so UNDNESS OF SIGHT 1 3 3 



poisoned atmosphere of badly-drained, ill-kept stables 

 is very often the cause of ophthalmia, the ammonia 

 which arises from the urine producing inflammation ; 

 and in such pestilential 'lodgings ' the chances are that 

 sooner or later every horse will suffer from the com- 

 plaint. 



Where stallions have become so affected, their 

 progeny will be almost sure to suffer. The best horse 

 in the world is utterly useless for breeding purposes if 

 his sight has ever been impaired by inflammation, 

 inasmuch as the eyes have thereby become weakened. 



In many respects the sight of horses is superior to 

 our own, as, for instance, who has not experienced this 

 to be the case when ridine or drivinof in the dark ? 

 The eye of the horse is well worth some study by 

 those who can appreciate such a subject ; nor will 

 they fail to admire and wonder at the marvellous pro- 

 vision made by the Almighty in this as in all things 

 made by Him. 



In perfectly white and cream-coloured horses, what 

 may be termed the ' carpet ' of the eye is of a different 

 colour. The usual colour of the pupil is black, but 

 in such horses it is frequently red. The ' choroid 

 coat,' as it is technically termed, is that which gives 

 the colour, and not the covering, the red being caused 

 by the numberless blood-vessels which are found in its 

 every part. 



In all animals the colour of the eye is adapted to 

 suit their modes of life, the ' carpets ' varying in colour. 

 Thus in the ox it is ereen. In the cat, and the 

 different varieties of the tribe, it is yellow ; and, as is 

 well known, the eyes of a lion appear like two flaming 

 torches at night, by reason of such little light which 



