viii Introduction. 



theory of equitation which practically disables 

 its professors from riding across country. 

 Your conclusions, we say, may be true in 

 theory, but they are false in practice ; and 

 this familiar platitude is by no means so ab- 

 surd as it sounds. Its real meaning is : We 

 do not think it worth while to prove by argu- 

 ment that your theory is false, because experi- 

 ment has convinced us that it cannot possibly 

 be true. 



But I do not observe that, when English- 

 men have once perceived the practical value 

 of a theory, they are either incapable or im- 

 patient of the abstract reasoning necessary to 

 explain its principles. The kind of theory 

 which we despise is that which is founded 

 upon ingenious assumption unverified by ex- 

 periment. Experiment is therefore our first 

 demand. Show us your results, we say, and 

 if we like them we will try to understand 

 your demonstration. And how faithfully we 

 in this respect keep our word, nobody who 

 has ever been intimate with an enthusiastic 

 rifleman or yachtsman requires to be reminded. 



