VIL. 
CARRIAGE HORSES AND COBS. 
SCIENTIFIC person once declared —and Mr. 
Ruskin scornfully rebuked him for the asser- 
tion — that the amount of coal consumed in any given 
country will measure the degree of civilization to 
which it has attained. The same remark has been 
made in regard to sulphuric acid, and doubtless it 
could be applied to many other commodities with 
that mixture of truth which is sufficient for an epi- 
gram. Of carriage horses, for example, it might be 
said that their quality (if not their quantity) is an 
index of civilization; for the carriage horse changes 
his character from century to century, almost from 
year to year, as wealth and skill augment, as high- 
ways improve, as vehicles become lighter, as railroads 
are brought into play, as people use their steeds for 
