45 



found " in every stable in London at this season 

 )f the year ;" and any attempt to deny these broad 

 Positions, or to enHghten the ignorance from which 

 :hey proceed, is resented as an insulting suspicion, 

 )r ridiculed as absurd ! I have really been asto- 

 lished to find how generally uninformed the dealers 

 ire in the very elements of veterinary science, and 

 'how unw illing they are to receive correction ; though 

 his, it must be acknowledged, is the usual charac- 

 teristic of illiterate men. In fact most of them are 

 better judges of their customers, than they are of 

 their cattle. Such a colloquy as follows, usually 

 begins the negociation. 



'^ I want a horse, Mr. Smith." 



*^ I shall be happy to serve you. Sir : will you 

 Walk round my yard ?" 



" I don't wish to give a high price, Mr. Smith." 



" I have horses of all prices. Sir : is it for the 

 saddle or harness?" 



'' I shall use him perhaps for both purposes." 

 I This unlucky answer at once stamps the cus- 

 tomer ; an inferior animal is the first to which his 

 attention is directed — an instant suffices to show 

 pis pretensions to practical knowledge. The cus- 

 tomer, if veri/ green, at once walks up to the 

 shoulder to scan his height ; the horse starts at the 

 rude approach of a stranger, and the question is 



