412 THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



Humane Treatment of the Horse. 



A merciful man is merciful to his beast." 



The above proverb is worthy the attention 

 of all who own or use a horse ; and more 

 particularly during inclement seasons of the 

 year. 



It is said that in no country, according to 

 the population, are the^e as many horses as 

 in the United States; and we may add, that 

 in no other country on the face of the earth, 

 is that animal so badly used as here. 



The cause of this bad treatment is mainly 

 owing to the fact, that the American people 

 have less sympathy for the sufferings of the 

 brute creation than those of other countries. 

 Even the sufferings of our fellow men ex- 

 cite far less pity in the breasts of Americans, 

 than is manifested by the citizens of foreign 

 countries. So great are the abuses of horses 

 in our cities, that the authorities of New 

 York, Boston, P^iiladelphia, and other large 

 places, are almost daily arraigning cartmen 

 and cabmen, and fining them for cruelties 

 that they practice on their overtasked horses. 



So insensible are the public to such bar- 

 barities, that a man may be seen to knock 

 down his horse, out of sheer anger towards 

 his poor brute; because, perhaps, he is una- 

 ble to perform impossibilities, and scarcely 

 the least notice is taken of the act, unless it 

 be a low jeer, or " horse laugh" at the suf- 

 ferings of the prostrate beast. Scarcely ever 

 do we hear a rebuke given to such wretches, 

 unless it be so weak as to fail to convey any 

 merited reproof. 



These things augur a seared, blunted, and 

 brutalized state of tiie human mind, which 

 is to be found in a lamentable degree in the 

 people of the United States. Stage drivers 

 have but a faint sympathy for the sufferings 

 of horses under their charge, and generally 

 the only care that is taken of them is caus- 

 ed from a desire to retain their situations, 

 rather than from any innate feelings of pity 

 for the overworked animals in their charge. 



The same may be said of hired farm hands, 

 with occasional exceptions; and when a 

 farmer finds that he has a man in his employ 

 devoid of all kindness for the domestic ani- 

 mals which he is required to feed or drive, 

 he had. better say to him, "John, w^e'll set- 

 tle to-day, and you can find employ else- 

 where." It is dangerous to have such a 

 man upon the farm, and the sooner he is got 

 • rid of the better. 



The half-civilized Arab is a model of 

 kindness to his horse^ in comparison with the 



[July 



deeds of the unfeeling human brutes of the 

 western hemisphere. He admits his fav.or- 

 ite mare to all the rights and privileges of 

 the social circle. The Russian serf makes 

 a companion of his horse, and talks to him 

 with gentleness, as though he were possess- 

 ed of reasoning powers. The wandering 

 Tartar, though scarcely half-civilized, in- 

 structs his horse with more care than he 

 teaches his children, while in enlightened, 

 christianized America, the horse is abused, 

 and made to perform much more labor than 

 can be done, without endangering his health 

 and shortening his life many years. 



It is a cruel neglect of horses during cold, 

 stormy weather, to leave them standing, tied 

 in front of some stone wall or house, with no 

 blankets to protect them, v>'hile their owners 

 are sitting unfeelingly by a good fire, for 

 hours at a time, without a thought on the 

 uncomfortable condition of their beasts, 

 which stand shivering in the wind or storm. 



In other cases, horses are driven into town 

 — Jehu-like — and tied to posts, with, per- 

 haps, their feet in cold water, and after shiv- 

 ering fur hours, are driven home again, and 

 left in their stables without any attention 

 being paid to them that their condition de- 

 mands. 



It is said lhat our horses are short lived; 

 but is it any wonder that they are so ? Is 

 it not rather a wonder that they live as long 

 as they do, considering the usage that many 

 receive ? 



The horse has a similar constitution to 

 man. He will take cold by exposure as man 

 does, and he will be subject to disease, pro- 

 duced by exposure, in a like manner. How 

 important, then, it is that wo should look 

 well to his condition while in the harness, as 

 well as when in the stable, that he may avoid 

 contracting diseases which may render him 

 unsound for life, and also impair his ability 

 in a great degree, to perform the amount of 

 labour that he could do, if he were sound. 



Southern Rural Gentleman. 



Yellow Wash.— As the time for white- 

 washing draws near, I would recommend 

 the following for rooms that are not intend- 

 ed to be papered, viz : — Prepare whitewash 

 in the usual way, as for whitewashing; then 

 take horse-radish leaves, as soon as they are 

 grown enough, boil them as if for greens, 

 pour the juice into the whitewash, and you 

 have a beauriful bright yellow. — A. Will- 

 son, Marcellus, N. Y., I860.— A^^zy Yorker. 



