Preventable Hardships 301 



to " call a man down," and possibly arrest him for 

 a cruelty of which he was guilty through ignorance. 

 Show him kindly what is right, and get his reasons 

 (for he may have some) for his apparent careless- 

 ness. Such reforms are much more imperative than 

 hysterics over the use of " burr bits." 



The use of salt mixed with the sand which the 

 street railroad companies strew upon their tracks in 

 winter is productive of suffering to horses, in that 

 it produces cracked heels and a slush and mud of 

 a very cold quality, while the brine produced tends to 

 render the hoofs very brittle. There is a pious pre- 

 varication to the effect that salt is no longer used 

 for such purposes, but any one who uses his eyes 

 knows better. 



This same beautiful toleration applies to the matter 

 of the sand with which the asphalt paving concerns 

 are supposed to sprinkle their pavement during a 

 certain term of years after its completion. This 

 clause is evident in all the contracts — but nowhere 

 else, alas ! and it is a lasting reproach to our civilisa- 

 tion and enlightenment that this is the case. The 



