34 THE ORANGE COUNTY 



a man may pretend to is mere hypocrisy. Let all men shun 

 him. 



The horse is one of the most important acquisitions made 

 by man from the animal kingdom. Without him civilization 

 would have made little progress, and European nations would 

 have been, even now, scarcely emerged from barbarism. Agri- 

 culture, commerce, our luxuries and pleasures, are alike in- 

 debted to this noble animal, whose form and sagacity would 

 appear to have been adapted by Providence to the service of 

 man; and such is his pliability of physical structure and 

 constitution, that man may mold him to the form and bulk 

 best fitted for the particular service in which he is to be ein- 

 loyed, whether as the symmetrical racer, or as the heavy 



ught-horse. 



The principal locality of wild horses exists in South 

 America, where they herd in countless numbers in the plains 

 extending from La Plata to Patagonia. These were originally 

 introduced by the Spaniards, and have increased with in- 

 credible rapidity ; so much so, that by some travelers their 

 single troops are numbered by tens of thousands. The color 

 of the South American wild horse is generally chestnut, bay, 

 sorrel, or black, and they are destined to exercise a great in- 

 fluence on the newly-sprung countries of the Pacific, into 

 which they are chiefly introduced from the ports of Chili and 

 Peru, 



When the Spaniards first landed in Mexico, their horses 

 were objects of wonder, and they impressed the inhabitants 

 with the idea that horse and rider wer3 one animal of the Cen- 

 taur species. 



The horse is eaten in some parts of South America, espe- 

 cially in the southern portions, and its flesh is esteemed a 

 great delicacy. Horseflesh is amongst these people consid- 

 ered as necessary at the festive board, as is the sirloin of 

 beef amongst ourselves. 



FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES. 



And first of these stands the Arabian a vague term, the 

 breed of horses being as diverse as the districts on which 

 they have been reared. Generally speaking, we attach more 

 value to these horses than they really possess. Arabia is tho 

 land of romance to Europeans, and its horses have lost noth- 

 ing by romantic associations. With the exception of the 

 head, the majority of Arabian horses would scarcely pass 

 muster at any rate, not as first-rate horses. They are, for 



