76 THE OLD FARRIER, 



which has thus been translated : — 



" Wilt tbou mix helebore, who doth not know 

 How many grains will to the mixture go V 



When a dog recovers from any dangerous disease or 

 accident, it is generally attributed to the efficacy of 

 the remedy, and to the great skill with which the 

 medicine or application has been used ; but nine times 

 in ten the poor animal, if he could reflect within him- 

 self, and speak the real and stubborn truth, would tell 

 us that it was his tough and invincible constitution, 

 with which nature has gifted him, which has borne 

 him through, not only the trying effects of the disease, 

 but also the still more dangerous consequences of 

 cruelly misapplied nostrums and operations. Nine 

 country veterinary surgeons out of ten, even in the 

 most simple cases, when called in, profess the utmost 

 ignorance of the diseases connected with the kennel ; 

 and as the knowledge of anatomy, which generally falls 

 to the share of even the most enlightened sportsman is 

 very limited, the cure or rather the attempt of cure is 

 generally carried on in the dark, and at the utmost 

 hazard of life or recovery. In the management of not 

 only my own hounds, but also of numerous pointers 

 and other sporting dogs, for the space of about nine- 

 teen years, the chief assistance upon which I could rely 

 has been the recipes and advice of those huntsmen, 

 whom I considered the most intelligent and experienced ; 

 where receipts have succeeded, I have continued, to 

 use them, but have invariably rejected those which 

 might fail in their operations ; as to the veterinary 

 surgeons I never could prevail upon one in any instance 

 to attempt to assist me, either with regard to the use 



