35G 



N I : W E i\ G I A i\ D i« AK INI i: II , 



May 2S, 1830 



ClIAI'TKIl \"I. 



'Illi: KXTERNAL STJUJCTURE OF THE HORSE. 



^^^ 





^ ^„i« 





A The Head. 



n The posterior maxillary or under jaw. 

 b The superior maxillary or upper jaw. Opposite to the 

 letter ii a foramen houe;h, which pass tlic nerves 

 and blood-vessels which chietly supply llio lower 

 part of the face. 

 e The orbit, or cavity containing the eye. 

 d The nasal bones, or bones of the nose. 

 e The suture dividing the parietal bones below, from tlie 



occipital bones above. 

 J The inferior maxillary bone containing the iippor incis- 

 or teeth. 



B The Seven Cervical Vertebrae, or bones of the 

 neck. 



C The Eighteen Dorsal Vertobrx, or bones of the 

 back. 



D The Six Lumbar Vertebra;, or bones of the 

 loins. 



K The five sacral vcrtcbrx or lanes of the haunch. 



I' The Caudal Vertebrae, or bones of the tail, geno- 

 rally aliout fifteen. 



*» The Scapula, or shoulderblade. 



M The Sternum or fore-part of the chest. . 



1 The Costae or ribs, seven or right articulating with 

 the sternum, and calleil the true ribs, and ten or 11 

 united together by cartilagi-, called Ihe/abe ribs. 



J The JIuMierus, or bone ol the arm. 



K The Radius, or bone of the fore-arm. 



J. The Ulna, or elbow. The point of the elbow is 

 called the Olecranon. 



M The Carpus or knee, consisting of seven bones. 



1*1 The metacarpal bones. The larger metacarpal 

 or cannon or shank in front, and the smaller meta- 

 fcarpal or splvnt bone behind. 



/; The fore pastern and foot, consisting of the Os Suf- 

 fraginis, or the upper and large pastern bone, with 

 the sessamoitl bones behind, articulating with the 

 cannon and greater pattern ; the Os Corona;, or les- 

 ser pitstcrn; the Os Pedis or Coflin bone ; and the 

 Os Naviculare: or navicular, or shuttle-bone, not seen 

 and articulating with the smaller pastern and cuflin 

 bones. 



/» The corresponding bones of the hind feet. 

 O The lluunch, consisting of three portions, the Ilium 

 the Ischium, ami the I'uliis. 



P The Kcmur, or thigh. 



<i The utille joint with the Patella. 



J{ The Tibia or proper log bono — behind is a amall 

 bone called the fibula. 



S The Tarsus or hock, composed of «ix hones. The 

 prominent part is the OsraUin, or point of the hock. 



T The Matatarsals of the hind leg. 



lieautiful ns in tlio liorHC, iiiiil iciciilifivil go iiiticli 

 ■with our pIcfiHuro ami our profil, liu jiun lieen the 

 ohject of uliiiOMt uiiivufBul icgnrd ; uiid tliery uio 



few pt-rsoiis wlio rlo not preteml to I>e somewhat 

 coinpeteHt jutlges ofliis form, (iiinlitics ami worth. 

 From the nobleiimn with hi.s numerous nnd vnlua- 

 ble stud, to the meanest lielper in the stable, and not 

 excluding even the mcclianic wlio scarcely cross- 

 es, or sits behind a liorse once in a twelvemonth, 

 there is scarcely a man who would not be ofTend- 

 ed if he were tboiiglit altogether ignorant of horse 

 flesh. There is no subject on which lie is so 

 po.sitive, there is no subject on which, generally 

 .speaking, he is so deficient, and there are few 

 horses, on some poiii:s of which these pretended 

 and self-suflicieiit ju<lges would not give a totally 

 opposite opinion. 



The trutli is, that this supposed knowledge is 

 rarely foiindeil on [irineiph; — or is the result of 

 the slightest accpiaiiitanee wiili the actual structure 

 of this animal, or that form and connexion of 

 parts on which strcngtii, or flectiiess, or stoutness, 

 must necessarily depend. If we were construct- 

 ing or ccamining a machine composed of levers 

 and pullies, and by which we ])iirposc(l to raise a 

 great weight, or to set in motion certain bodies 

 with a given velocity, wc should fail in our ob- 

 ject, or expose our ignorance of the matter, if we 

 wore not aware what kind of lever or connexion 

 of levers was necessary, nnd in what siluntion the 

 rojics should be placed, and in wliat direction the 

 force should be applied, and by >vliat means we 

 could obtain nicchanical advantage, and by what 

 peculiar construction it would inevitably be lost. 



Now the structure of the liorse, like that of the 

 human being,* consists of numerous levers in the 

 shape of bones, with ropes attached to them in 

 t!io form of niu.scles and tendons ; and these levers 

 are differently coiincctcil, and act in diflerent di- 

 rections ; and be will be the best jmlgc of jiorses 

 who, while bo lias hived, and li\ed iiniong them, 

 is sDiiicwhat iicipiainled with the circumstances in 

 which mechanical power is gained or lost. 



In speaking then of the striicliire of this animal 

 nnd the points wliieli guide tin; opinion of real 

 judges of bim, wc shall, as briefly r.nd as simply as 

 wo nre able, explain tlin.sc fundamental principles 



• See Treatise ^ Jlnimal Mechanio.^ 



on which \\\t usefulness and beauty must depend 

 We require one kind of liorso for slow and heavy 

 draught, and another for lighter and cjuick work; 

 one as a pleasant and safe roadster ; another wiili 

 more speed and equal continuance as u jiuiiler; and 

 another still is wanted for the race course. What 

 is the pecnliuriiy of structure — what are the par- 

 ticulnr points liiat will fit uncli for his proper 

 busiiie»s, and to a certain degree, unfit liini for 

 cveruhirig el-e.^ The fnrriier will rei|iiirc a 

 horse of all work, tliat can carry liim to market 

 and take bim round his farm, on wliicli lie can oc- 

 caiioiially ride for pleasure, and which he must 

 sometimes degrade to (he dung cart or llie 

 harrow. NV'liat combination of powers will ena- 

 ble the animal to discharge most of these duties 

 well, and all of them to a certain e.xtent profit- 

 ably. ^ 



Much time spent among horses, an acijuired 

 love of them, and u little, suiiieliines possibly, too 

 dearly bought experience, may give the agricultu- 

 rist some insight into these matters. We will try 

 whether wo cannot assist him in tbisafTair ; wlieth- 

 I er we cannot explain to liim tiie reason why certain 

 points iniiit be good, and why a horse without 

 them must, of necessity, be good for nothing. Per- 

 haps some useful rules may thus be more deejilv 

 impressed upon his memory, or some common, 

 but dangerous prejudices may be discarded, and a 

 considerable degree of error, disappoiutinenc and 

 expense avoided. 



HERiyT 



The Trustees of the Worcester County .Agri- 

 cultural Society, forihe eTicouragement of the culti- 

 vation of Hemp within this county, nnd for the pur- 

 pose of ascertaining by actual evperiinent whether 

 the crop is, as it is represented, more profitable to 

 the fanner than any grain or hoed crop usually 

 raised in this vicinity, have been induced to offer 

 the following prcyiiums : 



For the greatest quantity of clean dressed llcmp, 

 the product of at least one acre of land, in one 

 field, $20 



For the next greatest quatitity of clean dressed 

 Hemp, the product of one acre oflnnd, at least 

 in the field, $10 



To entitle liimself to either of the above prCr 

 miiMn.«, the jicrson who intends to become a com- 

 petitor, must give notice thereof to dw Kecordiiig 

 Secretary on or before the 15tli day of July next 

 that a Committee of the Trustees may view the 

 crop on the ground if thej should deem it expedi- 

 ent, and the said claimant must also exhibit a 

 specimen of said ilresscd Hemp to u Cotmniltec of 

 said Society on the first day of December next, 

 iccompnnied by a statement in writing, under 

 ontli, of himself anil one other person, of the fol- 

 lowing particulars. 1. The state nnd qinilily of 

 the land in the spring of 1830. 2. The pr duct 

 and general state of cultivation, and quantity and 

 |iialily of mnniiro used on it the jinst year. 3. 

 Tho quantity of manure (if any) n.scd on it tlie 

 present year. •!. The ipiantily of seed used, nnd 

 tho time and manner of sowing. 5. The linio 

 and manner of harvesting, the amount of the prn- 

 diirt, nsceriiiined by actual weighing aller the 

 I Ii'iiip is dressed, nnd a detailed account of the 

 entire expense and jiroccss of cultivation and cur- 

 ng of .said crop ; the stalemeitl to be accompani- 

 ■il by n cerlificale of tho measurement of the 

 liiiiil by some sworn surveyor; and a cerlificale 

 from some ilisinterestcil person who saw the 

 llcmp weighed, of the fact, nnd that the whole of 



