468 REPORT ON THE TRANSIT OF STOCK. 



mode of transit for the horse, except those which are inseparable 

 from sea-travelling — viz., the dangers of stormy weather. 



Besides the horses that are carried in boxes, another class of 

 them, less valuable, are simply tied to the rings in the bulwarks, 

 as cattle are, while the smaller descriptions of ponies are usually 

 placed twenty or thirty together in a pen. Both these classes 

 are treated so much after the manner of cattle, that the account 

 of the latter may almost include them, with this difference, that 

 an attempt is generally made by the cattleman to give all of 

 them a little water occasionally ; and to those that have a long 

 voyage — say from Shetland to Leith — a little hay provided by 

 the shipper. The usual manner of doing this is very unsatis- 

 factory. The cattleman takes an armful of hay into a pen con- 

 taining perhaps twenty ponies, and scatters it amongst them as 

 fairly as he can. There are no racks or anything to keep it out 

 of the mire, and consequently more than one-half of the scanty 

 supply is trodden under foot by the ponies in their haste to get 

 as much of it as possible. The horses tied to the bulwarks 

 are little better off : a handful of hay is placed under the head 

 of the animal, and very often before the beast can take a second 

 mouthful the wind has blown it away. For both of these classes, 

 in the matter of food, the nets described for cattle and sheep 

 are recommended as being the simplest and best remedy. 



Cattle. — These are each provided with a short halter ere they 

 are brought alongside of the steamer. They are sometimes 

 walked on board, but generally they are hoisted by a crane. 

 This is effected by means of a sling, which is simply a broad 

 sheet of canvas ; this is passed under the belly of the animal, 

 and reaches up its sides to within 12 inches of the backbone ; 

 its ends, which are finished with wooden bars to keep the sheet 

 out to its width, are furnished with eye-holes to receive the 

 hooks of the crane chain. The animal is thus lifted by its middle 

 without injury, and the process both of putting on and taking 

 off the sling is very rapidly done, while accidents from the 

 beast slipping out of the sling are very rare, although I re- 

 member once seeing an ox fall out of one into the sea. The 

 sling being fixed, the animal is swung on board, and lowered 

 to the deck or to the hold, as the case may be. As soon as 

 its feet touch the floor, its halter is seized by the cattleman, 

 while one assistant unhooks the sling, and another seizes it 

 by the tail, and, before the beast can recover from the surprise 

 of its aerial trip, or attempt any overt movement, it is dragged, 

 pushed, and beaten into its intended position, its halter passed 

 through the ring, and its head pulled up to the side of the vessel 

 almost as close as it will go, from 6 to 9 inches being the usual 

 limit of rope allowed. Struggles are thus unavailing, and are 

 quite unheeded, the process being repeated until the hold is full. 



