TEE HORSE. 153 



(c.) It is the safety and peace of mind of the community which 

 are to be considered, and not the pleasure of individual dog-owners. 



The technical supervision of competent State veterinary officials 

 (in no case of empirics) is the only course which can guarantee any 

 success and protection to the community. 



THE HORSE. 



HlPPOPHAGY, OE THE CONSUMPTION OF HoRSE-MeAT AS FOOD. 



Horse-meat steaks ! Roast horse-meat ! 



It is really singular what feelings of aversion one finds immedi- 

 ately following upon the suggestion of such articles of food in this 

 country. " Have we not beef, mutton, pork, and other articles of 

 food in such an abundance that you need not bring up such a dis- 

 gusting idea ? " is the next remark. 



The " disgust " in all these questions is simply based upon cus- 

 tom. That which is disgusting to the people of one country may 

 be most commonplace or a luxury to those of another. So it is with 

 periods ; the tastes of different generations vary in other things than 

 fashions. 



Thus we see that hippophagy, or the consumption of horse- 

 meat for food, was at one time an almost universal custom among 

 the pagan people of Northern Europe and Britain. Being a pagan 

 custom, it was but natural that, with the extension of Christianity 

 among these nations, its missionaries should insist that not only re- 

 ligious rites, but other customs of these people, which they looked 

 upon as relics of heathenism, should be given up. "We find these 

 efforts of the missionaries supported by edicts from the popes, so 

 that the practice gradually became extinct, to be again taken up in 

 the early part of our century, and to gradually extend, though the 

 custom has never been without its adherents among the nations of 

 the world. 



We can think of no justifiable reasons for such aversion to horse- 

 meat among our people. In fact, this aversion is based entirely upon 

 ignorance, and its twin sister, prejudice. 



That we have a sufficiency or even a superabundance of animal 

 food in our country is of itself no justifiable reason for heedlessly 

 sacrificing to the knacker a large amount of valuable food each year. 



One sees upon our streets, at any time, a large number of horses 



