THE BRITISH HORSE 21 



and this, too, by merely waving a bit of whip-cord on the 

 end of a long black rod." He finished with, " I was quite 

 astounded ; it was truly wonderful, and I always recollect 

 the sight with pleasure, and can hardly prevail upon 

 myself that it was not some necromancer waving an 

 enchanted rod." 



This digression dismissed, we will proceed to show that 

 the observation that brewers' horses cannot do more 

 laborious kinds of work, particularly that of town carmen, 

 is a mistake. There is not often an opportunity of prov- 

 ing the fact, the greater part of the brewers being too 

 liberal to their old servants to part with them when worn 

 out : most of them, therefore, have them destroyed when, 

 from old age or accident, they are incapacitated from 

 performing their work with moderate comfort. Some 

 wealthy gentlemen, aye, and ladies too, may take a leaf in 

 this respect, at least, out of the brewers' book, when many 

 a favourite hunter, charger, ladies' pad, hack, and even 

 racer, will be saved the torture of dragging street-cabs and 

 costermongers' carts with aching limbs, crippled feet, 

 galled shoulders and back, for the sake of putting into the 

 pocket of the seller not perhaps one-half of what the old 

 dray-horse would fetch. 



There are a few exceptions of brewers selling their 

 horses, and we feel confident all those who have bought 

 them have found them work better than the ordinary 

 horses at the same age : we have known many. One was 

 sold out from being supposed to be lame ; he turned out 

 sound. Three tons and a half, including his cart, became 

 his ordinary load, and with this he went all over London 

 and the neighbourhood, and never had, or required, any 

 assistance, not even over the bridges, or up hills. He 

 certainly was a remarkably fine horse, and kept up his fat 

 till he died, some years after leaving the brewhouse. 



The heavy black horse, a favourite with the coal- 

 merchants, is bred chiefly in the midland counties, from the 

 fens of Lincolnshire to Staffordshire. Many are bought up 

 by the Surrey and Berkshire farmers at two years old ; 

 and, being worked moderately until they are four, earning 

 their keep all the while, they are then sent to the London 

 market, and sold at a profit of ten or twelve per cent. 



It would not answer the breeder's purpose to keep them 

 until they are fit for town work. He has plenty of fillies 



