410 AGRICULTUHE AND THE HORSE. 



first appearance of illness, with care, warmth, shelter, 

 starvation, and cold water. I have never lost a horse 

 in my stable from disease. No sooner does a horse show 

 signs of sickness there than his work is stopped, his 

 food reduced, he has repose, and a wet sheet if necessary. 

 But among my working farm-horses I have had several 

 fatal cases of disease, which were neglected or unob- 

 served until past cure. Do not try to work a sick 

 horse : believe that he is really sick in season. Do not 

 try to persuade yourself that he will get along ; but 

 nurse him promptly and well in a well-ventilated stable. 

 But as I have said, sir, you can prevent disease more 

 easily than you can cure it. There is no doubt that 

 the annual loss of horses by death is more a cause of the 

 hazards and risks of the horse-business than the uncer- 

 tainties and fluctuations of the market. Even a fortunate 

 hit, made by discovering an unexpectedly valuable horse 

 in a large number purchased, will not compensate for 

 the money sunk in this way. A very large proportion 

 of the deaths which occur among horses is in crowded 

 cities, where they work and accumulate to supply 

 the market. And are you surprised at this ? Go with 

 me, if you are, some morning about the middle of April, 

 when the sale-stables are full, and see if you cannot 

 account for the destruction of horse-life which is so 

 disastrous, and so supinely deplored. In the long 

 rows of stalls stand the patient victims of man's cupidity 

 and thoughtlessness, waiting to be transferred to the 

 scenes of their labors. They have come flocking in from 



