EUBB IN G- CLOTHS SKE WEES. Ill 



pressure, as juice is squeezed from the cane ; tlie little 

 bulbs at the root of the hair are made sore, and the job is 

 not so quickly or effectually done as with the light motion 

 that absorbs the moisture and leaves a glow over the 

 whole body that is pleasant to the recipient. There is no 

 material I have tried for rubbing cloths better than old 

 salt sacks that Liverpool salt is imported in. The salt has 

 given them properties, not possessed by the cloth before 

 being used. They are heavy and soft, taking up the moist- 

 ure more readily than any others. Turkish towels are 

 the next best, and after they have been used awhile, are 

 capital articles for the purpose. The wisp is very effective 

 in the hands of a good groom, and when I see a new hand 

 make one, I can give a shrewd guess of his skill in the 

 stable. The soft wisp when rightly made takes off the 

 loose dirt. With a little more twist to make it harder, it 

 polishes the hair and keeps up a circulation better than a 

 cloth or brush. Skewers, or " skiwers," as the boys per- 

 sist in calling them, will be found very convenient, trivial 

 as they appear. The blankets, if furnished with strings, 

 will do away with their use in a great measure, though 

 when ahorse comes in "boiling hot," and it is of great 

 importance that the wind should not strike him, then the 

 skewers are better than strings to fasten the blankets just 

 where we want them. They should be made of tough, 

 hard hickory, shaped so as to retain their place, with 

 strength enough not to break easily. When a horse has 

 to work in clothes, as in a sweat, they should be used 

 very sparingly, and great care taken that they are placed 

 so as not to wound with the point, or abrade the skin 

 with the friction. The head ought not to be larger than 

 the bulge. The bandages, of which there should be a set 

 for every horse, are made about three yards long, and 

 four inches wide, using soft strong flannel, with strings of 

 the same material. The color is not important, though I 



