Preventable Hardships 299 



The use qf fly-nets and of sponges and hats upon 

 the tops of the bridles of working horses should, in 

 this countr}', be compulsory. The nets should cover 

 the neck as well as the body, and l>e worn from June 

 to September at least, not only in harness, but upon 

 saddle-horses as well. They are very inexpensive, 

 not unornamental, and an imperative need. 



Watering-places, for winter as for summer uses, 

 are not half plentiful enough. Thirst is as torment- 

 ing in the cold season as in the warm, if the tempera- 

 ture of the water be reasonably moderate, and every 

 few blocks should provide plentiful fluid for man, 

 horse, dog. etc.. at all periods of the year. Nor is 

 this all — such places should be provided with hose 

 or buckets in hot weather, and with a placard teach- 

 ing how to cool a horse quickly and thoroughly. 

 This is best done by dashing water between the hind 

 and front legs, over the head, and down the full 

 length of the spine. Such a bath will make a new 

 creature of the panting, exhausted slave which stag- 

 gers up to the trough apparently ready to drop. If 

 nothing else can be done, the city fire hydrants should 



