj' Lone is given in the records of the Royal and Central Society of Agriculture in France. A horse -was kicked by a companion. There was fracture of the upper part of the superior maxillary and zygomatic bones, and the eye was almost forced out of the socl^et. Few men would have dared to midertal^e a fracture like this, but M. Revel shrank not fi'om his duty. He removed several small splinters of bone — replaced tlie larger bones — retm'ued the eye to its soclcet — confined the parts by means of sufficient sutm'es — slung the horse, and rendered it impossible for the animal to rub his head against anything. In six weeks the cure was complete. THE MAXtLL.iRY BONE OR LCVTEB JAW Is more subject to fracture, and particularly in its branches between the tushes and the lower teeth, and at the sj'mphysis between the two branches of the jaw. Its position, its length and the small quantity of muscle that covers it, especially anteriorly, are among the causes of its fracture ; and the same circumstances combine to render a reunion of the divided parts more easy to be accomplished. Mr. Blaine relates that in a fracture of the lower jaw he succeeded by maldng a strong leather frame that exactly encased the whole jaw. The author of this volume has effected the same object by similar means. M. H. Boulay attended a horse, fracture of whose lower maxillary had taken place at the neck of that bone, between the tushes and the comer in- cisor teeth. The whole of the interior part of the maxillary bone in which the incisor teeth were planted was completely detached from the other portion of the bone, and the parts were merely held together by the membrane of the moth. The horse was cast — the corner tooth on the left side extracted — the wound thoroughly cleansed — the fractured bones brought into con tact — some holes were drilled between the tushes and the second inci- sor teeth, above and below, tlu-ough which some pieces of brass wire were jjassed. and thus the jaws were apparently fixed immoveably together. The neck of the maxillary bone was surroimded by a sufficient compress of tow, and a ligature tied around it, with its bearing place on the tushes, and all motion thus prevented. The horse was naturally an untractable animal, and in his effoits to open his jaws the wires yielded to his repeated straggles, and were to a certain de- gree separated. The bandage of tow was, however, tightened, and was sufficient to retain the frac- tured edges in apposition. The mouth now began to exhale an infectious and gangrenous odour ; the animal was dispi- rited, and would not take any food ; gangrene was evidently approaching, and Mr. Boulay determined to ampv.tats the inferior portion of the maxillary bone, the union of which seemed to be impossible. The sphacelated portion of the maxillary was en- tirely removed ; every fragment of bone that had an oblique dii-ection was sawn away, and the rough and uneven portions wliicli the saw could not reach were rasped off. Before night, the horse had recovered his natu- ral spirits, and was searching for something to eat. On the following day a few oats were given to him, and he ate them with so much appetite and ease, that no one looking at him would think that he had been deprived of his lower incisor teeth. On the following day some hay was given to him, which he ate without difficulty, and in a fortnight was dismissed, the wounds being nearly healed.* In the majority of these cases of simple frac- ture a cure might be effected, or should, at least, be attempted, by means of well-adapted bandages around the muzzle, confined by straps. It will always be prudent to call in veterinai-y aid, and it is absolutely necessary in case of compound frao ture of the lower jaw. FKACTUBE OF THE SPINE. This accident, fortunately for the horse, is not of frequent occurrence, but it has been unifonnly fatal. It sometimes happens in the act of falling, as in leaping a wide ditch ; but it oftener occurs while a horse is straggling during a painful opera- tion. It is generally sufficiently evident while the horse is on the ground. Either a snap is heard, indicative of the fracture, or the struggles of the hind-limbs suddenly and altogether cease. In a few cases the animal has been able to get up and walk to his stable ; in others, the existence of the fractui^e has not been apparent for several hours : showing that the vertebrae, although fractured, may remain in their place for a certain jseriod of time. The bone that is broken is usually one of the pos- terior dorsal or anterior lumbar vertebrae. There is no satisfactory case upon record of reunion of the fractured parts. In the human being, the depressed portion of the spinal arch and of the fractured vertebrse have been removed by a dextrous operation, and sensi- bility and the power of voluntary motion have, in cases few and far between, been restored ; but in the horse this has rarely or never been effected. We should consider him a bold operator, but we should not very much dislike him, who made one trial, at least, how far surgical skill might be avail- able here. Mr. W. C. Spooner relates an interesting case, and many such have probably occurred. A horse had been clipped about three weeks, and was after- wards galloped sharply on rough ground, and pulled up suddenly and repeatedly for the purpose » Rec. I'e Med. VeL, Nov. 183S. THE HOUSE. 477 of sweating him. After that he did not go so well as before, and would not canter readily, although he had previousl}' been much used to that pace. Two days before he was destroyed, the groom was riding him at a slow pace, when he suddenly gave way beliind and was carried home, and could not afterwards stand. He had, doubtless, fractured tlie spine slightly when pulled up suddenly, but without displacing the bones.* M. Dupuy was consulted respecting a mare apparently palsied. She had an uncertain and staggering walk, accompanied by evident pain. After various means of relief had in vain been tried during five-and-twenty days, she was destroyed. A fracture of the last dorsal vertebra was discovered. It had never been quite complete, and ossifio union was beginning to take place. FKACTURE OF THE EIBS. These fractures are not always easily recog- nised. Those that are covered by the scapula may e.\ist for a long time without being detected, and those that are situated posteriorly are so thickly covered by muscles as to render the detection of the injury almost impossible. A man was trying to catch a mare in a field. She leaped at the gate, but failing to clear it, she fell on her back on tlie opposite side. She lay there a short time, and then got up, and trotted to the stable. She was saddled, and her master, a heavy man, can- tered her more than three miles. She then be- came unusually dull and sluggish, and was left on the road. She was bled ; and on the following morning an attempt was made to lead her home. She was not, however, able to travel more than a mile. On the following morning she was evidently in great pain, and a veterhiaiy surgeon discovering a slight depression of the spinous processes of the eleventh and twelfth dorsal vertebrfe, and detecting a certain crepitus, ordered her to be destroyed. On jiost mortem examination, the twelfth dorsal vertebra was foimd fractured, and the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth ribs on the near side were all fractured about two inches from their articula- tion with the vertebrae.i- Hurtrel DArboval says that " the two ribs behind the elbow are the most subject to fracture, and the false ribs, from the yielding motion which they possess, are least liable." The ordinary causes of fracture are kicks and blows, or falls on the chest, and especially in leaping. The frac- tures are generally about their middle, and, in the true ribs, commonly oblique. They are occasion- ally broken into splinters, and if those splinters are directed hiward, they may seriously wound the pleura or lungs. In order most certainly to detect the situation and extent of these fractures, it may ■ Veterinarian, vol. xi., p. 207. + Veterinarian, vol. iii.. p. 681. be necessary to trace tlie rib through its whole extent, and should there be any irregularity, to press firmly upon it above and below in order to ascertain the nature and extent of the injury. If fracture is detected, it is not often that much essential good can be done. If there is little or no displacement, a broad roller should be tightly drami round the chest, in order to prevent as much as possible the motion of the ribs in the act of breathing, and to throw the labour on the diaphragm and the abdominal muscles until the fractured parts are united. If the fractured parts protrude outwards, a firm compress must be placed upon them. If they are depressed, it will always be advisable to place a firm bandage over the seat of fracture, although, perhaps, there may be scarcely the possibility of elevating them to any consider- able degree. Should much irritation be the con- sequence of the nature or direction of the fracture, proper means must be adopted to allay the consti- tutional disturbance that may be produced. Gene- ral or local bleedmgs will be most serviceable.* FEACTUHE OF THE PELVIS. This is not of frequent occcurrence, on account of the thickness of the soft parts which surround the pelvis, and protect it from injury, but it is of a most serious character when it does take place, on account of the violence which must have been necessary to produce it. The usual causes are falls from a considerable height, or heavy blows on the pelvis. The injury may have reference to the internal or external portion of the pelvis. In the first case, the danger may not be discovered until irreparable mischief is produced. When it is chiefly external, the altered appearance of the hip speaks for itself. It is rarely in our power to afford any assistance in cases hke this, except when there are fractured portions of the bone that may be par- tially or entirely removed, or the projecting spine of the ilium is only partially fractured. M. Levrat gives an interesting account of a case of fracture of the right side of the pelvis, near the acetabulum, in leaping a wide ditch when hunting. "The lameness which it occasioned," says he, " was such that the toe of the foot was scarcely permitted to touch the ground while the motion was at all rapid. "When the motion was slow the foot was placed flat on the ground, but with great difficulty moved forward. On applying my right hand to tlie fractured part, which did not exhibit any heat, and seizing with my left hand the point of the thigh, I felt a movement of the ischium, which easily enabled me to judge of the fracture t Ca.ses of nncliylosis of the vertebite of the horse are loo fre- quent, from the heavy weights and sudden and violent concussion which are too frequently thiown on these parts. Complete auchv- losis of all the dorsal and lumbar vertebvte have been produced, extending even to the haunch. — Sandilbrt's Mus. AnaL, vol. it. , p. 38 to 44., and iii., p. 243. 478 THE HORSE. and its seat, and to discover that none of the frac- tured parts were displaced. I ordered her to be kept quiet for tliree weeks, and then permitted to wander about the stable. At the end of two months she was mounted and exercised at a foot pace, and in another mouth she was enabled to sustain the longest day's work without lameness. In the fol- lowing year she was placed in the stud of the Baron de Stael, where she produced some good foals.* The annals of the school at Alfort contain the case of an old mare with fracture of the pelvis and of the left ischium, and in whom union of the bones was effected so promptly, that ou the thirtieth day very little lameness remained, and she shortly returned to her usual work. She soon afterwards died from some other cause, and the state of the osseous parts was thoroughly examined. These cases, however, stand almost alone, and post ?nortein examination discovers fractures of the ischium and the pelvis, and each bone divided into many jjieces, so that it is impossible for the hind quarters of the animal to be supported — also fractures of the ex- ternal angle of the ilium, which rarely is again consolidated, aud roughness of the bony fragments, which produce sad laceration of the soft parts. Fracture of the ischium presents almost insuper- able difficulties — that of the ilium is uniformly fatal.f FEACTUEE OF THE TAIL. This accident is not of frequent occurrence, except from accidental entanglement, or the appli- cation of brute force. The fracture is easily re- cognised, frequently by the eye and always by the fingers. If the tail is not amputated, a cord passed over a pulley, and with a small weight attached to it, will bring the separated bones again into apposi- tion, and in about a month the natural cartilage of the part wiU be sufficiently re-instated. FRACTDEES OF THE I.IMBS. These, fortunately, are of rare occurrence in the horse, for although their divided edges might be easily brought again into apposition, it would be almost impossible to retain them in it, for the slightest motion would displace them. A rapid survey of each may not, however, be altogether useless. FEACTDEE OF THE SHOULDER. The author is not aware of the successful treat- ment of this accident by any English veterinary surgeon. Mr. Fuller attempted it, but from the difiicully of keeping the divided edges of the bone in apposition with each other, and the natural un- tractableness of the animal, and symptoms of teta- • Rec. de Med. Vet., Nov. 1831, and Veterinarian, vol. vi , p. 390. + Diet. Vet. Mar. Hnitrel D'Alboval, vol. ii., p. 586. nus beginning to appear, the patient was destroyed. The fracture was a little above the neck of the scapula, aud the muscles were dreadfully lace- rated. J It is not at all times easy to discover the ex- istence and precise situation of fracture of the hu- menis. The lameness is very great — the animal will not bear at all upon the broken limb — he will drag it along the ground — he will move slowly and with difficulty, and his progression will consist of a succession of short leaps. The lifting of the foot will give very great pain. If he is roughly handled, he will sometimes rear, or throw himself suddenly down. By careful application of the hand a crepitus will more or less distinctly be heard. The chances are always materially against the union of a fracture of the humerus. The patient must be kept con- stantly suspended, and splints and bandages care- fully applied. M. Delaguette attended an entire draught-hoi'se, whose humerus had been fractured by the kick of a mare. The fracture extended longitudinally through two-thirds of the length of the bone, and the parts were separated from each other. They were brought again into apposition, and kept so by means of pitch plasters and splints. The horse was put into slings ; the pavement of the stable was taken up ; a hollow dug under the frac- tured limb, and this depression filled with straw, in order to afford a soft support to the foot. He was bled, gruel alone given as food, and injections daily administered. On the 2.5th day the rollers were removed and replaced. On the -tOth day he began to rest on the fractured limb. On the BOth day the bandages were removed — the fracture had been well consoli- dated, and the horse rested his weight upon it. It is reluctantly added that he was afterwards de- stroyed, on account of some disease of the loins. || FEACTUEE OF THE ARM. This accident is not of unfrequent occurrence. It commonly takes an oblique direction, and is usually first discovered by the displacement of the limb. Mr. Gloag, of the 10th Hussars, gives an interesting account of a case tbat occurred in his practice. " An entire black cart-horse was grazing in a field, into which some mai-es were accidentally turned. One of them kicked him severely a little above the knee. He, however, contrived to get home, and, being carefully examined, there was found a simple fracture of the radius, about an inch and a half above the knee. The ends of the frac- tured bone could be heard distinctly grating against each other, both in advancing the leg aud turning it sideway from the body. He was immediately placed in a sling not completely elevated from the t Veterinarian, vol. viii., p. 143. II Journal Pratique, Dec. 1834. THE HOUSE. 479 grouiul, but in whicli lie could occasionally relieve himself by standing. The leg was well bathed with warm water, and the ends of the bone brought as tme to their position as possible. Some thin slips of green wood were then immersed in boiling water until they would readily bend to the shape of the knee, and tliey were tied round the joint, reaching about nine inches above and six below the knee, the ends of them being tied round with tow. " A fortnight aftenvards he became very trouble- some, knocking his foot on the ground, and when, at the expiration of the sixth week, he was taken from the slings, there was a considerable bony de- posit above the knee. This, however, gradually subsided as the horse regained liis strength, and, with the exception of turning the leg a little outwards, he is as useful as ever for common pur- poses."* FEACTUEE OF THE ELBOW. This is far more exposed to danger than the two last bones, and is oftener fractured. The frac- ture is generally an oblique one, and about two- thirds from the summit of the limb. It is imme- diately detected by the altered action, and different appearance of the limb. It is not so difficult of reduction as either the humerus or the scapula, when the fracture is towards the middle of the bone. A great quantity of tow saturated with pitch must be placed around the elbow, and confined with firm adhesive plasters, the ground being hollowed away in the front of the injured leg, so that no pressure shall be made by that foot. FEACTUEE OF THE FEMUR. Considering the masses of muscle that suiTound this bone, and the immense weight which it sup- ports, it would naturally be deemed impossible to reduce a real fracture of the femur. If the divided bones are ever united, it is a consequence of the simple repose of the parts, and their tendency to imite. Professor Dick, however, relates a very singular and interesting account of the cure of frac- ture of the femiu'. He was requested to attend a " bay mare that had met with an accident in leaping a sunken fence. He found a wound in the stifle of the hind leg, nmning tranvsersely across the anterior of the articulation, about an inch and a half in length, and hi it was a portion of bone that had been fractured, and that bad escaped from its situation towards the inside of the stifle, where it was held by a portion of ligament. The isolated nature of the fractured portion, the difficidty, or rather impossibility of replacing it in its situation, and the few vessels which the connecting medium possessed, rendered it impossible that union would be effected ; he therefore determined to remove it. • Veterinarian, vol. iv., p. 422. Having enlarged the wound, and divided the portion of capsular ligament which retained it in its place, he extracted the bone, and found it to be the upper part of the inner anterior conayie of the femur, measuring three inches in length, one inch and a half in breadth, and about an inch in thick- ness, and being in shape nearly similar to the lon- gitudinal section of a hen's egg. After the removal of the bone the animal seemed veiy much relieved ; the wound was firmly sewed up, adhesive strapping applied over it, and the pait kept wet with cold water. Two da}"^ afterwards considerable swelling had taken place ; she seemed to suffer much, and there was some oozing from the wound. Fomentations were again applied, and she was slung. She now began rapidly to improve, and, although one of the largest articulations in the body had been, laid open, and a part of the articular portion of the bone removed, the woimd healed so rapidly that in three weeks she walked with little lameness to a loose box. At the expiration of another three weeks the Professor again visited her. On being led out she trotted several times along the stable yard, apparently sound, with the exception of moving the limb in a slight degree wider than usual, and so completely was the part recovered that, had it not been for a small scar that remained, a stranger could not have known that such an acci- dent had taken place.f FEACTUEE OF THE PATELLA. This does occasionally, though very seldom occur. It is usually the consequence of \-iolent kicks, or blows, and if this singular bone is once disunited, no power can bring the di^-ided por- tions of the bone together again, FEACTUEE OF THE TIBLA. This affection is of more frequent occui'- rence, and of more serious consequence than we were accustomed to imagine it to be. Mr. Trump, twelve yeai's ago, first called the at- tention of the profession to some singular cir- cumstances connected with the tibia. A large draught hoi-se belonging to the Dowlais Iron Company, at Merthyr Tydvil, came in from his labour very lame in the near hind leg, but with no visible sign of any severe injuiT being received. The foot was searclied, but nothing farther was done. He stood in the stable several days, and then was turned into a field, and was discovered one morning with the limb dependent, and a frac- tion of the tibia just above the hock. Fourteen or sLxteeu months after that, another horse came home from a jomiiey of seven miles, lame, with a slight mark on the inside of the thigh — a mere scratch, and veiy little tumefac- + Veterinarian, vol. ii., p. MO. 480 THE HORSE. tion. There was notliing to account for such se- vere lameness : hut, a few mornings afterwards, the tibia was seen to be fractured. The front of the bone was splintered as from a blow. Two months after that, another horse had been observed to be lame seven or eight daj'S. A slight scratch was observed on the inside of the thigh, with a little swelling, and increased heat and tenderness just above the hock. Mr. Trump had examined the foot during the time that the horse stood in the stable, not being satisfied that the apparently slight injui-y on the thigh could account for the lameness. He was turned to grass, and three days afterwards the tibia was found broken at the part mentioned, and evidently from a blow. Were there not positive proof of the circumstance, it would have been deemed im- possible that a fracture, and of such a bone, could have existed so long without detection.* Mr. J. S. Mayer gives an interesting account of the successful treatment of a case of fracture of the tibia. The simplicity of the process will, we trust, encourage many another veterinary surgeon to follow his example. "A horse received a blow on the tibia of the near leg. but little notice was taken of it for two or three days. When, however, we were called in to examine him, we found the tibia to be obliquely fractured about midway between the hock and the stifle, and a small wound existing on the inside of the leg. It was set in the following manner : — The leg from the stifle dowTi to the hock was well covered with an adhesive compound ; it was then wrapped round with fine tow, upon which another layer of the same adhesive mixture was laid, the whole being well splinted and bandaged up, so as to render what was a slightly compound fracture a simple one. The local inflammation and sympathetic fever that supervened were kept down by antiphlogistic measures. At the end of six weeks the bandages and splints were removed, and readjusted in a similar way as before, and at the termination of three months from the time of the accident he was discharged, cured, the splints being wholly taken off", and merely an adhesive stay kept on the leg. The horse is now at work and quite sound, there being merely a little thickening, where the callus is formed."! FEACTURE OF THE HOCK. This is not of frequent occurrence, but very difficult to treat, from the almost impossibility of finding means to retain the bone in its situation. A case, however, somewhat simple in its nature occurred in the practice of Mr. Cartwright. A * VeCerinarian, vol. iii.,p. 394. + The Ti iinsactinns of the Vet. Med. Association. Some other ca.ses of the suceessful treatment of Iractures are related in this work. colt, leaping at some rails, got his leg between them, and, unable to extricate himself, hung over on the other side. After being liberated it ap- peared on examination, that there was a simple horizontal fracture of the whole of the os calois about the middle. A splint was contrived so as to reach from the middle of the tibia to that of the cannon bone, and this was applied to the front of the leg, keeping the hock from its usual motion, and relaxing the muscles inserted into the OS calcis. Underneath this splint a charge was applied about the part, in order to form a level surface for the splint to rest upon. The whole was bound together by proper adhesive bandages, and he was ordered to be kept quiet in the stable, but not to be slung. In about two months the hock was fired and became perfectly sound. J FRACTURE OF THE CANNON OR SHANK BONE. This is of more frequent occurrence than that of any other bone, on accoimt of the length of the leg, and the danger to which it is exposed. There is rarely any difficulty in detecting its situation, but there is sometimes a great deal in bringing the divided edges of the bone again into appo- sition. A kind of windlass, or a power equal to it, is occasionally necessary to produce sufficient extension in order to effect the desired purpose : but the divided edges being brought into apposi- tion are retained there by the force of the muscles above. Splints reaching from the foot to above the knee should then be applied. The horse should be racked up during a fortnight, after which, if tlie case is going on well, the animal may often be turned out. In cases of compound fracture the wounds should be carefully attended to : but Mr. Percivall says that he knows one or two old jiractitioners, who are in the habit of treating these cases in a very summary and generally successful manner. They employ such common support, with splints and tow and bandages, as the case seems to re- quire, and then the animal with his leg bound up is turned out, if tlie season permits ; otherwise he is placed in a yard or box, where there is not much straw to incommode his movements. The animal will take care not to impose too much weight on his fractured limb ; and, provided the parts are well secured, nature will generally perform the rest.|| FRACTURE OF THE SESSAMOID BONES. There are but two instances of this on record. The first is related by Mr. Fuller of March. He was galloping steadily and not rapidly a horse of his own, when the animal suddenly fell as if he had been shot. He was broken down in both i Veterinarian, vol. iii., p. 69. 11 Percivall's Hippopatholoyy, vol. i , p. 269. THE HORSE. 481 fore legs. The owner very humanely ordered him to be immediately destroyed. Both the per- forans and perforatus tendons of the near fore leg ■were completely ruptured, just where they pass over the sessamoid bone, which was fractured in a transverse direction. The sessamoid bone of the off leg was fractured in the same direction, but the tendons were entire. '-•= The second case is one described by Mr. Har- ris of Preston. A strong coach-lilie animal was galloped rapidly. He had not got more tlian a hundred yards before he suddenly fell, and it was •with great difficulty that he could be led home, a distance of about two miles. There was soon con- siderable swelling in the off fore leg — great pain on the animal's attempting to walli, and his fetlock nearly touched the ground. Some slight crepitus could be detected, but the e.x^act seat of it could not be ascertained. Mr. Harris considered the case as hopeless, but the owner would have some means tried to save the animal. He was accord- ingly bled and physicked, and cold lotions and bandages were applied to the foot. Two days afterwards some bony spiculae began to protinide through the skin, and, the case being now per- fectly hopeless, the animal was destroyed. The inner sessamoid bone was shivered to atoms.-j- FK.VCTUBE OF THE UPPER PASTEEN. Thick and strong, and movable as this bone seems to be, it is occasionally fractured. This has been the consequence of a violent effort by the horse to save himself from falling, when he has stumbled, — it has happened when he has been in- cautiously permitted to run down a steep descent — and has occurred when a horse has been travell- ing on the best road, and at no great pace. The existence of fracture in this bone is, gene- rally speaking, easily detected. The injured foot is as lightly as possible permitted to come in con- tact with the ground. As little weight as may be is thrown on it, or, if the animal is compelled to use it, the fetlock is bent down nearly to the ground, and the toe is turned upward. If the foot is rotated, a crepitus is generally heard. This, however, is not always the case. M. Levrat was requested to examine a horse that had suddenly become lame. The near hind leg was retracted, and the foot was kept from touching the ground. He carefully examined the foot, and dis- covered that much pam was expressed when the pastern was handled. He suspected fracture of the bone, but he could not detect it. He bled the animal, ordered cooling ajjplications to the part, and gave a dose of physic. Three days afterwards he again saw his patient, and readily detected a * Veterinarian, vol. iii., p. 393. + Veterinarian, vol. v., p. 375. fracture, taking a direction obliquely across the pastern.* The probability of success in the treatment of this fracture, depends on its being a simple or compound one. If it runs laterally across the bone, it may be readily and successfully treated — if it extends to the joints above and below, it will probably terminate in anchylosis, and if the bone is shivered, as it too frequently is, into various jxarts, there would scarcely seem the possibility of a successful treatment of the case. The instances, however, ai'e numerous in which the case termi- nates successfully. Hurtrel DArboval recom- mends that a bandage steeped in some adhesive matter should be applied from the coronet to the middle of the leg. On this some wet pasteboard is to be moulded, enveloped afterwards in a linen bandage. A small splint is now to be applied before and behind and on each side, and the hollow places ai'e filled with tow, in order to give them an equal bearing. If this does not appear to be suffi- ciently secure, other splints, thicker and broader, are placed over those extending to the knee or the hock. The case related by M. Levrat was treated in this way. It will be comparatively seldom that it will be necessary to suspend the patient. The animal, under the treatment of M. Levrat, kept his foot in the air for nearly three weeks. At the end of that period he now and then tried to rest his toe on the litter. Six weeks after the accident, he began to throw some weight on the foot ; and a few days afterwards he was able to go to a pond, about fifty paces from his stable, and where, of his own accord, he took a foot-bath for nearly an hour at a time. At the expiration of another month he was mounted, and went veiy well at a walking pace ; he was, however, still lame when he was trotted. Another horse, treated by the same surgeon, was soon able to rest on the bad leg, in order to change his position — he was allowed three weeks after that, and then commenced his former daily work — the drawing of a hea-\'y cait. He limped a little when he was trotted ; but did as much slow- work as he was ever accustomed to do. FR.A.CTUEE OF THE LOWER P.iSTERN. Although this bone is much shorter than the upper pastern, there are several instances of frac- ture of it. The fractures of this bone ai'e commonly longitudinal, and often present a lesion of continu- ity extending from the larger pastern to the coffin- bone. It is frequently splintered, the splinters taldug this longitudinal direction. Hurtrel DAr- boval relates three cases of this, and in one of them the bone was splintered into four pieces. In several instances, however, this bone has been sepai'ated t Rce. du M^J. Vet., Nov. 1S31 482 THE HORSE. into eight or ten distinct pieces. When the frac- ture of the bone is neither compound nor compli- cated, it may be perfectly reduced by proper ban- daging, and, in fact, there have been cases, in ■which union has taken place with slight assistance from art beyond the application of a few bandages. M. Gazot relates a very satisfactoiy terminatiou of fracture of this bone in a carriage-horse. The animal fell, and was totally unable to rise again. He was placed on some hurdles, and drawn home. A veterinary surgeon being consulted, recognised fracture of the lower pastern in both feet, and advised that the animal should be destroyed. It was a favourite horse, between five and six years old, and the owner determined to give it a chance of recovery. M. Gazot was consulted. He plainly recog- nised a transverse fracture in the lower pastern of the right leg, and a longitudinal one in the left psistern. They were both of them simple fractures. The horse was manageable and seemed to compre- hend the whole affair. He had plenty of good litter under him, which was changed twice in the day. The first object that was attempted to be accomplished was the healing of the excoriations that had taken place in drawing him home, and abating the inflammation that was appearing about the pasterns. At the termination of the first week all these were healed, the horse fed well, and was perfectly quiet, except that when he was tired of lying on one side he contrived to get on his knees and then to raise himself on his haunches, and, having voided his urine and his dung, he turned himself upon the other side, without the bandages round his pasterns being in the slightest degree interfered with. At the expiration of the second week he seemed to wish to get up. The groom had orders to assist him, and a sling was passed under him. Some oats were placed in the manger, and he seemed to enjoy the change for a little while. Soon after- wards he began to be uneasy, and a copious per- spiration appeared on every part. He was imme- diately lowered, when, with evident delight, he stretched out his head and his legs, and lay almost without motion during several hours. On the fol- lowing day he was again placed in the sling, and again lowered as soon as he appeared to be fatigued. At the expiration of a month from the time of the accident he could get up without assistance, and would continue standing two or three hours, when he lay down again, but with a degree of pre- caution that was truly admirable. The bandages around the pasterns had been continued until this period, and had been kept wet with a spirituous embrocation. The horse was encouraged to walk a little, some corn being offered to him in a sieve. He was sadly lame, and the lameness was consi- derably greater in the left than in the right foot. A calculous enlargement could also be felt in the direction of the fracture on each pastern ; but it was greatest in the left fetlock, and there was reason to fear the existence of ancholysis between the pastern bones of the left leg. That foot was surrounded with emollient cataplasms, and, two days afterwards, was pared out, and the cautery applied over both pasterns, the sjiirituous embro- cation being continued. A fortnight afterwards the effect of the cauteiy was very satisfactory. The action of the part was *more free, and there was no longer any fear of anchylosis. It was however deemed prudent to apply the cautery over the right pastern. Walking exercise was now recommended, and in the course of another month the lameness was much dimi- nished. It was most on the left side, which, how- ever, had resumed its former degree of inclination. At the expiration of four months the horse was sent to work. His master, however, doubting the stability of the cure, sold him, for which he ought to have had his own legs broken, and he fell into bad hands. He was worked hardly and half- starved ; nevertheless, the calculus continued to diminish, and the lameness altogether disappeared. He soon, however, passed into better hands. He was bought by a farmer at Chalons, in whose ser- vice he long remained, in good condition, and totally free from lameness. His last owner gave him the name of .Old Broken Leg.* FHACTURE OF THE COFFIN BO.NF.. This is an accident of very rare occurrence, and difficult to distinguish from other cattses of lame- ness. The animal halts very considerably — the foot is hot and tender — the puin seems to be ex- ceedingly great, and none of the ordinary causes of lameness are percei\ed. According to Hui'trel D'Arboval, it is not so serious an accident as has been represented. The fractured portions cannot be displaced, and in a vascular bone lilce this, the union of the divided parts will be readily effected. Mr. Percivall very properly remarks, tliat, " buried as the coffin and navicular bones are within the hoof, and out of the way of all external injury as well as of muscular force, fracture of them cannot proceed from ordinary causes. It is, per- haps, thus produced : — in the healthy foot, in con- sequence of the elasticity of their connections, these bones yield or spring under the impression the y receive from the bones above, and thus are enabled to bear great weights, and sustain violent shocks without injury ; but, disease in the foot is often found to destroy this elasticity, by changing the cartilage into bone, which cannot receive the * Recueil de Med. Vet. 1834, p. 7. No apology is offered for the introduction of cases lil;c this. The cause of science and of humanity is equally served. THE HORSE. 483 same weight and concussion without risk of frac- ture. Horses that have undergone the operation of neurotomy more frequently meet with this acci- dent than others, because they batter their sense- less feet with a force which, under similar circum- stances, pain would forbid the others from doing."* FRACTURE OF THE NAVICULAR BONE has been sufficiently considered under the article " Navicular Joint Disease," p. 463. Mr. Mayer sums up his account of the treat- ment of fractures in a way that reflects much credit on him and the profession of which lie is a member. " Let your remedies," says he, " be governed by those principles of science, those dic- tates of humanity, and that sound discretion, which, w-hile they raise the moral and intellectual superiority of man, distinguish the master of his profession from the bungling empiric"! CHAPTER XXI. ON SHOEING. The period when the shoe began to be nailed to the foot of the horse is uncertain. William the Norman introduced it into our country. We have seen, in the progress of our inquiry, that, while it affords to the foot of the horse that defence which seems now to be necessary against the destructive effects of our artificial and flinty roads, it has entailed on the animal some evils. Jt has limited or destroyed the beautiful expansi- bility of the lower part of the foot— it has led to contraction, although that contraction has not always been accompanied by lameness — in the most careful fixing of the best shoe, and in the careless manufacture and setting on of the bad one. irreparable injury has occasionally been done to the horse. We will first attend to the preparation of the foot for the shoe, for more than is generally imagined, of its comfort to the horse and its safety to the riiler, depends on this. If the master would occasionally accompany the horse to the forge, more expense to himself and punishment to the horse would be spared than, perhaps, he would think possible, provided he will take the pains to understand the matter himself, otherwise he had better not interfere. The old shoe must be first taken off. We have something to observe even here. The shoe was retained on the foot by the ends of the nails lieiug twisted off, turned down, and clenched. These clenches should be first raised, which the smith seldom tiikes the trouble thoroughly to do; but after looking carefully round the crast and loosening one or two of the clenches, he takes hold first of one heel of the shoe, and then of the other, and by a violent wi-ench separates them from the foot : then, by means of a third wrench, applied to the middle of the shoe, he tears it off. By these means he must enlarge every nail-hole, and weaken the future and steady hold of the shoe, * Ptrcivall's Hippopathology, vol. i., p. 272. and sometimes tear off portions of the crust, and otherwise injure the foot. The horse generally shows by his flinching that he suffers from the violence with which this preliminaiy operation too often is performed. The clenches should always be raised or filed off ; and, where the foot is tender, or the horse is to be examined for lame- ness, each nail should be partly punched out. According to the common system of procedure, many a stub is left in the crast, the source of future annoyance. The shoe having been removed, the smith proceeds to rasp the edges of the crust. Let not the stander-by object to the apparent violence which he uses, or fear that the foot will suffer. It is the only means that he has to detect whether any stubs remain in the nail-holes ; and it is the most convenient method of removing that portion of the crust into which dut and gravel have insi- nuated themselves. Next comes the important process of paring out, with regard to which it is almost impossible to lay down any specific rules. This, however, is un- doubted, that far more injury has been done by the neglect of paring, than by carryinjj; it to too great an extent. The act of paring is a work of much more labour than the jjroprietor of the horse often imagines. The smith, except he is overlooked, will frequently give himself as little trouble about it as he can ; and that portion of horn which, in the unshod foot, would be worn away by con- tact with the ground is suffered to accumulate month after month, until the elasticity of the sole is destroyed, and it can no longer descend, and its other functions are imjeded, and foundation is laid for corn, and contraction, and navicular disease, and inflammation. That portion of horn should be left on the foot, which will defend the internal parts from being braised, and yet suffer the external sole to descend. How is this to be ascer- + Vet. Trans., vol. i., p. 245. 4ft4 THE HOKSE. tallied ? The strong pressure of the thumb of the smith will be the best guide. The buttress, that most destructive of all instruments, being, except on very particular occasions, banished from every respectable forge, the smith sets to work with his drawing-knife, and removes the growth of horn, imtil the sole will yield, although in the slightest possible degree, to the strong pressure of his thumb. The proper thickness of horn will then I'emain. If the foot has been previously neglected, and the horn is become very hard, the owner must not object if the smith resorts to some other means to soften it a little, and takes one of his flat irons, and having heated it, draws it over the sole, and keeps it, a little while, in contact with the foot. When the sole is really thick, this rude and appa- rently barbarous method can do no harm, but it should never be permitted with the sole that is regularly pared out. The quantity of horn to be removed in order to leave the proper degree of thickness wUl vary with different feet. From the strong foot a great deal must be taken. From the concave foot the horn may be removed until the sole will yield to a moderate pressure. From the flat foot little needs to be pared ; while tlie pumieed foot should be deprived of nothing but the ragged parts. The paring being nearly completed, the knife and the rasp of the smith must be a little watched, or he will reduce the crust to a level with the sole, and thus endanger the bruising of it by its pres- sure on the edge of the seating. The crust should be reduced to a perfect level, all round, but left a little higher than the sole. The heels will require considerable attention. From the stress which is thrown on the inner heel, and from the weakness of the quarter there, the horn usually wears away considerably faster than it would on the outer one, and if an equal portion of horn were pared from it, it would be left lower than the outer heel. The smith should, therefore, accom- modate his paring to the comparative wear of the heels, and be exceedingly careful to leave them jJrecisely level. If the reader will recollect what has been said of the intention and action of the bars, he will readily perceive that the smith should be checked in his almost universal fondness for opening the heels, or, more truly, removing that which is the main impediment to contraction. The portion of the heels between the inflexion of the bar and the frog should scarcely be touched — at least the ragged and detached parts alone should be cut away. The foot may not look so fair and open, but it will last longer without contraction. The bar, likewise, should be left fully promi- nent, not only at its first inflexion, but as it runs down the side of the frog. The heel of the shoe is designed to rest partly on the heel of the foot and partly on the bar, for reasons that have been already stated. If the bar is weak, the growth of it should be encouraged ; and it should be scarcely touched when the horse is shod, unless it has attained a level with the crust. The reader will recollect the observation which has been already made, that the destniction of the bars not only leads to contraction by removing the grand impediment to it, but by adding a still more powerful cause in the slanting direction which is given to the bearing at the heels, when the bar does not contribute to the support of the weight. It will also be apparent that the horn between the crast and the bar should be carefully pared out. Every horseman has observed the relief which is given to the animal lame with corns when this angle is well thiimed. This relief, however, is often but temjiorary ; for when the horn grows again, and the shoe presses upon it, the torture of the horse is renewed. The degree of paring to which the frog must be subjected will depend on its prominence, and on the shape of the foot. The principle has already been stated, that it must be left so far projecting and prominent, that it shall be just within and above the lower surface of the shoe ; it will then descend vntH the sole sufficiently to dis- charge the functions that have been attributed to it. If it is lower, it will be bruised and injured ; if it is higher, it cannot come in contact .with the ground, and thus be enabled to do its duty. The I'agged parts must be removed, and especially those occasioned by thrush, but the degree of j)aring must depend entirely on the principle just stated. It appears, then, that the office of the smith requires some skill and judgment in order to be properly discharged ; and the proprietor of horses will find it his interest occasionally to visit the forge, and complain of the careless, or idle, or obstinate fellow, while he rewards by some trifling gratuity the expert and diligent workman. He should likewise remember that a great deal more depends on the paring out of the foot than on the construction of the shoe ; that few shoes, except they press ujjon the sole or are made outrageously bad, will lame the horse ; but that he may be very easily lamed from ignorant and improper paring out of the foot. THE PUTTING ON OF THE SHOE. The foot being thus prepared, the smith looks about for a shoe. He should select one that as nearly as possible fits the foot, or may be easily altered to the foot. He will sometimes, and especially if he is an idle and reckless fellow, care little about this, for he can easily alter the foot to the shoe. The toe-knife is a very convenient thp: horse. 4H5 instrument for him, and plenty of horn can be struck off with it. or removed by the rasp, in order to make the foot as small as the shoe ; while he cares little, although by this destructive method the crust is materially tliinncd where it should receive the nail, and the danger of puncture and of pressure upon the sole is increased ; and a foot so artiticially diminished in size will soon grow over the shoe, to the hazard of considerable or permanent lameness. While the horse is travelling, dirt and gravel are apt to insinuate themselves between the web of the shoe and the sole. If the shoe were flat, they would be permanently retained there, and would bruise the sole, and be productive of injury ; but when the shoe is properly bevelled off, it is scarcely possible for them to remain. They must be shaken out almost every time that the foot comes in contact with the ground. The web of the shoe is likewise of that thick- ness that when the t\iot is properly pared, the prominent part of the frog shall lie just within and above its ground surface, so that in the descent of the sole the frog shall come sufficiently on the ground to enable it to act as a wedge and to expand the quarters, while it is defended from the wear and injury it would receive if it came on the ground with the iirst and full sho^ik of the weight. The nail-holes are, on the ground side, placed as near the outer edge of the shoe as they can safely be, and brought out near the inner edge of the seating. The nails thus take a direc- tion inward, resembling that of the crust itself, and have firmer hold, while the strain upon them in the common shoe is altogether prevented, and the weight of the horse being thrown on a flat surface, contraction is not so likely to be produced. The smith sometimes objects to the use of this shoe on account of its not being so easily formed as one composed of a bar of iron, either flat or a little bevelled. It likewise occupies more time in the forging ; but these objections would vanish when the owner of the horse declared that he would have him shod elsewhere, or when he con- sented— as, in justice, he should — to pay some- what more for a shoe that required better worlv- mansliip. and longer time in the construction. It is expedient not only that the foot and ground surface of the shoe should be most accu- rately level, but that the cnist should be exactly smoothed and fitted to the shoe. Much skill and time are necessary to do this perfectly with the drawing-knife. The smith has adopted a method of more quickly and more accurately adapting the shoe to the foot. He pares the crust as level as he can, and then he brings the shoe to a heat somewhat below a red heat, and applies it to the foot, and detects any little elevations by the deeper colour of the burned horn. This practice has been much inveighed against; but it is the abuse, and not the use of the thing which is to be condemned. If the shoe is not too hot, nor held too long on the foot, an accuracy of adjustment is tlius obtained which the knife would be long in produ- cing, or would not produce at all. If, however, the shoe is made to burn its way to its seat, with little or no previous preparation of the foot, the heat must be injurious both to the sensible and insensible parts of the foot. The heels of the shoe should be examined as to their proper width. AVhatever is the custom of shoeing the horses of dealers, and the too preva- lent practice in the metropolis of giving the foot an open appearance, although the posterior part of it is thereby exposed to injury, nothing is more certain than that, in the horse destined for road- work, the heels, and particularly the seat of com, can scarcely be too well covered. Part of the shoe projecting externally can be of no possible good, but will prove an occasional source of mischief, and especially in a heavy country. A shoe, the web of which projects inward as far as it can without touching the frog, affords protection to the angle between the bars and the crust. Of the manner of attaching the shoe to the foot the owner can scarcely be a competent judge ; he can only take care that the shoe itself shall not be heavier than the work requires — that, for work a little hard the shoe shall still be light, with a bit of steel welded into the toe— that the nails shall be as small, and as few, and as far from the heels as may be consistent with the security of the shoe ; and that, for light work at least, the shoe shall not be driven on so closely and firmly as is often done, nor the points of the nails be brought out so high up as is generally practised. There are few cases in which the use of calkins (a turning up or elevation of the heel) can be ad- missible in the fore-feet, except in frosty weather, when it may in some degree prevent unpleasant or dangerous slipping. If, however, calkins are used, they should be placed on both sides. If the outer heel only is raised with the calkin, as is too often the case, the weight cannot be thrown evenly on the foot, and undue straining and injury of some part of the foot or of the leg must be the necessaiy consequence. Few things deserve more the attention of the horseman than this most absurd and injurious of all the practices of the forge. One quarter of an hour's walking, with one side of the shoe or boot raised considerably above the other, will painfully convince us of what the horse must suffer from this too common method of shoeing. It cannot be ex- cused even in the huudng shoe. If the horse is ridden far to cover, or galloped over much hard 1 I •r I*". jtf m tho ^y1 U» th^ h«><>l ; sttVvl it :> 8ull\iii'ntK wivlo to g»>Hi>l tht» sv\l<> Aww WttWs auil. «s uuu'h so !tei ih<» ^^^^ will jvituiu u< vvw. tho soHt iif »v>'i», i»u tho t\H»t !4ivl<» VI is j!*«<»4. Ttw \^it*T jvui |of it is tuvunXi-K »l*t. «Wvl vvl' ll»o wivUh vM" «h« cni»t. mill vloxik;<»ovl tv< su{<{vi-( th<- v'wstv l^- Vv it tl(«> wholo \\ou>ht v>l' tho hvMso >s su-^tAittts) l\>\vm\is tno luvl this tUttoi»«sl jvAti i* A'i\)or kitd >nsH>|vii's tho \vlu»lo h>\v«vhh »\J" tlu» \\*K itt imlor ti> M>|>|v>rt tho hot^l vvl' tho oi'^^st auvI >t* l*rt«vto>l |>«n tho l>Hr th«*, whdo >t ^lotthi« tlxs *«i;lo tWw «\|«r\v it Biv»« ihitt ON)i»!tl )>iv->M»v »>|v>>v tho lv*r muI tlw fV\\*\, whtoli is tho hiVHt )>t\'\o»t>\o i«^ttvai| vWt'***^ ml A ^H>\\Oli\tl olwtHolo t\> vNXUWv'th^U It i« l"n«io»>0(l to tho Ivvt h\ wttto twiW l\v* \\» Iho otusiilo, ooil l\>»it~ o«t tho i«t»or s\»t>' , ■" ■'■ *■ < ■ H\\m'' \'\\ ilio ttttiiulo oxtotvlixk} * hn'- lowttisl* iho hool, h«s^>u»o tho »>m»»vh- '■ v kllil «li\>U(;o)', mtd ihotxt in utotv ttMtl tu^Ui . «hv« )^'^t tHil oti tho iituor t)u Wl OH lt\HS>«)t«( >i|' iho \\\M«Kttt^« of (ll,»t iJVM^HOtN h'oi' loot Dol i>>o lrt»x»v '*">l whow >v»>'vh'i>«»o \\\>(>k i\\\\ \» iv>n»»>"<>il l\\>M» tho h»>t>«Ov t\»i\' «»H\K vvtt th.' ttiUiilo, Niiil il\i\>o oit tho (ttMttIo, will )«o mi\toi«^«t; kttil tlto Ittot \\m\ IvoiHij l\tt> l\\v\« tho hov^U, v\*li i\\i\\\ M)0I1< 0\|uMli> \\ol> i» ho\\^lhsl otV, \M- {nmh'h'il isiMi^tvo, (hut tt t«ty^\ t»ot jvt\««>« «jVN»t tho liM, «llho«iMh (\> « \ot-\ ht('t\il whoH tho h>ot »i| (ho hoi'wo »» |>\tt OH \\w 4 t'ottt oo((«Ut(( \^ v'voH IH'ttnloiml |no,ai|io, H»>l ll It >HH«o \\\ \\^\UW\ Wtth , 0 iho*, lilt) lottvlhlt* mlo h»»l\\*»*H (♦ mtvl \\\* As>w»W'wBi!AgaS&»tawg-s:3>»?f^aeT»TgM»« tea t>» <^ w»j>iirwi>jt » "^Ky <»wie»wg»»» ji^wg»- tK« wk it$ j^mit «Mi iit ^ i>>in:?s. I^jtw^ ^ :-;*i**A> tW AV«? >**S >vMi>i, :^ . -X- ,^--^' .^ o > -V- \. -^o<* *h- - Nit t\>- X »H^^\^ hi W NWV'*^ V Ot I'u- .x:;^ »\tvwt^vvv)» M W >1\o t\\\* \^u>» w > ■ , .. ,,„ ,, ,-v> dVvHd o(' tho Wt, >*M t»V,> ^^<^M M«»«li^ *^V\VS^ tho Utt ^oj wssM*,) '■ ^^' ot^' .f 488 THE HORSE. other attacliment, between the shoe and the crust. The portion of the crust which is rasped off from the inner surface of the shoe is now, we believe, not often removed from the side of the foot; it has an unpleasant appearance, and the rasjiing is some- what unnecessary. The heel of this shoe exhibits the method which Mr. Tm-ncr has adopted, and with considerable success, for the cure of corns; he cuts away a portion of the ground surface at the heel, and all injurious compression or concussion are rendered in a manner impossible. There can be no doubt that this one-sided nail- ing has been exceedingly useful. It has, in many a case that threatened a serious termination, re- stored the elasticity of the foot, and enabled it to discharge ils natural functions. It has also restored to the foot, even in bad cases, a great deal of its natural formation, and enabled tlie hoi'se to dis- charge his duty with moi'e ease and pleasure to himself, and greater security to his rider. It is difficult to tell what was the character of " the old English shoe." It certainly was larger than there was any occasion for it to be, and nearly covered the lower surface of the foot. The nail- holes were also far more numerous than they are at present. The ground side was usually some- what convex. " The effect of this," says Mr. W. C. Spooner, " was to place the foot in a kind of hollow dibh, which effectually prevented its proper expansion, the crust resting on a mere ledge instead of a flat surface ; and on the ground side, from the inner rim coming to the ground tir.st, the weight was almost supported by the nails and clinches, which were pl.iced, four or live on each side, at some distance from the toe, and ajiproach- ing nearly to the heels."* It was an improvement to make the ground • A Treatise on tbe Fool of (be Hoise, by Mr. W. C. Spooner, surface flat, and to take care that it did not press on the sole. At length, however, came the con- cave-seated shoe of Osnier, which was advocated by Mr. Clark, of Edin\)urgh, improved by Mr. Moorcroft, and ultimately became very generally and usefully adopted. THE HUNTING SHOE. The hunter's shoe is different from that com- monly used, in form as well as in weight. It is THE HORSE. 489 lapft not 80 much bevellerl ofF as tho common concare- geated shoe. Sufficient space alone is left for the introduction of a picker between the shoe and the sole, othenvise, in going over heavy ground, the clay would insinuate itself, and by its tenacity loosen, and even tear off the shoe. The heels likewise are somewhat shorter, that they may not be torn off by the toe of the hind-feet when gallop- ing fast, and the outer heel is frerjuently but inju- diciously turned up to prevent slipping. If calkins are necessarj', both heels should have an equal bearing. THK B.\R-SHOE. A bar-shoe is often exceedingly useful. It is the continuation of the common shoe round the heels, and by means of it the pressure may be taken off from some tender part of the foot, and thrown on another which is better able to bear it, or more widely and equ'illy diffused over the whole foot. It is principally resorted to in cases of corn, the seat of which it perfectly covers — in pumiced feet, the soles of which may be thus elevated above the ground an 1 secured from pressure — in sand- crack, when the pressure may be removed from the fissure, and thrown on either side of it, and in thrushes, when the frog Ls tender, or is become cankered, and requires to be frequently dressed, and the dressing can by this means alone be re- tained. In these cases the bar-shoe is an excellent contrivance, if worn only for one or two shoeings. or as long as the disea.se requires it to be worn, but it must be left off as soon as it can be dispensed ' with. If it Ls used for the protection of a diseased foot, however it may be chambered and laid off the j frog, it will soon become flattened upon it ; or if the pressure of it is thrown on the frog, in order to relieve the sand-crack or the com, that frog must be very strong and healthy which can long j bear the great and continued pressure. More I mischief Ls often produced in the frog than pre- viously existed in the part that was relieved. It will be plain that in the use of the bar-shoe for com or sand-crack, the crust and the frog should be precLsely on a level : the bar also should be the 1 \\idest part of the shoe, in order to afford as ex- tended bearing as possible on the frog, and there- fore less likely to be injurious. Bar-shoes are evidently not safe in frosty weather. They are never safe when much speed is required from the ' horse, and they are apt to be wrenched off in a i heavy, clayey country. [ Tips are short shoes, reaching only half round the foot, and worn while the horse is at grass, in order to prevent the crust being torn by the occa- sional hardness of the ground, or the pawing of the animal. The quarters at the same time being free, the foot disposed to contract has a chance of expanding and regaining its natural shape. THE EXPAKDIS'O SHOE. Our subject would not be complet* if we did not describe the suppo-sed expanding shoe, although it is now almost entirely out of u.se. It is either seated or concave like the common shoe, with a joint at the toe, by which the natural expaasion of the foot is said to be permitted, and the injurious consequences of shoeing prevented. There is, however, this radical defect in the jointed shoe, that the nails occupy the same situation as in the ; common shoe, and prevent, as they do, the gra/lual expansion of the sides and quarters, and allow only of a hinge-like motion at the toe. It is a most ' imperfect accommodation of the expansion of the foot to the action of its internal parts, and even this accommodation is a.fforded in the slightest possible degree, if it is affjrded at all. Either the nails fix the sides and quarters as in the common shoe, and then the joint at the toe is useless ; or, if tliat joint merely opens like a hinge, the nail- holes near the toe can no longer correspond with those in th? quarters, which are uneqaally expand ing at every point. There will be more stress on the crust at these holes, which will not only en- large them and destroy the fixed attachment of the siioe to the hoof, but often tear away portions of the crust. This shoe, in order to answer the intended purpose, should consLst of many joints, running along the sides and quarters, which would make it too complicated and expensive and frail for general ase. While the shoe is to be attached to the foot by nails, we mast be content with the concave-seited or unilateral one, taking care to place the n lil- holes as far from the heels, and particularly frim the inner heel, as the state of the f)ot and the nature of the work will admit ; and where the country is not too heavy nor the work too severe, omitting all but two on the inner side of the foot. FELT OB LE.^THEB SOLES. When the foot is bruised or inflamed the con- cussion or shock produced by the hard contact of the elastic iron with the ground gives the animal much pain, and aggravates the injury or disease. A strip of felt or leather is, therefore, sometimes placed between the seating of the shoe and the cnist, which, from its want of elasticity, deadens or materially lessens the vibration or shock, and the horse treads more freely and is evidently re- lieved. This is a gjod contrivance while the in- flammation or tenderness of the foot continues, but a very bad practice if constantly adopted. The naDs cannot be driven so surely or sscurelv when this substance is interposed between the shoe and the foot. The contraction and swelling of the felt I ^^f 490 ;l or kaiiter irom me enen oi motsom or dr viD sooa mtder the Mmhmft wt die siv: firm — tkae vQl be too Bocfa pier «poii the b^ the iMil-holes will eokiige, and the crost r. broken •aaj. After ■uiiwk or extenBre fcnnses at the or where the sole it thin and flat and tender, mnetimes wyered with a piece of leather, fitu the sole, and nailed on widi the shoe. Thb be allowed as a tenpotaiy de&nce ot the ioot there is the same ofcjeetion to its peimantu from the insecnritj of heumag. and the stn the crast, and the ire^nent cn^^pin^ of it- are also these adiliiiiaial ineonTenieneea. tfaa; hollow between the sole and tlw leather ts with sto|)ping and tow, it b exeeedinglT di&: introdoce them so erenlr and acraratf-lV r^ pcodnee pamal or iBjnrioas pnasiiie. work wiQ almost inrariablT so der. ding, as to eanse meiiaal piriinir eootaet of the sole with stoffing of kind win prodnce. not a heahhj. eh> that of a scalr, sfmngr natnre — aB'i is not thus filled, grsrel and dirt - ihenwflTea, and eat into and injue tii« i - The geneml halst of stopping the Ceet r some eonsideratioB. It is a rerr good or bad pmctiee. scconling to diaonstances. \ the sole is fiat and thin it AotU K> except on the ereningbefeeeshoemg. appUcaoon of a littte inuistnie m^ paring of the foot safer and BMte ek:T . oftener nsed it wanU soften thei>oC,'and increase the teitdency to descent, bottheo: oMuixeMce of lament as from pebbles or irn hties of the road. Profieasor Stewart gives a valoaUe wv- the proper apfrficatiaa of stopping. •■ Fami es sddom reqoire aoT stopping. Their f--:' ^^ snffioent moistore in the fidds. or. : r get macfa. ther not do need mndi. C ■.: in the town shoold be stopped eirry - n^it, nntil Mondar mommg. Fast f^oic Bhoold be stopped once a week, or often«r winter, and ererr second ni^t in the hot •▲» of summer. Oroggjr hwses. and all tboee high heels, eoncave shoes, or hot and tender or an exabenmee ct horn. lequifg stopping all it ererr night. When ne^ected, espedallj weather, the scde becomes hsrd and rigid, ani e horse goes lame, or becomes lame if he verc it so before."* One of two sabstances. or a mixtnre of boc! generallj used for stopping the feel— day eow-dong. The clav osed alone is too hard, dries tco rapidly. Many horses have been by it If it is csed in the stable, it shoold al be removed before the horse aoes to work. It • Sc' » ».n » Seabfc (X^vooerr, p. H7. withi sole, tow Thei tsgomgat I daring ' needs to be erery 1 in the middle are getting* coontrr. ilr. PerriTall occupies a verr bacUedon the fool win sene as a on the road, o the nce^Kme '---■■'her: or m -ed feet thu ' ;^ and daily lowing p^ge is a shott ] Fr that the shoe, or inm i of three fwimtipmL parts.i appendages; which i resemblance to the miidU har. the bnnd the tip ; and the j e bar. extending to| itfffmdmfet are. the jeetiag from the frmrt of thJ b^ ahinge npon the tot-Hip^ nisfaed with two ircm two clips at the heels of respond t^^Mtee-clip ; toe of , heebi • •*^ whii andbou the hoof I il 491 ^The heel and coronet-strap is furnished with pads and two sliding loops : one, a moveable eposes ou the heel, to defend that part from -Toe.Clasp 'inge ;C!ip Heel Clip' ^ the pressure and friction of tht p ; the other, a pad attached to the strap m e buckle, af- fords a similar defence to the uet, in fronf The heel-strap runs through ili upper riii_ crosses the heel, and encircles tJic ronet, and it- office is to keep the heels of the tje closely ap- i plied to the hoof, and to prevent tha from slidiuf» I forward. ° I In the application of the sand the foot is ' taken up with one hand, and th shoe slipped upon it with the other. With the ime hand the shoe is retained in its place, while le foot is gra- dually let down to rest on the grcnd. As soon as this is done, the straps are dra-i as tight as possible and buckled. The following cut presents an acirate delinea- tion of the sandal, when properly fasted on the foot. Horses occasionally fall from id riding, or bad shoeing, or over-reaching, or riuwkward way of setting on the saddle. The heaarbe neck, the back, or the legs, will tenest suffer. ■^ ^cult to get the anim on his legs lly if he is old, or exlusted, or in- fall. The principal .tiject is, to *head, and to render in tixed point ^he muscles may act in tpporting the iKe is in harness, it is ^dom that he itil he is freed from 4 sliafts and way, sary, horse hecoUt 492 THE HOKSE. CHAPTER XXII. OPERATIONS. These belong more to the veterinary surgeon than to the proprietor of the horse, but a short account of tlie manner of conducting tlie principal ones shonlJ not be omitted. It is frequently necessary to bind the human patient, and in no painful or dangerous operation should this be omitted. It is more necessary to bind the horse, who is not under the control of reason, and whose struggles may not only be inju- rious to himself but dangerous to the operator. The ti-evis is a machine indispensable in every continental forge ; even the quietest horses are there put into it to be shod. The side-line is a very simple and useful me- thod of confining the horse, and placing him in sufficient subjection fur the operations of docking, nicking, and slight firing. The long line of the Jiobblcs. or a common cart-rope with a noose at the end, is fastened on the pastern of the hind-leg that is not to be operated on. The rope attached to it is then brought over the neck and round the withers, and there tied to the portion that comes from the leg. The leg may thus be drawn so far forward that, while the horse evidently cannot kick with that leg, he is disarmed of the other ; for he would not have sufficient support under him if he attempted to raise it : neither can he easily use his fore-legs, or, if he attempts it, one of them may be lifted up, and then he becomes nearly powerless. If necessary, the aid of the twitch or the barnacles may be resorted to. For every minor operation, and even for many that are of more importance, this mode of re- straint is sufficient, especially if the operator has active and determined assistants ; and we confess that we are no friends to the casting of horses, if it can possibly be prevented. When both legs are included in the hobble or rope — as in another way of using the side-line — the horse may appear to be more secure ; but there is greater danger of his falling in his violent struggles during the operation. For castrating and severe firing the animal must be thrown. The safety of the horse and of the operator will require the use of the improved hobbles, by which any leg may be released from confinement, and returned to it at pleasure ; and, when ihe operation is ended, the whole of the legs may be set at liberty at once without danger. The method of putting the legs as closely toge- ther as possible before the pull — the necessity of the assistants all pulling together — and the power which one man standing at the head and firmly holding the snaflHe-bridle, and another at the haunch pushing the horse when he is beginning to fall, have in bringing him on the proper side, and on the very spot on which he is intended to lie, need not to be described. It will generally be found most convenient to throw the patients on the off side, turning them over when it is re- quired. This, however, is a method of securing the horse to which we repeat that we are not par- tial, and to which we should not resort except ne- cessity compelled; for in the act of falling, and in the struggles after falling, many accidents have occurred both to the horse and the surgeon.* Among the minor methods of restraint, but sufficient for many purposes, are the twitch and the barnacles. The former consists of a noose passed through a hole at the end of a strong stick, and in which the muzzle is inclosed. The stick being turned round, the muzzle is securely retained, while the horse suffers considerable pain from the pressure — sufficiently great, indeed, to render him comparatively inattentive to that which is produced by the operation ; at the same time he is afraid to struggle, for every motion increases the agony caused by the twitch, or the assistant has power to increase it by giving an additional turn to the stick. The degree of pain produced by the application of the twitch should never be forgotten or unneces- sarily increased. In no case shoidd it be resorted to when milder measures would have the desired effect. Grooms and horsekeepers ai'e too much in the habit of having recourse to it, when they have a somewhat troublesome horse to manage. The degree of useless torture which is thus inflicted in large establishments is dreadful ; and the tem- per of many a horse is too frequently completely spoiled. The barnacles are the handles of the pincers placed over and inclosing the muzzle, and which, being compressed by the assistant, give pain almost equal to that of the twitch. These may appear to be barbarous modes of enforcing submission, but they are absolutely indispensable. In a few in- stances the blindfolding of the horse terrifies him into submission ; but this is not to be depended upon. The twitch should be resorted to when the least resistance is offered ; and when that, as it occasionally does, renders the horse more violent, recourse must be had to the side-line or the hobbles. * The safest and best hobbles ave those invented by Mr. Glnag and improved by Mr. Daws, as represented in the Veteri- nanan, vol, x., p. 108, and vol. \i., p. 163. The thumb-screw (fig. 3) should, however, be inverted. THE HORSE. 4fi3 In the painful examination of tlie fore-leg or foot while on the ground, the other foot should be held up by an assistant ; or, if his aid is required in an operation, the knee may be fully bent, and the pastern tied up to the arm. When the hind- leg is to be examined in the same way, the fore-leg on that side should be held or fastened up. BLEEDING. The operation of bleeding has been already de- scribed (p. 36^), but we would remind our readers of the necessity, in every case of acute inflammation, of making a large orifice, and abstracting the blood as rapidly as possible, for the constitution will thus be the more speedily and beneficially affected ; and also of the propriety of never determining to take a precise quantity of blood, but of keeping the finger on the artery until the pulse begins to faulter, or the strong beating of fever becomes softer, or the animal is faint, or the oppressed pulse of inflammation of the kuigs is rounder and fuller. In cases of inflammation, and in the hands of a skilful practitioner, bleeding is the sheet-anchor of the veterinarian ; yet few things are more to be reprobated than the indiscrimate bleeding of the groom or the farrier. The change which takes place in the blood after it is drawn from the vein is diligently noticed by many practitioners, and is certainly deserving of some attention. The blood coagulates soon after it is taken from the vein. The coagulable part is composed of two substances : that which gives colour to the blood, and that in which the red particles float. These, by degrees, separate from each other, and the red particles sink to the bottom. If the coagulation takes place slowly', the red particles have more time to sink through the fluid, and there appears on the top a thick, yellowish, adhesive substance, called the buffy coat. The slowness of the coagulation and the thickness of buffy coat are indicative of inflammation, and of the degree of inflammation. In a healthy state of the system, the coagu- lation is more rapid, the red particles have not time to fall through, and the buffy coat is thin. These appearances are worth observing ; but much more dependence is to be placed on the character and change of the pulse, and the symptoms gene- rally. When the horse is exhausted and the system nearly broken up, the blood will sometimes not coagulate but be of one uniform black colour and loose texture. When the blood runs down the side of the vessel in which it is received, the coagulation will be very imperfect. When it is drawn in a full stream, it coagulates slowly, and when procured from a smaller orifice, the coagula- tion is more rapid. Every circumstance affecting the coagulation and apipearance of the blood, the pulse, and the general symptoms, should be most attentively regarded. A great deal of mystery is associated with bleeding in the management of the racer and the hunter. The labour of the turf and the field having ceased, there is frequently some difficulty in preventing a plethoric state of the constitution — a tendency to inflammatoi-j^ complaints. If the horse is rapidly accumulating flesh, it may be prudent to abstract blood, dependent in quantity on the age and constitution of the animal. Atten- tion to this may prevent many a horse from going wrong ; but tlae custom that once prevailed of bleeding every horse a fortnight or more after the racing or hunting season had passed, is decidedly objectionable. As preparatory to work, bleeding is far from being so much employed as it used to be. As a universal practice, when the horse is first taken from grass, it now scarcely e.xists. It would not always be objected to, if the horse was fat and full of flesh, but, otherwise, it is a custom more honoured in the breach than the observance. It certainly produces very considerable effect. More rapidly than any species of diet — more rapidly than any sweating or purging, it reduces the condition of the horse, but, we have often thought, at the ex- pense of those essentials to life and health that cannot be easily replaced. BLISTERING. We have spoken of the effect of Blisters, when treating of the various diseases to which they are applicable. The principle on which they act is, that no two intense inflammations can exist in neighbouring parts, or perhaps in the system, at the same time. Hence we apply some stimulating acrimonious substance to the skin, in order to excite external inflammation, and thus lessen or remove that which exists in some deeper seated and, generally, not far distant part. Hence, also, we blister the sides in inflammation of the lungs — the abdomen in that of the bowels — the legs in that of the cellular substance surrounding the sheaths of the tendons, or the sheaths themselves, and the coronet or the heel in inflammation of the navi- cular joint. Blisters have likewise the property of increas- ing the activity of the neighbouring vessels : thus we blister to bring the tumour of strangles more speedily to a head— to rouse the absorbents gene- rally to more energetic action, and cause the dis- appearance of tumours, and even callous and bony suijstances. The judgment of the practitioner will decide whether the desired effect will be best produced by a sudden and violent action, or by the continu- ance of one of a milder character. Inflammation should be met by active blisters ; old enlaj-gements 491 THE HOUSE. and swellings will be most certainly removed by milder stimulants — by the process which fai'riers call stveatin// down. There are few more active or effectual blisters than the Spanish ily, mixed with the proportions of lard and resin that will be hereafter stated. The best liquid or sweating blister is an infusion of the fly iu spirit of tm-pentine, and that lowered with neat's-foot oil according to the degree of activity required. In preparing the horse for blistering, the hair should be clipped or shaved as closely as possible, and the ointment thoroughly nibbed in. Much fault is often found with the ointment if the blister does not rise, but the failure is generally to be attributed to the idleness of the operator. The head of the horse sliould be tied up dm-ing the first two days ; except that, when the sides are blistered, the body-cloths may be so contrived as to prevent the animal from nibbling and blemishing the part, or blistering his muzzle. At the expira- tion of twenty-four hours, a little olive or neat's- foot oil should be applied over the blister, which will considerably lessen the pain and supple the part, and prevent cracks in the skin that may be ■ difficult to heal. The oil should be applied morn- ing and night, until the- scabs peel off. When they begin to loosen, a lather of soap and water applied with a sponge may hasten then' removal, but no violence must be used. Every particle of litter should be carefully re- .moved from the stall, for the sharp ends of the straw coming in contact with a part rendered so tender and irritable by the blister, will cause a very great annoyance to the animal. After the second day the horse may be suffered to lie down ; but the possibility of blemishing himself should be prevented by a cradle or wooden necldace, con- sisting of round strips of wood, stmng together, reaching from the lower jaw to the chest, and preventing him from sufficiently tui-uuig or bend- ing his head, to get at the blistered part. A blister thus treated \rill rarely produce the slightest blemish. When the scabs ai-e all removed, the blister may be repeated, if the case shoidd appear to require it, or the horse may be turned out. In inflammations which threaten hfe, a bhster can scarcely be too active or extensive. In inflam- mation of the lungs it should reach over the whole of the sides, and the greater part of the brisket, for, should a portion of the fly be absorbed, and produce strangurij (inflammation, or spasmodic affection of the neck of the bladder), even this new irritation may assist in subduing the first and more dangerous one. In blistering, however, for injuries or diseases of the legs or feet, some caution is necessaiy. When speaking of the treatment of sprain of the back sinews, p. 431, it was stated that " a blister should never be used while any heat or tenderness remained about the part," for we should then add to the superficial inflammation instead of abating the deeper-seated one, and en- largements of the limb and extensive ulcerations might follow, which would render the horse per- fectly unserviceable. When there is a tendency to grease, a blister is a dangerous thing, and has often agravated the disease. In winter, the inflam- mation of the skin produced by blistering is apt to degenerate into grease ; therefore, if it should be necessai'y to blister the horse during that season, great care must be taken that he is not exposed to cold, and, particularly, that a current of cold air does not come upon the legs. The inhuman practice of blistering all round at the Same time, and perhaps high on the legs, cannot be too strongly repi'obated. Many a valu- able horse has been lost tlu'ough tlie excessive general irritation which this has produced, or its violent effect on the urinary organs, and that has been particularly the case, when corrosive subli- mate has entered into the composition of the blister. If strangmy should appear, the horse shoidd be plentifully supplied with linseed tea, which is thus best prepared — a gallon of boiling water is thrown on half a pound of linseed ; the infusion suffered to stand until nearly cold, and the clean mucilaginous fluid then poured off. Three quar- ters of a pound of Epsom salts should also be given, dissolved in a quart of water, and, after that, a ball eveiy six hom's, containing opium, and camphor, with linseed-meal and treacle. Half a pound or a pound of good mustard powder, made into a paste -nith boiluig water, and applied hot, will often produce as good a blister as cantharides. It is a preferable one, when, as in inflammation of the kidneys, the effect of cantha- rides on the urinary organs is feared. Hartshorn is not so effectual. Tincture of croton makes an active liquid blister, and so do some of the pre- pai'ations of iodine. Whatever seeming cnielty may attend this operation, it is in many cases indispensable. The principle on which we have recom-se to it is similar to that which justifies the use of a blister — by pro- ducing supei"ficial inflammation ^ e maybe enabled to get i-id of a deeper-seated one, or we may excite the absorbents to remove an unnattnal bony or other tumour. It raises more intense external in- flammation than we can produce by any other means. It may be truly said to be the most power- ful agent that we have at our disposal. Human- ity, however, will dictate, that on account of the inflammation which it excites, and the pain it in- flicts, it should only be had recourse to when milder THE HORSE. 495 means have failed, except in those cases iu which experience has taught us that milder means rarely succeed. The part which is to be submitted to the operation should be shaved, or the hair cut from it as closely as possible with the trimming scissors. This is necessary in order to bring the h'on into immediate contact with the skin, and likemse to prevent the smoke that will arise from the bunied hair obscui-ing the view of the operator. The horse must then be thrown. This is absolutely necessary for the safety both of the operator and the animal. The side-line may be applied in a shorter time, and so many hands may be not wanted to cast the horse ; but no person can fire accurately, or with the certainty of not penetrating the skin, e.vcept the animal is eftectually secured by the hobbles. Although accidents have occurred in the act of cast- ing, yet many more have resulted to the operator, the assistants, or the horse, in a protracted opera- tion, when the side-line only has been used. The details of the operation belong to the veterinary sm'geon. The grand points to be attended to are to have the edge of the iron round and smooth — the iron itself at, or rather below, a red heat — to pass it more or less rapidly over the skin, and with slighter or greater pressure according to the degree of heat — to burn into the skin until tlie line produced by the iron is of a brown colour, rather light than dark, and, by all means, in common cases, to avoid penetratinci the skin. Leaving out of the question the additional cruelty of deep firing, when not absolutely required, we may depend on it that if the skin is bumed through, inflammation, and ulceration, and slough- ing will ensue, that will be with much difficulty combated — that will unavoidably leave imnecessary blemish, and that has destroyed many valuable horses. It may happen, nevertheless, that by a sudden plunge of the animal the sldn will be unavoidably cut thi-oiigh. The act of firing re- quires much skill and tact, and the practitioner caimot be always on his guard against the strag- gles of the tortured beast. It will, also, and not uufrequendy, occur that the skin, partially divided, will separate in two or three days after the opera- tion. This must not be attributed to any neglect or unsldlfulness of the surgeon, and the idoeration thus produced will be slight and easily treated, compared with that caused by actually burning through the skin. A very considerable change has taken place in the breed of many of the varieties of the horse. and the labour exacted from him. As illustrations of this we refer to the altered character and pace of the modem hunter and the additional increase of speed required from the coach and the post horse ; the exertion being limited only by the degree to which every rau-scle and every nerve can be ex- tended, while the calculation between the utmost exaction of cruelty and the expenditure of vital power, is reduced to the merest fraction. The consequence of this is, that the horse is subjected to severer injm-ies than he used to be, and severer measures are and must be employed to remedy the evil. Hence the hoi'rible applications of the actual cautery to the horse that have dis- graced the present day. Lesions — gashes have been made on either side of the tendon of the leg, which it took no fewer than seven months to heal. Was there nothing short of this length- ened torture that could have been done to relieve the victim ? Coidd he not have been more lightly fired for the road or for the pur- poses of breedmg ? Was there no pasture on which he had earned a right to graze ? — or could he not have been destroyed ? These sad lesions will occasionally come before the prac- titioner and the owner. It will be for the firet to advocate that which, on a careful view of the case, mercy prompts ; and the latter, except there is a reasonable prospect of ultimate enjoy- ment, as well as usefulness, should never urge a continuation of suffering. Supposing, however, that jiirospect to exist, the surgeon must discharge his duty. These gashes, after a while, begin to close, and then commences the beautiful process of granulation. Little portions of the integument form on the centre of the wound, and the sides of the wound creep closer together, and the skin steals over the surface, until the chasm is perfectly closed. In order to insure the continu- ance of this, a ridge of contracted integument as hard as any cartilage,, but without its elasticity, runs from one end of the lesion to the other, tightei', and harder, and more effectual every week, and month, and year, and lasting during the life of the animal. Therefore, the veterinarj' surgeon is not to be too severely censured, if after due consideration, he is induced to undertake one of these fearful operations : but let him do it as seldom as he can, and only when every circum- stance promises a favourable result. Some practitioners blister immediately after firing. As a general usage it is highly to be reprobated. It is wanton and useless cruelty. It may be required in bony tumours of consider- able extent, and long stimdiug, and interfering materially with the action of the neighbouring joint. Spavin accompanied by much lameness, and ring-bone spreading round the coronet and involving the side caitilages or the pastem joint, may justify it. The inflammation is rendered more intense, and of considerably longer duration. In old affections of the round bone it may be admitted, but no excuse can be made for it iu slighter cases of sprain or weakness, or staleuess. Ou the day after the operation, it will be 496 THE HORSE. prudent gently to rub some neat's-foot oil, or lard over the wound. This will soften the skin, and render it less likely to separate or ulcerate. A bandage would add to the irritation of the part. Any cracks of the skin, or ulcerations that may ensue, must be treated with the calamiue ointment. It will be evident that there is an advantage derived from firing to which a blister can have no pretension. The skin, partially destroyed by the iron, is reinstated and healed, not merely by the formation of some new matter filling up the vacuity, but by the gradual drawing together and closing of the separated edges. The skin, there- fore, is lessened in surface. It is tightened over the part, and it acts, as just described, as a salu- tary and permanent bandage. Of the effect of pressure in removing enlargements of every kind, as well as giving strength to the part to which it is applied, we have repeatedly spoken ; and it is far from being the least valuable effect of the operation of firing, that by contracting the skin, it affords a salutary, equable, and permanent pres- sure. It was on this principle, but the practice cannot be defended, that colts which were not very strong on the legs, used to be fired round the fetlock, and along the back sinew, or over the hock, in order to brace and strengthen the parts. It is on the same pi-inciple that a racer or hunter, that has become stale and stiff, is sometimes fired and turned out. For whatever reason the horse is fired, he should, if practicable, be turned out, or soiled in a loose box, for three or four months at least. The full effect intended to result from the external irritation is not soon produced, and the benefit derived from pressure proceeds still more slowly. In the thickened and tender state of the skin, and the substance beneath, a return to hard work, for some weeks after firing, -n'ould be likely to excite new inflammation, and cause even worse mischief than that which before existed. Some weeks pass before the tumified parts begin to contract, and they only, who have had experience in these cases, can imagine how long, with gentle voluntary exercise, the process of absorption is carried on. He who would expect that much good should accrue from the operation of firing, must be content to give up his horse for three or four months; but if he will use him sooner, and a worse lameness should follow, let him blame his own impatience, and not the inefficiency of the means, or the want of skill in the surgeon. The firing in every case should be either in longitudinal or parallel lines. On the back sinews, the fetlock, and the coronet, this is pecu- liarly requisite, for thus only will the skin contract so as to form the greatest and most equable pressure. Some practitioners may pride themselves on the accuracy of their diamonds, lozenges, and feathers, but plain straight lines, about half an inch from each other, will constitute the most advantageous mode of firing. The destroying of deeply-seated inflammation, by the exciting of violent inflammation on the skin, is as well ob- tained ; and common sense will determine, that in no way can the pressure which results from the contraction of the skin be so advantageously em- ployed— to which may be added, that it often leaves not the sliffhtest blemish. Are pieces of tape or cord, passed, by means of an instrument resembling a large needle, either through abscesses, or the base of ulcers with deep sinuses, or between the skin and the muscular or other substances beneath. They are retained there by the ends being tied together, or by a knot at each end. The tape is moved in the wound twice or thrice in the day, and occasionally wetted with spirit of turpentine, or some acrid fluid, in order to increase the inflammation which it produces, or the discharge which is intended to be established. In abscesses, such as occur in the withers or the poll, and when passed from the summit to the very bottom of the swelling, setons are higlily useful, by discharging the purulent fluid and suffering any fresh quantity of it that may be secreted to flow out ; and by the degree of inflam- mation which they excite on the interior of the tumour, stimulating it to throw out healthy granu- lations which gradually occupy and fill the hol- low. In deep fistulous wounds they are indis- pensalile, for except some channel is made through which the matter may flow from the bottom of the wound, it will continue to penetrate deeper into the j^art, and the healing process will never be accomplished. On these accounts, a seton passed through the base of the ulcer in poll-evil and fistulous withers is of so much benefit. Setons are sometimes useful by promoting a discharge in the neiglibourhood of air inflamed part, and thus diverting and carrying away a por- tion of the fluids which distend or overload the vessels of that part ; thus a seton is placed with considerable advantage in the cheek, when the eyes are much inflamed. We confess, however, that we prefer a rowel under the jaw. With this view, and to excite a new and differ- ent inflammation in the neighbourhood of a part already inflamed, and especially so deeply seated and so difficult to be reached as the navicular joint, a seton has occasionally been used with manifest benefit, but w-e must peremptorily object to the in- discriminate use of the frog-seton for almost every disease of the frog or the foot. In inflammations of extensive organs setons THE HORSE. ■197 afford only feeble aid. Their action is too circum- scribed. In iutlamraation of the cliest or the in- testines, a rowel is preferable to a seton ; and a blister is far better than either of them. On the principle of exciting the absorbents to action, for the removal of tumours, as spavin or splent, a blister is quicker in its action, and far more effectual than any seton. Firing is still more useful. The shortening of the tail of the horse is an operation which fashion and the convenience of the rider require to be peiformed on most of these animals. The length of the dock, or stump, is a matter of mere caprice. To the close-cropped tail of the waggon-horse, however, we decidedly object, from its perfect ugliness, and because the animal is deprived of every defence against a thousand torturers. The supposition that the blood which would have gone to the nourishment of the tail causes greater development and strength in the quarters, is too absurd to deserve serious refutation. It is the i-ump of the animal being wholly unco- vered, and not partly hidden by the intervention of the tail, that gives a false appearance of increased bulk. The operation is simple. That joint is searched for ■which is the nearest to the desired length of tail. The hair is then turned up. and tied round with tape for an inch or two above this joint ; and that which lies immediately upon the joint is cut off. The horse is fettered with the side-line, and then the veterinaiy surgeon with his docking- machine, or the fai'mer with his carving-knife and mallet, cuts through the tail at one stroke. Con- siderable bleeding ensues, and frightens the timid and the ignorant ; but if the blood were suffered to flow on until it ceased of its own accord, the colt, and especiall}' if he were very young, would rarely be seriously injured. As, however, the bleeding would occasionally continue for some hours, and a great quantity of blood might be lost, and the animal might be somewhat weakened, it is usual to stop the hcemorrhage by the application of a red-hot iron to the stump. A large hole is made in the centre of the iron, that the bone may not be seared, which would e.\foliate if it were burned with any severity, or drop off at the joint above, and thus shorten the dock. The iron rests on the muscular parts round the bone, and is brought into contact with the bleeding vessels, and very speedily stops the hremorrhage. Care should be taken that the iron is not too hot — and that it is not held too long or too forcibly on the part, for many more horses would be destroyed by severe application of the cautery, than by the bleeding being left to its own course. Powdered resin sprinkled on the stump, or indeed any other application, is worse than useless. It causes unnecessary irritation, and sometimes extensive ulceration ; but if the simple iron is moderately applied, the horse mny go to work im- mediately after the operation, and no dressing w^ill be afterwards required. If a slight bleeding should occur after the cautery, it is much better to let it alone than to run the risk of inflammation or locked-jaw by re-applying the iron with greater severity. Some farmers dock their colts a few days after they are dropped. This is a commendable custom on the score of humanity. Xo colt was ever lost by it ; and neither the growth of the hair, nor the beauty of the tail, is in the least impaired. This barbarous operation was once sanctioned by fashion, and the breeder and the dealer even now are sometimes tempted to inflict the torture of it in order to obtain a ready sale for their colts. It is not, however, practised to the extent that it used to be, nor attended by so many circumstances of cruelty. We must here introduce a small portion of the anatomy of the horse, which we had reserved for this place. The eighteen dorsal vertebrae or bones of the back (see d, p. 344), and the five lumbar vertebrae or bones of the loins (/, p. 344), have already been described. The continuation of the spine consists of the sacrum, composed of five bones (/t, p. 344), which, although separate in the colt, are in the full-grown horse miited into one mass. The bones of the ilium, the upper and side portion of the haunch, articulate strongly with the sacrum, forming a bony union rather than a joint. The spinal marrow and the blood-vessels here ge- nerally begin to diminish, and numerous branches of nerves are given out, which, joined by some from the vertebrae of the loins, form the nervous appa- ratus of the hind-legs. The bones of the tail (i, p. 344) are a conti- nuation of those of the sacrum. They are fifteen in number, gradually diminishing in size, and losing altogether the character of the spinal vertebrae. Pi'olougations of the spinal marrow run through the whole of them, and likewise some arterial ves- sels, which are a continuation of those which sup- ply the sacrum. Much attention is paid bv pereons who are acquainted with the true form of the horse to this continuation of the sacral and tail-bones. From the loins to the setting on of the tail the line should be nearly straight, or inclining only a slight degree downward. There is not a surer test of the breed of the horse than this straight line from the loins to the tail; nor. as was shown when the muscles of the quarters were described, is there any circumstance so much connected with the mechanical advantage with wliich these muscles act. 4n8 THE HORSE. The tail seems to be designed to perfect the beauty of tlie horse's form. There are three sets of muscles belonging to the tail : the erector coccygis, situated on the superior and lateral jsart of it, and by the action of which (d, p. 439) the tail may be both elevated and drawn on one side — the depressor coccygis, on the inferior and lateral fiart of it, by the action of which the tail may be both lowered and drawn on one . side — and the curvator coccygis, by the action of which the tail may be cui'ved or flexed on either side. The depressor and lateral muscles are more powerful that the erector ones, and when the horse is undisturbed, the tail is bent down close on the buttocks ; but when he is excited, and particularly when he is at speed, the erector muscles are called into action, the tail is elevated, and there is an appearance of energy and spirit which adds mate- rially to Ills beauty. To perpetuate this, the oj)eration of nicking was contrived. The depressor muscles and part of the lateral ones are cut thi'ough, and the erector muscles, left vrithout any antagonists, keep the tail in a position more or less erect, according to the whim of the operator or the depth to which the incisions have been carried. The operation is thus performed : — The side- line is put on the horse, or some persons deem it more prudent to cast him, and that precaution we should be disposed to recommend ; the hair at the end of the tail is securely tied together, for the purpose of afterwards attaching a weight to it ; the operator then grasps the tail in his hand, and, lifting it up, feels for the centre of one of the bones — the prominences at the extremities will guide him — from two to four inches from the root of the tail, according to the size of the horse ; he then, with a sharp knife, divides the muscles deeply from the edge of the tail on one side to the centre, and, continuing the incision across the bone of the tail, he makes it as deep on the other side. One continued incision, steadily yet rapidly made, will accomplish all this. If it is a blood- horse that is operated on, this will be sufficient. For a hunter, two incisions are usually made, the second being about two inches below the first, and likewise as nearly as possible in the centre of one of the bones. On a hackney, or cocktail, a third incision is made ; for fashion has decided that his tail shall be still more elevated and curved. Two incisions only are made in the tail of a mare, and the second not very deep. When the second incision is made, some fibres of the muscles between the first and second will project into the wound, and must be removed by a pair of curved scissors. The same must be done with the projecting portions from between the second and third incisions. The womids should then be carefully examined, in order to ascertain that the muscles have been equally divided on eaclt side, otherwise the tail will be carried awry. This being done, pledgets of tow must be intro- duced deeply into each incision, and confined, but not too tightly, by a bandage. A vei-y profuse bleeding mill alone justify any tightness of band- age, and the ill consequences that have resulted from nicldng are mainly attributable to the un- necessary force that, is -used in confining these pledgets. Even if the bleeding, immediately after the operation, should have been very great, the roller must be loosened in two or three hours, otherwise swelling and inflammation, and even death, may possibly ensue. Twenty-four hours after the operation, the bandage must be quite removed ; and then, all that is necessary, so far as the healing of the incisions is concerned, is to keep them' clean. If, however, the tail were suffered to hang down, the divided edges of the muscles would again come in contact with each other, and close ; the natural depression of the tail would remain ; and the animal would have been punished for no purpose. The wounds must remain open, and that can only be accomplished by forcibly keeping the tail curved back during two or three weeks. For this purpose a cord, one or two feet in length, is aflixed to the end of the hair, which terminates in another divided cord, each division going over a pulley on either side of the back of the stall. A weight is hung at either extremity sufficient to keep the incisions properly open, and regulated by the degree in which this is wished to be accom- plished. The animal will thus be retained in an uneasy position, although, after the first two or three days, probably not one of acute pain. It is barbarous to increase this uneasiness or pain by affixing too great a weight to the cords ; for it should be remembered that the proper elevated cmwe is given to the tail, not by the weight keep- ing it in a certain position for a considerable lime, but by the depth of the first incisions, and the degree in which the wounds are kept open. By every ounce of weight bej'ond that which is neces- saiy to keep the incisions apart, unnecessary suf- feiing is inflicted. Some practitioners use only one pulley ; others do not use any, but put on a light girth, and tie a cord from the end of the tail to the girth, bending it over the back. The double pulley, however, is the least painful to the horse, and more perfectly secures the proper ele- vation and straight direction of the tail. The dock should not, for the first three or four days, be bi'ought higher than the back. Dangerous irritation and inflammation would pro bably be produced. It may, after that, be gradually raised to an elevation of forty-five degrees. The horse should be taken out of the pulleys, and THE HOUSE. 499 gently exercised once or twice every day ; but the pulleys cannot finally be dispensed with until a fortnight after the wounds have healed, because the process of contraction, or the approach of the divided parts, goes on for some time after the skin is perfect over the incisions, and the tail would thus sink below the desired elevation. If the tail has not been unnecessarily extended by enormous weights, no bad consequences will usually follow ; but if considerable inflammation should ensue, the tail must be taken from the pulley and diligently fomented with simple warm water, and a dose of physic given. Locked-jav? has, in some rare instances, followed, under whicji the horse generally perishes. The best means of cure in the early state of this disease is to am- putate the tail at the joint above the highest incision. In order to prevent the hair from coming off, it should be unplaited and combed out every fourth or fifth day. CHAPTER XXIII. THE VICES AND DISAGREEABLE OR DANGEROUS HABITS OF THE HORSE. The horse has many excellent qualities, but he has likewise defects, and these occasionally amounting to vices. Some of them may be attributed to natural temper, for the human being scarcely dis- covers more .peculiarities of> habit and disposition tlian does the horse. The majority of them, how- ever, as perhaps in the human being, are conse- quences of a faulty education. Their early in- structor has been ignorant and brutal, and they have become obstinate and vicious. RESTIVENESS. At the head of the vices of the horse is Res- tiveness, the most annoying and the most dan- gerous of all. It is the produce of bad temper and worse education; and, like all other habits founded on nature and stamped by education, it is inveterate. Whether it appears in the form of kicking, or reaiing, or plunging, or bolting, or in any way that threatens danger to the rider or the horse, it rarely admits of cure. A determined rider may to a certain extent subjugate the animal ; or the horse may have his favourites, or form his attachments, and rath some particular person he may be comparatively or perfectly manageable ; but others cannot long depend upon him, and even his master is not always sure of him. It is a rule, that admits of very few exceptions, that he neither displays his wisdom nor consults his safety, who attempts to conquer a restive horse. An excellent veterinary surgeon, and a man of great experience in horses, Mr. Castley, truly said, in " The Veterinarian," — " From whatever cause the vicious habits of horses may originate, whether from some mismanagement or from natural bad- ness of temper, or from what is called in Yorkshire a mktetch, whenever these animals acquire one of them, and it becomes in some degree confirmed, they veiy seldom, if ever, altogether forget it. In reference to driving it is so true, that it may be taken as a kind of aphorism, that if a horse kicks once in harness, no matter from what cause, he will be liable to kick ever afterwards. A good coachman may drive him, it is true, and may make him go, but he cannot make him forget his vice ; and so it is in riding. You may conquer a restive horse — you may make him go quiet for months, nay, almost for years together ; but I aifii-m that, under other circumstances, and at some future opportunity, he will be sure to return to his old tricks." Mr. Castley gives two singular and conclusive instances of the truth of this doctrine. " When a very young man," says he, " I remember pur- chasing a horse at a fair in the north of England, that was offered very cheap on account of lus being unmanageable. It was said that nobody could ride him. We found that the animal objected to have anj'thing placed upon his back, and that, when made to move forward with nothing more than a saddle on, he instantly threw himself down on his side with great violence, and would then endeavour to roll upon his back. " There was at that time in Y'^orkshire, a famous colt-breaker, known by the name of Jumper, who was almost as celebrated in that country for taming vicious horses into submission, as the famed Whisperer was in Ireland. We put this animal into Jumper's hands, who took him away, and in about ten days brought him home again, certainly not looking worse in condition, but perfectly subdued and almost as obedient as a dog ; for he would lie down at this man's bidding, and only rise again at his command, and carry double or anything. I took to riding him myself, and may say, that I was never better carried for six or eight mouths, dming which time he did not show the least vice whatever. I then sold him to a Lincolnshire farmer, who said that he would give him a summer's run at grass, and show him as a very fine horse at the great Horncastle fair. " Happening to meet this gentleman on the 500 THE HORSE. following year, I naturally enough inquired after my old friend. ' Oh,' said he, ' that was a bad business — the horse turned out a sad rebel. The first time we attempted to mount him, after getting him up from grass, he in an instant threw the man down with the greatest violence, pitching him several yards over his head ; and after that he threw every one that attempted to get on his back. If he could not throw his rider, he would throw himself down. We could do nothing with him, and I was obliged at last to sell him to go in a stage-coach.' " In the next story, Jumper's counterpart and superior, the Irish Whisperer, is brought on the the stage, and, although be performed wonders, he could not radically cure a restive horse. " At tlie Spring Meeting of 1804, Mr. Whalley's King Pippin was brought on the Curragh of Kildare to run. He was a horse of the most extraordinary savage and \'icious disposition. His particular propensity was that oiflybuj at and worrying any person who came within his reach, and if be had an opportunity, he would get his head round, seize liis rider by the leg with his teeth, and drug him down from his back. For this reason he was always ridden with what is called a sword ; which is a strong flat stick, having one end attached to the cheek of the bridle, and the other to the girth of the saddle, a contrivance to prevent a horse of this kind from getting at his rider. " King Pip])in had long been difficult- to ma- nage and dangerous to go near to, but on the occasion in question he could not be got out to run at all. Nobody could put the bridle -upon his head. It being Easter Monday, and consequently a great holiday, there was a large concom-se of people assembled at the Curragh, consisting principally of the neighbouring peasantry ; and one countryman, more fearless than the rest of the lookers-on, for- getting, or perhaps never dreaming that the better part of courage is discretion, volunteered his ser- vices to bridle the horse. Xo sooner had he com- mitted himself in this operation, than King Pippin seized him somewhere about the shoulders or chest, and, says Mr. Watts (Mr. Castley's infor- mant\ ' I know of nothing I can compare it to, so much as a dog shaking a rat.' Fortunately for the poor fellow, his body was very thickly covered with clothes, for on such occasions an Irishman of this class is fond of displaying his wardrobe, and if he has three coats at all in the world, he is sure to put them all on. " This circumstance, in all probability, saved the individual who had so gallantly volunteered the forlorn hope. His person was so deeply enve- loped in extra-tegimients, that the horse never got fairly hold of his skin, and I understand that he escaped with but little injury, beside the sadly rent and totally ruined state of his holiday toggery. " The Whisperer was sent for, who, having arrived, was shut up with the horse all night, and in the morning he exhibited this hitherto ferocious animal, following him about the course like a dog — lying down at his command — suffering his mouth to be opened, and any person's hand to be intro- duced into it — in short, as quiet almost as a sheep. " He came out the same meeting, and won his race, and his docility continued satisfactory for a considerable time ; but at the end of about three years his vice returned, and then he is said to have killed a man, for which he was destroyed." It may not be uninteresting, in this connexion, to give some account of this tamer of quadruped vice. However strange and magical his power may seem to be, there is no doubt of the truth of the account that is given of him. The Rev. Mr. Townsend, in his Statistical Survey of Cork, first introduced him to the notice of the public gene- rail}', although his fame had long spread over that part of Ireland. We, however, give the following extract from " Croker's Fairy Legends and Tra- ditions of Ireland," Part II., p. 200, for his per- formances seem the work of some elfin sprite, rather than of a rude and igno]-ant horse-breaker. "He was an awkward, ignorant rustic of the lowest class, of the name of SulHvan, but better known by the appellation of the Whisperer. His occupation was horse-breaking. The nickname he acquired from the vulgar notion of his being able to communicate to the animal what he wished by means of a whisper; and the singularity of his method seemed in some degree to justify the sup- position. In his own neighbourhood the notoriety of the fact made it seem less remarkable, but I doubt if any instance of similar subjugating talent is to be found on record. As far as the sphere of his control extended, the boast of veni, vidi, vici, was more justly claimed by Sullivan than even by Cfesar himself. " How his art was acquired, and in what it con- sisted, is likely to be for ever vmknown, as he has lately (about 1810) left the world without divulg- ing it. His son, who follows the same trade, pos- sesses but a small portion of the art, having either never learned the true secret, or being incapable of putting it into practice. The wonder of his skill consisted in the celerity of the operation, which was performed in privacy, without any apparent means of coercion. Every description of horse, or even mule, whether previously broken or unhan- dled, whatever their peculiar habits or vices might have been, submitted without show of resistance to the magical influence of his art, and in the short space of half an horn- became gentle and tractable. This effect, though histantaneously produced, was generally durable. Though more submissive to him than to others, the animals seemed to have acquired a docility imknown before. THE HORSE. 501 " When sent for to tame a vicious beast, for which he was either paid according to the distance, or generally two or three guineas, he directed the stable, in which he and the object of the experi- ment were, to be shut, with orders not to open the door until a signal was given. After a, tete-u-tete oi about half an hour, during which little or no bustle was heard, the signal was made, and, upon opening the door, the horse appeared lying down, and the man by liis side, playing with him like a child with a puppy dog. From that time he was found per- fectly willing to submit to any discipline — however repugnant to his nature before." " I once," con- tinues Mr. Croker, " saw his skill tried on a horse, which could never before be brought to stand for a smith to shoe him. The day after Sullivan's half hour's lecture, I went, not without some incredu- lity, to the smith's shop, with many other curious spectators, where we were eye-witnesses of the com- plete success of his art. This, too, had been a troop horse, and it was supposed, not without rea- son, that after regimental discipline had failed, no other would be found availing. I observed that the animal appeared terrified whenever Sullivan either spoke to or looked at him ; how tliat extra- ordinary ascendancy could have been obtained, is difficult to conjecture. " In common cases this mysterious prepara- tion was unnecessary. He seemed to possess an instinctive power of inspiring awe, the result, perhaps, of natural intrepidity, in which, I believe, a great part of his art consisted ; though the cir- cumstance of the tete-a-tete shows that, on particu- lar occasions, something more must have been added to it. A facidty like this would, in some hands, have made a fortune, and I understand that great offers were made to him, for the exercise of his art abroad. But hunting was his passion. He lived at home in the style most agreeable to his disposition, and nothing could induce him to quit Duhallow and the fox-hounds." ]\Ir. Castley witnessed the total failure of the younger Sullivan. He says, " we have in the regiment a remakably nice horse, called Lancer, that has always been very difficult to shoe, but seven or eight years ago, when we first got him, he was downright vicious in that respect. When the I'egiraent was stationed at Cork, the farrier- major sought out the present Sullivan, the sou of the celebrated Whisperer, and brought him up to the barracks in order to try his hand upon Lancer, and make him more peaceable to shoe ; but 1 must say this person did not appear to possess any particular controlling power over the animal more than any other man. Lancer seemed to pay no attention whatever to his charm, and at last fairly- beat him out of the forge. Time, however, and a long perseverance in kind and gentle treatment, have effected what force could not. The horse is now pretty reasonable to shoe."* * An account, bearing considerable resemblance to the feats of the English horse-tamer, has been lately laid before the public. Mr. Catlin has pnblished an account, the ^'cracity of which is unimpeached, of his travels among the Nuith .American Indians. He thus describes the manner in which the Indian tames the wild horse. " He coils his lasso on his arm, and gallops fearlessly intu the herd of wild horses. He soon gels it over the neck of one of the number, when he inslantly dismounts, leaving his own horse, and runs as fast as he can, letting the lasso pass out gradually and carefully through his hands, nntil the horse falls for want of breath, and lies helpless on the ground. The Indian advances slowly towards the horse's head, keeping the lasso light upon his neck, until he fasteus a pair of hobbles on the animal's two fore I'eet, and also loosens the lasso, giving the horse a chance to breathe, and passing a noose round the under jaw, by which he gets great power over the atfrighled animal, that is rearing and plunging when it gets breath, and by which, as he advances, hand over hand, towards the horse's nose, he is able to hold it down, and prevent it from throwing itsi-lf over on its back. By this means he gradually advances, until he is able to place bis hand on the animal's nose and over its eyes, and, at length, to breathe into its nostrils, when it soon becomes docile and conquered ; so that he has little else to do than to remove the hobbles from its feet, and lead or ride it to the camp. The animal is so completely conquered, that it submits quietly ever after, and is led or rode away with very little difficulty." Mr. Ellis, B.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge, happened to read this account, and he felt a natural desire to ascertain how far Ibis mode of horse-taming might be employed among British horses. He soon had the opportunity of putting the veracity of the slory to Ihe test. His brother-in law had a filly, not yet a year old, that had been removed from her dam three months before, and since that time had not been taken out of the stable. A great amateur in everything relating to horses was present, and at his request it was determined that the experiment of the efficacy of breathing into the nostrils should be immediately piu to tlie test. The filly was brought from the stable, the amateur leading ber by the halter. She was quite wild, and bolted, and dragged the ainateur a considerable distance. He had been using a short halter ; he changed it for a longer one, and was the n able to lead the little scared thing to the front of the house. The experiment was tried under manifest disadvantage, for the filly was in the open air, several strangers were about her, and both the owner and the amateur were rather seeking amusement from the failure than knowledge from the success of their experiment. The filly was restive and frightened, and with great difficulty the amateur managed to cover her eyes. At lengtli he succeeded, and blew into the nostrils. No particular efi'ecl seemed to follow. He then breathed into her nostrils, and the moment he did so, the filly, who had very much resisted having her eyes blindfolded, and had been very restive, stood perfectly still and trembled. From that time she became very tractable. Another gentleman also breathed into her nostrils, and she evidently enjoyed it, and kept putting up her nose to receive the breath. On the following morning she was led out again. She was perfectly tractable, and it seemed to be almost impossible to fi-ighten her. A circumstance which, in a great measure, corroborated the possibility of easily taming the most ftrocious horses, occurred on the next day. A man, on a neighbouring farm, was attempting to break-in a very restive colt, who foiled him in every possible way. After several manceuvres the amateur succeeded in breathing into (me of the nostrils, and from that moment all became easy. The horse was completely subdued. He suifered himself to be led quietlv away with a loose halter, and was perfectly at command. He was led through a field in which were four horses that had been his companions. They all surrounded him; he took no notice of them, but quietly followed his new master. A sur- cingle was buckled on him, and then a saddle, and he was finally tiited with a bridle. The whole experiment occupied about an hour, and not in a single instance did he rebel. On the next day, however, the breaker, a severe and obstinate fellow, took him in hand, and, according to his usual custom, began to beat him most cruelly. The horse broke from him. and became as unmanageable as ever. The spirit of the animal had been subdued but not broken. KK 5(52 THE HORSE. BACKING OR GIBBING. One of tlie first kinds of restiveness, taking tliem in alphabetical order, is backing or gibbing. These are so closely allied that we hardly know Low to separate them. Some horses have the habit of backing at first starting, and that more from playfulness than desire of mischief A mo- derate application of the ^Yhip will usually be ef- fectual. Others, even after starting, exhibit con- siderable obstinacy and viciousness. This is fre- quently the effect of bad breaking. Either the shoulder of the horse had been wrung when he was first put to the collar, or he had been foolishly accustomed to be started in the break tiji-hill, and, therefore, all his work coming upon him at once, he gradually acquired this dangerous habit. A hasty and passionate breaker will often make a really good tempered young horse an in- veterate gibber. Every young horse is at first shy of the collar. If lie is too quickly forced to throAV his weight into it, he will possibly take a dislike to it, that will occasionally show itself in the form of gibbing as long as he lives. The judicious horse-breaker will resort to no severity, even if the colt should go out several times with- out even touching collar. The example of his companion will ultimately induce him to take to it voluntarily and effectually. A large and heavy stone should be put behind the wheel before starting, when the horse, finding it more difficult to back than to go forward, will gradually forget this unpleasant trick. It will likewise be of advantage, as often as it can be m.anaged, so to start that the horse shall have to back up-hill. The difiBculty of accomplishing this will soon make him readily go forward. A little coaxing, or leading, or moderate flagellation, will assist in accomplishing the cure. When, however, a horse, thinking that he has had enough of work, or has been improperly checked or corrected, or beginning to feel the painful pressure of the collar, swerves, and gibs, and backs, it is a more serious matter. Persua- sion should first be tried ; and, afterwards, reason- able coercion, but no cruelty : for the bmtality which is often exercised in attempting to compel a gibbing horse to throw himself habitually into the collar, never yet accomplished the purpose. The horse may, perhaps, be whipped into motion ; but if he has once begun to gib, he will have re- course to it again whenever any circumstance displeases or annoys him, and the habit will be so rapidly and completely formed, that he will become insensible to all severity. It is useless and dangerous to contend with a horse determined to back, unless there is plenty of room, and, by tight reining, the driver can make him back in the precise direction he wishes, and especially up-hill. Such a horse should be imme- diately sold, or turned over to some other work. In a stage-coach as a wheeler, and particularly as the near-wheeler ; or, in the middle of a team at agricultural work, he may be serviceable. It will be useless for him to attempt to gib there, for he will be dragged along by his companions whether he will or not ; and, finding the inutility of resist- ance, he ^vill soon be induced to work as well as any horse in the team. The reformation will last while he is thus employed, but, like restiveness gene- rally, it will be delusive when the horse returns to his former occupation. The disposition to annoy wrill very soon follow the power to do it. Some instances of complete reformation may have oc- curred, but they are rare. When a horse, not often accustomed to gib, betrays a reluctance to work, or a determination not to work, common sense and humanity will demand that some consideration should be taken before measures of severity are resorted to. The horse may be taxed beyond his power. He soon discovers whether this is the case, and by refusing to proceed, tells his driver that it is so. The ut- most cruelty will not induce many horses to make the slightest effort, when they are conscious that their strength is inadequate to the task. Some- times the withers are wrung, and the shoulders sadly galled, and the pain, which is intense on level ground and with fair draught, becomes insupport- able when he tugs up a steep acclivity. 1'hese things should be examined into, and, if possible, rectified ; for, under such circumstances, cruelty may produce obstinacy and vice, but not willing obedience. They who are accustomed to horses know what seemingly trivial circumstances occasionally pro- duce this vice. A horse, whose shoulders are raw, or have frequently been so, will not start with a cold collar. When the collar has acquired the warmth of the parts on which it presses, the animal will go without reluctance. Some determined gibbers have been refonned by constantly wearing a false collar, or strip of cloth round the shoulders, so that the coldness of the usual collar should never be felt ; and others have been cured of gib- bing by keeping the collar on night and day, for the animal is not able to lie down completely at full length, which the tired horse is always glad to do. When a horse gibs, not at starting, but while doing his work, it has sometimes been useful to line the collar witli cloth instead of leather ; the perspiration is readily absorbed, the substance which presses on the shoulders is softer, and it may be far more accurately eased off at a tender place. BITING. This is either the consequence of natural fero- city, or a habit acquired from the foolish and teasing THE HORSE. 503 play of grooms and stable-boys. When a horse is tickled and pinched by thovightless and mischievous youths, he will first i)i-(l(inl In liite his tormentors ; by degrees he will jirncin! r.nilier, and actually bite them, and, very simhi ui'ior I hat, he will be the first to challenge t<5 the combat, and, without pro- vocation, seize some opportunity to gripe the incau- tious tormentor. At length, as the love of mis- chief is a propensity too easily acquired, this war, half playful and half in earnest, becomes habitual to him, and degenerates into absolute viciousness. It is not possible to enter the stall of some horses without danger. The animal gives no warning of his intention ; he is seemingly quiet and harmless : but if the incautious by-stander comes fairly within his reach, he darts upon him, and seldom fails to do some mischief. A stallion addicted to biting is a most formidable creature. He lifts the intruder — he shakes him — he attacks him with his feet — he tramples upon him, and there are many instances in which he effects irre- parable mischief A resolute groom may escape. A^'lien he has once got firm hold of the head of the horse, he may back him, or muzzle him, or harness him ; but he must be always on his guard, or in a moment of carelessness he may be seriously injured. It is seldom that anything can be done in the way of cure. Kindness will aggravate the evil, and no degree of severity will correct it. " I have seen," says Professor Stewart, "biters punished until they trembled in every joint, and were ready to drop, but have never in any case known them cured by this treatment, or by any other. The lash is forgotten in an hour, and the horse is as ready and determined to repeat the offence as before. He appears unable to resist the temptation, and in its worst form biting is a sjsecies of insanity."* Prevention, however, is in the power of every proprietor of horses. While he insists on gentle and humane treatment of his cattle, he should systematically forbid this horse-play. It is that which can never be considered as operating as a reward, and thereby rendering the horse tractable ; nor does it increase the affection of tlie animal for his groom, because he is annoyed and irritated by being thus incessantly teased. GETTING THE CHEEK OF THE BIT INTO THE MOUTH. Some horses that are disposed to be mischiev- ous try to do this, and are very expert at it. They soon find what advantage it gives them over their driver, who by this manoeuvre loses almost all command. Harsh treatment is here completely out of the question. All that can be done is, by some mechanical contrivance, to render the thing difficult or impossible, and this may be managed by fastening a round piece of leather on the inside of the cheek of the bit. ♦ Stewart's Stable Economy, p. 160. This, as a vice, is another consequence of the culpable habit of grooms and stable-ljoys of tea.sing the horse. That which is at first an indication of annoyance at the pinching and tickling of the groom, and without any design to injure, gradually be- comes the expression of anger, and the effort to do mischief. The horse likewise too soon recognises the least appearance of timidity, and takes advan- tage of the discoveiy. There is no cure for this vice ; and he cannot be justified who keeps a kick- ing horse in his stable. Some horses acquire, from mere irritability and fidgetiness, a habit of kicking at the stall or the bail, and particularly at night. The neighbouring horses are disturbed, and the kicker gets swelled hocks, or some more serious injuiy. This is also a habit very difficult to correct if suffered to become established. Mares are far more subject to it than horses. Before the habit is inveterately established, a thorn bush or a piece of furze fastened against the partition or post will sometimes effect a cure. When the horse finds that he is pretty severely pricked he will not long continue to punish him- self. In confirmed cases it may be necessary to have recourse to the log, but the legs ai'e often not a little bruised by it. A rather long and heavy piece of wood attached to a chain has been buckled above the hock, so as to reach about half way down the leg. When the horse attempts to kick violently, his leg will receive a severe blow : this, and the repetition of it, may, after a time, teach him to be quiet. A much more serious vice is kicking in harness. From the least annoyance about the rump or quarters, some horses will Idck at a most violent rate, and destroy the bottom of the chaise, and endanger the limbs of the driver. Those that are fidgety in the stable are most apt to do this. If the reins should perchance get under the tail, the violence of the kicker will often be most outrageous ; and while the animal presses down his tail so tightly that it is almost impossible to extricate the reins, he continues to plunge until he has demolished everything behind him. This is a vice standing foremost in point of danger, and which no treatment will always con- quer. It will be altogether in vain to tiy coercion. If the shafts are very strong and without flaw, or if they are plated with iron underneath, and a stout kicking-strap resorted to which will bai'ely allow the horse the proper use of his hind limbs in pro- gression, but not permit him to raise them suffici- ently for the pm-pose of kicking, he may be pre- vented from doing mischief; or if he is harnessed to a heavy cart, and thus confined, his efforts to lash out will be restrained : but it is frequently a K K ^ .Tf»"?w»- -^BS^- -r- 1" ». •r;t: -nn^i .*JMBBr "WI z^ OBBB-: - iis«r:jiiiE..iMna^ azacr-K-aanc aau. lis att«s litan iHtti all ian^ ic ^i- -x -< nia-tiiHWMI^ iB>^ihliiie^»iwifti-fcitt 50G THE HORSE. crib-biting lias very properly teen decided to be unsoundness. We must not look to tlie state of the disease at the time of purchase. The ques- tion is, does it exist at all '? A case was tried before Lord Tenterden, and thus decided : " a horse with crib-biting is unsound." It is one of those tricks which are exceedingly contagious. Every companion of a crib-biter in the same stables is likely to acquire the habit, and it is the most inveterate of all habits. The edge of the manger will in vain be lined with iron, or with sheep-skin, or \vith sheep-skin covered with tar or aloes, or any other unpleasant substance. In defiance of the annoyance which these may occasion, the horse will persist in the attack on his manger. A strap buckled tightly round the neck, hy compressing the windpipe, is the best means of preventing the possibility of this trick ; but the strap must he constantly worn, and its pressure is too apt to produce a worse affection, viz. an irrita- tion in the windpipe, which terminates in roaring. Some have recommended turning out for five or six months ; but this has never succeeded except with a young horse, and then rarely. The old crib-biter will employ the gate for the same purpose as the edge of his manger, and we have often seen him galloping across a field for the mere object of having a gripe at a rail. Medicine will be altogether thronn away in this case. The only remedy is a muzzle, with bars across the bottom ; sufficiently wide to enable the animal to pick up his com, and to pull his hay, but not to grasp the edge of the manger. If this is worn for a considerable period, the horse may be tired of attempting that which he cannot accomplish, and for a while forget the habit, but, in a majority of cases, the desire of crib-biting will return with the power of gratifying it. The causes of crib-biting are various, and some of them beyond the control of the proprietor of the horse. It is often the result of imitation ; but it is more frequently the consequence of idleness. The high-fed and spirited horse must be in mis- chief if he is not usefully employed. Sometimes, but we believe not often, it is produced by partial starvation, whether in a bad straw-yai'd, or from unpalatable food. An occasional cause of crib- biting is the frequent custom of grooms, even when the weather is not severe, of dressing them in the stable. The horse either catches at the edge of the manger, or at that of the partition on each side, if he has been turned, and thus he forms the habit of laying hold of these sub- stances on every occasion. \V1ND-SUCKING. This bears a close analogy to crib-biting. It arises from the same causes ; the same pui-pose is accomplished ; and the same results follow. The horse stands with his neck bent ; his head drawn inward ; his lips alternately a little opened and then closed, and a noise is heard as if he were sucking. If we may judge from the same compara- tive want of condition and the flatulence which we have described under the last head, either some portion of wind enters the stomach, or there is an injurious loss of saliva. This diminishes the value of the horse almost as much as crib-biting ; it is as contagious, and it is as inveterate. The only remedies, and they will seldom avail, are tying the head up, except when the horse is feeding, or putting on a muzzle with shark spikes towards the neck, and which will prick him whenever he attempts to rein his head in for the purpose of wmd-sucking. Of this habit mention has been made at p. 434 ; and we would advise the owner of a cutting horse, without tiymg any previous experiments of raising or lowering the heels, to put on the cuttiug foot a shoe of even thickness from heel to toe, not projecting in the slightest degree beyond the crust, and the crust itself being rasped a little at the quarters. The shoe should be fastened as usual on the outside, but \\'ith only one nail on the inside, and that almost close to the toe. The principle on which this shoe acts has been ex- plained at p. 487. NOT LYING DOWN. It not uncommonly happens that a horse will seldom or never lie down in the stable. He some- times continues in appai'ent good health, and feeds and works well ; but generally his legs swell, or he becomes fatigued sooner than another horse. If it is impossible to let him loose in the stable, or to put him into a spare box, we know not what is to be done. No means, gentle or cruel, will force him to lie down. The secret is that he is tied up, and either has never dared to lie down through fear of the confinement of the halter, or he has been cast in the night, and severely injured. If he can be suffered to range the stable, or have a comfortable box, in which he may be loose, he will usually lie down the first night. Some few horses, however, will lie down in the stable, and not in a loose box. A fresh, well-made bed, will generally tempt the tired horse to refresh himself with sleep. OVER-REACH. This unpleasant noise, known also by the term "clicking," arises- from the toe of the hind foot knocking against the shoe of the fore foot. In the trot, one fore leg and the opposite hind leg are first lifted from the ground and moved forward, the other fore leg and the opposite hind leg remaining THE IIOllSK. 507 fixed ; but, to keep tlie centre of gravity within the base, and as the stride, or space passed over by tliese legs, is often greater than the distance be- tween the fore and hind feet, it is necessary that the fore feet shoukl be alternately moved out of the way for the hind ones to descend. Then, as occasionally happens with hoi'ses not perfectly broken, and that have not been taught their paces, and especially if they have high liinder quarters and low fore ones, if the fore feet are not raised in time the hind feet will strike them. The fore foot will generally be caught when it has just begun to be raised, and the toe of the hind foot will meet the middle of the bottom of the fore foot. It is an unpleasant noise, and not altogether free from dan- ger ; for it may so happen that a horse, the action of wliose feet generally so much interferes with each other, may advance the hind foot a little more rapidly, or raise the fore one a little more slowly, so that the blow may fall on the heel of the shoe, and loosen or displace it ; or the two shoes may be looked together, and the animal may be thrown : or tlie contusion may be received even liigher, and on the tendons of the leg, and considerable swel- ling and lameness may follow. If the animal is young, the action of the horse may be materially improved ; otherwise nothing can be done, except to keep the toe of the hind foot as short and as round as it can safely be, and to bevil off and round the toe of the slioe, like that wliich has been worn by a stumbler for a fortnight, and, perhaps, a little to lower the heel of the fore foot. A blow received on the heel of the fore foot in this manner has not unfrequentlj', and especially if neglected, been followed by quittor.* The heel most frequently suffers in over-reach- ing, although the pastem is sometimes injured. It usually or almost always occurs in fast paces on deep ground. The injury is inflicted by the edge of the inner part of the shoe. The remedj^ is the cutting away the edge of the shoe. An account of the most successful treatment of over-reacli has been given in p. 405. r.A.wrxG. Some hot and irritable horses are restless even in the stable, and paw frequently and violently. Their litter is destroyed, the floor of the stable * Mr. Simpson relates an interesting though unfortunate case of this interference after the operation of neurotomy ; — " An old but splendid horse had been sadly lame in the off fore foot during some months. Many plans of treatment were adopted, wilhi>ut the desired effect ; and at length it was deter- mined to have recourse to neurotomy. A portion of the metacarpal ner\'e was excised on both sides, just above the fetlock. Three weeks allerwards, the horse being quite free from lameness, he was put into harness, and driven about twelve miles. He appeared to go very well, but, on arriving at hisjomney's end, it was found that the off hind foot was covered witli blood, and the heels of the neurotomised foot were dreadfully bruised and cut, from repeated blows from the corresponding foot behind. In order to remedy broken up, the shoe.s worn out, the feet bniised, and the legs sometimes sprained. If this habit does not ex.ist to any great extent, yet the stable never looks well. Shackles are the only remedy, with a chain sufficiently long to enable the horse to shift his posture, or move in his stall ; but these must be taken off at night, otherwise the animal will seldom lie down. Except, however, the horse possesses peculiar value, it will be better to dis- pose of him at once, than to submit to the danger and inconvenience that he may occasion. A horse will sometimes partly chew his hay, and suffer it to drop from his mouth. If this does not proceed from irregular teeth, which it will be the business of the veterinarj' surgeon to rasp down, it will be found to be connected with sore tliroat, and then the horse will exhibit some other symptom of indisposition, and particularly, the swallowing of water will be accomjianied by a peculiar gulpuig effort. In this case the disease (eatanii, with sore throat) must be attacked, aud the quiddiug will cease. This is a very pleasaut and perfectly safe amusement for a horse at grass, but cannot be indulged in the stable without the cliance of his being dangerously entangled with tlje collar reinv aud being cast. Yet, although the liorse is cast, and bruised, and half-strangled, he will rolJ again on the follomng night, and continue tO' db so aS' long as he lives. The only remed}' is not a very pleasant one to the horse, nor always- quite safe ; yet it must be had recourse to if the habit of rolling is inveterate. " The korse," says Mr. Castley, " should be tied with length enough of collar to lie down, but not to allow of his head resting on the ground ; because, in order to roll over,, a horse ia obliged to place his head quite dbwa upon the ground." We have briefly treated of the cause of this vice at page 2Sd, and observed that while it ia often the result of cowardice, or playfulness, or want of work, it is at other times the consequence of a defect of sight. It has been remm-ked, and this, Uie toe of the hind foot was ordered to be shortened as much as possible. " Four days afterwards he was driven again with the same con- tusions, but did not appear to feel the slightest pain, either when the blows were inflicted or when he was examined i^ain some days after uds. "There was not the same activity in this foot that there had been before the operation, and it could not get out of the way of the hind foot, a circumstance that would hardly have been expected, for it is the general belief that, although "sensation is destroyed in the foot, the locomotive powers of the leg are imim- paired. This deserves future inquiiy." — The Veterinarian, vol. viii., p. 242. 508 THE HOUSE. we believe veiy tnily, that shj'ing is oftener a vice of half or quarter-bred horses, than of those ^Yho have in them more of the genuine racing blood. In the treatment of shying, it is of great im- portance to distinguish between that -which is the consequence of defective sight, and what results from fear, or newness of objects, or mere affectation or skittishness. For the first, the nature of which we have explained at page 282, eves-y allowance must be made, and care must be taken that the fear of correction is not associated with the ima- gined existence of some terrifying object. The severe use of the whip and the spur cannot do good here, and are likely to aggravate the vice tenfold. A word half encouraging and half scolding, with a gentle pressure of the heel, or a slight touch of the spur, will tell the horse that there was notliiug to fear, and will give him confidence in his rider on a future occasion. It should be remembered, how- ever, that although a horse that shies from defec- tive sight may be taught considerable reliance on his rider, he can never have the cause of the habit removed. We may artificially strengthen the human sight, but that of the horse must be left to itself. The shying from skittishness or affectation is ,'s slioulil be allowed above the racks, through which the hay may be thrown into them ; for they will permit the foul air to ascend to the provender, and also in the act of filling the rack, and while the horse is eagerly gazing upward for his food, a grass seed may fall into the eye, and produce consi- derable inflammation. At other times, when the careless groom has left open the trap-door, a stream of cold air beats down on the head of the horse. The stable with a loft over it should never be less than twelve feet high, and proper ventilation should be secured either by tubes carried through the loft to the roof, or by gratings close to the ceil- ing. These gratings or openings should be en- larged or contracted by means of a covering or shutter, so that dming spring, summer, and autumn, the stable may possess nearly the same tempera- ture with the open air, and in winter a temperature of not more than ten degrees above that of the external atmosphere. A hot stable has, in the mind of the groom, been long connected with a glossy coat. The latter, it is thought, cannot be obtained without the former. To this we should reply that, in winter, a thin, glossj' coat is not desirable. Nature gives to every animal a warmer clothing when the cold weather approaches. The horse — the agricultural horse especially — acquires a thicker and a lengthened coat, ill order to defend him from the suiTounding cold. Man puts on an additional and a warmer covering, and his comfort is increased and his health preserved by it. He who knows anything of the farmer's horse, or cares about his enjoyment, will not object to a coat a little longer and a little roughened when the wintiy wind blows bleak. The coat, however, needs not to be so long as to be unsightly ; and warm clothing, even in a cool stable, wOl, with plenty of honest grooming, keep the hair sufficiently smooth and glossy to satisfy the most fastidious. The over-heated air of a close stable saves much of this grooming, and therefore the idle attendant unscrupulously sacrifices the health and safety of the horse. When we have presently to treat of the hair and skin of the horse, this will be placed in a somewhat different point of view. If the stable is close, the air will not only be hot, but foul. The breathing of every animal con- taminates it ; and when, in the course of the night, with every aperture stopped, it passes again and again through the lungs, the blood cannot un- dergo its proper and healthy change ; digestion wDl not be so perfectly performed, and all the functions of life are injured. Let the o^^'ner of a valuable horse think of his passing twenty or twenty-two out of the twenty-four hours in this debilitating atmosphere ! Nature does wonders in enabling eveiy animal to accommodate itself to the situation in which it is placed, and the horse that lives in the stable-oven suffers less from it than would scarcely be conceived possible ; but he does not, and cannot, possess the power and the hardi- hood wliich he would acquire under other circum- stances. The air of the improperly close and heated stable is still farther contaminated by the urine and dung, which rapidly ferment there, and give out stimulating and unwholesome vapours. When a person first enters an ill-managed stable, and especially early in the morning, he is annoyed, not only by the heat of the confined air, but by a pun- gent smell, resembling hartshorn ; and can he be surprised at the inflammation of the eyes, and the chronic cough, and the disease of the lungs, by which the animal, who has been all night shut up in this vitiated atmosphere, is often attacked ; or if glanders and farcy should occasionally break out in such stables ? It has been ascertained by che- mical experiment that the urine of the horse con- tains in it an exceedingly large quantity of harts- horn ; and not only so, but that, influenced by the heat of a crowded stable, and possibly by other decompositions that are going forward at the same time, this ammoniacal vapour begins to be rapidly given out almost immediately after the urine is voided. When disease begins to appear among the in- habitants of these ill-ventilated places, is it won- derful that it should rapidly spread among them, and that the plague-spot should be, as it were, placed on the door of such a stable '? When dis- temper appears in spring or in autumn, it is in very many cases to be traced to such a pest-house. It is peculiarly fatal there. The horses belonging to a small establishment, and rationally treated, have it comparatively seldom, or have it lightly ; but among the inmates of. a crowded stable it is sure to display itself, and there it is most fatal. The experience of eveiy veterinary surgeon, and of eveiy lai-ge proprietor of horses, will corroborate this statement. Agriculturists should bring to their stables the common sense which directs them in the usual concerns of life, and should begin, when their pleasures and their property are so much at stake, to assume that authority and to en- force that obedience, to the lack of which is to be at- tributed the greater part of bad stable-management and horse-disease. Of nothing are we more cer- tain than that the majority of the maladies of the horse, and those of the worst and most fatal cha- racter, are directly or indirectly to be attributed to a deficient supply of air, cruel exaction of work, and insufficient or bad fai-e. Each of these evils is to be dreaded — each is, in a manner, watching for its prey ; and when they are combined, more 512 THIi HORSE. tliau half of the inmates of the stable are often swept away. Every' stable shonld possess -within itself a certain degree of ventilation. The cost of this would be triBing, and its saving in the preserva- tion of valuable animals may be immense. The apertures need not be lai-ge, and the whole may be so contrived that no direct current of air shall fall on the horse. A gentleman's stable should never be without a thermometer. The temperature should seldom exceed 70° degrees in the summer, or sink below 40° or 50° in the winter. Having spoken of the vapour of hartshorn, which is so rapidly and so plentifnlly given out from the urine of a horse in a heated stable, we next take into consideration the subject of litter. The first caution is frequently to remove it. The early extrication of gas shows the rapid putrefaction of tile urine ; and the consequence of which will be the rapid putrefaction of the litter that has been moistened by it. Everything liastening to decora- position should be carefully removed where life and health are to be preserved. The litter that has been much wetted or at all softened by the urine, and is beginning to decay, should be swept away eveiy morning ; the greater part of the remainder may then be piled under the manger ; a little being left to prevent the painful and injurious pressure of the feet on the hard pavement during the day. The soiled and macerated portion of that which was left should be removed at night. In the better kind of stables, however, the stalls should be com- pletely emptied eveiy morning. No heap of fermenting dung should be suffered to remain during the dny in the corner or in any part of the stable. With regard to this the direc- tions of the master should be peremptory. The stable should be so contrived that the urine shall quickly ruii off, and the offensive and injurious vapour from the decomposing fluid and the litter will thus be materially lessened ; if, how- ever, the urine is carried away by means of a gutter running along the stable, the floor of the stalls must slant towards that gutter, and the declivity must not be so great as to strain the back sinews. and become an occasional, although unsuspected, cause of lameness. Mr. R. Lawrence well observes, that, "if the reader will stand for a few minutes ■with his toes higher than his heels, the pain he will feel in the (.'alves of his legs will soon convince him of the truth of this remai-k. Hence, when a horse is not eating, he always endeavours to find his level, either by standing across the stall or else as far back as his halter will permit, so that his hind-legs may meet the ascent of the other side of the channel." This inclination of the stall is also a frequent cause of contraction of the heels of the foot, by throwing too great a proportion of the weight upon the toe and removing that pressure on the heels which tends most to keep them open. Care, there- fore, must be taken that the slanting of the floor of the stalls shall be uo more than is sufficient to drain off the urine with tolerable rapidity. Stalls of this kind certJiinly do best for mares ; but for horses we much prefer those with a grating in the centre, and a slight inclination of the floor on eveiy side tow-ards the middle. A short branch may communicate with a larger drain, by means of which the urine may be carried off to a resen-oir outside the stable. Traps are now contrived, and may be procured at little expense, by means of which neither any offensive smell nor current of air can pass through the grating. The farmer should not lose any of the urine. It is from the dung of the horse that he derives a principal and the most valuable part of his manure. It is that which earliest takes on the process of putrefaction, and forms one of the strongest and most durable dressings. That which is most of all concerned with the rapidity and the perfection of the decomposition is the urine. Humanity and interest, as well as the appear- ance of the stable, should induce the proprietor of the horse to place a moderate quantity of litter under him during the day. The farmer who wants to convert every otherwise useless substance into manure, will have additional reason for adopting this practice : especially as he does not confine himself to that to which in towns and in gentle- men's stables custom seems to have limited the bed of the horse. Pea and bean haum, and potato- tops, and heath, occupy in the stable of the farmer, during a part of the year-, the place of wheaten and oaten straw. It should, however, be remembered, that these substances are disposed more easily to ferment and putrefy than straw, and therefore should be more carefully examined and oftener removed. It is the faulty custom of some farmers to let the bed accumulate until it reaches almost to the horse's belly, and the bottom of it is a mass of dung. If there were not often many a hole and cranny through which the wind can enter and dis- perse the fold air, the health of the animal would materially suffer. This neglected branch of stable-management is of far more consequence than is generally imagined ; and it is particularly neglected by those for whom these treatises are principally designed. The farmer's stable is frequently destitute of any glazed window, and has only a shutter, which is raised in warm weather, and closed when the weather becomes cold. When the horse is in the > > ' THE IIOKSE. .■513 Bta'ule only iluriiig a few hours in the Jay, tliis is not of so iiiuc li lunsequence, nor of so much, pro- halily, willi regard to liorses of slow work ; but to caiTiage-horscs ami haekneys, so far, at least, as the eyes are concerueil, a dark stable is little less injurious than a foul aud heated one. In order to illustrate this, reference may be made to the un- pleasant feeling, and the utter impossibility of seeing distinctly, when a man suddenly emerges from a dark place into the full blaze of day. Tlie sensation of mingled pain and giddiness is not soon forgotten ; and some minutes pass befoi'e the eye can accommodate itself to the increased light. If this were to happen every day, or several times in the day, the sight would be irreparably in- jured, or possibly blindness would ensue. Can we wonder, then, that the horse, taken from a dark stable into a glare of light, feeling, probably, as we should do under similar circumstances, and unable for a considerable time to see anything aroinid him distiuctl}-, should become a starter, or that the fi-eijuently repeated violent effect of sud- den light should induce inflammation of the eye so intense as to terminate in blindness? There is, indeed, no doubt that horses kept in dark stables are frequently notorious starters, and that abomi- nable habit has been properly traced to this cause. Farmers know, and should profit by the know- ledge, that the darkness of tlje stable is not unfre- quently a cover for great uncleanliuess. A glazed window, with leaden divisions between the small panes, would not cost much, and would admit a degree of light somewhat more approaching to that of day, and at the same time would render the concealment of gross inattention and want of cleanlhiess impossible. If plenty of light is admitted, the walls of the stable, and especially that portion of them which is before the horse's head, must not be of too glaring a colour. The constant reflection from a white wall, and especially if the sun shines into the stable, will be as injurious to the eye as the sudden changes from darkness to light. The per- petual slight e.\cess of stimulus -will do as much mischief as the occasional but more violent one when the animal is taken from a kind of twilight to the blaze of day. The colour of the stable, therefore, should depend on the quantity of light. Where much can be admitted, the walls should be of a grey hue. Where darkness would otherwise jirevail, frequent whitewashing may in some de- gree dissipate the gloom. For another reason it mil be evident that the stable should not [jossess too glaring a light : it is the resting-place of the horse. The work of the farmer's horse, indeed, is confined principally to the day. The hour of e.^ertion tiaviug passed, the anira.J returns to his stable to feed and to repose, aud the latter is as necessary as the former, in order to prepare him for renewed work. Some- thing apprnaihing to the dimness of twilight is requisite Uj induce tiie animal to compose himself to sleep. Tliis half-light more particularly suits horses of heavy work, and who draw almost as much by the weight of carcass which they can throw into the collar, as liy the degiee of nmscular energy of which they are capable. In the quietness of a dimly-lighted stable they obtain repose, and accu- mulate flesh and fat. Dealers are perfectly aware of this. They have their darkened stables, in which the young horse, with little or no exercise, and fed upon rniishes and ground corn, is made up for .sale. Tlie round and jilump appearance, how- ever, which may delude the unwary, soon vani-shes with altered treatment, and the animal is found to be unfit for hard work, and predisposed to many an inflammatory disease. The circumstances, then, under wliich a staljle somewhat daikened may be allowed, will be easily determined by the owner of the horse ; but, as a general rule, dark stables are unfriendly to cleanliness, and the frequent cause of the vice of starting, and of the most serious dis- eases of the eyes. Of this much need not be said to the agricul- turist, since custom, and, apparently without ill effect, has allotted so little of the comb and brush to the farmer's horse. The animal that is worked all day, and turned out at night, requires little more to be done to him than to have the dirt brushed off his limbs. Regular grooming, by rendering his skin more sensible to the alteration of temperature, and the inclemency of the weather, would be pre- judicial. The horse that is altogether turned out needs no grooming. Tiie dandrilf or scurf which accumulates at the roots of the hair, is a provision of nature to defend him from the wind and the cold. It is to the stabled horse, highly fed, and little or in'egularly worked, that grooming is of so much consequence. Good rubbing with the brush or the curiy-comb opens the pores of the skin, circulates the blood to the e.xtremiiies of the body, produces free and healthy perspiration, and stands in the room of exercise. No horse will cai'ry a tine coat without either unnatural heat or dressing. They both effect the same pui-pose ; they both increase the insensible perspiration: but the first does it at the expense of health and strength, while the second, at the same time that it produces a glow on the skin, and a determination of blood to it, rouses all the energies of the frame. It would be well for the proprietor of the horse if he were to insist — and to see tliat his orders are really obeyed — that the fine coat in which he and his groom so much delight, is produced by honest )ubbing, and not by a heated stable and thick clothing, and most of all, not by stimulating or injurious spices. The horse 514 THE HOUSE. should be regularly dressed eveiy day, in addition to the grooming that is necessary after work. AVhen the weather will permit the horse to he taken out, he should never be groomed in the stable, unless he is an animal of peculiar value, or placed for a time under peculiar circumstances. Without dv.'elling on the want of cleanliness, when the scurf and dust that are brushed from the horse lodge in his manger, and mingle with his food, experience teaches, that if the cold is not too great, the animal is braced and invigorated to a degree that cannot be attained in the stable, from being dressed in the open air. There is no necessity, however, for half the punishment which many a groom inflicts upon the horse in the act of dressing ; and particularly on one whose skin is thin and sensible. The curry-comb should at all times be lightly applied. With many horses its use may be almost dispensed with; and even the brush needs not to be so hard, nor the points of the bristles so irregular as they often are. A soft bi'ush, with a little more weight of the hand, will be equally effectual, and a great deal more pleasant to the horse. A hair-cloth, while it will seldom irritate and tease, will be almost sufficient with horses that have a thin skin, and that have not been neglected. After all, it is no slight task to dress a horse as it ought to be done. It occupies no little time, and demands considerable patience, as well as dexterity. It will be readily ascertained whether a horse has been well dressed by rubbing him with one of the fingers. A greasy stain will detect the idleness of the gi'oom. When, however, the horse is changing his coat, both the curry-comb and the bmsh shoidd be used as lightly as possible. Whoever would be convinced of the benefit of friction to the horse's skin, and to the horse gene- rally, needs only to observe the effects produced by well hand-nibbing the legs of a tired horse. While every enlargement subsides, and the painful stiff- ness disappears, and the legs attain their natural warmth, and become fine, the animal is evidently and rapidly re^'iviug ; he attacks his food with appetite, and then quietly lies down to rest. Our observations on this important branch of stable-management must have only a slight refer- ence to the agricultural horse. His work is usually regular and not exhausting. He is neither pre- disposed to disease by idleness, nor worn out by excessive exertion. He, like his master, has enough to do to keep him in health, and not enough to distress or injure him : on the contraiy, the regularity of his work prolongs life to an extent rarely v^dtnessed in the stable of the gentleman. Our remarks on exercise, then, must have a general bearing, or have principal reference to those persons who are in the middle stations of life, and who contrive to keep a horse for business or pleasure, but cannot afford to maintain a sen'ant for the exjjress purjwse of looking after it. The first rale we would lay down is, that every horse should have daily exercise. The animal that, with the usual stable feeding, stands idle for three or four days, as is the case in many establishments, must suffer. He is predisposed to fever, or to grease, or, most of all, to diseases of the foot ; and if, after three or foiu' days of inactivity, he is ridden far and fast, he is almost sm-e to have inflammation of the lungs or of the feet. A gentleman or tradesman's horse suffers a great deal more from idleness than he does from work. A stable-fed horse should have two liours' exercise eveiy day, if he is to be kept free from disease. Nothing of extraordinaiy or even of ordinaiy labour can be effected on the road or in the field without sufficient and regular exercise. It is this alone which can give energy to the system, or develop the powers of any animal. How then is this exercise to be given ? As much as possible by, or imder the superintendence of the owner. The exercise given by the groom is rarely to be depended upon. It is inefficient or it is extreme. It is in many cases both irregular and injurious. It is dependent upon the caprice of him who is performing a task, and who will render that task subservient to his own pleasure or jiui-pose. In training the hunter and the race-horse, regidar exercise is the most impoiiaut of all con- siderations, however it may be forgotten in the usual management of the stable. 'The exercised horse will discharge his task, and sometimes a severe one, with ease and pleasure ; while the idle and neglected one will be fatigued ere half his labour is accomplished, and, if he is pushed a little too far, dangerous inflammation vrill ensue. How often, nevertheless, does it happen, that the horse which has stood inactive in the stable three or four days, is ridden or driven thirty or forty miles in the course of a single day ! This rest is often purposely given to prepare for extra exertion ; — to lay in a stock of strength for the perfonnance of the task required of him : and then the owner is surprised and dissatisfied if the animal is fairly knocked up, or possibly becomes seriously ill. Nothing is so common and so preposterous, as for a person to buy a horse from a dealer's stable, where he has been idly fattening for sale for many a day, and immediately to give him a long run after the hounds, and then to complain bitterly, and think that he has been impiosed upon, if the animal is exhausted before the end of the chase, or is compelled to be led home suffering from violent inflammation. Eegular and gradually increasing exercise would have made the same horse appear a treasure to his owntr. THE nORSE. 615 Exercise should be somewhat proportioned to the age of the horse. A young liorse requires more than an old one. Nature has given to young animals of every kind a disposition to activity ; but the e.\ercise must not be violent. A great deal depends upon the manner in which it is given. To preserve the temper, and to promote health, it should be moderate, at least at the beginning and the termination. The rapid trot, or even the gallop, may be resorted to in the middle of the exercise, but the horse should be brought in cool. If the owner would seldom intrust his horse to boys, and would insist on the exercise being taken within sight, or in the neigh- bourhood of his residence, many an accident and irreparable injur}' would be avoided. It should be the owner's pleasure, and it is bis interest, person- ally to attend to all these things. He manages every other part of his concerns, and he may depend on it that he suffers when he neglects, or is in a manner excluded from, his stables. The system of manger-feeding is becoming general among farmers. There are few horses that do not habitually waste a portion of their hay ; and by some the greater part is pulled down and trampled under foot, in order first to cull the sweetest and best locks, and which could not be done while the hay was enclosed in the rack. A good feeder will afterwai-ds pick up much of that which was thrown down ; but some of it must be soiled and rendered disgusting, and, in many cases, one-third of this division of their food is wasted. Some of the oats and beans are imper- fectly chewed by all horses, and scarcely at all by hungry and greedy ones. The appearance of the dung will sufficiently evince this The observation of this induced the adoption of manger- feeding, or of mixing a portion of chaff with the corn and beans. By this means the animal is compelled to chew his food ; he cannot, to any great degree, waste the straw or hay : the chaff is too hard and too sharp to be swallowed without considerable mastication, and, while he is forced to grind that down, the oats and beans are ground with it, and yield more nourishment ; the stomach is more slowly filled, and therefore acts better on its contents, and is not so liJvely to be overloaded ; and the increased quantity of saliva thrown out in the lengthened maceration of the food, softens it, and makes it more fit for digestion. Professor Stewart very properly remarks that " many horses swallow their com in great haste, and when much is eaten that habit is exceedingly dangerous. The stomach is filled — it is over- loaded before it has time to make preparation for acting on its contents — the food ferments, and painful or dangerous colic ensues. By adding chaff to his com, the horse must take more time to eat it, and time is given for the commencement of digestion, l)efore femientation can occur. In this way chaff is very useful, especially after long fasts."* If, when considerable provender was wasted, the horse maintained his condition, and was able to do his work, it was evident that much might be saved to the farmer, when he adopted a system by which the horse ate all that was set before him ; and by degrees it was found out, that even food somewhat less nutritious, but a gi'eat deal cheaper, and which the horse either would not eat, or would not properly grind down in its natui'al state, might be added, while the animal would be in quite as good plight, and always ready for work. Chaff may be composed of equal quantities of clover or meadow hay, and wheaten, oaten, or barley straw, cut into pieces of a quarter or half an inch in length, and mingled well together ; the al- lowance of oats or beans is afterwards added, and mixed with the chaff. Many farmers vei-y pro- perly bruise the oats or beans. The whole oat is apt to slip out of the chaff and be lost ; but when it is bruised, and especially if the chaff is a little wetted, it will not readily separate ; or, should a portion of it escape the grinders, it wi!l be partly prepared for digestion by the act of braising. The prejudice against bruising the oats is, so far as the farmer's horse, and the waggon horse, and eveiy horse of slow draught, are concerned, altogether unfounded. The quantity of straw in the chaff will always counteract any supposed purgative quality in the binjised oats. Horees of quicker draught, except they are naturally disposed to scour, will thrive better with bruised than with whole oats ; for a greater quantity of nutriment will be extracted from the food, and it will always be easy to apportion the quantity of straw or beans to the effect of the mixture on the bowels of the horse. The principal alteration that should be made in the horse of harder and more rapid work, such as the post-horse, and the stage-coach horee, is to increase the quantity of hay, and diminish that of straw. Two trusses of hay may be cut mth one of straw. Some gentlemen, in defiance of the prejudice and opposition of the coachman or the gi'oom, have introduced this mode of feeding into the stables of their carriage horses and hackneys, and with manifest advantage. There has been no loss of condition or power, and considerable saving of provender. This system is not, however, calcu- lated for the hunter or the race-hoi-se. Their food must lie in smaller bulk, in order that the action of the lungs may not be impeded by the distension of the stomach j yet many hunters have gone well • Stewart's Stable Economy, p. 223. 516 THE HORSE. over the field who have been manger-fed, the pro- portion of corn, however, being materially increased. For the agricultural and cart horse, eight pounds of oats and two of beans should be added to every twenty pounds of chaff. Thirty-four or thirty-six pounds of the mixture will be sufficient for any moderate-sized horse, with fair, or even hard work. Tlie dray and waggon horse may re- quire forty pounds. Hay in the raclt at night is, in this case, supposed to be omitted together. The rack, however, may remain, as occasionally useful for the sick horse, or to contain tares or other green meat. Horses are very fond of this provender. The majority of them, after having been accustomed to it, will leave the best oats given to them alone, for the sake of the mingled chaff and com. We would, however, caution the farmer not to set apart too much damaged hay for the manufacture of the chaff. The horse may be tlius induced to eat that which he would otherwise refuse ; but if the nourishing property of the hay has been im- paired, or it has acquired an injurious principle, the animal will either lose condition, or become diseased. Much more injury is done by eating damaged hay or musty oats than is generally imagined. There will be sufficient saving in the diminished cost of the provender by the inti'oduo- tion of the straw, and the improved condition of the horse, without poisoning him with the refuse of the farm. For old horses, and for those with defective teeth, chaff is peculiarly useful, and for them the grain should be broken down as well as the fodder. While the mixture of chaff with the com pre- vents it from being too rapidly devoured and a portion of it swallowed whole, and therefore the stomach is not too loaded with that on which, as containing the most nutriment, its chief digestive power should be exerted, yet, on the whole, a great deal of time is gained by this mode of feeding, and more is left for rest. When a horse comes in wearied at the close of the day, it occupies, after he has eaten his corn, two or three hours to clear his rack. On the system of manger-feeding, the chaff being already cut into small pieces, and the beans and oats bruised, he is able fully to sa- tisfy his appetite in an hour and a half. Two ad- ditional hours are therefore devoted to rest. This is a circumstance deserving of much consideration even in the farmer's stable, and of immense conse- quence to the postmaster, the stage-coach pro- prietor, and the owner of every hard-worked horse. Manger food will be the usual support of the farmer's horse during the winter, and while at constant or occasional hard work; but from the middle of April to the end of July, he may be fed with this mixture in the day and turned out at night, or he may remain out during eveiy rest- day. A team in constant employ should not, however, be suffered to be out at night after the end of July. The farmer should take care that the pasture is thick and good ; and that the distance from the yard is not too great, or the fields too large, other- wise a very considerable portion of time will be occupied in catching the horses in the morning. He will likewise have to take into consideration the sale he would have for his hay, and the neces- sity for sweet and untrodden pasture for his cattle. On the whole, however, turning out in this way, when circumstances will admit of it, will be found to be more beneficial for the horse, and cheaper than soiling in the yard.* The horse of the inferior farmer is sometimes fed on hay (jr grass alone, and the animal, al- though he rarely gets a feed of corn, maintains himself in tolerable condition, and does the work that is required of him : but hay and grass alone, however good in quality, or in whatever quantity allowed, will not support a horse under hard work. Other substances containing a larger propor- tion of nutriment in a smaller compass, have been added. They shall be briefly enumerated, and an estimate formed of their comparative value. In almost every part of Great Britain, oats have been selected as that portion of the food which is to afford the principal nourishment. They contain seven hundred and forty-three parts out of a thousand of nutritive matter. They should be about or somewhat less than a year old, heavy, dry, and sweet. New oats will weigh ten oi' fifteen per cent, more than old ones ; but the difference consists principally in watery matter, which is gradually evaporated. New oats are not so readily * Professor Stewart thus sums up the comparative advantage of chaff and racked feeding: — " Where the stablemen are careful, wa.ste of fodder is dimi- nished, but not prevented, by feeding from the manger. " Where the racks are good, careful stablemen may prevent nearly all waste of fodder without cutting it. "An acciurate dit,lributiou of the fodder is not a very important object. '' No horse seems to like his corn the better for being mingled ■with chatf. *' Among half-starved horses chaff-cutting promotes the con- sumittion of damaged fodder. *' Full-fed horses, rather than eat the mixture of sound with unsound, will reject the whole, or eat less than their woik demands. " Chaff is more easily eaten than hay. This is an advantage to old horses and others working all day — a disadvantage when the horses stand long in the stable. " Chaff insures complete mastication and deliberate digestion of the corn. It is of considerable, and of most importance in this respect. All the fodder needs not to be mingled with the corn, one pound of chaff being sutEcient to secure the mastication and slow ingestion of four pounds of corn. "The cost of cutting all the fodder, especially for heavy- horses, is repaid only when hay is dear, and wasted in large quantities " Among hard-working horses bad food .■should never be cut." — Skwait's Stable Economy, p. 225. THE HORSE. il7 grouud down by tlie teeth as old ones. They form a more glutinous mass, difficult to digest, and, when eaten in considerable quantities, are apt to occasion colic and even staggers. If they are to be used before they are from three to five months old, they would be materially improved by a little liiln-drjing. There is uo fear for the horses from simple drying, if the corn was good when it was put in the kiln. The old oat forms, when chewed, a smooth aud uniform mass, which readily dissolves in the stomach, and yields the nourishment which it contains. Perhaps some chemical cliange may have been slowly elfected in the old oat, disposing it to be more readily assi- milated. Oats should be plump, bright in colour, and free from unpleasant smell or taste. The musty smell of wetted or damaged corn is produced by a fungus which grows upju the seed, and which li;is an injurious effect on the urinary organs, and often on the intestines, producing profuse staling, inrtammatiou of the kidneys, colic, and inflamma- tion of the bowels. This musty smell is removed by kiln-drying the oat ; but care is here requisite that too great a degree of heat is not employed. It should be suf- ficient to destroy the fungus without injuring the life of the seed. Many persons, but without just cause, have considerable fear of the kiln-burnt oat. It is said to produce inflammation of the bladder, and of the eyes, and mangy affections of the skin. The fact is, that many of the kiln-dried oats that are given to horses were damaged before they were dried, and thus became unhealthy. A considerable improvement would be effected, by cutting the uutlireshed oat-straw into chaff, and the exjiense of threshing would be saved. Oat-straw is better than that of barley, but does not contain so much nutriment as that of wheat. ^^'^hen the horse is fed on hay and oats, the quantity of the oats must vary with his size and the work to be performed. In winter, four feeds, or from ten to fourteen pounds of oats in the day, will be a fair allowance for a horse of fifteen hands one or two inches high, and that has moderate work. In summer, half the quantity, with green food, will be sufiicient. Those who work on the farm have from ten to fourteen pounds, and the hunter from twelve to sixteen. There are no efficient and safe substitutes for good oats ; but, on the contrary, we are much inclined to believe that they possess an invigorating property which is not found in other food. Oatmeal will form a poultice more stimulating than one composed of linseed meal alone — or they may be mingled in different proportions as cir- cumstances require. In the form of gruel it con- stitutes one of the most important articles of diet for the sick horse — not, indeed, forced upon him, but a pail containing it being slung in his box. and of which he will soon begin to drink when water is denied. Few grooms make gojd gruel; it is either not boiled long enough, or a sufficient quantity of oatmeal has not been used. The pro- portions should be, a pound of meal tlirown int ) a gallon of water, and kept constantly stirr-d until it boils, and tive minutes afterwards. White-water, made by stirring a pint of oat- meal in a pail of watei-, the chill being taken iVoui it, is an excellent beverage for the thirsty and tired horse. Barley is a common food of the horse on vari- ous parts of the Continent, and, until the intro- duction of the oat, seems to have constituted almost his only food. It is more nutritious than oats, containing nine hundred and twenty parts of nu- tritive matter in every thousand. There seems, however, to be something necessary besides a great proportion of nutritive matter, iu order to render any substance wholesome, strengthening, or fat- tening ; therefore it is that, in many horses that are hardly worked, and, indeed, in horses generally, barley does not agree with them so well as oats. They are occasionally subject to inflammatory complaints, and particularly to surfeit and niauje. When barley is given, the quantity should not exceed a peck daily. It should always be bruised, and the chaff should consist of equal quantities of hay and barley-straw, and not cut too short. If the farmer has a quantity of spotted or unsaleable barley that he wishes thus to get rid of, he must very gradually accustom his horses to it, or he will probably produce sei'ious illness among them. For horses that are recovering from illness, barley, in the form of malt, is often serviceable, as tempting the appetite aud recruiting the strength. It is best given in mashes^water, considerably below the boiling heat, being poured upon it, and the vessel or pail kept covered for half an hour. Grains fresh from the mash-tub, either alone, or mixed with oats or chaff, or both, may be occa- sionally given to horses of slow draught ; they would, however, affoi'd very insufficient nourish- ment for horses of quicker or harder work. Wheat is, in Great Britain, more rarely given than barley. It contains nine hundred and fifty- five parts of nutritive matter. When farmei-s have a damaged or unmarlietable sample of wheat, they sometimes give it to their horses, and, being at first used iu small quantities, they become ac customed to it, and thrive aud work well : it must, however, always be bruised and given iu chaff. Wheat contains a greater portion of f/hiten, or sticky adhesive matter, than any other kind of grain. It is difficult of digestion, and apt to cake and form obstructions in the bowels. This wi!l oftener be the case if the horse is suffered to drink much water soou after feeding upon wheat. Fermentation, colic, and death, are occasionally 518 THE HOKSE. the consequence of eating any great quantity of wlieat. A horsetbat is fed on wheat should have very little hay. The proportion should not he more than one truss of hay to two of straw. Wheaten flower, boiled in water to tlie thickness of starch, is given with good effect in over-purging, and especially if combined with chalk and opium. Bran, or the ground husli of the wheat, used to be frequently given to sick horses on account of the sujjposed advantage derived from its relaxing the bowels. There is no doubt that it does operate gently on the intestinal canal, and assists in quick- ening the passage of its contents, when it is occa- sionally given; but it must not be a constant, or even frequent food. Mr. Ernes attended three mills at which many horses were kept, and tliere were ahvays two or three cases of indigestion from the accumulation of brand or pollard in the large intestines. Bran may, however, be useful as an occasional aperient in the form of a mash, but never should become a regular article of food. Beans. — These form a striking illustration of the principle, that the nourishing or strengthening effects of the different articles of food depend more on some peculiar jiroperty whicli they possess, or some combination which they form, than on the actual quantity of nutritive matter. Beans contain but five hundred and seventy parts of nutritive matter, yet they add materially to the vigour of the horse. There are many horses that will not stand hard work without beans being mingled with their food, and these not horses whose tendencj' to purge it may be necessary to restrain by the as- tringeney of the bean. Thei'e is no traveller who is not aware of the difference in the spirit and continuance of his horse whether he allows or denies him beans on his jouniey. They afford not merely a temporary stimulus, but they may be daily used without losing their power, or producing exhaustion. They are indispensable to the hard- worked coach-horse. Washy horses could never get througli their work without them; and old horses would often sink under the task imposed upon them. They should not be given to the horses whole or split, but crushed. This ^vill make a material difference in the quantity of nutriment that will be extracted. They are sometimes given to turf horses, but only as an occasional stimulant. Two pounds of beans may, with advantage, be mixed with the chaff' of the agricultural horse, during the winter. In summer the quantity of beans should be lessened, or they should be alto- gether discontinued. Beans are generally given •whole. This is very absurd ; for the young horse, whose teeth are strong, seldom requires them; while the old horse, to whom they are in a mr.nner necessary, is scarcely able to masticate them, swallows many of them whole which be is unable to break, and drops nuicli corn from his mouth in the ineffectual attempt to crush them Beans should not be merely split, but crushed ; they will even then give sufficient employment to the grinders of the animal. Some postmasters use chaff with beans instead of oats. With hardly- worked horses they may possibly be allowed ; but, in general cases, beans, without oats, would be too binding and stimulating, and would produce costiveness, and probably megrims or staggers. Beans should be at least a twelvemonth old before they are given to the horse, and they should be carefully preserved from damp and mouldiness, which at least disgust the horse if they do no other harm, and harbour an insect that destroys the inner part of the bean. The straw of the bean is nutritive and whole- some, and is usually given to the horses. Its nutritive properties are supposed to be little inferior to those of oats. The small and plump bean is generally the best. Peas are occasionally given. They appear to be iu a slight degree more nourishing than beans, and not so heating. They contain five hundred and seventy-four parts of nutritive matter. For horses of slow work they may be used ; but the quantity of chaff should be increased, and a few oats added. They have not been found to answer with horses of quick draught. It is essential that they should be crushed ; otherwise, on account of their globular form, they are apt to escape from the teeth, and many are swallowed whole. Ex- posed to warmth and moistm'e in the stomach, they swell considerably, and may painfully and injuriously distend it. The peas that are given to horses should be sound, and at least a twelve- month old. In some northern counties pea-meal is fre- quently used, not only as an excellent food for the horse, but as a remedy for diabetes. Linseed is sometimes given to sick horses — raw, ground, and boiled. It is supposed to be useful in cases of catarrh.* Herbage, green and dry, constitutes a principal part of the food of the horse. There are few things with regard to which the farmer is so careless as the mixture of grasses on both his upland and meadow pasture. Hence we find, in the same field, the ray-grass, coming to perfection only in a loamy soil, not fit to cut until the middle or latter * " Mr. Black, veterinary .surpeon nf the 14lh DragoouR, says that sugar was tiied as an atlicle of iboil during the Peninsular War. Ten horses were selected, eaeh ot" whieh got 8 lbs. a day at four rations. They took it vci-y readily, and their coats became fine, smooth, and glossy. They got no corn, and only 7 lbs. of hay. instead of the ordinary allowance, whir^li is 12 lbs. The sugar seemed to supply the place of the com so well, that it would have been probalaly given abroad : but peace came, and the circumstances that rendered the use of sugar for corn desirable ceased, and the horses returned to their usual diet. That the sugar might not be appropriated to other jiurposes it was .slightly scented with assafcetida,^ which did not produce any apparent effect upon them." V TiJi; iionsr. 519 part of Jul}', and yielding little aftermath ; the meadow fox-tail, best cultivated in a clayey soil, fit for the scythe in the beginning of June, and yield- ing a plentiful aftermath ; the glaucous fescue- grass, ready at the middle of June, and rapidly deteriorating in value as its seeds ripen ; and the fertile meadow-grass, increasing in value until the end of July. These are circumstances the import- ance of which will, at no distant period, be recog- nised. In the mean time, Sinclair's account of the different grasses, or the condensation of the most important part of his work in Sir Humphry Davy's Agricultural Chemistry, or Low's Elements of Practical Agriculture, are well deserving of the diligent perusal of the farmer. Hay is most in perfection when it is about a twelvemonth old. The horse perhaps would pre- fer it earlier, but it is neither so wholesome, nor so nutritive, and often has a purgative quality. When it is about a year old, it retains or should retain somewhat of its green colour, its agreeable smell, and its pleasant taste. It has undergone the slow process of fermentation, by which the sugar which it contains is developed, and its nutri- tive quality is fully exercised. Old hay becomes dry and tasteless, and innutritive and unwhole- some. After the grass is cut, and the hay stacked, a slight degree of fermentation takes place in it. This is necessary for the development of the sac- charine principle ; but occasionally it proceeds too far and the hay becomes mow-burnt, in which state it is injurious, or even jjoisouous. The horse soon shows the etfect which it has upon him. He has diabetes to a considerable degree — he becomes hide-bound — his strength is wasted — his thirst is excessive, and he is almost worthless. Where the system of manger-feeding is not adopted, or where hay is still allowed at night, and chaff and corn in the day, there is no error into which the farmer is so apt to fall as to give an undue quantity of hay, and that generally of the worst kind. If the manger system is good, there can be no necessity for hay, or only for a small quantity of it ; but if the rack is over-loaded, the greedy horse will be eating all night, instead of taking his rest — when the time for the morning feed arrives, his stomach will be already filled, and he \rill be less capable of work from the want of sleep, and from the long-continued distension of the stomach rendering it impossible for the food to be properly digested. It is a good practice to sprinkle the hay with water in which salt has been dissolved. It is evi- dently more palatable to the animal, who will leave the best unsalted hay for that of an inferior qua- lity that has been moistened with brine ; and there can be no doubt that the salt very materially assists the process of digestion. The preferable way of salting the hay is to sprinkle it over the different layers as the rick is formed From its attraction for wate;-, it would combine with that excess of moisture which, in wet seasons, is the cause of too rapid and violent fermentation, and of the hay becoming mow-bunit, or the rick catcljiiig fire, and it would become more incorporated with the hay. The only objection to its being thus used is, that the colour of the hay is not Sebright; but this will be of little consequence for home con sumption. Of the value of Tares, as forming a portion of the late spring and summer food of the stabled and agricultural horse, there can be no doubt. They are cut after the pods are formed, but a con- siderable time before the seeds are ripe. They supply a larger quantity of food for a limited time than almost any other forage-crop. The vicia satira is the most profitable variety of the tare. It is very nutritive, and acts as a gentle aperient. When surfeit-lumps appear on the sldn, and the horse begins to rub himself against the divisions of the stall, and the legs swell, and the heels threaten to crack, a few tares, cut up with the chaff, or given instead of a portion of the hay, will afford considerable relief. Ten or twelve pounds ma}' be allowed daily, and half that weight of hay subtracted. It is an erroneous notion, that, given in moderate quantities, they either roughen the coat or lessen the capability for hard work. Rye Grass affords a valuable article of food, but is inferior to the tare. It is not so nutritive. It is apt to scour, and, occasionally, and late in the spring, it has appeared to be injurious to the horse. Clover, for soiling the horse, is inferior to the tare and the lye grass, but, nevertheless, is useful when they cannot be obtained. Clover hay is, perhaps, preferable to meadow hay for chaflf. It j will sometimes tempt the sick horse, and may be given with advantage to those of slow and heavy [ work ; hut custom seems properly to have forbid- I den it to the hunter and the hackney. Lucern, where it can be obtained, is preferable even to tares, and Sain-foin is superior to lucern. Although they contain but a small quantity of nu- tritive matter, it is easily digested, and perfectly assimilated. They speedily put both muscle and fat on the horse that is worn down by labour, and they are almost a specific for hide-bound. Some farmers have thought so highly of lucern as to sub stitute it for oats. This may be allowable for the agricultural horse of slow and not severe work, but he from whom speedier action is sometimes required, and the horse of all work, must have a proportion of hard meat within him. The Swedish Turnip is an article of food the value of which has not been sufficiently appre- ciated, and particularly for agricultui-al horses. Although it is far from containing the quantity of L L 3 '» kl akMl I THE HORSE. 521 deserves more serious attention mn is generally given to it. When extra work is require! -om the animal, the svstem of management is ot'ie injudicious, for a double feed is put before him. ;:d as soon as he has swallowed it he is started, t would be_ far better to give him a double feed a the previous evening, which would be digestl before he is •wanted" and then he might set ot in the moru- in<» after a very smdl portion olcorn has been given to him, or perhaps only a ttle hay. One of the most successful methods of labling a horse to get well through a long journe is to give him only a little at atime while on tJ road, and at nif'ht to indulge him with a doule feed of corn and a full allowance of beans. Water. — This is a part of staie management little regarded by the farmer. H.lets his horses loose morning and night, and ley go to the nearest pond or brook and drink leir fill, and no harm results, for they obtain tha kind of water which nature designed them to 1i;b, in a manner prepared for them by some unlunni iutiueuce of the atmosphere, as well as by tl deposition of many saline admixtures. The dih-ence between hard and soft water is known t very one. In hard water "soap will curdle, v. ibles will not boil soft, and the saccharine n r of the malt cannot be fully obtained in the ] ■ ss of brewing. There is nothing in which tlu; i rent effect of hard and soft water is so evi.i' uis in the sto- mach and digestive orgaris •■( • horse. Hard water, drawn fresh from the w. l.vill assuredly make the coat of a horse unaccustaed to it stare, and it will not unfrequently grii'emd otherwise injure him. Instinct or exi^r . 'e has made even the horse himself cmh- i - f this, for he will never drink hard water il iihas access to soft, and he will leave the most unsparent and pure water of the well for a riveialthough the stream may be turbid, and even fothe muddiest pool.* He is injured, however, m so much by the hardness of the well-water as > its coldness — particularly by its coldness in summer, and when it is many degrees below tl temfierature cf the atmosphere. The water in le brook and the pond being warmed by long eaosure to the air, as well as having become S't, the horse drinks freely of it without danger. If the horse were watered thre times a day, and especially in summer, he wild often be saved from the sad torture of thst, and from many a disease. Whoever has bserved the eagerness with which the over-wor>d horse, hot and tiled, plunges his muzzle into tl pail, and the • Same trainers hare so much fear of harmr strange water, that th' y carry with them to the different cooes the water that the animal ha. been accustome.l to drink, at that which they know agrees with it difficulty of stopping him tmtil he has drained the last drop, may form some idea of what he had previously suffered, and will not wonder at the violent spasms, and inllauimatiou, and sudden death, that often result. There is a prejudice in the minds of many persons against tlie horse being fahly supplied with water. They think that it injures his wind, and disables him for quick and hard work. If ha is galloped, as he too often is, immediately after drinking, his wind may be irreparably injured; but if he were oftener suffered to satiate his thirst at the intervals of rest, he would be happier and better. It is a fact unsuspected by those who have not carefully observed the horse, that_ if he has frequent access to water he will not drink so much in the course of the day, as another will do, who, to cool his parched mouth, swallows as fast as he can, and knows not when to stop. On a journey, a horse should be liberally sup- phed with water. When he is a little cooled, two or three quarts may be given to him, and after that, his feed. Before he has finished his corn two or three quarts more may be offered. He will take no harm if this is repeated three or four times during a long and hot day. It is a judicious rule with travellers, that when a horse begins to refuse his food, he should be pushed no°farther that day. It may, however, be worth while to try whether this does not pro- ceed from thirst, as much as from exhaustion, for in many instances his appetite and his spirits will return soon after he has partaken of the refresh- ing draught. MANAGEMENT OF THE FEET. This is the only division of stable management that remains to be considered, and one sadly ne- glected by the carter and groom. The feet should be carefully examined every morning, for the shoes maybe loose and the horse would have been stopped in the middle of his work ; or the clenches may be raised, and endanger the wounding of his legs ; or the shoe may begin to press upon the so?e or the heel, and bruises of the sole, or corn, may be the result ; and the horse having stood so long in the stable, every little hicrease of heat m the'' foot, or lameness, will be more readily de- tected, and serious disease may often be pre- vented. When the horse comes in at night, and after the harness has been taken off and stowed away, the heels should be well brushed out. Hand- rubbing will be preferable to washing, especially in the° agricultural horse, whose heels, covered with long hair, can scarcely be dried again. If the dirt is suffered to accumulate in that long hair, the heels will become sore, and grease will follow ; and if the heels are washed, and par- 622 THE HORSE. ticalarly during the winter, grease -will result from tlie coldness occasioned by the slow evaporation of the moisture. The feet should be stopped — even the feet of the farmer's horse, if he remains in the stable. Very little clay should be used in the stopping, for it will get haixl and press upon the sole. Cow-dung is the best stopping to preserve the feet cool and elastic ; but, before the stopping is applied, the picker should be run round the whole of the foot, between the shoe and the sole, in order to detect any stone that may have insin- uated itself there, or a wound on any other part of the sole. For the hackney and hunter, stopping is indispensable. After several days' hard work it will afford very great relief to take the shoes off, having put plenty of litter under the horse, or to turn him, if possible, into a loose-box ; and the shoes of every horse, whether hardly worked or not, should be removed or changed once in every three weeks. CHAPTER XXV, THE SiaN AND ITS DISEASES. The skin of the horse resembles in construction that of other animals. It consists of three layers, materially differing in their structure and office. Externalh' is the cuticle, — the epidermis or scarf- skin — composed of innumerable thin transparent scales, and extending over the whole animal. If the scarf-skin is examined by means of a micro- scope, the existence of scales like those of a fish is readily detected. In the action of a blister they are raised from the skin beneath in the form of pellucid bladders, and in some diseases, as in mange, they are thrown off in hard, diy, white scales, numerous layers of which are placed one above another. In every part of the body the scarf-skin is permeated by innumerable pores, some of which permit the passage of the hau'— through others, the perspirable matter finds a passage — others are perforated by tubes through which various unctuous secretions make their escape, while, through a fourth variety, numerous fluids and gases are inhaled. It is destitute of nerves and blood-vessels, and its principal use seems to be to protect the cutis from injury, and to restrain and moderate its occasional morbid sensibility. There is at all times a singular change taking place in this outer covering of the animal. There is a constant alteration and renewal of every pait of it, but it adheres to the true skin through the medium of the pores, and also numerous little eminences, or projections, which seem to be pro- longations of the nerves of the skiu. The cuticle is in itself insensible ; but one of its most import- ant functions is to protect and defend the parts beneath, which are so often exposed to the effects of a morbid sensibility. Beneath the cuticle is a thin soft substance, through which the pores and eminences of the true skin pass. It is termed the rete mucosiim, from its web-like structure, and its soft mucous consistence. Its office is to cover the minute vessels and ner\es in their way from the cutis to the cuticle. It is also connected with the colour of the skin. In horses with white hair, the rete mucosum is white ; it is brown in those of a brown colour — black in the black, and in patches of different colours with those the hue of whose integument varies. Like the cuticle, it is repro- duced after abrasion, or other injury. The cutis, or true skin, lies beneath the rete mucosum. It is decidedly of a fibrous texture, elastic, but with difficulty lacerated — exceedingly vascular, and highly sensitive. It is the substance which is converted into leather when removed from the body, and binds together the different parts of the frame. In some places it does this literally, and clings so closely to the substance beneath that it scarcely admits of any motion • this is the case about the forehead and the back, while upon the face, the sides, and flanks, it hangs in loosened folds. In the parts connected with progression it is folded into various duplicatures, that the action of the animal may admit of the least possible obstruction. The cutis is tliinuest, and most elastic, on those parts that are least covered with hair, or where the hair is altogether deficient, as the lips, the muzzle, and the inside of the flanks. "Whatever is the colour of the rete mucosum, the tnie skin is of a pale white ; in fact, the cutis has no connection with the colour of the hair. Of its general character, Mr. Percivall gives a veiy accurate description : — " It appears to consist of a dense substratum of cellular tissue, with which are interwoven fibres of a ligamentous nature, in such a manner that innumerable areolae, like tlie meshes of a net, are formed in it. These areote open, through correspondent pores in the cuticle, tijjon the external surface, and are for the pm-pose of transmitting thither blood-vessels and absorb- ents, giving passage to the hair, and lodging the various secretory organs of the skin."* ♦ Percival's Anatomy of the Horse, p. 400 \ THE HORSE. r)k!3 Over a great part of the frame lies a singular muscle peculiar to quadrupeds, and more extensive and powerful in the thin-skinned and thin-haired animals, than in those with thicker hides. It reaches from the poll over the whole of the car- case, and down to the arm before, and the stifle behind. By its contraction the skin is puckered in every direction ; and if it acts strongly and rapidly, the horse is not only enabled to shake off any insect or fly that may annoy him, but some- times to displace a great part of his harness, and to render it difficult for the most e.xpert rider to keep his seat. This muscle also assists the skin in bracing that part of the frame which it covers, and, perhaps, gives additional strength to the nmscles beneath. It is called the pauiculus car- nosus, or fleshy panicle or covering. Tlie skin answers the double purpose of protec- tion and strength. Where it is necessary that the parts should be bound and knit together, it adheres so tightly that we can scarcely raise it. Thus the bones of the knees and the pasterns and the tendons of the legs, on which so much stress is frequently thrown, are securely tied down and kept in their places. It is in order to take addi- tional advantage of this binding and strengthening power that we fire the legs of overworked horses, in whom the sinews have begun to start, and the ligaments of the joints to swell, or be displaced. The skin is tight along the muscles of tlie back and loins, and down the yet more powerful muscles of the quarters ; but in other places it is loosely attached, that it may not interfere with the mo- tions of the animal. About the brisket, and with- in the arms and at the flanks, it hangs even in folds. • Of its strength we have abundant proof, both in : the living and dead animal. Its fibres are inter- laced in a most curious and intricate manner, so as, when living, to be scarcely lacerable, and con- j verted into leather after death. [ It is, while the animal is alive, one of the most elastic bodies with which we are acquainted. It not only perfectly adapts itself to the slow growth or decrease of the body, and appears equally to fit, whether the horse is in the plump- est condition or reduced to a skeleton ; but, when a portion of it is distended to an extraordinary degree, in the most powerful action of the muscles, it, in a moment, again contracts to its usual di- mensions. It is principally indebted for this elasticity to almost innumerable minute glands which pom' out an oil}' fluid that softens and supples it. When the horse is in health, and eveiy organ discharges its proper functions, a certain quantity of tliis unctuous matter is spread over the smface of the skin, and is contained in all the pores that pene- trate its substiince, and the skin becomes pliable, easily raised from the texture beneath, and pre- senting that peculiar yielding softness and elas- ticity which experience has proved to be the best proofs of the condition, or, in other words, the general health of the animal. Then, too, from the oiliness and softness of the skin, the hair lies in its natural and proper direction, and is smooth and glossy. When the .system is deranged, and especially the digestive system, and the vessels concerned in the nourishment of the animal feebly act, those of the skin evidently sympathize. This oily secretion is no more thrown out ; the skin loses its pliancy ; it seems to cling to the animal, and we have that peculiar appearance wliicii we call hide-bound. This, however, I'equires attentive consideration. We observe a horse in the summer. We find liim with a thin smooth glossy coat, and his extremities clean and free almost fi-om a single rough or misplaced hair. We meet with liim again towards the winter, when the thermometer has fallen almost or quite to the freezing point, and we scarcely recognise him in his thick, rough, coarse, colourless coat, and his legs enveloped in long shaggy hair. The health of the horse is, to a certain degree, deranged. He is dull, languid, easily fatigued. He will break into a sweat with the slightest exertion, and it is almost impossible thoroughly to diy liim. He may perhaps feed as well as usual, although that will not generally be the case, but he is not equal to the demands which we are compelled to make upon him. This process goes on for an uncertain time, depending on the constitution of the animal, until nature has effected a change, and then he once more rallies : but a great alteration has taken place in him — the hair has lost its soft and glossy char- acter, and is become dry and staring. The skin ceases to secrete that peculiar unctuous matter which kept it soft and flexible, and becomes dry and scaly ; and the exhalents on the surface, hav- ing become relaxed, are frequently pouring out a profuse perspiration, without any apparent ade- quate cause for it. So passes the approach to winter, and the ow-ner complains sadly of the appearance of his steed, and, according to the old custom, gives him plenty of cordial balls, — perhaps too many of them, — on the whole not being unserviceable at this critical period, yet not productive of a great deal of good. At length the animal rallies of himself, and although not so strong and full of spirits as he ought to be, is hardier and mmv lively than he was, and able to struggle with the cold of the coming winter.* What a desideratum in the management of the hoi-se would be a course of treatment that • Mr. E. Gabriel. V. S., Aulumu. — Veterinariati, vol.. ] I ihe Treatment of Ihe Ho i,l,.637. 52 i. THE HOKSE, ■would render all tliis unuecessary ? This desid- eratum lias been found- — a free escape of perspira- tion, a moist and softened state of the skin, an evident inciease of health and capability of en- during fatigue, and working on shorter supply of food than he could before. This is said to be performed by the clipping and singeing systems. Mr. Thomas Turner, ^vho was almost one of the earliest advocates of these systems, states that during the months of October and November an inordinate growth of hair is obsen'ed over the whole surface of the bodj', and in many horses as earlj' as the beginning of September, and almost invariably prevails, more or less, in every horse that is not thorough-bred. The debilitating effects thereby induced are profuse perspiration on the least possible exertion — depiression of the animal spirits, and temporary loss of appetite. The im- mediate removal of all the superfluous hair bj' close clipping, instantly proves so powerful a tonic to the animal, that he unhesitatingly affirms it to be inferior to none at jiresent known in our pharmacopoeia. Mr. Turner adds, — " Now, signal as the success of clipping has been, 1 do entertain a hope, and am of opinion that, in the majority of instances, it may be superseded by singeing under certain modifications."* We may not, perhaps, be able satisfactorily to explain the apparently magical effects of clipping and singeing on the general constitution, and par- ticularly the wind of the horse, or the respiratory functions generally, but there is no doubt of their existence. An increased tone is given to the system generally ; and probablj', in some way not yet sufficiently developed, the increased cur- rent of the electric fluid may have much to do with it. Mr. Snewing gives an interesting account of the effect of clipping on two horses in his estab- lishment. He had a cob, with a fixed catarrh of several months' standing. It did not interfere with the animal's general health, but was a source of considerable annoyance. At length the owner determined to sell him ; but first he had him clipped. After a few days his attention was drawn to the circumstance, that either the horse's cough * Veterinarian, vol. xiv., p. 18. In justice, however, to an excellent sportsman, Nimrod, we must quote another opinion, and with that the subject shall be left to ihe consideration of our re.iders. *' On the subject of clipping, I cannot agree with Mr. Gabriel as to the call for it, much le^s admit its almost universal adoption. I would clip road-coach horses, and H liunter that had been summered entirely at grass, despairing of condition on any other terms. It is a mere substitute for good grooming. As for its almost universal adoption, such is far i^i'om bcini^ the case. I did not see three clipped horses last year (1840), at Mcltdn, in the Quorn stables, not one, nor in Mr.'Foljambe's. Singed ones I did see to a certain extent ; but a haid-rirtiug Mel- tonian told me that he would have no more spirits of wine charged in his groom's bonk. 'A mere substitute,' said he, ' in my stable for the" old fa.Oiioncd elbow grease.' In my 0]iininn, ihe horse is not yet foaled which cannot be got into perfect condition without this outrage on nature." — The Vtlerinarian, vol. xiv., p. 38. must have left him, or, from repeatedly heai'ing it, he had ceased to regard it. He watched the ani- mal, and, truly enough, he found that the cough had entirely disappeared. He rode him through the winter and the following summer, and there was no return of it. The other instance was in a mare which he had after this one was sold. In the months of August, September, and October, 1841, she was continually the subject of intermittent cough. He had her clijiped, and in a few days she ceased to cough, and has not been heard to cough from that time. HIDE-EOUND. This is not so much a diminution of the cel- lular or fatty substance between the skin and the muscles beneath, as it is an alteration in the skin itself. It is a hardness and unyieldingness of the skin from the want of the oily matter on its sur- face and in its substance. It is the difference that is presented to the feeling by well curried and supple leather, and that which has become, dry and unjaelding. The surface of the skin becoming di-y and hard the scales of the cuticle are no longer penetrated by the hair, but, separating themselves in every direction, give that peculiar roughness to the coat which accompanies want of condition. It betokens impaired function of the vessels everywhere, and particularly those of the stomach and bowels. Hide-bound is not so much a disease as a symptom of disease, and particularly of the digestive organs ; and our remedies must be applied not so much to the skin — although we have, in friction and in warmth, most valuable agents in producing a healthy conditien of the integuments — as to the cause of the hide-bound, and the state of the con- stitution generally. Every disease that can affect the general system may produce this derangement of the functions of the skin. Glanders, when become constitutional, is strongly indicated by the unthrifty appeai'ance of the coat. Chronic, cough, grease, farcy, and founder, are accom- panied by hide-bound ; and diet too sparing, and not adequate to the work exacted, is an unfailing source of it. If the cause is removed, the effect will cease. Should the cause be obscure, as it frequently is — should the horse wear an unthrifty coat, and his hide cling to his ribs, without any apparent disease, we shall generally be warranted in tracing it to sympathy with the actual, although not demon- strable, suspension of some important secretion or function, either of the alimentary canal, or the respiratoiy functions. A few mashes, and a mild dose of physic, are first indicated, and, simple as they appear to be, they often have a very beneficial effect. The regular action of the bowels being re- established, that of all the organs of the frame will THE HORSE. 525 speedily follow. If the horse cannot be spared for physic, alteratives may be administered. There is no better alterative ior hide-bound and an unthrifty coat, than that which is in common use, levigated antimony, nitre, and sulphur. The peculiar effect of the antimony and sulphur, and electric influence on the skin, with that of the sulphur on the bowels, and of the nitre on the urinary organs, will be here advantageously combined. Should the horse not feed well, and there is no indication of fever, a slight tonic may be added, as gentian, or ginger ; but in the majority of cases attended by loss of condition, and an unthrifty coat, and hide-bound, tonics and aromatics should be carefidly avoided. The cause of the impaired action of the vessels being removed, the powers of nature will generally be. sufficient, and had better be left to themselves. There are not any more dangerous medicines in common use in the stable, and especially in cases like these, than tonics and cordials. They often arouse to fatal action a tendency to fever that would otherwise have slept, or they produce a state of excitement near akin to fever and apt to degenerate into it. By the stimulus of a cordial the secretions may be suddenly roused, and among them, this unctuous secretion from the pores of the skin, so necessary to apparent condition ; but the effect soon passes over, and a repetition of the stimulus is necessary — the habit is soon formed — the dose must be gradually inci'eased, and in the mean time the animal is kept in a state of dangerous excite- ment, by which the powers of nature must be eventually impaired. Friction may be employed with advantage in the removal of hide-bound. It has repeatedly been shown that this is one of the most efficacious instru- ments we can use to call into exercise the sus- pended energies either of the absorbent or secret- ing vessels. Warmth may likewise be had recourse to — not warmth of stable, which has been shown to be so injurious, but warmth arising from exercise, and the salutary, although inexplicable, influence of clipping and singeing. Before this can be fully considered, the hau* by which the skin is covered must be described. The base of the bulb whence the hair proceeds being beneath the true skin, it is easy to perceive that the hair will grovp again, although the cuticle may have been destroyed. A good blister, although it may remove the cuticle, and seemingly for a while the hair with it, leaves no lasting trace. Even firing, lightly and skilfully performed, and not penetrating through the skin, leaves not much blemish ; but when, in broken knees, the true skin is cut through, or destroyed, there will always re- main a spot devoid of hair. The method of hasten- ing and perfecting the re-production of the hair has been described in p. 428. PORES OF THE SKIN. Besides the openings already mentioned through which proceeds the unctuous fluid that supplies and softens the skin, there are others more numerous, by means of which a vast quantity of aqueous fluid escapes, and perspiration is carried on. As in the human being, this actually exists in a state of health and quietness, although imperceptible ; but when the animal is excited by exercise, or laboura under some stages of disease, it becomes visible, and appears in the form of drops. This process of perspiration is not, however, so far under the control of medicine as in the human being. We are not aware of any drugs that will cer- tainly produce it. Warm clothing seems occasion- ally to effect it, but this is more in appearance than reality. The insensible perspiration cannot escape through the mass of clothing, and assumes a visible form. This, perhaps, is the case when sheep-skins are applied over the back and loins in "locked jaw." They produce a good effect, acting as a warm poul- tice over the part, and so contributing to relax the muscular spasms. There are, however, a few medicines, as antimony and sulphur, that have an evident and \erj considerable effect on the skin in opening its pores and exciting its vessels to action. Of the existence of absorbent vessels on the skin, or those which take up some fluid or sub- stance, and convey it into the circulation, we have satisfactoiy proof A horse is even more easily salivated than the human being. Salivation has been produced by rubbing a splint with mercurial ointment, previous to blistering ; and a veiy few drachms rubbed on the inside of the thighs will probably produce a greater effect than the prac- titioner desires. From some parts of the skin there are peculiar secretions, as that of grease in the heel, and mal- lenders in the knee. MOUr.TING. T^ce in the year the hair of the body of the horse is changed. The short, fine coat of summer would afford little protection against the winter, and that of the winter would be oppressive to the animal, if it appeared during the summer. The hair of the mane and tail remains. The bulbous root of the hair does not die. but the pulpy matter seems to be removed from the root of the hair, which, thus deprived of its nourishment, perishes and drops off, and a new hair springs at its side from the same bulb. The hair which is produced in the autumn, is evidently different from that which gi'ows in the spring ; it is coarser, thicker, and not so glossy as the other. As moulting is a process extending over the whole of the skin, and requiring a ver}' considerable expenditure of vital 526 THE HORSE. power, the health of the animal is generally affected at these times. That energy and nervous and vital influence, which should support the whole of the frame, is to a great degree determined to the skin, and the animal is languid, and unequal to much hard work. He perspires greatly with the least unusual exertion, and if he is pressed be3'ond his strength becomes seriously ill. The ti-eatment which the gi'oom in this case adopts is most absurd and dangerous. The horse, from the deranged distribution of vital power, is disposed to fever, or he labours under a slight degree of fever, sufficiently indicated by the increased quickness of pulse, redness of nose, and heat of mouth. The lassitude and want of ajipe- tite which are the accompaniments of this febrile state, are mistaken for debility ; and cordials of various kinds, some of them exceedingly stimu- lating, are unsparingly administered. At length, vrith regard to the hunter, the racer, and even in the hackney and the carriage horse, the scissors or the lamp are introduced, and a new method is established of guarding against this periodical debility, setting at defiance the occasional expos- ure to cold, and establishing a degree of health and strength previously unknown. Friction may be allowed, to assist the falling off of the old hair, and to loosen the cuticle for the appearance of the new liair, but it is somewhat more gently applied than it used to be. The curiycomb is in a great measure banished, and even the brush is not applied too hard or too long. The old hair is not forced off before the young hair is ready to take its place. Natui-e adapts the coat to the climate and to the season. The Sheltie has one as long and thick as that of a bear ; and, as the summer is short and cold in those northern islands, the coat is rough and shaggy during the whole of the year. In the southern parts of our countiy the short and light and glossy coat of summer gradually yields to the close and heavy, and warm clothing of winter. In the deserts of Arabia, where the winter is rarely cold, the coat remains short and glossy throught the year. These are wise and kind provisions of nature, and excite our admiration. The colour of the hair admits of every variety, and each colour becomes in turn fashionable. Like that of the skin, it is influenced by, or depends on, the mucuous mesh-work under the cuticle. There are comparatively few perfectly white horses now remaining. The snow-white palfrey, with its round carcase, and barb head, originally from Spain, or perhaps from Barbary, and rarely exceeding the size of a Galloway, is neai-ly extinct. Some however yet remain in the possession of the Duke of Montrose. They are of good constitution and pleasant in their paces. The majority of white horses are those that have become so. Light-grey colts begin to grow white before they are five years old, especially if they have not much dark mixture about the joints. Grey horses are of different shades, from the lightest silver to a darli iron-grey. The silver- grey reminds the observer of the palfrey, improved by an admixture of Arab blood. He does not often exceed fourteen hands and a half in height, and is round carcassed — thin-legged — with oblique jsastenis, calculated for a light carriage, or for a lady's riding — seldom subject to disease — but not very fleet, or capable of hard work. The iron-grey is usually a larger horse ; higher in the withers, deeper and thinner in the carcase, more angular in all his proportions, and in many cases a little too long in the legs. Some of these greys make good hackneys and hunters, and espe- cially the Irish horses ; but they are principally used for the carriage. They have more endurance than the flatness of their chest would promise ; but their principal defect is their feet, which are liable to contraction, and yet that contraction not so often accompanied by lameness as in many other horses. The dappled gi'ey is generally a handsomer and a better horse. All the angular points of the iron-grey are filled up, and with that which not only adds to symmetiy, but to use. Whether as a hackney, or, the larger variety, a carriage horse, there are few better, especially since his form has been so materially improved, and so much of his heaviness got rid of % the free use of foreign blood. There are not, however, so many dappled greys as there used to be, since the bays have been bred with so much care. The dappled grey, if dark at first, generally retains his colour to old age. Some of the greys approach to a nutmeg, or even bay colour. Many of these are handsome, and most of them are hardy. The roans, of every variety of colour and form, are composed of white mixed with bay, or red, or black. In some it seems to be a natural mixture of the colours ; in others it appears as if one colour was powdered or si)rinkled over another. They are pretty horses for ladies or light carriages, and many of them easy in their paces, but they do not usually display much blood, nor are they celebrated for endurance. If they should have white fore legs, with white hoofs, they are too often tender-footed, or become so with even a little hai'd work. The strawberry horse is a mixture of sorrel vrith white ; usually handsome and pleasant, but more celebrated for these qualities than for strength and endurance. THE nousK 627 The pied horse is one that has distinct spots or jmlohes of dilYerent colours, but generally of white with some other colour. The^- are not liked as hackueys, on account of their peculiarity of colour, nor in teams of horses ; but they look well when tolerably matched in a phaeton or light carriage. Their value must depend on their breed. Of themselves they have no peculiar chai'acter, except that a white leg and foot is as suspicious in them as it is in the roan. The dun, of the Galloway size, and with con- siderable blood, is often attached to the curricle or the phaeton. The larger variety is a true farmer's or miller's horse, with no great speed or e.xtraordinary strength, yet a good-tempered, good-feeding, good-constitutioned, useful horse enough. Varieties of the dun, shaded with a darker colour, or dappled, and with some breeding, and not standing too high, are beautiful animals, and much sought after for light carriages. The cream-colour, of Hanoverian e.x-lraction, with its white iris and red pupil, is appropriated to royal use. Attached to the state-carriage of the monarch, he is a superb animal. His bulky, yet perfectly-formed body, his swelling crest, and his proud and lofty action, as if conscious of his office, qualify him for the service that is exacted from him, but we have little experience how far he would suit other purposes. Of the chesnuts there are three varieties — the pale red or the sorrel, usually with some white, either on the face or the legs— generally lightly made, yet some of them bulky enough for the heaviest loads. Their colour is generally objec- tionable, and they are supposed to be somewhat deficient in endurance. The light chesuut, with less red and a little more bay or brown, is considered a preferable animal, especially if he has little or no white about him ; yet even he, although pleasant to ride, is sometimes irritable, and generally weak. We must except one variety, the Suffolk pimch ; a heavy horse, and adapted for slow work, but per- fect of his kind — whom no labour can daunt, no fatigue overcome. This is a breed now, unfor- tunately, neai-ly extinct. The present variety, however crossed, is not equal to the old Suffolk. The dai'k chesnut is as different a horse from the hackney-like chesuut as can be well imagined ; roimd in the carcase, powerful in the quarter's, but rather fine in the legs, possessed of great endu- rance, and with a constitution that rarely knows an ailment, except that the feet are small and disposed to contraction, and the horee is occasion- ally of a hot and unmanageable temper. Of the bays, there are many varieties, and they include the very best of our horses of every descrip- tion. The bright yellow bay, although very beau tiful, and especially if liis mane and tail are black, is the least valuable — the lightness of his colour seems to give him some tenderness of constitution. The pure bay, with no white about him, and black from the knees and hocks to the feet, is the most desirable of all. He has generally a good consti- tution, and good feet ; and, if his conformation is not faulty, will turn out a valuable horse for almost every purpose. The bay-brown has not always so much show and action, but, generally, more strength and en- durance, and usefulness. He has greater substance than the lighter bay, and more depth of leg ; and, if he had the same degree of breeding, he would be as handsome, and more valuable. Wiien, however, we arrive at the browns, it is necessary to examine the degree of breeding. This colour is not so fashionable, and therefore these horses have been considerably neglected. There are many good ones, and those that are good are valuable ; others, probably, are only a half or a quarter bred, and therefore, comparatively coarse, yet useful for the saddle and for harness — for slow work, and, occasionally, for that which is more rapid. The black brown is generally more neglected, so far as its breed is concerned, and should be more carefully examined. It is valuable if it retains the goodness of constitution of the brown and bay- brown. Of the black, greater care has been taken. The heavy black of Lincolnshire and the midland coun- ties is a noble animal, and would be almost beyond price if he could be rendered more active. The next in size constitute the majority of our waggon- horses, and perhaps our best ; and, on a smaller breed, and to the improvement of which much attention has been devoted, many of our cavalry are mounted. A few black thorough-bred horees and black hunters are occasionally seen, but the improvement of horees of this colour has not been studied, e.xcept for the purposes that have been mentioned. Their peculiar high action, while not objectionable for draught, and desirable for the parade, would be unbearable in the roadster. Black horses have been said to be more subject to vice, disease, and blindness, than those of any other colour. This charge is not true to its full extent ; but there certainly are a great many worthless black horses in every part of the country. After all, there is an old sa3'ing, that a good horse cannot be of a bad colour ; and that it is far more necessary to attend to the conformation and points of the animal than to his colour. The fore- going observations, however, although they admit of many exceptions, may be useful in guiding to the judicious purchase of the horse. Large pimples or eruptions often appear sud- denly on the skin of the horse, and especially in 628 THE HORSE. the spring of the year. Occasionally they disappear as quickly as they came. Sometimes they seem to be attended with great itching, but, at other times, the annoyance is compai'atively little. When these eruptions have remained a few days, the cuticle frequently peels off, and a small scaly spot — rarely a sore — is left. This is called a surfeit, from its resemblance to some eruptions on the skin of the human being when indigestible or unwholesome food has been taken. The surfeit is, in some cases, confined to the neck ; but it oftener spreads over the sides, back, loins, and quarters. Tlie cause is enveloped in some obscurity. The disease most frequently appears when the skin is irritable during or after the process of moulting, or when it sympa- thises w-ith any disorder of the stomach. It has been known to follow the eating of poisonous herbs or mow-burnt hay, but, much oftener, it is to be traced to exposure to cold when the skin was pre- viously irritable and the horse heated by exercise. It has also been attributed to the immoderate drinking of cold water when the animal was hot. It is obstruction of some of the pores of the skin and swelling of the surrounding substance, either from primary affection of the skin, or a plethoric state of the system, or sympathy with the digestive organs. The state of the patient will sufficiently guide the surgeon as to the course he should pursue. If there is simple eruption, without any marked inflammatory action, alteratives should be resorted to, and particularly those recommended for hide- bound in p. 524. They should be given on several successive nights. The night is better than the morning, becavise the warmth of the stable will cause the antimony and sulphur to act more power- fully on the skin. The horse should be warmly clothed — half an hour's walking exercise should be given, an additional rug being thrown over him — such green meat as can be procured should be used in moderate quantities, and the chill should be taken from tlie water. Should the eruption continue or assume a more virulent character, bleeding and aloetic physic must be had recourse to, but neither should be carried to any extreme. The physic having set, the altera- tives should again be had recourse to, and attention should be paid to the comfort and diet of the horse. If the eruption, after several of these alternate appearances and disappearances, should remain, and the cuticle and the hair begin extensively to peel off, a worse affection is to be feared, for sur- feit is too apt to precede, or degenerate into, mange. This disorder, therefore, must next be considered. Is a pirhpled or vesicular eruption. After a while the vesicles break, or the cuticle and the hair fall off, and there is, as in obstinate surfeit, a bare spot covered with scurf — some fluid oozing from the skin beneath, and this changing to a scab, which likewise soon peels off, and leaves a wider spot. This process is attended by considerable itching and tenderness, and thickening of the skin, which soon becomes more or less folded, or puckered. The mange generally first appears on the neck at the root of the mane, and its existence may be sus- pected even before the blotches appear, and when there is only considerable itchiness of the part, by the ease Nvith wViich the short hair at the root of the mane is plucked out. From the neck it spreads upward to the head, or downward to the withers and back, and occasionally extends over the whole carcase of the horse. One cause of it, although an unfrequent one, has been stated to be neglected or inveterate sur- feit. Several instances are on record in which poverty of condition, and general neglect of cleanli- ness, preceded or produced the most violent mange. A remark of Mr. Blaine is very important : — " Among the truly healthy, so far as my experience goes, it never arises spontaneously, but it does readily from a spontaneous origin among the un- healthy." The most common cause is contagion. Amidst the whole list of diseases to which the horse is exposed, there is not one more highly con- tagious than mange. If it once gets into a stable, it spreads through it, for the slightest contact seems to be sufficient for the communication of this noisome complaint. If the same brush or currycomb is used on all the horses, the propagation of mange is assured ; and horses feeding in the same pasture with a mangy one rarely escape, from the propensity they have to nibble one another. Mange in cattle has been propagated to the horse, and from the horse to cattle. There are also some well-authenticated instances of the same disease being communicated from the dog to the horse, but not from the horse to the dog. Mange has been said to originate in want of cleanliness in the management of the stable. The comfort and the health of the horse demand the strictest cleanliness. The eyes and the lungs fre- quently suffer from the noxious fumes of the putrifying dung and urine ; but, in defiance of common prejudice, there is no authentic instance of mange being the result. It may, however, proceed from poverty. When the animal is half starved, and the functions of digestion and the power of the constitution are weakened, the skin soon sympathises, and mange is occasionally pro- duced instead of surfeit and hide-bound. Every farmer has proof enough of this being the case. If a horse is turned on a common where there is scarcely sufficient herbage to satisfy his appetite, or if he is placed in one of those straw-yards that THE HORSE. 52'J are under the management of mercenaiy and un- feeling men, and are the ver}' abodes of misery, the animal comes up a skeleton, and he comes up mangy too. Poverty and starvation are fruitful sources of mange, but it does not appear that filth has much to do with it, although poverty and filth generally go hand in hand. The propriety of bleeding in cases of mange depends on the condition of the patient. If mange is the result of poverty, and the animal is much debilitated, bleeding will increase the evil, and will probably deprive the constitution of the power of rallying. Physic, however, is indispen- sable in every case. It is the first step in the progress towards cure. A mercurial ball will be preferable to a common aloetic one, as more cer- tain and effectual in its operation, and the mercury probably having some influence in mitigating the disease. In this, however, mange in the horse resembles itch in the human being — medicine alone will never effect a cure. There must be some local application. There is this additional similarity — that which is most effectual in curing the itch in the human being must form the basis of every local application for the cure of mange in the horse. Sulphur is indispensable in every un- guent for mange. It is the sheet-anchor of the veterinary surgeon. In an early and not very acute state of mange, equal poitions of sulphur, tui-pentine, and train-oil, gently but well rubbed on the part, will be applied with advantage. Far- riers are fond of the black sulphur, but that which consists of earthy matter, w-ith the mere dregs of various substances, cannot be so effectual as the pure sublimed sulphur. A tolerably good stout brush, or even, a cunycomb, lightly applied, should he used, in order to remove the dandriff or scurf, wherever there is any appearance of mange. After that, the horse should be washed with strong soap and water as far as the disease has e.'itended ; and, when he has been thoroughly dried, the ointment should be well rubbed in with the naked hand, or with a piece of flannel. More good will be doi\e by a little of the ointment being well nibbed in, than by a great deal being merely smeared over the part. The rubbing should be daily repeated. The sulphur seems to have a direct influence on the disease — the turpentine has an indirect one, by e.Kciting some irritation on the skin of a different nature fi'om that produced by the mange, and under the influence of which the irritation of mange will be diminished, and the disease more easily combated. During the application of the ointment, and as soon as the physic has set, an alterative ball or powder, similar to those recom- mended for the other affections of the skin, should be dail}' given. If after some days have passed, no progress should appear to have been made, half a pound of sulphur should be well mixed with a pint of oil of tar, or, if that is not to be obtained, a pint of Barbadoes tar, and the affected parts rubbed as before. On every fifth or sixth day the ointment should be washed off with warm soap and water. The progress towards cure will thus be ascertained, and the skin will be cleansed, and its pores opened for the more effectual application of the ointment. The horse should be well supplied with nour- ishing, but not stimulating food. As much green meat as he will eat should be given to him, or, what is far better, he should be turned out, if the weather is not too cold. It may be useful to add, tliat, after the horse has been once well dressed with either of these liniments, the danger of con- tagion ceases. It is necessary, however, to be assured that every mangy place has been anointed. It will be prudent to give two or three dressings after the horse has been apparently cured, and to continue the alteratives for ten days or a fortnight. The cure being completed, the clothing of the horse should be well soaked in water, to w'hich a fortieth part of the saturated solution of the chlor- ide of lime has been added ; after which it should be washed with soap and water, and again washed and soaked in a solution of the chloride of lime. Every part of the harness should undergo a similar purification. The currycomb may be scoured, but the brush should be burned. The rack, and manger, and partitions, and every part of the stable which the horse could possibly have touch- ed, should be well washed with a hair-broom — a pint of the chloride of lime being added to three gallons of water. All the wood-work should then lie scoured with soap and water, after which a second washing with the chloride of lime will render all secure. Some fanners have piulled down their stables, when they have been thor- oughly infected with mange. This is being un- necessarily cautious. The efficacy of the chloride of lime was not then known ; but if that is care- fully and sufficiently applied to every jiart of the stable and its furniture, there cannot afterwards be danger. Every case of itchiness of the skin should be regarded with suspicion. When a horse is seen to- rub the root of his tail, or his h.ead. or neck, against the manger, the parts shou d be carefully examined. Some of the hair may have been nibbed or torn off, but if the roots remain firmly adherent, and there is only redness and not scurfi- ness of the skin, it probably is not mange, but only inflammation of the skin, from too great fulness of blood. A little blood should be ab- stracted— a purgative administered — and the al- teratives given. The mange ointment cannot do harm, and may possibly prevent this heat of the skin from degenerating into mange, or an'est the 530 THE HORSE. progress of mange if it has commenced. If a scurfiness of skin should appear on any of the points that are pressed upon by the collar or har- ness, the veterinary surgeou will do right to guard against danger by alterative medicine and the use of the ointment. These are tumours of variable size, arising from the cuticle, and afterwards connected witli the true skin by means of the vessels which supply the growth of the tumours. They are found on the eyelids, the muzzle, the ears, the belly, the neck, the penis, and the prepuce. There are some caustics available, but frequently they must be removed by an operation. If the root is veiy small, it may be snipped asunder, close to the skin, with a pair of scissors, and touched with the lunar caustic. If the pedicle or stem is some- what larger, a ligature of waxed silk should be passed firmly round it, and tightened every day. The source of nutriment being thus removed, the tumour will, in a short time, die and drop off. If the warts are large, or in considerable clusters, it ■will be necessary to cast the horse, in order to cut them off close to the skin : the root should then be seared with a red-hot iron. Unless these pre- cautions are used, the warts will speedily sprout again. Both the biped aud the quadniped are subject to the visitation of insects, that fasten on the skin, and are a constant nuisance from the itchiness which they occasion. If the horse, after being turned out for the winter, is taken np in the spring, long and rough in his coat, and poor in condition, and vi'ith evident hide-hound, he will almost invari- ably be afflicted with vermin. In our present imperfect acquaintance with natural history, it is difficult to account for the appearance of certain insects, and of those alone on the integument of one animal, while others of an altogether different character are found on its neighbour. Each one has a tormentor peculiar to itself. The vermin of the horse is destroyed by an infusion of tobacco, or a solution of corrosive sublimate, the latter requiring the greatest caution. The skin being once cleansed of them, an attention to cleanliness will prevent their reap- jsearance. CHAPTER XXVI. ON SOUNDNESS, AND THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF HORSES. There are few sources of greater annoyance both to the purchaser and the seller of the horse than disputes with regard to the soundness of the animal. Although, in describing the various jiarts of the horse, we have glanced at the connection of certain natural conformations, and some alterations of structure, and accidents, and diseases, with the question of soundness or unsoundness, it may not be uninteresting to those for whom our work is designed, if we now bring into one point of view the substance of that which has been scattered over many pages. Tiiat horse is sound in whom there is no disease, and no, alteration of structure that impairs, or is likely to impair, his natural usefulness. The hoKe is unsound that labours under disease, or has some alteration of structure which does interfere, or is likely to interfere, with his natural usefulness.* The term " natural usefulness" must be borne in mind. One horse may possess great speed, but is • Since the publication of our first edition, this definition or rule as to soundness or unsoundness has leceived very high judicial sanction, Coales v. Stephens, 1 Moody aud Kobinson, 157; Schokfidd T. Robb, id. 210. We shull idhere to it as our test of soundness or unsoundness throughout this chapter, not forgetting what is said in the following extract from a note to one of these cases. "Ai it may now he considered as settled law, that the soon knocked up ; another will work all day, but cannot be got beyond a snail's space : a third with a heavy forehand is liable to stumble, and is con- tinually putting to hazard the neck of his rider ; another, with an irritable constitution and a loose washy form, loses his appetite and begins to scour if a little extra work is exacted from him. The term unsoundness must not not be applied to either of these ; it would be opening far too widely a door to disputation and endless wrangling. The buyer can discern, or ought to know, whether the form of the horse is that which will render him likely to suit his purpose, and he should try him sufficiently to ascertain his natural strength, endurance, and manner of going. Unsoundness, we repeat, has reference only to disease, or to that alteration of structure which is connected with, or will produce disease, and lessen the usefulness of the animal. These principles will be best illustrated by a breach of a warranty of soundness does not entitle the purchaser to return the horse, but only to recover the diderence of value of the horse with or without the particular unsoundness, the question of temporary maladies, producing no permanent deterioration of the animal, would, generally speaking, only involve a right to damages merely nominah" THE HORSK. 531 brief consideration of the usually supposed appear- ances or causes of unsoundness. Brolceu knees certainly do not constitute un- soundness, after the wounds are healed, unless they interfere with the action of the joint; for the horse may have fallen from mere accident, or through the fault of the rider, without tlie slightest damage more than the blemish. No person, however, would buy a horse witli broken knees, until he had thoroughly tried him, and satisfied himself as to his form and action. Capped hoclts may be produced by lying on an imevenly paved stable, with a scant}' supply of litter, or by kicking generally, in neither of which cases would they constitute unsoundness, although in the latter they would be an indication of vice ; but, in the majority of instances, they are the con- sequence of sprain, or of latent injury of the hock, and accompanied by enlargement of it, and would constitute unsoundness. A special warranty should always be taken against capped hocks. Contraction is a considerable deviation from the natural form of the foot, but not necessarily con- stituting unsoundness. It requires, however, a most careful examination on the part of the pur- chaser or veterinary surgeon, in order to ascertain that there is no heat about the quarter, or ossifica- tion of the cartilage — that the frog, although diminished in size, is not diseased — that the horse does not step short and go as if the foot were ten- der, and that there is not the slightest trace of lameness. Unless these circumstances, or some of them, are detected, a horse must not be pronounced to be unsound because his feet are contracted ; for many horses with strangely contracted feet do not suffer at all in their action. A special warranty, however, should be required where the feet ai'e at all contracted. Corns manifestly constitute unsoundness. The portion of the foot in which bad corns are situated will not bear the ordinarj' pressure of the shoe ; and accidental additional pressure from the growing down of the horn, or the introduction of dirt or gravel, will cause serious lameness. They render it necessai-y to wear a thick and heavj' shoe, or a bar shoe, in order to protect the weakened and diseased part ; and they are very seldom radically cured. There may be, however, and frequently is, a difference of opinion as to the actual e.xistence or character of the corn. A veterinary sm'geon may consider it so slight and insignificant as not apparently to injure the horse, and he pronounces the animal to be sound ; but he should be cautious, for there are. corns of every shade and degree, from the slightest degree to the most serious evil. They may be so slight and manageable as, though ranging under the class of morbid alteration of structure, yet not to diminish the natural usefulness of the horse iu any degree. Slight corns will dis- ajipear on the horse being shod with ordinary skill and care, even without any alteration in the shoe. Cough. — This is a disease, and consequently unsoundness. However slight may be its degree, and of whatever short standing it may be, although it may sometimes scarcely seem to interfere with the usefulness of the liorse, yet a change of stabling, or slight exposure to wet and cold, or the least over-exertion, may, at other times, cause it to de- generate into many dangerous complaints. A horse, therefore, should never be purchased with a cough upon him, without a special warranty ; or if — the cough not being obsei-ved — he is purchased under a general warrant}-, that w'arranty is thereby broken. It is not law, that a horse may be re- turned on breach of the warranty. The seller is not bound to take him back, unless he has con- tracted so to do ; but he is liable in damages. Lord EUenborough has completely decided this matter. " I have always held," said he, " that a warranty of soundness is broken, if the animal, at the time of sale, had any infirmity upon him that rendered him less fit for present service. It is not neces- sary that the disorder should be permanent or incurable. While he has a cough, he is unsound, although that may either be temporary or prove mortal."-' RoARrNG, Wheezing, Whistling, High-blow- ing and Grunting, being the result of alteration of structure, or disease in some of the air-passages, and interfering with the perfect freedom of breath- ing, especially when the horse is put on his speed, without doubt constitute unsoundness. There are decisions to the contrary, which are now univers- ally admitted to be erroneous. Broken wind is still more decidedly unsoundness. Crib-biting. — Although some learned judges * In deciding on another case, the same judge said, "I have always held it that a cough is a breach of the warranty. On that understanding I have always acted, and think it quite clear." It was argued on the other hand that two-thirds of the horses in Lon- don had coughs, yet still the judge maintained that the cough was a breach of wan'anty. "Wlien it was farther argued that the horse had been hunted the day after the purchase, and the cough might have been increased by this, the reply was siiigidar, but decisive. "There is no proof that he would have got well if he had not been hunted." This doctrine is confirmed by Parke, B., in the first ease cited in p. 485. In p. 254, it is very properly stated that roaring is unsoundness, because it impairs the function of respiration. This was not always, however, the law of the bench. Lord EUenborough, quoting*from Sir James Mansfield, says, " It has been held by very high authority that roaring is not necessarily unsoundness, and I entirely concur in that opinion. If the horse emits a loud noise, which is otfensive to the ear, merely from a bad habit which he has contracted, or fioin any cause that does not interfere with his general health, or muscular powers, he is still to be considered a sound horse. On the other hand, if the roaiing proceeds from any disease or organic infirmity, which renders him incapable of performing the usual functions of a horse, then it does constitute unsoundness. The plaintitfhas not done enough in showing that this horse was a roarer. To prove a breach of the warranty he must go on to show that the roaring was symptomatic of disease." These extracts are taken from a singular work, not always correct, yet from which much amusement, and instruction too, may be derived — " The -Ad- ventures of a Gentleman in Search of a Horse, by Caveat Emptor." 532 THE HOliSE. have asserted that crib-biting is simply a trick or bad habit, it must be regarded as unsoundness. This unnatural sucking in of the air must to a certain degree injure digestion. It must dispose to colic, and so interfere with the strengtli, and usefulness, and health of the horse. Some crib- biters are good goers, but the}' probably would have possessed more endurance had they not ac- quired this habit ; and it is a fact well established, that as soon as a horse becomes a crib-biter, he, in in nine cases out of ten, loses condition. He is not to the experienced eye the horse he was before. It may not lead on to strongly-marked disease, or it may rarely do so to any considerable degree ; but a horse that is morbidly deficient in condition, must, to that extent, have his capability for extra- ordinary work diminished, and so be brought within our definition of unsoundness. In its very early stage it may be a mere trick — confirmed, it must have produced morbid deterioration. The wear of the front teeth, and the occasional breaking of them, make a horse old befoi'e his time, and sometimes render it difficult or almost impossible for him to graze, when the state of the animal or the convenience of the owner requires that he should be turned out. Curb constitutes unsoundness while it lasts, and perhaps while the swelling remains, although the inflammation may have subsided ; for a horse that has ouce thrown out a curb is, for a while at least, very liable to do so again, to get lame in the same place on the slightest extra exertion ; or, at all events, he would there first fail on extra- ordinary exertion. A horse, however, is not re- turnable, although he should spring a curb five minutes after the purchase ; for it is done in a moment, and does not necessarily indicate any previous unsoundness or weakness of the part. Cutting, as rendering a horse liable to serious injury of the legs, and indicating that he is either weak, or has an awkwardness of gait inconsistent with safety, produces, rather than is, unsoundness. Many horses go lame for a considerable period after cutting themselves severely ; and others have dropped from the sudden agony, and endangered themselves and their riders. As some doubt, however, exists on this subject, and as it is a very material objection to a horse, cutting, when evident, should have its serious consequences provided against by a special warranty. Enl.\rged Glands. — The enlargement of the glands under the jaw has not been so much con- sidered as it ought to have been in our estimtae of the soundness of the horse. Simple catarrh will occasionally, and severe affeclion of the chest will generally, be accompanied by swelling of these glands, which does not subside for a considerable time after the cold or fever has apparently been cured. To slight enlargements of the glands under the jaw much attention need not be paid ; but if they are of considerable size, and especially if they are tender, and the glands at the root of the ear partake of the enlargement, and the mem- brane of the nose is redder than it should be, we should hesitate in pronouncing that horse to be sound. We must consider the swelling as a symptom of disease. Enlarged Hock. — A horse with enlarged hock is unsound, the structure of this comjslicated joint being so materially affected that, although the horse may appear for a considerable time to be capable of ordinary work, he will occasionally fail even in that, and a few days' hard work will always lame him. The Eyes. — That inflammation of the eye of the horse which usually terminates in blindness of one or both eyes, has the peculiar character of receding or disappearing for a time, once or twice, or thrice, before it fully runs its course. The eye, after an attack of inflammation, regains so nearly its former natural brilliancj' that a person even well acquainted with horses will not always recognise the traces of former disease. After a time, however, the inflammation returns, and the result is inevitable. A horse that has had one attack of this complaint, is long afterwards un- sound, however perfect the eye may seem to be, because he carries about with him a disease that will probably again break out, and eventually destroy the sight. Whether, therefore, he may be rejected or not, depends on the possibility of proving an attack of inflammation of the eye, prior to the purchase. Next to direct evidence of this are appearances about the eye, of which the veter- inary surgeon at least ought not to be ignorant. Allusion has been made to them in p. 2^0. They consist chiefly of a puckering of the lids towards the inner corner of one or both eyes — a difference in the size of the eyes, although perhaps only a slight one, and not discovered except it be looked for — a gloominess of the eye — a dullness of the iris — a little dullness of the transparent part of the eye generally — a minute, faint, dusky spot, deep in the eye, and generally with little radiations of white lines proceeding from it. If these symptoms, or the majority of them, existed at the time of purchase, the animal had assuredly been diseased before, and was unsound. Starting has been considered as an equivocal proof. It is usually an indication of defective sight, but it is occasionally a trick. Connected, however, with the appearances just described, it is a very strong corroborative proof. Lameness, from whatever cause arising, is unsoundness. However temporary it may be, or however obscure, there must be disease which lessens the utility of the horse, and renders him unsound for the time. So says common sense, THE HORSE. 503 but tliere are contrailictory decisions on the case. " A horse laboui-ing under a temporary injury or hurt, wliich is cupahle of being speedily cured or removed, is not, according to Cliief Justice Eyre, au unsound horse ; and where a warranty is made that such a liorse is sound, it is made without any view to such an injuiy ; nor is a horse so cir- cumstanced within the meaning of the warranty. To vitiate the warranty, the injury the horse had sustained, or the malady under which he laboured, ought to be of a permanent nature, and not such as may arise from a temporary injury or accident.''* On the contrary. Lord Ellenljorough saVs : " I have always held, and now hold, that a warranty of soundness is broken, if the animal at the time of sale has any infirmity upon him which renders him less fit for present service. It is not neces- sary that the disorder should be permanent or incurable. While a horse has a cough he is un- sound, although it may either be temporary or may prove mortal. The horse in question having been lame at the time of sale, when he was warranted to be sound, his condition subsequently is no defence to the action."! The decisions of Mr. Baron Parke, already referred to, confirm this doctrine. Neurotosiy. — A question has arisen how far a horse that has undergone the operation of the divi- sion of the nerve of the leg (see p. '298), and has recovered from the lameness with which he was before affected, and stands his work well, may be con- sidered to be sound. Chief Justice Best held such a horse to be unsound, and in our opiuion there cannot be a doubt about the matter. The oper- ation of neurotomy does not remove the disease causing the lameness, but only the sensation of pain. A horse on whom this operation has been performed may be improved by it, may cease to be lame, may go well for many year's ; but there is no certainty of this, and he is unsound, within oar definition, unless nature gave the nerve for no useful pui-jjose. OssiFiCATJON OF THE Latkral Cartilages Con- stitutes unsoundness, as interfering with the na- tural expansion of the foot, and, in horses of quick work, almost invariably producing lameness. Pumiced Foot. — When the union between the horny and sensible lamin:ie, or little plates of the foot (see p. 45S), is weakened, and the coffin-bone is let down, and presses upon the sole, and the sole yields to this unnatural weight, and becomes rounded, and is brought in contact ^ith the ground, and is bniised and injured, that horse must be un- sound, and unsound for ever, because there are no means by which we can raise the coffin-bone again into its jslace. QijiDDiNG. — If the mastication of the food gives pain to the animal, in consequence of sore- • 2 EspiM. Rep.j673 Garment v. Barrs + 4 Ciiuipbell, 231, Eitun v. Broyden. ness of the mouth or throat, he will drop it before it is perfectly chewed. This, as an indication of disease, constitutes unsoundness, (juidding some- times arises from irregulaiity in the teeth, which wound the cheelv with their sharp edges ; or a protruding tooth renders it impossible for the horse to close his jaws so as to chew his food tho- roughly. Quidding is unsoundness for the time ; but the unsoundness will cease when the teeth are properly filed, or the soreness or other cause of this imperfect chewing removed. QoiTTOR is manifestly unsoundness. Ring-bone. — Although when the bony tumour is small, and on one side only, there is little or no lameness, and there are a few instances in which a horse with ring-bone has worked for many years without its return, yet from the action of the foot, and the stress upon the part, the inflamma- tion and the formation of bone may acquire a ten- dency to spread so rapidly, that we must pro- nounce the slightest enlargement of the pasterns, or around the coronet, to be a cause of unsound- ness. Sandcrack is manifestly unsoundness. It may, however, occur without the slightest warning, and no horse can be rejected on account of a sand- crack that has sprung after purchase Its usual cause is too great brittleness of the crust of the hoof ; but there is no infallible method of detecting this, or the degree in which it must exist in order to constitute unsoundness. When the horn round the bottom of the foot has chipped off so much that only a skilful smith can fasten the shoe with out pricking the horse, or even when there is a tendency in the horn to chip and break in a much less degree than this, the horse is unsoimd, for this brittleness of the crust is a disease of the part, or it is such an altered structure of it as to interfere materially with the usefulness of the animal. Spavin. — Bone spavin, comprehending in its largest sense eveiy bony tumour on the hock, is not necessarily unsoundness. If the tumour affects in the slightest degree the action of the horse, it is unsoundness ; even if it does not, it is seldom safe to pronounce it otherwise than misouudness. But it may possibly be (like splint in tlie fore- leg) so situated as to have no tendency to affect the action. A veterinary surgeon consulted ou the pm-chase will not always reject a horse because of such a tumour. His evidence on a question of soundness will depend on the facts. The situation and history of the tumour may be such as to en- able him to give a decisive opinion in a horse going sound, but not often. Bog or Blood Spavin is unsoundness, because, although it may not be productive of lameness at slow work, the rapid and powerful action of the hock in quicker motion will produce permanent M M 534 THE HORSE. yet perhaps not consideraLle lameness, wliich can I almost invariably accompanied by a sliglit degree scarcely ever be with certainty removed. of tenderness of the frog itself, or of the heel a Splint. — It depends entirely on the situation little above it, and, if neglected, leading to dimi- of the bony tumour on the shank bone, whether it is to be considered as unsoundness. If it is not in the neighbourhood of any joint, so as to inter- fere with its action, and if it does not press upon any ligament or tendon, it may be no cause of unsoundness, although it is often very unsightly. In many cases it may not lessen the capability and value of the animal. This has been treated on at considerable length in p. 428. Stpjnghalt. — This singular and very unpleas- ant action of the hind leg is decidedly an unsound- ness. It is an irregular communication of nervuus energy to some muscle of the thigh, obseiTable when the horse first comes from the stable, and gradually ceasing on exercise. It has usually been accom- panied by a more than common degree of strength and endurance. It must, however, be traced to some morbid alteration of structure or function ; and it rarely or never fails to deteriorate and gradually wear out the animal. Thickening of the B.«k Sinews. — Sufficient attention is not always paid to the fineness of the legs of the horse. If the flexor tendons have nution of the substance of the frog, and separation of the horn from the parts beneath, and underrun- uing, and the production of fungus and canker, and, ultimately, a diseased state of the foot, desti-uctive of the present, and dangerous to the future use- fulness of the horse. Wjndgalls. — There are few horses perfectly free from wiudgalls, but they do not interfere W'ith the action of the fetlock, or cause lameness, except when they are numerous or large. They constitute unsoundness only when they cause lameness, or are so large and numerous as to render it likely that they will cause it. In the purchase of a horse the buyer usually receives, embodied in the receipt, what is termed a warranty. It should be thus expressed : — ** Received of A. B. forty pounds for only five years old, sound, free from vie gi-ey mare, warranlt^d , and quiet to ride uiid A receipt, including merely the word " war- ranted," e.xtends only to soundness, — " warranted sound" goes no farther ; the age, freedom from been sprained, so as to produce considerable I vice, and quietness to ride and drive, should thickening of the cellular substance in which be especially named. This warranty comprises their sheaths are enveloped, they will long after- every cause of unsoundness that can be detected, wards, or perhaps always, be liable to sprain, from or that lurks in the constitution at the time of causes by which they would otherwise be scarcely sale, and to every vicious habit that the animal affected. The continuance of any considerable has hitherto show'n. To establish a breach of the thickness around the sheaths of the tendons in- | warranty, and to be enabled to tender a return of dicates previous and violent sprain. This very thickening will fetter the action of the tendons, and, after much quick work, will occasionally renew the inflammation and the lameness ; there- fore, such a horse canncjt be sound. It requires, however, a little discrimination to distinguish this from the gumminess or roundness of leg, peculiar to some breeds. There should be an evident difference between the injured leg and the other. Thoeoughpin, except it is of great size, is rarely productive of lameness, and therefore can- not he termed unsoundness ; but as it is the con- the horse and recover the difference of price, the purchaser must pi'ove that it was unsovmd or viciously disposed at the time of sale. In case of cough, the horse must have been heard to cough immediately after the purchase, or as he was led home, or as soon as he had entered the stable of the purchaser. Coughing, even on the following morning, will not be sufBcient : for it is possible that he might have caught cold by change of stabling. If he is lame, it must be proved to arise from a cause that existed before the animal was in the purchaser's possession. No price will sequence of hard work, and now and then does imply a warranty, or be equivalent to one ; there produce lameness, the hock should be most must be an express warranty. A fraud must carefully examined, and there should be a special warranty against it. Thrush. — There are various cases on record of actions on account of thrushes in horses, and the decisions have been much at variance, or perfectly contradictory. Thrush has not been always considered by legal men as unsoundness. We, however, decidedly so consider it ; as being a disease interfering, and likely to interfere with the usefulness of the horse. Thrush is inflamma- tion of the lower surface of the inner or sensible frog — and the secretion or throwing out of pus — be proved in the seller, in order that the buyer may be enabled to return the horse or maintain an action for the price. The warranty should be given at the time of sale. A warranty, or a pro- mise to warrant the horse, given at any period antecedent to the sale, is invalid ; for horseflesh is a very perishable commodity, and the constitution and usefulness of the animal may undergo a con- siderable change in the space of a few days. A warranty after the sale is invalid, for it is given without any legal consideration. In order to com- plete the purchase, there must be a ti-ansfer of the THE HORSE. 535 auiinal, or a memoraudum of agreement, or tlie payment of earnest money. The least sum will suffice for earnest. No verbal promise to buy or sell is binding without one of these. The moment either of these is effected, the legal transfer of projierty or delivery is made, and whatever may happen to the iKjrse, the seller retains, or is entitled to the money. If the purchaser exercises any act of ownerslup, by using the animal without leave of the vendor, or b}^ having any operation performed, or any medicines given to him, he makes him his own. The warranty of a servant is considered to be binding on the master. =i= If the horse should be afterwards discovered to have been unsound at the time of warranty, the buyer may tender a return of it, and, if it be not taken back, may bring his action for the price ; but the seller is not bound to rescind the contract, unless he has agreed so to do. Although there is no legal compulsion to give immediate notice to the seller of the discovered unsoundness, it will be better for it to be done. The animal should then be tendered at the house or stable of the vendor. If he refuses to receive him, the animal may be sent to a liver}' stable and sold ; and an action for the difference in price may be brought. The keep, however, can be recovered only for the time that necessarily inter- vened between the tender and the determination of the action. It is not legally necessary to len- der a retmii of the horse as soon as the unsound- ness is discovered. The animal may be kept for a reasonable time afterwards, and even proper medical means used to remove the unsoundness ; but courtesy, and indeed justice, will require that the notice should be given soon as possible. Although it is stated, on the authority of Lord Loughborough, that " no length of time elapsed after the sale will alter the uature of a contract originally false," yet it seems to have been once thought it was necessary to the action to give notice of the unsoundness in a reasonable time. The cause of action is certainly complete on breach of the warranty. It used to be supposed that the buyer had no right to have the horse medically treated, and that he would waive the warranty by doing so. The question, however, would be, has he injured or diminished the value of the horse by this treatment ? It will generally be prudent for him to refrain from all medical treat- ment, because the means adopted, however skil- fully employed, may have an unfortunate effect, or may be misrepresented by ignorant or interested observers. The purchaser possibly may like the horse, notwithstanding his discovered defect, and he may ■ The weight of authority decides that the master is hound bv the act oC the servant. Lord Kenyon, however, had some doubt ^.. f ic subject. retain, and bring his action for the depreciation in value on account of the unsoundness. Few, how- ever, will do this, because his retaining the horse will cause a suspicion that the defect was of no great consequence, and will give rise to much cavil about the quantum of damages, and after all, very slight damages will probably be obtained. "I take it to be clear law," says Lord Eldon, " that if a person purchases a horse that is warranted, and it afterwards turns out that the horse was unsound at the time of the warranty, the buyer, may, if he pleases, keep the horse, and bring an action on the warranty ; in which he will have a right to recover the difference between the value of a sound horse, and one with such defects as existed at the time of warranty ; or he may return the horse, and bring an action to recover the full money paid : but in the latter case, the seller has a right to expect that the horse shall be returned to him in the same state he was when sold, and not by any means diminished in value ; for if a person keeps a warranted article for any length of time after discovering its defects, and when he returns it, it is in a worse state than it would have been if returned immediately after such discovery, I think the party can have no defence to an action for the price of the article on the ground of non-compliance with the war- ranty, but must be left to his action on the warranty to recover the difference in the value of the article warranted, and its value when sold."t Where there is no warranty, an action may be brought on the ground of fraud ; but this is very difficult to be maintained, and not often hazarded. It will be necessary to prove that the dealer knew the defect, and that the purchaser was im- posed upon by his false representation, or other fraudulent means. If the defect was evident to every eje, the purchaser has no remedy, he should have taken more care ; but if a warranty was given, that extends to all unsoundness, palpable or concealed. Although a person should igno- rautly or carelessly buy a blind horse, warranted sound, he may reject it ; the waiTanty is his guard, and prevents him from so closely examin- ing the horse as he otherwise would have done ; but if he buys a blind horse, thinking him to be sound, and without a warranty, he has no remedy. Every one ought to exercise common circumspec- tion and common sense. A man should have a more perfect knowledge of horses than fid Is to the lot of most, aud a per- fect knowledge of the vendor too, who ventures to buy a horse without a warranty. If a person buys a horse waiTanted sound, aud discovering no defect in him, and, relying on ths warranty, re-sells them, and the unsoundness is discovered by the second purchaser, and the + Curtis V. Har.natj, i Esp. 83. M M 0 -^ .^ V n^*-^ *» -. ..> -*«• h«^ ^Ik* Www •« If • w»» ^^ • .a> a«( ^ to W » mmmktm tm «^-i>i^bii, ^^ ^ ^ •• ■ir*«»<^ -4 ^i» iK. *«• » K ■ MM ■ ■■ 1. *'»r L«*a ■^ AiHH Ift 0 SMI ^^^■^^ ^ ^v 1»^K^ A^^^^M VH ■f •••Mili» .^^tX, £^ ^^^ v^*w^9 ■ ^^^m. %v ^f »— »- W^MB • u* Mi^AlAV .=^ w ■■■^^■^•g^tgli "^^ vV^^ ^^^^H ^^^^^^^^^^1 <^ tf « ki ■ ^^B R« W • wrlr- *»» Sam ^ ^ K« I THE HORSE. 537 xcteristic symptoms of disease ai obscure, but the indications of returning heab, or increas- danger, are ofteu scarcely asceainable, coii- eutly the sick hoi-se, as well i the human r, needs the care of one whoraUudy and ex- ^nce have qualified for the t^isk. A list of the ~ generally employed, with a slht account of history, adulterations, and mricinal effects, be interesting to the horse-procietor as well the veterinarv surgeon ; and tsK occasionally -eful when professional .aid cann. be obtained. requent reference wUl be mad to Professor ons most valuable ^lauual ' Pliarmacy. work will be found to be a treiure to every inary surgeon. Mr. W. C. {^ooner's Ma- Medica, in his recent compendm of White "s nt of the horse, will occiisionall^e laid under -bution. c.4^ciA GcsTMi. — Many varietieof (/u/n arable rocured from Egypt, Arabia.nd the East i. It is an exudation from le trunk and hes of various trees. It is L>ii)loyed in the if a mucilage, made by dissolvg it in water, proportion of one part of tiiejura to three r of water. Various insoUiiI powders may 'IS suspended, or oils rtuil i\ miscible or 'ons formed. Kniul-i r,- •: .1 3sed of gum are supposed to I"- t"i in urinary jns. iDcsf Acetic r ^■I^■EGAR. ir is a very : lor sprains ■Tiises. Equ.'i water and /inegar wUl liientation. t of lead, fltr :idded with dvantage. ^ dy, vinegiir .y oivp" ".«■ ■rge doses. isi.l veterina- a.l uifucture ■IV fre- more powerful it remains, and therefore it should be kept in stoppered bottles. The proof of its goodness is its weight. It is decidedly the best liquid caustic we have. It is most miuiageable, and its etfect can most readily be ascertained. As soon as it touches any muscular or living part, a chauije of colour is perceived, and the etfect of the caustic can be fairly judged of by the degree of change. For corus, canker, indisposition in the sole to secrete good horn, wounds in the foot not attended by heakliy action, and for every case where the superficial application of a caustic is needed, this acid is unrivalled. AciDi;.M NiTRicuM, NiTKio Acid, Aqu.v FORTis. — This is a valuable e.vternal application. It is both a caustic and an antiseptic. It destroys fungous excrescences. A pledget of tar should bo dipped in the acid, and then firmly pressed on the cankerous surface. Every part with which the acid has come into contact will be deadened and slough otf, and healthy granulations will spring up. AciDuu Hydrocianicum, Prdssic Acid. — This, in a concentrated state, is truly a deadly poison ; a few drops of it will kill a large animal. In a diluted form, it is a powerful sedative. In doses of six drops, largely diluted, it abates both pulmonary and gastric initation. It may be vvortli trying in the form of eneina in cases of I'rianus. It may also be given by the mouth in til'- '-aiiie disease. Nothing is more likely to tr juillize the general e.Kcitement of the ner- voi: system. The author of this work was the "111) applied the hydrocyanic acid for of allaying irritation of the skin in Mom fails of producing the desu'ed 11 has had a similar good effect iu iriess and mange in the horse. SULPHUKICUM, SULI'IIURIG AciD. — • with tar in the proportion of an pound, it is a good application for lanker : a smaller (juanlity mixed 1 makes a good stimulating liniment. sul[)huric acid is added, either by wilfully, it inflames and corrodes the ij Ijowels. The proper antidotes in this lagnesia, or the carbonate of soda or soft soap. The jicid might possibly d by this combination. 's Lard, very properly forms the of our ointments. It is tasteless, ■ee from every stimulating quality. ^;iid of all the ingredients used II of our unguents. I ' iiFiED Si'iRiT. — This is neces- iny of our tinctures and other is sometimes given to tlio horse state. Some horses that are far and quickly, show evident 538 THE HORSE. fatigue Lefore tlie.v arrive at the end of their jour- ney. A cordial or carminative tincture, to the extent of three or four ounces, largely diluted, may occasionally be given, and they rally, and cheerfully pursue their course to the end. The groom or the stableman gives the gin or -n-hiskey of the countiy, in preference to any other stimu- lant. In cases of thorough fatigue the Daffy's Eli.xir may be administered, and probably rendered more stimulant by the addition of pepper. Mr. Bracy Clark recommends four ounces of the tinc- ture of allspice in cases of gripes. On the other hand, some veterinary surgeons have preferred simple hot water, or the infusion of several of our medicinal herbs, as peppermint, rosemaiy, &o. We should be loath, except on extraordinary occa- sions, to advocate the use of any spirituous drink. Aloes. — There are two kinds used in horse practice, the Barbadoes and the Cape. The Soco- trine, preferred by the human surgeon, are very uncertain in their effect on the horse, and are seldom to be met with pure. C)f the Barbadoes and the Cape, the first are much to be preferred. They are obtained principally from the island of Barbadoes, and are the juice of the large leaves of the aloe, boiled to a considerable thickness, and then poured into gourds in which they gradually harden. The true Cape are the extract of a species of aloes chiefly cultivated at the Cape of Good Hope. The Barbadoes aloes are black, with a shade of brown, of an unctuous feeling, with a stronger smell, broken with difficulty, and tlie fracture dull. The Cape are darker coloured, stronger smelling, very brittle, and the fracture ])erfectly glossy. Every veterinary surgeon who uses much aloes should buy them in the mass, and powder them at home, and then, by attending to this account of the difference of the two. he can scarcely be imposed upon. It is, however, the fact, that these are mostly adulterated, by their being melted together. Aloes purchased in powder are too often sadly adulterated. The Cape aloes may be powdered at all times, and the Barbadoes in frosty weather, when enough should be prepared, to be kept in closed bottles, for the year's consumption. They may a) so be powdered when they have been taken from tlie gourd, and exposed to a gentle heat for two or three hours before they ai'e put into the mortar. In the proportion of fifteen ounces of the powder mixed with one ounce of powdered ginger, and beaten up with eight ounces of palm oil, and after- wards divided into the jiroper doses, it will form a purging mass more effectual, and much less likely to gripe, than any that can be procured by melting the drug. If the physic is given in the shape of a ball it more readily dissolves in the stomach, and more certainly and safely acts on the bowels when mingled with some oily matter, like that just recommended, than when combined with syrup or honey, which are apt to ferment, and be them- selves the cause of gripes. It is also worse than useless to add any diuretic to the mass, as soap or carbonate of soda. The action of these on one set of organs will weaken that of the aloes on another. A jjhysic mass should never be kept more than two or three months, for, after that time, it rapidly loses its pm'gative projierty. Directions for physicking will be found at p. 403. We will only add that, as a pi-omoter of condition, the dose should always be mild. A few fluid stools will be sufficient for every good pui-pose. Violent disease will alone justify violent purging. The Barbadoes aloes have a greater purgative power than the Cape, exclusive of griping less and bemg safer. In addition to this, the action of the bowels is kept up longer by the Barbadoes aloes than by the Cape. If the horse is well mashed, and carefully exercised, and will drink plenty of warm water, the Cape may be ventured on, or at least mixed with equal quantities of the Barbadoes ; but if there is any neglect of preparation for physic, or during the usual operation of the physic, the Cape ai-e not always to be depended upon. The combination of alkaline compounds with aloes alters the results of the medicine. Their action is quick- ened, but their purgative properties are imjjaired, and they cease to operate specifically on the larger intestines. Such is the opinion of Professor Morton, and undoubtedly the latter would be an advantage gained. The activity of the aloes may be occasionally increased by a few drops of the croton oil. Mashes are useful helps when physic is administered. Some persons are fond of what are called half- doses of physio. Three or four drachms are given on one day, and three or four on the following ; and perhaps, if the medicine has not operated, as in this divided state it will not always, two or three additional drachms are given on the third day. The consequence is, that the bowels having been rendered irritable by the former doses, the horse is over-purged, and inflammation and death occa- sionally ensue. In physicking a horse, whatever is to be done should he done at once. Whatever quantity is intended to be given should be given in one dose. The system of giving small doses of aloes as alteratives is not good. These repeated minute doses lodging in some of the folds of the intestines, and at length uniting, often produce more effect than is desirable. It is never safe to ride a horse far or fast, with even a small dose of aloes ■within him. Most of all objectionable is the custom of giring small doses of aloes as a nauseant, in inflammation of the lungs. There is so much THE HORSE. 539 sympatliy between the contents of tlie chest and the belly in the horse, and inflammation of one part is so lilcely to be transferred to another, that it is treading on very dangerous ground, when with much iuHaiiunition of the lungs, that is given whic-h will stimulate and may inflame the intestines. Aloes are most commonly, because most easily, administered in the form of ball, but in a state of solution their effect is more speed}', effectual, and safe. Aloes are useful in the form of tincture. Eight ounces of powdered aloes, and one ounce of pow- dered myrrh, may bs put into two quarts of recti- fied spirit, diluted witli an equal quantity of water. The mi.xture should be daily well shaken for a fortnight, and then suffered to stand, in order that the undissolved portion may fall to the bottom. This will constitute a very excellent application for wounds, whether recent or of long standing and indisposed to heal. It is not only a gentle stim- ulant, but it forms a thin crust over the wound, and shields it from the action of the air. The principal adulteration of aloes is by means of resin, and the alteration of colour is concealed by the addition of charcoal or lamp-black. This adulteration is easil}' enough detected by dissolving the aloes in hot water. All aloes contain some resinous matter, which the water will not dissolve and which has very slight purgative effect. The excess of this resin at the bottom of the solution will mark the degree of adulteration. Alteratives are a class of medicines the nature and effect of which are often much mis- understood, and liable to considerable abuse. It is a very convenient name in order to excuse that propensity to dose the horse with medicines, which is the disgrace of the groom, and the bane of the stable. By alteratives we understand those drugs which effect some slow change in the diseased action of certain parts without interfering with the food or work ; but b}' common consent the term seems to be confined to medicines for the diseases of the circulation, or of the digestive organs, or of the skin. If a horse is heavy and incapable of work from too good keep, or if he is off his food from some temporary indigestion — or if he has mange or grease, or cracked heels, or swelled legs, a few alteratives are prescribed, and the complaint is expected to be gradually and imperceptibly removed. For all skin affections there is no bet- ter alterative than that so often recommended in this treatise, consisting of black antimony, nitre, and sulphur. If there is any tendency to grease, some resin may be applied to each ball. If the complaint is accompanied by weakness, a little gentian and ginger may be further added but ; we enter our protest against the ignorant use of mer- cury in any form, or any of the mineral acids, or mineral tonics, or heating spices, as alteratives. We indeed should be plea-sed if we could banish the terra alterative from common usage. The mode of proceeding which reason and science would dictate is to ascertain the nature and degree of the disease, and then tlie medicine which is calculated to restore the healtljy action of the part, or of the frame generally. Alum is occasional!}' used internally in cases of super-purgation in the form of alum-whey, two drachms of the powder being added to a pint of hot milk ; but there are much better astringents, al- though this may sometimes succeed when others fail. If alum is added to a vegetable astringent, as oak-bark, the power of both is diminished. Its principal use is external. A solution of two drachms to a pint of water forms alone, or \vith the addition of a small quantity of white vitrol, a very useful wash for cracked heels, and for grease generally ; and also for those forms of swelled legs attended ^\'ith exudation of moisture through the sldu. Some add the Goulard lotion, forgetting the chemical decomposition that takes place ; the result of which is, that the alumine, possessing little astringency, is detached, and two salts, with no astringency at all, the sulphrate of lead and the sulphate of potash, are formed. The Burnt Alum is inferior to the common alum for the purposes mentioned, and we have better stimulants, or caustics, to apply to wounds. Ammonia is, to the annoyance of the horse, and the injury of his ejes and his lungs, plentifully extricated from the putrifying dung and urine of the stable, but when combined with water in the common form of hartshorn, it is seldom used in veterinary practice. It has been given, and with decided benefit, and when other things have failed, in flatulent colic ; and is best administered in the form of the aromatic spirit of ammonia, and ia doses of one or two ounces, in warm water. Chloride of Ammonia, or sal ammoniac, is scarcely deserving of a place in our list. It is not now used internally ; and as an astringent embro- cation, it must yield to several that ai'e more ef- fectual, and less likely to blemish. Anisi Semina, Anise-seed. — This seed is here mentioned principally as a record of old times, when it was one of the sheet-auchora of the farrier. It is not yet quite discarded from his shop as a stimulant, a carminative, and a cordial. Anodynes.- — -Of these there is but one in horse practice : Opium is the only drug that will lull pain. It may be given as an anodyne, but it will also be an astringent in doses of one, two, or three drachms. Antimony. — There are several valuable prepa- rations of this metal. The Black Sesqui-Sulphuret of Antimony, a compound of sulphur and antimony, is a good 540 THE HORSE. alterative. It is given with more sulphur and with nitre, in varying doses, according to the disease, and the slow or rapid effect intended to he pro- duced. It should never be boiight in powder, whatever trouble there may be in levigating it, for it is often grossly adulterated with lead, manga- nese, forge-dust, and arsenic. The adulteration may be detected by placing a little of the powder on a red-hot iron plate. The pure sulphuret will evaporate without the slightest residue — so will the arsenic : but there will be an evident smell of garlic. A portion of the lead and the manganese will be left behind. Antimonii Potassio Tartras, Emetic Tartar. — The tartrate of potash and antimony, or a com- bination of super-tartrate of potash and oxide of antimony, is a veiy useful nauseant, and has con- siderable effect on the skin. It is particularly valuable in inflammation of the lungs, and in every catarrhal affection. It is given in doses of from one draclim to a drachm and a half, and combined with nitre and digitalis. It is also beneficial in the expulsion of worms. It should be given in doses of two drachms, and with some mechanical vermifuge, as tin filings, or ground glass, and administered ou an empty stomach, and for several successive days. Althougli it may sometimes fail to expel the worms, it will materially improve the condition of the horse, and produce sleekness of the coat. To a slight degree the emetic tartar is decomposed by the action of light, and should be kept in a jar, or green bottle. It is sometimes adulterated with arsenic, which is detected by the garlic smell when it is placed on hot iron, and also by its not giving a beautiful gold-coloured precipi- tate when sulphuret of ammonia is added to a solu- tion of it. It has also been externally applied in chest affections, in combination with lard, and in quantities of from one drachm to two drachms of the antimony, to an ounce of the lard; but, except in extreme cases, recoui'se should not be had to it, on account of the extensive sloughhig which it sometimes produces. PnLvis ANTiMONir CoMPOsiTus, The Compound Powder of Antimony. — Commonly known by the name of James's Powder. It is employed as a sudorific in fever, either alone or in combination with mercurials. The dose is from one to two drachms. The late Mr. Bloxam used to tnist to it alone in the treatment of Epidemic Catarrh in the horse. It is, however, decidedly inferior to Emetic Tartar. It is often adulterated with chalk and burnt bones, and other white powders, and that to so shameful a degree, that little dependence can be placed ou the antimonial powder usually sold by dniggists. The muriatic or sulphuric acids will detect most of these adulterations Anti-spasmodics. — Of these our list is scanty, for the horse is subject only to a few spasmodic diseases, and there are fewer medicines which have an anti-spasmodic effect. Opium stands first for its general power, and that exerted particularly in locked jaw. Oil of turpentine is almost a specific for spasm of the bowels. Camphor, assafcetida, and various other medicines, used on the human subject, have a very doubtful effect on the horse, or may be considered as almost inert. Argentum, Silver. — One combination only of this metal is used, and that as a manageable and excellent caustic, viz., the L/unar Caustic. It is far preferable to the hot u'on, or to any acid, for the destruction of the part if a horse should have been bitten by a rabid dog ; and it stands next to the butyr of antimony for the removal of fungus generally. It has not yet been administered inter- nally to the horse. Arsenicum, Arsenic- — This drag used to be employed as a tonic, in order to core out old ulcers ; but it is now seldom employed, for there are better and safer tonics, and far better and safer caus- tics. The method of detecting the presence of arsenic in cases of poisoning has been described at p. 894. B,\i.Ls. — The usual and the most convenient mode of administering veterinary medicines is in the form of balls, compounded with oil, and not with honey or synip, ou account of their longer keeping soft and more easily dissolving in the stomach. Balls should never weigh more than an ounce and a half, otherwise they will be so large as not to jiass without difiicultj' down the gullet. They should not be more than an inch in diameter and three inches in length. The mode of delivering balls is not difficult to acquu'e ; but the balling-iron, while it often wounrls and permanently injures the bars, occasions the hurse to struggle more than he other- wise would against the administration of the medi- cine. The horse should be backed in the stall ; — the tongue should be drawn gently out with the left hand on the off side of the mouth, and there fixed, not by continuing to pull at it, but by press- ing the fingers against the side of the lower jaw. The ball, being now taken between the tips of the fingers of the right hand, is passed rapidly up the mouth, as near to the palate as possible, until it reaches the root of the tongue. It is then delivered with a slight jerk, and the hand being immediately withdrawn and the tongue liberated, the ball is forced through the jiharynx into the oesophagus. Its passage should be watched down the left side of the throat ; and if the passage of it is not seen going down, a slight tap or blow under the chin will generally cause the horse to swallow it, or a few gulps of water will convey it into the stomach. Very few balls should be kept ready made, for they may become so hard as to be incapable of passing down the gullet, or dissolving in the stomach, and the life of the horse may be endangered or lost. THE HORSE. 511 This is peculiarly liable to be tlie case if the ball is too large, or wrapped in thick paper. Bark, Pkuuvian. — A concentrated preparation of this is entitled the Sulphate of Qoinine. The simple bark is now seldom used. If it has any good effect, it is in diabetes. The quinine, how- ever, is strongly recommended by Professor Mor- ton, as singularly efficacious in the prostration of strength which is often the consequence of in- fluenza. Basiucon is a valuable digestive ointment, com- posed of resin, bees'-wax, and olive-oil. If it is needed as a stimulant, a little turpentine and ver- digris may be added. Belladonn^e Exthactum, Extract of Deadly Nightshade. — The inspissated juice is principally used as a narcotic and sedative, and indicated whei'e there is undue action of the nervous and vascular systems, as in tetanus, carditis, and nervous affec- tions generally. Externally, it is beneficially applied to the eye. Blisters are applications to the skin ■which separate the cuticle in the form of vesicles contain- ing a serous fluid. They excite increased action in the vessels of the skin by means of which this fluid is thrown out. The part or neighbouring parts are somewhat relieved by the discharge, but more by the inflammation and pain that are pro- duced, and lessen that previously existing in some contiguous part. On this principle we account for the decided relief often obtained by blisters in inflammation of the lungs, and their efficacy in abating deeply-seated disease, as that of the ten- dons, ligaments, or joints; and also the necessity of prexdously removing, in these latter cases, the superficial inflammation caused b}' them, in order that one of a different kind may be excited, and to ■which the deeply-seated inflammation of the part will be more likely to yield. The blisters used in horse-practice are composed of caniharides or the oil of turpentine, to which some have added a tincture of the croton-nut. For some important remarks on the compo- sition, application, and management of the blister, see p. 493. Bole Armenian is an argillaceous earth com- bined with iron, and is supjiosed to possess some astringent property. The propriety of its being administered inwardly is doubtful ; for it may re- main in the intestinal canal, and become the nucleus of a calculus. On account of its supposed astriugency, it is employed externally to give con- sistence to ointments for grease. Even the bole Armenian has not escaped the process of adultera- tion, and is largely mixed with inferior earths. The fraud may be suspected, but not satisfactorily detected, by the colour of the powder, which should be a bright red. Calamine. — See Ziuc. Calomel. — See Mercury. CAMrnoR is the produce of one of the laurus species, a native of Japan, and too often imitated by passing a stream of chlorine through oil of tur- pentine. According to Professor Morton, it is a uai'cotic. It diminishes the frequency of the pulse, and softens its tone. When long exhibited, it acts on the kidneys. Externally applied, it is said to be a discutient and an anodyne for chronic sprains, liruises, and tumours. The camphor ball is a favourite one with the groom, and occasionally administered by the veterinary surgeon. Mr. W. C. Spooner uses it, mixed with opium, in cases of locked jaw, and in doses of from one to two drachms. In the form of camphorated oil, it pro- motes the absorption of fluids thrown out beneath the skin, the removal of old callus, and the sup- pling of joints stiff from labour. Combined with oil of turpentine it is more effective, but in this combination it occasionally blemishes. Canthahides are the basis of the most ap- proved and useful veterinary blisters. The can- tharis is a fly, the native of Italy and the south of France. It is destroyed by sulphur, dried and powdered, and mixed with palm oil and resin in the proportions dhected at p. S9i. Its action is intense, and yet superficial ; it plentifully raises the cuticle, yet rarely injures the true skin, and therefore seldom blemishes. The application of other acrid substances is occasionally followed by deeply-seated ulcerations ; but a blister composed of the Spanish fly alone, while it does its duty, leaves, after a few ■weeks have passed, scai'cely a trace behind. The art of blistering consists in cutting, or rather shaving, the hair perfectly close ; then well rubbing in the ointment, for at least ten minutes ; and, afterwards, and what is of the greatest con- sequence of all, plastermg a little more of the ointment lightly over the part., and leaving it. As soon as the vesicles have pei'fectly risen, which will be in twenty or twenty-four hours, the torture of the animal may be somewhat relieved by the application of olive or neat's-foot oU, or any emol- lient ointment. When too extensive a blister has been em- ployed, or, from the intensity of the original in- flammation, the blister has not risen, (for no two intense inflammations can exist in neighbouring parts at the same time,) stranginy — great difiiculty in passing urine, and even suppression of it, has occurred. The careful washing ofi' of the blister, and the administi-ation of plenty of warm water, with opium, and bleeding if the symptoms nm high, will generally remove this unpleasant effect. An infusion of two ounces of the flies in a pint of oil of turpentine, for several days, is occasionally used as a liquid blister ; and, when sutficiently lowered with common oil, it is called a sueating altenitive. Ii isK'**"" "'''' more sulphur wid «iil HI-''>-»'«. aiul tJiereare fewer medicines whirli have nitre, in vurviii>; (lii-c^. Hi-oirdin); lo llie dis*-: Biul tlie hlow lai-in(; a little of the fN>\\ on a n'raie without the >lij;litef.t residue — s') will arsenic : but there will be an evident smell i.f (^ii A portion of the lead and tlie mangHiie«e \%ill left behind. AnTIMOMI PoTAS.«loT.\BTnAS, EnKTlr T.Mtl — The liirtrate nf ]xitiL^li and antini> a drarhni and a lialf, and c"v\ ■ with nitre and digitidis. It is al.so lien> t the cxpulsiun of wonns. It should U' '. doses of two dnirhms, and with some ni' vennifupe. as tin fihuj^'s, or f^mund y\ administered on an mipiy stomach, and I successive days. Al(lii>u);1i it may sonn i to expel tlie worms, it will niateriully inij • condition of tlie horse, and produce Bh-ekni's- the coat. To a slijjhl df(|ree the emetic tnrtH decomposed by tin- action of lij^ht. ami -! kept in a jar, or j,'rcfn Ixitile. It is s. adulteniled with arsenic, which is detects. 1 . . f^'arlic smell when it is placed on hot iron, and : by its not fO^'in^; a lieauiiful ^idJ-odoured pre< tate when sulphuret of ammonia is added to a - lion of it. It has also K-en externally applii . chest alTcciions, in combination with larl quantities of from one dnichm to two lii • he antimony, to an oiinrc of the lanl, bir in extreme cases, recourse should not be hud i. i^ukhIic effect. (>])ium stands lirst for ; [Hiwer. and that exerted pnrticiilarlr in .V (»il of tuqientiiic is almost a R|H-<-iiic of ilif lK»wels. C'ani]i|ior, assaftetiila, u" oilier medicines, used on the human t\f n very doubtful effect on the horse, or iiNJdered as almost inert. N nil. SiLVKH. — One combination only of i i-> iiM^-d, and timt as a minia^eable and ■ •nuslic. viz., the Lunar I'mittir. It is ■ ruble to the hot iron, or to any iicid, for I riii-tion of the )Mrt if a horse should luive ' II by a rabid dog : and it stands next to • if antimony for the removal of fungus It has not ret been administered iuter- ilie horse. MciM, Aiisr.xic. — This drug used to be i as a tonic, in onler to coiie out old ulcers ; II .w 8 so large as not to jxisa hy <|.i«n the gullet. They should ' iliaii an inch in diameter and three '• li'iigth. The mode of delivering balls is lit to acqnin* ; but the lialling-iron, while ■iiiiiU anil permanently injures the Iwrs, lie hoise to stniggle more than lieother- ii'-t the adniitii'lniiion of the niedi- - should Im- barked in the stall; — iilil 1m- drawn gently out with the lit iiHiid oil the off side of the mouth, and there on aci-ount of the extensive sloughing which ii ise.l. not by continuing to pull at it. but by press- sometimes produces. 0p I lie fingers against tie side of the lower j Pli.vis ANTiMosiiCoMlHwiTts. The CoMPofM' Chi ImII. l>eiiig now taken between the tij>s of PownrR OK Antijiosy. — Commonly known by the iai}," is of the right hand, is passed rapidly uj the palate as possible, the tongue. It is then and the hand beins e tongue liber alone in the treatment of Kpidemic Catarrh in the I iv ed through the jihannx ir horse. It is, however, decidedly inferior to Emeiir I ;8 paswage should be watch Tartar. It is often adulterated witJi chalk and j f the throat: and if the burnt Itones. and other white powders, and that to ' »iiig down, a slight so shameful a degree, that little dependence nni be placed on the antirnonial powder usually sold by dniggists. The muriatic or suljdiuric acids will i!er>- few detect most of these adulterations av becg Anti-spasmodics. — Of these our list is scanty. »wn for the horse is subject oidy to a few spasmodic | ting : 11 generally ca w gidps of ' Mmin THE HORSE. 541 "■tmmaiim This is peculiarly liable to be the ase if the ball is too large, or wrapped iu tbick pier. Baek, Pektjvian. — A concentited preparation of this is entitled the Sulphate oj^uixine. The simple bai'k is now seldom used. If it has any good effect, it is in diabetes. Tl quinine, how- ever, is strongly recommended b\Professor Mor- ton, as singularly efficacious in ti prostration of strength which is often the cotEquence of in- fluenza. Basilicon is a valuable digestivointment, com- posed of resin, bees-wax, and ol e-oil. If it is needed as a stimulant, a little tuientine and ver- digris may be added. Belladonn^e Exteactum, ExTicT OF Deadly Nightshade. — The inspissated jue is prmcipally used as a narcotic and sedative, aucndicated where there is undue action of the nervis and vascular systems, as in tetanus, carditis, ai nervous affec- tions generally. Externally, itis beneficially applied to the eye. Blisters are applications tohe skin which separate the cuticle in the form of esicles contain- ing a serous fluid. They excite icreased action in the vessels of the skiu by mras of which this fluid is thrown out. The part • neighbouring parts are somewhat relieved by tl discharge, but more by the inflammation and psa that are pro- duced, and lessen that previously listing in some contiguous part. On this pri le we account for the decided relief ofifii "l ed by blisters iu inflammation of the lungs, ;i: I lieir efticacy in abating deeply-sealed disease, aahat of the ten- dons, ligaments, or joints ; and al» the necessity of previously removing, iu thc.^u itter cases, the superficial inflammation caused lithem, in order that one of a different kiud may ^^ftked, and to which the de^aM^^ted iuflaig^^^HLthe part used in s or the added a Calomel. — See Mercuiy. CAMrHOR is the produce of one of the laurus species, a native of Japan, and too often imitated by passing a stream of chlorine through oil of tur- pentine. According to Professor Morton, it is a narcotic. It diminishes the frequency of the pulse, and softens its tone. When long exhibited, it acts on the kidneys. Externally applied, it is said to be a discutient and an anodyne for chronic sprains, bruises, and tumours. The camphor ball is a favourite one with the groom, and occasionally administered by the veterinary surgeon. Mr. W. C. Spooner uses it, mixed with opium, iu cases of locked jaw, and in doses of from one to two drachms. In the form of camphorated oil, it pro- motes the absorption of fluids thrown out beneath the skin, the removal of old callus, and tlie sup- pling of joints stiff from labour. Combined with oil of tui-pentine it is more effective, but in this combination it occasionally blemishes. Canthahides are the basis of the most ap- proved and useful veterinary blisters. The can- tharis is a fly, the native of Italy and the south of France. It is destroyed by sulphur, dried and powdered, and mixed with palm oil and resin in the proportions directed at p. 392. Its action is intense, and yet superficial ; it plentifully raises the cuticle, yet rarely injures the true skin, and therefore seldom blemishes. The application of other acrid substances is occasionally followed by deeply-seated ulcerations ; but a blister composed of the Spanish fly alone, while it does its duty, leaves, after a few weeks have passed, scarcely a trace behind. The art of blistering consists in cutting, or rather shaving, the hair perfectly close ; then well nabbing in the ointment, for at least ten minutes ; and, afterwards, and what is of the greatest con- sequence of all, plastering a little more of the ointment lightly over the part, and leaving it. As soon as the vesicles have perfectly risen, which will be in twenty or twenty-four hours, the torture of the animal may be somewhat relieved by the application of olive or neat's-foot oil, or any emol- lient ointment. When too extensive a blister has been em- ployed, or, from the intensity of the original in- flammation, the blister has not risen, (for no two intense inflammations can exist in neighbouring parts at iJie same time,) stranginy — great difiiculty urine, and even suppression of it, has (The careful washing off of the blister, rdministratiou of plenty of warm water, m, and bleeding if the symptoms nni 1 generally remove this unpleasant effect, infusion of two ounces of the flies in a pint of tui-pentine, for several days, is oocnsionfllly d as a liquid blister ; and, when sufficiently lowered with common oil, it is called a menthig 54i THE HORSE. wound for this purpose : it is also a good applica- tion for canker in the foot. Cordials are useful or injurious according to the judgment ■with which they are given. When a horse comes home thoroughly e.x.hausted, and refuses his food, a cordial may he beneficial. It may rouse the stomach and the system generally, and may prevent cold and fever ; but it is poison to the animal when administered after the cold is actually caught and fever begins to appear. More to he reprobated is the practice of giving frequent cordials, that by their stimulus on the stomach (the skin sympathising so much mth that viscus) a fine coat may be produced. The artificial excitement of the cordial soon becomes as neces- sary to enable the horse to do even common work, as is the excitement of tlie dram to sustain the animal spirits of the drunkard. In order the recal the appetite of the horse slowly recovering from illness, a cordial may sometimes be allowed ; or to old horses that have been worked hard and used to these excitements when young ; or to draught horses, that have exhibited slight symptoms of staggers when their labour has been unusually protracted and their stomachs left too long empty ; or mixed with diuretic medicine, to fine the legs of the over- worked and debilitated animal ; but in no other case should they obtain a place in the stable, or be used at the discretion of the carter or the groom. Corrosive Sublimate. — See Mercury. Ceeasote has very lately been introduced into veterinary practice, and is much valued on account of its antiseptic properties. It is obtained by the destructive distillation of various substances, as pyroligneous acid, tar, wood smoke, &c. Pure creasote is colourless and transparent ; its odour is that of smoked meat, and its taste is caustic and burning. It coagulates the albumen of the blood, and hence has been latel}' employed in stopping hfemorrhages. It acts very powerfully on the general system, and quickly destroys small ani- mals. Professor Morton gives a very interesting and faithful account of it. It is, according to him, both a stimulant and a tonic. In an undiluted state it acts as a caustic. When diluted it is a general excitant and an antiseistic. In the form of a lotion, a liniment, or an ointment, it lias been useful in farcy and glanders, also in foot-rot, canker, and thrush, — mange, caries, excessive sup- puration, and the repression of fungous granula- tions. As a caustic, it acts as a powerful stimu- lant, and it is an antiseptic. Ceoton Tiglii Semina, Croton Seeds. — The croton-nut has not been long introduced into veter- inary practice, although it has been used from time immemorial by the inhabitants of India as a powerful purgative. An oil has been extracted from it, and used by the surgeon ; the meal is adopted by the veterinarian. It is given in doses from a scmple to half a drachm, and from its acrid nature, in the form of a ball, with an ounce of lin- seed meal. When it does operate, the efl'ect is generally observed in six or eight hours, the stools being profuse and wateiy, and the patient fre- quently griped. On account of its speedy operation, it may be given in locked jaw and staggers; and also in dropsy of the chest or belly, from the watery and profuse stools which it produces ; but it is often uncertain in its operation, and its griping, and the debility which it occasions, are serious objections to it as common physic. When placed on the tongue of the horse in quantities varying from twenty to forty drops, it produces purging, but the membrane of the mouth frequently becomes violently inflamed. This likewise happens, but not to so great a degree, when it is given in the form of a drink, or in a mash. Dejiulcents are substances that have the power of diminishing the effect of acrimonious or stimulating substances. The first, by some oily or mucilaginous substance, sheaths the sensible parts. The other dilutes the stimulus, and dimin- ishes its power. It will rarely be difficult to determine which effect should be produced, and the means by which it is to be effected. Diaphoretics are medicines that increase the sensible and insensible perspiration of the animal. As it regards the horse, they are neither many nor powerful. Antimony in its various forms, and sulphur, have some effect iu opening the pores of the skin, and exciting its vessels to action, and especially when assisted by warmth of stable or clothing, and therefore is useful in those diseases in whicli it is desirable that some portion of the blood should be diverted from the overloaded, and inflamed, and vital organs of the chest, to the skin or the extremities. The only diaphoretics, however, on which much confidence can be placed, and especially to produce condition, are warm clothing and good grooming. Digestives are' applications to recent or old wounds, as mild stimulants, in order to produce a health}' appearance and action in them, and to cause them more speedily to heal. A weak solu- tion of blue vitriol is an excellent digestive ; so is the tincture of aloes, and the tincture of myrrh. The best digestive ointment is one composed of three parts of calamine ointment (Turner's cerate) and one of common turpentine. Digitalis. — The leaves of the common fox- glove, gathered about the flowering time, dried carefully in a dark place, and powdered, and kept in a close black bottle, form one of the most valuable medicines in veterinary practice. It is a direct and powerful sedative, diminishing the frequency of the pulse, and the general irritability of. the system, and acting also as a mild diuretic ; THE HOUSE. 545 it is therefore useful in every inflammatory and febrile complaint, and particularly in inflammation of the chest. It is usually given in combination with emetic tartar and nitre. The average dose is one drachm of digitalis, one and a half of emetic tartar, and three of nitre, repeated twice or thrice in the day. Digitalis seems to have an immediate effect on the heart, lessening the number of its pulsations ; but effecting this in a singular manner — not by causing the heart to beat more slowly, but pro- 1 . ° . . . . , . h clucing certani nitermissions or pauses ni its action. When these become marked — when at every sixth or seventh beat, the pulsations are suspended while two or three can be slowly counted, this is pre- cisely the effect that is intended to be produced, and, however ill the horse may appear to be, or however alarming this intermittent pulse may seem to the standers-by, from that moment the animal will frequently begin to amend. The dose must then be diminished one-half, and, in a few days, it may be omitted altogether : but the emetic tartar and the nitre shoidd be continued during some days after the practitioner has deemed it prudent to try the effect of mild vegetable tonics. There is no danger in the intermittent pulse thus produced ; but there is mucli when the digitalis fails to produce any effect on the circula- tion. The disease is then too powerful to be arrested by medicine. Digitalis requires watching ; but N^he only consequence to be apprehended from an over-dose is, that the patient may be reduced a little too low, and his convalescence retarded for a day or two. In the form of infusion or tincture, digitalis is very useful in inflammation of the eyes. It is almost equal in its sedative influence to opium, and it may with great advantage be alternated with it, when opium begins to lose its power. The infusion is made by pouring a quart of boiling water on an ounce of the powder. When it is become cold, a portion of the liquid may be intro- duced into the eye. One or two drops of the tincture may be introduced with good effect. This may be obtained by macerating three ounces of the digitalis in a quart of spirit. The infusion has been sei-viceable in mange ; but there are better applications. Diuretics constitute a useful but much abused class of medicines. They stimulate the kidneys to secrete more than the usual quantity of urine, or to separate a greater than ordinaiy proportion of the watery parts of the blood. The deficiency of water in the blood, thus occasioned, must be speedily supplied or the healthy circulation cannot be carried on, and it is generally supplied by the absorbents taking up the watery fluid in some part of the frame, and carrying it into the circulation. Hence the evident use of diuretics in dropsical affections, in swelled legs, and also in inflammation and fever, by lessening the quantity of the circu- lating fluid, and, consequently, that which is sent to the inflamed parts. All this is effected by the kidneys being stimulated to increased action ; but if this stimulus is too often or too violently applied, the energy of the kidney may be impaired, or inflammation may be produced. That inflammation may be of an acute character, and destroy the patient ; or, although not intense in its nature, it may by frequent repetition assume a chronic form, and more slowly, but as surely, do irreparable mischief. Hence the necessity of attention to that portion of the food which may have a diuretic power. Mow- burnt hay and foxy oats are the unsuspected causes of many a disease in the horse, at first obscure, but ultimately referable to injury or inflammation of the urinary organs. Hence, too, the impropriety of suffering medicines of a diuretic nature to be at the command of the ignorant carter or groom. In swelled legs, cracks, grease, or accumulation of fluid in any part, and in those superficial eruptions and inflammations which are said to be produced by humours floating in the blood, diuretics are evidently beneficial ; but they should be as mild as possible, and not oftener given or continued longer than the case requires. For some cautions as to the administration of diuretics, the reader is referred to p. 409. The expensive Castile soap, and camphor, so often resorted to, are not needed, for the common liquid turpentine is quite sufficient in all ordinaiy cases, and nitre and digitalis may be added if fever is suspected. Drinks. — Many practitioners and horse-pro- prietors have a great objection to the administra- tion of medicines in the form of drinks. A drink is not so portable as a ball, it is more troublesome to give, and a portion of it is usually wasted. If the drink contains any acid substance, it is apt to excoriate the mouth, or to irritate the throat already sore from disease, or the unpleasant taste of the drug may unnecessarily nauseate the horse. There are some medicines, however, which must be given in the form of drink, as in colic ; and the time, perhaps, is not distant when purgatives will be thus administered, as more speedy, and safer in their operation. In cases of much debility and entire loss of appetite, all medicine should be given in solution, for the stomach may not have sufficient power to dissolve the paper in which the ball is wrapped, or the substance of the ball. An ox's bom, the larger end being cut slant- ingly, is the usual and best instrument for adminis- tering drinks. The noose of a halter is introduced into the mouth, and then, by means of a stable fork, the head is elevated by an assistant consider- ably higher than for the delivery of a ball. Ths 511 woiiml for this pHrjxf«> : it ia tii)ii !' tbe 1 a li. refii- inii\ mill : to til BCtll . to Im : corduilo, (tlie Hkiii a till' excii. BUT)- I as Lt tlio animal lu slow I sonii I been wJirii THFlORSK. r" ca-4 fhi' ton?: hand will bear. The bene6t that might be derived from them is much impaired bvthe absurd mrthod in wlui'li the fomentation!) are conduc-ted. They I • :. .. 1 ! : „' •" . ijh. and when they i : ■ • t and uncuTered, _ . I!.' -- ■•! . ■• i\' ! ■■■ 'U -'!■ •■' ''l- t.. llip heal of fomentation. Tbc|«T»|iii ,1 dpiilr rhecked ; the animal suffer- •!■ harm is done by the < "i :iire than if the foment;. i ^ . n .1. iiAN stands at the head of the :iui is a stumarhir as well as , ...i\ II-. Ill] in chronic debility, nn.i - . li-.-.iucnt on st'Vfre and jt- li I- j;i-nerHlly uniteil with cltank..iuil^ ger, and, when tlie |>atii-iit will l>«-ar it. of iron. Four dmchms <>f gentian, two of chl mile, one of carlunate of irvin. and one of gin| will make un excellent tonic ball. An infu&ion1 itian is one of the best applications to putrid lOEB is as valuable as a cordial, as fjentiRn It is the basis of the cordial ball, usable in the tonic ball. Although powder, the veterinar.- pmciitioner ihaseit in its stilid fonn. If the .and not wonn-eatt-n. tbf bliick as the white, and cotisiderably wdrr i=: n )u!ti-ratee u->. .1 witli rful nau-.o.ii!t. audi ncy of the ]>ul?«,j 1 effect in variou ■ ■■ ■' 'miptA I tha nnd r.i b..th htute ^ genei ,' of a I l«en u cankti. punition, ail ' tiiiiiH. Ah II liuit, nnd it I I'llOTON I t>in mil b.i iimry pnicti. . iiiiiiifiiiiirial . iH.tterful puin.ia, A from it, und u^d by tl. *'». ^^k Hellef.:?-^ ■ This is used l - - such it is Stanley. :" fistulous aiit^...^ - considerable suicess. and exit being giveu : allowed to discharge . - being dressed with ai: When the pus assun — introduces a few pen: - - root, passing them do .^^.- and letting them remain Ir in the mean time, merely ker:; parts clean. On examinatjoo . . >■ . the healing process has commenceid. Professor Morton adds, that formed of the powder of either the Hellebore, in the proportion of o; powder to eight of lard, will be foun . tv i ..'.._': active for the dressing of rowels and sAjs.* Hemlock is used by some practaners. in- stead of digitalis or hellebore, in aflV tns of the chest, whether acute or chronic ; but n inferior to both. The dose of the powder The dried leaves is about a drachm. Hydrargyrum. — This metal is I'ojd native in many countries in the form of minulgiobules. It also occurs in masses, and in differei varieties of crystallization. It has the singular j:>perty of being liquid in the natural temperatt of our earth. It freezes, or assumes a sinp^- sjn-cies of crystallization, at 99' below 0 of b\.. and at 660° above 0 of Fah. it boils, and raply evapo- rates. In its metallic state it appears i liave no action on the animal system, but it-; onpounds are mostly powerful excitants, and s-in of them are active caustics. The Common Mercurial Ointment ny be used for ruMMM^iyaQd that species of uctis which ource, or the prf cnrsr.i-f mange. ' useful r most mange, ■ i'ii- ' .med to "I'i'i:' ■ . iderable lb. I lilt. I.y rub- ion of niil no M7 Tl is eniploveti with considerable ndvantago in prepi»Ting sjiients, sjwvins, or other k^ny or callous timiouTs. for bhstoring or firing. l^no or two drechnis. according to tlie nnturr and size of the ^jwellinp. may l>e daily well rul>bod in ; but it should he i»Mcl«>d. for ii soiuetimes salivates the hnT<«> vsrr speedily. Tlie tumours more readily " "^ " "— -' \qrion of a stroiifjer stinui- ^Bs prejinn-ii Mer- ~ I sonii il" pos- 1 get it uggist : isgh%. A- -itxm . l>egii!^ to tinut i ( in arre-^tinsr tl the horse, attempt to the iirihii'iice of seeni> \" linve lie (.'urrvsi ride of xv double prii|'c'Mi..i should l>e given in do> gradually increa-sed to is purged, or the mouth brcii may be omitted for a few days, uu have recommended it as a diuretic, gerous a medicine for thin puqM>se. It i>. extenially in solution ; in Hulmtance in quiti a stimulant to foul ulcers ; and in the pr.i. of five grains to an ounce of rectified spiui stinale mange, or to destroy vermin on th. It is, however, too uncertain and too .iimj:. . medicine for the hontoi-r • use. jEthiop't Mineral, tl cury, is not often used i a good alteralivp f<>r "> - of the skin, i ' drachms of ' added to ea< Isnsii ^ table suUiia: water. Dr iBon mil green ttMe .-,.„.«; w., tuaam t* W mammL mm<. 548 THE HOESE. previously pounded or powdered, and the vessel then covei'ed and placed near a fire. In five or six hours the transparent part may be poured off, and is ready for use. In a fevs' days, however, all infusions become thick, and lose their virtue, from the decomposition of the vegetable matter. The infusion of chamomile is advantageously used instead of water in compounding a mild tonic drench. The infusion of catechu is useful in astringent mixtures ; that of linseed is used in- stead of common water in catarrh and cold ; and the infusion of tobacco in some injections. loDTNE. — This substance has not been long introduced into veterinary jiractice. The first object which it seemed to accomplish, was the re- duction of the enlarged glands that frequently re- main after catarrh, but it soon appeared that it could reduce almost every species of tumour. Much concerned in the first introduction of iodine into veterinaiy practice, the writer of the present ■work bears willing testimony to the zeal and suc- cess of others, in establishing the claims of this most valuable medicine. Professor Jlorton has devoted much time aud labour to the different combinations of iodine, and they are described at length in his useful " Manual of Pharmacy." He gives the formulte of the composition of a liniment, an ointment, and a tinctui'e of iodine, adapted to different species and stages of disease. He next describes the prejjaratiou of the iodide of potassium — the combination of iodine and potash, — and then the improvement on that under the name of the diniodide of copper — the union of two parts of the iodide of potassium with four of the sulphate of copper. The action of this compound is an admirable tonic and a stimulant to the absorbent system, if combined with vegetable tonics, and, occasionally, small doses of cantharides. Professor Spooner and Mr. Daws ajjplied this compound, and with marked success, to the alleviation of farcy, nasal gleet, and glanders. It is pleasing to witness these triumphs over disease, a little while ago so unexpected, and now so assured. Juniper, Oil of. — This essential oil is retained because it has some diuretic property, as well as being a pleasant aromatic. It frequently enters into the composition of the diuretic ball. Lead, Plumbum. — The Carbonate of Lead has a deleterious effect on the biped and the qua- druped in the neighbourhood of lead works. They are subject to violent griping pains, and to consti- pation that can with great difficulty, or not at all, be overcome. Something of the same kind is occasionally observed in the cider couuties, and the " painter's colic" is a circumstance of too fre- quent occurrence — the occasional dreadful pains, and the ravenous appetite extending to everything that comes in the way of the animal. Active purgatives followed by opium are the most effec- tual remedies. The Acetate of Lead, Plumbi Acetas. — Sugar of Lead is seldom given externally to the horse, but is used as a collyrium for inflammation of the eyes. The Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis, or Goulard's Extract, or, as it used to be termed at the Veteri- nary College, the Aqua Vegeto, is a better colly- rium, and advantageously used in external and superficial inflammation, and particularly the inflammation that remains after the application of a blister. Lime was formerly sprinlded over cankered feet, and greasy heels, but there are less painful caustics, and more effectual absorbents of moisture. Lime-water is rarely used, but the Chloride of Lime is exceedingly valuable. Diluted with twenty times its quantity of water, it helps to form the poultice applied to every part from which there is the slightest offensive discharge. The fostid smell of fistulous withei's, poll-evil, canker, and ill-conditioned wounds, is immediately re- moved, and the ulcers are more disposed to heal. When mangy horses are dismissed as cured, a washing with the diluted chloride will remove any infection that may lurk about them, or which they may carry from the place in which they have been confined. One pint of the chloride mixed with three gallons of water, and brushed over the walls and manger and rack of the foulest stable, will completely remove all infection. Professor Mor- ton, very properly, says that the common practice of merely whitewashing the walls serves only to cover the infectious matter, and perhaps to preserve it for an indefinite length of time, so that when the lime scales off, disease may be again engendered by the exposed virus. The horse furniture worn by a glandered or, mangy animal will be effectually purified by the chloride. Inter- nally administered, it seems to have little or no power. Liniments are oily applications of the consis- tence of a thick fluid, and designed either to soothe an inflamed surface, or, by gently stimula- ting the sldn, to remove deeper-seated pain or inflammation. As an emollient liniment, one composed of half an ounce of extract of lead and four ounces of olive oil will be useful. For sprains, old swellings, or rheumatism, two ounces of hartshorn, the same quantity of camphorated spirit, an ounce of oil of turpentine, and half an ounce of laudanum may be mixed together ; or an ounce of camphor may be dissolved in four ounces of sweet oil, to which an ounce of o.il of turpentine may be afterwards added. A little powdered can- tharides, or tincture of cantharides, or mustard powder, will render either of these more powerful, or convert it into a liquid blister. THE HORSE. 549 Linseed. — An infusion of linseed is often used instead of water, for tlie drink of the liorse witli sore-tliroat or catarrh, or disease of tlie urinary organs, or of the bowels. A pail contain- ing it should be slung in the stable or loose box. Thin gruel, however, is preferable ; it is as bland and soothing, and it is more nutritious. Linseed meal forms the best poultice for almost every purpose. Magnesia. — The sulphate of magnesia, or KpsoM Salts, should be used only in promoting the purgative effect of clysters, or, in repeated doses of si.K or eight ounces, gently to open the bowels at the commencement of fever. Some doubt, however, attends the latter practice ; for the dose must occasionally be thrice repeated before it will act, and then, although safer than aloes, it may produce too much irritation in the intestinal canal, especially if the fever is the pre- cursor of inflammation of the lungs. Mashes constitute a very important part of horse-provender, whether in sickness or health. A mash given occasionally to a horse that is other- wise fed on dry meat prevents him from becoming dangerously costive. To the over-worked and tired horse nothing is so refreshing as a warm mash with his usual allowance of corn in it. The art of getting a horse into apparent condition for sale, or giving him a round and plump appearance, consists principally in the frequent repetition of mashes, and from their easiness of digestion and the mild nutriment whicli they afford, as well as their laxative effect, they form the principal diet of the sick horse. They are made by pouring boiling water on bran, and stirring it well, and then covering it over until it is sufficiently cool for the horse to eat. If in the heat of summer a cold mash is preferred, it should, nevertheless, be made with hot water, and then suffered to remain until it is cold. This is not always sufficiently attended to by the groom, who is not aware that the efficacy of the mash depends principally on the change which is effected in the bran and the other ingre- dients by the boiling water rendering them more easy of digestion, as well as more aperient. If the horse refuses the mash, a few oats may be sprinkled over it, in order to tempt him to eat it ; but if it is previously designed that corn should be given in the mash, it should be scalded with the bran, in order to soften it and render it more digestible. Bran mashes are very useful prepara- tives for physic, and thej' are necessaiy during the operation of the physic. They very soon become sour, and the manger of the horse of whose diet they form a principal part should be daily and carefully cleaned out. When horses are weakly and much reduced, malt mashes will often be vei-y palatable to them and very nutritive : but the water that is poured on a malt mash should he consideralily below the boiling heat, otherwise the malt will be set, or clogged together. If the owner was aware of the value of a malt mash, it would be oftener given when the horse is rapidly getting weaker from protracted disease, or when he is beginning to recover from a disease by which he has been much reduced. The only exception to their use is in cases of chest affection, in which they must not be given too early. In grease, and in mange accom- panied by much emaciation, malt mashes will be peculiarly useful, especially if they constitute a principal portion of the food. Mustard, Sinapis. — This will be found occa- sionally useful, if, in inflammation of the chest or bowels, it is well rubbed on the chest or the abdomen. The external swelling and irritation which it excites may, to a greater or less degree, abate the inflammation within. Myrrh may be used in the form of tincture or it may be united to the tincture of aloes as a stimulating and digestive application to wounds. Diluted with an equal quantity of water, it is a good application for canlier in the mouth, but as an internal medicine it seems to be inert, although some practitioners advocate its use, combined with opium, in cases of chronic cough. Nitrous Ether, Spirit of, is a very useful medicine in the advanced stages of fever, for while it, to a certain degree, rouses the exhausted powers of the animal, and may be denominated a stimulant, it never brings back the dangerous febrile action which was subsiding. It is given in doses of three or four drachms. Olive Oil is an emollient and demulcent. Its laxative effect is veiy inconsiderable and uncertain in the horse. Opium. — However underrated by some, there is not a more valuable drug on our list. It does not often act as a narcotic, except in considerable doses ; but it is a powerful antispasmodic, seda- tive, and astringent. As an antispasmodic, it enters into the oholic drink, and it is the sheet- anchor of the veterinarian in the treatment of tetanus or locked jaw. As a sedative, it relaxes that universal spasm of the muscular system which is the characteristic of tetanus ; and, perhaps, it is only as a sedative that it has such admirable effect as an astringent, for when the irritation around the mouths of the vessels of the intestines and kidneys is allayed by the opium, the undue purging and profuse staling will necessaiily be arrested. Opium should, however, be given with caution. It is its secondary effect that is sedative, and, if given in cases of fever, its primaiy effect in increas- ing the excitation of the frame may be very con- siderable, and highly injuiious. In the eaily cud X N 550 THE HORSE. acute stage of fever, it would lie bad practice to give it in tlie smallest quautity ; but wlieu the fever has passed, or is passing, there is nothing which BO rapidly subdues the irritability that accompanies extreme weakness. It becomes an excellent tonic, because it is a sedative. If the blue or green vitriol, or cantharides, have been pushed too far, opium, sooner than any other drag, quiets the disorder they have occasioned. It is given in doses of one or two drachms, in the form of a ball. Other medicines are usually com- bined with it, according to the circumstances of the case. Externally, it is useful in ophthalmia. In the form of decoction of the poppy-head, it may consti- tute the basis of an anodjaie poultice ; but it must not be given in union with any alkali, with the excejation of chalk, in over-purging ; nor with the superacetate of lead, by which its powers are ma- terially impaired ; nor witli sulphate of zinc, or copper, or iron. From its high price it is much adulterated, and it is not always met with in a state of purity. The best tests are its smell, its taste, its toughness and pliancy, its fawn or brown colour, and its weight, for it is the heaviest of all the vegetable extracts, except gum arable ; yet its weight is often fraudu- lently increased by stones and bits of lead dexter- ously concealed in it. The English opium is almost as good as the Turkish, and frequently sold for it ; but is distinguishable by its blackness and softness. Palm Oil, when genuine, is the very best sub- stance that can be used for making masses and balls. It has a pleasant smell, and it never becomes rancid. Pitch is used to give adhesiveness and firm- ness to charges and plasters. The common pitch is quite as good as the more expensive Pm-gundy pitch. The best plaster for sandcrack consists of one pound of pitch and an ounce of yellow bees'- wax melted together. PiiYsif). — The cases which require physic, the composition of the most effectual and safest physic- ball, and the mode of treatment under jihysic, have been already described. Potash. — Two compounds of potash are used in veterinary practice. The Nitrate of Potash (^Nitre) is a valuable cooling medicine and a mild diuretic, and, therefore, it should enter into the composition of every fever-ball. Its dose is from two to four drachms. Grooms often dissolve it in the water. There are two objections to this : either the horse is nauseated and will not drink so much water as he ought : or the salt taste of the water causes considerable thirst, and disinclination to solid food. Nitre, while dissolving, materially lowers the temperature of water, and furnishes a very cold and useful lotion for sprain of the back sinews, and other local inflammations. The lotion should be used as soon as the salt is dissolved, for it quickly becomes as warm as the surrounding air. The Bitartrate of Potash {Cream of Tartar) is a mild diuretic, and, combined with .^thiop's mine- ral, is used as an alterative in obstinate mange or gi'ease. The objection, however, to its use in such an animal as the horse, is the little power which it seems to exercise. Poultices. — Few horsemen are aware of the value of these simple applications in abating inflam- mation, relieving pain, cleansing wounds, and dis- posing them to heal. They are applications of the best kind contmued much longer than a simple fomentation can be. In all inflammations of the foot they are very beneficial, by softening the horn hardened by the heat of the foot and contracted and pressing on the internal and highly sensible paits. The moisture and warmth are the useful qualities of the poultice ; and that poultice is the best for general purposes in which moisture and warmth are longest retained. Perspiration is most abundantly promoted in the part, the pores are opened, swellings are relieved, and discharges of a healthy nature prociu'ed from wounds. Linseed meal forms the best general poultice, because it longest retains the moistm-e. Bran, although frequently used for poultices, is objection- able, because it so soon becomes diy. To abate con- siderable inflammation, and esjiecially in a wounded part, Goulard may be added, or the linseed meal may be made into a paste with a decoction of poppy- heads. To promote a healthy discharge from an old or foul ulcer ; or separation of the dead from the living parts, in the process of what is called coring out ; or to hasten the ripening of a tumour that must be opened ; or to cleanse it when it is opened, — two ounces of common turpentine may be added to a pound of linseed meal : but nothing can be so absurd, or is so injurious, as the addition of turpentine to a poultice that is designed to be an emollient. The drawing poultices and stoppings of larriers are often highly injurious, instead of abating inflammation. If the ulcer smells offensively, two ounces of powdered charcoal may be added to the linseed meal, or the poultice may be made of water, to which a solution of the chloride of lime has been added in the proportion of half an ounce to a pound. As an emollient poultice for grease and cracked heels, and especially if accompanied by much un- pleasant smell, there is nothing preferable to a poultice of mashed carrots with charcoal. For old grease some slight stimulant must be added, as a tie yeast or the grounds of table-beer. There are two errore in the application of a poultice, and particularly as it regards the legs. It is often put on too tight, by means of which the return of the blood from the foot is prevented, and THE HORSE. .051 the disease is increased instead of lessened ; or it is too hot, and unnecessary j'^'ii is given, and the inflammation aggravated. PuwDEUs. — Some horses are very difficult to ball or drench, and the violent struggle that would accompany the attempt to conquer them may heighten the fever or inflammation. To such horses powders must be given in mashes. Emetic tartar and digitalis may be generally used in cases of inflammation or fever ; or emetic tartar for worms ; or calomel or even the farina of the crotou nut for physic : but powders are too often an e.\euse for the laziness or awkwardness of the carter or groom. The horse frequently refuses them, espe- cially if his appetite has otherwise begun to fail : the powder and the mash are wasteti, and the animal is unnecessarily nauseated. All medicine should be given in the form of ball or drink. Raking. — This consists in introducing the hand into the rectum of the horse, and drawing out any hardened dung that may be there. It may be necessary in costiveness or fever, if a clyster pipe cannot be obtained; but an injection will better effect the purpose, and with less inconvenience to the animal. The introduction of the hand into the rectum is, however, useful to ascertain the existence of stone in the bladder, or the degree of distension of the bladder in suppression of urine, for the bladder mil be easily felt below the intestine, and, at the same time, by the heat of the intestine, the degree of inflammation in it or in the bladder may be detected. Resin. — The yellow resin is that which remains after the distillation of oil of turpentine. It is used e.xternally to give consistence to ointments, and to render them slightly stimulant. Internally it is a useful diuretic, and is given in doses of five or si.^ drachms made into a ball with soft soap. The common liquid tm-pentine is, however, preferable. Rowels. — The manner of rowelling has been already described. As exciting inflammation on the surface, and so lessening that which had pre- viously e.xisted in a neighbouring but deeper- seated part, they are decidedly inferior to blisters, for they do not act so quicldy or so extensively ; therefore they should not be used in acute inflam- mation of the lungs or bowels, or any vital part. When the inflammation, however, although not intense, has long continued, rowels will be ser- viceable by producing an irritation and discharge that can be better kept up than by a blister. As promoting a permanent, although not very considerable discharge, and some inflammation, rowels in the thighs are useful in swelled legs, and obstinate grease. If fluid is throwni out under the skin in any other part, the rowel acts as a permanent drain. When sprain of the joint or the muscles of the shoulders is suspected, a rowel in the chest will be serviceable. The wound caused by a rowel will readily heal, and with little blemish, unless the useless leather of the farrier has been inserted. Secale cornutum, tlie Ergot of Rye. — This is well known to be an excitant in assisting parturition in cattle, sheep, and dogs. It has been used with success in the mare by Mr. Richardson, of Lincoln. It should only be applied in difficult cases, and the dose should be two drachms, combined with some carminative, and given every hour. Sedatives are medicines that subdue irritation, repress spasmodic action, or deaden pain. We will not inquire whether they act first as stimulants • if they do, their effect is exceedingly transient, and is quickly followed by depression and diminished action. Digitalis, hellebore, opium, turpentine, are medicines of this kind. Their effect in differ- ent diseases or stages of disease, and the circum stances which indicate the use of any one of them in preference to the rest, are considered under their respective titles. Soda. — The Carbonate of Soda is a useful antacid, and probaldy a diuretic, but it is not much used in veterinary practice. The Chloride of Soda is not so eflicacious for the removal of unpleasant smells and all infection as the chloride of lime ; but it is exceedingly useful in changing malignant and corroding and destructive sores into the state of simple ulcers, and in ulcers that are not malignant it much hastens the cure. Poll-evil and fistulous withers are much benefited by it, and all farcy ulcers. It is used in the proportion of one part of the solution to twenty- four of water. SoDii Chloeidum, Common Salt, is very extensively employed in veterinary practice. It forms an efficacious aperient clyster, and a solu- tion of it has been given as an aperient drink. Sprinkled over the hay, or in a mash, it is veiy palatable to sick horses ; and in that languor and disinclination to food which remain after severe illness, few things will so soon recall the appetite as a drink composed of six or eight ounces of salt in solution. To horses in health it is more useful than is generally imagined, as promoting the digestion of the food, and, consequently condition. Externally applied, there are few better lotions for inflamed eyes than a solution of half a drachm of salt in four otinces of water. In the proportion of an ounce of salt to the same quantity of water, it is a good embrocation for sore shouldere and backs ; aud if it does not always dispei-se warbles and tumoui's, it takes away much of the tenderness of the skin. Sod.e Sulphas. — Sulphate of Soda. — Glauber's Salt. — This medicine is seldom used in ths treat- ment of the horse. It appears to have some diuretic property. Soap is supposed to possess a diuretic quality, K N 3 552 THE HORSE. and tlierefore enters into the composition of some diuretic masses. See Resin. By many prac- titioners it is made an ingredient in the physic- ball, but uselessly or even injuriously so ; for if the aloes are finely powdered and mixed with palm oil, they will dissolve readily enough in the bowels without the aid of the soap, while the action of the soap on the kidneys will impair the purgative effect of the aloes. Starch may be substituted with advantage for gruel in obstinate cases of pm-ging, both as a clyster, and to support the strength of the animal. Stoppings constitute an important, but too often neglected part of stable management. If a horse is irregularly or seldom worked, his feet are deprived of moisture ; they become hard and unyielding and brittle, and disposed to com and contraction and founder. The very dung of a neglected and filthy stable woidd be preferable to habitual standing on the cleanest litter without stopping. In wounds, and braises', and corns, moisture is even more necessaiy, in order to supple the horn, and relieve its pressure on the tender parts beneath. As a common stopping, nothing is better than cow-dung with a fourth part of clay well beaten into it, and confined with splents from the binding or larger twigs of the broom. In cases of wounds a little tar may be added ; but tar, as a common stopping, is too stimulating and diying. Pads made of thick felt have lately been contrived, which are fitted to the sole, and, swelling on being wetted, are sufficiently confined by the shoe. Having been well saturated with water, they vsill continue moist during the night. They are veiy useful in gentlemen's stables ; but the cow-dung and clay are sufficient for the farmer. Strychnia. — This drug has frequently been employed with decided advantage in cases of paralysis in the dog ; and lately, and with decided advantage, it has been administered to the horse. The dose is from one to three gi-ains, given twice in the day. Sulphur is the basis of the most effectual applications for mange. It is an excellent alterative, combined usually with antimony and nitre, and particularly for mange, surfeit, grease, hide-bound, or want of condition ; and it is a useful ingredient in the cough and fever ball. When given alone, it seems to have little effect, except as a laxative in doses of six or eight ounces ; but there are much better aperients. The black sulphur consists principally of the dross after the pure sulphur has been separated. Tar melted with an equal quantity of grease forms the usual stoj)ping of the fanier. It is a ■warm, or slightly stimulant and therefore useful, dressing for bruised or wounded feet ; but its principal virtue seems to consist in preventing the penetration of dirt and water to the wounded part. As a common stopping it has been considered objectionable. From its warm and diying proper- ties it is the usual and proper basis for thrush ointments ; and from its adhesiveness, and slightly stimulating power, it often forms an ingredient in applications for mange. Some practitioners give it, and advantageously, with the usual cough medicine, and in doses of two or three drachms for chronic cough. The common tar is as effectual as the Barbadoes for every veterinary pnrpose. The oil, or spirit (rectified oil) of tar is sometimes used alone for the cure of mange, but it is not to be depended upon. The spirit of tar, mixed with double the quantity of fish oil, is, from its peculiar penetrating property, one of the best applications for hard and brittle feet. It should be well rubbed with a brush, every night, both on the crust and sole. Tinctures. — The medicinal properties of many substances are extracted by spirit of wine, but in such small quantities as to be scarcely available for internal use in veterinary practice. So much aloes or opium must be given in order to produce effect on the horse, that the quantity of spirit necessary to dissolve it woidd be injurious or might be fatal. As applications to wounds or inflamed surfaces, the tinctures of aloes, digitalis, myrrh, and opium, are highly useful. Tobacco, in the hands of the skilful veterina- rian, may be advantageously employed in cases of extreme costiveness, or dangerous cholic ; but should never be permitted to be used as an exter- nal application for the cure of mange, or an internal medicine to promote a fine coat. Tonics are valuable medicines when judiciously employed ; but, like cordials, thej' have been fatally abused. Many a horse recovering from severe disease has been destroyed by their too earl}', or too free use. The veterinaiy surgeon occasionally administers them injuriously, in his anxiety to gratify the impatience of his employer. The mild vegetable tonics, chamomile, gentian, and ginger, and, perhaps, the carbonate of iron, may sometimes be given with benefit, and may hasten the perfect recovery of the patient ; but there are few prin- ciples more truly founded on reason and experience, than, that disease once removed, the powers of nature are sufficient to re-establish health. Against the more powerful mineral tonics, except for the particular purposes that have been pointed out under the proper heads, the horse proprietor and the veterinarian should be on his guard. Turpentine.- — The common liquid tui-pentine has been described as one of the best diuretics, in doses of half an ounce, and made into a ball with linseed meal and powdered ginger. It is added to the calamine or any other mild ointment in order to render it stimulating and digestive, and, from its THE HORSE. 5^^ adhesiveness aud slight stimulating power, it is an ingredient in mange ointments. The oil of tur- pentine is an excellent antispasmodic. For the removal of cholic it stands unrivalled. Forming a tincture with cantharides, it is the basis of the sweating blister for old strains and swellings. As a blister it is far inferior to the common ointment. As a stimulant frequently applied it must be suf- ficiently lowered, or it may blemish. Wax. — The yellow wax is used in charges and some plasters to render them less brittle. Zinc. — The impure carbonate of zinc, under the name of Calamine Powder, is used in the pre- paration of a valuable healing ointment, called Turner's Cerate. Five parts of lard and one of resin are melted together, and when these begin to get cool, two parts of the calamine, reduced to an impalpable powder, are stirred in. If the wound is not healthy, a small quantity of common turpentine may be added. This salve justly de- serves the name which it has gained, " The Healing Ointment." Tlie calamine is sometimeg sprinkled with advantage on cracked heels and superficial sores. The sulphate of zinc. White Vitriol, in the pro- portion of three grains to an ounce of water, is an excellent application in ophthalmia, when the in- flammatory stage is passing over ; and quittor is most successfully treated by a saturated solution of white vitriol being injected into the sinuses. A solution of white vitriol of less strength forms a wash for grease that is occasionally useful, when the alum or blue vitriol does not appear to succeed. ZiNGiBERis Radix. — Ginger Root. — Tiiis is an admirable stimulant and carminative. It is useful in loss of appetite and flatulent cholic, while it rouses the intestinal canal to its proper action. The cordial mass resorted to by the best surgeons con- sists of equal parts of ginger and gentian beaten into a mass with treacle. ON DRAUGHT. The investigation of the subject of draught by animal power, to which this treatise is devoted, . ^ aud which will form an appropriate supplement to ■ ' an account of the Horse, — has frequently occupied the attention of theoretical and practical men ; so much so, that our object wOl be to collect what has been said and done, and, by arranging it methodi- cally, to show in what manner the information may be applied and rendered useful, rather than to at- tempt to produce anything absolutely new upon the subject. Notwithstanding, however, all that has been written, if we open any of the authors who have treated the subject, in the hope of obtaining direct practical information, we shall be much dis- appointed. It might have been expected that the particular result of every method known aud in use for the conveyance of a load from one spot to another, by animal power, whether by sledges, by wheel- carriages, or by water, as in canals, being so con- stantlj' and necessarily a matter of practical ex- periment, would have been accurately known and recorded ; — but the contrary is too much the case. The theoretical investigations have been made with too little reference to what really takes place in practice; and the practical portion of the subject has not generally been treated in that useful and comprehensive manner which it deserves and de- mands. In fact, there is hardly a question in practical mechanics on which, though much has been written, opinions are apparently less fixed ; or on which the information we do possess is in a less defined and available state. One great object of research has been the average force of traction or power of the horse. If we consult the most approved authors and experimentalists, Desaguilliers, Smeaton, &c., we find this power variously stated as equal to 80 lbs., 100 lbs., 150 lbs., and even 200 lbs. : we are there- fore left almost as ignorant as before ; but the knowledge of this average power is fortunately of little importance in practice. It is the knowledge of the best application, and of the effect, of that power which alone is useful ; and these are governed by circumstances so varying and dissimilar, such as the form and state of the road, the stnicture of the carriage, the size and friction of the wheels, &c., &c., that scarcely any two cases of draught would, as regards the effect of the power of the horse, pre- sent the same results. The difl'erence of opinion here manifest is still greater when existing on a purely practical ques- tion. In the inquiries instituted by a committee of the House of Commons in 1806 and 1808, on the subject of roads and carriages, two well-infonned practical men, Mr. Ptussell of Exeter, and Mr. Deacon of Islington, the most extensive can-iers in England, were examined upon an important ques- tion, viz., the advantage or disadvantage of a par ticular form of wheel. It was stated by one that, having given the wheels in question a twelve months' trial, he found that they tended to injure the road and increase the draught in the propor- tion of four to five ; while it was stated by the other, who had also made the experiment on a large scale, that he fomid they materially assisted 554 THE HOKSE. in keeping the roads in repair, and Jiminislied the draught in the proportion of five to four. Amidst such conflicting and contradictory opin- ions it would appear difficult to come to any useful conclusion, and we might naturally be disposed to adopt a very common practice, that of taking an average result. A little consideration, however, will show that ihese apparent discrepancies and contradictions arise, in great meastu'e, from attempting to gene- ralise and apply to practice the results of experi- ments made in, and therefore applicable only to, particulai' cases. ■ The results of experiments tlius made at various times and places, and without that identity of con- dition and circumstance so necessary when standard rules are to be deduced from them, have, neverthe- less been used for that purpose ; and this circum- stance, combined with the variety of distinct points to be considered before we can estimate accurately what even constitutes draught, will peAaps account for the disagreement among the practical and scien- tific authorities alluded to. We must therefore examine severally aU these points ; and then, by considering their relative bearing upon each other, we may hope to reconcile the ditferent opinions advanced, without which we cannot collect from them any information which "will lead us to a practical and beneficial result. We shall proceed to divide the subject under separate and distinct heads, and under each head to examine the methods or means now in use, or which have been proposed, and endeavour to estimate their comparative advantages by availing ourselves of what is already written and known upon each. It will be necessary first, however, to explain and define clearly some terms which will occur frequently in the course of this paper, and especially the word " draught," which is itself the title of the treatise. This word is used in such a very general and vague sense, that it would be difficult, if not im- possible, to give an explanation which should apply equally to all its different meanings. In the expression " draught by animal power," it would seem to mean the action itself of drawing ; while, on the other hand, it is frequently used to signify the amount of power employed, as well as the degree of resistance — as when we say the draught of a horse, or the draught of a carriage. " Draught power" is also an expression used. We shall, however, confine our use of the word to the two meanings — draught, the action of dragging; and drauyht, the amount of resistance to the power employed to drag any given weight. " Force of traction," is another expression re- quiring explanation ; but here we must enter into more detail, and give a practical illustration of oui- meaning. A force is most conveniently measured by the weiglit which it would be capable of raising ; but it is not therefore necessarily applied vertically, in which direction weight or gravity acts. If a weight of 100 lbs. be stispended to a rope, it is clearly exerting upon this rope a force of 100 lbs. ; but if the rope be passed over a pulley void of friction, and continued horizontally, or in any other direction, and then attached to some fixed point, the weight still acts upon all parts of this rope, and consequently upon the point to which it is fixed, with a force equal to 100 lbs. : and so in- versely, if a horse be pulling at a rope with a force which, if the rope were passed over a pulley, would raise 100 lbs., the force of traction of the horse is in this case 100 lbs. Spring steel-yards being now commonly in use, we may be permitted to refer to them as affording another clear exem- plification of our meaning. In pulling at a steel- yard of this description, if the same force be ex- erted, whether horizontally or vertically, the index will, of course, sho\x the same amount ; and, con- sequently, if the strength of the horse be measured by attaching the traces to one of these steel-yards, the number of pounds indicated on the dial will be the exact measure of the strain the horse exerts, and the amount of strain is called his " force of traction." Having fixed as nearly as possible the meaning of these terms, which will frequently occur in the course of our progi-ess, we shall proceed to the divi- sion of the subject. It is evident that there are three distinct agents and points of consideration in the operation of draught, which are quite independent of each other. They are — fii-st, the moving power and the mode of applying it; secondly, the vehicle for conveying the weight to be moved ; thirdly, the canal, road, or railway, or what may be generally termed the channel of conveyance. All these individually influence the amount of draught, and require separate consideration ; but the mode of combining these dilierent agents has also a material elTect upon the result, — conse- quently, they must be considered in relation to each other ; and to obtain the maximum useful effect, with the greatest economy, in the employ- ment of any given power, it is evidently necessary that these different agents should not only each be the best adapted to its pui-pose, and perfect to the greatest possible degree, but also that they should all be combined to the greatest advantage. We shall proceed, then, to examine the differ- ent agents now employed, the modes of applying them, and the proportionate effects jiroduced. Aud, first, with regard to the species of moving power ; — this may be of two lands, animal aud mechanical. By " animal power" we mean the direct applica- THE HORSE. 555 tion of the streiigtli of any animal to dragging or pulling, as in the simple case of a horse dragging a cart. By " mechanical," the application of any power through the intervention of machinery : the som'ce of power in this latter case may still, how- ever, be animal power, or a purely mechanical agent, as a steam-engine. The latter is the only species of mechanical power which it has been attempted, with any pro- spect of success, to apply practically to locomotion ; and therefore that alone we propose to compare •with the animal power. Now, although these two powers, viz., simple animal power and the steam-engine, may in most instances be applied so as to produce the same effect, and may therefore, to a superficial observer, appear similar ; yet there do e.xist such essential differences in the mode of action, or the means by which the effect is produced, that there are many cases in which the one may be used, wherein the other may be totally inapplicable. In this treatise, draught by animal power is the principal object of consideration ; but as great efforts have been made for many years, and are still now pereeveriugly made, to supersede animal power entirely by mechanical — to dismiss our old servant the horse, and supply his place by the steam-engine — it may be as well, in justice to the former, to say a few words in his defence, and to take a brief view of the distinguishing featm-es of the two agents. To enter into all their respective merits, and to -neigh their comparative advantages in all cir- cumstances, would involve us in many questions foreign to that under our immediate consideration, and would embrace subjects which may supply matter well worthy of our future attention. It is sufficient for our present purpose to show that there still e.-cist great objections to the universal applica- tion of machinery to draught, — objections which do not equally apidy to the use of animal power ; that there are man}' advantages in the latter, which are not yet obtained by the former ; and that animal power continues, for all the ordinary pur- poses of traffic upon common roads, to be the most simple in its application, and certain in its effect. We shall confine ourselves particularly to the consideration of that pai't of the question which relates to the slow transport of heavy goods, as being the most important branch of the subject, especially for agiicultural purposes. Economy is, of course, the grand desideratum in the considera- tion of this question ; consequently, the comparative expense of the two powers, supposing them for the moment equally convenient and applicable, will first demand our attention. A difficulty arises here, however, from the want of a certain measure of compai-ison. The power of a one-horse engine is by no means exactly the same thing as that of a horse. As we have before stated, the mode of applying them being different, the variations in the results are different, and consequently the effects do not bear a constant proportion to each other, in different circumstances : we must therefore be careful not to Ml into the mistake which we have ourselves pointed out as a very common source of error, viz., the drawing general conclusions from data ob- tained in a particular case. We shall take the power of the horse, and tliat of the steam-engine as ascertained practically on railways, whore the effect of each is less influenced by accidental cir- cumstances, and consequently can be better ascer- tauied than on a road. We shall confine our calculations of expense to this particular case, and then endeavour to discover how far the same results are to be expected, or what modifications are likely to take place, and what alterations are to be made in the results under different circum- stances. As regards the first, viz., the compara- tive cost of animal and mechanicjil power on a railway, we cannot do better than quote the words of the late Mr. Tredgold upon this subject, and we accordingly extract the following passage from his work upon Railways : — " The relative expense of different moving powers for railways is an interesting inquiry, and the same materials being necessary to estimate the absolute expense for any time or place, it is desirable to give some particulars to aid the researches of those who wish to make such com- parative estimates. The annual expense of a horse depends on — " 1. The interest of purchase-money. " '2. Decrease of value. " 3. Hazard of loss. " 4. Value of food. " 5. Harness, shoeing, and farriery. " 0. Rent of stabling. " 7. Expense of attendance. " According to the average duration of a horse in a state fit for labour, of the description required on a railway, the first three items may be esti- mated at one-fourth of the purchase-money ; the food, harness, shoeing, etc., included in the 4th, 5th, and Oth, will most likely not exceed £10 per annum, nor yet be much short of that amount ; and supposing one man to attend to two boraes, this would add £15 l'2s. if the man's wages were •2s. per day ; and, at this rate, the labour of a hoi-se, of the value of £30, would cost £60 12s. per year ; or, since there are 319 working days in the year, the daily expense would be os. lOlrf., or 186 fjirthings. But the power of a horse is about 125 lbs. when travelling at the rate of three miles per hour, and the day's work eighteen miles. 556 THE HORSE. " The annual expense of a Ligli-presstire Icco mothe enrrine, or sieam carriage, consists of — " 1. The interet>t of the first cost. " 2. Decrease of valne. " 3. Hazard of accidents. " 4. Value of coals and ivater. " 5. Eenewals and repairs. " 6. Expense of attendance. *' It is difficult to procure these particulars from the experience of those who employ engines ; ve -will therefore annex, by way of example, such sums as we think likely to cover the expense. The first cost of the engine and its carriage may he stated at £50 per horee power, and its decrease of value and hazard will render its annual expense about one-fifth of its first cost, or £*10 per annum per horse power. The expense of fuel and water per day will be not less than one bushel imd a half of coals per horse power, and fourteen cubic feet of water ; and, taking the coals at 6d. per bushel, and the water and loading with fuel at 8d., the annual expense will be £15 12s. ; the renewals and repairs, at 20 per cent, on the first cost, will be £10, which is as little as can he expected to cover them. Attendance, suppose one man and one boy for each six-horse engine, at 6s. per day, or Is. per day for each horse-power, or £15 12s. per annum; therefore the total annual expense of one horse-power would be £51 4s., or 158 farthings per day." — This power is equal to a force of traction of lOGj lbs. for the same number of miles per day as the liorse ; but from this gross amount of power we must deduct that necessary to move the engine with its supply of coals : this will reduce it at least to 155 lbs.; consequently, in the one case we have a force of traction of 125 lbs., at an expense of 186 farthings, and, in the other, a force of 155 lbs. at an expense of 158 farthings ; and reducing them both to one stan- dard quantity of work done, we find the expense of the horse is J4i=l--i^8. and of the locomotive engine, 1.019, or about as 147 is to 100. In this case, therefore, there appears to he a decided economy in the use of the steam-engine, and accordingly its application has become very general, and is becoming more so eveiy day. Let us now examine what alterations are requisite, before we can apply these calculations to the case of draught upon common roads. Sup- posing both species of power equally convenient and applicable, and confining our observations merely to the amount of power and proportionate expense. The force of traction of the horse, and the yearly cost, will remain so nearly the same, that for our present purpose we may consider them quite unaltered. Not exactly so with the locomo- tive engine. All the parts of the machine must be made much stronger and heavier, and consequently more expensi\e, for road- work than for a raihvay, and, therefore, the first cost will be greater — the wear and tear will also be greater, and as the work will be more variable, the consumption of fuel will be increased as well as the price, which, generally speaking, will be much less on a line of railway, than it can possibly be elsewhere. Still all these circumstances will not influence the result so much as the increased effect of the weight of the engine. On a railway, with the carriage as now constructed, the force of traction is not much more than ^-„ or „-^ of the weight moved ; consequently, the power necessaiy to move the engine itself is not veiy considerable. On a road, however, this proportion is materially altered ; here the average force required to move a well-constructed carriage cannot be estimated in practice, at less, even when the roads are in good repair, than ^^ ; the engine, according to the con- stniction of the best locomotive engines now in use, will weigh, with its carriage and fuel, at least one-half ton, or 1120 lbs. per horse power, and ^^ of 1120 is nearly 45 lbs., which we have to deduct from the gross power of the engine, and which leaves only 121f lbs. as the available power. The proportional exjiense of the horse and the steam-engine is now therefore about as 115 to 100, and this without taking into account the causes of increased expenditui'e already alluded to as regards the prime cost, the repairs, and the consumption of fuel. From these calcula- tions it would appear, that even if mechanical power was found as convenient and applicable in practice as horse power, still no great economy can be expected from the employment, upon com- mon roads, of small locomotive engines, such as the best of those now in use, and known to the .public, unless it is in cases where other means may fail to produce some particular effect which may be required ; if, for instance, a considerable velocity is necessary, the power of a horse is very nearly exhausted in moving his oato body, and then there can be no doubt that a mechanical agent, in which power may always be exchanged for a proportional velocity, will have some advan- tages on a very good road, which in fact approaches veiy nearly to a railway. But in every case in which velocity is not a principal object, as in the one now under consideration, and where conse- quently, little momentum is acquired, and fre- quent though slight obstructions occur, as on an ordinary road, an animal appeai-s to possess decided advantages. He adapts himself admirably to the work, increasing or diminishing his efforts according to the variations of the draught, resting himself, as it were, and acquiring vigour A\here his utmost strength is not called for, and thus becomes enabled to make exertions far beyond his THE HORSE. 557 average strength where any impediment or obstruc- tion is to be overcome. Indeed, he appears rather to increase the average effect of his jmn-ers by these alternations of exertion and comparative relaxa- tion ; and when it is considered that the draught will, in an ordinary road, frequently vary in the proportion of six or eight to one, and that these changes may succeed each other suddenly, the im- portance of such an accommodating faculty will be immediately appreciated. By mechanical power, such as a steam-engine affords, these advantages are not easily obtained. Without great weight or rapid motion no momen- tum can be acquired ; and unless when the car- riage is in veiy rapid motion, a very small obstruc- tion will check, and pei'haps totally stop the machine. For instance, supposing the carriage to be advancing steadily under the effect of a force of traction of 500 lbs., and that a stone or nit sud- denly causes a resistance, which it would require 800 or 1000 lbs. to overcome, a case by no means rare even on tolerable roads ; if the impetus or momentum of the mass be not sufficient to carry it over this obstruction, the machine must stop until some increased power be given to it. It is also to be remembered, that what we are accustomed, in practice, to consider as the average power of a horse, is the average e.\cess remaining over and above that necessary to carry his own body ; and that in all ordinary cases he is able to maintain and continue nearly the same exertions, although the compai-ative draught of the carriage be considerably increased. Thus, if the road be slightly muddy or sandy, or newly gravelled, the draught, as we shall see more accurately laid down when we come to the subject of wheeled carriages, will be double and even treble what it is on the same road when freed from dust or dirt ; but the average power of the horse remains nearly the same, and, practically speaking, equal in both circumstances; that is to say, that the power ne- cessary to move the weight of the horse's body, which forms no inconsiderable portion of his whole power, is not materially increased by a state of road which wil! even treble the draught of the carriage ; cousequentlj', the excess, or available portion of his power, remains unimpaired, and the full benefit of it, as well as of any increased exer- tions of the animal, is felt and is applied solely to dragging the load. Not so with a locomotive steam-engine, be- cause, beyond the power necessary to perform the work of dragging the load, a laj-ge additional power must be provided to move the engine itself. In other words, if an engine of ten-horse power be capable of dragging a certain load, the weight of this engine forming a portion of the load to be moved, a corresponding portion of the power is unprofitably absorbed in moving it, and the excess, or remaining power, is alone available for useful pm-poses, and can alone be compared to the animal or horse power. Now, if the draught is aug- mented, as we have just supposed, by any sand, dirt, or roughness of tlie road, or any other impe- diment, the force required to move the useless weight (of the engine) is proportionally increased ; it may even, as we have stated, be doubled or trebled ; and the whole power of the engine re- mauiing the same, the surplus or remaining por- tion is considerably diminished, and that at the veiy moment when, as before stated, it produces only one-half or one-third the effect. Moreover, if at any part of the road a power equal to twenty horses is required, the engine, as regards its construction, must be a 20-horse en- gine. It is erroneous to suppose that a steam engine, because it is a high-pressure engine, can therefore, as occasion requires, be worked for any length of time beyond its nominal power, by merely raising the steam. Every part of a ma- chine is calculated and arranged for a certain pressure and corresponding power, and that is the real power of it. It is optional to work at or be- low that power, but, if below, it will be to a dis- advantage, as the bulk and weight of the machine will be as great as if it were always worked to its full extent, and both have to be carried over all those parts of the road where a far less power would be sufficient. The velocity of the can-iage might indeed be increased, while travelling on the good and level jDortiou of the road ; but these alternations in the speed and power cannot be ef- fected without a considerable degree of complexity, weight, and expense in the machinery; and, as we are confiuing ourselves to the consideration of the case where velocity is not required, and might even bean inconvenience, the excess of jiower will be wasted. These objections to the use of mechanical power, in certain cases, are pointed out, not as being insui-mountable obstacles to the use of ma- chinery, but as serious difficulties wliich, in prac- tice, have not yet been overcome. In fact, there is not at present any practical substitute for horse power on common roads, and, as far as the public is concerned, nothing has yet been done. We, therefore, must consider them as objections re- maining to be overcome ; and we are compelled to draw the conclusion, that, at the present moment, animtil power (always confining ourselves to the question of the economical transport of heavy goods upon common roads) is superior to am' mechanical agent, and that beasts of draught, and particularly the hm-se, although the most ancient, still remain the most advantageous source of power. Long experience has pointed out various modes of applying animal power ; but it is frequently ill- directed, owing to the want of an adequate know a -J 6 THE 11 tt "The annual minute of a !ii>,liprc>Mire Itm motive engine, or bUuin carriii|;e, ioii*iia» of — " 1. Tlie inttre>i of ibe iirsl cobt. '• 2. Dcrrtase of valoe. " :<. Hu/urd of accidents. " 4. Value of coals and »aler. '• 5. Ilentwals and repairs. " 0. r,xj«fii>.f of attendance. | • It is diflicult to prwure Uir«e partico1ar!> fn.ni the experience of those who employ engiiith : we will therefure annex, \>y way of exnmjde, fcuch hums as we think likely to c ■ The first cost of the en(;ine and il^ ciirriit;.' lie stated at i'.'iO per Imrse jh.wi r. and itb d- ■ of value and hawird will rendtr its annual rxi^nx alxmt one-fifth of its first est, or i"10 per annum per horse jiower. The expense of fuel aiid wiii< i per day will he n<>t less than one hushel aii<. a half of ctiuls per horse jHiwer. and ftmrtten cul'i. feet of water ; and, taking the coiila at lid. pt r hushel. and the water and loadin); with fuel at :ii' the aniiuiil exjiense will hei'l.') Iv!*. ; ihereii- and rejwiirs, at vJO per cent, on the fintt c«'-i Le i:i(i, which is a.s little as can he ex|" ■ . til cover them. Atleiidance, suppose one nmii and one hoy for each six horse engine, at <>». pi r dav, or 1». J)cr day for each hon»e-|>ower. oi X'15 \'is. per annum; therefore the total aiinuiil exj)ensc of one horseiHiwer would be i'51 •!» , or l.')8 farthing's |>er day." — This |H)wer is isjual to n force of traction of lOfi} Ihs. for the same nunil'< i of miles per ihiy as the horse ; hut froui this gn s- amount of (Hiwer we must deduct tiiat necessur> to move the cnjfine with its supjdy of cuals : this will reduce it at least to l.'iilhs. ; consequently, in the one case we have a force of traction «■* I'-l'j Ihs., at an expense of 18(1 farthings, and. ii the other, a force of l.'i.'i Ihs. at an expense of l.'i- farthings ; and reducing them lioth to one staii dard qiianlily of work done, we find tlie expense of the horse is ,'rt - '•■"^'^- ft'"! of the locomotive engine. 1. 010, or about as 147 is to IdO. In thi- Ciise, tlierefore, there appears to be a dt^cidi'd economy in the use of the steam-engine, and accordingly its application has Wcome very genenil, and is becoming more so every day. Let us now examine what alterations are requisite, before we can apply these calculations to the case of dniught upon common roads. Sup- posing both species of power equally convenient and applicable, and confining our olwervations merely to the amount of power and proportionate expense. The force of traction of the horse, and the yearly cost, will remain so nearly the same, that for our present purpose we may consider them quite unaltered. Not exactly so with the locomo- tive engine. All the parts of the machine must be made U(ii sirt^nger and heavier, and ccnscqnentlv IP ' \| I UMxr, for road-Work than for a rail«-aj, M-, the first cost will be greater — the ••nr will also be greater, and a« the I '■ variable, the consumption of I d as well as the price, which. j . ...:.^. will Vh" much less on a line of jlwiH. than It can jioabibly be elsewhere. Still all tiirse rireutustanres will not influence e I' ^ult BO much as (he increased elTect of the iit.ht of the engine. I'n a railway, with the ns now cunstructtd, th« force of traction >i. h more than ,'-, or ,-n of the weight eonsequcnlly, the power necessanr to *»e the engine iihrif is not very considenible. % K roud. however, thi» pmportion is niaterially ■ . '.I I iMMfr force n-quiied to move '.'• iniinot kie estimated in ..: .;.-.. i \' 1; »hen the rviads are in good iwir. tiima fxi the engine, arri>., which we have to ■ lui t from the gmwt power of the c ngine, and irh K-avM only I'Jl} lbs. as t}ie available I ver. The pro|><>rUoiial ex|>oiise of the horse .'l the steani-riigine in now therefiire aliout a.* IS to KHI, and this without taking into account I I •aii'iea of incinised exjKuditure alromiy .Midid to OS regards the prime cost, the rejiuirs, lit the eortional velocity, will Imve^ I i'8 I'll a very goot;i,'.\ stop the ^1 4 T^_ machine. For instauce, supposiiii; 1 carriage to be advancing steadily under the it' ^ of a force of traction of 500 lbs., and that a -tr ■ nit sud- denly causes a resistance, which it \ I require 800 or 1000 lbs. to overcome, a cum mo means rare even on tolerable roads; if tli petus or momentum of the mass be not suliici i > carry it over this obsti'uction, the machiiu- m tup until some increased power be given lu it. It is also to be remembered, th;. t we ai'e accustomed, in practice, to consider a i ■ average '* ' •* **. power of a horse, is the average e.xcci-iamaining *" "■•■<•• over and above that necessary to caiT his own ' "^ *■ body ; and that in all ordinary ca-; ^ ' . s able to ■••••i***' maintain and continue nearly the -ai v:ertions, ■"■■'•i Fm^i although the comparative draught ul i carriage ^« tfmim be considerably increased. Thus, if lIi j;oad b ■■•■I slightly muddy or sandyjOr newly gij draught, as we shall jH^^Hpiore down when we comQ carnages, will be i or remaining power, is alone available for useful pm-poses, and can alone be compared to the animal or horse power. Now, if the draught is aug- mented, as we have just supposed, by any sand, dirt, or roughness of the road, or any other impe- diment, the force required to move the useless weight (of the engine) is proportionally increased ; it may even, as we have stated, be doubled or trebled ; and the whole power of the engine re- maining the same, the surplus or remaining por- tion is considerably diminislied, and that at the very moment when, as before stated, it produces only one-half or one-third the effect. Moreover, if at any part of the road a power equal to twenty horses is required, the engine, as regards its construction, must be a 20-horse en- gine. It is eiToneous to suppose that a steam engine, because it is a high-pressure engine, can therefore, as occasion requires, be worked for any lengtli of time beyond its nominal power, by merely raising the steam. Every part of a ma- chine is calculated and arranged for a certain pressure and corresponding power, and that is the real power of it. It is optional to work at or be- low that power, but, if below, it will be to a dis- advantage, as the bulk and weight of the machine will be as great as if it were always worked to its full extent, and both have to be carried over all those parts of the road where a far less power would be sufficient. The velocity of the carriage might indeed be increased, while travelling on the good and level portion of tlie road ; but these alternations in the speed and power cannot be ef- fected without a considerable degree of complexity, weight, and expense in the machinery; and, as we are confining ourselves to the consideration of the case where velocity is not required, and might even be an inconvenience, the excess of power will be wasted. These objections to tlie use of mechanical power, in certain cases, are pointed out, not as being insurmountable obstacles to the use of ma- chinery, but as serious difficulties wliieh, in prac- tice, have not yet been overcome, lu fact, there is not at present any practical substitute for horse power on common roads, and, as far as the public is concerned, nothing has yet been done. We, therefore, must consider them as objections re- maining to be overcome ; and we are compelled to draw the conclusion, that, at the present moment, animal power (always confining ourselves to the qiicstinn of the pconomical transport of heavy goods upon common roo^^is superior to any mechanical agent, and i? ^fc of draught, and particularly r llic united • two. Wo hIwII |«'int "ul. hercmfter. Ui. :, of att.ii.lirii,' to thU in tiie applicktioa ol power I'l limuglit. In trotting, the nrtion i*of i ^ niont of the h-gs on the Mnif ^: tlie oilier intor^al of iim>' '" 'll ointrarj-. the le;>« situal>d ai 'I'l'^ site Ci>nier». move almott ^ ■ ' ' to the vel\«-Mn-iil m.ii. . . I unifonn than in a »low trot, or in wall....^' J In galloping, llie uioveiiient ia IoIaUt .il ferent : the fon'-legn ar»» thrown forwnri t ^ Kimiiltaii(Mni«lr, and the liiud lvf(« li t|uirkly, and ni-arlj together ; it i». in ' cession of l<>a|w. Iiv f ■' •' ■• ■•'■ ••• -• time i'la|x>ing »liili> t: K-ap is taken : this ii> t _ t-atfhe« the eve, and wh.< It uitu>i U- (t-pr<-^ iiW^i a drawing to prixlure iho rtTe»'t of a hors*- gitllop. althoii^'li il is the moment when (ho nn is making no firrtion. The eaiiter is ti» the gulli)p very mu-di wh.i^ ■ I w-alk is to tlte tiul, lliongli pr^dmhU • mon :> licittl ixice. The exi-rtion to niut-h \itn. th-- "• --t lesM distant, and iho feet ronie to llir more regular suivfs.sion : it i» a |><' qnite imsmsisiont with anv •■• "• •■ • The ronM'>|iieniv of tlr in the limln of the animal i impulses is conveyed to the Uaiv , aiKJ movement is slow, and the Uxiy of ih<< ' not at'i|uire nn^ limi, tlu' rt^i-' t-ach of thfM- r , . . ... n>»lrained in the internals. It must, thcrulure, be • rigid re»i»tanti<-ity. It must not, however, l>e a coiutant. mitti'il n>si.stancc. I'or it is a well known fart. that. bowo< powerful may lie the muM-les of a limb, they niu not U> kept constantly on the stretch. Thus v feel evon more fittigiie by standing than \>r •«! ing. Ixvause one purticiilar M-t of : ' kept Colistiiiilly CXrrtill. It i» fon\ that the resistance or drau-..: [>erf(Vtly a>nstant, lut should atlord Irvi^uent <> lH>nunities of nhuing the elTorU. Neither ma a yielding >1 <-ould Hot ■ I i'«> muq ^ II I ; and ■ s-^jirv r] -:r nil. niid hia ««l nor mu-i ... U>t n tliai mark, t ■ 1st the pullj ;<.ioi^-v ui \n ananii catAiuniK or tlte I an oUi-i that dL<4 ricld onlv fatiguing to Aem.te-aoB^r- si^tauce is variable, pre^»"»» effect of their exertions ten? «*=' •■»- cated to the carnage. For. Mlte» as a rut or stone in a roai •:- the vehicle, the shaft-horse oniB^«^^ his whole weight into the coltar, niti ^ effect of his strength and unpettBi'"-'- • impaired to the vehicle, and fom:^ stack : but if any elusticitr is inu- the power and the resistance, ts traces of tlie leader of a team. greater part of the effect of imi. that force which, if concentnitrf in w» < would effect the objat, being leoplx** -.»*••* continued and compawtweW fc^ insulficient. If we wish to destroj the nfcta tf i i; s*w. moving with violence, we recertt il wA « *4 haM inc resistance ; the action of otdnf t n i*- pm bdl exemplifies this perfectlj ; uA litw*. ^ if the full effect of momentum is nate^ tlW m ticitv in the direction of the mornDatt tlw W m1 avoided. mmkm We have entered rather fulh iata ikt '••W 4 y| ation of this particular point, becnM ^ |c-ij!« JW. is not onlv applicable to the vaoit ot cianiav dii ing the immediate action of the ma^iaffm. W tka* ia will be found also of considerable impanaMv^a if« 4tt we arrive at the subject of wheel<«niifu. itfi A consideration of these varkm fmmrjsft W us to this conclusion, that the draagfat ii«^,ii\ir fOTk.s >« -m to be onstantlj uniform nor witbcwt mialL, Mr i«Wt; 4 fc yet yielding or elastic : sudden dMcfa ^hlnt changes in the velocity must also enk'j W disadvantageous, as tending to dibUUi i ■ iijwi the animal. Having determined upon the aeee(«<.n ^iti of the resistance, we will proceed to n^ - =t. the quantity or the Jf -?rrt of resistuK> and the speed best ada(>ted u< the o*. animal. The useful effect of a bone, done, must evidently depend upoa t viz. the rate at which be k nmAr t:> _. „ power of traction ke cam arrt, and (b hours he can continue to work di**^ •! ^ and where there is no fixed eondn>"' termines any one of these, aodi a* t p to be moved, or a certain rdodtr »i,j able to attain, or a limited work in, then the object proportions of the tbrt] day, the greatest o prodiir- V and J hors' go 11 4 5C4 THE HOKSE. animal emplo_yecl, and liis relative capabilities of lifting and imlling, or the proportion existing bet\Yeeu the weight of his body and his muscular strength. To render this more clear to our o\mi feelings, we will take the case of a man. We have already seen that au able-bodied man is moi-e adapted for lifting than pulling ; consequently, in his case it would be advantageous to throw a certain portion of the weight upon him, by making him pull upwards, as in Jig. 7, or, what we are Fig. 8. more accustomed to see, and which amounts to the same thing, applying his strength to a wheelbar- row, fig. 8, and we have frequently seen an ordi- naiy man wheel 800 lbs in this manner. If, however, we take a person unaccustomed to hard work, and consequently not so strong in the legs, although he may be unable even to lift the wheel-barrow which the other moved with ease, still he may, by pushing hoiizoutally, put in motion a considerable load ; and lastly, in the case of an invalid who can barely cany his own weight, if he lean on the back of a garden-chair, he will not only walk himself, but push on the chair ; or a child who is yet too weak to stand, can, if part of his weight be supported in a go-cart, not only move himself, but also the frame which supports him. These are veiy familiar and homely comparisons, but they are cases exactly similar to the three positions of the traces, and the argument will equally apply to horses as to men. It is true, we rarely use for draught a horse that cannot stand ; but the case is veiy possible that a large heavy horse, otherwise not strong, or one which it was not desirable to fatigue, might pull better and longer, if part of the weight was borne upon the carriage, or if, in other words, the traces inclined upwards. And we know by experience, that in the case of stage-coaches, where, o^ving to the speed, the weight of the horse's body is already generally a burden to him, it is dis- advantageous to increase that weight by inclining the traces much downwards ; on the contrary, where we wish to obtain the utmost effect of a powerful horse, or of a horse that is muscular, but without much weight forward, it is highly advantageous to augment the effect of his gravity by inclining the traces downwards even as much as 15", or about 1 upon 3 ; the strain upon the traces will be then considerably increased, and the effect augmented, provided always that he is able to exert the neces- sary strength in his legs. As far, therefore, as the mere force of traction is concerned, there is no par- ticular angle which will always produce the greatest effect — but it must depend upon the particular capability of the horse ; and this in its turn varies, and is affected by circumstances ; for the same horse that upon a level road requires no addition to his weight, might be materially assisted by a slight addition when ascending a hill, if not continued too long ; and most horses would be benefited con- siderably by the opposite arrangement in a descent, that is, by a portion of their weight being borne up ; they should at least have no additional load thrown on them while descending a hill. There is also a time, when inclining the traces downwards is almost indispensable : it is when dragging a four-wheeled waggon over a rough broken road. If the front wheel, which is generally small, meets with an obstacle by falling into a hole, or stopping against a stone, it requires no profound reasoning to show, that a force pulling upwards in the direction AB, fig. 9, will raise the whole wheel Pjg^ g_ over the obstacle with much greater facility than if applied horizontally, as A C : this is the only circumstance, un- comiected with the horse, that ought to govern the direction of the traces, and the degree of the inclination here must, of course, still be proportioned to the power of the horse. We see therefore that, in proportion as the horse is stronger, or that we are disposed to make him exert a greater effort, the traces should be inclined downwards from the col- lar ; with a good average horse, perhaps one-sixth or one-seventh of the distance from the collar to the extremity ; with a horse of inferior capabilities, arising from weakness in the limbs, and not want of weight, or with au ordinary horse when travelling above six miles an hour, the traces should be nearer the horizontal line, except when the circumstance of a rough road, before alluded to, requires some modification of this. To be able to apply these i-ules generally in practice, it would be necessaiy to have some means of altering tlie traces while on the road ; as we have stated that they should be differently arranged according as the road is level or rough, or ascending or descending, this would not be difficult to contrive, and has, indeed, been suggested by some writers upon this subject ; but it is probable that, except in stage-waggons, where the same carriage goes along a great extent, and consequent variety of road, it will be sufficient to adjust the traces according to the average state of the roads in the neiglibourhood ; and we cannot greatly en; if we bear in mind that inclining the THE HOUSE. 505 traces dowuwiirds from the collar to the carriages, amounts to the same thing as throwing part of the weight of the load on to the shafts, a thing fre- quently done in two-wheeled carts, and a manoeuvre wliich all good carmen know how to put in practice. The impossibility of inclining the traces of the leaders, owing to their distance from the carriage, is an additional reason to those given before, why they (the leaders) cannot, when required, e.xert such an effort as the shaft horse or wheeler ; and on rough cross-i'oads, is a great argument in favour of harnessing horses abreast. Yet what can be more contrary to the niles here laid down than the injudicious mode frequently adopted in harnessing horses '.' IIow constantly do we see the efforts of horses paralyzed by misap- plication of their respective qualities ! In the an- nexed sketch {fig. 10), for instance, which repre- sents a very common sj^ecimen of this, the light, muscular, little horse, which is capable of consider- able exertion, is nearly lifted from the ground, and prevented from making any exertion, by the traces leading upwards ; while the feeble old horse, scarcely capable of carrying his own body, is nearly dragged to the ground, and compelled to employ his whole strength in carrying himself, and even part of the weight of the leader ; so that the strength of the one willing and able to work is not employed, and the other is so overloaded as to be useless. The mode of attaching the traces does not admit of much variety. The shoulders have always been made use of for this purpose. Homer, who is supposed to have lived about 900 years B.C., describes very minutely, in the twenty-fourth book of the Iliad, the mode of har- nessing horses at the time of the siege of Troy, nearly 3000 years ago ; but if we suppose that his description was taken from the harness in use in his own time, it is still referring to a period about twenty-seven centuries back. A simple strap, formed of several thicknesses of leather, so as to bs very stifP; and fitted well to the neck and shoulders, served as a collar, as seen at AA {figs. 11, 12). A second strap, B B, passed round the bodv, and was attached to the shoidder-strap at the withers. At this point was fixed the yoke, CC, which was fixed to the pole. A pair of horses were thus yoked together 566 THE HORSE. witliout traces or breechings, as oxen are seen at the present time in many parts of the country. This was a simple arrangement, but by no means a bad one ; and it would appear that they performed all the manoeuvres of cavalry with cha- riot and horses thus harnessed. The pair yoked to the pole were called yoked horses : abreast of these was frequently placed what was called an outer horse, with a simple shoulder-strap or col- lar, FF, and a single trace, GG, passing inside, aain Jig. 13. Sometimes there were two of those horses, one on each side, each furnished with his strap or collar and trace. These straps, if well fitted, were not bad ; but as they must have pressed in some degree upon the throat, they could not be equal to the collar of the yoked horses, still less to the collar at present used. In more modern times these shoulder-straps gave place to the breast-strap. A horse can no doubt exert a considerable strain against such a strap, but in action it must impede the movement of the shoulder. Fig 13 Tn some parts of South America the trace is fixed to the pummel of the saddle, which in its turn is well secured to the horse by saddle-girths, breast-straps, and breechings ; and we are in- formed that horses in this manner drag very con- siderable loads. It resembles completely the har- ness of the ancients, with the addition of the breechings. It is, of course, a mere temporary arrangement, convenient only as requiring no pre- paration. The trace is, in fact, the lasso of the rider, which is always fastened to the saddle ; and ^^hen he has entangled it round the horns of a bull, or attached it to anything he may have occasion to transport, he takes one or two turns of the thong round the pummel of the saddle, and the horse will at full gallop drag the load after him. Here the load being generally upon the ground, the trace must incline considerably downwards ; and this, added to the weight of the rider, will perhaps account in some degree for the extraordi- nary effects of a young powerful horse goaded to the utmost, and continuing the exertion only for a short time. A gentleman who travelled some time in this part of America, and frequently witnessed the practical effects of this arrangement, has suggested the propriety of introducing it into the Artillery, by means of which a number of horses might in an instant be attached to a gun, to extricate it from any heavy or broken ground in which it might be entangled. Certainly, the length of these traces would enable these additional horses to secure a good footing ; and any number of horses might thus be made to lend their assis- tance in time of need. We do not pretend, how- ever, to judge of the practical utility of this mea- sure, but merely record the suggestion of another. The collar now generally used is an improve- ment upon the ancient shoulder-strap described by Homer; and it is probably the best possible mode of attaching the traces to the horses. If the con- nection is made at the proper place on the collar, the latter bears flat and evenly upon the muscles which cover the collar-bone, and the shoulders of the horse are left almost as free in their action as if the collar were not there. About A {jips. 14 15) is the point of the shoulder where the trace should come ; and a little inclination down- wards, which can easily be effected in the case of the shaft-horse by the shafts, and in the others by the belly-band, will, if necessary, prevent the collar rising up and inconveniencing the throat of the horse. Retlfcting upon the various circumstances THE tlOItSK. riOj vrliicli we have shnwn to occur in the applica- tion of animal power, and the various conclusions we have drawn while considering the hest and most advantageous application of this power — and we must be excused the frequent repetition of the terms, for the sake of the clearness gained by it — it would appear that the resistance should be as much as possible rigid and iuelastic, so as to receive immediate^, anil unimpaired, the direct Fig. 14. efTects of the slightly in'egular evertions of the animal ; that this resistance should not be siu-h as to yield directly to a sudden impulse ; that it should be so far uniform as to he free from violent changes or sudden shocks, l)Ut not so constant as to allow of no remission, nor of those alternations of exertion and comparative relaxation which we have stated to be advantageous to the perfe<;t development of animal power. Fig. IS. That, as regards the degree of resistance, where velocity is not required, a force of traction of from 100 lbs. to 1"25 lbs., or even I.tO lbs.,* according to the strength of the horse, continued for eight hours a day, at about two and a half to three miles per hour, is the best proportion of quantity and duration of labour ; that where six or eight miles per hour is required, the duration of the day's work should be shortened to five or six hours, and the draught reduced to 80 lbs. or 100 lbs. At still higher velocities the draught must not exceed 50 lbs. or 60 lbs., and the time of working two or three hours. But this speed can only be attained liy the sacrifice of the horse; and consequently the question will rather be what the horee is cap- able of doing, than what can be done with economy ; and it becomes a matter of calculation, depending altogether upon the first cost of the horse, and the profits arising from his employment. With respect to the mode of harnessing the * Tlie load which will produce this amount of draujrht will be deterinin.'(l wlien we consider the subject of the roaU.-, on the quality of whieh it will be .«^een tliat tlii^ mainly depends. horse, it is hardly necessary to say that gi-eat care should be taken in fitting the collar, and in attach- ing the traces to the proper point. As to the di- rection of the traces, it must, as we have shown, entirely depend upon the circumstances of the case. Where the draught is heavy and slow, if the road be good, the traces should be nearly horizontal, unless the journey be short, or the traffic be only in one direction, and the cait return empty, or un- less any other reason render it desirable to compe the horse to exert himself more than he would na- turally do ; the traces should then be inclined downward towards the carriage, with an inclination perhaps of one upon four or five, provided always that the horse is capable of continuing the exer- tion which, by the additional load thrown upon his shoulders, he is thus called upon to make. If, in the same case of low speed, the road be veiy heavy, or broken and rough, the proportion of draught upon each horse must be lessened by di- minishing the load, but the traces shoidd be at- tached still lower to the carriage, at a slope of one upon three or four, bv which much greater o o Q 568 THE HOUSE. power is given to the animal to drag the load over any obstruction. At all high velocities, the traces should gene- rally be horizontal. The cases of rough roads or powerful horses may slightly affect this arrange- ment, as at low velocities, but not in so great a degree. We will now proceed to e.tamiue the mode in which these conditions are practically to be ful- filled, and the result of the application of the principles which we have laid down, by considering the subject of the vehicles for conveijiiuj the iceijht to be moved. Those in present use are boats, as canal-boats, sledges, and wheeled carriages, which last of course include every species of carriage, whether waggon or cart, heavy or light. Canal-boats and canals, we suspect, are gra- dually going out of use, and will, excepting in some peculiar cases, or unless some great improve- ment talves place, in time be superseded entirely by railways ; but still it must be many years be- fore this can be effected : and in the mean time, the produce of the most e.xtensive manufiictories in the world, and the supply of immense masses of people, will be transported over these beautifully smooth, level, and noiseless roads ; and, even if there beds were dry, and become the course of railways (an event which may perhaps befall some of them), we must, out of respect for the extraor- dary benefits we have derived from their assistance, and the almost incredible effect they have pro- duced upon the commerce and riches of the coun- try, have devoted a few lines to that part of their consideration which bears upon our subject, viz., the draught of canal-boats. The great advantage in the transport of goods by water conveyance, is the smallness of the power required. A body floating in water is left so very free in its movements, that motion may be gra- dually communicated to it by any power however small, at least the limit is very far removed ; but, although a very slow movement may thus easily be obtained, the slightest increase of speed causes a very great increase of resistance. The resistance to a body moving in a fluid, arises principally from the striking of the particles of the fluid against the front of the moving body, so that if the speed of the vessel be increased, not only does it encounter a proportionably greater number of particles, but also it is struck by each with a force proportionate to the velocity, and consequently the resistance is found to increase as the square of the velocity ; thus, if the speed of the vessel be trebled, the number of particles, or the quantity of water which it meets in its progress for a certain space of time, is trebled, and the resistance of each particle being also three times &i great, owing to the bo.its striking it with tieble the velocity, the united effect is nine times as great ; therefore, if in the first instance it requii-ed one pound to draw the vessel, it would now require nine, but nine times the weight or resistance, moved at three times the velocity, will require twenty-seven times the qiiantitij of power in action ; consequently, we see that the resistance increases as the square of the velocity, and the power required to be e.xerted for a given time increases as the cube of that velocity. This law of the increase of resistance is modi- fied however by other causes, which have been observed and deeply investigated within the last few years, and which produce such an effect, that with boats of a peculiar form, a diminution of resistance actually occurs at a certain increased velocity, and very high rates of speed, such as even ten or twelve miles per hour, have been attained. There are also some small som'ces of resistance, such as the friction of the water, which do not increase in the ratio above named, but at moderate velocities the rule applies, and as yet no means have been discovered, by which, with the present dimensions of canals and their locks, larger quan- tities and weights can be conveyed at any but very low rates of speed. The draught of an ordinary canal-boat, at the velocity of 2^ miles per hour, is about 5J5 of its weight, that is to say, a canal-boat, with its load weighing 33 tons, or 73,920 lbs., is moved at the rate mentioned, by a force equivalent to 80 lbs., being ^ part of the load. This is found by Mr. Bevau to be the result upon the Grand Junction Canal, and a force of traction of 80 lbs. is here found to be equivalent to a horse power. The average power of an ordinaiy horse is certainly rather more ; and in the commencement of this paper, we mentioned this as an instance of a small effect being produced, most probably owing to the peculiar application of the power. We believe it to be the case, and think it likely, that if the disadvantages before alluded to, arising from the mode of applying the power, could be removed, the effect might be raised 1 00 lbs., or 1 20 lbs. of traction, and consequently the load moved would then be 40 or 50 tons; this is an increase well worthy of consideration. We now come to the consideration of the means of transport employed on land. These are sledges, rollers, and wheel carriages. The order in which they are here mentioned, is probably that in which they were invented or first employed. A sledge is certainly the rudest and most jnimitive form of vehicle ; the wheeled carriage, and even the placing the load itself upon rollers, is the effect of a much more advanced state of the mechanical arts, and is probably of much later date than the sledge. When man first felt the necessity or the desire of transporting any article from one spot to another, he doubtless endeavoured to lift or cairy it : if it Tin-; lior.SE. 501) proved too heavy for him to (a.ry. he would naturally endeavour to drag it. Here frequent experiments would soon show hiur how much less labour was re(piii'ed to drag a body with a smooth surface in contact with the ground, than wheu the contrary was the case ; and if the body to be moved did not itself present a smooth surface on any of its sides, but was, on the contrary, rough anrl angular in all directions, he would naturally be led to interpose between it and the ground some plane surface which should prevent the angles and projections of the body from entering the ground and impeding the progress ; and we may presume that sledges were thus very early brought into use. When attempting to transport still heavier masses, the accidental presence of round stones, or of a piece of timber, may have shown the advantage of interposing rolling bodies, and thus ma}' rollers have been invented and first brought into use. Tliese steps appear natural and likely to have led to these results ; they are at any rate sufficient to account for the first introduction of these two means of facilitating transport, but no steps of this kind appear capable of leading to the beautiful yet simple contrivance of a wheel. A I'oller is by no means an imperfect wheel, as it may at first appear to be ; they have nothing in common but their rotatory or revolving action, but the effect of this motion is totally different in the two. In a roller, friction is avoided altogether by it; in a wheel this friction e.xists as completely as in a sledge, but the sliding surfaces being at the centre of the wheel, instead of on the ground, are always the same, and being under control, may be kept in that state which shall cause as little friction as possible ; moreover, the friction is at a point where we have the means of overcoming it, by acting with the power of a considerable lever, as we shall hereafter show. There is, indeed, a kind of roller which partakes somewhat of the character of the wheel, but with- out possessing the advantages of it. This species of roller might have been an intermediate step between the two, and we shall therefore describe it, when we have dismissed the subject of sledges and rollers. In England sledges are at the present time very little in use. In some commercial towns the facility with which bulky and heavy articles can be placed upon them, without being raised to the height of a cart, has caused them still to be employed, but even in these cases, they are in general used only upon the pavement where the friction is not considerable, and for short distances, in which case the saving of labour, in loading and unloading, more than compensates for the increase of power absorbed by the draught. Low-wheeled trucks, however, in these cases possess, the same advantage, and have gradually been substituted for them, where this advantage was indi.speusalile : for agricultural purjioses they are almost become obsolete, and for all purposes of traffic between distant poirits they are quite abandoned. It is only in the north of England and in some parts of Cornwall, that they are sometimes used in farms, but wherever good roads exist, and mechanical arts keep pace with the imjirovements of the age, they have given place to wheel carriages. An e.xamination into their nature and action will immediately account for this. A sledge is merely a frame, generally of wood, upon which the load is placed, and resting at once upon the ground, the friction between the under surface of the sledge and the ground bears a con- siderable proportion to the load ; but if the ground be very uneven and full of holes, the sledge, by extending over a great surface, avoids the holes, and slides only upon the eminences, which being naturally the stones or the hard portions of the ground, cause less friction ; on such a road, a wheel would be continually sinking into those holes, and thus oppose considerable resistance, and would also expose the load to frequent danger of upsetting. It would appear, therefore, that over broken ground, or even upon a very bad uneven road, a sledge may sometimes be more advantageous than wheels, and its extreme simplicit}' of construction renders it very economical as regards first cost ; but the ground must indeed he very bad, or the country be very poor and little cultivated, where the formation of roads would not amply repay themselves by allowing the use of wheels ; for the power required to draw a loaded sledge will be at least four or five times greater tlian that required for an equally loaded cart upon a tolerably good road. The draught of a sledge, even upon the pave- ment, is about one-fifth of the load, so that to draw a ton weight requires a force of traction of about four hundred weight ; upon roads the friction will be much greater: it is difficult to state its amount, as it must depend so much upon the nature of the ground, but with the load before mentioned, viz., one ton, the force of traction will probably vary from five to seven hundred weight : over a strong rocky surface the resistance of a sledge will be much the same as on pavement. Its use, there- fore, must be confined to very particular cases, where the absence of roads, or the want of means, prevents the adoption of more improved veliicles ; and these cases are fortunately too rare in England to render it worth our while to bestow much time upon its description. Sledges are generally formed of two longitudi- nal pieces of timber, four or five feet apait, with their lower edges shod with iron ; and transver^e planks, bolted to these, form the floor, and they 570 THE HORSE. are thus easily constmcted. The traces should be more inclined than with wheeled carriages, hecause the friction heaiiug a greater proportion to the load, it is more advantageous to throw a portion of that load uj)on the horse, and being used upon uneven ground it is more important to be able to lift the front of the sledge over obstacles. Although iu this country the use of sledges is very limited, iu many parts of the world they cou- btitute the best, and, indeed, the only means of conveyance. Upon ice the friction is so trifling that they oppose less resistance even than wheels, for the reasons before stated, of their covering a larger surface, and thei-eby sliding over those asperities which would impede the progress of a wheel ; u])ou snow the advantage is still more decided : where a wheel would sink a considerable depth and become almost immoveable, a sledge will glide upon the thin frozen crust without leav- ing a trace, and with an ease truly wonderful. In all cold climates they are consequently in general nse ; and the depth of winter is there the season for the transport of merchandize. The EsquimaiL\ with their dogs, the Lap- landers with their rein-deer, and the Russians with horses, use the sledge to a preac extent iu the winter, over the frozen rivers or the hard snow. In the warm climates, on the contrary, not only are they nowalmost unknown, but the records which refer to periods so far removed as 3,000 years make no mention of such conveyances. Rollers come ue.xt under consideration ; they certainly afford the means of transporting a heavy weight with less power than any other means with which we are acquainted ; their motion is not necessarily attended with any friction. A cylinder, or a sphere, can roll upon a plane without any rubliing of the surfaces whatever, and consequently without friction ; and, in the same manner, a plane will roll upon this roller without friction : in practice, this is more or less the case, accord- ing to the perfection of workmanship in the forma- tion of the rollers, and, if C3'lindrical, the care with which they are placed at right angles to the direction at which they are to move. There is only one source of resistance which is inseparable from the use of rollers, viz., the unevenness of the surfaces, or the yielding of the material, which amounts to nearly the same thing. A circle resting upon a straight line can only touch it in a single point, and the contact of a cylinder with a plane is merely a line : conse- quently, if the material of the roller, and the surface on which it rolled, were perfectly hard and inelastic, such would be then- contact, whatever weight might be placed upon the roller. But in practice no such material can be ob- tained, and rollers, on the contrary, are generally made of wood, aud when loaded, they must yield until the surface AB, fig- 10, is propor- tionate to the pressure. Still, if the substance were perfectly elastic ; that is to say, if it would return to its original form with the same force and Fuj. 16. Fig. 17. / \ velocity which were required to distort it, this alteration would not cause any resistance ; the elasticity at E would tend to raise the back of the roller with a force DE, fig. 17, equal to, and exactly similar, but opposite to CB, and would consequently balance it. Although perfect elasticity is unattainable, yet most hard substances possess this quality to some extent ; consequently, when the load is not suffi- cient to crush the materials, the resistance is not much increased by even a considerable yielding — jirovided this yielding, as we before said, arises from elasticity. Thus if a bladder be filled with air and used as a roller, the resistance will not be greater than if a perfect and hard cyUnder were employed, although the bladder may be nearly flattened under -the weight ; — but the permanent compression of the roller, and the crushing of dust or other extraneous substances lying iu the way, are the great impediments to its movements ; these constitute a resistance in the direction BC, which is not counterbalanced by any force arisiug from elasticity on the opposite side. The effect of this resistance is dependent upon the diameter of the roller, diminishing when the latter is increased, though not in so rapid a proportion. If to a circle a horizontal force P be applied at G, fig. 18 ; if an obstacle be placed at E, the force P will tend to push the roller over the obsta- cle, and will act with a lever equal to GF, and for all small ob- stacles G F may be considered equal to GD the diameter. The weight upon the roller pressing it down, acts with a lever equal to EF ; but EF is equal ^/ G F, x ^/ F D ; therefore E r, which is equal to FD, remaining constant, and the diameter being increased, EP increases only as the square root of diameter, and consequently, the force necessary to advance the Fig. 18. THE HORSE. 571 Fig. 19. roller is inversely aa the square root of the dia- meter ; that is to say, if a roller be irioreaseJ four times iu diameter, the resistance arisinir from the causes now under consideration will be reduced to -, : or ^, and if increased nine times in dia meter, the i-esistauce will be only equal to — — ^or \. This being the only source of resistance to the action of a roller, it will easily be conceived that, iu practice, by laying a plank or any other plane surface upon the ground, and preparing iu like manner the lower surface of the body to be moved, and interposing rollers between the two, a very great weight may be moved with comparatively small power ; but, on the other hand, there is a serious practical inconvenience attending the use of the roller, which prevents its adoption e.xcept iu very particular cases. A weight moved upon rollers proceeds at twice the rate of the roller; for if C, /t;?- 19- be the centre of the roller D, the point of contact with the ground, and E that with the weight to be moved, and AV the weight, if this weight be put in motion, the point D is for an in- stant stationary, since it is iu close contact with the ground. The diameter E C D moves, therefore, round the point D as a centre, and, consequently, E being as twice as far from D as C is, describes E c twice as great a dis- tance as C c ; fresh points are now brought to the summit aud iu contact with the ground, and again the latter is stationary, while the former moves twice the distance which the point C does. The summit, therefore, or that point which is in imme- diate contact with the weight, always moves with twice the velocity of the centre of the roller ; but the velocity of the centre is, of course, that of the roller, and the velocity of the point E, which is in contact wth, and is moved by, the weight, is the same as that of the weight moved ; therefore, as the weight is forced forward, it moves at twice the rate of the roller, it will gain upon the rollers, and others must be continually supplied in front — an inconvenience much felt in practice. This confines the use of the roller to cases where the distance is very short, or where the weight conveyed is exceedingly great, and reduction iu the resistance of more importance than the inconvenience alluded to. The most remarkable instance of the applica- tion of rollers is the transport of the rock which now serves as the pedestal of the equestrian statue of Peter Uie Great at St. Petersburgh. This rock, a single block of granite, was dis- covered in the centre of a bog, four miles from the waterside; it weighed, after being cut into a Fig. 20. convenient shape, 1217 tons. Notwithstanding its enormous weight it was raised and tm-ned upon its side, aud placed upon a frame. A road was made across the bog, and a timber railway laid down ; the wliole was then left till the depth of vrinter, when the boggy ground was frozen, and the operations then commenced. The railway consisted of two lines of timber a a a a, (figs. 20, 21, 22,) furnished with hard metal grooves ; similar Fig. 21. and corresponding metal grooves were fixed to the under side of the sledge, aud between these grooves were placed the rollers, which were spheres of hard brass, about six inches diameter. The im- possibility of confining cylindrical rollers to a perfectly parallel direction, and without which the friction would have been considerable, rendered the adoption of spherical rollers or balls rimniug in a groove a matter of necessity, as otherwise the small surface upon which they can bear, and the consequent danger of crushing, or at least llatteu- ing that surface, is a serious objection to spheres : once placed upon the rollers, it was drawn by; means of capstans. The resistance docs uot appear 572 THE HOKSE. 1^ tig- C2. to have been great, considering the enormous -weight, since sLxty men at the capstans with treble pur- chase blocks moved it with ease. The transport of this enormous rock under such disadvantageous circumstances of country, over a distance of four miles, and its subsequent passage of thirteen miles by water in a vast cassoon or vessel constnicted for the purpose, was a work sui-passing anything attempted by the ancients, and, indeed, in modern times the only thing which can be compared to it is the dragging a ship of the line up a slip ; the weight is in this case nearly the same as that of the rock, but the distance traversed is short, and the difficulties to be overcome much less. A plane of inclined timber is prepared and well greased; a frame of wood, technically called a cradle, is fixed under the vessel, it is floated on to the inclined plane and drawn up by the united efforts of a number of well-manned capstans, with poweiful tackle : in this case no rollers are used : it is a sledge, the surface being well covered with grease to lessen the friction. Fig. 23. We have stated that there was a particular construction of roller which might be considered, as regards its form merely, an intermediate step Fig. 24. between the roller and the wheel. It consists of a roller with the diameter of the extremities increased as in fig, 23 ; the only advantage of this roller is that the body rests upon the small part of the roller, see fig. 24, and when put in motion, will not gain so rapidly on the, rollers; or in other words, the roller will move with more than half the velocity of the body. A mere inspection of fig. 25, is sufficient to show that the velocity of Fig. 26. the centre, C, will be to that of the body resting on the point B, as C D to B D, so that if the ends of the rollers are twice the size of the intermediate part, C D will be equal to two-thirds of B D, and the roller will move at two-thirds of the rate of the body ; a less number of rollers are therefore required, and the resistance is somewhat diminished by having larger rollers in contact with the ground. In using a roller of this sort, the idea may have struck the workman, or it may liave occurred accidentally, to confine the spindle of the roller, and compel it to move with the body ; and thus a clumsy pair of wheels, fixed to a spindle, would have resulted from his experiment. Such a sup- position is quite gratuitous, as we have no record of any such contrivance having existed before wheels were made ; indeed it is inferior both to the roller and the wheel : the only argument in favour of such a theory is, that rollers of this sort have been employed in comparatively modem times. At Rome, in 1.588, an obelisk, ninety feet high, of a single block of stone, weighing upwards of 160 tons, and which had originally been brought TIIK HOIISE. from Egypt, -was removed from one square, in which it stood, to another near the Vatican, and there again erected in the spot where it now is. In dragging this through the streets of Rome, it was fixed in a strong frame of wood, wliich rested upon a smaller frame, which were furnished each with a pair of rollers, or spindles, of the form above referred to ; they were turned by capstan bars : indeed they cannot be better described than by stating that they resembled exactly the naves of a pair of cart-wheels (all the spokes being re- moved), and fixed to a wooden axle. If a heavy waggon lay npon a pair of these, we can conceive that by putting bars into the mortices of the naves, we could force them round, and thus advance the waggon ; but the resistance would evidently be great- er than if either rollers or wheels were employed. All the difficulties incidental to the use of the roller appear to be surmounted, and all objections met, by the contrivance of the wheel. The wheel being attached to the load, or to the carriage which contains it, moves with it, is part of the machine, and consequently as we require only the number of wheels immediately necessary for the support of the load, we can afford to con- struct them of those dimensions and materials best suited to the purpose. By increasing their diametei', we are enabled to surmomit impediments with much greater facility, as we have shown in the case of the roller ; and although there is a resistance arising from friction at the axle, which does not exist in the roller, yet this may be so reduced by increasing the diameter of the wheel, as to form an incnnsiderable part of the whole resistance, or draught of the carnage. Of the first introduction of the wheel we have no record whatever. The principle appears to us so simple as to have been necessarily the result of pure invention, almost of inspiration ; while, at the same time, it is so exceedingly effective and perfect, as hardly to admit of improvement. The great antiquity of wheeled carriages or chariots precludes all hopes of discovering their origin. About fifteen hundred years before the Christian era they appear to have been in com- mon use amongst the Egyptians in their warfare. Pharaoh dispatched six hundred chosen chariots in pursuit of the Israelites, while the rest of the army followed with all the chariots of Egypt: here, therefore, they were in general use, and serving as the cavali-y of the present day. Moreover, the oldest records, which enter into anj- detail of their construction, described them as in a very forwai'd and perfect state. At the siege of Troy, nearly three thousand years ago, they formed, according to Homer, the cavalry of the Greeks and Trojans ; and every officer or hero of good blood possessed, at least, a pair of horses and a charioteer. These chariots being built to iim over broken ground, where no roads existed, were made low and broad, and they were by no means badly contrived for the pui-pose for which they were in tended ; the wheels were constnicted with a nave and spokes, felloes and tires ; and the pole a, appears to have been fixed on the axletree, b, iu the manner shown injig. 26. The body of the chariot was placed upon this frame. The team generally consisted, as we have before stated, of a pair of horses, attached to the pole ; six and even a greater number of horses were, however, frequently harnessed abreast, but in that case a second pole was generally affixed to the axletree, so as to have a pair of horses attached to each pole, and the axletrees themselves wei-e always made nearly as long as the whole width occupied by the horses. They appear to have had light chariots for more domestic piurposes, and four-wheeled carriages for conveyance of heavy goods ; and certainly King Priam, when he went to the Grecian camp to ran- som the body of his son Hector, travelled with some degree of comfort and luxuiy : he rode him- self in a " beautiful uew-biult travelling carriage," drawn by favourite horses, while the treasures, in- tended as a ransom, were conveyed in a four- wheeled waggon drawn by mules. All these details, as well as the mode of harnessing the horses, which operation, it must be confessed, was performed by Priam himself and his sons, are fully described in the twenty-fourth book of the Iliad. That Homer was well acquainted with the con- struction of the spoked wheel rmming freely upon the axletree, and, perhaps, even with the mode of hanging the body of the cairiage upon straps for springs, in the same manner as the public coaches are to this day in many parts of France, and, till lately, even in the neighbourhood of Paris, is Tlir. *|!-E. r-f rr -"--^s* iir* ' Urn**' 4-¥^ I ■M* «Uf tmm al iIm nfifni «ttb (/• Hm* UKk» wmJ it «iik TW xnmtfan ti dm -i naiiM ratk ub I of (koWM ■iU pvrpoMr ■»« 1 hf lb* . (iiB«^ lb* •■»:< •lyf W Um !«• Bf • > ■ . •!• of Uiis all ]vn li liiriliMii, . 1 111 .■:i,.r ■ ■■ Ih.iii iaif --14. A lutrv tiis|Mt:lioD uf 1.1 lOiow tliat the velocity of /. V-.*. ii pmafii mU •¥!! *timiJ; a fnac of «n.) ImUmII; cmlM • craiW. b tMa nU«r iW «*^l k » r<4 ^, (■MBMi. «ub fwWy torU*: km Uu* tattM* w* wnl it » • llfl#^ iW Mrf* •.il <»..««4 •ttli gMM* !• IsMaa tW frv fr^ ^ *t- I tk* foIW umI tbr «br«l. It r< • nOar villi ihr dtamrtrr if tK<> r\' f^-it nf tbr l«My n^'Tnif - ^ , ,.i.. ..u.l ..f ilip rate oJ - «n' therefore xiinr what diminished ;ii contart with the ..f ihio dort. the id«* TWIT have . r It ii,r.v h«Te occiiire"! of the mller. iy : and thns a ;.i a spindle, would iiiciit. Surh a sup- - • V-!Tf no re<'ord - . i before . ■ ■. , r Vioth to • ;.rrl: the «nly Brjjiiroent in rv i». that rollers of this sort . 1 in (v.mjianuivelv modem . ^,.. 1^,1, A ninety feel high. • (.' iipivanls I'f . Urn hrouplit THE HORSE. 573 r w from Egypt, -vras removed from onesquare, iu which it stood, to another near the \tican, and there again erected iu the spot where now is. Iu dragging this through the stree of Rome, it was fixed in a strong frame of wood, Tiich rested upon a smaller frame, which were fur.shed each \rith a pair of rollers, or spindles, c the form above referred to ; they were turned ly capstan bars : indeed they cannot be better dea-ibed than by stating that they resembled exactl the naves of a pair of cart-wlieels (all the spokt being re- moved), and fixed to n. wooden axle, f a heavy waggon lay upou a pair of these, we ci conceive that by putting bars into the mortices oithe naves, we could force them round, and thus Ivance the waggon : but the resistance would evideny be great- er than if either rollei-s or wheels weremployed. AH the difficulties incidental to t' inoTo Ibe I Cmrrifir, iiiil<:|>«iiilriil of (he Frictiuu 1 thr .Klin Tumjiikf-nioil— hnr.l. rlry. about . . . . 1« 11«. nillo flinr ' 2«| Killo TH'w' (rrnnllixl I.mj I/>oM', Minilv rnoil MM) So thill ill llip last cano, one hy no nii-aim of rare occiirrcnr*' in inaiiy iiartsof thr country, the portion of (lmii){ht iinini'diatfly causfil hy the stale of the rowl wiiM ten times as ffrciit as on a j^ooil tuni]iik)'- rond, and alHuit lifteeii times iis prpal as thiit whii'li arose from frirtion at thciixlcs. It woiiht he hojie- less toatti'iii|it to remedy this hy iiicreiLsiiij; the si/.e of the wheel : the e\|MTinienl was made with wheels of the ordinur)' size. To doiihle their diameter would evidently l>e attended, in pniclice, with in- HumioiintaMe dilVu-iiltie*-, and yet. even if this were elTeeled. it would harely ref the road: we shall, tln-refor»'. jirooeed to consider the various funiis employed Some years iijjo, when the prineipal turnpike riMuls of the kint^iloni wfre at many jmrts, at par- tjeular seasons of the yetir. in little l>etler eondi- lion than that on which the last ex|><-ninent was tried, various attem]e destruction oi the n>a<)s. To understand these oltt'retions clearly, we must describe the princi|>Ml features of tbe wheel HOW in use. The geiiemi eonstniction of it prt»sents a Rtnking instance of stnnigth arising from the judicious union of suhstjuices of very dtlTer^nt ipialilics — wis>d and iron. A strong circular frame of wood, composed of different segments, calUsl fello«>s, is Umnd together by a hiHip, or several luwps of inin, called tires, which thus, at the same time that it gives grt»at stiiMiglh, protivts the outer surface fr>>m wear. The nave, a circuliir Mi*-k ot"«<>od, is sustained in the cenlr<< of this frame hy the sj«e: this is called the di-liiiij- of the wher-l The ol<|m)>kcs all m one plane ; .«"_<». ^H>, « wi- with a is>nsidcr«l>le dc^nv v>f dishing. Ueiv II t» evident lh.it a small pnvssure i« the Have u\ ,<»'j», vJJ*. w\>uld ha\v> « te«dei»x\v to jH»»h >i tlin |h. and would meet with lut little resistntire. In ». •■i'-K .11 the contrary, this force would be opi xi lit •.lice by the direction of the spokes, Fif. 98, Ftp. 59. wtiii ll.itl Til. line its 1 van ri/ - fonn nil arch, or dome, thut cannot be ltd without bursting the felli>es or tires. «hiiiL'. tlierefore, gives the wheel a very great ■ • •' less and strength, which it would '■-.sess. lice of this conical form, the neces- >ke(pin>> the lower spokes which support the weight a-s vertical as possi- ble, has required that the w hide wheel should l>e placed oblitpie, and the a.\le bent downwards, as in Jig. 30 : ^ ^ this, as we shall hereafter AX. » show, is attended with very I \w serious evils. As a wheel 1 1 ' M is intended to roll upon the |l I ^v ground, without friction, it ^^ is natural to supjwse that the outer surface of the tires l^e cylindiicil, as it is the only form which of the whed rolUng freely in a straight 9ut it is nweithfltM the form of this surface, •dth. and the degree of dishing which have «i> 11. : h fmm the causes before mentioned. ^ -I ' ' "f the m«ds. and to the consideration •1 rvtum. - much Def;Iected and out of . .--.ly have, at a certain depth, j lore this will be a coat of i ->:• or less deep, tnd the fre«)aeneT of to which it mar be i ^ l^-A.. TIIK IIDKKK. 077 ^ ■were as narrow as possible, consistent vith the necessary strength. It was soon perceived that the entiwlestruc- tion of the roads wuuld be the consequeie of this system, which luul its origin in the bad ste of the i-oads. A certain width of tire proportiDnie to the load was therefore required by biw, Tl endea- voiur to evade this law was the cause of fe absurd form of wheel we are about to descril and to Condemn. In apparent obedience to the law, tliejlloes of the wheels wore inudof an ex- cessive breadth : bu o retain the advaniajjes (if il narrow wheel, the ni uli lie 1 i I e !Ls made to project so far lie)nd the others (see jii/. :i I i, mt it in fact constituted thr veol, tlie othere bein;,' inUb I lerely to give a nominal, an. I )t a real width. The enuiiius loads which it w;vs found dvanta- geous to place on these wheels niiib]. dt neces- Ftg. 81. sarj- to give them a considerable de to re.sist lateral shocks, and, boides. were by this means enabled to '/we : of floor to the carriage, still keiiliij,' the common tracks or ruts, so that th mately assumed the form represent li1 If such a machine had been cm the e.vpress purjjose of grinding tin- the road to powder, or of serving a drag to the waggon, it might, indce judicious, but as a wheel it was uun this is the form of wheel upon whi^ dictory opinions referred to in tin- this treatise were given before ■ i the House of Commons. A cai dlishing, . 1 carriers ni width hiele in Iclsulti- 1 ted fur a rials of I heck or il e been ■< s. Yet ;1 coiitra- - page of ttce of '-!■ was the friction, then, when it is conslnnlly rompidliMl to go on in n straight lino'.' yel cuougli liiis been written and said ii|iiin this sulijccl lo ennvince, wo should imagine, the ino-,t prcjiKhccil of ihi^ nhsur- dity of the system. We shall repeat the ])rincipal arguiiionts which were made use of at the time of llio iiKpiiry uum- tioned. Mr. Cummins took great pains, by cnnHtruct- ing models, to show that conical wheels were not ada]ited fur rolling in a straight liiK;, by making a small conical wheel run over longitudinal bars, ad Fig. S3. in Jiff. 33. It was seen that if the middle part of the tire rolled upon the centre bar without moving it, the bar A was pushed backwards while the bar C was pushed forwards ; clearly showing if, instead of sliding bars, the wheel had moved upon a road, how much it must liiive ground the road, and what a small portion of the tire was tmly rolling. That such must have been the ease is, indeed, easily proved without a model. We will take only three dilTerent parts of the wheel and consider them as independent hoojis of different diameter ; if these hoops are compelled to go the same num- ber of revolutions, the large one will eWdenily gain upon the second, while the third will be left far behind. Now, if, instead of being independ- ent of each other, they be fi.\ed to the same axle, and compelled to revolve together, the large one not being able to advance faster than the others, must tear up the ground. The smaller one, on the contrary, being dnigged forward faster than it would naturally mil, must drag up the ground ; and this is what must take place, and does, with al wheel, luid that to a veiy any but consid tanee, a conical wheel, of an of four feet si.\ inches ; that is centre advances about fourteen ution of the wheel. If the iinier lies larger in diameter than the circumference of it will be about greater ; therefore, at each revolu- 580 T.IE HORSE. place within a few years. In the place of those moving mountains which were formerly dragged slowly along upon immensely heavy and broad, but low. wheels, we now see, particularly on the roads leading northw'ard from London, a great number of light, well-built waggons, with much larger wheels, especially the front wheels, which, instead of being small enough to turn under the floor of the waggon, are about four feet six inches in diameter. As those waggons are used principally on the road, and are never required to turn in a small compass, but a very small action is allowed to the fore axle, and the floor and body of the waggon is continued from end to end of nearly the same width. A waggon with part of the floor and body cut away, so as to form a sort of recess for the front wheels to turn into, allovrs of considerable move- ment ; and by this arrangement there is nothing to prevent the front wheel being made of large diameter, as in the case just described. Our present object, however, is not to enter into a detailed description of how we shouldbuild awaggon, but simply to recommend the use of large front wheels, as tending much to diminisli the draught. An intelligent wheelwright will always know how to construct a waggon so as to admit of this. The consideration of the Subject of wheels naturally includes that of the comparative advan- tages of two-wheeled and four-wheeled carriages. Upon this point opinions difl'er as much as upon any ; and we fear that we are not likely to do more than to arrange the different opinions given by others, without advancing any of our own. If we succeed, however, in doing this clearly we shall have done much, because we may thus enable each individual to sepai'ate those arguments which apply particularly to his own case ; and combining these opinions with his own judgment, he will be more likel_y to arrive at a just conclusion, than if he were altogether unaided by the experience of others. The advocates of light two-wheeled carts assert that a horse working alone is capable of perform- ing more work than when forming one of a team ; and that in consequence of this increased effect, there is a saving of expense nearly in the jiropor- tion of three to two, or one-third. The advocates for waggons assert, on the conti'a- ry, that it requires that each horse in a single-horse cart should be of a superior quality, and therefore more expensive than those of a team, where the average power only is considered ; that the wear and tear, first cost, and e.xpense of attendance of several small carts, is greater than that of a waggon carrying the same load, and that in conse- quence there is an economy obtained by the latter. T^umbers of facts and the results of long expe- rience are adduced on either side, all of which convey much useful information ; and the substance of the whole appears to be, that with light single- horse two-wheeled carts, good horses are able to draw greater loads, and do more work in pro- portion than a waggon team ; that these carts are easier loaded and unloaded, do less injury to the roads, and that they do not require more hoi'ses in action than are sufficient for the work to be per- formed. On the other hand, it is found that the horses must be stronger and better fed ; that being en- tirely dejiendent on their own exertions, and doing more work, they are more fatigued and sooner knocked up ; that on rough roads they are liable to be shaken and injured by the sudden move- • ments and shocks of the cart, all of which are conveyed by the shafts directly to the horse ; that in asceiiding or descending hills, the whole weight being above the axletree, it destroys the balance, and is thrown too much upon the horse in the for- mer case, or tends to raise him from the ground in the latter, which, even if any alteration of the balance be found advantageous, is exactly the con- trary of what would be necessary. That with a waggon — the average power of several horses is obtained — horses of inferior qua- lity may therefore be used ; — they are not so much fatigued, because by relieving each other they can alternately exert themselves or relax. Greater loads can be can-ied with less attendance of drivers, and they are less liable to accidents ; they are easier withdrawn from any hole, or forced over any obstruction, because only half the load being upon each pair of wheels, the whole force of the team is applied successively to each half of the load, consequently in any bad road the power occasionally required is less, although the draught of the carriage, properly speaking, is greater than that of a two-wheeled cart. These various argu- ments would appear to lead to the conclusion, that upon good roads, and for short distances, vrith good horses, two-wheeled single-horse caits are the best ; but that, with inferior roads and ordinary horses, light four-wheeled waggons, with a team of three or four horses, are the most advantageous. Two-wheeled carts with two horses are deci- dedly inferior to either of these : the shaft horse suffers all the inconveniences complained of in the single-horse cart, and the leader does not produce, more effect than when in a waggon team. It is impossible to decide generally upon the comparative merits of the different arrangements, because the result depends entirely upon the cir- cumstances of the case. We may, however, endeavour to unite in some degree the advantages claimed by both. The draught of a cart is less than that of a waggon for several reasons : amongst others, because the wheels are larger and the horse produces more effect, because his force is applied immediately to THE HORSE. 581 tlie resistance. A light waggon willi large front wheels would not be mucli inferior in point of draught to the cart, and two horses abreast in double shafts would work with equal advantage to the single horse ; while an additional horse may always be applied when an excessive load or the state of the roads should require it. All that we have said with respect to the size and contrivance of wheels is equally applicable to light carriages as to heavy, and we shall now pro- ceed to consider the different modes of placing the loads upon the wheels. It might appear at first sight that this would not affect the amount of the draught ; that pro- vided a weight to be m jved were placed upon the wheals, and the w'.ieels put in motion, that no- thing more coidd be required. Upon a perfectly level smooth plane, and witli a constant force of traction, this would, indeed, be the case ; but, in practice, the conditions are entii'ely altered. Im- pediments are continually met with, which ob- struct the progress of the wheels, and the draught is constantly varied by the different inclinations of the road : it is, therefore, necessary to study the means by which impediments can be easiest over- come, and by which the resistance thus caused will affect the animal, which is the source of power, in the least disadvantageous manner. We have already stated that impetus is neces- saiy to overcome an obstruction, and that elasticity in the direction of the movement is destructive of the full effect of impetus. When, therefore; the wheel of a carriage comes in contact with any impediment, it is most essen- tial that the whole of the impetus or momentum which the carriage has already obtained, should be brought into full action, to force the wheel for- ward. To effect this, no elasticity should inter- vene between the wheel and the load, at least in the direction of the motion, that is, longitudinally ; otherwise, as we instanced in the case of catching a cricket-ball, a force which would be quite irre- sistible if opposed by a rigid resistance, is checked with ease by a vei-y little degree of elasticity ; so with a wheel meeting a small stone, if the load were so placed, or hung upon the wheels, as to allow free or elastic action longitudinally, that is, in the direction of the movement, the wheel being stopped against the stone, the whole load would be gradually checked, and brought to a full stop ; whereas, if this same load had been fixed firmly to the wheel, its impetus would have carried the wheel over the stone, with very little loss of velocity. In the first case, it would be necessary for the horses to drag the load over the stone by main force ; in the latter, they would only have to make up by degrees for the loss of velocity which the mass had sustained in passing over the stone. The total quantity of power required will indeed be the same in either case ; but in the one, the horses must exert it in a single effort, while in the other, this momentary exertion is borrowed, as it were, from the impetus of the mass in motion, and being spread over a greater space of time, as far as the horses are concerned, only augments in a small degree the average resistance. It is thus that the fly-wheel of a steam-engine in a rolling- mill accumulates power, sometimes for several minutes, till it is able to roll, with apparent ease, a large mass of metal, which, without the effect of the fly-wheel, would stop the engine immediately ; or, to mention a case more to the point, in the operation of scotching a wheel, a large stone, and even a brick, will render almost immoveable a waggon which, when in motion, would pass over the same stone without any sensible alteration of speed. It is most essential, therefore, that the effect of the momentum of the load should in no way be reduced by any longitudinal elasticity, arising either from the injudicious application of springs, or weakness in the construction of the carriage. The action of impetus, and the effect of an injudicious mode of hanging the load, is of coui-se more sensible at high than at low velocities, 5R2" THE HORSE. and in a cairidge bnng upon springs, than in a waggon without springs ; but although not so sensible to the eye, it nevertheless affects the draught materially even in the latter case. Car- riages hung upon springs, as mfg. 37, which are called C springs, and which admit of very consider- able longitudinal movement in the body of the carriage, are notoriously the most heavy to pull ; and cabriolets, which are hung in this manner, are expressively called, in the stable, horse-mur- derers, and require heavy powerful horses to drag them ; while lighter animals are able to drag much greater weights in stanhopes and spring- carts, which do not admit of this elasticity. This is one of the reasons why the di'aught of a two-W'lieeled cart is less than that of a waggon. In a cart, the horse pulls at once on the shafts, which are fixed immediately both to the load and to the axletree, so that not only the impetus of the load, but also of the horse, acts directly and without elasticity upon the wheel. In a waggon, owing to tlie smallness of the front wheels, there is a con- siderable space between the fore-axle and the floor of the waggon, which is filled up w'ith pieces of timber, called bolsters : tliis admits of considerable play in the parts, and except in new-built or very strong waggons, there is never tliat firm connec- tion between the load and the wheels which we have stated to be necessary. Lai'ge wlieels would bring the axletrees much nearer the floors of the waggons, and, therefore, admit of a much stronger and firmer mode of attachment, which would be found to produce a very considerable effect in diminishing the draught. We have been very particular in confining oiu' observations to longitudinal elasticity, or yielding in the direction in which the power is applied, and in which the progressive movement takes j)lace ; hecause elasticity in any other direction, instead of increasing the draught, tends veiy much to dimi- nish it. Let us suppose the load placed upon perfectly easy springs, which allow it to move freely in every direction, except longitudinally, when any one of the wheels comes in contact with a stone, the elasticity of the spring will allow it to run over the stone without sensibly raising the load which is upon it ; and the force which is required to pull the wheel over the stone, will be restored again by the descent of the wheel from the stone, which will tend to impel the mass forward, with exactly the same force as w'as required to draw it up to the topi of this impediment. With- out this elasticity it would be necessary to raise the whole load with a sudden jerk, and thus instan- taneously impart rapid movement to the whole mass, which would absorb much power, and which would by no means be returned by the load falling down from the stone. We see, therefore, that the use of springs is to enable the wheels to rise and fall according to the inequalities of the ground, while the load continues one constant equable motion. The advantages of this action ai'e veiy clearly pointed out in a letter addressed to the Committee on the Highways of the Kingdom, by Mr. D. Giddy, and given in the Appendix to their first Eeport, printed in the year 1808 ; and this letter explains so clearly, and in such few words, the whole theory of wheels, as well as springs, thatwe think we cannot do better than quote it at length : — " Taking wheels completely in the abstract, they must be considered as answering two diffe- rent pui-poses. " First, They transfer the friction w'hich would take place between a sliding body and the rough uneven siu-face over which it slides, to the smooth, oiled peripheries of the axis and box, assisted by a leverage in the proportion of the diameter of the W'heel to the axis. " Secondly, They procure mechanical advantage for overcoming obstacles, by introducing time pro- portioned to the square roots of their diameters, when the obstacles, are small as compared with the wheels ; and tliey pass over transverse nits or hollows, small in the same comparison, with an absolute advantage proportioned to their diameters, and a mechanical one proportionate to the square roots of these diameters. "Consequently wheels, thus considered, can- not he too large ; in practice, however, they are limited by weight, by expense, and by experience. " With reference to the preservation of roads, wheels should be made wide, and so constructed, that the whole breadth maj' bear at once ; and every portion in contact with the ground, should roll on without anj^ sliding. " It is evident, from the well-known properties of the cycloid, that the above conditions cannot all unite, unless the roads are perfectly hard, smooth, and flat ; and the felloes of the wheels, with their tire, are accurate portions of a cylinder. These forms, therefore, of roads and wheels, would seem to be asymptotes, towards which they should always approximate, but which, in practice, they are never likely to reach. " Roads must have some degree of curvature to throw off water, and the peripheries of wheels should, in their transverse section, be as nearly as possible tangents to this curve ; but since no exact form can be assigned to roads, and they are found to differ almost from mile to mile, it is piresumed, that a small transverse convexity given to the peri- pheries of wheels, otherwise cylindrical, will suffi- ciently adapt them to all roads ; and that the pres- sure of such wheels, greatest in the middle, and gradually diminishing towards the sides, will be less likely to disarrange ordinary materials, than a pressure suddenly discontinued at the edges of wlieels perfectly flat. THE HOliSE. 580 " T)ie spokes of a wheel should be so arranged, as to present themselves iu a straight liue against the greatest force they are in common cases likely to sustain. These must evidently be exerted in a direction pointed towards the carriage, from lateral percussions, and from the descent of either wheel below the level of the other ; consequently, a cer- tain degree of vrhat is termed dishing, must be advantageous, by adding strength ; whilst this form is esteemed useful for protecting the nave, and for obviating the ill effects of expansions and contractions. " The line of traction is theoretically best dis- posed, when it lies exactly parallel to the direc- tion of motion ; and its power is diminished at any inclination of that line, in the proportion of the radius of the wheel to the cosine at the angle. When obstacles frequently occur, it had better, perhaps, receive a small inclination upward, for the purpose of acting with most advantage when these are to be overcome. But it is probable, that different animals exert their strength most advan- tageously in different directions ; and, therefore, practice alone can determine what precise inclina- tion of the line is best adapted to horses, and what to oxen. These considerations are, however, only applicable to cattle drawing immediatelv at the carriage ; and the convenience of their drauglit, as connected with the insertion of the line of traction, which continued, ought to pass through the axis, introduces another limit to the size of the wheels. " Springs were in all likelihood first applied to carriages with no other view than for the accom- modation of travellers : they have since been found to answer several important ends. They convert all percussions into mere increase of pressure ; thus preserving both the carriage and the materials of the roads from the effect of blows ; and small ob- stacles are surmounted when springs allowthe frame and wheels freely to ascend, without sensibly moving the body of the carriage from its place. " If the whole weight is supposed to be concen- trated on springs very long, extremely flexible, and ■with the frame and wheels wholly devoid of inertia, this paradoxical conclusion will most certainly fol- low : that such a carriage may be drawn over the roughest road without any agitation, and by the smallest increase if force. " It seems probable that springs, under some modification of form and material, may be appli- cable with advantage to the heaviest waggon." And there can be no doubt, that, in the words of the writer, the application of springs would be highly advantageous. At high velocities, as we have before said, the effect of springs is still greater. What we have instanced as reganls springs, is generally well known and underetood. All stage-coaches, and many travelling-caiTiages, hang upon grasshopper springs, which allow of per- pendicular without any longitudinal action. 1 1 would be much to the interests of horse-masters if the mode of suspending post-chaises were a little more attended to. The more elasticity, or in other words, the more action, there is in grasshopper springs, the more effect it will produce in dimi- nishing the draught : with a C spring a very con- trary effect is produced. A carriage hung upon C springs m.ay certainly be made the most comfoi'table to the rider, but all the ease that can be requii'ed, and much more than is found in the generality of post-chaises, may be obtained by well-constructed grasshopper springs, and with considerable advantage to the horses. The practice of loading coaches as high as pos- sible to make them run light, as the coachmen have found by experience, is only a mode of assist- ing the springs. The mass being placed at a greater height above the wheels, at the extremity of a long lever, is not so easily displaced laterally by an}' motion of the wheels, which, therefore, rise and fall on either side as they iim over the stones, acting only on the springs, which restore the full pressure and velocity in descencUng, from the obstiicle which was imparted to tliem in ascend- ing, and without producing any sudden concussions upon the load, which swings to and fro with long easy movements. It is possible, also, that the weight, being thus swung from side to side, may, upon good roads, diminish the draught, as it is in fact generally running upon two of the wheels ; while, in the other direction, it equally admits of the front and hind wheels successively passing over any impediments ; and yet, by the manner in which it is fixed upon the springs, it does not admit of any longitudinal elasticity. The fact of coaches thus loaded runnuig light, has been clearly proved by the failure of what were called Safety Coaches, in which the only difference consisted in placing the load veiy low. These coaches, although completely answering their purpose of safety, were discontinued solely, we believe, from their being fomid destnactive of the horses. Experiments, nevertheless, have been made to prove that this was only an idle prejudice of coach- men ; but universally received opinions, even if leachng to erroneous conclusions, generally ha\e some good foundation; and coachmen, althou'i-'i they may not have been so much so at the tiLue these experiments were published (in 1817), p:e certainly now rather an intelligent class of men. We should, therefore, prefer risldng a theory, if a theory were necessary, in support of their prejn. dices rather than in opposition to them. The ex- periments alluded to were not, in om- opinion, made under the circumstances which occur in prac- tice. Small models (the wheels being seven iuelics in diameter) were drawn along a table across which 584 THE HORSE. were placed small strips of wood, to represent the obstructions met with in a road ; but these strips of wood came in contact ^ith each pair of wheels at the same time, and never caused any lateral mo- tion They produced, therefore, a totally different effect from that which takes place in a road, where the action rarely affects more than one wheel at a time ; consequently, in tlie model, the wheels, in passing over an obstruction, threw the whole weight backwards in a direction exactly opposite to the movement required; while, in practice, the carriage is generally thrown sideways, which does not affect its forward motion. The conclusions drawn from these experiments are, therefore, as might be e.\.pected, at variance with practical results, and directly contrary to the opinions of those whose daily e.xperience ought to enable them to judge correctly. The effects, also, of velocity and momentum must be difficult to imitate in models. The advantage of placing the load high will not, however, equally apply at low velocities, still less when springs are not used ; it may frequently, indeed, in the latter case, produce quite a contrary effect. In a rough road, the increased force with which the load would be thrown from side to side might prove very inconvenient, and even dangerous, and would certainly be liable to increase the resistance when the front wheels meet with any obstniction : but this, it must be paiticularly remembered, is onlytrae in the case of low velocities and carriages without springs. We have now considered in succession the various parts of the vehicle for conveying the weight, and shown in what manner they affect the draught, and how they should be constnicted so as to diminish as much as possible the amount of this draught. We have endeavoured to point out the advantages and necessity of attending to the con- stmction and size of the wheel. Thus it should be as nearly cylindrical and vertical as possible, and of as large a diameter as can conveniently be admitted. Silly, That there sliould be a firm, unyielding con- nection in the direction of the movement between the power employed, the weight moved, and the wheels ; v.i other words, that the force should always act directly and without elasticity both upon the load and upon the wheels ; and that tlie impetus or momentum of the load, when in movement, should always act in the same manner, without elasticity, in propelling the wheels ; — and lastly, that it is highly advantageous to interpose as much elasticity . as possible, by meRus of springs in a vertical direc- tion between the wheels and the body, so that the ormer may rise ai:d fall over stones or irregularities in the road without communicating any sudden shocks to the load : and we believe that the proper .application of sprir:gs in all cases, e\eti with the heaviest loads, would be foimd productive of gi'eat good effect. Attention to these points will tend to diminish considerably the amount of draught. As far as regards friction at the axles, and the resistance in passing over obstacles in the road, it vrill assist the favourable application of the force of traction when obtained from animal power ; but that which we have shown to be the most considerable source of resistance is imfortunately least affected by any of those arrangements. We allude to the resistance arising from the yielding or crushing of the material of the road : we have seen that on a good tm-npike- road the draught was increased in the proportion of thirty to forty, or about one-third, by the road being slightly dirty ; and that, on a heavy, sandy road, the draught was increased to '.205, or neai'ly seven times. Springs will not affect this ; and even increasing the diameter of the wheel will be of vei-y slight assistance ; nothing but removing at once the prime soiu'ce of this evil, improring the roads, can remedy this. We are thus naturally led to the third division of our subject, viz., the road or channel of conveyance. In considering this as a branch of the subject of draught by animal power, we shall merely point out what are the principal desiderata in the formation of a good road, and what are the evils principally to be avoided. To enter into all the details of their construction, dependent as it is on the different materials to he found in the neighbourhood, their comparative cost, the quality of the ground over which the road is made, and many other points, would be to enter upon a much more extensive field than is at all required for the proper consideration of the subject of draught by animal power. The requisites for a good road are all that we shall indicate. Channel of conveyance, in a general point of view, would include canals, roads, and railways. Of the first, however, we shall say little ; their constniction does not materiall}' affect the amount of draught, and we have already examined the made of applying the power, and the quantity of effect produced : we shall proceed therefore at once to the question of roads. The inquiry into the best form and construction of wheel carriages has taught us, what we might indeed have foreseen, that perftction in a road would be a plain, level, hard surface : to have learned this only would not have advanced us much, as such perfection is unattainable ; but we have learned also the comparative advantages of these different qualities of hardness, smoothness, and level. We have come to the conclusion, that slight alterations of level which shall vary the exertion required of the animal, without at any time causing excessive fatigue, are rather advantage- ous for the full development of his power than otherwise : that the incouvenien e of rouiihness is TilE HOUSE. 585 obviated by the use of springs , and that even when the ordinaiy carts and waggons without springs are used, still the resistance arising from mere uuevenness of surface, when not excessive, is not nearl_y so preat as that which is caused by the yielding of the substance of the road. Hardness, therefore, and consequently the absence of dust and dirt, which is easily cnished or displaced, is the great desideratum in roads. To satisfy this condition, however, smoothness is to a certiim degree requisite, as the prominent parts would be always subject to abrasion and destruction : for the same reason, even if for no other, rats and evei-ything which can tend to form them must be avoided. A road should, in its transverse section, be nearly flat. A great curvature or barrel, as it is termed, is useless ; for the only object can be to drain the water from it: but if there are ruts, or hollow places, no practicable curvatm-e will effect this : and if the road is hard and smooth, a very slight inclination is sufficient. Indeed, an excess of curvatm-e is not only useless with the present construction of caniages, but facilitates the des- truction of the road ; for there are few wheels perfectly cylindrical : yet these, when running on a barrelled or curved road, can bear only upon one edge, as in fig. 38. The conical wheels still in use, although much inclined at the axle, are never Fig. 38. Fig. 39. ^'6///'/'/'/'//" '/"'I '" '*''' sufficiently so to bring the lower surface of the wheel even, horizontal, and therefore are constantly nnming upon the edge, as in fig. 39, until they have formed a rut coinciding with their own shape. In a barrelled or curved road, the mischief done will, of course, be great in proportion to this curva- ture. This form is, therefore, mischievous as well as useless. Six inches' rise in the centre of a road of twenty feet wide, is more than sufficient to en- sure drainage, if drainage is not effectually pre- vented by ruts or hollow places, and less than this will suffice where the road is good, and is kept in proper order. The hardness of the surface, the most impor- tant feature, will of course principally depend upon the materials used, and the fomiation of the road, and still more upon the state of repair in which it is kept. It is easy to fonn a good road when the foundation is already laid by the exist- ance of an old one ; levelling the surface, — apply- ing a covering of eight or ten inches in thickness of broken stones, — having as few round or smooth surfaces as possible, the hardest that can be obtained, — and above all things securing good drainage, both from the surface and from the bottom, is all that is required : but constant repair and unremitting attention are necessary to keep a road thus formed in good condition. These repairs and attention do not consist in laying on at certain intervals of time large quan- tities of materials, but in constantly removing the sand which is fonned, and which, in wet weather, holds the water, and prevents drainage ; in filling up as quickly as possible, with fresh materials, any ruts or hollows ; and particularly in keeping clear all the drains, and even in scraping small drains from ruts, or such parts of the road as may con tain the water, and which it may not be possible immediately to fill up. By attention to these points, those who are in terested in the preser\'ation of the roads, and the expenses attending it, will find that economy will ultimately be the result ; and those who are in- terested in diminishing the labour and expense of draught, we shall only refer again to the table (page 576) of the resistances of a waggon upon different roads, from which they will see, that a horse upon a clean road well do one-thu-d more than ujion one slightly muddy ; more than four times as much as upon new-laid gravel ; and nearly seven times as much as upon a heavy sandy road. No alignments that we can put forward can at all strengthen the effect that such facts must pro- duce ; and we shall, therefore, quit the subject of roads, and conclude our observations on draught by a few words explanatoiy of the object of rail-roads and their effects as regards diminishing draught. The great desideratum in the formation of a good road is the facilitating the rolling of the wheels. We have shown that, for this purpose, a hard, smooth surface is necessary ; and, as this is only required for the wheels, two longitudinal tracks, of such surface, of proper width, are suffi- cient for the mere passage of the carriage. If, therefore, there is a considerable traffic between two points along a line of road, without much in- terruption from crossing, all the qualities of a good road may be obtained in a very superior degree, by having two parallel rails, or tracks of wood or iron, raised a little above the general level of the ground. This is a rail-road. It evidently affords the means of attaining any degree of perfection in those essentials for a good road — hardness and smooth- ness of surface for the wheels to roll upon. It requires, however, that the carriages should be all nearly alike, as regards the width and fonn of the wheels ; and experience has proved that such a 586 THE HORSE. road is not generally worth constnictiiig, unless the traffic is sufficient to allow of carriages being built expressly for that or similar roads. This being the case, the form and dimensions of the rails, and the general construction of the carnages, are uncontrolled by any other consideration than that of diminishing draught. A considerable improvement upon this point may, therefore, be expected in the railway over the common road. A railway, as now con- stmcted, consists simply of two parallel bars of iron, having a flat upper surface of about two and a half inches wide. With the exception of this surface, the forms adopted for the bars are various, depending principally on the mode selected for supporting them, some resting on and secured to blocks of stone, placed at intervals of about three feet — others secured in like manner to " sleepers," or beams of wood which are placed transversely, resting on the ground ; while according to a third system the bars are secured along their whole length to longitudinal timbers. The wheels at the present time, generally made of wrought iron, and from three to fom- feet in diameter, are made slightly conical with a flange about one inch deep on the inner side. This slight flange, and the cone of the wheel, which is also verj' slight, are found sufficient to keep the wheels from running off the rails, even at the highest velocities. This brief desciiption is sufficient to give a general idea of the construc- tion of railways, which is all that is necessai-y for our present purpose. It will be easily conceived thaP hard, cast-iron wheels, running upon smooth edges of iron in this manner, can meet with but little resistance except that arising from friction at the axle. Accordingly we find, upon a well-constructed railway in good order, that the resistance at mode- rate velocities does not exceed, in any sensible degree, that which must arise from this cause. It has been found that a force of traction of 1 lb. will put in motion a weight of 200, 300, and even, in some cases, 350 lbs. : so that a horse, exerting an effort of only 1 2.5 lbs., would di'ag on a level 12 or 14 tons. This is ten or twelve times the average effect of his work upon a good common road, and, as it arises entirely from the hardness and smooth- ness of the surface, we cannot conclude our obser- vations by a more striking and unanswerable argument than this, in proof of the immense advantages and saving of expense which would result from greater attention to the state of the roads. [conclusion of the hoese.J INDEX TO THE OX. Abdm \sum, tlie, description of, Hi. Abortion, causes of, 167; is a habit, 168; symptoms and treatment of, 168. Absorbent vessels of the skin, inflammation of the, 157; cases, causes, and symptoms of, 157. Adulteration of milk, 90. Agriculture in England, 55. Albumen, what, 107. Alcohol an addition, in the form of gin or brandy, to cordial draughts, 182 Alderney, breed of cattle of, 48; description of the, 86. Alderney cow little esteemed, 5G. Alemtejo, herds of cattle of the, 18. Alimentary canal, mechanical obstructions of the, 151. Alimentary substance, elementary constituents of, 106 ; proximate principles of, 106. Alloy stock of catlle, 82 ; how founded, 83. Aloes, seldom used as a purgative in the treatment of horned cattle, 178 ; tincture of. an excellent dressing, 183. Aloetic purgative useful in colic, 179. Alteratives and specific medicines, 179. Alum, a powerful astringent, 182 ; whey, 182. Amciurosis, 158. American bison, description of the. 10, 11. Ammonia, liquid, useful in hoove, 181 ; subcarbonate of, a stimulant, 181. Ancient Britons, tame cattle of the, 16. Anglesea, a breeding district, 71 ; breed of cattle in, 71. Angoumois, breed of cattle of, 46. Angus, breed of cattle of, 78 ; ox of, 55. Animal food, given to cattle in some countries, 37 ; sub- stances, elementary constituents of, 106. Antelope bubalus, or wild ox of the Arabs, 12. Antimony, chloride of, a useful caustic, 183. Antispasmodics, 180. Aperients for cattle, 178. Apis, worship of in Egypt, 20. Apoplexy, causes of, 131. Applications, external, 132. Argyleshiie, kyloes of, 7-i. Arrian on the ancient Indians, 21. Arrivals at the London markets of country killed meat, 100. Artificial grasses, important to the cattle- keeper, 115. As'l gayal, or seloi, what, 5. Astringents, 182. Auge, Pays d', breed of cattle of, 47. Aunis, breed of oxen of, 47. Aurochs, or zubr, fine levied by the Russian government for killing the, 8 ; ferocity of the, 8 ; swif.uess of the, 8 ; specimen of the, in British Museum, 9 j colour of the, 9. Austrian States, cattle of, 50. Australia, destitute of the indigenous species of ox, 2. Auvergne, cattle of, 46. Average dead weight of cattle, 88. Ayrshire breed of cattle, 74 ; cows, management of, 85. Azara on the cattle pastures of Paraguay, 24. Backei.et, or war-oxen, 39. Baer, M. de, his opinion respecting the identity of the Caucasian and Lithuanian bisons, 10. Bailey, Mr., return of the sale of part of Mr. C. CoUings's stock, given by, 83. Bakewell, Mr., breed of cattle of, 41. Ballymahoe; fair of, cattle sold at the, 59. Bal-Siva, treatment of bulls devoted to, 22 Basse Bretagne, breed of cattle of, 47. Beasiings, or firstmilk, essential to the calf, 173. Beechey, Capt., skulls brought to England by, described, 16. Beef considered inferior to mutton in m »st countries of Europe, 30 ; the roast of Old England, 54. Beet tribe, useful as fjod for cattle, 114. Bell, his description of the yak or bubul of Tartary, 7 ; of the urus or uhr o-k, 8. Bells hung round the necks of cattle in Switzerland, 35. Benzoin, compound tincture of, an excellent dressing, 183 . Berri, cattle of, 46. Berry, Rev. H., injunctions laid down by, for breeding cattle, 42. Bird, Mr., on the cross-breed of the zebu and gayal, 21. Bison Americanus, 3 ; European, description of the, 8 ; odour of the, 8 ; flesh of, used as food, 10; hunting of the, by the American Indians, 10; ferocity of the, 11. Blacknnor, breed of cattle in vale of, 64. Black-water, 152. Blain, or gloss anthrax, causes and symptoms of, 137; treatment of, 138 ; is contagious, 138. Blisters, 183. Bloxedge, a celebrated bull, 58. Bloomfield, his description of a Suffolk cheese, 81. Bceufs de nature and de haul cru, descriptions of, 46. Bogra el weish, Arabian wild ox, 12. Bolingbroke, a celebrated bull, 83. Booth's distillery, mode of fattening oxen in, 96. Bornou, description of zebu of, 19. Bos, the genus, 2 ; subdivided by naturalists, 2 ; leading characters of, 2 ; brachyceros, heads of, in the British Museum, 12; CaiFer, or Cape buffalo, 12; longifrons, description of the skull of, 14 ; Pegasus, a species of buffalo, 12; primigenius, 14; Sooticus, wild oxen of England, 13. Bovine race, fossil skulls of, in the British Museum, 14. Bourbon, breed of cattle in, 46. Brahmin bull used as a beast of draught and burden, 22. Brain, inflammation of the, symptoms of, 130; treatment of, 131. Breeding, principle to be guided by in, 41, 42. Breeds of cattle most valued for milking, 43. Brindled Beauty, a valuable cow, 59. Brown, Mr., his account of horn-cores, 14; on the symptoms of inflammation of the liver, 128. Bruce on the zebu of Abyssinia, 20. Bruises of cattle, treatment of the, 163. Byron, Lord, his description of a bull-fight, 53. Buchanan, Dr., his description of the cry of the gayal, 4. Buffalo, the semi-domesticated, 6 ; wild different opinions re- specting, 6 ; superiority of, for agricultural purposes, 22. Bull, various names for, 57. Bull, Galloway, 78. Bull-fights of Rome, 17. Bullocks, sacred to Siva, 23. Burchell, Mr., his description of the sadd!e-ox, 25. Burckhardt on the Arab's mode of making butter, 28. Burgogne, breed of cattle of, 47. Butter, little known by the Greeks and Romans, 28 ; used in the East from the earliest ages, 28 ; fouduess for, of the Arabs, 29. Butyrum, a kind of butter mentioned by Pliny, 28. INDEX TO THE OX. Cabbage, cultivation of the, as food for cattle, 112. C^cum, the, description of, 145. Caesar, his description of tlie urus, 9. Caledonian joint stock diiny, 94. Calamine ointment, useful in supeviicial wounds, 183. Calf, twin female, not necessarily barren, 40 ; experiment to prove the contrary, 41. Calomel, useful in dysentery, 179. Calves, inst;inces of three and four at a birth, 41 ; mode of fattening in Forfarshire, 79 ; diseases and treatment of, 173. Camarque, Pays de, breed of cattle of, 48. Campagiia of Rome, bulls of the, 17. Canley, breed of cattle, 58. Cantley, Captain, remains of a species of ox found by, 16. Cape buffalo, description of the, 12. Capture of bulls in the Alemtejo, 51. Carawax seeds, useful as a cordial, 181. Carnarvonshire, breed of cattle in, 71. Carob-trec, pods of, a nutricious food for cattle, 112. Carriclc, breed of cattle of, 74. Carrot, Ihe, a valuable food for cattle, 115. Carved delineations of the zebu, 20, Castor oil, an excellent purgative, 179. Cataract of the eye, 158. Catarrh, or hoose, nature, symptoms and treatment of, 121 ; is epidemic, 122. Catechu, an effectual astringent, 182. Cateshy, on mixing the breed of bisons with tame cattle, 3. Cattle, tame, of the ancient Britons, l(i; wild, of Chillnig- hain Paik, probably descended from, IG ; vast herds of, in Spain and Portugal, 51; of Great Britain, division into sections of the, 56 ; progressive changes in the breeds of, 86 ; general rules for the treatment of, 88. Cattle-fairs of England, 105. Caucasian mountains, bison of the, 10. Caustics, 183. Chalets, or public dairies of Switzerland, 49. Charges, or plasters, 184. Charolais, cattle of, 46. Chatelherault Park, wild ox of, 13 ; cattle of, description of, 55. Cheese, made from the milk of sheep and goats, 28. Cheshire, renowned as a dairy county, 60. Chillingham Park, wild white ex of, 13 ; description of wild cattle of, 13; instance of their tenacity of lite, 18. Chloride of lime, a disinfectant, 181. Cholet, breed of cattle of, 47. Chorea, unknown in honied cattle, 142. Chowries, of India, made of the tail of the yak, 7. Christmas, supply of beef at, 99. Chyle, the composition of, 109. Clapperton his description of the zebu of Bornou, 19. Cleanliness, indispensable in a dairy, 94. Clouted, or Devonshire, cream, 64. Close breeding, 43. Clover, important as an article of foi)d for cattle, 116; various species of, 116. Clue, or fardel bound, 150. Colic, or fret, 133. CoUings, Mr, C, Teeswater breed brought to perfection by, 82. CoUings, Mr. Robert, prices realised by sale of stock of, 83. Colon, the, description of, 145. Columbo-root, a tonic, ISl. Columella, his description of the labouring ox, 26 ; of the cow, 27. Comparative excellencies of the Galloway and Angus breeds of cattle, 78. Concreiionsin the stomach, causes of, 154; treatment of, 155. Connaught, breed of cattle of, 72. Constitutional temperament ofthe o.x, preliminary remarks relative to, 118. Consumption, causes and symptoms of 125. Contour, or beauty of form, desirable in cattle, 41. Copper-mines, vicinity of, injurious to cattle, 157. Cornwall, breed of cattle of, 62. Corrosive sublimate, solution of, a dangerous application, 161. Cotentin, breed of cattle of, 47. Cottager, general rules for the, in the management of cows, 88. Countess, a valuable cow, 83. Cow, description of the skeleton ofthe, 30; of Savoy, 48 of Lower Saxony, 50; of Westphalia, 50 ; Zetland, 51 various names lor the, 57 ; Cheshire, 60 ; Devonshire, 64 ; Sussex, 68 ; Kerry, 72 ; Kyloe, 74 ; Ayrshire, 74, 75 Galloway, 78 ; Suflblk, SO ; Yorkshire, short-horned, 84 Alderney, 86. Cow-pox, 172; different opinions respecting the origin of the, 173 ; genuine and spurious, 173 ; treatment of the, 173. Craven Park, wild ox of, 13 ; cattle of, 55. Croton oil, a powerful purgative, 179. Cud, chewing the, 2 ; loss of, cause and treatment of, 150. Cuvier, his opinion respecting the urus, 9. Culley, Mr., hisdescription of the wild oxen of Chillingham, 13; on the impossibility of uniting good milkers with good feeders, 44 ; on the shnrt-horned lireed of cattle, 51 ; on the comparative merits of lung and short-horned catile, 61 ; on the yearly produce of a Suffolk cow, 80; on the Holderness breed of c.ttle, 81. Cunningham, Allan, on the departure of a Highland herd of cattle to the south, 102. D, a celebrated bull, 58. Dairies, in Switzerland and Holland, 94 ; plans of, 95. Darwin, Mr., orr the exportation of the hides of the ox, 23 ; on the use of the lasso, 23 ; on the bulls of the Falkland Islands, 24. Denbighshire, dairy much attended to in, 71. Denmark, race of cattle of, 50. Denliarrr, .Major, on the bullock used for the saddle, 25. Dentition of the ox, 31. Derbyshiie cattle, original character of, 60. Desmarest, M , on the breeds of cattle in France, 48. Devonshire catiU', 55 ; bull, description of, 63. Diarrhcea. causes, symptoms, and treatment of, 136. Diet, mi-xture or alternation of, essential to cattle, 99. Digestion, process of, 109. Digestive organs of the ox, description of, 143. Digitalis, u^eiul in reducing the action of the heart, ISO. Dillon, Mr., his description ol the Malabar buffalo, 6. Diseases of cattle, 118. Dishley, or new Leicester long-horns, 41 ; deterioration of the, 50. Disinfectants, 183. Diuretic medicines, 180; serviceable, 180. Domestic zebu brcLd, origin of the, 21. Dorsetshire cheese, 64. Douglas, Mr. David, death of, 25. Drenches, cordial astringent, 182. Dressings, 183. Drop, see milk-fever. Drovers of England and Scotlimd, and droves of cattle, 101, 103. Dumfries, cattle-market of, 78. Dunlop cheese, 75. Duodenum, the, description of, 145. Durham ox, the, 82 ; weight of the, 85. Dutch cattle, or Lincolns, 85 ; dun variety of, introduced by Sir C. Buck, 85. Dysentery, nature ol, 135 ; symptoms and treatment of, 136. Edinburgh, management of dairies in the neighbourhood of, 76. INDEX TO THE OX. Egypt, existence of the zehu race in, 19. Enteritis, 132; causes and symptoms of, 132 ; treatment of, 133. Epilepsy, 141 ; causes, symptoms, and treatment of, 142. Epsom salts, a purgative, 178. Ergot of rye, useful in parturition, 180. Exeter, mixed lireeds of cattle in the vicinity of, 61'. Eye, diseases of the, 158. Eyelids, diseases of the, 158 ; causes and treatment of dis- eases of the, 158. Eyes, inflammation of the, treatment of, 158. Falkirk tryst, description of, from Glasgow Chronicle, 105. Favourite, a noted bull, 83. Ferocity of the bison, 11. Fever, simple, causes and symptoms of, 119 ; inflammntory, symptoms and treatment of, 120 j typhus, symptoms and treatment of, 121 ; milk, or puerperal, 169. Fever-mixture, a good, for cattle, 180. Fibrin, what, 107. Flatulent colic, causes, symptoms, and treatment of, 133. Fleming, Dr., his description of a skull, 14. Flight, Mr., the present proprietor of Laycock's Dairy, 90. Flintshire, a dairy county, 71 ; breed of cattle in, 71. Fluid manure, wasted by English dairy farmers, 96. Fcetal calf, unnatural positions of the, 166; mode of ex- tracting the, when dead, from the mother, 166. Foetus, alteration in the position of ihe, 165 ; unnatural positions of the, 166. "oljambe, a celebrated bull, 82. Fomentations, 184. Food, fattening of cattle dependent on the quality of the, 106. Forfarshire, mode of fattening calves in, 79. Fossil skulls, 10 ; relics, 14. Foul in the foot, causes and treatment of, 159. Fowler, Mr., breed of long-horned cattle of, 58. France, breeds of cattle of, 46. Franche Comte, cattle of, 48. Free-martins, description of, 40. Freyburg, breed of catt'e of, 48. Kriar's-balsam, a dressing, 183. Friesland, cattle of, SO. Gadfly, the, of the ox, extract from the Pictorial Museum of Animated Nature, descriptive of the, 162. Gaijal, the, 3. Gayal, description of the, 3. Galloway, breed of c.ittle of, 77. Galloway ox, 55. Garget, nature, causes, and treatment of, 171. Garrick, a valuable bull, 58. Gascon breed of cattle, description of the, 46. Gelatin, what, 107. Gelle, M., on inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach, 135. Gentian, a tonic, 181. George, a celebrated calf, 83. Gestation, period of, in the cow, 40 ; natural period of, 164; precautions to be taken during, 165. Ghee, or liquid butter of India, 29 ; mode of preparation of, 29. Ginger, a cordial, 181. Glamorganshire, breed of cattle of, 69. Glauber's salts, an excellent purgative, 178. Gloucestershire, a dairy county, %5 ; breed of cattle of, QQ. Gluten, description of, 107. Goulard lotion, highly useful, 184. Gour, the, 3. Graham, Professor, on the comparative excellence of malt and barley as food for cattle. 111. firay, Mr., his descriplion of the Bos Brachyceros, 12. Gr.'::t liritain, horned cattle of, 54; superiority of the caulo of, 56. Grinders, or molar teetli, 33. Groningen, cattle of, 50. Gruy^res, breed of cattle of, 48. Guano, analysis of, 113; fertilizing power of, lit; intro- duction of, for manure, 11-3. Gullet, obstruction of the, 145 ; symptoms and treatment of, 146. Gum, existing in all vegetables, 107. Gutteridge, Mr., on the success of neurotomy, 164. Gyall, the, 3; fine specimen of the, in the Zoological Gar- dens, 3 ; cross-breed of, with the common Indian bull, 4. Harris, Mr., his description of the gyall, 3. Haw, inflammation of the, 159 ; treatment of, 159. Hayes, Mr , on a case of inflammation of the brain, 132. Hearing, sense of, acute in the ox, 35. Heart, inflammation of, 126 ; causes, symptoms, and treat- ment of, 126. Hebrides, cattle of the, 73. Hellebore, white, a sedative, 180 ; useful in pneumonia, 124 Hemlock, long-leaved water, deleterious to tlie ox, 35. Hepatitis, symptoms and treatment of, 127 ; cases of, 128. Herefordshire, breed of cattle of, 65; essentially a breeding county, Q5. Herefordshire cattle, 55. Herodotus, his description of the bull Apis, 22 ; on the Piconian wild oxen, 10. Hindus, veneration for the gayal, 4. Holland, breed of cattle of, 50. Holstein, breed of cattle of, 50. Honiton, dairies in the vale of, 64. Hoove, 143; cause, symptoms, and treatment of, 147; chloride of lime useful in, 147 ; singular case of, 148. Horns, of the aurochs, prodigious size of, 9; of the zebu, disease in, 20 ; tendency to the development of the, in cattle, 20; an indication of age in the ox proved to be fallacious, 34. Hubback, a celebrated bull, 82. Hungarian breed of white cattle, 17. Hnngary, cattle of, 49. Husard, M., on mixing yew-cuttings with other food, 36. Husbandry, oxen less available than the horse in, 45. Icf.land, cattle of, 50- Ileum, the, description of, 145. Importations of cattle from abroad, 99, 100. Insisor-teeth, 31. Inflammation, of the larynx, 122; of the lungs, 123; of the heart, 126; of tlie liver, 127; of the brain, 130; of the spleen, 130; of the peritoneum, 132; of the mucous membrane of the stomach, 135 ; of the kidneys, 137 ; of the tongue, 137; of the eyes, 158; of the haw, 159; of the substance of the udder, 171. Injections, aperient, 178; sedative, 178. Instruments with which the farmer should be provided, 184. Intelligence of the ox, 39; anecdotes illustrative of, 39. Intestinal canal, description of the, 144. Introsusceptio, what, 134; strange remedy for, 134. Iodide of potassium, a convenient preparation, 179. Iodine, most valuable in its uses, both internal and ex- ternal, 179. Ireland, breeds of cattle of, 59 ; trade of in butter and cattle, 72. Isis, venerated under the form of a cow, 22. Italy, breed of cattle of, 49 ; buffaloes of, 7. Jaundice, causes of, 128 ; treatment of, 129. Jejunum, description of the, 145. Jenner, Dr., discovery of cow-pox by, 172. Jersey, breed of cattle of, 48. Johnson, on the droves of cattle of Russia, 49. Jungly Gdu, the, 3. INDEX TO THE OX. Jura Mountains, breed of cattle of the, 48. Jutland, short-horned race of cattle traced from, 50. Kerry breed of cattle, 72. Kidneys, inflannmation of the, 137 ; causes, symptoms, and treatment of, 137. Kino, an astringent, 182. Klein, Mr. Jacob, his description of the fossil skull of a bison, 15. Kolben, instances of the intelligtnce of the backeley or war oxen given by, 39. Kotzebue, Otho Von, on the exportation of European cattle, 25. Kyloes, orblack cattle of Scotland, 73; description of the, 73. La Charente, the Marais of, breed of oxen of, 47. Lady, a celebrated cow, 83. La Marche, cattle of, 46. Lanarkshire, celebrated for the rearing of calves, 76; mode of fattening calves in, 76. Lancashire breed of cattle, 55, 57. Lard, an ingredient in ointments and plasters, 183, 184. Larynx, inflammation of the, 122 ; symptoms and treatment of, 122. Lasso, dexterity in throwing the, 23. Laura, a celebrated cow, 83. Laudanum, an antispasmodic, 181. Laycock's Dairy, description of, 90, 92. Lead mines, vicinity of, injurious to cattle, 156. Lead, white, the basis of a cooling ointment, 183. La Vaillant, on the courage of ihe backeley, or war oxen, 40. Lice, mode of destroying in cattle, 161. Lime, carbonate of, a most useful antacid, 182. Limosin, cattle of, 46. Lincolnshire ox, the, 85. Lines, descriptive of the cow, 44. Linnajus on the loss of cattle from eating the long-leaved water-hemlock, 35. Linseed oil little inferior to castor oil, 179. Lithuania, horns of aurochs of, 10. Lithuanian aurochs, origin of the, 15. Liver, inflammation of the, 127. Live-stock, increase of importation of, into England, 101. Locked-jaw, cause, symptoms, and treatment of^ 142. London markets, arrival at, of country-killed meat, 100. Long-horned cattle, decline of, in various counties of Eng- land, 61. Loo, or low (see Foul in the foot), 159. Lord, Mr., on the treatment of pneuironia, 124. Lothians, various breeds of cattle in, 76. Lotions, 184. Lucern, a valuable article of food for cattle, 115 ; manage- ment of, 115. Lunar caustic, useful in removing warts, 183. Lungs, inflammation of the, 123 ; symptoms of, 123. Lyme Hall park, wild cattle in, 61. Lyon, Captain, his description of bovine animals, 12. Mackfnzie, Sir G., on Iceland cattle, 50. Macrae, Mr., his statement respecting the gayal, 4. Maine, breed of cattle of, 47. Major, a celebrated bull, 83. Malabar, description of the buffalo of, 6. Malt, an .irticle of food for caitle, 110. Manilla buffalo, description of ttie, 6. Man, Isle of, cattle in, 71. Mange, treatment of, 161 ; ointment for, 161. Mangold-wurzel, culture of, 114; analysis of, 117. Mantell, Dr., description of a pair of horns in the collection of J 5. Manyplus, description of the, 144; retention of food in the, 150; causes of obscure, 150; coies of, 150; symp- toms at d treatment of, 151. Marsden, Mr , on tame buSaloes, 6. Martial on the hubalus, 9. Medicine, mode of administering to caitle, 144. Medicines employed in the treatment of cattle, 177; with which the farmer should be provided, 184. Mercury, sulphate of, useful in cutaneous diseases, 179. Merionethshire, breed of cattle in, 71. Mesenteric glands, enlargement of the, symptoms and treatment of, 155. Mesentery, description of the, 145. Metropolitan Dairy, 94. Middle-horned stock of cattle, 62; description of the, 62. Millbank, Mr., enormous weight of an ox bred by, 82 ; of a cow bred by, 82. Milk, fever, 169 ; different opinions as to the cause of, 169; symptoms of, 169; treatment of, 170, 171; sub- stitutes lor, for calves, 177. Milking cattle, anticipated degeneracy of, 86. Miscarriage, see Arboition. Mixture of the zebu and European race of cattle, 20. Mode of judging of the weight of cattle, 87. Molar teeth, 33. Montgomeryshire, two varieties of cattle in, 71. Moor-ill, see Wood-evil. Mucous membrane of the stomach, iriflammation of the, 135 ; causes and symptoms of, 135. Mucus, what, 107. Mundy, Mr., breed of cattle of, 59. Murrain, account of the, in England in the eighteenth century, 122; symptoms of, 122; absurd remedies for, 122. Museum of Paris, fossil skulls in the, 16. Musk ox. description of the, 11 ; hunting of the, 11. Myrrh, tincture of, a useful dressing, 183. Nantes, cattle of, 47. Navel-ill, causes and treatment of, 175. Neurotomy, advantages of, and mode of performing, 164. Niebelungen Lied, verses from the, 14. Nitrate of potass, a good cooling lotion, 180, 184. Nitre, or nitrate of potass, a uselul febrifuge medicine, 180. Nitrous ether, spirit of, 180. Nivernois, cattle of, 47. Nomadic herdsmen oi Russia, 49. Norfolk, breed of cattle of, 79. North America, bison of, 3. North Devon, cattle of, 62. Northumberland, Earl of, extract from the household book of, in the time of Henry VIII., 54. Nostrums, the farmer and cattle-keeper to beware of, 184. Noxious plants, accessible to grazing cattle, 35, 36. Nux vomica, recommended in cases of palsy, 141. OJsoPHAGUS, description of the, 143. Oilcake, composition of, 112. Oily or fatty matters, 108. Ointments, 183. Oleaginous purgative, an, 179. Olive oil, an excellent purgative, 179. Ophthalmia, causes and treatment of, 158; periodical treat- ment of, 158. ' Opium, an antispasmodic, 180. Orkney Islands, breed of cattle of, 74. Osiris, venerated under the form of a bull, 22. Ovibus Moschatus, the, or musk ox, 11. Owen, Profei^sor, his opinion respecting the origin of the Lithuanian aurochs, 16; notice of a skull found at Heme Bay, 14. Ox, of the ruminating order of quadrupeds, 1 ; wild, dif- ferent names for the, 7 ; Egyptian adoration of the, 21 ; universality of, 23 ; of Aunis, 47 ; of Fontenay, 47 ; of La Charente, 47 ; of the Marais to the north of Luyon, 47 ; of Poitou, 47; Devonshire, 63; Sussex, 67; Pembroke, 69; Galloway, 77. Oxen, used for the plough, 27 ; for treading out corn, 27; INDEX TO THE OX. various breeds of, 46 ; names much used for the plough in Devonshire, 64. Oxen-drivers of Africa, cruelties practised by the, 20. Oxmantown, Lord, cattle bred by, 59. Pack-oxen of South Africa, 25. Paget, Mr., breed of cattle of, 59. Palsy, causes and symptoms of, 140 ; ignorance as to the cause of, 141 ; absurd remedies resorted to for, 141 ; treatment of, 141. Pantas, see Wood-evil. Parkinson, Mr., on the produce of a Suffolk cow, 81 ; on the mode of treating foul-in-the-foot, 160. Parmesan, cheese of the, 49. Parsnips, a useful food for cattle, 117. Parturition, 164; cases of, in which assistance is needful, 166; management of the cow during, 165; precursor signs of, 165 ; use of ergot of rye in, 165. Pembroke ox, description of the, 69. Penny CyclopEedia, directions forjudging of the weight of cattle given in, 87 ; extract from, on herdsuien and drovers, 101. Percival, Mr., on the different breeds of oxen at the Cape and in South Africa, 26. Perkins, Mr., cattle market erected by, 104. Phrenitis, 130; symptoms and treatment of, 131. Phthisis, or consumption, nature of, 125; is hereditary^ 126; use of iodine in, 126. Pitch," forms a good plaster, 184. Plants, which are cordials and stimulants, 37; list of, eaten by the goat, 37 ; by the hog, 37. Plasters, 184. Playfair, Profes-or Lyon, on the superiority of barley to malt as food for cattle, 111. Pleuritis, causes, symptoms, and treatment of, 125. Pliny, on wild o.xen, 9 ; his directions for making buty- rum, 28. Pneumonia, symptoms of, 123 ; treatment of, 124. Poeonian bonassos, mentioned by Aristotle, 9. Poison, symptoms of, 37 ; different kinds of, 156 ; effect of, 156 ; treatment of cattle affected by, 157. Poitou, breed of oxen of, 47. Polled stock of cattle, the, 77. Poppv-heads, useful as a fomentation, 184, Port Essington, wild animals in the forests adjacent to, 25. Portugal, herds of cattle of, 18. Potass, carbonate of, 182. Pottie, Mr., on foot-root in the ox, 160. Poultices, 183. Preserved meat, arrival of in London from Russia, 101. Princep, Mr., valuable breed of cattle of, 59. Prize oxen, 56. Probang, improvements in the, 146. Prout, Dr., on the general composition of the chyle, 109 ; on chlorine, 110. Pulse, the, of the o.x, 119. Purgative, an active, 179. Purg;itives which may readily be made up, 179. Puerperal fever, see Milk fever. Queen of the Scots, a celebrated heifer, 78. Rabies, see Phreniti.s. Radnorshire, breed of cattle of, 70. Rape-cake, used as manure, 112. Rask, Professor, on the ancient peopling of India, 21. Read, Mr., description of prohang invented by, 146. Rectum, description of the, 145. Red-water, nature, causes, and symptoms of, 152; Mr. Ynuati's description of, 152 ; treatment of, 153. Religious establishments, munificence of, 54. Reproduction, 40. Resin, forms a useful plaster, 184. Restinji-grounds for cattle in the outskirts of London, 104. Reticulum, description of the, 144. Rheumatism, acute, symptoms of, 139 ; treatment of, 140 ; chronic, treatment of, 140. Rhodes, .Messrs., dairy of, 93. Richardson, Dr., on the uses of the skin of the bison, 10. Rogers, Captain, on the localities and habits of thegour, 5. Romans, aimed at breeding oxen for labour, 27. Rudge, Mr., on the profit of a Gloucestershire dairy, 67. Rumen, descri|)tion of the, 144; distension of the, with food, 149; treatment of, 149; case of, related by Mr. Steel, 149. Ruminantia, or ruminating animals, 1; characteristics of, 1. Rumination, description of, 2. Russia, cattle of, 49. Russian government, penalty to, for killing European bison, 8. Saccharine principle, abundant in many vegetables, 107. Sainfoin, a valuable food for cattle, 116; management of, 116. Saintonge, breed of cattle of, 46. Salesmen employed in the sale of cattle, 101. Salt, importance of, in the animal economy, 109 ; essential to the health of cattle, 92 ; common, an excellent purga- tive and vermifuge, 178. Salted provisions imported into the United Kingdom, 100. Scarlet obnoxious to the bull, 35. Scotland, breeds of cattle of, 73. Scott, Sir W., his lines on the Argyleshire wild bull, 74 ; on Highland herdsmen, 102. Scottish Highlands, cattle of, 55. Scriptural allusions to butter, 29. Sedative and febrifuge medieines, ISO. Seloi, or as'l gayal, description of the, 5. Setons, 182. Shakspere, a celebrated bull, 58. Shaw, his description of butter-making in Barbary, 29. Shetland Islands, breed of cattle of, 74. Shial, the, 3. Short-horned breed of cattle, the, 81 ; improvements in the breed of, 83. Shropshire, changes in cattle in, 61. Sight, sense of, of the ox, 35. Silver, nitrate of, a caustic, 183. Simonds, Mr., probang armed with forceps invented by, 146; on the symptoms of milk fever in cattle, 169. Skeleton of the cow, description of the, 30. Skin, diseases of the, 161 ; causes and symptoms of, 161. Skulls of aurochs, 10 ; names under which various fossil skulls of oxen and bisons are described, 10. Slinking, see Abortion. Smell, sense of, acute in the aurochs, 9 ; in the ox, 35. Smith, Colonel, his description of a species of zebu, 21. Smithfield market, cruelties of, notorious, 34 ; reasons for and against the abolition of, 104. Soda, carbonate of, 182. Soiling, or stall-feeding of cattle, 90. Solinus, his mention of bisons, 9. Somersetshire, cheeses of, 66 ; dairy farms of, 65. South America, beids of cattle of, 3; descended from the domestic oxen of the Spaniards, 3. Spain, herds of cattle of, 18. Spasmodic colic, symptoms and treatment of, 134. Spleen, inflammation of the, 130; causes and symptoms of, 130. Spooner, Mr., on the cesophagean canal, 143. Staffordshire, original breed of cattle of, 61. Stall-feeding of cattle advocated, 97 ; objections to, 97. Starch, properties of, 108 ; convertible into sugar, lOS. Steer, or labouring o.x, used for the purposes of draught, 4I-. Stimulants, 183 ; and cordials, 181. Strains of cattle, treatment of the, 163. Suflblk cow, description of, 80 ; duns, SO. INDEX TO THE OX. Sugar, pre-eminently nutritious, 106. Sulphate of iron a tonic, 181. Sulphur, 17S. Sulphuric ether, a powerful stimulant, 181. Sultan, a valuable bull, 58. Sussex, cattle of, 67 ; not a dairy county, 67. Swiss breeds of cattle, 48. Sykes, Lieut. -Col., on tlie extensive breeding of o.xen in India, 22. Symmetry of the bull, 43 ; of the cow, 43 ; of the ox, 43. Tankerville, Lord, his description of Chillingham-park wild cattle, 18. Tar, an excellent covering for broken horns, 184. Tares, an important article of food for cattle, 117. Tartar emetic, a most valuable medicine, 180 ; ointment of, a powerful irritant to the skin, 180. Tartars, the, use of the tail of the yak as a standard in battle, 7. Taste, sense of, in the ox, 35. Taunton, cattle of the vale of, 65. Tavernier, on the price and food of oxen used in travel- ling, 22. Teats, treatment of sore, 172. Teeswater, or Holderness breed of cattle, SI. Tetanus, cause, symptoms, and treatment of, 142 ; gene- rally fatal, 142. Thevenot on the use of the o.\en of India for travelling, 22. Thibet, ox of, 7. Thorns, mode of extracting from the foot, 159. Thrush, symptoms and treatment of, 139. Tobacco-water a dangerous remedv, 161. Tongue of the ox, description and functions of, 38. Tonics, 181. Tornea, mortality among cattle in, 36. Touraine, cattle of, 46. Traill, Dr., his description of the gnur, 5. Triptolemus, conquest of the Indians by, 21. Trysts, or fairs, of Scotland, 105. Turner, Mr., his description of the tame breed of buffaloes, 7. Turnill, Captain, breed of cattle founded by, 86. Turnip, importance of the, as food for cattle, 113: propor- tions of the ingredients of, analysed, 113; most advan- tageous mode of consuming, 114. Turpentine, spirit of. efficacy in bronchitis, 123 ; a useful medicine for calves. 175 ; a diuretic, an anti-spasmodic, and a vermifuge, 180. Twopenny, a celebrated bull, 58. Udder, inflammation of the substance of the, see Garget. Unguent, a useful, in mange, 183. Urus, or uhr-ox, descriptoin of, 8, 9. Uterus, rupture of, during parturition, 167. Utrecht, catlle of, 50. Varro, his description of the ox, 26 Veal of the Loudon markets, 61. Vegetable kingdom, elementary constituents of, 106. Ventilation indispensable in a dairy, 94. Verandah, useful round a dairy, 94. Verdigris, a caustic, 183. Vetches, an important article of food for cattle, 117. Virgil, his description of a heifer, 26 ; of the threshing- floor, 27. Vitriol, blue, a caustic, 183. Von Spix on the uses of the tame cattle of Brazil, 24. Waden, description of the, 12. Wagons drawn by oxen in South Africa, 26. Wales, cattle of, 55 ; middle-horned cattle of, 69. Wallachia, cattle of, 49. Warbles, 161; mode of destroying, 163. Warts, on the eyelids, 158 ; mode of removing, 158. Washington, a valuable bull, 58. Water, good clear, essential to cattle, 118. Wax, useful as an inaredient in plaster, 184. Weaning of calves, 176. Weissenborn, Dr., on the strength and haunts of the aurochs, 8. White buffalo, description of the, 12 ; cattle always much esteemed, 17; oxen of Poland, 17. White, Mr., on turning out cattle in winter, 51-; on the disorder termed minderhig, 156. Wild cattle of Europe and Western Asia, different opinions respecting the origin of, 20. Willoughby, Sir C, introduction of short-horned cattle by, 61. Wine used in the treatment of cattle, 182. Wood-evil, causes, symptoms, and treatment of, 151. Woods, Mr., his description of the horns of a skull, 14. Wool of the musk ox, uses of, 12. Worship of the ox first taught by Triptolemus, 21. Wounds of cattle, 163 ; various kinds of, 163 ; treatment of, 163. Yak, tame breed, description of the, 7 ; wild, description of the, 7; little known respecting the habits of, 7. Yellows, or jaundice, 128. Yew, shoots of, injurious to cattle, 36. Yorkshire cattle, description of, 57. Youatt, Mr., on the food of the labouring ox, 44 ; on its activity, 45; on the polled cattle of Angus, 76; on the adulteration of milk, 90 ; his calculation as to the num- ber of head of cattle fattened in and about London, 97 ; his estimate of cattle yearly brought to the London markets, 99; on rabies in the ox, 131; on red-water, 152; on neurotomy, 164. Yvart, M., on the plants in France injurious to cattle, 36. Zebu race, peculiarities of the, 19 ; localities of the, 19; antiquity of, in India, 20; veneration for, 20. Zinc, sulphate of, a useful lotion for the eye, 184. INDEX TO THE HOUSE. Abyssinian horse, account of the, 199. Acetabulum, description of the, 438. Acetic acid, its properties, 537. Acini, description of, 397. Action of the hackney described, 248 ; high, not indispen- sable in the hackney, 248. Adeps, priperties of .537. .ffithiop's mineral, an alterative, 547. jfithusa cynapium, poisonous, 393. Age, natural, of the horse, 330; of the horse as indicated by the teeth, 325 ; other indications of, 330. Air, a supply of pure, necessary for the health of the horse, 510. Alcohol, its medicinal properties, 537. Alfred, his attention to the improvement of the horse, 225. Aloes, BarbaHocs, far preferable to Cape, 538 i descrip- tion of the different kinds of, 538; principal adulterations of, 539 : tincture of, its composition and use, 539. Alteratives, the best, 539 ; nature and effect of, 539. Alum, the use of, in restraining purging, 539; solution of. a good wash for grease, 539 ; burnt, a stimulant and caustic for wounds, 539. American horse, description of the, 215. Ammonia, given in flatulent colic, 539 ; vapour of, plenti- fully extricated from dung and urine, most injurious to the eyes and lungs, 539. Anchylosis of bones, what, 348. Anderson, Dr., his account of the galloway, 259. Animal poisons, an account of, 393. Animal power compared with that of the steam-engine, 554; its advantnges over mechanical, except where velocity is required, 557. Animals, zoological division of, 262. Anise-seed, its properties, 539. Anodyne, opium the only one to be depended on, 539. Antea spinatus nutscle, description of the, 421. Antimonial powder, a good febrifuge, 540. Antimiiny, black sulphuret of, method of detecting its adulterations, 539 ; tised as an alterative, 540 ; tartarized, used as a nauseant, diaphoretic, and worm medicine, 540. Antispasmodics, nature of, 540. Apoplexy, nature and treatment of, 285. Aqueous fluid, an, why placed in the Uibyrinlh of the ear, 274 ; humour of the eye, description of the, 280. Arab breed, the, introduced by James I., 231. Arabia, not the original country of the horse, 201 ; few good horses there even in the seventh century, 201. Arabian horse, history of the, 201 ; Bishop Heber's descrip- tion of, 205 ; comparison between, and the barb, 203 ; general firm of, 202 ; qualities of, 202 ; scanty nourish- ment of, 206 ; treatment of, 205 ; varieties of, 202. Arabs, attachment of, to their horses, 205 ; value their mares more than their horses, 206. Arched form of the skull, advantage of, 270. Arm, description of the, 423; action of, explained on the principle of the lever, 419, 423 ; extensor muscles of the, 424; flexor muscles of the, 424; full and swelling, advantage of, 425 ; should be muscular and long, 425 ; fracture of the, 478. Arsenic, medical use of, 540 ; treatment under poison by, 394. Arteries, description of the, 339; of the arm, 423; of the face, 309; neck, 339 ; shoulder, 417. Ascaiis, account of the, 405. Ascot course, length of the, 239. Astragalus, account of the, 442. Athelstan, his attention to the improvement of the horse, 225. Atlas, anatomy of the, 336. Attechi, the, an Arabian breed, 202. Auscultation, the Importance of, 365. Australian horse, description of the, 209. Axle, friction of the, dependent on the material employed, 584. Back, general description of the, 347 ; proper form of the, 347; long and short, comparative advantages of, 348; anatomy of the, 347 ; muscles of the, 349. Backing, of the colt, 502; a bad habit of the horse, usual origin of it, 502. Back sinews, sprain of the, 430; thickening of the, consti- tuting unsouudness, 534. Balls, the manner of giving, 540; the manner of making, 540. Barb, description of the, 199, 201, 237 ; comparison between, and the Arabian, 203. Barbs or paps, treatment of, 333. Bark, Peruvian, the properties ot it. 541. Barley considered as food for the hor-se, 517. Barnacles, use of the, as a mode of restraint, 492. Bar-shoe, description and use of, 489. Barrel, proper shape of the, in the hunter, 244. Bars, description and office of the, 452 ; proper paring o for shoeing, 453 ; folly of cutting them away, 453 ; re- moval of, a cause of contraction, 453 ; corns, 453. Basilicon ointment, 541. Bay horses, description of, 527; Malton, account of him, 235. Beans, good for hardly worked horses, and that have a ten- dency to purge, 518, 520 ; should always be crushed, 185. Bearing-rein, the use and abuse of, 321. Beet, the nutritive matter in, 520. Belladonna, extract of, 541. Berners, Juliana, authoress of the first book on hunting, 246 Bible, history of the horse in the, 187. Biceps femorls, account of the, 440. Bile, account of the, 397, 398, Birman horse, account of the, 209. Bishoping the teelh, description of, 329. Biting, a bad habit, and how usually acquired, 502. Bit, the, often too sharp, 322; the ancient, 193; sometimes got into the mouth, 503. Bitting of the colt, 415. Black horses, description and character of, 257, 527. Bladder, description of the, 409; inflammation of, symptoms and treatment, 410; neck of, 410 ; stone in the, 410. Bleeding, best place for general, 362, 493 ; directions for, 339, 362; from veins rather than arteries, 339; com- parison between the fleam and lancet, 362; at the toe described, 363 ; finger should be on the pulse during, 493 ; importance of, in inflammation, 493. Blindness, usual method of discovering, 280; discovered by the pupil not dilating or contracting, 280 ; of one eye, 280. Blistering all roujid at once, barbarity and danger of, 491, 541 ; after firing, absurdity and cruelly of, 495. Blisters, best composition of, 494 ; the difl'erent kinds and uses of, 493 ; best mode of applying, 494 j caution witli 11 INDEX TO THE HORSE. regard to their application, 494' ; the principle of their action, 541 ; use of, in inflammation, 494; comparison between them and rowels and setons, 497. Blood, changes in during respiration, 354 ; change in after bleeding, 363; coagulation of, 363 ; horses, very subject to contraction, 461. Blood-spavin, nature and treatment of, 362. Bloody urine, 409. Bog-spavin, nature and treatment of, 362, 444. Bole, Armenian, medical use of, 541. Bone spavin, nature and treatment of, 414. Bots in the stomach, natural history of, 391 ; not usually injurious, 392. Bournou horse, description of the, 200. Bowels, inflammation of the, 401. Brain, description of the, 265, 271 ; its cortical and cineri- tious composition, 271; the office of each, 271, 272: compression of the, 284; pressure on the, 284; inflam- mation of the, 287. Bran, as food for the horse, 518. Breaking in, cruel Arabian method of, 205 ; the South American method of, 213; should commence in the second winter, 414 ; description of its various stages, 414 ; necessity of gentleness and patience in, 414; of tlie farmer's horse, 414; of the hunter or hackney, 415. Breast, muscles of the, 350. Breathing, the mechanism of, 354. Breeding, 251; as applied to the farmer's horse, 251; qualities of the mare of as much importance as those of the horse, 251, 411 ; the peculiarity of form and consti- tution inherited, 411 ; in-and-in, observations on, 412. Brewers' horses, account of them, 257 ; portrait of one, 258 ; account of their breed, 258. Bridle, the ancient, 193. Broken down, what, 430. Broken knees, treatment of, 531 ; method of judging of the danger of, 531 ; when healed not unsoundness, but the form and action of the horse should be carefully examined, 531. Broken wind, nature and treatment of, 383 ; influenced much, and often caused by the manner of feeding, 383 ; how distinguished from thick wind, 384. Bronchial tubes, description of the, 343. Bronchitis, nature and treatment of, 376. Bronchocele, account of, 369. Bronchotomy, the operation of, 342. Brood mare, description of the, 411 ; should not be too old, 412 ; treatment of, after covering, 413 ; after foaling, 413. Brown horses, description of, 527. Bryony, dangerous, 394. Buccinator muscle, descriptinn of the, 310. Bucephalus, account of, 192. Burleigh, Lord, his opinion of hunting, 245, Busbequius, his interesting account of the Turkish horse, 212. Cabbage, the nutritive matter in, 520. Caecum, description of the, 396. Calamine powder, account of, 553. Calculi in the intestines, 403. Calkins, advantages and disadvantages of, 485 ; should be placed on both heels, 485. Calmuck horse, description of the, 220. Camphor, the n)edical use of, 541. Canadian horse, description of the, 215. Canals, advantages and disadvantages of, 568 ; smallness of power requisite for the transmission of goods by them, 568. Canal-boat, calculation of the draught of, 568 ; the ease of draught of, might be increased by a different mode of applying the power, 568. Canker of the foot, nature and treatment of, 471. Cannon, or shank-bone, description of the, 427. Canter, action of the horse during, 560. Cantharides, form the best blister, 393, 541 ; given for the cure of glanders, 393, 542. Cape of Good Hope, the horses of, 201. Capillary vessels, the, 359. Capivi, balsam of, 543. Capped hock, nature and treatment of, 436 ; description of, 436, 447 ; although not always unsoundness, there should be a special warranty against it, 531. Capsicum berries, their stimulating effect, 542. Carbon of the blood got rid of in respiration, 377. Carbonate of iron, a mild tonic, 546. Carraways, a good aromatic, 542. Carriage-horses produced by crossing the Suffolk with a hunter, 257. Carriages, two and four-wheeled, comparison between, 582 ; light, should have no longitudinal elasticity in the hang- ing or springs, 582; disadvantage of C springs iu, 582 ; hung on straps or springs in the time of Homer, 565. Carrots, excellent effects of, in disease, 520 ; the nutritive matter in, 520. Carts, two-wheeled, computation of the friction of, 580; can perform proportionally more work than wagons, 580 ; easier loaded, and do not so much injure the roads, 580 ; require better horses and more attendants, 580 ; the horse sooner knocked up and injured by the shocks of the shafts, 580 ; on good roads, and for short distances, superior to wagons, 580 ; with two horses, disadvantage of, 580 ; have less draught than wagons, reason why, 580. Cartilages of tlie foot, description and action of the, 456 ; ossification of the, 472, 533 ; a cause of unsoundness, 489. Caruncula lacrymalis, the, 303. Cascarilla bark, a tonic and aromatic, 542. Castley, Mr., on restiveness in the horse, 499. Castor-oil, not a purgative for the horse, 542. Castration, method of, 410 ; proper period for, 410 ; tlie operation by torsion, 410. Cataract in the eye, nature of, 281 ; cannot be operated on in the horse, 281 ; method of examination for, 281 ; the occasional appearance and disappearance of, 305. Catarrh, description and treatment of, 364; distinguished from glanders, 314; distinguished from inflammation of the lungs, 364 ; epidemic, 369. Catarrhal fever, nature and treatment of, 369. Catechu, a good astrmgent, method of giving, and adultera- tions of, 542. Catheter, description of one, 410. Caustic, an account of the best. 542. Cavalry horse, description of the, 202 ; anecdotes of the, 202. Caw), description of the, 598. Cerebellum, description of the, 271. Cerebrum, description of the, 271. Chalk, its medicinal use in the horse, 542. Chaff, attention should be paid to the goodness of the in- gredients, 515 ; best composition of, 515 ; when given to the hard-worked horse much time is saved for repose, 516; quantiiy of, necessary for difl^erent kinds of horses, 516. Chamomile, a mild tonic, 542. Channel of the jaws, what, 325. Charcoal, useful in a poultice, and as an antiseptic, 542. Charges, composition and use of, 5 1-2. Chariots, the first account of the use of, 190; in Solomon's time, 190; the Grecian, 194; description of that of Priam, 573 ; that of Juno described, 574 ; on the freize of the Parthenon, description of, 574; used by the Egyptians 1,500 years before the Christian aera, 573 ; at the siege of Troy, 573 ; description of the ancient, 573 ; of the ancients, could not move with much velocity, 574. Chest, anatomy of the, 344 ; proper form of the, 345, 346 ; INDEX TO THE HOUSE. the importance of depth of, 345 ; narrow and rounded, comparison between, 345; the broad chest, 346; founder, description of, 351. Chestnut horses, varieties of, 527. Chillaby, friendship between liim and a cat, 237. Chinese horse, description of tlie, 209. Chinlced in the chine, wliat, 348. Cliloride of lime, an excellent disinfectant, 54S ; of soda, useful in unhealtliy ulcers, 551. Chorea, 296. Choroid coat of the eye, description and use of the, 279. Chyle, tlie formation of, 396. Ciliary processes of the eye, description of the, 280, Cineritiousmatter ofthe brain, natureand function ofthe, 271. Circassian horse, description of the, 207. Cleveland Bay, description of the, 253. Clicking, cause and remedy of, 506. Clipping:, recommendation of, 524. Clips, \vlien necessary, 486. Clover, considered as an article of food, 519. Clysters, the composition and great us»tulness of, 513 ; directions as to the administration of, 513. Clydesdale horse, description of the, 257. Coaches, calculation of the power of horses in drawing ac- cording to their speed, 562; loaded high, run lighter, especially in rapid travelling, 583 ; safety, heavy draught of, 583. Coaeh-horse, description of the, 253 ; best breed of, 253. Coat, fine, persons much too solicitous to procure it, 513. Cocktail-horse, mode of docking, 498. Coffin-bone, description of the, 454; the lamelliE, or leaves of, 455; fracture of, 4S2. Coffin-joint, sprain of, 435. Cold, common, description and treatment of, 364. Colic, flatulent, account of, 400 ; spasmodic, description and treatment of, 399. Collar, tlie best method of attaching the traces to the horse, 367 ; proper adaptation of, to the shoulder, 563. Colocynth, is poisonous, 393. Colon, description of the, 397. Colonel, account of his performances, 241. Colour, remarks on, 526. Colt, early treatment of the, 413. Complexus major, description of the, 339 ; minor, de- scription of the, 339. Concave-seated shoe, the, described and recommended, 486. Conestoga horses, description of the, 216. Conical wheels, compared wiih flat ones, 577 ; extreme absurdity of, 577 ; strange degree of friction and drag- ging with them, 577 ; afford great resistance and destroy the road, 577 ; are in fact travelling grindstones, 578. Conium maculatum, poisonous, 393. Conjunctiva, description of the, 278; appearance of, how far a test of inflinmiation, 278. Consumption, account of, 385. Contraction of the foot, nature of, 459, 531 ; the pecu- liarity of the lameness produced by, 461 ; how far con- nected with the n.ivicular disease, 463 ; is not the necessary consequence of shoeing, 459 ; produced hy neglect of paring, 460; wearing the shoes too long, 460; want of natural moisture, 460; the removal of the bars, 461 ; not so much produced by litter as imagined, 460; the cause rather than the consequence of thrush, 461; best mode of treating, 462; rarely permanently cured, 462 ; does not necessarily imply unsoundness, 531 ; althougli not necessarily unsoundness, should have a special warranty against it, 531 ; blood liors2s very subject to, 461. Convexity of the eye, the proper, not sufficiently attended to, 278. Copaiba, account of the resin, 543. Copper, the combinations of, used in veterinary practice, 543. Corded veins, what, 318. Cordials, the use and abuse of, in the horfe, 544. Cornea, description of the, 278 ; mode of examining the, 278; its prominence or flatness, 278; should be per- fectly tr.msparent, 278. Corns, the nature and treatment of, 469; produced by cutting away the bars, 469 ; not paring out the foot be- tween the crust and bars, 469 ; pressure, 469 ; very diffi- cult to cure, 469 ; constitute unsoundness, 531. Coronary ligament, description of the, 452 ; the crust prin- cipally i)rodnced from, 452; ring, description of the, 452. Coronet, description of the, 452. Corrosive sublimate, treatment under poison by, 394; a good tonic for farcy, 394, 547. Corsican horse, account of the, 218. Cortical substance of the brain, description of, 272. Cossack horse, description of the, 220 ; beaten in a race by English blood-horses, 220. Cough, the nature and treatment of, 381 ; constitutes un- soundness, 531 ; the occasional difficulty with regard to this, 534. Cow-hocks, description of, 447. Cradle, a safe restraint upon the horse when blistered, 494. Cramp, the nature and treatment of, 294. Cream-coloured horses, account of, 527; peculiarity in their eyes, 279. Cream of tartar, a mild diuretic, 550. Creosote, its use in veterinary practice, 544. Crib-biting, description of, 505; causes and cure, 506; injurious to the horse, 506 ; constitutes unsonndnesF, 506, 531. Cricket-ball, the action of cateliing a, 561. Cricoid cartilage of the windpipe, the, 341. Cromwell, Oliver, his stud of race-horses, 232. Cropping of the ear, absurdity of, 273. Croton, the farina of, used as physic, 544. Crusaders, the improvement of the horse neglected by them, 227. Crust of the foot, description of the, 451 ; composition of the, 451 ; consisting within of numerous horny plates, 452 ; proper degree of it, slanting, 451 ; proper thickness of the, 451 ; brittleness of, remedy for, 435 ; the cause of sandcrack, 464. Crystalline lens, description of the, 281. Cuboid bones, description of the, 442. Cuneiform bones, description of the, 270, 442. Curbs, nature and treatment of, 443 ; hereditary, 252; con- stitute unsoundness, 532. Cuticle, description of the 522. Cutis, or true skin, account of the, 522. Cutting, cause and cure of, 431, 506; constitutes unsound- ness, 532; away the foot, unfouuded prejudice against, 460. Dandriff, thenatrre of, 522. Darley Arabian, account of the, 234. Dartmoor ponies, description and anecdote of, 230. Deacon, Mr., his opinion on the forms of wheels, 553, 579. Denhain, Major, interesting account of the loss of his horse, 205. Depressor labii inferioris muscle, description of the, 310. Desert horses, account of the, 200. Diabetes, the nature and treatment of, 409. Diameter of wheels, the effect of increasing the, 582. Diaphoretics, their nature and efilrcts, 544. Diaphragm, description of the, 351 ; rupture of, 353; its connection with respiration, 353. Digestion, the process of it described, 389. Digestives, their nature and use, 344. Digitalis, highly recommended in colds and all inflamma- tory complaints, 544. Dilator magnus lateralis muscle, description of the, 310 j naiis latetalis muscle, description of the, 310. Dishing of wheels described, and effiict of, 576 ; both in- ward and outward effect of, 579. b INDEX TO THE HORSE. Distressed horse, treatment of the, 246. IHuretic medicines, the use and abuse of, 5i-5. Docking, method of performing, 497- Dogs, danger of encouraging them about the stable, 291. Doncaster course, tlie lengtli of, 2.39. Dongola horse, description of the, 19S. Draught, theory of, 553 ; has not been sufficiently explained, 553, 559; implies the moving power, the vehicle, and the road, 553 ; the moving power particularly considered, 554; considered in respect of the resistance, 557 ; calcu- lation of, according to velocity and time, 557 ; much influenced by the direction of the traces, 563 ; the line of, should be parallel to the direction of motion, 563 ; in cattle, sliould pass through the a.\le of the wheels, 564; in bad roads may have a slight inclination upward, 567 ; resistance of, should be as much as possible firm and in- elastic, 567 ; how increased by the state of the road, 585 ; of boats, difficulty of, increasing rapidly with the velocity, 568; calculation of the power of, 568; of the sledge, 569 ; of the roller, 569 : horse, the heavy, 256 ; horses, the inferior ones about the metropolis, wretched state of, 259. Dray-horse, proper form of the, 258 ; the largest bred in Lincolnshire, 258; usually too large and heavy, 258. Drinks, how to administer, 545 ; comparison between them and balls, 5^-5. Dropsy of the chest, 387 i of the heart, 357. Drum of the ear, description and use of the, 274. Dun horse, account of the, 527. Duodenum, description of the, 296. Diseases of the, 296. Dura mater, desciiption of the, 271. Dutch horse, description of the, 224. Ear, description of the external parts, 273 ; internal parts, 274; bones of the, description and use of, 274 ; labyrinth of the, 274 ; indicative of the temper, 273; clipping and singeing, cruelty of, 273 ; treatment of wounds or bruises of, 306; cruel operations on the, 306. East Indian horse, description of the, 207. Eclipse, the pedigree and history of, 236 ; account of his proportions, 237. Edward 11 introduced Lombardy horses into England, 227. Edward III., the breed of horses much improved by, 227 ; introduced Spanish horses, 227 ; had running horses, 228. Egypt, account of the horses of, 188, 198. Elasticity of the ligament of the neck, 270. Elaterium, poisonous, 393. Elbow, the proper form and inclination of, 423 ; capped, 423; fracture of, 479 ; punctured, 423. Elizabeth, Queen, the number and value of horses much diminished when she reigned, 230 ; a staunch huntress, 245. Emetic tartar, used as a nauseant, diaphoretic, and worm- medicine, 540 . Enamel of the teeth, account of the, 325. English horse, history of the, 224 ; first crossed by the Romans, 224; improved by Athelstan, 225; William the Conqueror, 226 ; John, 227. Ensiform cartilage, the, 345. Entanglement of the intestines, description of, 404. . Enteritis, account of, 401. Epidemic catarrh, nature and treatment of, 369 ; malignant, nature and treatment of, 374. Epiglottis, description of the, 341. Epilepsy, nature and treatment of, 296. Epsom salts, used as a purgative, 549. Epsom course, the length of, 239. Ergot of rye, the action of, 551. Ethmoid bone, description of the, 270. Ethiopian horse, account of the, 198. Euphorbium, the abominable use of it, 393. Ewe-neck, unsightliness and inconvenience of, 338. Exchanges of horses stand on the same ground as sales, 536. Exercise, directions for, 514; the necessity of regular, 514; want of, producing grease, 448 ; more injury done by the want of it than by the hardest work, 514. Exmoor pony, description of the, 260. Expansion shoe, description and use of the, 489. Expense of horse, calculation of the annual, 555. Extensor pedis muscle, descriptin of the, 441. Eye, description of the, 274 ; fracture of the orbit of [the, 284 ; healthy appearance of the, 276 ; diseases of the, 302 ; inflammation of, common, 303 ; ditto, specific, 303 ; ditto, causes, 304 ; ditto, medical treatment of, 303, 305 ; ditto, untractable nature of, 304 ; ditto, consequences of, 304, 305 ; ditto, marks of recent, 532 ; ditto, constitutes unsoundness, 532 ; ditto, hereditary, 304 ; method and importance of examining it, 278, 281; indicative of the temper, 274 ; the pit above, indicative of the age, 265 ; muscles of the, 282. Eyebrows, substitute for, 275. Eyelashes, description of, 275 ; folly of singeing them, 275. Eyelid, description of, 275. Eyelids, diseases of the, 302. Exostosis on the orbit of the eye, 284. Face, description of the, 307 ; cut of the muscles, nerves, and blood-vessels of, 309. Falling-in of the foot, what, 458. False quarter, nature and treatment of, 465. Farcy, a disease of the absorbents of the skin, 318 ; con- nected with glanders, 318; both generated and infectious, 320 ; symptoms of, 319 ; treatment of, 320 ; buds, what, 320; tile ert'ect of cantharides in, 320 ; diniodide of cop- per, 320. Farmer's horse, description of the, 251 ; fit for riding as well as draught, 251 ; the general management of, 251 ; no blemished or unsound mare to be used for breeding, 252. Feeding, high, connected with grease, 450; regular periods of, necessity of attending to, 520 ; manner of, has much influence in broken wind, 384. Feeling, of the mouth, constant, indispensable in the good rider, 248. Feet, good, importance of, in the hunter, 245 ; the general management of, 521 ; attention to, and stopping at night, recommended, 521. Felt soles, description and use of, 489. Femur, fracture of the, 479. Fetlock, description of the, 434. Fever, idiopathic or pure, 361 ; symptoms of, 361 ; symp- tomatic, 361. Fibula, description of the, 441. Finland horse, description of the, 222. Firing, the principle on which resorted to, 494 ; mode ol applying, 495 ; should not penetrate the skin, 495 ; ab- surdity and cruelty of blistering after, 495 ; horse should not be used for some months alter, 496. Fistula lacrymalis, 276. Fits, symptoms, causes, and treatment of, 296. Flanders horse, description of the, 259 ; our heavy draught horses advantageously crossed with, 259. Fleam and lancet, compari>;on between them, 362. Flemish horse, account of the, 224. Fleur-de- Lis, account of her performances, 242. Flexor of the arm, description of the, 424 ; metatarsi muscle, description of the, 442 ; pedis perforalus, the perforated muscle, description of the, 424, 441 ; pedis perforans, the perforating muscle, description of the, 425, 429, 441. Flying Childers, an account of him, 234. Foal, early treatment of, 413; early handling of, impor- tant, 413; importance of liberal feeding of, 414; time for weaning of, 414. Fomentations, theory and use of, 546. Food of the horse, observations on, 515 ; a list of the usual articles of, 516; should be apportioned to the work, 516. v_-- — INDEX TO THE HORSE. Foot, description of the, 45X ; the original defence of, 194;; diseases of the, 456 ; canlcer, 471 ; corns, 469; contrac- tion, 459 ; false quarter, 465 ; founder, acute, 456 ; chronic laminitis, 45S; inflammation, 456; navicular joint disease, 462; overreach, 465; prick, 467; pumiced, 458; quittor, 466; sandcrack, 364 ; thrush, 470 ; tread, 465; weakness, 472 ; wounds. 467. Forceps, arterial, tlie use of, 363. Forehead, 265. Fore-legs, description of, 417 ; diseases of them, 428; pro- per position of them. 436. Forge-water occasionally used, 546. Forrester, an example of the emulation of the horse, 240. Founder, acute, symptoms, causes, and treatment of, 456; chronic, nature and treatment of, 458. Fo.'cglove, strongly recommended in colds, and all fevers, 544. Fracture of the skull, treatment of, 283 ; general observa- tions on fractures, 473 ; of the skul], 474 ; orbit of the eye, 475; nasal bones, 475; superior maxillary, crupper jaw-hone, 475; inferior ditto, 476; .■spine, 476; ribs, 477; pelvis, 477; tail, 478; limbs, 478 ; shoulder, 478 ; arm, 478 ; elbow, 478 ; femur, 479; patella, 479; tibia, 479; hock, 480; leg, 480; sessamoid bones, 480; pastern, 481 ; lower pastern, 481 ; coffin-bone, 482 ; navicular hone, 483. French horse, description of the, 217. Friction, comparison of, in the wheel and roller, 469 ; on the axle, dependent on the materi.il employed, 575 ; is not materially increased by the velocity, 575 ; reduced as the diameter of the axle is diminished, 575 ; inversely as the diameter of the wheel, 575. Frog, horny, description of the, 453 ; sensible, description of the, 453, 455; dilto, action and use of the, 454; pressure, question of the, 454; proper paring of, for shoeing, 454 ; diseases of the, 454. Frontal-bones, description of the, 265; sinuses, description of the, 267 ; perforated to detect glanders, 267. Furze, considered as an article of food, 515. G\LL, account of the, 398; bladder, the horse has none, 398. Galloping, the action of the horse during, 560. Galloway, description of the, 259 ; anecdotes and perfor- mances of the, 259. Gall-stones, 407. Gaucho, the South American, description of, ^\3 \ his method of taking and breaking the wild horse, 213 ; his boots, curious manufacture of, 214. Gentian, the best tonic for the horse, 5i6. Gibbing, a bad habit, cause of, and means of lessening, 502. Gigs, formation of, 333. Ginger, an excellent aromatic and tonic, 546, 553. Glanders, nature of, 312 ; symptoms, 267,312,317; slow progress of, 313, 315 ; appearances of the nose in, 267, 313, 314 ; detected by injecting the frontal sinuses, 267; how distinguished from catarrh, 314; ditto, from strangles, 314; connected with farcy, 314, 315; treat- ment of, 318; causes, 315; both generated and conta- gious, 315, 317 ; oftenest produced by improper stable management, 315, 316; mode of communication, 316, 317; prevention of, 318; account of its speedy appear- ance, 315. Glands, enlarged, it depends on many circumstances whether they constitute unsoundness, 532. Glass-eye, nature and treatment of, 306. Glauber's salt, its effect, 551. Glutaji muscles, description of the, 439. Godolphin Arabian, an account of the, 237. Goulard's extract, 548. Gracilis muscle, description of the, 439, 441. Grains, occasionally used for horses of slow work, 517. Grapes on the heels, treatment of, 449. Grasses, neglect of the farmer as to the proper mixture of, 518. Grasshopper springs, description of, 583 ; would be ad- vantageously adopted in post-chaises, 583. Grease, nature and treatment of, 448 ; cause of, 448 ; gene- rally a mere local complaint, 449. Greece, early domestication of the horse in, 192; the horse introduced there from Egypt, 192. Grey horses, account of the different shades of, 526. Grinders, construction of the, 326. Grinding, of the food, accomplished by the mechanism of the joint of the lower jaw, 324; swallowing without, 505. Grogginess, account of, 43 1'. Grooming, as important as exercise to the horse, 513 ; opens the pores of the skin, and gives a fine coat, 513 ; directions for, 514. Grunter, the description of, 385; is unsound, 531. Gullet, description of the, 390 ; foreign bodies in, 391. Gum-arabic, for what purpose used, 537. Gutta serena, nature and treatment of, 306. Habits, vicious or dangerous, 499. Hackney, description of the, 248 ; its proper action, 248 ; anecdotes of the, 249 ; coaches, account of, 254. HiEmaturia, 409. Hair, account of the, 522 ; question of cutting it from the heels, 450. Hamilton, Duke of, the Clydesdale horses owe their origin to him, 257. Harnessing, the best modes as regards draught, 567 ; method of, in the time of Homer, 565. Haunch, description of the, 437 ; wide, advantage of, 437 ; injuries of the, 437 ; joint, singular strength of it, 437 ; also of the thigh bones, advantage of the oblique direc- tion of, 437. Haw, curious mechanism of the, 276 ; diseases of, 302 ; absurdity and cruelty of destroying it, 277. Hay, considered as food, 515, 516; mowburnt, injurious, 519 ; old preferable to new, 519. Head, anatomy of the, 265 ; the numerous bones compos- ing it, the reason of this, 265 ; importance of the proper setting on of, 337 ; beautiful provision for its support, 269. Head, Captain, his account of the South American horse, 213. Healing ointment, account of the, 553. Hearing of the horse, the, very acute, 273. Heavy black horses, account of, 257. Heart, description of the, 356 ; its action described, 356 ; inflammation of the, 240 ; dropsy of the, 240. Heber, Bishop, his account of the Arabian, 204. Heels, question of cutting the hair from them, 450 ; low, disadvantage of, 473 ; proper paring of, for shoeing, 484 ; washing, of the, producing grease, 450. Hellebore, white, used in inflammation of the lungs and fevers, 546 ; black, its use, 547. Hemlock, given in inflammation of the chest, 547. Henry VIII., tj'rannical regulations concerning horses, by him, 229 ; the breed of the horse not materially im- proved by him, 229. Hepatic duet, the, 398. Hernia, the nature and treatment of, 405. Hide-bound, the nature and treatment of, 524. High-blower, a description of the, 367, 385; is imsound, 531. Highland pony, description of the, 261. Hind legs, description of the, 437. Hind wheels should follow the precise track of the fore ones, 579. Hip-joint, the great strength of the, 438. Hips, ragged, what, 437. Hissar, the East India Company's sale of horses at, 208. Hobbles, description of the best, 492. INDEX TO THE HORSE, Ho"k, the advnntnge of its numerous separnte bones and ligani'^ntp, 442 ; capped, 436, 449 ; cow, 4tJ) ; descrip- tion of the, 442 ; enlargement of the, nature of, and how aifecting soundness, 443, 532 ; inflammation of the small bones of, a frequent cause of lameness, 443 ; the principal seat of lameness behind, 443 ; lameness of it, without apparent cause, 366 ; fracture of, 4S0. Hog's-lard, properties of, 537. Holstein horses, account of the, 223. Homer, his account of the method of harnessing horses, 565. Hoof, description ot the, 451. Horizontal direction of the traces when proper, 567. Horn of the crust, secreted principally by ihe coronary ligament, 452 ; once separated from the sensible part within, will never again unite with it, 458. Hornet, sting of the, 593. Horse, the first allusion to him, 187 ; not known in Canaan at an early period, 187 ; description of, in early times, 196, 197; not the native of Arabia, 201; Arabian, 201; Armenian, 190 ; American, 215 ; .Austrian, 219 ; English, 224 ; Barb, 199 ; Birman, 209 ; Bournou, 200 ; Cappadocian, 191 ; first used in ihe cavalry service, 188 ; chariot races formed part of the Olympic games, 195 ; calculation of the annual expense of, 555 ; Chinese, 209 ; Circassian, 207 ; uncert;aii whether he was first trained to draught or mounted, 190 ; coach, proper form, qualities, breed of, 253 ; the different colours of the different breeds, 526 ; Corsican, 218 ; Cossack, 210; Dongola, 198; Dutch, 224; when first domesticated in Egypt and Canaan, 187; not domes- ticated until after many other animals, 187 ; not found in Egypt in the very early periods, 187 ; East Indian, 207 ; the flesh of, eaten, 211 ; English, history of, 224; farmer's, 254 ; Finland, 222 ; Flemish, 224 ; fossil remains found in every part of the world, 187 ; French, 217; general management of, 510; among the Greeks, 189 ; heavy black, 257 : early employed in huul- ing the ostrich, 188; heavy draught, 256; tyrannical regulations respecting, by Henry VIII., 229 ; grey, the, of Sir Edward Autrobus, 245 ; hiring, early regulations of, 225, 227 ; Hungarian, 220 ; Iceland, 222 ; Irish, 261; Italian, 218; sublime description of, by Job, 188; much improved by John, 227 ; Lombardy, when first in- troduced into England, 227 ; market, first account of, 226; Mecklenburg, 223; Nubian, 198; Parthian, 191; Portuguese, 217 ; Prussian, 224 ; Russia, 220 ; Norwegian, 223; Persian, 191, 206; the early price of, 190; Eng- lish, not used for the plough in early times, 226 ; jiovver, calculation of, 567; price of, in Solomon's time, 190; prices of, at different periods, 225, 231 ; ridden, the first account of, 188; sagacity of, 250; can see almost in darkness, 279; Sardinian, 218 ; .South American, 212; ditto, instinct and sagacity of, 213: management of, in South America, 213; Spanish, 216; Swedi'Sh, 222; Tartarian, 210: Thessalian, 193; Toorkoman, 211; Turkish, 212; wild, 210, 212; English improved under "William the Conqueror, 226 ; zoological descrijition of, 262; immense number of, in the armies of some ancient eastern monarchs, 190 ; numerous in Britain at_ the invasion of the Romans, 224. Howell the Good, his laws respecting the horse, 225. Humerus, description of the, 422. Hungarian horse, description of the, 220. Hunter, the, general account of, 243 ; proper degree of blood in, 243; form of, 244; spirit of, 245; anecdotes of, 246, 247 ; management of, 245 ; symptoms of dangerous distress in, 246 ; management of the, when distressed, 246 ; the summering of, 247 ; shoe, descrip- tion of the, 488. Hydrocyanic acid, poisoning by it, 393; its occasional good service, 537. Hydrothorax, .symptoms and treatment of, 3S7. Iceland horse, description of the, 222. Ileum, description of the, 396. Inflammation, nature of, 359; treatment of, 359; hot or cold applications to, guide in the choice of, 360 ; impor- tance of bleeding in, 359, 493; when proper to physic in, 360 ; of the bowels, 401 ; ditto, distinction between it and colic, 399 ; brain, 287 ; eye, 308 ; foot, 456 ; kidnevs, 408; larynx, 365; lungs, 37(3; stomach, 391; trachea, 366 ; veins, 339. Influenza, nature and treatment of, 369. Infusions, manner of making them, 547. Insanity, 301. Intercostal muscles, description of the, 345. Intestines, description of tlie, 395. Introsusception of the intestines, treatment of, 404. Invertebrated animals, what, 262. Iodine, usefulness of, in reducing enlarged glands, 548. Iranee horse, description of the, 208. Iris, description of the, 280. Irish horse, description of the, 261. Iron, the carbonate of, a mild and useful tonic, 546 ; sulphate of, a stronger tonic, 546 ; ditto, recommended for the cure of glanders, 546. Italian horse, description of the, 218. Itchiness of the skin should always be regarded with suspi- cion, 529. James I. established the first jegulations for racing, 231 ; introduction of the Arabian blood by him, 231. James's powder, 540. Jaundice, symptoms and treatment of, 407. Jaw, the lower, admirable mechanism of, 323, 324 ; upper, description of, 323. Jejunum, description of the, 396. John, the breed of horses improved by, 227. Jointed shoe, the description and use of, 489. Jugular vein, anatomy of the, 309, 339. Jumper, the horse-breaker, anecdotes of his power over animals, 499. Juniper, oil of, use of, 548. Juno, her chariot described, 574. Kadischi, an Arabian breed of horses, 202. Kicking, a bad and inveterate habit, 503. Kidneys, desciiption of the, 407; inflammation of, symptoms and treatment of, 408. King Pippin, anecdotes of him as illustrating the invete- rateness of vicious habits, 500. Knee, an anatomical description of the, 425; tied in below, 429; broken, treatment of, 426, 531. Kochlani, an Arabian breed of horses, 202. Knowledge of the horse, how acquired, 264. Labyrinth of the ear, description and use of the, 274. Lachrymal duct, description of the, 276 ; gland, description and use of the, 276. Lamella or lamina, horny, account of the, 453, 455; fleshy, account of the, 455 ; weight of the horse supported by the, 455. Lameness, shoulder, method of ascertaining, 417; from whatever cause, unsoundness, 532. Lampas, nature and treatment of, 323; cruelty of burning the bars for, 323. LaminiE of the foot, see Lamel'ae. Lancet and fleam, comparison between them, 362. Lapland horse, account of the, 222. Laryngitis, chronic and acute, 365, 366. Larynx, description of the, 341 ; inflammation of the, 365. Lasso, description of the, 213. Laudanum, the use of, in veterinary practice, 549. Lead, the compounds of, used in veterinary practice, 548 ; extract of, 548 , sugar of, use of, 548 ; white, use of, 548. Leather soles, description and use of, 489. INT)EX TO THE HORSE. vu Le^, cut of the, 299 ; description of the, 427 ; fracture of the, 482. Legs, fore, the situation of, 417; hind, anatomicnl descrip- tion of the, 437 ; of the hackney, should not he lifted too nigh, 248 ; swelled, 447. Levator humeri muscle, description of the, 338, 421. Lever, muscular action explained on the principle of it, 419. Ligament of the neck, description and elasticity of the, 269. Light, the degree of, in the stable, 512. Lightness in hand of essential consequence in a hunter, 243. Limbs, fracture of the, 478. Lime, the cliloride of, exceedingly useful for had smelling wounds, &c., 548 ; the chloride of, valuable in cleansing stables from infection, 548. Lincolnshire, the largest heavy black horses bred in, 258. Linaments, the composition and use of, 548. Linseed, an infusion of, used in catarrh, 518, 549 ; meal forms the best jioultice, 549, 550. Lips, anatomy and uses of the, 321; lips, the hands of horse, 321. Litter, the, cannot be too frequently removed, 512 ; proper substances for, 512; contraction not so much produced by it as some imagine, 460. Liver, tlie anatomy and use of it, 397; diseases of the, 406. Liverpool, account of the course at, 239. Locked jaw, symptoms, cause, and treatment of, 291. Loins, description of the, 348. Lombardy horse, the, when introduced into England, 227. Longissimus dorsi muscle, description of the, 349. Lucern, considered as an article of food, 519. Lumhricus teres, the, 405. Lunar caustic, a very excellent application, 540. Lungs, description of the, 356 ; symptoms of inflam- mation of the, 377 : causes of, 377 ; how distingiiished from catarrh and distemper, 364. 370 ; treatment of, 378, 380 ; importance of early bleeding in, 380 ; blisters preferable to rowels or setons in, 380 ; consequences of, 381, 382, 385. Madness, the symptoms and treatment of, 289. Magnesia, tlie sulphate of, 549. Mahratta horse, account of the, 208. Mealinders, the situation of, 436 ; the nature and treatment of, 447. Mammalia, the, an important class of animals, 262. Manchester, account of the course at, 239. Mane, description and use of the, 188, 339. Mange, description and treatment of, 528 ; causes of, 528 ; ointment, recipes for, 529; highly infectious, 528; method of purifying the stable after, 529. Manger feeding, the advantage of, 515. Mare, put to the horse too early, 412, 413 ; deterioration in, 412; her proper form, 412 ; breeding in and in, 412 ; time of being at heat, 413; time of going with foal, 413; best time for covering, 413; management of, when with foal, 413; management of, after foaling, 413; more concerned than the horse in breeding, 251 ; preferable to gelding for the farmer, 251 ; selection of, for breeding, 252. Mark of the teeth, what, 325. Markham's Arabian, an account of, 231. Marsk, the sire of many of the New-foresters, 260. Mashes, importance of their use, 549 ; best method of making them, 549. Masseter muscle, description of the, 309, 324. Maxillary bones, anatomy of the, 322 ; fractures of, 475, 476. Meadow grasses, the quantity of nutritive matter in, 520. Mechanical power, objections to the use of, 557. Mecklenburg iiorses, account of, 223 Medicines, a list of the most useful, 536. ' Medullary substance of the brain, its nature and f'lnction, 266, 271. Megrims, cause, 284 ; symptoms, 285 ; treatment, 285 ; apt to return, 285. Melt, description of the, 398. Memory of the horse, instances of, 249.| Mercurial ointment, the use of, in veterinary practice, 547. Mercury, its use in epidemic catarrh, 374. Merlin, the sire of many of the Welsh ponies, 260. Mesentery, description of the, 396. Metacarpals, description of the, 427. Midriff, description of the, 351. Moisture, want of, a cause of contraction, 4G0. Mojinniss horse, description of the, 208. Moon blindness, the nature of, 303. Moulting, the process of, 525 ; the horse usually languid at the time of, 526 ; no stimulant or spices should be given, 526 ; mode of treatment under, 526. Mounting the colt, 416. Mouth of the horse, description of the bones of, 322 ; should be always felt lightly in riding, 218; importance of its sensibility, 321. Mowburnt hay, injurious, 519. Muriatic acid, its properties, 537. .Muscles of the back, description of the, 349; breast, ditto, 350 ; eye, ditto, 282 ; face, ditto, 309 ; neck, ditto, 337 ; ribs, ditto, 345; shoulder-blade, 417, 420 ; lower bone of the shoulder, 417, 422; the advantageous direction of, more important than their bulk, 419. Muscular action, the principle of, 423. Mustard, the use of, 549. Myrrh, the use of, for canker and wounds, 549. Nasalis labii superioris muscle, description of the, 310. Nasal bones, fracture of, 475 ; gleet, 311 ; polypus, 310. Naves, cast-iron, to wheels, advantage of, 579 ; description of the best construction of, 579. Navicular bone, description of the, 455 ; the action and use of it, 455. Navicular joint disease, nature and treatment of the, 462 ; how far connected with contraction, 463 ; the cure very uncertain, 463 ; fracture of, 483. Neapolitan horse, description of the, 218. Neck, anatomy and muscles of the, 337 ; description of the arteries of the, 339 : description of the veins of the, 339 ; bones of the, 336 ; proper conformation of the, 337 ; comparison between long and short, 337 ; loose, what, 337 Nerves, the, construction and theory of, 265; spinal, the compound nature of, 272 ; of the face, 309. Neurotomy, or nerve operation, object and effect of it, 298; manner of performing it, 299 ; cases in which it should or should not be performed, 299 ; a vestige of the per- formance of it constitutes unsoundness, 533. Newcastle, the Duke of, his opposition to the introduction of the Arabian blood, 231. New Forester, description of the, 260. Newmarket, races established at, by Charles L, 231 ; description of tiie different courses at, 239. Nicking, the method of performing, 497 ; useless cruelty often resorted to, 498. Nimrod, his objection to clipping, 524. Nitre, a valuable cooling medicine, and mild diuretic, 550. Nitric acid, for what employed, 537. Nitrous aether, spirit of, a mild stimulant and diuretic, 549. Norman horse, description of the, 217. Norwegian horse, description of the, 223. Nose, description of the bones of the, 307 ; spontaneous bleeding from, 307 ; the importance of its lining mem- brane, 308, 364 ; the nose of the horse slit to increase his wind, 309. Nosebag, importance of the, 520. Nostrils, description of the, 307; peculiar inflammation of the membrane of the, 267 ; the membrane of, important in ascertaining disease, 310, 364 ; importance of an INDEX TO THE HORSE. expanded one, 309 ; slit by some nations to increase the wind of the horse, 309. Nubian horse, account of the, 198. Nutriment, the quantity of, contained in the different articles of food, 520. Oats, the usual food of the horse, 516, 520; should be old, heavy, dry, and sweet, 516; kiln-dried, injurious to the horse, 517; proper quantity of, for a horse, 517. Oatmeal, excellent for gruel, and sometimes used as a poultice, 517. Occipital bone, description of the, 266. QJnanthe fistulosa, poisonous, 393. CEsophagus, description of the, 3S9. O'Kelly, Colonel, anecdotes of him and Eclipse, 236. Olfactory nerves, the importance of them, 308. Olive oil, an emollient, 519. Olympia, the races at, 195. Omentum, description of the, 398. Opacity of the eye, the nature and treatment of, 303. Operations, description of the most important, 4-92 ; the dreadful ones caused by cruel treatment and driving, 255. Ophthalmia, 303. Opium, its great value in veterinary practice, 549 ; adulte- rations of it, 550. Orbicularis muscle of the eye, description of it, 282. Orbit of the eye, fracture of, 284. Os femoris, account of, 440. Ossification of the cartilages, cause and treatment of, 472. Overreach, the nature and treatment of, 465, 506 ; often " producing sandcrack or quitter, 507. Ozena, account of, 311. Pace, the efiect of, in straining the horse, 255. Pachydermata, an order of animals, 263. Pack-horse, description of the, 260. Pack-wax, description of the, 269, 336. Palate, description of the, 340. Palm oil, the best substance for making up balls, 550. Palsy, the causes and treatment of, 297. Pancreas, description of the, 399. Paps or barbs, 333. Parietal bones, description of the, 268. Paring out of the foot for shoeing, directions for, 483 ; neglect of, a cause of contraction, 460. Parotid gland, description of the, and its diseases, 310,332. Parsnips, the nutritive matter in, 520. Parthenon, description of chariots on the frieze of it, 574. Pastern, upper, fracture of, 481 ; lower, fracture of, 481 ; description of the, 432, 434; bones of the, 432; proper obliquity of the, 433. Patella, or stifle bone, description of the, 440 ; fracture of, 479. Pawing, remedy for, 507. Payment of the smallest sum completes the purchase of a horse, 535. Peas sometimes used as food, but should be crushed, 518, 620. Pectineus muscle, the, 439. Pectorales muscles, description of the, 350, 421. Pelvis, fracture of the, 477. Pericardium, description of the, 356. PeronEBus muscle, description of the, 441. Persian horse, description of the, 206 ; management of, 206. Persian race, description of a, 207. Perspiration, insensible, no medicines will certainly increase it, 525. Peter the Great, the immense block of marble constituting the pedestal of his statue, how moved, 571. Pharvnx, anatomy of the, 335. Phrenitis, 287. Phthisis pulmonalis, description of, 385. Physic halls, method of compounding the best, 540; should never be given in inflammation of the lungs, 355. Physicking, rules for, 402. Pia mater, description of the, 271. Pied horse, account of the, 527. Pigmentum nigrum, account of the, 279. Piper, description of the, 284. Pit of the eye, the, indicative of the age, 265. Pitch, its use for charges and plasters, 550. Pithing, a humane method of destroying animals, 336. Pleura, description ot the, 354. Pleurisy, the nature and treatment of, 355, 386. Pneumonia, the nature and treatment of, 377. Poisons, account of the most frequent, 393 ; tests of the different ones, 394. Pole-evil, the cause and treatment of, 336 ; importance of the free escape of the matter, 336. Pony, varieties of the, 259. Popliteus muscle, description of the, 442. Porter, Sir R. Ker, his account of the Persian horse, 206. Portuguese horse, the, 217. Post, the first establishment of it, 254. Post-chaises, grasshopper springs would be advantageously adopted for, 583. Postea spinatus muscle, description of the, 421. Potash, the compound of, 550, Potatoes, considered as an article of food, 520. Poultices, their various compositions, manner of acting, and great use, 550. Powders, comparison between them and balls, 551. Po.ver of draught in the horse, illustrations of, 255; calcu- lation of, 555 ; compared with that of the human being, 558 ; compared with that of a steam-engine on railways, 55G ; on common roads, 556 ; on bad roads, 557 ; dependent on his weight and muscular force, 557 : how diminished when towing a boat on a canal, 560; greater whenclose to his work, 560; this depends on his strength, and the time he can exert it, 561 ; the diminution of, according to his speed, table of, 562. Pressure on the brain, effect of, 284. Priam's chariot, a description of, 573 ; he harnessed his own horses, 573. Prices of horses at different periods, 225, 227, 228. Prick in the foot, treatment of, 467 ; injurious method of removing the horn when searching for, 468. Prussian horse, account of the, 224. Prussic acid, treatment of poisoning by, 393. Puffing the glims, a trick of fraudulent horse-dealers, 265. Pulling, the action of, explained, 358. Pulse, the natural standard of the, 358 ; varieties of the, 358; importance of attention to the, 359; the most convenient place to feel it, 358 ; the finger on the pulse during the bleeding, 359. Pumiced feet, description and treatment of, 458 ; do not admit of cure, 458 ; constitute unsoundness, 533. Pupil of the eye, description of the, 280 j the mode of discovering blindness in it, 280. Purchase, to complete the, there must be a memorandum, or payment of some sum, however small, 535. Purging, violent, treatment of, 402. QuARTERS-ofthe horse, description of the, 439 ; importance of their muscularity and depth, 439 ; foot, description of, 452; inner, the crust thinner and weaker at, 452; folly of lowering the crust, 452. Quidding the food, cause of, 507 ; unsoundness while it lasts, 533. Quinine, the sulphate of, 541. Quittor, the nature and treatment of, 466 ; the treatment often long and difficult, exercising the patience both of the practitioner and owner, 466 ; is unsoundness, 533. Rabies, symptoms of, 289. INDEX TO THE HOUSE. JX Race-courses, different lengths of, 239. Kaces, early, mere runniiij; on train-scent, 231; frequent cruelty of, 238, 240 ; different kinds of, described, 23S ; regular, first established at Stamford, 231 ; regulations for, established by James I., 231 ; patronized by Charles I., 231 ; Persian, description of, 207 i the great length of the old courses, 238 ; consequences of the introduction of short races, 239, 210 ; llie different lengths that are run, 239 ; the races at Smithfield, 226. Race-horse, his history, 233; form, 234; emulation, 340. Racks, no openings should be allowed above them, 511. Radius, description of the, 423. Ragged-hipped, what, 437 ; no impediment to action, 437. Railways, mechanical advantage of, 255, 585; they im- mensely increase the power of the horse, 586. Raking, the operation of, 551. Rearing, a dangerous and inveterate habit, 504. Recti muscles of the neck, description of, 338 ; of the thigh, 438. Rectum, description of the, 396, 397. Reins, description of the proper, 321. Resin, its use in veterinary practice, 551. Resistance in draught, observations on, 560. Respiration, description of the mechanism and effect of, 353. Respiratory nerves, the, 272. Kestiveness, a bad habit, and never cured, 499 ; anecdotes in proof of its inveterateness, 499. Retina, description of the, 281. Retractor muscle of the eye, 282. Rheumatism, 297. Ribbed home, advantage of being, 347. Ribs, anatomy of the, 345, 346. Richard Coeur-de-Lion, account of his Arabian horses, 227. Richmond, Duke of, his method of breeding good carriage horses, 257. Riding, directions for, 248. Ringbone, the nature and treatment of, 435 ; constitutes unsoundness, 532. Roach-backed, what, 348. Roads, how affected by different wheels, 576 ; how influen- cing the proper breadth of the wheels, 576 ; the great extent to which they affect the draught, 584 ; soft and yielding, far more disadvantageous than rough ones, 584; slight alterations in their level advantageous, 584; hard- ness the grand desideratum in, 585; should be nearly flat, 585 ; necessity of constant repairs and attention to them, 585 ; calculation of tlie degree by which the resistance is increased by bad ones, 575, 576. Roan horses, account of, 526. Roaring, the nature of, 366, 384; curious history of, 367; constitutes unsoundness, 531 ; from tight reining, 368 ; from buckling in crib-biting, 368 ; treatment of, 369. Rollers, calculation of the draught of, 570; how probably first invented or brought into use, 569 ; comparison of their power with that of wheels, 573 ; mechanism and principle of, 570 ; particular circumstances in which their use is advantageous, 571 ; the weight moves with double thevelocityof the rollers, and therefore fresh rollers must be supplied in front, 571 ; the immense block of marble at St. Petersburg, description of its being moved on them, 571. Rolling, danger of, and remedy for, 507. Roman nose in the horse, what, 307. Rome, the ancient races at, 197. Round-bone, the, can scarcely be dislocated, 440. Rowels, manner of inserting, and their operation, 551 ; comparisons between them, blisters, and setons, 497. Running away, method of restraining, 504. Rupture, treatment of, 405 ; of the suspensory ligament, 434. Russian horse, account of the, 220. Rye-grass, considered as an article of food, 519. Saddles, the ancient, 193 ; the proper construction of, 350 ; points of, 350. Saddle-backed, what, 348 ; galls, treatment of, 350. Saddling of the colt, 415. Safety coaches, the heavy draught of, 583. Sagacity of the horse, 250. Sainfoin, usedjas an article of food, 519. Sal ammoniac, the medical use of, 539. Saliva, its nature and use, 333. Salivary glands, description of the, 332. Sallenders, nature and treatment of, 449. Salt, use of in veterinary practice, 551 ; value of, mingled in the food of animals, 519. Sandal, Mr. Percival's, 490. Sandcrack, the situation of, 436 ; the nature and treatment of, 464 ; most dangerous when proceeding from tread, 464 ; liable to return unless the brittleness of the hoof is remedied, 464 ; constitutes unsoundness, 533. Sardinian horse, account of the, 218. Sartorius muscle, description of the, 439. Savin, dangerous, 394. Scapula, description of the, 417. Sclerotica, description of the, 278. Scouring, general treatment of, 402. Secale cornutum, the effect of, 551. Sedatives, a list of them, and their mode of action, 551. Serratus major muscle, description of the, 344, 417, 421. Sessamoid bones, admirable use of, in obviating concussion, 432 ; fracture of, 480. Setons, mode of introducing, 496 ; cases in which they are useful, 496 ; comparison between them and rowels and blisters, 497. Shank-bone, the, 427. Shetland pony, description of the, 261. Shoe, the concave-seated, described, and recommended, 486 ; the manner in which the old one should be taken off, 483 ; the putting on of the shoe, 484 ; it should be fitted to the foot, and not the foot to the shoe, 484 ; des- cription of the hinder, 486 ; the unilateral, or one-side nailed shoe, 487; the bar-shoe, 489; the tip, 489; the hunting, 488 ; the jointed, or expansion, 489. Shoeing, not necessarily productive of contraction, 459 ; preparation of the foot for, 483 ; the principles of, 483. Short-bodied horses, when valuable, 245. Shoulder, anatomical description of the, 417 ; slanting direction of thf, advantageous, 418, 419; when it should be oblique, and when upright, 420; sprain of the, 417; lameness, method of ascertaining, 418; fracture ofthe,478. Shoulder-blade, muscles of the, 417 ; why united to the chest by muscle alone, 417; lower bone of the, descrip- tion of, 422 ; muscles of the, 424. Shying, the probable cause of, 282, 507 ; treatment of, 508 ; on coming out of the stable, description of, 509. Side-line, description of the, 492. Sight, the acute sense of, in the horse, 279. Silver, the nitrate of, an excellent caustic, 540. Singeing, recommendation of, 524. Sinuses in the foot, necessity of following them as far as they reach, 468. Sitfasts, treatment of, 350. Skeleton of the horse, description of the, 263. Skin, anatomical description of the, 522 ; function and uses of it, 523 ; pores of it, 525 ; when the animal is in health is soft and elastic, 523. Skull, anatomical description of the, 266 ; arched form of the roof, 270 ; fracture of the, 283, 474. Smithfield market, early account of, 226. Sledges, calculation of the draught of, 569 ; description of the mechanism and use of, 569 ; where more advantage- ous than wheels, and where very disadvantageous, 569, 570 ; calculation of the power of, 569 ; their advantage in travelling over ice and snow, 570 ; Esquimaux, an account of the, 570. INDEX TO THE HORSE. Slipping the collar, remedy for, 509. Smell, the sense and seat of, 308 ; very acute in the horse, 308. Sneiving, Mr., his advocacy of clipping, 524. Soap, its use in veterinary practice, 551. Soda, chloride of, its use in ulcers, 551 ; sulphate of, 551. Sole, the horny, description of, 453 ; descent of, 453 ; proper form of, 453; management of, in shoeing, 453; the sensible, 453, 455 ; felt, or leather, their use, 489. Solomon, imported horses from Egypt, 190. Sore-throat, symptoms and treatment of, 365. Soundness, consists in there being no disease, or alteration of structure that does or is likely to impair the useful- ness of the horse, 530 ; considered with reference to the principal causes of unsoundness, 531. South American horse, description of it, 212 ; management of it, 213. Spanish horse, description of it, 216. Spasmodic colic, nature and treatment of, 399. Spavin, blood, the nature and treatment of, 362 ; is un- soundness, 533 ; bog, cause, nature, and treatment of, 362, 444 ; bone, 444 ; wby not always accompanied by lameness, 445 ; is unsoundness, 533. Spavined horses, the kind of work they are capable of, 445. Speed, of the horse, produces rapid diminution of power, 561 ; time of labour, the most advantageous proportion of, 561, 562 : the sacrifice of the horse in endeavour- ing to obtain it, 562. Speedy-cut, account of, 429. Sphenoid bone, description of the, 270. Spinalis dorsi muscle, description of the, 349. Spine, description of the, 347 : fracture of, 476. Spleen, description of the, 398. Splenius muscle, description of the, 337. Splint, nature and treatment of, 428, 436 ; when constitut- ing unsoundness, 534 ; bones, description of tlie, 428. Sprain of the back-sinews, treatment of, 430, 436 ; some- times requires firing, 431 ; any remaining thickening constitutes unsoundness, 534; sprain of theshoulder,4l7. Spring steel-yard, the force of traction illustrated by, 554. Springs to carriages, theory of tlieir effect, 582 ; witli some modifications might be adapted to the heaviest wagons, 583; great advantages of, in rapid travelling, 583; grass- hopper, description of, 583 ; C, disadvantages of, 583. Spur, the ancient, 194. Stables, dark, an occasional cause of inflammation of the eye, 304 ; hot and foul, a frequent one of inflammation of the eye, 304 ; ditto, lungs, 510 ; ditto, glanders, 315, 316 ; should be large, compared with the number of horses, 510; the minagement of, too much neglected by the owner of the horse, 510; the ceiling of, should be plastered, if there is a loft above, 510 ; should be so con- trived that the urine will run off, 512 ; the stalls should not have too much declivity, 512 ; should be sufficiently light, yet without any glaring colour, 513. Staggers, stomach, symptoms, cause, and treatment of, 285, 520 ; generally fatal, 285 ; producing blindness, 287 ; sometimes epidemic, 287 ; mad, symptoms and treat- ment, 287. Staling, profuse, cause and treatment of, 409, Stallion, description of the, proper for breeding, 412. Stamford, races first established at, 231. Starch, used in superpurgation, 552. Stargazer, the, 338. Steam-engine, comparison of the, with the e.xertion of animal power on railways, 556 ; common roads, 556 ; calculation of the expense, 555 ; small, has little advan- tage in expense over horse power, 557. Steeple-chase, description and censure of it, 247. Sternum, or breast-bone, description of the, 345, 421. Stifle, description of the, 440 ; accidents and diseases of the, 442. Stirrup, the ancient, 194. Stomach, description of the, 389, 390 ; very small in the horse, 390; inflammation of the, 391 j pump recom- mended in apoplexy, 287. Stone in the bladder, symptoms and treatment' of, 410 ; kidney, 410. Stoppings, the best composition of, and their great use, 552. Straddlers, wheels so called, description of, 579 ; olijection to them, 679 ; method of evading the law concerning, 579. Strain, uniform, and constant in draught, bad consequences of, 563. Strangles, symptoms and treatment of, 334 ; distinguished . from glanders, 314; the importance of blistering early in, 334. Strangury, produced by blistering, 494 ; treatment of, 494. Strawberry horse, account of the, 526. Stringhalt, nature of, 294; is decidedly unsoundness, 296, 534. Structure of the horse, importance of a knowledge of, 264. Strychnia, account of, 552. Stylo-maxillaris muscle, description of the, 309. Sublingual-gland, description of the, 333. Submaxillary glands, description of the, 333 ; artery, de- scription of the, 310. Sub-scapulo hyouleus muscle, description of the, 309. Suffolk punch, description of the, 256 ; honesty and con- tinuance of the old breed, 256. Sugar of lead, use of, 548. Sullivan, the Irish whisperer, anecdotes of his power over the horse, 500 ; the younger did not inherit the power of his father, 501. Sulphate of copper, use of, in veterinary practice,' 543 ; iron, 546 : magnesia, 549 ; zinc, 553. Sulphur, an excellent alterative and ingredient in all appli- cations for mange, 552. Summering of the hunter, consideration of, 247. Surfeit, description and treatment of, 527; importance of bleeding in, 528. Suspensory ligament, beautiful mechanism of the, 432 ; rupture of the, 434 ; suspensory muscle of the eye, de- scription of the, 282. Swallowing without grinding, 505. Swedish horse, description of the, 222. Swelled legs, cause and treatment of, 447 ; most frequently connected with debility, 448. Sweetbread, description of the, 399. Sympathetic nerves, description of the, 273. Tail, anatomy of the, 344 ; fracture of the, 478 ; docking, 497 ; nicking, 497. Tar, its use in veterinary practice, 552. Tares, a nutritive and healthy food, 519. .c3 Tartar, cream of, 550. ' ~*^ Tartarian horse, description of the, 210. Taysee horse, description of the, 208. Team, disadvantages of draught in, explained, 560 ; their united power not equal to the calculal^ )n of so many horses, 560. Tears, the secretion and nature of the, 276 ; how conveyed to the nose, 276 ; sometimes shed by the horse from pain and grief, 276. Teeth, description of the, as connected with age, 325; at birth, 325 ; two months, 325 ; twelve months, 326 ; eighteen months, 326 ; the front sometimes pushed out, that the next pair may sooner appear, and the horse appear to be older than he is, 327 ; three years, 327 ; three and a half years, 327 ; four years, 328; four and a half years, 328 ; five years, 328 ; six years, 328 ; seven years, 329 ; eight years, 329 ; change of the, 327 ; enamel of the, 325 ; irregular, inconvenience and danger of, 331 ; mark of the, 325 ; frauds practised with regard to the, 328; diseases of the, 331. Temper, denoted by the eye, 274 ; by the ear, 273. INDEX TO THE HORSE. XI Tempernture, sudden cliange of, injurious iu its cfTect, 510. Temporal bones, description of the, 268. Tendons of the leg, 428. Tetanus, symptoms, causes, and treatment of, 291. Thessalian'liors", account of, 193. Thick wind, nature and treatment of, 382, 381' ; often found in round-chested horses, 382. Thigh and haunch bones, description of, 437 ; form of, 437 ; should be long and muscular, 437; description of the muscles of the inside of the upper bone of, 439 ; ditto, of the outside, 439 ; mechanical calculation of their power, 439. Thorough-bred horses, the quality of, has not degenerated, 234. Thorough-pin, the nature and treatment of, 442 ; is not unsoundness, 534. Thrush, nature and treatment of, 470 ; the consequence rallier than the cause of contraction, 461 ; its serious nature and consequences not sufficiently considered, 471 ; constitutes unsoundness, 534. Thymus gland, the, 351. Thyroid cartilage of the windpipe, description of the, 341. Tibia, account of the, 441, 442 ; fracture of, 479. Tied in below the knee, nature and disadvantage of, 429. Tinctures, account of the best, 552. Tips, description and use of, 489. Tobacco, when used, 552. Toe, bleeding at the, described, 363. Tongue, anatomy of the, 331; diseases of, 332; bladders along the under part of it, 332. Tonics, an account of tlie best, 552 ; their use and danger in veterinary practice, 552. Toorkoman horse, description of, 211. Torsion, the mode of castration by, 417 ; forceps, descrip- tion of, 417. Traces, the direction of them, very important in draught, 563 ; proper angle of the, 563 : the proper inclination of them depending on the kind of horse and the road, 56i : they should be inclined downward on rough roads, 564 ; inclined downward, the same as throwing a part of the weight on the shafts, 565 ; direction of them, rarely attended to, 5G5 ; the manner of affixing them in South •rica, 566. I . — Midpipe, description of, 341; inflammation 42 ; operation of, 343. rce of, illustrated by reference to the spring • 54 ; the proper line of, very important in :le, description of the, 420. e, description of the, 426. erent rale of, at different times, 254 ; coin- pid and slow, 562. and treatment of, 465 ; often producing ■•c.:,d{k 0)' quittor, 465. ;:old,'Mr.( 'lis comparison of moving power in draught, '61. i'rippiuir. a-* nnoying and inveterate habit, 509. Tro^han^ \ the thigh, description of the, 438. Troeuiearis muscle, the, 283. Trotter, the performance of the hackney as one, 250. Trotting, cruel exhibitions of, 250 ; action of the horse during, 559; position of the limbs in, unfaithfully repre- sented in the Elgin marbles and the church of St. Mark, 559. Turbinated bones, description of the, 308. Turkish horse, description of the, 212. Turner, Mr. T., on clipping, 52 K Turnips, considered as an article of food, 520. Turpentine, the best diuretic, 545 ; a useful ingredient in mange ointments, 553. Tushes, description of the, 328. Twitch, description of the, 492. Ulcers in the mouth, treatment of, 331, 332. Ulna, description ofth'-, 423. Unguiculata, a tribe of animals, 262. Unsiulata, a tribe of animals, 261. Unilateral shoe, 487. Unsoundness, contraction does not always cause it, 459 : being discovered, the animal should be tendered, 534 : ditto, but the tender or return not legally necessary, 535 ; the horse may be returned and action brought for depre- ciation in value, but this not advisable, 535; medical means may be adopted to cure the horse ; they are, how- ever, better declined, lest in an unfortunate issue of the case they should be misrepresented, 535. Unsteadiness whilst mounting, remedy for, 504. Urine, albuminous, 409 ; bloody, 409. Vastus muscle, description of the, 439. Vatican, the obelisk in the, curious method of moving it, 573. Vehicles of draught, comparison of the best, 581. Veins, description of the, 362; of the arm, description, &c., 442 ; of the face, ditto, 309 ; of the neck, ditto, 339 ; of the shoulder, ditto, 418 ; inflammation of the, treatment of, 339. Velocity, calculation of, 561. Vena portarum, the, 397. Verdigris, an uncertain medicine, when given internally, 543; a mild caustic, 543. Vermin, account of, 530. Vertebra?, the dorsal and lumbar, 347. Vertebrated animals, what, 262. Vices of horses, account of the, 499. Vicious to clean, a bad habit that should be conquered, 504 ; vicious to shoe, a bad habit that may also be con- quered, 504. Vinegar, its use in veterinary practice, 537. Vines, Mr., bis use of the Spanish fly in glanders, 542. Viper, account of the bite of, 393. Vision, theory of, 279. Vitreous humour of the eye, account of the, 281. Vitriol, blue, use of in veterinary practice, 543. Wagon horse, the, 256. Wagons, inferior horses may be used in them compared with carts, 580 ; horses drawing, not so fatigued as in carts, 580; require fewer drivers, and are not so liable to accidents, 580; with inferior roads and ordinary h;'iS s preferable to carts, 580 ; with large front wheels, advan- tasje of, 579 ; particularly with two horses abreast, 581 ; reason why they have more draught than two-wheeled carts, 580. Walking, movement of the legs in, 559; different when drawing a load, 559. Wall-eyed horses, what, 280 ; whether they become blind, 280. War-horse, description of the ancient, 227. Warbles, treatment of, 350. Warranty, the form of a, 534 ; breach of, how established, 534 ; no price will imply it, 534 ; when there is none, ihe action must be brought on ground of fraud, 534. Warts, method of getting rid of, 530. Washing of the heels productive of grease, 450. Washy horses, description and treatment of, 402. Wasps, treatment of the sting of, 393. Water, generally given loo sparingly, 521 ; management of on a journey, 521; the difference in effect, between hard and soft, 521 ; spring, principally injurious on account of its coldness, 521 ; stomach of the horse, the, 397. Water farcy, nature and treatment of, 320. Water conveyance, smallness of power required in, 56S ; resistance to, increases with the square of the veloc ty, 568 ; power to he exerted in, increases as the cube of ihe velocity, 068. Water-dropwort, poisonous, 393 ; hemlock, poisonous, 393; parsley, poisonous, 393. Wax, used in charg;es and plasters, 553. Weakness of the foot, what, 472. Weaving, indicating an irritable temper, and no cure for it, 510. Weight, calcidatlon of the power of the horse to overcome, 255, 658, 560. Wellesley Arabian, account of the, 237. Welsh pony, description of the, 260. Wheat, considered as food for the horse, 517, 520; incon- venience and danger of it, 517. Wheels, the principle on which they act explained, 574; effect of increasing the diameter of the, 582 : no record of tlie time of their invention, 673; spoked, known to Homer, 573 ; little improvement of the principle of, from the earliest times, 574 ; principle of, on a level surface, 674 ; theory of the degree of friction attending them, 674 ; friction of, on the axle dependent on the material employed, 574 ; consideration of the various forms of, 576; dishing of, described, 576; advantages of, 576; conical and flat, calculation between the effects of, 577, 585 ; obliquely placed, ill consequences of, 677 ; narrow and broad, comparison between, 576 ; conical, strange degree of friction and dragging with, 576 ; travelling grindstones, 578 ; cylindrical, the best form, 678 ; description of, and proper rounding of the edges, 578 ; but influenced by the state of the road, 578 ; liind, should follow the precise track of the fore ones, 579 ; considered as to their effect on the road, 579 ; straddlers, description of, and their effect, 579 ; proper breadth of, in proportion to the load, 579 ; with cast iron naves, 579 ; size of, 579 ; advantage of large front ones, 579 ; should have the spokes so arranged as to present themselves against the greatest force, 583. Wheezer, description of the, 384 ; is unsound, 531. Whipping, sound, cruelty of, 255. Whisperer, the, anecdotes of his power over the horse, 500. Whistler, description of the, 384; is unsound, 531. White Turk, account of the, 231. White lead, use of, 548 ; vitriol, its use in veterinary practice, 553. Wild horse, description of the, 210, 212. William the Conqueror, improvement effected in the English horse by him, 226. Wind, broken, nature and treatment of, 383 ; galls, descrip- tion and treatment of, 431, 436 ; ditto, imsoundness when they cause lameness, or are likely to do so, 534 ; thick, nature and treatment of, 382. W'indpipe, description of the, 341 ; should be prominent and loose, 342. Wind, sucking, nature of, and remedy for, 606. Withers, description of the, 337, 349 ; high, advantage of, 349; fistulous, treatment of, 349. Work of the horse should not exceed six hours per diem, 561. Worms, different kinds, and treatment of, 405. Wounds in the feet, treatment of, 467. Xenophon, his account of the horse, 196. Yellows, symptoms and treatment of the, 407. Yew, the leaves of, poisonous, 393. Zinc, its use in medicine, 663. Zoological classification of the horse, 262. Zygomatic arch, reason of the strong construction of the, 268. Zygomaticus muscle, description of the, 310. N •i