TRICK HORSES AND THEIR TRAINING. 49 



initiate him into the mysteries of turning the handle. When 

 he has taken hold of the handle, gently move his head so as to 

 produce the desired motion. If, when you let go of his head, 

 he ceases the motion, speak sharply to him and put his bead 

 agam in motion. With almost any horse a few lessons, aiyJ. 

 judicious rewards when he does what is required, will accoii;- 

 plish the object, and he will soon both be able and willing tu 



THE HAND ORGAN PERFORMANCE. 



grind out Old Dog Tray, or Norma, if not in exact time at least 

 with as much correctness as many performers on this instru- 

 ment. Some time since there was a horse connected with Fran- 

 coni's circus in Paris, whose education had progressed finely 

 until the organ was reached, as it was in due course of time ; 

 this appeared to be the stumbling block in his progress. 



It seems that the horse in question had already, under the 

 lessons of his master, developed an unusual degree of intelli- 

 gence, his eyes in particular becoming so full of expression that 

 one could hardly doubt that he understood very much of what 

 was said to him. ' His master had great hopes of him ; he had 

 been in training only a year, and he had already learned to lie 

 down and get up as ordered, to enact the dead horse, to fire a 

 pistol, and to give whichever of his fore hoofs was asked for. 

 At length the professor began the task of teaching this promis- 

 ing pupil to turn a barrel organ; but either this particular 

 species of exercise was repugnant to his tastes, or the sound of 

 the organ was disagreeable to his ears. Certain it was that the 



