EXPENSE OF THE EXPERIMENTS 99 



We have hitherto said little or nothing about the 

 book itself with which we have been dealing. The 

 larger part consists of three articles reprinted from 

 the Veterinarian and one from the Zoologist; but the 

 more recent and more important half is the General 

 Introduction, covering a hundred pages, in which 

 Professor Ewart sums up the results of his experi- 

 ments. The form of the work necessarily involves a 

 good deal of repetition, but in so complex a subject 

 this is on the whole rather an advantage than other- 

 wise. Professor Ewart's style is clear, and his pages 

 abound in apposite illustrations. The book cannot 

 fail to attract both the man of science and the practical 

 breeder. 



From what we have said it is evident that the 

 Penycuik experiments are of the highest interest both 

 practical and theoretical, and the public spirit and 

 self-devotion shown by the Edinburgh professor in 

 carrying them out cannot be too widely recognized. 

 The expense of feeding and housing some thirty to 

 forty horses, asses, and zebras is very great, and the 

 initial expenditure in erecting stables, buying land and 

 fencing it, is also considerable. It is, perhaps, not too 

 much to hope that some public body may be willing 

 to undertake at least a part of the burden. The 

 Zoological Society of London possesses, not only the 

 necessary establishment required, including a well- 

 trained staff, but it also has facilities for obtaining all 

 kinds of animals which are far greater than those of 

 any private individual. We hope that the day is not 

 far distant when experiments of this kind will be 

 systematically carried on under the direction of the 

 authorities who control the Gardens in Regent's 

 Park. Probably such experiments would have better 

 prospects of success at a farm in the country than 

 in London, and there is much to be said for such an 



72 



