66 
llie  City  Dray  Horse. 
Messrs.  Thompson,  McKay  Co.,  Ltd.,  Carters  to  the 
Great  Central  Railivay  Company,  Manchester. 
5 lb.  Crushed  oats  (English). 
„ Crushed  barley  (Russian). 
6^  „ Crushed  maize. 
„ Crushed  beans. 
2^  „ Bran. 
14  „ Chopped  clover  and  rye-grass. 
32  lb.  per  horse  per  day. 
The  average  length  of  ■working  life  of  horses  in  the  large 
cities  in  the  case  of  corporations,  railway  companies,  breweries, 
and  other  firms  always  having  a similar  class  of  work,  is  from 
four  to  seven  years,  according  to  the  work  performed  ; with 
smaller  firms,  such  as  master  builders,  &c.,  where  the  horses 
can  be  changed  to  light  work,  they  last  longer,  nine  years 
being  the  average  life. 
The  disposal  of  the  horses,  after  they  have  been  employed 
so  long  at  street  work  as  to  become  unsound,  or  at  any  rate 
unsuitable  for  the  very  strenuous  labour  which  such  work 
entails,  must  vary  with  each  individual  case.  The  best  class 
of  animals  are,  in  many  cases,  purchased  by  the  smaller  horse- 
keepers  in  the  towns.  It  is  a very  regrettable  fact  that  often 
in  the  case  of  mares,  after  they  have  been  thoroughly  worn 
out  by  this  second  term  of  town  work,  they  find  their  way 
back  to  the  small  farmers  who  live  in  the  districts  surrounding 
the  large  cities.  About  half  of  these  are  used  by  farmers  as 
breeding  stock,  a very  deplorable  state  of  affairs,  for  the 
exhausted  frame  of  such  an  animal  cannot  be  expected  to  rear 
strong  and  vigorous  stock.  The  geldings  are  used  in  the 
country  for  any  work  they  are  fit  to  perform  on  the  land  or 
even  for  light  work  on  the  road.  There  exists  in  most  towns 
a public  auction  yard  at  which  this  class  of  animal  is  offered, 
the  prices  varying  from  lOZ.  to  18Z. 
The  demand  for  the  draught  horse  has  certainly  not  been 
in  any  way  affected  by  the  introduction  of  motor  vehicles, 
and  unless  the  present  system  of  mechanical  traction  is  altered 
and  improved,  I cannot  see  that  there  need  be  the  least  appre- 
hension regarding  the  future  market  for  the  best  classes  of 
British  cart  horses.  The  majority  of  firms  that  introduced 
motor  vehicles  have  found  it  necessary  to  replace  a number  of 
them  with  dray  horses.  The  heavy  motor  waggons  at  present 
in  vogue  are  doing  the  quick  work  on  distances  that  railway 
companies  have  up  to  the  present  been  unable  to  deal  with 
expeditiously,  but  for  short  distances,  getting  into  awkward 
places,  on  greasy  paved  streets  or  on  soft  land,  the  motor 
vehicle  is  unsatisfactory.  Added  to  this  the  enormous  initial 
