3 



no appeal. The Veterinary Practitioner knows from 

 repeated trials, tested by long experience, that the 

 teeth of the horse are worthy of attention ; he feels 

 that their indications, scientifically interpreted, will 

 seldom mislead ; but he does not regard them with a 

 reverence resembling that originating from an anti- 

 quated superstition, or look upon them as the ex- 

 emplifications of a principle which admits of no 

 exceptions. 



2. In every case the evidence of the teeth is secon- 

 dary to direct and substantiated testimony ; for as 

 there is no limit to possibility, so no man can be pre- 

 pared to say what Nature may or may not do. In the 

 absence, however, of positive and corroborated testi- 

 mony, the teeth become the best evidence, and that on 

 which reliance should be placed. When opposed to 

 the indications of the mouth, the oath of a single in- 

 dividual, for obvious reasons, would be of no weight. 

 A foal can hardly be born without many parties being 

 cognizant of the fact — the colt cannot change its 

 master without several persons being made aware of 

 the transaction — and horses, for honest purposes, 

 are not generally sold or bought in secret. Proof of 



B 2 



