1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



71 



lent juclfTP«'i Pome from a considerable distance, 

 who attended tlie sale, as purciiasers; nor could ii 

 be ollu'ru'is:c than graiilyin<>; in the hii>'!iest deifre;' 

 to Mr. Bulling^, the stewanl, that h'ls exertions on 

 the occasion were crowned with so successful a 

 result. It was o-eiierally remarked, that seldom 

 did the noble Earl appear in better health, or 

 more bouyant spirits, than durinix the sale. He 

 was attended by his amiable Countess, Lord Wa- 

 terpark, and a numerous party of distin<z'uished 

 guests., who seemed thoroufjhly to enter into, and 

 •enjoy the novelty and hustle oi'lhe scene." * * * 



From tlie Annual Register, of 17C3 



THE VELOCITY OF HOUSES I.N THIO RACK PIU- 

 LOSOPIIICALLY CONSIDERED, BY MONSIEUR 

 CONDAMI.\E. FROM HIS TOUR IN ITALY, 

 IN THE YEARS 1755 AND 1756. 



The spectacle which at present forms the 

 amusement of the people of Rome, retains noth- 

 ing of the barbarity of" the ancient condials oj' 

 gladiators. Some of the princes and Roman 

 noblemen amuse themselves by keeping horses 

 purely tor the course; not as in England, backed by 

 a rider; but alone, at lull libertj', and entirely de- 

 livered up to their natural ardor, and that kind of 

 emulation which the concourse of people assem- 

 bled seem to inspire. Eight or ten liorses, com- 

 monly barbs, bf a small size, and mean figure, re- 

 tained on the same line by a rope extended, about 

 the height of their breast, set off at the instant 

 when they let this rope iall. In the races at car- 

 nival time, which are the most solemn, the course 

 is usually in the long street at Rome, to which 

 this exercise has given the name of El Corso, or 

 race street. They take care, at such times, to gra- 

 vel it over. The length is 865 toises. I observed 

 twice, by means of a watch for seconds, and the 

 help of a signal, that this distance was run over 

 in 141 seconds, which makes near 37 feet a sec- 

 ond. A little refleciion will make this speed ap- 

 pear much more considerable than at first we may 

 imagine it to be. 



It is evident that we cannot suppose more than 

 two leaps or progressions on gallop, to one second, 

 seeing that each of these leaps requires at least 

 three very distinct points of time, viz : that in 

 which the horse lifts himself Irom the ground; that 

 in which we see him cleaving the air, and that in 

 ■which he descends agam ; and that these tvVo 

 bounds, thus supposed to be made in every sec- 

 ond, require six definate movements, a period 

 scarce percepiible in so short a space of time. 

 These horses, which are but of an inconsiderable 

 size, and whose swiiiness, every second, is equal 

 to 37 feet, pass then, at each bound, over a space 

 of more than 18 feet, which is very near equal to 

 four times the length of their body, taken from 

 the breast to the tail. It is true, indeed, that this 

 length is more than doubled by the extension 

 which tiieir outstretched gallop gives their limbs 

 before and behind. All this considered, how can 

 the fleetness of the English horses be by a great 

 deal, greater, as if is known to be in reality? But 

 there are certain cases wherein the truth sur- 

 passes all the bounds of probability, and of this 

 kind is that at present under consideration. 



The late Monsieur Dulay writ in 1737, from 

 Newmarket, tliat the course there, of' four English 



miles, had been completed in less than 8 minutes, 

 by 4 or 5 seconds. These miles are 826 of our 

 toises, which makes more than 4l| li^.et in a sec- 

 ond, or near 5 liiet more than the barbs at Rome, 

 and we must also remark here, that the latter run 

 at full liberty, whereas the En<rlish horses are 

 burlhened with the weight of a rider. This flect- 

 ness, however, oi' 41| leet, is still but an ordina- 

 ry degree, of swiftness there, inasmuch as of ten 

 horses wliich ran together, the very hindmost of 

 them was no more than 12 to 15 paces from the 

 end of the course. Resides, it is asserted that the 

 same course had been frequently run over in G 

 minutes and 6 seconds. I have this as a fiict from 

 a genileman who has been concerned in the races 

 at Newmarket. * And tliis swiftness, which 

 would amount to more than 54 feet in a second, is 

 to that of the barbs nearly as 3 to 2. We must also 

 observe, that instead of one English mile, or a lit- 

 tle more, lo which the course of Rome is limited, 

 that of Newmarket is 4 miles — a space too long 

 for the swiftness of any horse to preserve itself 

 through, on a sensible equality. It is evident that 

 this swiftness cannot extend through the whole 

 course, and consequently at the moment of the 

 race, when it is at its maximum, the impulsion 

 must be upwards of 54 fiiet in a second. We are 

 likewise assured that a famous horse called Star- 

 ling, has sometimes performed the first mile in a 

 minute, which would make 82i feet in a second— - 

 a degree of swiftness, which, if there be no exag- 

 geration in the statement, is almost inconceiva- 

 ble. But this is a point on which I expect some 

 farther elucidations. 



.[The following are the elucidations I have re- 

 received, since the reading of this memoir, i'rnm 

 Dr. Maty, keeper of the library of the British 

 Museum: — ] 



There are, says Dr. Maty, two courses at New- 

 market — the long, and the round. The first is 

 exactly 4 miles and 380 yards; the second is 4 

 miles,"less 400 yards. Childers, the swiftest horse 

 ever remembered, has run the first course in 7 

 minutes and 30 seconds; and the second in 6 mi- 

 nutes and 40 seconds, which amounts to 46 feet 

 9 inches French, in the second. Whereas, all 

 other horses except the foregoing, take at least 7 

 minutes and 50 seconds in compleiing the first and 

 longest course, and 7 minutes only in the shortest 

 — which is 44 feet 5 or 6 inches the second. These 

 are facts, adds Dr. Rjaty, which 1 believe to be 

 true. I must also add, that it is commonly sup- 

 posed these coursers cover, at every bound, a 

 space of ground 24 English feet in letiixth. 



This is a little inside of my conjecture of two 

 bounds in the second. Every hound in this case 

 would be anout 18 royal feet and a half for the 

 fleetest barb in Rome, and 22 or 23 feet and a 

 half for English running horses. So that the 

 swiftest of the latter to that of the barbs, is very 

 nearly as 4 to 3. 



From the New Yorli Farmer. 



EXTRAORDINARY PRODUCTIONS ON A SMALL 

 FARM. 



[We are indebted to a distinguished member of 

 the legal proftjssion (or the following communica- 



*Mr. Faafe, then at Paris, since dead. 



