230 Centaur ; 



public. The "Biscuits" are useful to hunters, and occasionally 

 given for mid-day meal instead of oats, produce a beneficial effect. 

 "Locurium," a patent vegetable oil, is an extraordinary cure for 

 all sorts of wounds, cuts, bruises and burns, and the numerous 

 ills to which horses are subject. 



Messrs. Atkinson & Philipson. — The health and 

 general well-being of the horse are not only governed by good 

 feeding and grooming. They are very often influenced by the 

 character of the vehicle to which he is attached, and before his 

 owner can be able to decide whether his animal is striving to 

 perform a task beyond his powers, he must possess a knowledge 

 of the manner in which his strength can be applied with the 

 greatest effect. It is only in recent years that this subject has 

 received the attention it demands, but it is encouraging to find that 

 it has been taken up by eminent coachbuilders duly qualified to deal 

 with it. We may therefore anticipate that a new era has set in, 

 and that the near future will see carriages of every kind con- 

 structed not only of a size and weight commensurate with the 

 carrying capacity, but with the power of the horse or horses by 

 which they are to be drawn. In " Harness as it has been, as it 

 is, and as it should be," written three years ago by Mr. John 

 Philipson of the firm of Atkinson & Philipson, Coachbuilders, of 

 Newcastle-on-Tyne, the horse-owning and carriage using commu- 

 nity, in addition to being treated to an interesting historical 

 sketch of harness and its uses, gained a general knowledge of the 

 horse and his trappings that could not fail to be valuable. In 

 making public his ideas, Mr. Philipson was endeavouring to make 

 known the advantages to be gained by such methods of driving as 

 that practised in South Africa, and some parts of India, where two- 

 wheeled vehicles are used with a pair of horses running abreast as 

 was the case in the old EDglish curricle, but without the serious 

 disadvantage of one horse bringing down another when he falls. 

 Messrs. Atkinson & Philipson have now constructed a large 

 number of English dogcarts on this system, but by an ingenious 

 arrangement, they are made so that they may be used with shafts 

 alone. We are glad to find that this plan, which until recently 

 was little understood in this country, has met with much 

 encouragement from country gentlemen. The question of draught 

 is another subject that is engaging the attention of the builders 

 we have mentioned. Mr. Wm. Philipson, the eldest son of Mr. 

 John Philipson, and junior partner in the firm, has succeeded in 

 gaining the AYorshipful Company of Coachmakers' first prize for 

 an essay on the subject. He deals exhaustively with the question 

 in all its bearings, and successfully explodes many old fashioned 

 notions and prejudices about horses and carriages. In building 

 their celebrated Tilburys, Cape carts, Whitechapels, and gigs, as 

 well as the larger four-wheel carriages such as landaus, broughams, 

 char-a bancs, and private omnibusses, Messrs. Atkinson and 



