TIME. 95 



has been the use of the watch whenever practica- 

 ble. That that little instrument is, under certain 

 coiulitious, a reliable tell-tale, there can be no man- 

 ner of question, the only wonder to me being that 

 it is not generally used. There is this, however, 

 to be said about it, that to acquire the art of timing 

 races is like acquiring the art of performing on a 

 musical instrument, and cannot be done without 

 practice, patience, and much observation. 



When I speak of "observation," it is difficult to 

 say the extent to which, of necessity, it must go. 

 There must be no obstructive wind, nor, on the 

 other hand, blowing too freely with the horses, 

 when running, if great accuracy is required. The 

 state of the ground is all-important. If it should 

 not be firm, the speed will be unreliable; if it is 

 wet, and the foot of the horse sinks in, except as 

 a criterion of what horses can do under such con- 

 ditions, time has no further value in this instance. 



In a wet season the case is very much altered, 

 for then you time under wet conditions, so to 

 speak, and certain horses will be found to be as 

 accurate in mud as other horses are alone accurate 

 when the ground is quite dry. Thus, in timing 

 races it is as necessary to have your list of horses 

 for ivet-ground racing as it is to have those care- 

 fully ticked off that are for dry-ground racing, the 



