THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. 73 



the commencement of a fatiguing journey, that they 

 might be the better able to endure it ; and the same 

 person fearing lest the governor should take from him 

 his favorite horse, fed him for a fortnight exclusively 

 upon roasted pork, which so excited his spirit and 

 mettle, that he became absolutely unmanageable, and 

 no longer an object of desire to the governor. The 

 classical reader will call to mind the mares of Dio- 

 medes, which were fed upon human flesh, according 

 to the Greek legend, and which it was one of the 

 labors of Hercules to capture. 



In the " Edinburgh Journal of Natural History," 

 we find the following passage : " We are assured by 

 Mr. Youatt, that in Auvergne fat soups are given to 

 cattle, especially when sick or enfeebled, for the pur- 

 pose of invigorating them. The same practice is 

 observed in some parts of North America, where the 

 country people mix, in winter, fat broth with the 

 vegetables given to their cattle, in order to render 

 them more capable of resisting the severity of the 

 weather. These broths have been long considered 

 efficacious by the veterinary practitioners of our own 

 country in restoring horses which have been enfeebled 

 through long illness. It is said by Peall to be a com- 

 mon practice in some parts of India to mix animal 

 substances with the grain given to feeble horses, and 

 to boil the mixture into a sort of paste, which soon 

 brings them into good condition, and restores their 

 5 



