HUNTERS 155 



A. Yes. The best remedy for this state of 

 things is to tie something soft so tightly round 

 the girth that the front edge is kept bent back- 

 wards ; there is then no longer any friction 

 against the elbow. Nothing is better for this 

 purpose than an old silk bootlace. 



Q. Are high withers desirable ? 



A. Not unduly high ones, for then they become 

 a source of weakness. Superficial observers are 

 apt to think high withers must mean good 

 shoulders, but this is not necessarily the case. 



Q. Please describe what is wanted in the 

 fore-legs. 



A. The arms should be long and muscular, 

 and broad just above the knee when seen side- 

 ways — a token of strength. The knees should be 

 large, bony, and flat, which implies that the six 

 carpal bones that compose the front of the knee, 

 and the seventh one behind, are well developed, 

 for they have important functions to perform. 

 They not only diminish the shock between the 

 bone of the forearm, and that of the leg, but they 

 fill up the gap between the two v/hen the knee is 

 bent ; they are also the points of attachment for 

 certain ligaments and muscles. 



Q. Is great bone a necessity in the fore-legs ? 



A, The quality of a leg is of much more 

 importance than the mere tape measurement, 

 for soft spongy bone, and gummy sinews, may 

 measure well, and yet give an infinity of trouble 

 to keep right. Moreover, often when persons 

 talk of bone they really mean the whole leg, 

 comprising the sinews as well. It is much more 

 advantageous to have well-developed sinews than 

 extra large bone, for the sinews are the ropes 



