at 



331 



energy in their 

 competitors. 



The HUNTER. 



ideavours to outstrip their 



__ It is generally allowed 



that this fine animal, whose spirit is only 

 equalled by his endurance of fatigue, and 

 whose speed is on a par with his beautiful 

 form, presents a happy combination of those 



THE HDNTKR 



qualities which give swiftness to the racer, 

 vigour to the charger, and muscular power 

 to the draught-horse. " The first property 

 of a good hunter is, that he should be light 

 in hand. For this purpose his head must be 

 small ; his neck thin, especially beneath ; 

 his crest firm and arched ; and his jaws 

 wide. The head will then befell set on. 

 It will form a pleasant angle with the neck, 

 which gives a light and pleasant mouth" 



The compact and serviceable ROADSTER, 

 " a hunter in miniature," as a perfect spe- 

 cimen of this truly valuable animal has been 

 called ; the splendid CAUKIAGE HOUSE, with 



COAOB-HORSE. 



his arched crest and high action ; the power- 

 ful DKAY HORSE, whose united strength 

 and size (derived from the Suffolk Punch 

 and the Flanders breed) are unequalled ; 

 the round-chested and long-backed SUFFOLK 

 PUNCH HORSE ; and the patient CAKT 

 HORSE, have each their peculiar merits, 

 and require careful attention to the breed 

 and management. We have also some 

 smaller varieties, excellent in their kind : 

 as the useful GALLOWAY ; the diminutive 

 and hardy SHETLAND PONY ; and the sturdy 

 rough Pony bred in the New Forest. But 

 our limits have long warned us to bring this 

 article to a close : we therefore beg to refer 

 our readers to the various works which are 

 exclusively devoted to " the Horse " for what- 

 ever further information may be required ; 



and conclude by tritely remarking, that ac- 

 cording to the degree of cultivation bestowed 

 on them, Horses improve or degenerate ; 

 Iheir qualities of sagacity and docility alone 

 remaining inherent. 



A curious point, and one of great interest 

 in the investigation of zoological relations, 

 which may be properly introduced in this 

 place, is "that the characters of the male 

 parent of the mother's first progeny show 

 themselves in her subsequent offspring by 

 other males, however different those males 

 mav be in form and colour. Mr. Bell ob- 

 serves that this truth has been illustrated by 

 him when treating oh the Dog and on the 

 Hog, and he adds that it receives a remark- 

 able and interesting confirmation from the 

 case of a mare belonging to the Earl of 

 Morton, to which he had before alluded. In 

 that case the mare was young, and after 

 producing the female hybrid by the Quagga, 

 had first a filly, and afterwards a colt, by a 

 fine black Arabian Horse. They both re- 

 sembled the Quagga in the dark line along 

 the back, the stripes across the forehead, 

 and the bars across the legs : in the filly 

 the mane was short and stiff, like that of 

 the Quagga ; in the colt it was long, but so 

 stiff as to arch upwards and hang clear of 

 the sides of the neck ; in other respects they 

 were nearly pure Arabian. This and other 

 such cases should not be forgotten by breed- 

 ers of animals, who are anxious about the 

 perfection of their stock, and should make 

 them particularly careful as to the male 

 influence which first makes its impression 

 on the female. 



The mode of catching and taming wild 

 horses in South America is so well described 

 by Mr. Darwin, in his "Researches," and 

 shows so strikingly what mastery over the 

 brute creation man can attain, that we trust 

 it will be considered an appropriate adden- 

 dum to the foregoing. "A troop of wild 

 young horses is driven into the corral, or 

 large enclosure of stakes, and the door is 

 shut. We will suppose that one man alone 

 has to catch and mount a horse, which as 

 yet had never felt bridle or saddle. I con- 

 ceive, except by a Gaucho, such a feat would 

 be utterly impracticable. The Gaucho picks 

 out a full-grown colt ; and as the beast 

 rushes round the circus, he throws his lazo 

 so as to catch both the front legs. Instantly 

 the horse rolls over with a heavy shock, and, 



