THE NATURALIST'S VISION 345 



mals. He was a runner or collector for one of 

 the large banks in the lower part of New York, 

 and his daily routine of work took him as far as 

 23d Street, every day over a regular beaten route. 

 This occupation he pursued for some seven or 

 eight years. He has assured me many times in 

 conversation, that during that period he became 

 so familiar with the horse population of the lower 

 part of New York, that he individualized the 

 horses and realized after a short time whenever 

 he met a new one, and also missed one he had 

 constantly seen, if it failed to appear. I think 

 few of us go farther in the investigation of 

 horses than to distinguish color ; because when 

 we have said brown, bay, chestnut, sorrel, gray, 

 white, we have pretty nearly run our gamut. 

 Small horses we call ponies, and another kind of 

 grouping would be draught horses and driving 

 horses. Farther than this very few people elabo- 

 rate the individuality of horses. But here was a 

 man, not of specially keen powers of observation, 

 who had a great interest in this particular kind 

 of animal, and who individualized them, at least 

 as far as their appearance was concerned, so that 

 they were to him no longer all kinds of colors or 

 sizes, but became to him just as much personages 

 as " Brown " and " Smith " are to the friends who 

 know them. This is dwelt upon to emphasize 

 the matter of individuality. 



