98 



The Folly 

 of putting 

 Garlick, 

 &c. into a 

 Horfe's 

 Ears. 



Mcrcrry 

 few'd up 

 in the Lars 

 luppoled a 

 Cure for 

 the Farcin. 



The Ger- 

 man nian- 

 ner of ai- 

 ring the 

 Farcin. 



The ab- 

 lurd No- 

 tion of thi 

 Number 



7?j;'e.;'i con- 

 ducing to 

 cfFca: a 

 Cu e ccH' 



The Ji't o/F'arriery 



Mr. Gibfo7i^ in his Book of Farriery, tells us, 

 that it is a common thing to put Garlick, Rice, 

 Aqua Vita, Cloves, Ginger, Bay-falt, and the like, 

 into a Horfe's Ears, and ftitch them up, for the 

 Cure of the Staggers; and that he has feen fome run 

 mad by fuch Applications, fo that the People had 

 much ado to keep them from knocking out their 

 Brains againll the Walls. I muft confefs, I do not 

 remember to have feen any fuch Tricks played for 

 the Cure of the Staggers, thd^ it is common amongfl 

 Farriers to put Quickfilver, and often other Things, 

 into the Ears, and few them up for fome Time to 

 cure the Farcin. And I knew one of the better 

 Sort of Farriers, who had been long in f landers a- 

 mong our Troops, where he chiefly gained his Ex- 

 perience, (as he caird it,) fo foolilhly fond of few- 

 ing up Mercury or Quickfilver in the Ears of 

 Horfes for the Cure of the Farcin, that he feldom 

 made ufe of any other Method : And to my Know- 

 ledge he effeded Cures by it when the Cafe feemed 

 defperate. And here I muft relate one of the com- 

 mon Notions of this honeft Fellow, whom I ftill 

 had a good Liking to, becaufe I now and then could 

 drive fome Reafon into him, which he has publickly 

 owned he found his Account in. This Farrier, you 

 muft know, was fo bigotted to the Ears, as being 

 the moft proper Place to apply things to for the cure 

 of the Farcin, that he told me he had often feen the 

 German Farriers cure that Diftemper by whifpering 

 fome Abracadabra^ s into the Horfe's Ears, and giv- 

 ing him a Kick with their Foot, and turning him 

 {as 1 remember) three times round .ifterwards : And 

 this out-of-the-way Opinion my Old Friend retained 

 even to his dying Day; and I could never make 

 him believe an Englijhman half fo good as a Ger?nan 

 for curing the Farcin; notwithftanding I have taken 

 Pains to convince him that there is no greater Charm 

 or Conjuration in the Number Three than there is 

 in Number four, or any otlitr Number in Arithme- 

 tick, an}' farther than as it works upon the Imagi- 

 nation, 



