670 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



will scarcely ever permit any one to mount 

 it except him. 



It will not urinate while it is traveling. 



It will not eal the leavings ot any other 

 horse. 



It v^ill not disturb the clearness of the 

 water with its front legs when it passes 

 over it. 



By its hearing, by its sight, and by its 

 smell, it will know how to preserve its 

 master from the thousand accidents which 

 often take place io the chase and in war. 



And in short, sharing the sensations of 

 sorrow and of pleasure of its rider, it will 

 aid him in the fight, struggling with him in 

 all parts, and will always make common 

 cause with him (ikatelma Rakeb-hon.) 



See, now, the evidences of the purity 

 of a race. 



We have marvellous histories con- 

 cerning the qualities of horses; the result 

 of all is that the horse is the most noble of 

 all creatures after man — the most patient 

 and the most useful. It is supported with 

 little, and if it is regarded in the point of 

 strength, we shall find that it is at the 

 head of all the other animals. The most 

 robust ox can raise a quintal ; but if this 

 weight is put upon it, it moves with diffi- 

 culty, and cannot run. The horse sup- 

 ports a man, a vigorous rider, with a 

 standard and his arms, and what is more, 

 without eating or drinking. With its aid 

 the Arab is able to save what he possesses, 

 to cast himself upon the enemy, to follow 

 his track, to fly, and to defend his liberty. 

 Suppose him rich with all th^ wealth that 

 makes the happinesss of life, nothing iws 

 able to protect him save his horse. 



Do you comprehend now the intimate 

 affection of the Arabs for the horse? It 

 is equal, and no more, to the services 

 which it renders them. To it they owe 

 their joys, their victories; and for this 

 the}^ prefer it to gold and precious stones. 

 During paganism they estimated it b}^ in- 

 terest, and only because it procured for 

 them glory and riches ; but since the pro- 

 phet spoke of it with the greatest praises, 

 this instinctive love was transformed into 

 a religious duty. 



One of the first words which tradition 

 attributes to him, are those which, accord- 

 ing to it, he directed to the various tribes 

 of Yemen, who presented themselves to 

 accept his dogmas and to offer to him, in 

 sign of submission, five magnificent mares 



which belonged to the five different races 

 that were then in Arabia. 



It is related that when Mahomed came 

 fourth from his tent to receive those noble 

 animals caressing them with his hands, he 

 expressed himself in these terms : — 



" That ye may be blessed — children of 

 the wind." 



Afterwards, at a hiter time, the Ambas- 

 ador of God (Rassoul- Allah) adds:-- 



" He who maintains and cares a horse 

 for the cause of God shall be counted in 

 the number of those who do alms by day 

 and by night, in secret or in public. He 

 shall be rewarded, his sins shall be remit- 

 ted, and fear shall never shamefully enter 

 into his heart." 



I now pray God that he might give you 

 eternal prosperity. Preserve me in your 

 friendship. The wise Arabs have said : — 



Riches can be lost. 



Honors are but a shadow, which easily 

 disappear. 



But true friends are an inextinguishable 

 treasure. 



He who has written these lines with a 

 hand which death mu.st one day wither, is 

 your friend, the poor before God. 



Sid-el-Hadi, Abd-el-Kadee, 

 BE^: - Mah-Hyeddi^v'. 



P. S. — In order that you might understand my 

 correspondence, I ought to give you a notice. 



The name of /crass is not only applied to the 

 male of the horse, as is the custom in Algeria, 

 but it designates in the same manner the male 

 and the female. If it is desired to indicate the 

 mare, it is necessary to say /eras s female, and if 

 one speak of a horse, he ought to sny ferdss male. 

 At least that is the custom among the' Arabs. 



{Arabes sahh.) Regularly, the mare is called 

 hadira^ and the horse hassan."' 



Feeding Stock in Winter. 



We copy in this week's paper an article from 

 a New York Journal on the subject of ivinter 

 feeding, and particularly on the question wheth- 

 er the cutting of fodder fine loiil pojj. 



The speakers are generally well known as 

 practical men, and giving tlielr opinions after 

 trials of artificial modes of feeding. 



Some of the speakers allude to what has been 

 recently published in the Albany Cultivator, in 

 regard to the effect of cuttin<j; corn butts fine 

 and mixing with them something valuable in 

 order to induce cows and other stocks to swal- 

 low the whole. 



Dr. Waterbury particularly alludes to the 

 statement that after many months the corn butts 

 have been found stored up in the iniestmes and 

 undigested. He lost a young cow by this 

 method of feeding. 



