12 ON THE RELATIONS BETWEEN MAN 



oe ha^ ill very memorable cases been known to fall dead 

 under the excitement of the sexual and other passions. 

 That he is sometimes animated by the strongest spirit of 

 rivalry, and a noble ambition to excel, has been occa- 

 sionally evinced by violent attacks on his passing rivals 

 on the turf— and very recently the case occurred with a 

 noble animal which fell dead at the very winning-post, 

 in vainly struggling for victory, on the Pharsalia course at 

 Natchez. The contest which had this melancholy issue 

 was between Col. Minor's Jenny Lind and Col. Bing- 

 aman's Black Dick : 



" Dick was the favourite at odds. Some even bets 

 were made that he would win at three heats — and some, 

 if the heats were broken, would not win. Jenny drew 

 the track, and after some little mancevring, they got off 

 together, but Dick outfooted her and took the track on 

 the turn ; at the half-mile post she had got her head to 

 his hips, and they ran locked round the upper turn ; at 

 the head of the front stretch she began to draw clear of 

 him, and spurs were applied. < Then burst his mighty 

 heart,' for he soon was seen to reel, but he still struggled 

 on ; his jockey Mat, leaped unharmed from his back, and 

 the noble animal fell dead within ten feet of the winning- 

 post, which he had left not two minutes before in perfect 

 health and the finest condition. No shout of triumph 

 hailed the winner: all was sympathy and regret. Two 



say, ten in a minute. The natural circulation of the sheep is about 70 

 per minute. The average pulse of a full-grown ox, in a state of health, 

 in England, is about 40 — but this increases in a climate of higher tem- 

 perature. Doctor James Smith (Journal of Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 92.) 

 finds that in the climate of Louisiana the pulse of the ox, in its natural 

 <tate, is from 68 to 75 — rising on the slightest excitement to 80. Every 

 one knows how destructive is the moral influence oi fright to a flock of 

 sheep — when, for instance, they have been badly scared by dogs. It 

 often happens that they never recover from its effects. 



For all farmers wh^ nave occasion to fatten animals, we must take 

 room for three words — warmth, cleanliness, and quietude. They are 

 the veni'Vidi-vid, in their fields of action. 



