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CHAPTER XXVI. 



EFFECTS OF CLIMATE AND SOIL ON CONFORMATION. 

 Temperature — Atmospheric Moisture — Pasture — Retention of Water by Soil— Lime. 



In this connection, moisture (water) comes under the 

 heading of cHmate, and soil is to be regarded chiefly as a 

 food-producing agent. 



The following remarks have reference only to breeds of 

 horses which are brought up in the open, and do not apply 

 to those which are kept under artificial conditions. 



Temperature. — Horses attain their greatest height 

 in temperate climates, and diminish in size in cold climates 

 and also in hot ones. In defining the limits of tempera- 

 ture for climates which are suitable to horses, we may 

 roughly state that they should not be colder than the 

 low-lying lands of Scotland, or hotter than the south of 

 France. On this subject we cannot arrive at any sharply- 

 defined conclusion, because the limits of temperature vary 

 greatly in different countries. 



Differences in temperature are produced as a rule 

 by latitude or altitude, or by a combination of these two 

 causes. As regards latitude, we find that horses bred 

 in Finland and other parts of Northern Russia are 

 at least a hand smaller than those of the Southern 

 Provinces of Voronej and Poltava. The action of the 

 Gulf Stream in raising and equalising the temperature 

 of Great Britain and Ireland prevents us from accu- 

 rately comparing the relative heights of British and 



