162 HORSE AND MAN. 



Astley drove ' Tommy ' about twenty-four miles on 

 hard road. 



The two longest drives that had then been taken 

 were these. The first from London to Watford and 

 back, between twenty-nine and thirty miles. This 

 was taken on March 29, 1883. On May 14, of the 

 same year, Mr. Astley drove ' Tommy ' to St. Albans 

 and back — i.e. about forty-two miles. 



During tliis process, Mr. Astley sent me a series 

 of bulletins, sometimes in letters, which at first were 

 quite despondent, and sometimes by cards, stating the 

 number of miles which ' Tommy ' had traversed. 



If the reader will contrast the photographs of 

 these two animals, he will see that ' Tommy's ' hoof has 

 scarcely any concavity, and therefore is not quite 

 so perfect an example as that of the former animal. 

 Yet, although not a perfect hoof, it is a good and 

 sound one. The bars are boldly marked, and the 

 frog has become so largely developed, that it fills up 

 almost the whole of the concavity. With such a 

 hoof as this, the animal need not fear the pointed 

 tips of shattered rocks or the razor-like edges of 

 broken flints, and would gallop over either in serene 

 unconsciousness of their existence. 



Almost identical with this hoof is that of a mare 

 who has already become historical in the Battle of 

 the Shoes, and around whom long raged a wordy 



