I20 Our Noblest Friend, The Horse 



Bear in mind the purposes for which you princi- 

 pally want the animal. Insist upon general harmony 

 and proportion of appearance. Do not buy him for 

 his arching neck and flowing tail, unless you are 

 satisfied with the excellence of those members and 

 ask no more — there should be lots of " horse " 

 between them and supporting them, or your bargain 

 is poor. 



This is what you need to look for in your prospec- 

 tive purchase; now how to find him. To do this 

 with reasonable chance oi success taboo the adver- 

 tising columns of the daily papers. Those fascinat- 

 ing descriptions of the animal for sale only " because 

 the property of my late husband," or because " owner 

 wishes to leave town," are not to be thought of at 

 any price — if for no other reason than because, 

 in purchasing so much excellence for such a trifling 

 cash outlay, you would be doing injustice to a fellow 

 being, and not returning a fair equivalent. That is 

 one reason; the other is that ninety per cent, of 

 these advertisements are rank swindles, yet so skil- 

 fully managed that you would almost infallibly fall 

 a victim to the sharks who insert them. 



