CHAPTER XVI.

SADDLERY, HARNESS, AND STABLE SUNDRIES--OF WHAT THESE CONSIST; THEIR APPLICATION AND THEIR PRESERVATION.

The ensuing particulars were communicated by Mr. Thomas Sainsbury, Junr., the skillful foreman to a well-known and old-established firm--Messrs. Gibson & Co., of Coventry Street, Leicester Square. Proceeding from so trustworthy a source, the information cannot otherwise than merit implicit confidence; for when descanting on the above subject, the author, being anxious to state only facts, deemed it better to seek instructions from an established tradesman rather than to employ such knowledge as he himself possessed; since, not being acquainted with every branch of the business, his opinions must necessarily be more or less speculative, or based upon probabilities. Having enjoyed the benefit of Mr. Sainsbury’s unreserved communications, the writer rejoices at the resolution which he had formed; and can only tender his sincerest thanks to Messrs. Gibson & Co. for the extreme liberality they have evinced throughout the transaction.

Saddlery and harness making are two distinct branches of one occupation. Saddlery strictly implies only that furniture which fits a steed for the uses of its rider. Harness making signifies the manufacture of those trappings which are employed upon animals of draught. There are, also, other subdivisions recognized by the trade; but on the present occasion these need not be particularly enlarged upon.

Many men are expert at either kind of manufacture; but the best workmen are those who devote themselves to one particular branch of the trade. Such can only find remunerative employment with the masters who can afford to keep an artisan constantly employed at the work in which he excels.

Saddlers justly complain that a horse cannot be accurately fitted when the animal is fresh from a dealer’s stable. A good saddle should be so exquisitely adapted to the body on which it is placed as scarcely to be moved, even by the action of the limbs. A tradesman approaches perfection, therefore, in proportion as his trappings cleave to the trunk for which they are manufactured. Such a desideratum necessitates that a precise measurement should be taken. Not only is length and breadth required, but the curves or shape of the body are also needed. The material employed by saddle-makers to ascertain such particulars is equally simple and effective. It consists merely of a narrow slip of pliable sheet-lead, about two feet long, and doubled in the center, like a pair of compasses. Such a material will preserve the outline of that body on which it may be compressed, and is sufficiently solid to retain any indentations made upon its substance; thus it possesses those attributes which to the saddler are essentials.

With such an article, the shape of the barrel, the sweep of the shoulders, and the hollow of the back can be accurately moulded, while even particulars can be ascertained; for lead demands little pressure to assume the figure of any substance over which it is bent, and will subsequently remain sufficiently fixed to permit of the lines, which have been modeled, being traced upon a sheet of paper. This process should always be observed; but when a saddle has to be made, it does not constitute the “be all and the end all” of the tradesman’s duty. The tree, or the wooden base of the future article, should invariably be tried on the horse before the furnishing is proceeded with, because a saddle cannot possibly be perfect when the foundation of the structure shall prove defective, and any error is more easily corrected before the article be further complicated.

Nevertheless, it is obvious folly to have a saddle or a harness fitted to a quadruped while the body is loaded with fat, as the majority of horses are when fresh from the dealer’s yard. At first no part should be accurately adjusted, but margin should be allowed for those subsequent alterations which are always imperative. After three or four months the dealer’s “make up” usually subsides. Then each article will require to be overlooked, and may be amended to the animal’s form, which probably will be preserved after it has been taken into regular work.

The choice of leather is of primary importance to the manufacturer of, and to the dealer in, equine furniture. After the goods are made up, no man, excepting he be a regular workman, can possibly form an opinion concerning the material of which it is composed. Certain tradesmen, not of questionable respectability, are in the habit of ticketing cheap articles to entrap chance customers. The dealers, however, do not always know the precise nature of the trash which they become the means of circulating. They, nevertheless, must guess its character, for it is bought of the scamps who, shut out from all honest employment, exist by practicing upon the ignorant, or by pandering to the selfishness of the reckless portion of society.

The fellows purchase faulty leather. This, when made up, necessarily has the under surface concealed; it then requires a sharp and an educated eye to detect the nature of the fixed and highly polished material. The men, however, are fully aware that, with most gentlemen, stoutness is the test of quality. The prejudices of the general public are therefore propitiated, only the well-known shops being solicited by the peculiar order of workmen now under consideration. It is a common trick with the fraternity, before using, to line the flimsy stuff which they employ. This artifice is practiced as a bait to catch the notorious weakness of those persons in whose parsimony they find their most profitable customers.

Stoutness, however, may frequently deceive, even where excellence is really present. A good piece of leather is not always characterized by its bulk. The article which possesses the greatest strength may be thin, but it will feel supple and mellow to the hand. A skin of such a nature may confidently be trusted to wear. Persons, however, who are not educated to understand these qualities, would do well to avoid the showy harness which, in leading thoroughfares, is stuck prominently forward, and is very low in price. This generally fails when stress is put upon it. A fair proportion of all accidents reported spring from that cause, a common form of which is snapping of the reins when these are subjected to more than ordinary tension. Such things are either cut from unsound leather, or made of imperfectly manufactured material, or the furniture of the harness is designedly deficient in some most essential quality.

By the furniture of harness is strictly implied that portion which is of metal, and which is always added to the leather before the fabric is completed. The best metallic ornaments are a London product, and are always forged or cast, but never stamped. The best quality of iron alone should be used for such a purpose. Recently a very superior article has been adopted by the trade. This is made of the metallic combination known as German silver. That substance was, when first brought under public notice, far too brittle to be employed by the harness-maker; but late improvements have endowed it with a strength and a tenacity equal to that exhibited by the very best Swedish iron.

After the furniture has been shaped, it has to be plated. It is as a plated article that German silver is most valuable. The butler’s pantry is characterized by greater delicacy than commonly distinguishes the stable, though, in both places, goods the same in kind may have to be operated upon. When the thin coating of silver is removed, of course the substance upon which it is overlaid must be exposed. The duration of a modern ornament cannot be accurately stated; but when the chief body was of iron, the contrast presented by the coarser metal and the silvered surface rendered repeated renewals unavoidable: whereas the integrity of the superficial layer is not so important when the bulk, both in color and in aspect, is a fair imitation of the more precious investment. For this reason, Messrs. Gibson always recommend the use of plated German silver, which, if a trifle dearer to the purchaser, proves in the end the most economical, besides being a superior article from the commencement.

Buckles are of much use, as these allow the harness to be adjusted; but no buckles can adjust that which is not properly made. The tightening or loosening of a strap may improve the set; but a suit of well-constructed harness should be so accurately proportioned as to fall into its proper place without the aid of manual strength or the repeated alteration of the various fastenings. When harness does not fit, the collar either pains the shoulders or the saddle galls the back. An animal cannot progress steadily when its attention is engrossed by bodily suffering. The sight is no longer employed to guide the steps. The foot is incautiously placed upon a stone; the steed stumbles over the first inequality; or, the mind being excited by pain, any object may alarm or startle the quadruped. The animal is blamed, and has been destroyed because of such accidents; whereas the real cause of the mischief was a badly-made set of cheap harness, which was probably worn for the first occasion, and which the owner may have journeyed forth specially to display.

Such mishaps should caution the public always to have the trappings of a horse made for the quadruped; or, at all events, altered by a proper tradesman, before allowing them to be employed. The difference of cost between the ready-made article and the goods which are manufactured to order is not more than a third of the outlay; while the products of any respectable house will, upon an average, last twice as long as, and need infinitely less repairing than, the rubbish which is sold “cheap.” Therefore, by true economy, by durability, and by safety, the public should be urged to a particular selection.

The gentleman, however, who contemplates “starting his horse,” must not conceive the expenditure has terminated with the purchase of the animal. There are stables to rent and a groom to hire. Then there is the building to provide and to furnish; a saddle and a bridle to procure; with a set of harness and a vehicle to obtain. Rent and servant necessitate no immediate outlay. Hay, oats, and straw may possibly be acquired upon short credit; but stable furniture, saddlery, harness, and vehicle should be paid for on delivery; otherwise more than a fair percentage for time and for money may be added to the account.

The articles requisite to furnish a stable are rather numerous; certainly they are somewhat expensive. Because of that circumstance, everything should be purchased of the stoutest kind and of the best quality. On no account should the servant receive extra wages to supply such necessaries. The man, when making such an agreement, of course contemplates a profit, and, as he concludes the bargain, calculates how few accessories he can contrive “to get along with.” The smaller the number the greater must be the pecuniary gain. The horse is, therefore, inconvenienced, if not tortured, by certain processes being accomplished with inefficient instruments, the grooming being performed rather to please the master’s eye than to conduce to the comfort of his animal.

The consequences of such an arrangement are, the gentleman is cheated, the horse is maltreated; while the only gainer by the transaction, should he be suddenly discharged, of course carries away the many et ceteras he has been paid to provide. The stable is in a great measure stripped of its furniture. The new-comer may not enter upon his situation immediately. A helper, who must in the interim be engaged, will not feel disposed to adopt any artifice for the convenience of his employer. Moreover, the new servant may agree to certain conditions, without comprehending the outlay these involved. Grooms, when they enter upon a fresh situation, seldom possess cash in any abundance; therefore, several expedients are imperative, each of which implies the imperfect performance of some necessary duty.

Supposing one horse only to be kept, stable furniture embraces--clothing. Of this, the first cost of the blanket kind certainly is the lowest; but the sort denominated “kersey” last much the longer period, and therefore must, in the end, prove by far the least expensive. The animal’s clothes consist of several pieces, each being known by a distinct name: as, quarter-sheet; breast-piece; hunting-piece; pad-cloth; hood; body-roller, and knee-caps.

To these are added a moderate sized and coarse blanket or horse rug for the night, as well as a night roller to fasten it upon the body.

Among the stable furniture, which is more directly employed about the horse, ranks the head collar, the manger log, and the manger rein or the rope rein. Of which last, the leathern fastening is not much the dearer; while in appearance, in utility, and in wear, it will be found altogether the superior.

Of articles required by the groom for use, are the scraper; the hoof picker; the curry-comb; the dandy, or dandruff brushes and water brushes; combs; straight and crooked scissors for trimming the mane and tail; sponges; bandages for the legs; cloths; leathers; a rack chain; the pillar-reins; the exercising bridle; hard and soft brushes for cleaning harness; a burnisher; a brush to clean the bit; an oil pan and a brush; a dung basket; pails and forks. All these articles, that they may survive the usual treatment of such things, should be supplied by some reputable tradesman.

The above goods, being designed to endure hard wear, should each be of the best possible quality. More order than is commonly observed ought to be maintained in the arrangement of the stable. A place should be allotted for every article when not in use. That this may be accomplished, stables should be built with better accommodations for storing than it is customary to provide in such erections. Bottles, jars, and implements are now thrust into any ready corner; the interiors of these places consequently present a littered appearance; but such an aspect is unavoidable, when there exists no receptacle where such articles might be placed until again required. There is now no help for the nuisance: forks, brooms, pails, and boxes must incumber the gangway, since the architect never provides a situation where such properties might be more safely lodged.

Another essential should be attended to by every gentleman who values the condition of his horse, the comfort of his stable, or the preservation of those accessories with which the last-named place must be stocked--this is, the temper of the servant. Some people favor a strange prejudice, which asserts irritability and industry are frequently associated. Anger, however, does not open the heart to sympathy, and its habitual display assuredly unfits its victim for the exercise of authority.

Evil passion will render a servant disobliging, and cause him to become an expensive retainer. The manner in which the failing will act upon the groom may not be very apparent to the reader, therefore his indulgence is requested while the author proceeds briefly to explain the matter.

Nothing can possibly be more extravagant than passion. It is heedless of consequences, and destruction is its delight. The author formerly knew a gentleman who used to indulge in the most violent fits of unbridled temper. He made his home miserable, and a moderate income was sadly crippled by expenses resulting from gusts of constitutional irritability. The last consequence, it is melancholy to relate, alone induced thoughts of amendment. When this individual, in later life, became conscious that what he termed his cloudy mood threatened to darken his intellect, he would retire to some solitary apartment: there, he would station himself before a looking-glass, and begin simpering and blandly talking to his own image. He would then tear or break something, generally a wooden or a paper match, and, having thus gratified that which he named his destructive impulse, after a few more antics would return, all smiles, to the bosom of his family, exclaiming, “Thank Heaven! It’s all over now!”

But the great majority of grooms, imbued with the pride of ignorance, cannot afford to acknowledge a failing. Conceit makes them rather lend strength to an affliction by striving to conceal its existence. The master may never discover, if he cares not to search for, the truth. But the servant is necessarily empowered with absolute control in the stable. The implements speedily are damaged; certain duties are either neglected or imperfectly performed; the horse loses its fat; the coat never looks well; the eye becomes restless from the natural timidity of the animal being perpetually awakened. Nothing promotes thrift in a quadruped like the placidity of its attendant; whereas the constant alarm excited by the habitual anger of its superior is inimical to that glossy outside and blooming aspect in which the larger number of horse owners so much delight.

The groom, in most situations, is greatly trusted with valuable property. In a large stable the cost of the trappings alone would form no inconsiderable possession to a needy man. There must be either saddlery or harness. There is no one to overlook the treatment of either. Such articles are expensive, and each is composed of numerous complications. Harness for one horse consists of a bridle, of a collar, of a pad, of a martingale, of reins, of traces, of a breeching or of a loin strap, of a crupper, etc.; all of which should be solidly and well constructed. The whole should be formed of the very best leather, for any defect in this furniture may be fruitful with the greatest danger. Hence the advantage of dealing with a maker whose warranty represents more than a wordy inducement to purchase; and hence the necessity for care in the servant to whom such perishable property is intrusted.

For the gig horse, a set of harness, if embellished with plated ornaments, is generally charged about thirteen pounds. For a pair of carriage animals, the harness possessing similar adornments will commonly cost nearly thirty-three pounds. If brass is preferred in the place of plated goods, a slight reduction is the result. Yet even the foregoing figures do not include crests and other fanciful items, which are invariably paid for as extras, since no estimate could possibly embrace articles concerning the size, the number, and the elaboration of which the tastes of scarcely two individuals perfectly agree.

The harness for a brougham is generally more expensive than that sold for the gig. Extra strength is required, and where work and leather are concerned, of course strength represents money. The trappings also should be more showy and more embellished when intended for a servant’s use. Most gentlemen prefer the animal they control should be so caparisoned as to attract no attention. This feeling causes the difference in price. Ornamentation, where the horses are to be adorned, of course necessitates expenditure, though the degree in which the last quality shall be exhibited necessarily depends on the taste of the proprietor.

Carriage harness, however, is viewed as the perfection of its particular craft. It is astonishing how nice is the adjustment required, and how perceptible any fault or deficiency becomes to the least observant spectator. The carriage may be new, the liveries of the smartest kind, but unless the harness be excellent, the general effect will be deteriorated. The pace of the horses is rendered uneven, the coachman becomes nervous, and the vehicle is not drawn smoothly onward when any sensible defect exists. Gentlemen cannot imagine how much danger is hazarded by the endeavors often made to procure an expensive article at less than a fairly remunerative price.

Harness is thus expensive because its uses demand excellence in every part. It is subject to daily trials; it must be manufactured to sustain perpetual tests as well as to endure constant supervision. A good set of harness should wear eight or ten years, although during the lengthened service repeated repairs must be expected. The mendings, or perhaps the partial renewals, will of course grow heavier as the age of the material increases. If done by piece-work, the repairs will average from one pound to four pounds yearly; but if a contract be entered into with the maker, the terms usually are from thirty shillings to two pounds per annum; the agreement dating from the commencement of the wear.

The endurance of such things, however, is greatly governed by the uses to which they are subjected, and by the manner in which they are treated. When harness is seldom at home, of course it wears faster than when it is rarely or is moderately employed. The industry and habits of the person who looks after the articles have also to be considered. Some lazy men will ruthlessly wash the leather in a pail of water and afterward hang it upon the most convenient paling to dry in the sunshine. Such a proceeding will prove quickly ruinous: harshness is induced; all suppleness is destroyed; a disposition to crack is engendered; while the plated ornaments speedily become tarnished.

The proper method of cleaning is, to employ as little water as possible. A moist sponge, well soaped, may, when very much soil exists, be quickly passed over the surface, but each part should, without loss of time, be immediately dried after the dirt is removed. All the mud having been thus obliterated, the several pieces should be most carefully gone over again with a dry cloth, so as to absorb any possible moisture which, during the first cleansing, may have escaped notice. In fine or during dusty weather, no fluid is necessary, nor should the employment of any be suffered. A pail of water will, doubtlessly, save labor; but the servant’s leisure, which is thereby secured, is a severe burden upon the master’s income. A good brush, not too hard, but one having springy hair, will soon remove all dry impurities; and with that the harness, when not made moist by the road or rendered wet by exudation from the animal’s body, should always be cleansed.

This being done, apply Harris’s jet-black oil, but not thickly; enough has been laid on so that the application lies upon every portion of the surface. No long time need be allowed for the oil to dry in; but the first piece is generally ready to receive the next application by the time the last part has been properly finished. Then apply a little of the compo., which being polished to a lustrous black, the entire process is perfected by a final wash of Harris’s harness fluid.

The appearance will be longer preserved when harness is cleaned after the foregoing directions, while its lasting properties are not injured by the process. Instead of being deteriorated every time it is cleansed, the leather is nourished, its strength and its aspect being renovated. The plated ornaments, of course, are not alluded to in the above instructions; to polish these, some prepared chalk, fine brushes, finer than are generally employed, and a wash leather are imperative.

An inefficient groom is, perhaps, more readily detected by his manner of cleaning harness than by any other stable operation. Practice alone confers aptitude in handling the various pieces. Use enables the different articles to be rendered smart without staining the flesh or soiling the dress of the operator. When the servant is new to the occupation, particular portions are invariably scamped; others get more than the requisite attention. Certain of the ornaments are left with the crevices full of powder, while some parts are wholly neglected; but, above all, the linings to the various pieces are always smeared and impressed with dirty finger-marks. A good groom apparently will not trouble himself to avoid such errors, but, when he has finished, each portion is equally clean, while the insides are untainted and free from the smallest soil.

The linings should be cleansed in the same manner as the other parts, only the blacking and the polishing are unnecessary. In most situations, leather is employed to cover the under surface; where this substance is present, no beating is then required. Where cloth is used, as in the lining of a saddle pannel, this should be daily beaten with a small cane, and subsequently brushed till all hairs and dust are removed. The bad servant invariably strives to hide his laziness under a pretense of excessive zeal for his master’s interest. When ordered to attend to the lining of his harness, he will endeavor to escape from the command by pleading the wear which attends the constant friction occasioned by continual beating and by perpetual brushing.

A collar placed on the horse should be firm, falling easily into its proper situation. It is stuffed with straw or flock, and is lined with leather. That the lining may not be stretched and that the stuffing may not be hardened in parts but may feel equally firm upon every portion of its inner surface, the article should never be used when moist, even in the remotest degree. When removed in a wet state, it should be dried either in the sun or before the kitchen fire, prior to again being taken into service. When doing this, of course the nature of the material should be considered; it should only be exposed to such a heat as will cause the moisture to evaporate, and if that end can be attained by a brisk current of air in a shady place, such a situation is to be very much preferred to any natural or to any artificial warmth.

The collar should pass into its situation without requiring the force which careless grooms seem to delight in exerting, or ignorant servants, possibly, may regard as necessary to the proper fulfillment of their duties. Any violence, when daily repeated, must eventually damage the horse’s appearance by removing hair from the prominences of the head, and by causing the naturally placid countenance of the animal to assume a worn or a ragged expression. The collar should be turned when put over the face, the widest part of the opening being passed over the ears. When the head is through, and before the article proceeds lower than the topmost portion of the neck, it should be righted, or the pointed part should occupy the most elevated situation; after which it is slid down upon the shoulder.

The collar, when fitted to the neck, should sit firmly and closely. The bearing should be equal and even, because the entire draught is from the collar; in proportion as the bearing is accurately distributed, so the weight will be easily propelled. Some people have endeavored to render the collar more steady by attaching the traces to hames with double eyes. The hames are the metal rods which repose upon the collar; the eyes are circular spaces which permit the traces to be united to the hames. Though double fastenings may occasion the force to seem better distributed along these rods, the effect must operate rather upon the spectator’s mind than upon the substance it is meant to render stationary. If a line is drawn from the point where the trace should end, and equidistant from those places to which the two bands are attached, the real seat of bearing will prove not to have been changed by the angularity of the fastenings, but will either remain confined to its original situation, or it may act only on one fastening to the exclusion of the other. That which is known as a scroll eye, however, is more elegant than the plain attachment, and on account of its smartness deserves to be preferred.

A breast-collar, when the circumstances permit a free exercise of selection, should never be adopted. It may, in the eye of inexperience, look prettier; but it goes directly across a part of motion; it drags against the muscles, which, being loose in structure, are not made to endure continual pressure. Moreover, the cartilage of the chest moves with each respiration; any force operating from without, therefore, cannot but oppose this normal action. Besides, the chief component of the chest, the terminations of the ribs, which are inserted into the sternum, are also cartilaginous. Now, cartilage is highly plastic, and readily assumes strange shapes, as is seen by the larynx when distorted by the bearing-rein. (See “Illustrated Horse Doctor,” pp. 108, 109.) Whereas, when the collar bears against the shoulder, it is supported by solid bone, as firm and as compact as can be found in most structures throughout the body.

However, when accident or disease makes it impossible to continue the employment of a collar, the breast-strap, although in itself an evil, becomes the only substitute.

There is connected with the hame a simple arrangement, about which neither gentlemen nor makers are always sufficiently particular. The reins are supported in their proper position by passing through a ring or ferret, which is generally fixed upon the hames. Should the horse, thus caparisoned, accidentally fall, the loop, being immovable, is either bent out of all shape, or, more probably, it is broken short off by the weight of the prostrate animal. It may be replied, that horse collars are not, when manufactured, made to be violently driven against stones. The writer does not contradict the assertion; but when a hinge will not interfere with the aspect, and, by yielding to pressure, will guard against a possible mischance, the little extra labor which the addition would require assuredly could not be better expended.

The principal portions of the harness having been considered, some thought must now be bestowed upon the chief essentials of saddlery. A good saddle, intended to please the majority of horsemen, should be seventeen and a half or eighteen inches long, the length being regulated by the shape of the animal. It is, of course, equally easy to manufacture a saddle of any given proportions; but one of a sound working and a thoroughly useful sort should not be much shorter, and should weigh from ten to twelve pounds. Such things have been produced of seven pounds weight. Were it desirable, the saddle could be made much lighter even than the last figure represents; the article at present under consideration is supposed to be of a lasting description, and not of the fanciful kind. When gentlemen lay down rules which the manufacturer is to observe, they should remember that the tradesman, who merely carries out his employer’s ideas, and is not permitted to obey his own convictions, is no longer responsible for results.

A broad seat is generally preferred. This should not be so wide as to disable the grip of the rider; but it ought to be of no greater dimensions than will allow a firm hold to be taken by the fleshy part of the thigh. Every saddle has two girths, but all girths have not three straps. These should always be present; because if one strap should break, another is ready to supply its place. It vexes most keen sportsmen, near the termination of a hard run, to lose a good place because, strained by the accelerated action of the horse’s lungs, a girth strap shall, when excitement is at its height, give way.

To avoid so irritating an accident, the hunting or the Melton girth is now commonly employed. This consists of a broad webbing, which is tightened by two straps, one at either margin. Over the main girth there runs a narrower length of the same material, which is kept in its situation by passing through two loops upon the principal binder. The narrower webbing is fastened by means of the third or central strap. Thus, should one of the fastenings of the chief girth yield, or even should both be forced from their holds, the saddle will not necessarily be displaced, as there is always a supernumerary guard in attendance ready to officiate as the representative of its incapacitated principals.

Cruppers are generally discarded. These appendages have occasioned terrible sores, and are of no actual utility to the retention of the saddle; for the withers should prevent that convenience from moving too forward. A martingale is occasionally used; but if the animal be rightly formed for its purposes, and has been carefully broken in, the head should be carried properly without necessitating compulsion. The mouth is soon injured and loses its sensitiveness when a tight rein is constantly in requisition to bring the muzzle into its proper situation. When the lips are subjected to perpetual pressure it can hardly be anticipated that the steed can obey the slightest movement of the rider’s hand. Most people are vexed when obliged to tug and haul every time it is desired the animal should deviate from the direct course.

Once the spring stirrup was hailed as a marvelous invention and an indispensable part of every good saddle. This was designed to release the foot of a rider who had lost his seat. Such things were very pretty toys. They acted beautifully in the chamber when first taken out of paper, but, when exposed to use, these elegant precautions soon got out of order. Dirt would work into the joint and would interfere with the mechanism, which thus became useless at the very time its services were likely to be required. After a hard gallop the joint could not be otherwise than clogged, especially when the run was across country. Therefore the spring stirrup has been displaced in public estimation by the spring bar. This last is the newer and the less costly provision, the spring being attached to the bar which supports the stirrup leather.

The situation where the machinery is lodged protects it from dirt, from wet, or from dust, being doubly sheltered from all such intrusion. It is covered by the skirt of the saddle, and is likewise shielded by the thigh of the rider. The article thus placed is removed from the operation of that objection which has thrown the spring stirrup into disuse. The purpose of both inventions is equal, being exactly similar. When the rider was unseated, the stirrup was intended to yield before the drag of the imprisoned foot. When the horseman is thrown, the smallest traction does occasion the spring bar to act, and the leather is released, the limb forcing the stirrup iron and the leather to quit their relative situations.

The stirrup iron was formerly made of various shapes, each of which was imagined to possess some special advantage. At present, however, the public appear to disregard peculiarities of form in such articles, and to pay no attention to those contortions concerning which our forefathers were so extremely precise. It is now considered quite sufficient if the stirrup iron afford a firm rest to the foot of the rider, if it be not disposed to glide away from the pressure of the boot, and if it be as light as possible, but nevertheless possesses the strength necessary for its purposes. All these intentions are embodied in a plain, three-barred stirrup iron, which presents an ample surface of bearing, while, being slightly roughened upon its upper surface, it is readily retained by pressure; but for the strength of the article the respectability of the salesman must afford the only possible guarantee.

Also appended to the saddle is an adjunct frequently of no inconsiderable utility in the field. It is comparatively of modern invention, and is known as the hunting breast-plate. One extremity is attached by means of a hold to each side of the saddle, near to the pommel. The straps proceeding thence are short, and soon unite, when the medium of junction proceeds to the chest. The two leathers, one from either side, are there joined to a single strap, which, after passing between the forelegs, is finally attached to the girth. The intention of this addition is to retain the saddle in its proper situation, an object not always easy to accomplish even with this provision, as high withers and violent muscular exertion naturally incline to its backward movement.

The breast-plate, for the full development of its use, necessitates much care in the groom when caparisoning the quadruped. The two short upper straps, on which all stress must center, join directly under the windpipe. Because of this all parts necessitate the most accurate adjustment; where a breast-plate is used, the servant should particularly notice the position of the girth when securing the fastening. If the leather should be loose or even slack, the backward motion of the saddle will of course dispose the two side pieces to assume the straight line, or it will force their junction upward as well as render its pressure more stringent. The consequence will be, the strap must press upon the trachea and blood-vessels; the animal may be choked, and the hunting of one day spoiled, even should the rider and his horse ultimately escape all injury.

The upper reins of the martingale are sometimes made to spring from the center fastening of the breast-plate. But the use of the martingale is to force the head downward. To do this requires a firm hand and a straight rein, which consequently pulls the restraining strap of the breast-plate upward, and thus destroys the purpose of the last invention. The two articles are, in their uses, perfectly distinct; such things cannot be profitably blended. The martingale is designed to counteract an upward traction. The fastening of the breast-plate should drag only in the downward line, whereas the head strains in the contrary direction. When a martingale cannot be dispensed with, one should be worn totally distinct and separate from the breast-plate. It is, however, always desirable to join the meet with as few floating gear as possible; since, when the pace grows hot and the fences are high, such loops are little better than baits for accident.

A good addition to the saddle, and one no rider should be without, was introduced into this country by Messrs. Gibson. It was originally used in India, where its utility was largely tested, and amply proved by the British cavalry. This improvement consists of a felt under-pannel; which is made of such dimensions as to be perfectly concealed when lying between the pannel and the skin. As an adjusting medium it answers admirably. Should the saddle not exactly fit, the motion chafes the felt, and does not gall the body. Besides, horses are not, more than their masters, of the same size at all times; the felt, being elastic, allows of slight variations in bulk without imperiling the safety of the proprietor.

The felt under-pannel should always be used whenever a side-saddle is employed; it renders the adjustment more easy, and makes it more secure. Such an advantage cannot always be attained, even with the extra girth, with which all side-saddles should be provided. Every possible care ought to be exercised that the seat of a lady’s saddle may be rendered firm; because, as the make throws the bearing upon the near side, and the fixedness of the position must incapacitate the lady for freedom of action, therefore any movement of the saddle is likely to be attended by serious consequences.

For the foregoing reasons, the maker should bestow the greatest attention upon the shape of the saddle-tree; no artifice should be neglected that is calculated to render the side-saddle more fixed upon the horse’s back. The seat should be longer as well as broader than is usual in those articles which are manufactured to sell quickly and to look prettily. It should be covered with soft, unpolished leather, and be quilted, so that its partial roughness and trivial inequalities may present a more secure and an easier seat for the fair equestrian.

Every aid would, however, be useless, were it not for the crutches. The female rider must cast her bearing upon the near crutch; hence horses, when forced to work under an ill-made side-saddle, often suffer terribly, and exhibit as the consequence severe examples of fistulous withers. Experience has proved that the off crutch is of small service, save as it may confirm the confidence of the lady; although, by rendering the leg more stationary, it is in reality calculated to increase her danger. Its utility lies in calming the timidity of the horsewoman; for the instant a horse gets into motion, the bearing is entirely toward the near side; therefore most modern saddlers, although they dare not remove the useless crutch, have its height materially diminished.

The third or knee crutch is a comparatively recent improvement. It offers a point for pressure to the left knee, or of bearing for the stirrup leg. It is of every service, enabling the lady to retain a firm seat. During the perils of leaping it prevents the lighter weight of the female body being, by the violence of the motion, so shaken as to lose all hold upon the upper crutches. Thus, in some degree, it compensates for the advantage that gentlemen enjoy in the grip which their position enables them to take of the saddle.

The slipper was the favorite stirrup in use with the side-saddle a few years ago. Its adoption then was all but universal, and so at the present time is its rejection. The Victoria stirrup, or an iron of the shape which is adopted by Her Majesty, now engrosses public patronage; it being generally employed, with the addition of the previously noticed spring bar.

The patent stirrup for ladies is not liable to those objections which were urged against the spring stirrup, when employed for the saddles of gentlemen. The habit protects the machinery, which is not therefore exposed to the intrusion of mud. Its action is almost certain; but, should it not answer the occasion, the next invention, when employed with the foregoing provision, would probably set the malice of “luck” at defiance.

The following should also be appended to every lady’s saddle. Male equestrians may esteem the spring bar to afford the gentle sex sufficient protection. However, where there is a possibility of question, no expense ought to prevent the more fearful rider from being guarded by the latest additions, which may promise even the remotest chance of security. The common spring bar rarely fails to act; but, on particular occasions, it has retained the stirrup leather. The patented improvement shown on the next page appears to provide against such an accident, and when employed with the stirrup represented in the previous engraving, it assuredly affords an almost certain immunity from those accidents which each is assumed to render an impossibility.

The dotted lines indicate the relative positions of the stirrup leather.]

No lady’s saddle should be used without being accompanied by the hunting breast-plate; for nothing which might possibly increase security should in that case be neglected. For the last reason, also, a felt under-pannel should never be absent; because firmness of seat lends assurance to the rider, and because the provision prevents that unsteadiness which is known to provoke one of the worst evils to which the horse is exposed.

Saddles are covered by what the public denominate pigs’ skins, but which the trade, aiming at a distinction without being able to indicate a difference, persist in calling hogs’ skins.

These are always procured from the currier in large lots when purchased at first hand; but they are a hazardous article to buy. Out of two hundred, of which a parcel shall consist, there may not be more than two dozen really sound skins; therefore no tradesman has hitherto been able to establish a reputation for dealing in so uncertain a commodity. The wholesale merchant, consequently, knows but few customers. Established houses alone can afford the requisite outlay to obtain goods of so notoriously uncertain a character. From the larger parcels the best specimens are carefully selected by the first buyer; the remainder are cast upon the retail market, and are distributed among the numerous class of trades-people, whose limited capital does not allow them to speculate with the articles which they employ.

A good saddle is recognized by the accuracy of the fit. When let fall upon the back, it at once finds the proper situation. There it remains stationary and firm before a girth is fastened. When the maker, having brought home a new article, finds occasion to interfere with the groom, shifts about the saddle, and concludes his performance by tugging at the girths before he requests the employer to feel how firmly the new production is located, it is always an evil omen. The saddler, supposing the groom to be competent to his position, should never be suffered to volunteer assistance; the horse owner had better ride bare-backed than be seated on a badly-constructed saddle, for the last is hardly less unpleasant to a good horseman, while the first is infinitely more safe for the rider and the quadruped.

A good fit presupposes excellent workmen, and of course the larger houses attract the greater number of such artificers, because in such shops men expect to be employed on that particular branch of work in which each excels. Such masters, likewise, can afford to pay the highest rate of wages, and can alone tempt with constant employment. Add to these reasons that money in the saddlery and harness trades commands rather more than its just influence, being able to select the pick of every market, and it must be apparent how many advantages the established firm enjoys over the ordinary beginner, who has to struggle against the lack of pecuniary ability, against a want of regular customers, and against those difficulties which are peculiar to his calling.

Hogs’ skins are easily cleansed by washing quickly with a little soap and water; but washing and drenching are not here regarded as representing the same process. Water is not beneficial to leather of any sort, therefore as little fluid as will accomplish the object should be used; the more speedy the operation the better. It should be concluded by a clean cloth immediately wiping the surface quite dry. This finished, a sponge damped with good milk should be passed over the exterior; the saddle then should be hung up (not before the fire or in the sunshine) to expel the moisture. The more seldom, however, this process is adopted the better; consequently, it is only to be recommended upon urgent necessity.

Bridles, and every strip of harness which bears the slightest resemblance to a rein, should be cut only from the best, the strongest, and the choicest of English leather. Struggling tradesmen do not all possess the ability, however powerful may be the desire, to exercise selection in this article. Some have sent forth reins made of so faulty a material as stood exposed the moment it encountered the glance of a practical or an educated eye. The head-piece, requiring shorter straps, may possibly be cut from a partially imperfect hide; but for the reins, length and toughness are essential. The merest crack will, with constant wear, become a fissure; and no horseman can foretell the moment when personal safety shall depend upon the power which he shall be able to exert through the reins.

A fair proportion of the injuries which happen to riders or to drivers are aggravated by faulty reins. A contest arises between a restive horse and an intemperate master. The contest, which from the earliest period alarmed timidity in the animal, has just excited the man, when the reins fly asunder. The scared quadruped finds itself suddenly released. The creature understands nothing of the cause; but the first impulse natural to fear is to fly from the presence of the power against which it has been struggling. Whenever the horse displeases its master, pain inflicted by whip, bit, or spur generally ensues as a natural consequence. It is from such torture that the poor life endeavors to escape. Motion increases its terror as the unshackled being dashes blindly onward. An accident is the probable result. The coroner and the jury assemble; a verdict, which all approve, is formally delivered; but no one thinks of inspecting the reins to discover the real cause of injury.

Reins should always be attentively examined. If good, they look pleasant to the eye, and are yielding to the touch. Any roughness, harshness, or hardness denotes the presence of defective leather. It may not break to-morrow or the next day, but before long the rein will separate. The slightest indication of a crack will gradually become an extensive division. Messrs. Gibson have often been honored with commands to export reins, the foreign leather being harsh and inelastic, therefore feeling unpleasant to English hands; but more frequently the natives of this country are afraid to employ reins exhibiting innumerable cracks, everywhere displaying the roughness which should not exist, and being totally deficient in the suppleness which ought to be abundantly present.

When reins are intended for the use of ladies, their character should be unexceptionable. Many girls, before they have conquered the seat, depend, in no slight degree, upon the reins for retaining their positions in the saddle. They of course understand nothing about saddlery. They accept anything which is offered; but the sudden snapping of the reins always terrifies the steed, while it greatly alarms the gentle being on its back, whose fears are increased by finding herself instantaneously deprived of a support on which her inexperience had depended. Ladies’ reins, being made lighter, should be cut from better leather than those intended for gentlemen; if there be a possible choice, it should be accorded to the weaker party. Some horsewomen like the reins and the head-piece to be formed of rounded straps. Thus made, they certainly have a lighter and a more graceful appearance; but Messrs. Gibson do not recommend such a form of bridle to those ladies who delight in mounting and in subduing high-spirited animals.

Martingales are generally complained of as troublesome appendages when added to the trappings of either the saddle or of the gig horse. These articles, however, can be so manufactured as to lend a dignity to the quadrupeds which run before carriages; though, where a martingale is used, the bearing-rein becomes unnecessary, since both restraints aim at the same object. Perhaps of the two, the martingale is the better, because, while obliging the head to be held in the proper position, it enables the coachman, by slackening the reins, to rest the muscles of the neck when the vehicle pauses. The martingale certainly requires the better driver, and imposes the greater exertion upon him who drives, the latter circumstance being likely to interfere with the digestive serenity of most servants.

There is, however, one species of martingale, without which few ladies’ saddles appear to be fully equipped. Some animals necessitate no restraint to improve the carriage of the head, but these, nevertheless, acquire a habit of throwing the muzzle suddenly up and of jerking the foam from the lips into the face of the rider. This propensity communicates no pleasure to the person who occupies the seat. It generally causes the equestrian to lower the head whenever the quadruped evinces a disposition to exalt its countenance; such being the precise moment when the human vision is of double value; for the eye of the horse, being directed heavenward, can then take no cognizance of earthly objects; hence the great need for the guidance of the rider.

To correct this, the French martingale, which consists of a single strap, is attached to the nose band. The band passes over the nasal bones, and under the forward part of the lower jaw. To the lowest part of this band the French martingale is fixed. The operation is obvious. The horse, by raising the head, causes the martingale to act on the bridle: the nostrils are compressed; the breathing is interfered with; and, as the quadruped resents the slightest hinderance to its respiration, the fruitless effort to indulge an obnoxious habit is relinquished, so that the annoyance of the tightened nose band may be avoided. French martingales, which were once largely in use, are now never employed with a gentleman’s saddle, although they have not been discarded by equestrians of the gentler sex.

The bits which accompany the ladies’ bridle are more fanciful in shape, and more ornamental in appearance, though hardly so heavy as the articles manufactured for the use of gentlemen, because the generality of ladies seldom resort to this instrument of positive torture: indeed, these severities seem to be losing their attractions over the harsher natures. Many men, however, employ them; most regard a bridle as incomplete without a bit; but very few are so fond of the restraint as to order it to be sewn to the head-piece.

A bit permanently attached certainly appears lighter, and necessitates the employment of less obvious force, though at the same time it must be more acute when in operation. Nevertheless, it is to be doubted whether one foot passenger out of ten thousand would notice the only peculiarity for which such an arrangement is to be commended. Moreover, every animal does not require the exertion of extraordinary power; while the irremovable character of the bit is not without attendant disadvantages. The article can no longer be changed at pleasure. A rider may grow to dislike the constant employment of one form of coercion. The animal’s education may not need the perpetuation of such severity; the temper may improve, or the steed may accommodate itself to the personal peculiarities of its proprietor; or the quadruped’s mood may change, for horses, like their masters, are swayed by strange influences, and are sometimes impelled by eccentric impulses.

When the metal has to be washed, cleaned, and polished, should the bit be sewn to the head-piece, the leather cannot be removed during the processes. Water is not beneficial to a leathern material; therefore the bit must either be imperfectly renovated, or the head-piece must be soiled during the requisite labor demanded for the purification of its adjunct. These annoyances are avoided when the bit is made to take on and off by the means of a buckle. Each part can then be properly attended to without hazard to the rest. Should the bridle not appear clean, the owner recognizes a legitimate cause for complaint; but when the bit is fixed, the groom has always ready an excuse for idleness, while the consequent wear will be found altogether more rapid.

There are various kinds of bits, and each has its admirers; but a well-broken and a good-tempered animal requires nothing more powerful than a snaffle. Restraints of needless severity, employed with extravagant exertion, are by no means required, though such are far too general with the great majority of professed horsemen. The animal is spoilt by such tuition. It is educated to understand nothing but coercion; whereas gentleness and firmness combined can accomplish much more than brutality can compel.

There is a well-known tale, which, being illustrative of this subject, may here be aptly quoted. A farmer, intending to break a colt for sale, mounted the animal; but hardly was he in the saddle before the ears were laid upon the neck, and the frame rendered rigid by the presence of obstinacy. The intention of the attitude was recognized by all; but offers of stick, whip, or spur were as stubbornly rejected. “No, no, no,” replied the kind-hearted proprietor to the proposal of such favorite persuaders. “Jane, lass! bring I the afternoon’s mug and pipe.” These were discussed. Another pipe was filled and exhausted, without the honest fellow descending to earth. Then the colt was invited to proceed; but the humor of the quadruped continued unaltered; accordingly it remained stationary, with the master on its back.

“Father! tea is quite ready,” cried Jane, peering from the kitchen window. “Bring it here, lass, for I shan’t get down!” was the response. The tea was brought and partaken of. The day was drawing toward its close, and the air was becoming cold. “I should not mind having my great-coat, a pipe, and a glass,” shouted the farmer. Everything was brought, and the man endeavored to make his position comfortable; but apparently took no heed of the creature beneath him. “For,” he observed, “if I could strike, the colt could fling and prance; so it might not be certain which would master; whereas, while I be quiet, I’ve the best on’t.”

Supper was eaten where the tea had been swallowed: the master showed he was resolved, unless the colt moved, to pass the night in the saddle. The animal became uneasy, and shifted about; but without progressing until some time after the clock had struck eleven. Then the colt was suddenly disposed to progress. “Whoy!” shouted its master, “you have stayed so long to please yourself, now remain a little longer to pleasure I!”

At length the rider was disposed to move, but in an opposite direction to that which the colt was inclined to travel. The animal was also willing to trot briskly, but the farmer would sanction nothing faster than a walk. Accordingly, the pair slowly moved five miles out, and trotted five miles home. Then the quadruped was placed before an empty manger, and left, tired and hungry, to its night’s meditations on the evils of disobedience. The above narrative, of course, concludes by stating that the animal proved docile “forever afterward.”

The obvious intention of the above is to discourage the employment of force. The strongest man cannot physically contend against the weakest horse. Man’s power reposes in better attributes than any which reside in thews and muscles. Reason, alone, should dictate and control his conduct. Thus guided, mortals have subdued the elements. For power, when mental, is without limit: by savage violence nothing is attained, but the man is often humbled through a conviction of defeat.

Every species of bit is evidence of a human mistake, and the wrench which it can exert is only the measure of the error. Many valuable animals are annually ruined, under a prejudiced notion about subduing a stubborn spirit. The horse is born submissive. It by nature acknowledges the superiority of man. When the animal refuses to obey, the disobedience only expresses the creature’s ignorance of the desires of its master; or declares the presence of some more potent influence than human authority. In either case, patience is the best remedy. Let the rider be passive until the slow understanding of the quadruped comprehends his pleasure; or until a sufficient pause has destroyed the spell by which the servant was enthralled. Pat the neck; speak encouragingly to the alarmed timidity. Then gently walk the fearful life a few steps. In shorter time, with less trouble and with far greater safety, will such measures restore composure, than violence possibly can compel submission; upon recovery, the acknowledgment of the master’s sway will be revived and strengthened by that sense of gratitude which, in animals, reason is powerless to pervert.

The snaffle is the gentlest indicator which the bridle possesses. It is generally sold in two forms--either plain or twisted. The latter supposed improvement renders its action upon the lips more sharp, the sharpness being proportioned to the fineness of the twist. The chain snaffle is, however, still more terrible in its operation, and is certainly better calculated to punish than to guide. A plain snaffle is, therefore, much to be preferred, the fact being well illustrated by the circumstance that the gentlemen who depend upon the milder species of check encounter fewer accidents than those riders who place their reliance in such mechanical restraints as are warranted to break the jaw-bone of any restive animal.

The mildest of the many bits in general use is called the “Hackney.” It is a curb bit and birdoon, having a double reined bridle. The last instrument is, however, gradually being superseded by the “Pelham bit,” which is capable of creating terrible agony. This restraint riders commonly employ with double reins; but it can be used with a single head-piece. In general it is manufactured smooth or plain, but it also can be twisted to any desired degree of severity.

The “Hanoverian bit,” like the majority of imported inventions, is a terrible exaggeration of the worst properties that once were thought sufficiently powerful. Its nature is best expressed by the phrase “hard and sharp,” which it has almost solely appropriated. A horse cannot grasp this novelty in its teeth, and thus render futile an unscrupulous master’s efforts to punish. “The Hanoverian” enables a rider to continue the agony which may have driven a sensitive creature to the confines of madness. As the sides are movable at pleasure, it is esteemed to be an admirable check for a pulling quadruped.

Should none of the foregoing embody the desires of some desperate horseman, there remains another, which is an ugly thing to be put into a living mouth; it is called the “Segundo bit,” and is the most barbarous of all the cruelties in general use. It is manufactured of three sizes; the longest of which enables any Christian gentleman to inflict the most lively torture upon the meekest of living creatures.

The “Chiffney bit” was once highly esteemed, and, assuredly, was fully equal to its pretensions; but it seems lately to have sunk low in public favor. The “Sliding Mouth bit” is the last invention of this kind. It is thought to operate beneficially upon animals which are employed in harness. The mouth piece is reversible, having a rough and a smooth side, and it is much approved of, because it professes to afford the horse something for the mouth to play with.

The actions of the dumb, however, are easily mistaken. Anything which pains the angles of the mouth, whether it should be a roughened bit or a tight bearing-rein, will provoke the horse to toss the head into the air. This motion is regarded by most persons as evidence of spirit, and as signifying a playful disposition; but it is in reality an effort to relieve for an instant the tension which drags against the lips. Another action which gratifies the majority of spectators is to behold a steed move the lips which are whitened with foam. Foam, however, only indicates the presence of thirst, and the reader will, upon reference to “Scald Mouth” in the previous volume, discover that rapid labial motion is not, in the horse, characteristic of amusement.

Bits of all sorts are decided mistakes, and the blunder is the greater as the restraint becomes the more severe. The occasional employment of such things is highly dangerous; their perpetual use destroys the sensibility of the mouth. That continued pain should deaden feeling is a wise institution, kindly ordained to prevent the sensibilities of this world becoming the playthings of barbarity. Nature protects her creatures from the incessant use of the goad by causing it to provoke numbness in the region on which torture would operate. The knowledge of this law should instruct mankind in the inutility of habitual severity; while the conviction that the same Tender Parent has, in madness, ordained a refuge for sudden agony, should teach all people not to lash the horse into that state which can alone render it truly dangerous.

With the last sentence the main subject of the present volume has concluded. The reader, as he reviews the topics which have been submitted to his judgment, is probably surprised to perceive how little of mystery legitimately appertains to the horse, but how much its requirements accord with the dictates of “common sense.” In short, “common sense” may be said to indicate all that the proper comprehension of the stable or its inhabitants need at the hands of a proprietor.

Yet, is it not surprising that society at large regards “horse knowledge” as a mysterious attainment, to be gained only by a long course of actual experience? Such a prejudice is without the slightest foundation. Antiquated customs and exploded notions are common enough in every mews. Filth is, in such places, supposed to be endowed with strange medicinal attributes, and cruelty is patronized as though the perfection of wisdom laid in the total absence of humanity. The horse, as at present treated, is the victim of ignorance, and is exposed to every abuse. Nature and her dictates are disregarded. The animal is tortured till it submits to abhorrent brutalities. Its instincts, as a created being, are not respected; neither are its necessities, as a living creature, ever considered. Its welfare is secondary to the convenience of the master, and its custody is transferred to the unscrupulous cupidity of the servant.

“Common sense,” however, demands these things should be amended; and the main purpose with which the foregoing pages were indited was a hope, through a plain statement of facts and an appeal to the reason of the public, of awakening those intrusted with authority over the equine species to the errors attendant upon the present system of Stable Management.

INDEX.

PAGE

Abnormal condition of horn induced by the present mode of nailing, 99

Absence of the groom watched for, 255

Accidents are more rare since mutilation is less common, 381 might be avoided by masters being more gentle, 263 occasioned by injudicious breaking, 460

Accomplishments which fit to take charge of a dealer’s yard, 368

According to the position of the elbow so the hoofs must incline, 412

Action natural to a slanting shoulder, 408 necessitated by a straight shoulder, 405 often witnessed before private cabs in London, 407

Actions of the dumb are likely to be misinterpreted, 271

Active animals are always disliked in the stable, 215

Activity constitutes the horse’s pleasure, 206

Adapted for speed and exertion, 19

Additional bonds only provoke additional struggles, 228

Advantage of, and peculiarities of the new slipper shoe, 111

Advantages and disadvantages of all horns to give drinks with, 74 of the tin bottle, 75

Advantages of having the stable well regulated, 339 of nailing the new shoe to the toe, 113 of shoeing racers with tips, 473

Advantages secured by adopting the Arabian mode of nailing, 105 secured by movable mangers, 191

Advice to purchasers, 121

Affections of the horse, 201

After-meath, or rowen, 174

Age ought to be accurately observed, 147 renders the jaw-bone thin and narrow, 153

Ages have produced no change in the horse’s treatment, 223

Agony is evinced by a “kidney dropper,” when the spine is pressed, 269

Air-passages, the, can alter their dimensions, 25

All animals are spoilt if too greatly petted, 453 in the same stable are subjected to the same usages, 288 creatures play with food when not hungry, 213 feeding and drinking compartments should rest upon the ground, 310 hands should help the groom when the horse is exhausted, 348 horses are fully worked during the fourth year, 150 horses do not consume the like quantities of food, 197 needful security assured by open trevises in private stables, 306

Alteration in the nippers consequent upon old age, 136

Alterations are made to suit the declining breed of horses, 432 in the incisors, 159

Aloes, the retention of this medicine within the body, 165 become hard by keeping, 57

Aloes cannot be given to some horses, 56 often kill, 56 the purgative of the stable, 54 very uncertain in its action, 55

Always choose a horse having good haunches, 418 see the horse led out of the stable, 278

Ambulatory, an, anticipates the necessity of mounting in the stable, 310

Anatomical considerations, 18

Anatomists, were horses extinct, could tell their characters from their bones, 17

Ancient Arabian shoe, 95

Anecdote, about breeding horses, 429 concerning swerving in the horse, 291 illustrative of the evils generated by the present mode of exercise, 303 of a jibbing horse, 284 of the author and Van Amburg, 434 to illustrate kicking, 272

Anger excited by the colt’s restlessness, 209

Angular prominences are upon the grinding surface of the new molar tooth, 156

Animal, an, at five years old, pronounced to be in its prime, 153 not fitted for the saddle, is said to be suitable for harness, 421

Animals roll when their hair is uncomfortable, 230 after being conditioned are often passed by hacks, 464 are beaten when master complains of waste, 213 are guided by their experiences, 264 are incapable of conjecturing consequences, 264 are said to eat their own heads off, 367 brought to market at three years old, 146 drink less, having water at command, 314 having ewe necks are generally weak, 391 knowing no future, act on their experiences, 218 love most those who instruct them, 283 may be deeply diseased, and therefore called “vicious”, 271 the, are secondary to household duties in genteel families, 327 when procured, become members of the purchaser’s family, 379

Apparatus for steaming the horse’s food, 186

Appearance, the, of horses is the strongest evidence against modern stables, 231

Appliances needed to cleanse a carriage, 488

Arab horse, the, conforms to no arbitrary mould, 395

Arabian mode of fastening the horse’s shoe, 100

Arab tail is well set on, active, and powerful, 387

Arnica lotion used for rick of the back, 275

Arrangement in the components of the teeth, 157 of the gutters within stables, 298

Art cannot amend a natural development, 450

Ascertain, to, if the horse has been properly groomed, 340

Aspect of the mouth materially changes after the first year, 138

At grass, horses enjoy free communication, 307

Attempted cures of jibbing are uncertain and expensive, 283

Attends at fairs and on market days, 431

Attend to the heels on the following morning, 352

Author’s plan of nailing, 105 suggestions should be tried for their own sakes, 297

Back-bone of the horse, 382

Backing on to the gangway, 278 the horse out of the stall, supposes the spine to be injured, 278

Back of the stables, 317 the, as seen from above, 381 the, is often injured, 275 the, is supported by eighteen ribs on either side, 40

Bad hay and corn commonly given to horses, 179

Bad hay often cut into chaff, 177

Bad qualities of the cow-bellied horse, 404

Balling, blistering, firing, and bleeding in veterinary practice, 85

Balling irons, common form of, 62 improved form of, 62 only of use to timidity or inexperience, 60 Professor Varnell’s newly invented, 62

Balls, arguments in favor of, 73 caustics often employed in large doses with, 58 commonly intrusted to grooms, 54 horse, how made, 54 how prepared, 57 how moulded before delivery, 58 how to administer, 63 quiet mode of giving, 67 the form of, 58 the swallowing of, should be watched for, 68

Barouche and landau, 482

Bars or open trevises admit of equine familiarities, 307

Battering and fixedness aggravate the weakness of the fore limbs, 417

Beans, bad sample of, 188 Egyptian, 188 Egyptian, free from objection, 188 English, are too astringent, 188 English field, unwholesome when new, 187 good and bad sample of, contrasted with each other, 187 should be steamed, 188

Beard is sometimes present on good oats, 180

Bearing-rein, the, interferes with the use of the head, 389

Beating the horse in a stable is dangerous, 209

Beauty in horses generally coincides with excellence of spirit, 399

Be brief in your inquiries in the dealer’s yard, 374

Bed, a, is uncomfortable when not horizontal, 257

Beer recommended for the horse with a sensitive skin, 290

Behavior of grooms requires amendment, 338 to be exhibited toward dealers, 373

Bell, a, connected with the grooms’ cottages, enables assistance to be summoned, 325

Benefits derived from having a stock of frosted shoes, 127 secured by a new mode of nailing, 105

Better division of work for the horse, 342 have no carriage than one kept in a damp shed, 324

Bird, the, returns to its cage, and the horse seeks its stable, 251

Birthday of all horses arbitrarily fixed by the Jockey Club, 146

Bishoped teeth, 134

Bishoping easily detected, 134 described, 134

Bit, the Pelham, its recommendations, 522 the Hackney and birdoon, 522 the Hanoverian, 523

Bits attached to ladies’ bridles, 519 buckled and sewn on, 519

Blackguards who sell horses are not horse dealers, 138

Black mail is exacted by most grooms, 329

Blacksmith’s forge, a, during frost, 127

Bleeding can, its form and use, 88 fleam, described, 89 horses should be blinded before, 91 lancet not recommended for, 89 not necessary in many cases, 87 strange love of, 86 was formerly fashionable, 85

Blistering and firing often united, 78 a stable right through, 80 often resorted to, to please the owner, 80

Blistering oil should be procured of a chemist, and diluted, 82 oil should be quite clear, 82 ointment is made with old flies, 82 omnibus horses, 81

Blisters and oak bark proposed for rick of the back, 275 and the firing iron counteract each other, 78 are at present too powerful, 78 only of late years have been reduced in strength, 78

Blood horses draw weight by strain upon the muscles, 401 can should be pressed against the neck, 91 if cold, and exposed to the air, becomes oxygenated, 24 mare and foal, 430 stick depicted, 90 when cold, has lost its living properties, 245

Bloods want an infusion of a little cocktail, 433

Body, horse’s, beautiful when skinned, 45 the, anatomically considered, 17 the, should be judged of as a whole, 386

Boiler-house between the gig-house and first loose box, 321

Bolting commonly ensues after a fit of jibbing, 280 through the stable door, 239

Bone bears the burden when the body descends a slope, 253

Bones, character of the animal pronounced by, 17 of the fore extremity, how retained in their places, 42 of the spine described, 38 of the forelegs, their action is regulated by the shoulders, 408

Bones, the, of the leg do not uphold each other, 408

Boy picking hay, 172

Boys should not be employed to lead horses through stable doors, 240 the, about training stables are not trustworthy, 470

Bracy Clark’s jointed shoe, remarks on, 118

Bray of the donkey and neigh of the horse, how produced, 47

Brain, the, becomes congested by moving in circles, 451

Branch drains also oppose the ingress of rats, 300

Branches of the lower jaw contract with age, 136

Bran mashes, how to prepare, 55 more gentle and more safe than aloes, 55

Breaches of stable decorum by young horses, 207

Bread, given to horses in Germany, might be used as food, 195

Breaker, the, operates only on the fears of the colt, 453

Breaking and training, 449 begins at three years old, 147 loose, 217 should be gradually enforced from the earliest age, 455

Breaks are not often publicly used to exercise horses in, 304

Breast collar-strap, 507

Breathing life treated as it were an inanimate chattel, 200

Breeders should take example from the agriculturists, 428

Breeding, its inconsistencies and its disappointments, 427 of horses is at present altogether wrong, 437 suckling, and living on grass, 446

Bricks and mortar are valueless in comparison with horse flesh, 298

Bricklayer’s trowel likened to the teeth, 158

Bringing the sole near to the ground, danger of, 102

Brittle hoof, 99

Brougham horse, a, 371

Brougham or phaeton harness, 503

Brushing or cutting about the pastern joint, 121

Bulk is not always an assurance of strength, 419 merely distends and injures the stomach, 177

Bull neck, a, 391

Bustle hails the appearance of a stranger in the stable, 204

Buy a young horse by the teeth as regards age, 164

Calkins destroying the even bearing of the foot, 109 in the slipper shoe made by thinning the quarters, 111

Can, bleeding, its form and use, 88 blood should be pressed against the neck, 91 horses have aristocratic predilections, 215

Capacity of most doors to stables, 235

Capital and tact required to job carriages successfully, 368

Carriage, a, without C springs, and a brougham, 483 harness, a full suit of, 504 horses are not kept by the London dealers, 367 houses are always large enough, 233 the treatment required for, when in its house, 492

Carriages, 477 congregate on wet nights before fashionable mansions, 323

Carrying round the food to the stables, 192

Carters sit upon the loins of young horses, 265

Cart horse, a, 401 with a Roman nose, 394 horses are not formed to trot, 273 have long mustaches, 394

Cartilago nictitans, 36 its special use and action, 36

Carts should never exist without springs, 386

Cast in the stall, 231 under the manger, 259

Cause of chink of the back is the greed of proprietors, 273

Cause of odd hoofs in the horse, 413

Causes of cutting, 121 which increase the liability of the foreleg to injury, 416

Caustics dangerous as internal medicine, 59

Cavity of the pulp in the molar teeth, 157

Ceiling of stables, how it is formed, 316

Certain steeds snap and bite when being dressed too violently, 289

Channel diminishes with age, 136

Character and color of upland hay, 173 lowland hay, 173

Cheap harness is generally dangerous, 496 horses are not to be bought in London, 359

Cheapness is not economy when buying oats, 182

Chiffney bit, the, 523

Child, a, might sit the thorough-bred trot, 421

Chink of the back, 266

Circular chest, the, good for slow work, 401 exercise, 452 motion induces blindness, 451

Clark, of Edinburgh, his old shoe preferred to new inventions, 121

Classic mind, the, recognized the signification of the horse, 242

Clean saddle, how to, 516

Cleaning harness, the proper method of, 504

Cleansing and cooling with hot and cold water, 349 an exhausted horse, 348 an unclipped horse, 347

Clearing the fence, 462

Cleveland bays are a dangerous property, 368

Clinches are more secure when made upon the toe, 114

Clicking or forging common toward the end of a long journey, 124

Clipped horse, a, is a deformity, 346

Clipping and singeing, 343 induce many terrible disorders, 344

Clock-loft and lumber-room above the sheltered space, 320

Closing the wound after having bled the horse, 92

Clothes and saddle cannot be retained on the herring-gutted horse, 404

Clover hay, first crop of, 174 second crop of, 175

Coal-cellar, 319

Coaxing the foal to feed, 444

Coax the horse when giving medicine, 78

Collar-rope is bitten through without design, 216

Collar-strap disfigures the neck and mane, 218

Colt at three years may cut sixteen teeth, 149

Colts are wayward creatures, 207

Comminution of the food described, 155

Common form of horn employed to administer drinks, 74

Common sense is alone necessary to understand horses, 524

Common stallions are generally led through the country, 431

Comparison between the wild and domesticated horse, 201

Complex calculations required of the horse dealer, 362

Composure returns only when the rug is destroyed, 287

Compound soap liniment recommended for rick of the back, 275

Condition of horses referred to, 432 of stable windows generally, 315 of the blood explains the diseases of the foot, 246

Conduct of most drivers when the horse bolts, 293

Conjunctiva, nature and distribution of, 35

Consequences of being cast in the collar-rope, 224 of being cast under the manger, 259 of too much paring, miscalled disease, 106

Contents of the abdomen and thorax, 403

Continued standing is a bad symptom, 352

Contraction of the jaw-bones forces the teeth into the mouth, 158

Contrast between a three-year old and a bishoped sixteen-year old mouth, 135 between the permanent and milk incisor teeth, 160

Cooking food for horses no novelty, 193

Copers esteem a kidney dropper a valuable horse, 269 the, always flurry a horse when pretending to show it, 277

Corner incisors first cut at nine months old, 141 milk incisors, being shed, announce five years old, 153

Corns are natural to upright hoofs, 415

Corn promotes fat, 187 should be crushed on the premises, 184 when crushed, requires further preparation, 186

Corpora nigra, present in the horse and camel, 31

Cost of a separate house for the groom would be fifteen pounds per annum, 333 of horse flesh is much increased by hard food, 166

Coughing, its danger during the administration of a drink, 75 provoked by raising the head, 76

Countenance during a fit of jibbing, 282

Countersinking for driving nails, 113

Course of the food, how arranged, 28

Covered ride round the stable, 302

Cow-bellied or pot-bellied horse, the evils of, 404

Cribbing induced by confinement and indigestion, 205

Crime is the climax of social frailty, 426

Crowded forges prevented by laying in a stock of frosted shoes, 127

Cruel imprisonment, 201

Cruelties undergone at three years old, 148

Cruelty and roguery are associated, 425 cannot promote development, 164 is practiced to coerce the jibber, 280 of rasping the hoof to fit a small shoe, 131 of the present mode of breaking in, 141 resorted to after bleeding, 94 sometimes changes the action of the straight shoulder, 406 unintentionally inflicted on all horses, 168

Cruiser and Mr. Rarey, 453

Crusta petrosa, 157 is endowed with a limited power of growth, 158

Cures proposed for cutting from exhaustion, 122

Curry-comb should be abolished, 337

Curveting and lunging are alike in their influences, 449

Customers are protected by the author’s recommendations, 378 should be better suited than pleased, 364

Custom of the drivers attached to the former fly wagons, 265

Cutting away the horny sole, 103 often produced by exhaustion, 123

Damp stables are equally costly and dangerous, 322

Danger consequent upon the internal use of caustics, 59 of casting the entire weight upon the wall, 103 of coughing during the giving of a drink, 75 of getting the hind leg beyond the post of the stall, 230 of gorging on dry wheat, 169 of standing in the manger, 209

Dangers of racing plates, 114 of the present method of nailing, 100

Darkness does not incapacitate the horse’s eye, 32

Date is apt to deceive the breeder, 440

Dead donkeys not rare, 47

Dealers buy with a view to certain purchasers, 375 do not show all their stock to every chance customer, 138 generally possess one or two blood-weeds, 369 horses are exercised in front of the house windows, 304 take much trouble to buy horses, 359 visit horse fairs and breeders of stock, 364 will not submit a horse of known unsoundness to a veterinary examination, 378

Deformity consequent on neglect of the hoof, 102

Deglutition described, 29

Degree of motion permitted in the stable, 202

Deluging with water does not please the horse, 346

Dentine, 157

Depth of the lower jaw in the young horse accounted for, 157

Deranged stomach denoted by fastidious and by voracious appetite, 196

Detailed description of the surface-gutters of the stable, 299

Development of the hyoideal muscles, 400

Diagrams of the opposite formation of thorax, 402

Difference between fullering and countersinking, 113 between man and horse in their lodging, 233 in the food of man and horse when in training, 170 of head in a one and a two-year old, 144

Different articles eaten by horses, 166 forms of pasterns, 410 kinds of ears, 396 kinds of snaffles, 521

Digestion deranged by modern stables and present food, 196 of the horse is frequently impaired, 342

Disease in the horse is exposed to the conjectures of ignorance, 285

Discovered in the morning with the head under the manger, 258

Dishonest dealers always demand a written warranty, 365

Disposition of the horse should be studied, 77

Dock, the, should be regarded as a continuation of the back-bone, 386

Domesticated animals generally live on prepared food, 167 horse is very old by its thirtieth year, 165

Donkey, the, belongs to the equine race, 46

Donkeys natural to the sandy desert, 48 have to toil after man’s day of labor has ended, 51 prejudices concerning, tend to their misery, 51 serve only the poor, 49 the loins of, uphold riders, 51 thrust into any hole for the night, 49 work before the master begins to labor, 50

Do not coax a tired horse to feed, 351

Do not punish the horse for jibbing, 281

Doors of stables should fold, or be divided through the center, 307 open on to the ambulatory, 307 size of, according to Professor Stewart, 235

Double coach-house, 319

Doubt as to the weakness of a hollow back, 384

Down in the hip, 237

Drag on the clinches the consequence of the thin heel shoe, 120

Draught horses require high and good haunches, 421

Draughts in crowded stables enable the horses to live, 81

Draughtsmen, their qualifications, 478

Dress, a, carriage and a chariot, 482

Dressing the heels, 353 the horse, 340

Drinking, the manner of, explained, 71

Drinks or draughts, a form of horse physic, 68 danger of administering, 69 generally objected to, 68 reasons for these objections, 68 sometimes poured down the nostril, 69 the objection to so giving medicine, 73 usual mode of giving, 74

Driving a nail too fine, 100

Dry fodder prematurely wears down the teeth, 133

Drying the heels, 350

Dryness affects the nature of the horse’s food, 171

Dusk, and at ten o’clock, duties of, 341

Duties of the night watcher, 325

Each groom should lead two horses to exercise, 306

Earning its keep during lactation, 436

Early and late is the best time for exercise, 466

Ears, different kinds of, 396

Eastern elevation of the contemplated stables, 325

Education, modern, makes men knowing and not good, 198 should commence with birth, 455

Effects of living upon grass in the field, 430

Egyptian beans are mild and sweet, 188

Eight months’ solitary imprisonment is not rest, 475

Eight o’clock duties, 340

Employers should be blamed for the groom’s debasement, 330

Employment of the drawing-knife a necessity, 106

Enamel, 157

English mode of paring the foot, 102 thorough-bred tail approaches to the Arab, 387

Entire horses are not necessarily savages, 433

Entreaty not to credit the possibility of a “vicious animal”, 294

Equine race, the, are treated as creatures without habits or instincts, 241

Estimable qualities of hollow-backed horses, 384

Even man’s generosity causes the horse to suffer, 475

Every gentleman his own horse-breaker, 453

Everything in the stable yields tribute to the groom, 330

Evils of long nights to horses and to grooms, 198 of modern stables, 200

Ewe neck, an, 391

Exaggerated view of a weakly animal with dangerous action, 424

Examine the angles of the mouth before purchasing, 398

Excellence of the racer’s action in the trot, 420

Excessive weakness has lost many a race, 472

Exchanges, with horses, are very expensive, 373

Excited horse, mouth of an, 288

Excitement ensues upon first sniffing the pure air, 334 prevented by rapidly and silently distributing the food, 312

Exercise, during training, is given at mid-day, 466 can be given in all weathers under the ambulatory, 303

Exhausting labor renders bleeding unnecessary, 87

Exhaustion in youth is a bad preparative for the stud farm, 428

Expense of feeding the horse, how increased, 193 would not be increased by proper treatment, 463

Experiments, uselessness of, as a test for medicine, 60

Experiment, testing the effects of a thick and of a thin covering, 344

Explanation of the doctor’s difficulty, 303 of the term “May bird”, 364 of the word “nicking”, 387

Expression of the ears, 396

Extended view obtained by mounting into the manger, 210

Extravagance of hard food, 166

Extreme age rare in the horse, 88

Eye, the, is a certificate of the horse’s origin, 30

Eyes, the, of the horse are much exposed to injury, 291 various sorts of, 397

Fœtus, the, is injured by the mother being sucked while breeding, 445

False nostrils, situation, nature and uses of, 25

Fancy is most active in the weakest intellects, 227

Fangs of the milk teeth are absorbed, 160

Farmers, the, idea of a breeding mare, 447

Fat is laid on, although lameness exists in the foreleg, 243 is promoted by the food--horses are sweated to remove fat, 467

Faults inseparable from stables, 233

Fearful change takes place when a horse is “thrown up” to breed, 435

Fed between the bursts, 472

Feeding of the grazing and the stabled horse, 429 the mare, 455 the newly-born foal, 443

Feeling, instincts or inclinations of the horse are never heeded, 198

Feet of farm horses are generally sound, 246 of thorough-breds generally bad, 115

Felt under-pad, 512

Few gentlemen’s stables are supplied with the best grain, 181 grooms live in the house, 327 horse dealers die rich, 367 horses reach their thirtieth year, 155 human beings should be exposed to the groom’s temptations, 330 tails are well set on, 387

Fleam, the, as made to be struck by the hand, 89 the, is preferable to the lancet, 89 the, described as used for bleeding, 89

Field (newspaper) description of roughing, from, 129

Fifth molar present by the second year, 145

Fired, sometimes, and blistered after it, 78

Fire has been kindled under a jibbing horse, 281

First crop of clover, 174 drops of blood taken from the forefoot are cold, 243 lessons in breaking should commence with the foal, 141 permanent tooth appears at one year old, 142 the, harness put on a foal, 456

Fittings needed for the interior of a carriage, 490 of the sheltered space, 320

Five-feet wide doors do very well for sleepy animals, 237

Flattery is much relished by all lower life, 456

Flesh is only another name for muscle, 381

Flexor muscle, the, influences the direction of the foot, 412

Flooring of the proposed stables described, 298

Foal first nips the grass when four months old, 141 one fortnight after birth, 139 the, may accompany the mare in her work, 436

Foals are generally crippled before they are born, 428 should be taught to regard men as friends, 444 teeth at birth, 139

Folly of docking, 380 of employing blisters to the legs, 79 of ornamental scroll work instead of plain bars, 306 of tying a horse by its head to the manger, 225

Food, 168 for the foal if the mare’s milk is tardy, 443 not thoroughly digested when presented dry, 165 of horses is contaminated in modern stables, 318 proper for an exhausted horse, 347 should be proportioned to the animal’s fatigue, 351 the greatest of many evils under which horses suffer, 169 when too abundant is wasted, 212

Foot, the, perspires through the horn, 353

Foreleg over the collar-rope, 221

Forelegs in the manger, 208

Forelimb is not a straight pillar, 409 the, is joined to the trunk by muscle, 41

Forge, horse’s dread of, 109 strange custom of charging different prices in, 110 the state of the, during a sudden frost, 127

Formation of the soil of stable, 301

Former shoes, unsuit for modern use, 96

Form of thorax which is best suited for slow and for fast work, 402 the, of a mare for breeding, 438

Four fully-grown permanent incisors only denote three years of age, 147 miles an hour is a fair exercising pace, 305 or five o’clock duties, 341 permanent incisors in each jaw announce four years old, 152

Four “roomy” stalls may be converted into three loose boxes, 332

Fourth molar is the first permanent tooth, 142 year, at the, the horse should be taught to leap, 416

Four-year olds are thought to need no indulgence, 151

Four-year old colt may be placed between shafts, 459

Fracture of the haunch disqualifies for a gentleman’s service, 238

Freedom is naturally desired by the horse, 220

Freemasonry, the, which exists between steed and rider, 372

French martingale, the use of, 518 revolution, the nobleman and Bastile, 252

Frequent change of shoes injures the feet of thorough-breds, 473

Friction, when brisk, warms more than slow walking exercise, 352

Frog and sole injured by the wedge-heeled shoe, 119

Front of the new stable has no intermediate rails, 319 teeth appear to be but temporary, 145 teeth stick out like spikes at thirty years of age, 167

Frosted shoes worn out in three or four days, 128

Frosting or roughing as generally performed, 128

Fullered shoe, 113

Full loins are generally associated with a stout dock, 393 set of horse clothes, 498

Furzy tail disappears at one-year old, 143

Gangway, the, should be kept clean, 338

General complaint of the roguery of horse dealers, 425 mode of leading the horse out of the stable, 236 view of the shoulder and foreleg, 416

Gentlemen like the springy seat afforded by a young spine, 146 should respect their station when treating with dealers, 378 when ignorant of horse flesh, should not attempt display, 370

Gentleness and caution requisite when trying a fresh horse, 372 should be displayed during a fit of jibbing, 282

Gentle riding and proper grooming would sustain condition, 475

German silver makes the best ornaments for harness, 496

Gestation is opposed to lactation, 445

Get up, 351

Gig, a, and a two-wheeled dog cart, 485

Gig harness and kicking-strap, 502 house, 319

Girths of saddles generally considered, 509

Giving a horse a quart of malt liquor, 347 out macerated food, 191

Glycerin and rose-water removes scurf, 290 wash, the mode of applying it to the skin, 337

Gnawing the manger rail the result of long captivity, 204

Good bridle, the characteristics of, 517 feeders are too commonly sluggish animals, 352 form, a, generally requires little aid in foaling, 439 horse, the, is good for every purpose, 420 oatmeal, how to recognize, 178 oats display no vast difference in size, 180 reach, a, in the trot, a valuable quality in a hack, 420 saddle, a, should fall into its proper place, 515 shoes are spoiled by being roughed, 128

Gowing’s, Mr., mode of giving a ball, 65 its advantages and defects, 66

Graced with the sweetest manners, sells the horses, 362

Grass, horses are generally shod with tips when out at, 116 suggests the food of the horse, 20 the natural food of the undomesticated horse, 133

Great muscular power is necessitated to move the head, 388

Greenhorns disliked by the regular dealer, 373

Green meat and mashes are better than aloes, 469

Grooms, 327 conceive the horse injures them, 222 display the union of innocence and knowingness, 354 doing house work generally neglect the stable, 355 flog the horse for standing in the gutter, 257 generally manage their nominal masters, 229 imagine the foot to be a mystery, 353 like fat in horses, 212 like the horse to have hard meat, 193 never regard cutaneous sensitiveness as a disease, 285 pretend to comprehend impossibilities, 355 pride themselves upon being “close”, 355 regard see-sawing as a fearful “vice”, 205 report effects, and never hint at causes, 229 ride as they please when exercising horses, 303 singe the hairs inside the horse’s ears, 395 should not ride when exercising horses, 306

Groom’s room is situated over the boiler-house, 324 idea of a horse’s long imprisonment, 211 secret mixtures are the originals of patent food, 196

Ground plan of the proposed stables, 321

Gruel is proper for an exhausted horse, 351

Guess only at the age after the fifth year, 163

Hair should never be inclosed in the wound after bleeding, 93

Hairs from oats are felted together in the stomach, 183 on the oat, 182

Half an acre of close grass should be attached to each loose box, 309

Hames with double eyes, 506

Handling the feet, 457

Hand-over-hand pace, the, is bad, 423

Hard food must be a tax on the muscular system, 467 provender wears the teeth and shortens the life, 165 substances derange the horse’s digestion, 186

Hardships undergone at three years old, 148

Harness and food are benefited when separated from stables, 317 and stable sundries, 494 for the young, 456 horses are usually imperfectly broken, 459

Hat, the, should be removed before a horse is led out of the stable, 240

Haunch-bone is often broken by striking against the door post, 238

Haunches, the, will express the qualities of the horse, 419

Hay, after-meath, 174 clover, first crop, 174 second crop, 175 from legumens might cost more, but would be better, 189 heated, 175 loft, the, should be over the coach-house, 333 lowland, 173 musty, 176 promotes fat, 189 should be sorted before it is placed in the rack, 171 upland, 172 weather beaten, 176

Head, carried straight out is ungraceful and unsafe, 390 the, must be retracted before the horse can rise, 260 the, by its movements inclines the body in certain directions, 380 the, denotes the treatment of the horse, 393

Health suffers from improper food, 169

Heaped manger unsuited for a famished horse, 178

Heat and impurity naturally provoke cuticular irritability, 224 and moisture correct the unwholesomeness of food, 190

Heaving at the flanks, 440

Heavy animals were formerly used for gentle purposes, 422 carts having long reins are injurious to the horse’s spine, 273

Heels are left unprotected if the shoeing is neglected, 106

Herald painting--how its charges are regulated, 478

Herbs, when dried, retain their properties, 171

Herring-gutted horse, the disadvantages of, 403

High-spirited horses are the most troublesome when confined, 215 stubborn horn the author prefers in the horse’s foot, 414

Hind hoofs enjoy a freedom denied to the forefeet, 244 legs, the, have a tendency to increase the burden of the fore limbs, 417

Hinge of the spine for rearing, 44

Hobble the hind legs of a mare, 441

Hogs’ skins are seldom perfect, 515

Hollow-backed horse, 383 cavity at the toe of the slipper shoe, 111

Home, a, for a horse is not the same thing as a home for a man, 298

Hoofs are spoiled by roughing during frost, 128

Hopeless struggle of mankind, 200

Horn for giving drinks, common form of, 74 improved form of, 74 of the hoof described, 98 whalebone and wood are best for stable instruments, 336

Horse auction marts deal largely in unsound horses, 277 a, when sold should suit the purchaser, 361 dealers, 357 dealers are alive to the value of their stock, 379 dealers generally occupy the same place at successive fairs, 365 is intended to run unshod over grass land, 116 is very choice when eating grass, 170 its disposition should be studied, 77 lowers the head to feed and drink, 170 the, cannot turn in its stall without twisting the back, 279 the, has embraced its position, 252 the, has not changed with the mutation of society, 449 the, squatting suddenly like a dog denotes a kidney dropper, 267 knowledge is not a mystery, 524

Horses when they speedy cut are liable to fall, as though shot, 423 should be taken into use with bodies uninjured, 463 are always blamed for human carelessness, 234 are by grooms credited only with evil qualities, 216 are furnished with the means of self-injury, 262 are inclined to rest at mid-day, 468 are often captives for many days in the stall, 211 are put to the greatest exertion at five years of age, 153 are seldom dressed when brought home late, 230 are starved when confined to small stables, 81 body still beautiful even when the skin is removed, 45 can protrude their heads through the half-opened doors, 308 can see in comparative darkness, 228 dread the forge, 109 eating from the ground, require no hay rack, 310 eat various substances in different countries, 194 have no right to do as they like with their lives, 207 have perished from all four feet being blistered, 78 have to sleep on slanting pavement, 256 having wide hips and large thighs very seldom cut, 122 intended to breed should be tenderly nurtured, 435 lower the head while drinking, 76 must feel their captivity, 202 should be exercised on the premises, 304 slide backward on the slanting pavement, 259 the, painted by Stubbs, are lost to the present generation, 407 their rest broken by the inclination of their beds, 257 which kick when the foot is in the stirrup are often quiet when mounted, 272 clothes generally much too short, 350

Horse flesh is being ruined by the race-course, 432

Hot-water pipes traverse the proposed stable, 322

How grooms contrive to spend so much money, 329 to examine for kidney dropping, 268 for the signs of cutting, 423 to feed a famished animal, 178 to feed a hunter, 471 to feed the mare and foal, 443 to make good gruel, 178 to macerate food, 190 to procure good oats, 182 to recognize a bishoped tooth, 134

Human child not a man when the permanent teeth appear, 152

Humanity in purchasers would destroy roguery in dealers, 425

Hunters, as a rule, are not kept by the London trade, 369 must be over four years old, 146

Hunting breast-plate, 511

Impaling the foot on a projecting nail, 101

Imperfect vision renders a horse dangerous, 293

Importance of warmth to the horse, 322

Impossible to convince most grooms, 220 to make the teeth declare a horse older than it really is, 163

Imprisonment engenders eagerness to breathe the fresh air, 237

Improvement has not reached the jail of the horse, 297

Impure air, sameness of food, and confinement generate disease, 243 residence, an, generates a morbid craving, 329

In cavalry stables, horses are separated by bales, 307

Incisor teeth are not employed in the stable, 167

Incisors, the, which denote a three-year old, 147

Inclination of the feet of horses, 412

Incline of the superficial gutters, 301

Inferior margin of the jaw still thick at four years old, 151 oats possess the longest hairs, 183 specimens of oats commonly adulterated, 179

Injury done by boys who hold your honor’s horse, 124 occasioned to the crust of the hoof by nailing, 100 often done by the laws of the Jockey Club, 146 or blemish is feared by dealers as much as death, 366

Inquiry into the conduct of colt and groom, 209

Instinctive acts in man, 295

Instruction properly imparted does not strain the body, 461

Interior of the stable should be colored green, 316

In the end, it is cheapest to act justly, 331 field, horses rest with the hind legs highest, 247 stable, horses stand with the forefeet highest, 248

Inward soft organs govern the hardest outward secretions, 118

Irish horses are famed as good fencers, 462

Itching and scratching rank as vices in the stable, 223

Jaw-bone becomes thin and narrow with age, 153 in early life, is full and round at the lower margin, 142

Jaw, the, of a two-year old intimates approaching change, 145

Jealousy regarding a choice colt, 376

Jibbing first alluded to, 280 is as common now as it was formerly, 286 is equine epilepsy, 280 most common in heavy and in harness horses, 282

Jobbing requires skill in placing horses, 368

Job masters assert the straight shoulder is the best for harness purposes, 406 the, terms of, 368

Jockey Club, folly of its laws, 146 further alluded to, 163

Jolly fun of the trainer’s stable, 470

Keep the stable-man to his duties, 355

Kettle, a two-gallon, wanted in every stable, 178

Kicker, a, and a biter, 434

Kickers often stand quiet when mounted on the opposite side, 273

Kicking in the night, 227

“Kidney dropping” is esteemed a terrible “vice”, 266

Kidneys, the, are not concerned in what is termed “kidney dropping”, 270

Kiln-dried oats, to detect, 185

“Kim ovare”, 336

Kindle an opposite emotion and fear is destroyed, 293

Kindness preferable to any mechanical restraint, 61 is especially remunerative when bestowed upon the mare, 437 is responded to even when consciousness is partly lost, 283

Kinds of horn composing the wall of the hoof, 98

Know your own wants before a dealer’s yard is entered, 373

Konisberg oats, 180

Labial action often mistaken in the horse, 524

Lachrymal gland, 35

Lad, a, should be allowed in every stable, 332

Ladies flushed from the ball-room often sleep in damp carriages, 323 patent stirrup, 514

Lady, the, and the magistrate, 164

Lady’s palfrey in the reign of Charles the Second, 422 side-saddle, 513 bridle is generally light, 517

“Lampas” explained, 157

Lamps, large and small, for a carriage, 492

Large lungs favor the increase of weight, 401 nostrils and mouth show breeding in a horse, 397 stables are generally well managed, 332

Lying on the gangway, 261

Lead liniment softens the exudation after blistering, 84

Leanness of hay-fed horses accounted for, 189

Leaping, how it should be taught, 461

Legitimate horse dealers, all have private yards, 358 as a body, are honorable men, 360

Legs, lower parts of the, contain no muscles to stimulate, 82 of the horse highly sensitive, 79

Legumens, sown broadcast and reaped, form a better kind of hay, 189

Length of back is of no separate importance, 386

Let no man talk about a “vicious horse”, 295

Licking the manger, an endeavor to make employment, 204

Life is fixed to no one condition, 371

Light draught horses can best dispense with muscular loins, 383 generally stops the kicking in the night, 227 should always be present in the stable, 228 work need only exercise the mare, 436

Lining of harness is soiled by bad grooms, 505

Liquid which drains from steamed food is a nutritious drink, 186

Liquor arsenicalis is good for the skin, 290

Load, the, being delivered, the heavy cart is trotted back, 273

Locality for the proposed stable, 319

Lofty crest, a, is best induced by proper food, 460

Loins, the, are without bony support, 382 cannot be too large or muscular, 382 transmit the force of the haunches, 382 the spines of, and of the sacrum, point different ways, 44

Long and short legs, the value of each, 405

Loop, a, of string, used instead of a twitch, 75

Loose boxes eighteen feet square, 298 would cure many “vices” of the stable, 222 shoes, perils of, 101

Low-bred haunches express weakness, 418

Lower jaw becomes sharp with age, 136

Lowland hay, 173

Lunging, 451

Lungs, capacity of, illustrated, 19

Mail phaeton, a, and four-wheeled dog cart, 484

Malt liquor, horses soon grow fond of, 347

Man alarms the horse by needless cruelties, 263 alone has conceived a life without a pleasure, 206 and horse supposed to change positions--the result, 206 could not create the perfection which he injures, 44 is not more gregarious than the horse, 474 is not more humane than formerly, 381 is to blame for the horse’s stable conduct, 211 neglects the life which cannot be repaired, 234 not fitted to exert absolute authority, 80 and horse are not a match in strength, 521

Man’s fingers, a, cannot test the expansibility of a horse’s foot, 415 responsibility, how evaded, 53 senseless adherence to antiquated forms, 452

Manger, the, rope fastens the head immediately under the opening to the hay-loft, 310

Manner of judging the limbs, 423 of using the blood can, 92

Manners, the, requisite in a horse dealer, 361

Many animals are ruined in the breaking, 452 animals become restless when clothed for the night, 286 artisans, conjunction of, to form a carriage manufactory, 479 grooms also expected to act as gardeners, 327 horses are unable to pass through a stable door with calmness, 239 houses have doors far larger than any stable, 235 horses lamed by the wedge-heeled shoe, 119 muscles of the haunch rise close to the dock, 387 smiths will profess to cure clicking, 125 things must change before present customs alter, 331

Mare, a, generally hardly treated, 445

Marks of the teeth are unworthy of dependence, 137

Macerating box for food, 190

Mastication a compound process, 155

Master and groom like a quiet stable, 203

May bird, 364

Medicine, the less the better during training, 469

Melton girth and martingale, 509

Men desire only to know the physical necessities and capabilities of the horse, 199 who know nothing of such matters, order the building of stables, 234

Mesh-work of veins, a, lies under the secreting membrane of the hoof, 245

Method of treating the newly-born foal, 443

Midst noise and bustle the horse dealer must be calm, 361

Might not Egyptian beans be grown in England?, 188

Miles’s works on the horse’s feet recommended, 415

Miniature dew-lap a good point, 400

Minor operations, 53

Mistake, the, of a summer’s rest, 464

Mode of dressing a wet horse, 349 of distributing food to restless horse, 312 of fastening the Arabian shoe, 100 of sitting the horse in the olden time, 450

Model foot, the, is not good in the author’s opinion, 414

Modern Arabian shoe, 95 carriages are fraught with danger to the upper classes, 323 mode of nailing, 97 stables as they may be adapted, 332 stables invite accidents, 262

Molars are not level in aged horses, 154

Molar teeth are not all of one size or the like form, 155 tooth of an aged horse, 159

Money does not constitute the entire price of a good horse, 375 is saved by encouraging habits of regularity, 318 paid to the job master, 369 sunk in stables is most remunerative, 298

More bonds do not destroy the desire to be free, 220 important portion of the groom’s duties, 343

Morning exercise should begin the day’s work, 340 exercise, the, is essential to the master’s safety, 334

Most corn-chandlers do not keep the heavier oats, 182 horsemen do not comprehend the utility of the neck, 389 masters only know their horses through the groom’s report, 222 people who buy and sell horses are cheats, 357 well-bred horses have stubborn necks, 390

Mother’s milk, allowed to the young, best secures development, 446

Motion and sensation of the hind limbs depend on the spinal cord, 270 of the quarters aids the pedal circulation, 114

Mounting a horse is a good test for its excellence, 417

Mouths, large, small, and dejected, 397

Movable and fixed ring, 507 manger, 191

Movement of the feet is regulated by the condition of the body, 126

Mr. Lupton’s recommendation of White’s method of roughing, 129

Mr. Percivall rode an animal shod with tips on the London stones, 116

Mucous membrane, when inflamed, greatly weakens, 465

Much would be gained if the reader only acknowledged the writer right in theory, 463 is learned by watching the groom lead a horse out of the stable, 278 the same now as in the seventeenth century, 449

Muscles exist in pairs, 253 how these operate upon the eye, 33 the, of mastication force the venous blood to the heart, 23

Musty hay, 176

Mysterious conduct of grooms, 335

Nags are now more ridden by others than by their masters, 334

Nails, reasons for driving into the toe, 113

Natural process of drinking described, 70 diagram, of, 71

Nature does not obey the laws of the Jockey Club, 146 has allowed vacant spaces to exist, so as to preserve the beauty of the head, 27 pauses after the first year, 144 should decide the period of lactation, 446

Nature’s toil regulated by density of structure, 151

Nearly every man will sell his unsound horse, 269

Nearness to the heart does not explain want of sensation in the foreleg, 243

Necessity for ascertaining the customer’s desires, 363

Neck, the, generally indicates the disposition, 389

Neglected foot of the ass, 102

Never buy a horse said to be equal to your weight, 418 decide upon the first trial of a horse, 373 enter the stable where horses are kicking, 227 finger the horse you mean to purchase, 372 leave the animal before the bleeding is finished, 92 lose sight of the horse you contemplate buying, 279 mount a strange nag in a crowded locality, 272 purchase a horse without a veterinary examination of it, 425

Newly, the, born foal, 442

New shoe, the, has many recommendations, 114

Nibbling the wood-work induced by enforced idleness, 204

Nicking was a senseless barbarity, 380

Night before the horse fair, 359 clothing, 499 the horse can see as well in, as the cat, 32 watcher, a, enables the food to be better distributed, 325

Nine o’clock duties, 341

Nippers is a misnomer when applied to the front teeth of the stabled horse, 167 only inspected to ascertain the age, 137

No accident should teach a horse doors and pain are associated, 308 instrument formed of steel or iron should be permitted in the stable, 335 jockeyism can foretell the attack of kidney dropping, 266 man can know all about the breeding of all animals, 427 means can eradicate the evils of stables while pavement slopes, 251 muscles present on the shin, 410 one would purchase, did horse dealers speak the truth, 360 teeth no horse, 133 unknown individual can pick the dealer’s stock, 375 wild horses are known to be in existence, 437

Northern extremity of the stables divided into three small rooms, 317

Nose alone breathed through, 69

Nostrils, the, indicate the dimensions of the lungs, 399

Novel use made of the manger, 210

Noxious atmosphere, a, compels the resort to stimulants, 329

Oatmeal, good, described, 180

Oats are a most extravagant feed for horses, 194 are often moistened to increase their bulk, 185 best Scotch, 180 English feed, 185 English, from Canadian seed, 180 Finland black, 184 first class Swedes, 181 hair calculus, 183 Irish, bleached, 184 kiln dried Danish, 184 Konisberg, 180 light and heavy, 182 magnified English, 183 magnified musty, 189 new Irish feed, 181 Petersburg, 180 Scotch, second quality, 184 should be always bought by weight, 181 when musty are covered with fungi, 189

Observe that both shoulders are of the same bulk, 417 the eating capabilities of horses, 354

Objections to drinks, 73

Odd feet are evidences of former lameness, 413 feet are not uncommon among horses, 413

Ointment, blistering, is made with refuse flies, 82

Old English shoe, 96 hunter and young man’s steed, 464

One failing, the, of horse dealers, 360 kind of jibber stops suddenly and backs, 284 lateral incisor in both jaws declares a four-year old, 151 prime foal in two years may be better than four bad every year, 445

One-year old, a, worked as a matured animal, 143

Open railings are becoming general, 307 railings should partly form the partitions to loose boxes, 307 the stable doors during the night, 309

Order the groom to peep during the night at the horse which is too tired to eat, 352

Original habitat of the equine race, 34

Ould, the, mare, 447

Over-indulgence ruins the horse, 454

Oxygen, different quantities of, inhaled by different horses, 402

Pace natural to blindness is induced by fixing the head with the bearing-rein, 407

Pad grooms, their weight, their qualifications, and their duties, 334

Pail, a clean one, should be kept in every stable, 178

Pain consequent upon eating the stable diet, 169 expressed by any peculiarity in progression, 103 from strain on the ligaments occasions inveterate kicking, 271 merely increases timidity, 293

Panic acts on horses as on men, 226

Paring the foot, 102

Parts affected in “kidney dropping”, 270

Passion an evil quality in a groom, 500

Pastern bones repose upon the back tendons, 43 play of, in thorough-breds, proof of elasticity in the entire body, 115 the, are regulated by the flexor tendons, 411 the, should be judged by the swelling beneath the elbow, 412

Patented food, only the groom’s secret largely acted upon, 166

Patent foods, 196 safety-spring stirrup-bar, 510 trace shaft recommended in spinal disease, 276

Pattern of grating to put over gutters, 300

Patience is more than a virtue in a teacher, 457

Pay a fair price for good a horse, 375

Peculiar features of the fore limb, 409

Peep, a, into a dealer’s yard, 305

Peril of turning horses to graze without removing the halters, 225

Perils attending fright in the stable, 209 of modern coach-houses, 323

Period of gestation in the mare, 448

Permanent incisors come up in the same canals as the milk teeth occupied, 159 molars are not perfected when cut, 156

Perspiration implies cuticular activity, 345 when excessive, greatly weakens the body, 465

Perversity of the old agricultural mind, 447

Petersburg oats, 180

Physic and its administration, 53

Pinning up subsequent to bleeding, 92

Pitiable “vice” in horses, 254

Place of birth, the, also regulates the kind of hoof, 413 the, is cleared before the stable flooring is disturbed, 249 two powerful men to prevent the jibber bolting, 283

Plan of hot water service, 322

Points, their importance and their development, 379 made to screw on to shoe, a good substitute for roughing, 129 of the blood haunches, 419

Portrait of a one-year old, 143

Position of the bones in the straight shoulder, 405 of the foot casts the weight on different structures, 253

Posterior limbs have no motion or sensation during a fit of kidney dropping, 267

Precautions necessary after bleeding, 93 necessary when bleeding the horse, 90

Prejudices concerning blisters, 80

Prejudice concerning the ears of a horse, 282 declares in favor of a short neck, 392

Preparation for scurfy skin, 337

Prepared horse skin boot is the best application for cutting, 123

Preparing the lying-in chamber, 440 for the event, 441

Present mode of shoeing is a failure, 104

Presents, occasional, to servants, 493

Price, the, of most carriages, 477

Pricking the foot when nailing, 100

Pride, the, of the trade, 360

Prime horses are often bought on speculation by dealers, 376

Prisons should be built to resist the captives’ utmost exertions, 219

Probable result of a man enduring the horse’s doom for one week, 206

Profit and loss of a dealer’s establishment, 366

Proper mode of preparing stems for food, 177 treatment would be far the cheapest in the long run, 222

Properties of the horn forming the wall of the hoof, 98

Proposed stables are not to be measured by existing buildings, 297

Prolonged action is better than excessive labor, 468

Protect the points of flexion before blistering, 83

Proved, that the horse cannot be vicious, 264

Provision against the ravenous feeding horse, 312

Prudence is banished by joy when the horse is leaving the stables, 237

Puller, a, is always a dangerous servant, 398

Pumping action necessary for the circulation of the foot, 246

Punish the smith who injures the hoof to fix on to it a small shoe, 131

Pupil of the horse’s eye not circular, 31

Purchases necessary when the horse is started, 497

Pure breeds often have bulging, frontal sinuses, 394

Purpose of the pastern joints, 411

Qualifications of the author to descant on breeding, 427

Quarrels are provoked by narrow doorways, 236 between horse and driver generally end fatally, 264

Quarters, hind, the seat of propulsion, 45

Quarters of the hoof are left free by nailing the new shoe to the toe, 114

Quiet method of giving a drink, 77 mode of giving a ball, 67

Quietude and darkness do not dispose the horse to sleep, 311

Racers, when training, undergo excessive labor, 466 generally are old before their stock becomes famous, 431 inhale more air during rapid motion, 403

Racing men and bumpkins, their conduct contrasted, 144

Racing plates, 115 are dangerous shoes during the struggle, 472

Railroads not opposed to the breed of horses, 18

Rats enter stables through ordinary gutters, 300

Rat tails are said to denote good horses, 387

Rayment’s, (Mr. C.,) his oatmeal recommended, 178

Rebound or spring of the racer improved by the present mode of shoeing, 115

Recapitulation of certain points in the horse, 416

Receiving the first lesson, 458

Reflection needed to comprehend the requirements of the horse, 200

Regular horse dealers avoid flats, 363

Regulations to be observed at feeding time, 191

Reins, the necessity of good leather for, 517 for foals should be partly of India-rubber, 459

Remedies for a scurfy skin, 290 for clicking, 126 for cutting, 122 for wounds and abrasions, 231

Repeated blows on one spot, evil of, when bleeding, 91

Requisites for the groom’s use, 500 indications of a well-built carriage, 485

Respect is felt toward a person who can state his wants to a dealer, 374

Rest depends upon digestion, 311 generally good for pedal annoyances, 126 is imperfect when taken standing, 260

Restless eye, a, denotes timidity, 396

Restlessness induces the collar-rope to be bitten, 215

Results of deranged digestion, 196

Retention of the placenta, 442

Rick of the back, 264 disables a horse as a wheeler or to endure excessive strain, 275 is severe in heavy horses, 273 often leads to fracture of the spine, 276 or chink of the back is common, but little understood, 266

Ride, to, is not necessary in a good groom, 333

Rider, the, and the head destroy the equality of weight on the limbs, 417 should understand the appearances of the healthy eye, 290 swings on elastic life when seated on the back, 41

Ridiculous to talk of a horse being “vicious”, 263

Rising to the leap, 461

Roach backs are common on the Essex marshes, 384 generally spiteful, 384 have been used as hunters, 385

Rolling occasions the hind leg to get beyond the post of the stall, 230

Roof consists of two parts, 314 of the ambulatory, how supported and drained, 302 the, described, 314

Room for the night-watcher is supplied with comforts, 325

Rooms at back divided from the stable by a stout wall, 316

Roomy mares are a mistake, 429

Roots are relished by horses, 195

Roughing, as generally performed, 128

Rough-riding is practiced at three years of age, 147

Rounded incisors would prevent the animal biting the grass, 289

Roundness of the jaw’s lower margin during colthood, 142

Rowen hay, 174

Rules for selecting a sire, 438

Running away, 294

Sacrum, the, is one bone in the adult, 38

Saddle-tree, a, with spring stirrup-bar attached, 495

Saddlery and harness, 494

Safety is sacrificed by the violent use of the bearing-rein, 407

Sameness of diet deranges the digestion, 195 of provender induces cutaneous irritability, 286 proves vice to be induced by disease or by instinct, 295

Sand in the eye, the horse protected against, 35

Savage horse, how to render quiet, 60

Scene witnessed at Holloway, 294

Science has demonstrated the mews is an unhealthy abode, 328 and practice unite in estimation of the loins, 383

Scotland, the ass does not breed in, 49

Scratching the ear often fixes the hind pastern in the collar-rope, 224

Screw shoe, folly and inhumanity of, 118

Scroll-eyed hames, 506

Seated shoe, 117

Second crop of clover, 175

Secretions, though hard, are governed by the inward soft organs, 118

Section of a superficial gutter, 299 of the proposed stables, 324

See-sawing, or weaving, in horses, 205

Segundo bit, the, 523

Senses, the special, assist one another, 398

Serious accident to a cavalry officer, 272

Servants exaggerate the master’s behavior, 202

Seven o’clock duties, 339

Seventh year, the, should witness the active service of the horse, 462

Several diseases are almost peculiar to the rich, 323

Severity endangers man’s property in the horse, 255

Sharp-pointed nail heads no effectual substitute for roughing, 129

Shedding of the temporary molars, 156

Shelter and nurture are requisite for all young horses, 429

Sheltered ground between the gig and coach-houses, 320

Ship biscuit proposed for horses’ food, 195

Shoe is displaced by growth of horn, 106 is wide enough if it supports the wall, 104

Shoeing, 95 blamed for all the changes in the foot, 101

Shoes act injuriously by confining the foot, 472 the, should be observed at the time of purchase, 424

Short-necked horses cannot rest the limbs when at grass, 392 horses feed badly in the field, 392

Sides of the ventilator can be opened or closed at pleasure, 315

Sight should be obscured during the act of bleeding, 91

Sights of London streets, 199

Signs of old age in the horse, 136

Situation of the cistern, 313

Six o’clock duties, 339

Size and requirements of stable doors, 307 of less import than form of thorax, 403

Skeletons in museums are never correct, 408

Skin and lungs sympathize with each other, 344

Slanting floors pervert the intentions of bone and tendon, 251 hoofs are very bad, 414 pavement causes horses to stand across the stall, 254 shoulder, the benefits of, 408

Sliding mouth bit, the, 524

Slight movements excite the attention of a stabled horse, 203

Slipper shoe, first mention of, 111

Sloping pavement, a, extends from the front of the ambulatory, 319

Sloth not favorable to paternity, 437

Slow consuming boiler employed to warm the stables, 321

Small animals are preferred for their working capability, 433 stables do not generally kill because they are draughty, 81

Smallness of neck shows debility, 389

Snares which surround the groom, 330

So-called “incapacitating vices”, 263

Society forces horse dealers to employ fiction, 360 the, for preventing cruelty to animals, 476

Soft palate, some of the uses of, 28

Sole is removed by the shoeing smith and the veterinary surgeon, 104 made to bear some pressure, 104

Some English thorough-breds have Roman noses, 394 substitute should be found for a stud groom, 335

Southern end of the proposed stable, 319

Space, the, above the horses should be free to the roof, 332

Spasmodic inhalation denotes defective respiration, 399

Special senses, the, should be noted as testifying to the health of the body, 398

Speedy cut often causes a fall, 121 warrants instant rejection, 423

Spinal cord, the, is injured when “kidney dropping” occurs, 269

Spine, how the bones of are united, 39 sinks and rises in the living horse, 383 the, of a horse is delicately organized, 265 the base of the skeleton, 38

Spring bar and spring stirrup, 510

Squatting on the haunches is an unnatural position in the horse, 267

Stable implements are terrible weapons, 318 pails are not suited to contain a horse’s drink, 314 the, cannot be well managed by one pair of hands, 339 is relinquished to the servant, 335 the only one known to the ass, 48 new, will be thrice drained, 301

Stables are inadequate prisons for horses, 219 not proportioned to the horse’s size, 225 opposed to the habits and instincts of horses, 247 the last considered when houses are planned, 233 as built--are they the best possible?, 252 are paved with Dutch clinkers, 249 as they should be, 297 do not require a blaze of light, 229 in many families, are regarded as lumber lofts, 220 promote the decomposition of urine, 249 should be as clean as dairies, 316

Stable-men suffer most from present customs, 226

Stagnant misery is personified in the horse, 243

Stallions are generally too fat, 431

Standing in the manger, 208 while it sleeps, 260

Starvation is injurious before exertion, 471

Starved, horses are, when confined in small stables, 81

Steeds are worn out serving more than one master, 334

Steel inserted at the toe of the clip shoe, 120

Stewart’s stable economy, 234

Stiff back reduces the horse’s value, 278

Stick, blood, depicted, 90

Stomach small and well situated, 20

Stout horn is required in the hoof of a horse, 415

Stranger, a, has entered the stable, 204

Strange substances eaten in stables, 196

Straw figure should be placed on the colt’s back, 458 worthless as food, 177

Striking a horse when passing through a door is dangerous, 238

Strong feet are not necessarily liable to disease, 414

Submissive, the, are the abused, 234

Substance is absent in the present breed of horses, 432

Substances which do not nourish are not food, 193

Suburban grooms generally live in the house, 328

Suburbs, the, are often disturbed by the thud of a trotted cart, 274

Successful dealers are conceited, 377

Sudden agony makes horses kick when mounted, 271

Suffering experienced at three years, 148

Sulphur on oats, to detect, 185

Summered, 474

Summer’s coat, advent of, is delayed by clipping, 344

Supposed places of the groom’s residence during certain periods, 329

Supply of water, how arranged, 313

Swerving is a mild form of shying, 292

Tails as denoting breed, 387

Tail, the, acts as the rudder of the body, 380

Take everything coolly when in a dealer’s yard, 374

Tale, a, illustrative of patience, 520

Tapidum lucidum, its uses in the horse’s eye, 32

Tares are good food, 189

Tax, a, is demanded on all that enters or leaves the stable, 330

Tearing the clothing, 287

Teeth, 133 at advanced periods, 161, 162 at birth, 139 cannot be positively interpreted after the fifth year, 163 one fortnight old, 140 three months old, 140

Telescopic nature of the horse’s eye, 33

Temporary loose box, 356 molars, peculiarity in the shedding of the, 156

Tempting position of the manger, 210

Tendon cannot sustain pressure, 254

Ten o’clock duties, 341

Terrible consequences of thoughtlessness, or of parsimony, 262

Terror is never removed till the horse’s spirit is broken, 240 is dangerous as the place of its exhibition is circumscribed, 255 mistaken for “vice”, 109

Test for “kidney dropping”, 268

Thickness of neck not an objection, 389 jaw caused by young teeth, 142

Things needed to dress a sensitive horse, 289

Thin heeled shoe pointed the toe upward, and did harm, 120 neck accompanies emaciation, 460 stomachs often taken from the bodies of old horses, 178 walls, difficulty of nailing a shoe on, 100 web to the seated shoe, 117 ear denotes goodness of breed, 395

Thinning the sole, 103

Thirst, a consequence of dry food, 167

Thorough-bred quarters express determination, 419

Three purgatives cannot promote strength, 465 quarter shoe, 116

Time should be allowed for nervousness to subside, 240 the, occupied in foaling is short, 439

Times when the horse feeds, 197

Timidity flies from any danger, 281

Tips afford all the protection the racer’s foot requires, 473

Toe is cut and burnt when the horse shoe has a clip, 108 reasons for fixing nails into, 113

Toes, the, in the forefeet point upward in the stable, 243 the, depressed in the gutter cause a luxurious sense of ease, 256

To fly from danger is an instinct in the horse, 295 make gruel properly, 178

Tool-house at the back of stables, 318

Tools necessary for White’s mode of roughing, 130 the, employed for carriages, 480

Too many classes swindle when horse dealing, 269

Tooth, its component substances, 157

Torture is a favorite mode of cure with grooms, 287

Town grooms inhabit impure rooms over the stables, 328

Trainer’s, the, stables are foul, 467

Training and running are bad preparations for paternity, 429 folly of the present system, 187 necessary for young horses from the country, 366 spoils the tempers of many colts, 470 stables do not develop the true disposition of a horse, 434

Treading on an upright nail, 101

Treatment for jibbing, 283 for kidney dropping, 268 for rick of the back, 275 of the ass reprobated, 47 of the blood stallion, 431 of the heels when dirty, 350 proper for the blood mare, 435

Troughs are empty while the cistern contains some water, 321

Tuition should be daily till the second year, 459

Turkish slipper, likeness to, 102

Tushes are affected by age, 161 are uncertain teeth in the horse, 150

Twitch, a, generally kept, 74

Two chains and a collar-strap are employed on some horses, 217 kinds of cutting, 121 men meeting on a hill do not retain their relative positions, 254

Uncertain which shoe will prevent clicking or forging, 125

Unclothing the beauty, 376

Undulating pavement affords every kind of standing ground, 299

Unfitness of horses for captivity, 203

Uninitiated, the, greedy for bargains, 277

Unnecessary, bleeding is, 93

Upland hay, 172 the only good hay, 176

Upright pasterns denote hard work has strained the flexor muscles, 411

Urine, on exposure yields ammonia, 249 stagnates in the gutters, 249

Use of the mane and tail, 380

Uses of the different components of the teeth, 158 of the false nostril, 25 of the harness-room, 317 of the sheltered space, 320 to which stable doors are subject, 236

Usual applications, the, check the hoof’s perspiratory functions, 353 explanation, accounting for the weakness of the fore limbs, 416 length of horse cloths, 350 method of cleansing the heels, 346

Utter darkness excites timidity, 226

Valves aid the circulation when opposed to gravity, 245 in the veins of the leg, 244 of jugular veins only act when the head is depressed, 22

Various people buy and sell horses, 357 substances are interposed between the ends of bone, 42

Veins so arranged as to prevent congestion if feeding off the ground, 21

Ventilation secured by having the doors in parts, 308

Ventilator roofed with stout glass, 315

Vertebræ, the, are the base of the skeleton, 380

Vetches, on which agricultural teams live, indicate no danger in beans, 468

Veterinary examiners too often neglect the spine, 277 profession composed of imperfectly educated men, 73

Vicious horses are mostly weakly creatures, 418

View extended by mounting on to the manger, 210

Voice, the, is sufficient goad for a willing animal, 460

Walking a horse is more than simply moving, 124 through the stables and physicking the stock, 377 essential to the horse’s foot, 246

Wall of the hoof, 98 the, is struck during darkness, 258

Warranties are of no value, 370

Waste of present feeding, 193

Wasting the hay, 212

Watch the action while the horse is being run along the ride, 423

Water, its importance in the stable, 486 should be freely employed, 338 should only be applied to the heels after special permission, 352 troughs described, 313

Weakly or healthy foals now suck only the same time, 446

Weakness is not the accompaniment of the racer’s elastic pastern, 411

Weariness cannot promote thrift, 249 induces the horse to play with its needless corn, 213

Weaving is an effort to promote the circulation of the foot, 250 or see-sawing in horses, 205

Web slants in the seated shoe, 117 none to the slipper shoe, 111 the, of the shoe serves to retain stones, 103

Wedge-heeled shoe, danger of, 119

Weeds of the blood stock, 422

Weight should not be put on horses during training, 468 the, of the head is not felt during health, 388

Well-bred, the, and coarse-bred heads contrasted, 393

Wetting the heels most injurious, 346

What occasions horses to kick by night?, 228

Wheels, how long these should last, 488 how to use and understand, 491

When a part of the frame moves, all parts are agitated, 150 buying, procure a horse rather too strong than strong enough, 374 gentlemen meddle, the dealer exults, 372 the foal quits its dam, breaking should commence, 458

Where the fore limb quits the trunk, muscle should abound, 409

White horses are generally old, 136

Why a carriage should be cleansed from mud, 487 breeding does not pay, 428

Widest, the, of modern stable doors are too narrow, 238

Width of channel testifies to the breathing capability, 399

Wild animals are not caged like the horse, 202 horses nowhere exist, 37

Wind sucking caused by stables, 205

Windpipe capable of contraction, 26

Winter’s frost always takes horse proprietors by surprise, 126

Winter shoes are best made in summer, 126

Wintry perspirations, probable cause of, 343

Wipe the oil off after blistering, 83

Wired-in hoofs are bad, 415

Wisp and brush are abused, 342

Withhold all medicine from the breeding mare, 443

Wolves’ teeth are of no importance, 143

Work demands more support than grass affords, 133 when not excessive, benefits health, 435

Worked too early, 19

Worst cheat, the, in horse flesh, 357

Wound, precautions necessary after bleeding, 93

Written warranties seldom required by the honest dealer, 365

Wrongs inflicted on horses, 199

Yew clippings poison horses, 171

Young animals are purchased by the London dealers, 366 horses are put in the chains as teamsters, 265 horses should be from birth set apart for their future uses, 438

THE END.

J. B. LIPPINCOTT & Co.’s PUBLICATIONS.

A COMPANION TO THE ILLUSTRATED HORSE MANAGEMENT.

THE ILLUSTRATED HORSE DOCTOR:

Being an Accurate and Detailed Account, accompanied by more than 400 Pictorial Representations characteristic of the various Diseases to which the Equine Race are subjected; together with the Latest Mode of Treatment, and all the Requisite Prescriptions, written in Plain English. By Edward Mayhew, M.R.C.V.S., Author of several works on Veterinary Art. One vol. 8vo. Uniform with “The Illustrated Horse Management.”

CRITICAL REMARKS FROM ENGLISH JOURNALS.

“A BOOK WHICH SHOULD BE IN THE POSSESSION OF ALL WHO KEEP HORSES.”

From the ERA.

No one with the least equine knowledge can require to be told that Mr. Mayhew is the man for the task which he has undertaken, and most satisfactorily accomplished. His high reputation in the veterinary art, and his qualifications as a practiced writer on domestic animals, render him the very person for supplying an intelligent and interesting work on the diseases of the horse, which would be devoid of mere professional technicalities, while, at the same time, his skill as a draughtsman, and humor as a witty observer of life, enabled him to illustrate with his pencil what he had written with his pen. We advisedly say that “The Illustrated Horse Doctor” is the very best book of the kind which we know; and what gives it an especial charm is, that the author so thoroughly sympathizes with the noble animal which he describes.... We at once pronounce it as scientific, yet intelligible; informing, yet highly amusing; acceptable to the profound horse doctor, yet the work of all others for the book-shelves in every gentleman’s sanctum.... We give it our unqualified approbation and recommendation.

From the GLASGOW MORNING JOURNAL.

This admirable and comprehensive treatise will be of priceless value to a large section of the community. It is, by far, the best manual of Veterinary Art we have ever seen, and is written in so popular a fashion, and is so free from anything approaching technical phraseology, that its precepts cannot fail to be comprehended by even those who are comparatively uninstructed in the mysteries of veterinary science....

From the LONDON MORNING ADVERTISER.

... The work from first to last bears the stamp not only of the educated horse doctor and fluent writer, but of the scholar. Mr. Mayhew has mixed up so much that is popularly interesting with what is practical, that the general reader will find much to interest as well as to instruct, even though not possessed of one of the equine race. The ills that horse flesh is heir to are, alas! many and dreadful; diseases of the abdomen, brain disease, bronchitis, calculi, cataract, heart disease, gastritis, acute and chronic; hydrophobia, inflammation of every sort, madness, and mad staggers, megrims, spavin, rheumatism, spasms and tetanus, are but a few of the evils with which this noble animal and help to man is afflicted. These and others are all treated of in a masterly manner by Mr. Mayhew.

From the LONDON GLOBE.

Every gentleman who possesses or cares for horses would do well to keep this book in his house. Mr. Mayhew’s treatment of the worst diseases to which horses are liable is very clearly laid down, and the method of keeping horses well and to a prolonged old age is that of nature, of common sense.

From the ARMY AND NAVY GAZETTE.

... It is just such a good practical work on the Veterinary Art as most of us horse-using (and not unfrequently, we fear, abusing) Englishmen have long felt the need of.... It is truly, as it professes to be, an “Illustrated Horse Doctor,” and if Mr. Mayhew has hitherto hidden his light under a bushel, he has certainly made up for lost time in the work before us, and thrown it all upon his present volume with admirable effect.

From the SUN.

... We have before us a compendious history of all the diseases which horse flesh is heir to, and which man’s abuse has bequeathed to it, with directions for treatment, and the necessary remedies, likewise the exposure of popular fallacies.... A horse sinks exhausted in the field, after only a short run, and the rider is thunderstruck. Had he read Mr. Mayhew’s book, and taken notice of the warning signal, of which, poor man, he was unaware, and put on the break, the catastrophe would not have been. It is in cases such as these, or where accidents happen in out-of-the-way places, much useful information is to be gained by the general reader.... In conclusion, we wish Mr. Mayhew the success his work deserves, and the public the good taste to appreciate it.

From BELL’S MESSENGER.

We are inclined to think that this is about the very best book respecting the treatment of equine disease that ever has been written or published. The author is evidently well acquainted with the duties of his profession, and willing to give a world-wide extent to his own useful and practical experience, so that those who read may adopt his rules and regimen, and save that noble animal, whose use is one of the greatest blessings mankind enjoys, from much pain and suffering. In country districts, where the horse doctor cannot easily be summoned, this book will be invaluable; while, in more frequented localities, its use will always be found to be safe and judicious. The illustrations are clever, and fully serve the purpose for which they are annexed--to give certain indications of disease, and the readiest means of treatment.

CHAMBERS’S BOOK OF DAYS.

THE BOOK OF DAYS:

A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in connection with the Calendar, including Anecdote, Biography, and History, Curiosities of Literature, and Oddities of Human Life and Character. Edited under the supervision of Robert Chambers. In two volumes, Royal 8vo.

This interesting work consists of--

=I. Matters connected with the Church Calendar=, including the Popular Festivals, Saints’ Days, and other Holidays, with illustrations of Christian Antiquities in general.

=II. Phenomena connected with the Seasonal Changes.=

=III. Folk-Lore of the United Kingdom=, namely, Popular Notions and Observances connected with Times and Seasons.

=IV. Notable Events, Biographies, and Anecdotes connected with the Days of the Year.=

=V. Articles of Popular Archaeology=, of an entertaining character, tending to illustrate the progress of Civilization, Manners, Literature, and Ideas.

=VI. Curious Fugitive and Inedited Pieces.=

From the BOSTON TRANSCRIPT.

A book occasionally appears which is precisely adapted to the wants of those for whom it is intended. The “Book of Days” is the best representative of this class. Designed to instruct and amuse the home circle, containing matter of the most varied sort and of general interest, prepared and arranged with ability and care, handsomely, profusely, and appropriately illustrated, it cannot fail to find its way to every reading family, and must become immensely popular. *** It is, however, next to impossible to describe this work; if our readers see it they will buy it, especially if they want a book for the fireside.

PRESCOTT’S WORKS.

=Conquest of Mexico.= History of the Conquest of Mexico, with a preliminary view of the ancient Mexican civilization, and the life of Hernando Cortez. By Wm. H. Prescott. Three vols. 8vo.

=Conquest of Peru.= History of the Conquest of Peru, with a preliminary view of the civilization of the Incas. By Wm. H. Prescott. Two vols. 8vo.

=Ferdinand and Isabella.= History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic. By Wm. H. Prescott. Three vols. 8vo.

=Philip the Second.= History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain. By Wm. H. Prescott. Three vols. 8vo.

=Charles the Fifth.= History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles the Fifth. By Wm. Robertson, D.D. With an account of the Emperor’s life after his abdication. By Wm. H. Prescott. Three vols. 8vo.

=Prescott’s Miscellanies.= Biographical and Critical Miscellanies. By Wm. H. Prescott. One vol. 8vo.

=PRESCOTT’S COMPLETE WORKS.=

Uniform in 15 vols. 8vo., in various styles of binding.

“The most striking literary product of the year.”

=KIRK’S CHARLES THE BOLD.=

HISTORY OF CHARLES THE BOLD, DUKE OF BURGUNDY.

BY JOHN FOSTER KIRK.

2 Vols. 8vo.

Muslin, uncut, on white paper $3 00 per vol. Half Morocco, with Vellum Cloth Sides and Gilt Top, on Tinted Laid paper 3 50 "

From the ATLANTIC MONTHLY.

We have no hesitation in assigning to Mr. Kirk’s most fascinating narrative a place with the great achievements of genius in the department he has chosen to fill. His advent among historians will be welcomed the world over.

From the NEW YORK TRIBUNE.

Will unquestionably establish the title of Mr. Kirk to an eminent position in the already justly honored school of American historians.

From the CHRISTIAN EXAMINER.

Mr. Kirk has been very fortunate in the choice of a subject for his first great historical work, and if the concluding volume shall be executed with the same ample learning, the same thorough mastery of his subject, and the same fidelity of purpose which are exhibited in the volumes now published, few persons will question his right to a place among the best of our living historians. ***

From the EVANGELICAL QUARTERLY.

Nothing within the compass of modern literature has been published more attractive than the narrative contained in the volumes before us. It is one of absorbing interest. The author always rises to the measure of his subject, and, placing himself in genial sympathy with his characters, inspires his readers with something of the same enthusiasm. The style is simple yet rich, the narrative bold and striking; the facts are presented with great discrimination and skill. The work is an honor to the accomplished author, who is destined to take a prominent position among our American historians.

From the NEW YORK TIMES.

Nothing can be more certain than that Mr. Kirk has enriched the literature of America and Europe with a work that takes at once its destined stand in our libraries and in the estimation of competent judges and the public. *** His success places the author in a proud position, and we look forward to meeting him again, possibly in subjects more congenial to his great powers of reasoning and political disquisition. With the exception of a few spots illuminated by the genius of Prescott and Motley, the modern history of Continental Europe for the two centuries previous to the French Revolution is almost a blank to the American reader, and needs for its illustration the qualities that Mr. Kirk so largely possesses.

From the BOSTON TRANSCRIPT.

This work will more than answer the highly raised expectations of the public, both in respect to the author’s extent of original research and novelty of matter, while in fluency and picturesqueness of narrative style and thorough grasp of the subject in all its details, it will take a proud place among the most esteemed histories of the country.

From the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.

The most striking literary product of the year, and one that will be a standard while English speech endures, is Mr. Kirk’s History of Charles the Bold. In delineation of character it is admirable; in research thorough, exhaustive, systematic; in style charming without profuse ornament, logical and precise without being dry. ***

New Dictionary of Quotations.

A New Dictionary of Quotations, from the Greek, Latin, and Modern Languages, translated into English, and occasionally accompanied with Illustrations, Historical, Poetical, and Anecdotical. With an extensive Index, referring to every important word. One vol. crown 8vo., muslin, beveled boards.

On the score of utility it may be classed among the most excellent and convenient, not only to the general reader, but to the scholar who, in active life, has suffered his classics to rust. The New Dictionary will find a place in the hands of every reader of current literature.--North American.

Lieber’s Civil Liberty.

On Civil Liberty and Self-Government. By Francis Lieber, LL.D., author of “Political Ethics,” “Principles of Legal and Political Interpretation,” etc. etc. 8vo.

👉 This work is used as a text-book in our best institutions of learning.

It is to all intents and purposes a text-book of American politics. Would that it might be generally regarded as such! Then our young men, instead of wasting too much time upon ephemeral reading, would be laying up a store of comprehensive facts and principles which would prove of enduring value to themselves and the country; they would see in what true liberty consists, and would recognize the sure means of its perpetuation.--Boston Journal.

Parsons on Notes and Bills.

A Treatise on the Law of Promissory Notes and Bills of Exchange, with an Appendix, containing an accurate reprint of the Provisions of the Statute in relation to Bills, Notes, Letters of Credit, Drafts, Orders, and Checks; together with an examination of the questions which the Statute suggests, and the English authorities upon those questions which have arisen under the English Stamp Acts, and may arise under our own. By Theophilus Parsons, LL.D., Professor of Law in Cambridge University. Two vols. 8vo.

*** The general character of the Treatise is exhaustiveness, the learned author having labored with splendid success to make his work one that shall meet all the requirements of that province of Law to which it is devoted, and to give to persons interested therein a guide upon which the completest reliance can be placed. Its publication adds to his high fame, and it places the entire business world under the greatest obligations to him.--Boston Traveller.

Hilliard on Bankruptcy and Insolvency.

A Treatise on the Law of Bankruptcy and Insolvency. By Francis Hilliard, author of “The Law of Torts,” etc. One vol. 8vo.

Mr Hilliard’s book is evidently the result of much intelligent labor, and, as a complete, methodical, and well digested summary of the present law will be of great value to the profession, especially since the recent vote of the House of Representatives appears, for the present at least, to have settled the question of a new and permanent national law of bankruptcy.--American Law Register.

Johnson’s Lives of the English Poets.

With Critical Observations on their works. With Notes, by Peter Cunningham, and a Life of the Author, by Macaulay. With a portrait on steel. Two vols. 12mo.

Boswell’s Life of Johnson.

First complete American edition, including a Journal of his Tour to the Hebrides. With numerous additions, by John Wilson Croker, M.P., and Notes by various hands. 4 vols. 12mo.

The Works of Lord Chesterfield.

Comprising his Letters to his Son. Complete. 1 vol. 12mo.

The Works of Hannah More.

Comprising “Cœlebs in Search of a Wife,” “Shepherd of Salisbury Plains,” “Tales and Allegories,” etc., with a portrait on steel. 2 vols. 12mo.

Hume’s History of England.

The History of England, from the Invasion of Julius Cæsar to the Abdication of James II., 1688. By David Hume, Esq. A new edition, with the author’s last corrections and improvements; to which is prefixed a short account of his life, written by himself. 6 vols., with portrait.

Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. By Edward Gibbon, Esq. With Notes by Rev. H. H. Milman. A new edition; to which is added a complete Index of the whole work. 6 vols., with portrait.

Macaulay’s History of England.

The History of England, from the Accession of James II. By Thomas Babington Macaulay. In 5 vols. 12mo edition, complete. With Portrait and full Index.

This edition is in all respects the most valuable and satisfactory of any published in this country or in England, inasmuch as the fifth volume, in addition to a full and well-classified index, contains a biographical and critical sketch of Macaulay’s life, character, and writings, by S. Austin Allibone, whose eminent fitness for this work will be universally admitted. Mr. Allibone’s biographies and criticisms upon his writings down to 1857 were submitted to Mr. Macaulay, whose personal revision thus renders the article accurate and therefore perfectly reliable. The fifth volume also contains a double-page fac-simile from one of Mr. Macaulay’s latest MSS.

Goldsmith’s Complete Works.

Embracing numerous pieces, now first collected, with copious Notes, by James Prior. With four Vignettes engraved on steel. 4 vols. 12mo.

Jefferson’s Writings.

The writings of Thomas Jefferson. Being his Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and other Writings, Official and Private. Published by the order of the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library, from the Original Manuscripts deposited in the Department of State. With Explanatory Notes, Tables of Contents, and a copious Index to each volume, as well as a General Index to the whole. By the Editor, H. A. Washington. 9 vols. 8vo.

Life of Jefferson.

The Life of Thomas Jefferson. By Henry S. Randall, LL.D. In 3 vols. 8vo. Illustrated by Portraits and other Engravings on Steel, a View of Monticello, and various fac-similes, including the Original Draft of the Declaration of Independence.

This Life of Mr. Jefferson is, in every sense, an authorized work. It was undertaken under the approbation of his family, with an unreserved access to and use of all the private papers of Mr. Jefferson in their possession, and has received the benefit of their recollections and opinions at every step. The purely original matter comprises about one-third of the work. In the department of the biography, embracing some materials which have already been published, it has been Mr. Randall’s aim, as often as practicable, to present Mr. Jefferson’s own words. The work contains his expressions on perhaps every great question which arose from his advent in public life to his death,--a period of about sixty years, and embracing the whole FORMING period of the Republic. The work contains, besides Mr. Jefferson’s heretofore unpublished family correspondence, selections from his finest published letters, state papers, etc.

Carey’s Social Science.

The Principles of Social Science. By Henry C. Carey, LL.D. In 3 vols. 8vo.

Of his system it may be truly said that, although the study of political economy dries up narrow minds and reduces their vision on earth to goods and sales and profits, this study must ever be, for minds nobly endowed, a source of exalted meditation upon the means of ameliorating the lot of the human family, and upon the blessings vouchsafed by the Eternal Author of all good.--North American.

However the reader may sometimes join issue with the logic or recoil from the conclusions of this production, it will never be without respect for the signal ability displayed by the writer in this difficult walk of scientific literature.--National Intelligencer.

Great Truths by Great Authors.

A Dictionary of Aids to Reflection, Quotations of Maxims, Counsels, Cautions, Aphorisms, Proverbs, etc. etc., from Writers of all Ages and both Hemispheres. 1 vol. demi 8vo.

Thiers’s Consulate and Empire of Napoleon.

The History of the Consulate and Empire of France under Napoleon. By M. Adolphe Thiers, late Prime Minister of France, Member of the French Academy and of the Institute. Complete in 5 vols. 8vo.

The Publishers have the pleasure of announcing that this great work of M. Thiers is completed,--the concluding volume (V.) having just been issued uniform with the volumes preceding. Either of the volumes will be furnished separately, in any style of binding, to complete sets.

Beck’s Medical Jurisprudence.

Elements of Medical Jurisprudence. By Theodric Romeyn Beck, M.D., LL.D., and John B. Beck, M.D. Twelfth edition. With Notes by an association of the friends of Drs. Beck. The whole revised by C. R. Gilman, M.D., Professor of Medical Jurisprudence in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York. 2 vols. 8vo.

From Prof. J. W. Fowler, LL.D., Principal “State and National Law School,” Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

*** It should be in the possession of all who desire a ready access to this most interesting and important branch of Legal Science, a knowledge of which is essential to professional success.

Crooks and Schem’s Latin-English School Lexicon.

A New Latin-English School Lexicon, on the basis of the Latin-German Lexicon of Dr. C. F. Ingerslev. By G. R. Crooks, D.D., and A. J. Schem, A.M. 8vo.

This work gives:--

1. Special attention to the words of Latin authors read in Colleges and Schools.

2. The leading definitions in broad and clear type, so as to be easily caught by the eye.

3. The significations perspicuously arranged and illustrated by examples easily understood, or, if difficult, carefully translated.

4. The origin of each word, where it is known.

5. A comparison of important words and their synonyms.

6. Brief notices of proper names, and of the adjectives derived from them.

Freund’s Leverett’s Latin Lexicon.

A New and Copious Lexicon of the Latin Language. Edited by F. P. Leverett. A new edition, embracing the Classical Distinctions of Words and the Etymological Index of Freund’s Lexicon. 8vo.

Addison’s Complete Works.

Embracing numerous pieces now first collected, and Macaulay’s Essay on the Life and Writings of Addison. Edited, with Notes, by Prof. Greene. With a portrait on steel. Complete in 6 vols. 12mo.

The Works of Laurence Sterne.

First Complete American edition. With a Life of the Author, and portrait on steel. 2 vols. 12mo.

The Works of William Hazlitt.

Comprising his “Table-Talk,” “Lectures on Literature,” “Essays,” etc. 5 vols. 12mo.

Frick’s Physical Technics.

Physical Technics; or, Practical Instructions for Making Experiments in Physics, and the construction of Physical Apparatus with the most limited means. By Dr. J. Frick, Director of the High School in Freiburg, and Professor of Physics in the Lyceum. Translated by Rev. Dr. John B. Easter. Illustrated by over 800 engravings. One vol. 8vo.

From Prof. Wm. J. Rolfe, A.M., Master of the High School, Salem, Mass.

Frick’s work is as useful as it is unique,--as valuable in its matter as it is beautiful in its mechanical execution. No other book published in this country, and none, I think, in the English language, covers the same ground. Many teachers will learn from it how to add, to the scanty apparatus often furnished them, scores of ingenious contrivances for experimental purposes at a very trifling expense. It will suggest to them, moreover, hundreds of admirable experiments not hinted at in the school text-books, or heard of even in the lecture-rooms of our colleges. The book ought to be in the library of every school where physical science is taught.

Chauvenet’s Astronomy.

A Manual of Spherical and Practical Astronomy, embracing the General Problem of Spherical Astronomy, its special applications to Nautical Astronomy, and the Theory and Use of Fixed and Portable Astronomical Instruments. With an Appendix on the “Method of Least Squares.” Illustrated by engravings on wood and steel. By William Chauvenet, Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy in Washington University, St. Louis. 2 vols. Royal 8vo. $10.00.

Army of the Cumberland.

Annals of the Army of the Cumberland, comprising Biographies, Descriptions of Departments, Accounts of Expeditions, Skirmishes, and Battles; also its Police Record of Spies, Smugglers, and Prominent Rebel Emissaries, together with Anecdotes, Incidents, Reminiscences, etc., and Official Reports of the Battle of Stone River. By an Officer. Illustrated with numerous Steel Portraits, Engravings, and Maps. 8vo.

Marks’s Peninsular Campaign.

The Peninsular Campaign in Virginia; or, Incidents and Scenes on the Battle Fields and in Richmond. Illustrated with numerous engravings. By Rev. J. J. Marks, D.D., Chaplain of the 63d Pennsylvania Regiment. 12mo. $1.50.

Cassin’s American Ornithology.

American Ornithology; giving a General Synopsis of North American Ornithology, and containing Descriptions and Figures of all North American Birds not given by former American Authors, after the manner, and designed as a continuation of the Works of Audubon. By John Cassin, Member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, etc. etc. Illustrated with fifty beautifully-colored Plates. One vol. 8vo.

Cassin’s Mammalogy and Ornithology.

The Mammalogy and Ornithology of the United States Exploring Expedition, under the command of Commodore Wilkes. Prepared under the superintendence of John Cassin, Member of the Academy of Natural Sciences, etc. One vol. quarto, with a Folio Atlas of over fifty colored Engravings. $50.00.

👉 Only 150 copies of this work published.

Baird’s Birds of North America.

The Birds of North America: The descriptions of species based chiefly on the collections in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. By Spencer F. Baird, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; with the co-operation of John Cassin, of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and Geo. N. Lawrence, of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York. With an Atlas of one hundred plates. Text, one vol. 4to., $5.00; Atlas, one vol. 4to., $15.00.

Sloan’s Architectural Works.

=Sloan’s Constructive Architecture=: A guide for the builder and carpenter; exhibiting the construction of a series of designs for roofs, domes, spires, and the five orders of architecture, selected from the best specimens of Grecian and Roman art, with the figured dimensions of their height, projection, and profile. To which is added a treatise on practical geometry. The whole illustrated by 62 plates, and accompanied by explanatory text. By Samuel Sloan, Architect, author of the “Model Architect,” “City and Suburban Architecture,” etc. etc. One vol. 4to.

=Sloan’s City and Suburban Architecture=: In which are exhibited numerous designs and details for public edifices, private residences, and mercantile buildings. Illustrated with 136 folio engravings, accompanied by specifications, and historical and explanatory text. By Samuel Sloan, author of the “Model Architect,” “Sloan’s Constructive Architecture,” etc. etc. One vol. folio.

=Sloan’s Homestead Architecture=: Containing forty designs for villas, cottages, and farm-houses, with essays on style, construction, landscape gardening, furniture, etc. Illustrated with upwards of 200 engravings. By Samuel Sloan, Architect. One vol. 8vo.

The first of these works is adapted to the wants of the practical builder and mechanic, presenting in natural succession numerous examples of forms generally esteemed the most useful in constructive carpentry. The second is devoted mainly to city architecture, containing a great number of designs and illustrations for public edifices, private residences, and mercantile buildings. Each volume is illustrated by a great variety of elegant engravings, and besides the value of the reading matter, which to a great extent is founded on the personal experience of the author, in point of typographical finish and beauty is a model of tasteful and attractive execution.--N. Y. Tribune.

Sloan’s Constructive Architecture is one of the very best and most elegant books on architecture that has appeared from the American press. It is prepared in the clearest manner, and beautifully illustrated, and will be found of great value not only to architects, but to builders of all classes. The plates which illustrate and explain the text, are drawn with rare skill, and are superb specimens of engraving.--Evening Transcript.

Sloan’s Constructive Architecture is a full and eminently practical treatise on the higher branches of carpentry, joinery, and building, and is such a work as every builder who is not a mere imitator of the plans of others will desire to possess.--Boston Journal.

City and Suburban Architecture is a perfect storehouse of knowledge on all subjects and details which relate to the subject of architecture. *** It will serve the student as well as the master, for it furnishes an abundance of information as to the early progress of architecture, and the rapid stride of improvement in modern times.--Boston Post.

Hamilton’s History of the United States.

History of the Republic of the United States of America as traced in the writings of Alexander Hamilton and of his cotemporaries. By John C. Hamilton. In seven vols. 8vo. (Vol. VII. just published.)

The Federalist.

A Commentary on the Constitution of the United States; a collection of Essays by Alexander Hamilton, Jay, and Madison; also the Continentalist and other papers, by Hamilton. Edited by John C. Hamilton, author of the “History of the Republic of the United States.” In one vol. 8vo.

Baird’s Mammals.

Mammals of North America: The descriptions of species based chiefly on the collections in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. By Spencer F. Baird, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. One vol. 4to., of 854 pp., with 32 wood-cuts and 87 plates of figures illustrating the genera and species. Colored plates, $15.00. Plain plates, $10.00.

Bulwer’s Works.

The Works of Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Bart., D.C.L. Uniform library edition, in forty vols. 12mo., elegantly printed on tinted paper. Cloth, $1.00 per volume; sheep, $1.25; half calf, $1.75.

THE CAXTON NOVELS.

The Caxton Family 2 vols. My Novel 4 vols. What will he do with it? 3 vols.

HISTORICAL ROMANCES.

Devereux 2 vols. The Last Days of Pompeii 2 vols. Rienzi 2 vols. The Siege of Granada 1 vol. The Last of the Barons 2 vols. Harold 2 vols.

ROMANCES.

Pilgrims of the Rhine 1 vol. Eugene Aram 2 vols. Zanoni 2 vols.

NOVELS OF LIFE AND MANNERS.

Pelham 2 vols. The Disowned 2 vols. Paul Clifford 2 vols. Godolphin 1 vol. Ernest Maltravers--First Part 2 vols. Ernest Maltravers--Second Part, (Alice) 2 vols. Night and Morning 2 vols. Lucretia 2 vols.

Several of the volumes have been already published, and the remainder will follow in rapid succession.

👉 Each work furnished separately if desired.

Parables of our Lord.

Beautifully printed in Ornate Saxon type on tinted paper, and magnificently Illustrated with Engravings on Steel. Folio.

Scott’s Waverley Novels.

In various styles, including--

=I. An Abbotsford Edition.=--Complete in twelve volumes, demi octavo, with illustrations.

=II. A Royal Octavo Illustrated Edition.=--In twelve volumes, splendidly illustrated with over 300 engravings, comprising Landscapes, Incidents, and Portraits of the Historical personages described in the Works.

=III. A Pictorial Edition.=--In twenty-four volumes, duodecimo, illustrated with over 300 steel and wood engravings.

=IV. A People’s Edition.=--Complete in six volumes, octavo, illustrated.

=V. A New and Beautifully Illustrated Edition.=--In forty-eight volumes, cap 8vo., printed on a beautiful Long Primer Type, and illustrated with over 1500 wood-cuts and steel engravings. (Published in connection with the Messrs. A. & C. Black, of Edinburgh.)

Jomini’s Art of War.

The Art of War. By Baron de Jomini, General and Aid-de-Camp of the Emperor of Russia. A new edition, with appendices and maps. Translated from the French by Captain G. H. Mendell, U.S.A., Corps of Topographical Engineers, and Lieutenant W. P. Craighill, U.S.A., Corps of Engineers. One vol. demi 8vo. $1.50.

While everybody is criticising the war, would it not be well for somebody to read this greatest of military critics, and know a mere smattering about the matters so dogmatically discussed? *** It might be convenient occasionally in conversation to back up an opinion by an allusion to the Baron de Jomini. It must be confessed that he knows something about war.--Con. Courant.

Manual for Courts Martial.

A manual for Courts Martial: Containing full explanations of the duties of all officers employed on such service, with complete forms of proceedings. By Captain Henry Coppée, late Instructor in the Military Academy at West Point. 18mo.

Chambers’s Encyclopædia.

A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People, on the basis of the latest edition of the German Conversations-Lexicon. Illustrated with Maps and numerous wood Engravings. Published in Parts; price, 20 cents each; to be comprised in nine volumes, royal 8vo. Vol. V. just published.

Steel-plate Maps, beautifully printed in colors, to illustrate the geographical portion of the Encyclopædia, are furnished to subscribers at a reasonable extra charge.

The Maps for Vol. I. are seven in number, price $ .50 " " " " II. " three " " " .25 " " " " III. " two " " " .16 " " " " IV. " three " " " .25 " " " " V. " six " " " .50

Subscribers to the monthly parts will be furnished with muslin cases for the volumes at 50 cents each, or the Publishers will bind the volumes in cloth for 75 cents each.

Flanders’s Chief Justices.

The Lives and Times of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. By Henry Flanders. Two vols. 8vo. $5.00.

These volumes are an important contribution not only to biography, but to the military, civil, and political history of the country. It is a work of great learning, ability, and research. *** The narrative brings into view not only the Chief Justices, but all the leading men of their times, and discusses their characters with just and appreciative criticism. *** The amount of information it contains will render it an indispensable book in all libraries where justice is done to biographical and historical literature.--Home Gazette.

Footfalls on the Boundary of Another World.

Footfalls on the Boundary of Another World. By Robert Dale Owen, formerly Member of Congress, and American Minister to Naples. One vol. 12mo. $1.25.

This work is devoted to an inquiry whether occasional interferences from another world in this be reality or delusion. It treats of the phenomena of sleep, dreams, somnambulism. It examines the alleged evidences for presentiments, second-sight, house-hauntings, and apparitions; referring to the most approved modern works on hallucination, insanity, and the nervous system. It inquires whether, when we set down the narratives of all ages (including our own) that touch on the marvels referred to, as mere vulgar superstitions, we are overlooking any actual phenomena.

Ruschenberger’s Natural History.

First Books of Natural History, for schools, colleges, and families. By W. S. W. Ruschenberger, M.D., U.S.N., viz.:--

1. Elements of Anatomy and Physiology. 12mo. 2. Elements of Mammalogy. 12mo. 3. Elements of Ornithology. 12mo. 4. Elements of Herpetology and Ichthyology. 12mo. 5. Elements of Conchology. 12mo. 6. Elements of Entomology. 12mo. 7. Elements of Botany. 12mo. 8. Elements of Geology. 9. Lexicon of Terms used in Natural History. 12mo.

First Books of Natural History, embracing the above works, complete, with nearly 1000 illustrations and a copious glossary. In 2 vols. 12mo.

From Brig.-General Wm. A. Hammond, Surgeon-General U.S.A.

Washington, D. C., Feb. 21st, 1864.

My Dear Doctor:--

It gives me great pleasure to confirm your recollection of what I several years ago said to you in regard to your series of books on Natural History. Not only did I receive my first ideas of zoology from them, but if I had to commence now the study of natural science I would certainly take your books for my guide. I would be glad to see them brought more prominently forward so as to occupy the place to which they are entitled.

Yours sincerely, WILLIAM A. HAMMOND.

Dr. W. S. W. Ruschenberger, U.S.N., Boston, Mass.

Irving’s Sketch Book.

Elegantly Illustrated. The Artist’s Edition of Washington Irving’s Sketch Book, printed on paper of the choicest description, and Illustrated with 125 Engravings from original designs by eminent artists. Quarto.

Transcriber's Note

1. Obvious errors in spelling and punctuation have been corrected.

2. Hyphenation has been made consistent where possible, using the form most prevalent in the book or, failing that, in other books of the period.

3. The following further changes have been made: Page 186: "membraneous" to "membranous". Page 269: "predicating" to "predicting". Page 414: "sand crack" to "sandcrack".

4. The diagram on Page 24 is shown again on Page 28, as it was in the original work.