Homes for Horses 235 



or have struggled along under an inadequate pro- 

 vision made by will. Legislative action is what is 

 needed, and these homes should be maintained in 

 every State, and be subjects for support in part 

 from State funds. A portion of the revenues which 

 are now devoted by legal enactment to the interests 

 of State and county fairs might well be diverted to 

 these uses, and a vast amount of benefit thereby 

 accrue, not only from the protection such institutions 

 would afford our dumb animals, but from the object- 

 lessons they would furnish, the practical illustra- 

 tions they would afford, of the care of all creatures 

 in health and sickness, the educational benefits they 

 would provide for the class of people who need it 

 most. Our cattle-shows are for the most part such in 

 name only, and serve but as a mask to levy upon the 

 public coffers for tribute to be expended in offering 

 purses for trials of speed, — a worthy object in its 

 way, but hardly deserving of compulsory support 

 from the taxpayers of the community. Such homes, 

 properly situated, could be made in a large measure 

 self-supporting, w^ere practical methods of manage- 



