436 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



quence of the change of climate which had 

 gradually taken place during an immense period 

 of time. Whether the peninsula of Arabia pos- 

 sessed horses, "at the f |)och to which our history 

 refers, which we are certain that our country did. 

 we have not the means of clearly asrertaininir: 

 the probability is tliat elie did noi. We find Arabia 

 to be an elevated table land, eloping on the ncnh 

 gently towards the Syrian desert, and encircled 

 along the eea coast with a belt of flat sandy 

 ground. The sod o( this flii country, from its re- 

 gular inclination towards the sea, as well as from 

 the large beds of salt and marine exuviae with 

 which it is interspersed, appears lo have been at 

 no great geological period a part of ilie bed of the 

 ocean, 'i'his flat counirv prcduces the principal 

 pasturage, and contains rich groves ol dales and 

 other fruiis. The interior o/tlie country is chiefly 

 burning sandy deserts, lying under a sky ahuusi 

 perpetually wi:houi clouds, and stieiching into 

 immense and boundless plains, where the eye 

 meets noihing but the unilbrm horizon of a wid 

 and dreary waste. 



It is observed that, the sea, particularly on its 

 wesiern coast, still continues to recede. The reels 

 of madrepore and, coral which abound in the 

 Arabian Gulf, and in some parts ri^e several 

 fathoms above the sea, are increasing and coming 

 nearer the shore. Thus this flat lertde part of 

 the country is constantly exterjding iis limiis. 

 Muza is mentioned by Arrian as a seaport ol 

 Arabia Feiix ; we now find it at a distance ol 

 several miles from the sea. In the southern part 

 of the Arabian Gulf the sea is also receding 

 from the land. 



From these facts we come to the conclusion. 

 that at the period when horsf s were Ireely 

 ranging throughout the continent ot Eurupe, the 

 present flat fertile land of Arabia, ilnot the whole 

 peninsula, was covered with sea; and it appears 

 altogether absurd to suppose that nature would 

 have placed her first-born pair of horses on such 

 a desolate and sandy soil, even if it were not so. 



That Great Britain was once connected with 

 France there can scarcely be a doubt. The na- 

 ture of the cliffs, similaiily ol strata, and other 

 circumstances, sufficiently prove this; and all 

 tends to increase the opinion, that Great Britain 

 has as good a right to be considered as the pri- 

 mseval birth place of this noble animal as any 

 other country on the globe. It is true, that the 

 present state of our knowledge is not such as to 

 warrant us in coming to any certainly on the sub- 

 ject, but on the whole, I consider it to be very 

 probable. 



The earliest historical account of the horse 

 comes Irom Arabia. The author of the Book ol 

 Job IS supposed by Dr. Ha'les to have lived 184 

 years belore the birth of Abraham. The scene 

 of the poem is laid in the land of Uz, which 

 Bishop Lowth has shown to be Idumea. The 

 Arab? also themselves trace the genealogy o( 

 their Nedjyds up to the time of Abrahan) ; and 

 when we consider the almost religious zeal with 

 which the preservation of their pedigrees has ever 

 been regarded, and the rigorous enactments which 

 have been resorted to in order to preserve the 

 purity of their breed, we certainly must give them 

 some credit for their statement. 



The Nedjyd breed, so serviceable in the cause 

 of Islam, is supposed by the Arabs to have ob- 



tained, through Mahomet, "the prophet of God, 

 an occult' capacity to read or repeat, tacitly, every 

 day some verses ol' the Koran. It was one of 

 their old ()roverbs— that, alter man, the most emi- 

 nent creature is the hor»e — ilie best employment 

 is that of rearing it — the most delightlul posture 

 is that of silting on its bark — the must meritorious 

 of doaiestic actions is that of leeding it ; and 

 they were tauizhi by the prophet to believe that it 

 was originally predestined lor i heir special service. 



LETTER FROri THE REV. J. H. TURNER. 



>'or itie fanners' Register. 



I thfiiik the editor lor his permission to reply to 

 Mr. Peyton's last communicaiion, but must re- 

 specifuliy decline it, especially as that genilemau 

 is not allowed a siaiilar privilege. In tact, there 

 is nothing to reply to ; lor, except a long list ol 

 insulting epithets and coarse figures, whichj do 

 not choose to copy, there is noihing but a second 

 edition of his loimer piect-, to which I have al- 

 ready fully replied. Now ail epithets and figures 

 of this surt are ran1<ed by me with planting beans 

 in a liquid, and then succeeding these with corn 

 plants— they are entirely out of ruy line. I beg 

 leave, tiiereiore, to reler all such matters to Mr. 

 Peyton -uid his vvonhy associates, Macaire Prin- 

 cepand De Caiiftollc Chupial is again excluded 

 Irom the oher Frenchmen, because I happen to 

 know thai he can be of no service in this thing.* 

 In the mean time, if Mr. Peyton should think 

 proper to issue a third edition, and 1 find it im- 

 proved as well as enlarged, I will then with plea- 

 sure claim the privilege of a reply. 



One other matter deserves a little notice. My 

 "mammy," who, according to one of Mr. Pey- 

 ton's chasie and elegant sentences, planted " suc- 

 cessive crops of cotton in her cotton patch behind 

 the kitchen chimney," and ihus practically taught 

 me that the same crop could be profitably reared 

 on the' same ground for many years, taught me 

 also another important lesson, which I remember 

 to this day ; and that is, that if I ever did an in- 

 jury, whether intentional or not, to any human 

 being, that not only justice, but my honor waa 

 concerned, in making a becoming reparation. 

 This good lesson 1 now propose lo reduce to prac- 

 tice. Judging from the sprightliness of Mr. 

 Peyton's imagination and the brilliancy of his 

 fancy, traits not often associated with the &obernes9 

 and mellowness of age, I did venture tocorjecture 

 that he was a young man. The gentleman, how- 

 ever seems piqued at the charge, and refers to his 

 quondam schoolmates to prove that he was in ex- 

 istence at the very remote period of twenty-five 

 years ago. I am Iherelore guilty of this uninten- 

 tional injury, and, as the only reparation now in 

 my power, I do hereby promise, that if I ever 

 have occasion to speak of the gentleman again, 

 I will do it under the appropriate title of old Mr. 

 Peyton. J. H. Turner. 



* If Liebig should again undertake to "modify" 

 the matter of the beans, I think it would be well for 

 him to extend his modification to the figures and epi- 

 tfiets also. 



