312 
Notes on Cart Horses. 
legs ; he was bred by my brother, Mr. Charles Howard. Al- 
though a breeder of pedigree Shire horses, I desire to recognize 
merit in other breeds, and therefore acknowledge that the horse 
in question was a half-bred Suffolk, his sire being a famous. 
Suffolk horse, "Manchester Boxer" (298), belonging to the late 
Duke of Manchester ; his dam, a very big, wide mare. " Duke," 
after having been superseded by the locomotive, lived to do- 
many years of hard work upon the farm, occasionally returning^ 
to his former labours when the engine was out of repair. 
Nor does the popular contention for a profusion of hair accord 
with my observation beyond my own farms and factory. When 
on a visit to my friend, Mr. Jessop, of Sheffield, some three 
years ago, I was shown the best and strongest draught-horse 
employed at the great steel works of his firm. He was bred 
in Yorkshire, and is a wide, massive gelding, possessing great 
bone, and capable of moving immense loads, yet almost as clean 
as a Suffolk ; he is evidently, and as I was assured, of wonderful 
constitution. At the present time I have upon my farms a 
very massive and deep three-year-old filly, llj inches below 
the knee, but with only the slightest covering of fine, silky 
hair. The filly is by " Hydraulic " (1130). I bought her, 
when a yearling, at the great sale of Mr. Waltham, of Parson's 
Drove, for 145 guineas ; she was pronounced short of hair, or 
would doubtless have made a still higher price. 
Mr. Oakley, the General Manager of the Great Northern 
Railway Company, London, whose opinion I asked, wrote as 
follows: "For railway work, horses with long hair on their 
legs are very unsuitable, and we avoid purchasing them as 
much as possible. We find the long hair very difficult to 
cleanse effectually ; and if carelessly done, the hair ' mats ' at 
the root and, in the opinion of our ' master of the horse,' provokes, 
grease and other inconveniences. We have in London about 
1100 horses, the bulk of which are kept at, or adjoining to. 
King's Cross. We shall be happy to show you the stud when 
it may be convenient for you to come." An invitation which I 
quickly availed myself of. 
Mr. Newcombe, Goods Manager of the Midland Railway 
Company, wrote as follows : " In reply to your enquiry as to 
what is our experience of the hairy-legged class of horse, I can 
only say that we purchase as few of them as possible, and always 
prefer a clean-legged animal. We have a decided objection to 
the coarse, hairy-legged horse, and I entirely concur with our 
chief veterinary, Mr. Taylor, when he says that such horses are 
more predisposed to disease, such as itching of the legs, grease, 
&c. I send for your perusal a copy of the report he has made- 
to me upon this subject." 
