HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. I I 



respective breeds for two hundred guineas; or, 

 what is a more general practice, let them to hire 

 by the season, for forty, eighty, or perhaps an 

 hundred* guineas; and some of them cover at five 

 guineas a mare. The form of the black Lincoln- 

 shire Horse has, by their management, been 

 materially altered : the long fore-end, long back, 

 and long thick hairy legs, have been gradually 

 contracted into a short thick carcase, a short but 

 upright fore-end, and shorter and cleaner legs; ex- 

 perience having at length proved, that strength 

 and activity, rather than height and \veight, are the 

 more essential properties of farm Horses. 



Another advantage possessed by this improved 

 breed, is its hardiness, or thriving quality : its 

 being able to carry flesh, or stand hard work, with 

 comparatively little provender. This hardiness of 

 constitution, or natural propensity to thriving, the 

 Leicestershire breeders assert is hereditary in par- 

 ticular individual breeds or lines of Horses. If 

 this observation be just, and that the feeding 

 quality can be obtained with any degree of cer- 

 tainty by management in breeding, in this as well 

 as other kinds of live stock, it is a most interesting 

 circumstance in the nature of domestic animals. 



A strong, bony, and active kind of Horse is now 

 used in our carriages, instead of the old black 

 Coach Horse, which is almost universally laid 

 aside. The docked tail, offensive both to humanity 

 and decency, is rarely to be seen : propriety and 

 good sense have at length prevailed over a custom 

 replete with absurdity; and our Horses are per- 

 mitted to retain a member both useful and 

 ornamental. But we have still to regret, that the 



