THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



335 



teeih 1 Why do you turn your heads back towards 



your sides, as il" lookinfr at the carriajre ? they 

 would answer — all, all this is done to pet relief 

 from the agony we are enduring by having our 

 heads kept erect, and our necks bent by tight bri- 

 dles. 



To ladies the editor would apperd with earnest- 

 ness. His heart has ached when passing the 

 horses of the nobility and others at the doors o( 

 houses in London, to see the unceasing motion of 

 the heads oC the poor creatures, the coachmen 

 sitting at their ease, perfectly unconcerned, and 

 often doubtless unconscious of the agonizing pain 

 of the muscles and sinews of the neck the horses 

 are endurinij. No humane person could knowingly 

 suffer such cruelty to be practised. It is true that 

 to the eyes of ignorant people, horses tortured 

 with the bearing-rein look " very fine," but the 

 true connoisseur will never be pleased at such dis- 

 tortions. 



England, where the best hordes and the best 

 drivers are to be found, England (it is said) is 

 the only country in which that bane of the horse, 

 the bearing-rein, is used ! In France it is not 

 used, and, as the natural consequence, horses in 

 that country seldom fall to the ground, or so as to 

 hurt themselves. At the very instant a horse 

 stumbles the French coachman slackens the rein, 

 that the horse may save himseltl 



It is sincerely hoped that the entire removal of 

 this punishing bridle will be speedily effected by 

 the powerful aid of veterinary surgeons, by the 

 owners and drivers of private carriages, noble and 

 gentle, at once abolishing this useless, tormenting 

 appendage; by the society for the prevention ol 

 cruelty to animals lending to this good object their 

 aid unitedly as a body, and individually as mem- 

 bers ; by giving circulation in newspapers and 

 periodicals to the experience of the good efl'ects of 

 going without them; by the public patronizing 

 those vehicles in which the servants do not use 

 the bearing-rein; by humane travellers feeing well 

 those coachmen who in this respect obey the dic- 

 tates of humanity, sound policy, self-interest, and 

 common sense. The editor is aware that no good 

 coachman would condescend to use bearing-reins, 

 and persons much accustomed to travellinir, if they 

 see the horses come out with bearing-reins, imme- 

 diately conclude the driver is one of the old school, 

 or that he is not " up to his work ;" and they are 

 generally right, for it will be found that he is not 

 able to command his horses so well as the man 

 who drives without them. The least ref]ection 

 will show this must be so. If the horses have 

 bearing-reins they lean their heads on them, and 

 the coachman's reins may be seen loose and dang- 

 ling on the horse's back ; if on the contrary he 

 drives without, he has the horses in hand always, 

 and guides them as he pleases. This is more 

 plainly the case with post-chaise drivers and 

 hackney coachmen, whose reins are only used oc- 

 casionally when they have bearing-bridles, in- 

 stead of being always tight in their hands. 



The effect of bearing-reins upon coach-horses 

 is shown at every stage when the horses are taken 

 off". If they have bearing-reins they may be seen 

 tossing their heads incessantly, although jaded, 

 panting, and eveloped in steam : surely the poor 

 creatures would not thus exert themselves in a 

 state of great fatigue, if some greater distress were 

 not affecting them. It is the agony of the sinews 



under the neck and throat, which being restrained 

 so long, ache as if a man's arm were to be kept in 

 a |)ainlul position. Ilorc^es which have done their 

 stage without the bearing-reins, when taken off, 

 stand with their heads down, breathin": freely, and 

 in comparative comfort. IIovv often upon changing 

 horses do we see the kind lior.-^e k''e[)er of a stupid 

 bearing-rein coachman instamly unhear his horsea 

 and thus entitle himself from the humane travel- 

 ler to the lee which the coachman had forfeited. 

 At the time this paper is being published, the 

 editor has remarked that bearing-rems are more 

 used in Bristol by coachmen, and more cruelly 

 tiuhtened by carmen, than in any other place in 

 the west of England ; not only by carmen plying 

 for hire, but by the drivers of the splendid dray- 

 horses whicli are to be seen in that city. 



REPORT TO THE STATE BOARD OF AGRI- 

 CULTURE, 



ON ELIZABETH CITY COUNTY. 



By Dr. R. Archer, U. S. A. 



Old Point Comfort, May 31, 1842. 



Mr. Edmund Rvjfm, Corresponding Secretary of 

 the Board of jigriculturc of Virginia. — I give 

 you, as far as my avocations and limited informa- 

 tion will permit, succinct and general replies to 

 the queries of the Board of Agriculture, so I'ar a& 

 they relate to the county of Elizabeth City. 



An inspection o( the map of Virginia will show 

 that, in a geographical point of view, our county 

 is not surpassed by any in the state. Bounded orr 

 three sides, and intersected in various directiona 

 by navigable streams, the facilities of transporta- 

 tion to market, will bear a comparison with those 

 of the most favored region of our country. Fronn 

 no part of the county has the farmer to cart his 

 produce more than five miles, and in many situa- 

 tions the vessel anchors within a stone's throw of 

 the barn. In three or (bur hours she may be in Nor- 

 folk, in 20 or 30 in Richmond, Petersburg, or Bal- 

 timore. 



The average length of the county is 10 miles; 

 the average breadth 8i^. The surface is decidedly 

 flat ; and the elevation above tide water is in lew 

 places more than 10 feet ; the average elevation 

 not more than 6 or 7 fijet. It is apparent, then, 

 that a considerable portion of the surlace must be 

 occasionally overflowed, and that our rivers and 

 creeks must be bordered by extensive salt marshes. 

 The ordinary rise and fall of the tide is fi-om 2-| to 

 3 feet. The highest gust tide within the last 

 twenty years, rose 4 feet above the ordinary high 

 water mark. The highest land is on James river; 

 from thence it slopes back to Back river, into 

 which most of our waters fall. 



The climate of Elizabeth City, in consequence 

 of the proximity of the ocean, is very variable. 

 East winds prevail extensively, and are always 

 attended with chilliness and extreme dampness. 

 In summer the sea breeze generally sets in in the 

 afternoon, and to intensely warm mornings usually 

 succeed cool and pleasant evenings : indeed, a 

 sultry morning is considered a sure harbinger of a 

 pleasant evening. 



For the last five years, Ihe mean height of the 



