Purchase of Horses. 113 



Upon another occasion a merchant purchased 

 a very eligible-looking animal for his cart, 

 giving rather a high sum to a person who repre- 

 sented himself as a well-to-do farmer in the 

 neighbourhood. A warranty of soundness was 

 drawn up by the vendor,, signed and transferred 

 at the same time, and a groom removed the 

 horse to his master's stables. For days several 

 men of course members of the gang lingered 

 about the premises of the merchant, offering 

 various small sums, declaring the animal to be 

 affected with glanders. The merchant took no 

 notice for some time, but at length said he was 

 very glad he had obtained such an animal, as a 

 friend of his wished to have him, in order to 

 catch the dupes at fairs. This spurred up the 

 gang, who, rather than lose their profitable horse, 

 actually purchased him back again at a sum very 

 little below the original price. This animal was 

 found to be affected with a chronic discharge 

 from one of the nostrils, which had been arrested 

 during the purchase by a piece of tow pressed up 

 the passage for the purpose. 



These tricks are very commonly practised, and 

 suffer modification in order to render the end 

 more easy of accomplishment. A horse but 

 slightly lame in a forefoot is " beaned." 



This consists in paring thin the sole of the 

 opposite forefoot near the toe, and replacing the 

 shoe, having first put a small pebble beneath it. 

 It has the e fleet of rendering the action of both 



