250 
Management of Farm-Horses. 
subject, and to it must be directed its different divisions as laid 
down by the Council. It is a drawback upon horse, as compared 
with steam power, and more particularly as relates to farming 
operations, that whereas a steam-engine when not in work con- 
sumes no fuel and does not waste from wear and tear, a horse 
must be fed whether he is at work or idle, and thus throughout 
the winter months, when there is but little work to do, he must be 
kept in condition in order to perform properly the labours of the 
spring. It is therefore of imperative importance to keep such horses 
on a farm as are capable of performing properly a horse's work, 
for if weak, under-sized, infirm animals are kept, each of which is 
only capable of doing one-half or three-fourths of a day's work, 
not only is there the loss of this one-fourth of the day in the busy 
periods of the year, but an additional number of horses must be 
kept all the year round. It is only begging the question to say 
that this infirm horse does by hook or by crook contrive to get 
through his day's work in the busy periods, for if he is able to do 
this, then an able-bodied horse is capable of doing, with no extra 
fatigue, one-fourth more work at least, and it is the fault of the 
owner if this is not accomplished. 
With these preliminary observations we proceed to consider our 
subject according to the divisions proposed by the Council : — • 
1. The various breeds. 
2. Breeding and rearing. 
3. Keeping, whether in stables or the open air. 
4. Feeding in different seasons. 
1 . The various breeds of Cart-horses. 
The conformation of the cart-horse differs from the tho- 
rough-bred and other light horses, principally in the construc- 
tion of the skeleton ; not only are the bones actually larger 
but there is a g^reater amount of bone in proportion to the 
muscular system than in other horses ; and there is in the 
heavier breeds such a disposition to form or secrete bone in 
the system that even before the animal is five years old many 
of the cartilaginous structures, as, for instance, the cartilages 
of the foot, become changed into bone; that is, the earthy part of 
bone, which is principally phosphate of lime, becomes deposited 
where cartilage only ought to exist. This predisposition to 
deposit the earth of bone so peculiar to the heavy breeds, is 
greatly accelerated by concussion or anything indeed which induces 
chronic or rather sub-acute inflammation. Thus the London 
jiavement is a fertile cause of this disease, so much so that there is 
scarcely a dray-horse in the metropolis but what has some degree 
of ossification of the cartilages by the lime he reaches six or seven 
years of age. I have no reason to believe that the food of 
