102 METHOD OF USING THE ROMAN BATH. 



When an animal has once had a Roman bath, its repetition 

 need not be attended with quite so much loss of time and 

 trouble, but with valuable cows, in high condition, approach- 

 ing the period of parturition, or when slightly disordered, 

 every attention must be paid to the thorough management of 

 the operation. 



On the use of the hot-air bath for training purposes, my 

 father says : " We were amongst the earliest in this country 

 to recommend the Roman bath to favourable considera- 

 tion and fair trial; but we would suggest by way of cau- 

 tion that the said Roman bath, if unduly or prematurely 

 praised, may disappoint expectations, and fall into unme- 

 rited disuse. Admiral Rous has favoured the public with 

 his opinions, but so far as we have seen, has adduced 

 no facts or reliable evidence to support the doctrines he 

 inculcates. I also, in the absence of positive evidence, 

 must make use of some of a negative kind in support of my 

 opinions. 



" With a knowledge that the hot-air bath was fairly on its 

 trial at some of our training establishments, I have refrained 

 from writing on the subject, though urged by friends to do 

 so, until trials and time afforded reliable proofs of its effects. 

 Having been professionally engaged occasionally in the vicinity 

 of the north of England training grounds, I visited one of the 

 moors, and consulted trainers on the subject of the Roman 

 bath. Amongst the strings of horses I saw in work, one 

 horse, a grandson of Birdcatcher, was pointed out to me as 

 having been submitted to the bath two or three days before. 

 Using my own judgment in that particular case, I saw that a 

 very different treatment was required to reinstate the horse 

 in his former action and value. From all that I saw and 

 heard in Yorkshire, where the Roman bath was on trial for 

 horses in training, I came to the conclusion that the time has 



