272 THE CONDITION OF HUNTERS 



ing highly-priced horses. Of course, although I wa3 

 once careless enough to give two hundred and twenty 

 guineas for a horse which had a small cataract in one 

 eye, I have for the most part examined the eyes of 

 horses I have been about to purchase most minutely, 

 and with what Httle skill I am possessed of, in refer- 

 ence to that dehcate organ ; but I am decidedly of 

 opinion that none but professional men are able 

 to give a true judgment upon it, and even theirs can 

 only safely apply to its present state. " In these 

 inspections," continues Mr Percivall, " we should not 

 depart satisfied with barely looking into the organ : 

 we ought to compare one eye with the other ; mark 

 the prominence of the membrana nictitans ; the 

 transparency and convexity of the cornea ; the 

 pellucidity of the aqueous humour ; the colour and 

 brilliancy of the iris ; the colour, figure, and size of 

 the pupil ; the magnitude, blackness, and prominence 

 of the corpora nigra,^ and last, but not least, of all, 

 repeatedly mark the activity with which the pupil 

 alters its dimensions on suddenly admitting light to 

 the eye. Surely this will convince us that we private 

 gentlemen are incompetent to this task.^ 



The following are stated by Mr P. as unfavourable 

 prognostics : — " a sunken or gloomy aspect of the eye 

 altogether, compared with the other ; prominence of 

 the membrana nictitans ; a watery state of the eye ; 



^ These small sooty like bodies have been known to cause " shy- 

 ing" through being displaced from their normal position. — Editor^ 



2 I have a mare in my possession now, stone blind from cataract ; 

 but I could sell her to any common purchaser as sound, if he only 

 looked superficially into her eyes. 



