THE PONT. 



dually becomes stained by the food, and coBstitutes what is 

 called the " marks " in the mouth of the colt or horse. This 

 elevated ridge of enamel, hard as it is, however, is gradually 

 worn down in the act of nipping and cutting the grass, and as 

 it wears away, the hoUow behind becomes diminished and is at 

 length totally obliterated. By the degree in which this mark 

 is effaced, may be judged the age of the colt at this early stage 

 of its existence. If the animal has reached the age of a year 

 and a half, the mark will be very faint on the central nippers, 

 diminished in the other two, and the surface of .all the teeth 

 will be flattened. 



As the horse approaches the age of three years it sheds its 

 central milk teeth, and they are replaced by two others of 

 much larger size. At this period of the creature's hfe the 

 horse-chea.t steps in. A three-year-old colt will fetch consider- 

 ably more than a two-year-old ; and there is no certain guide 

 to its age but the teeth, so the cheat extracts the central milk 

 teeth many months before they would be shed, and having 

 now nothing to impede their progress, the larger teeth grow 

 up and the purchaser is swindled. Nor is the fraud easily 

 detected, except by the comparative newness of the nippers 

 that remain, and by the general deficiency of development 

 exhibited by the colt. 



At three years old, the new central teeth, although broader 

 than the rest, are not so high ; the mark in the next pair is 

 nearly worn away, and the comer nippers show signs of wear. 

 At the age of three years and a half, the second nippers are 

 pushed out to make room for new teeth ; and a twelvemonth 

 after, the comer nippers undergo the same process. Thus the 

 purchaser of a four-year-old pony or horse will find the two 

 front teeth fully grown, the next pair rather more than half 

 grown, and the comer nippers still very small, with the mark 

 nearly effaced. Six months later^ in addition to these teeth, 

 the "tushes" will have made their appearance. The use of 

 these to the domesticated horse does not appear, although, in 

 a wild condition, it is likely that the horse finds them extremely 

 serviceable. The tushes spring from between the nippers and 

 the grinders. Another year added to the horse's life, and the 

 mark on the central nippers is almost, if not entirely, obliterated. 

 A brownish hue may mark its surface, but the black centre 

 spot has vanished. 



The animal may now be considered in the prime of its ex- 

 istence. It is never so handsome, so strong, so valuable, as 



