242 
NATURE NOTES. 
A terrible account, in which no detail was spared, was given of 
the horrors of this traffic, and people were implored to see that 
their cast-off horses were not delivered to such a fate. It is 
only fair to say that Mrs. Hadden now tells us that she “ inquired 
from several sources whether these ghastly horrors were true,” 
and was “ assured that they were; ” and that when her horrible 
tale was published she “ had several confirmatory letters ” : and 
it must not be forgotten that Mrs. Hadden has published (in The 
Animals' Friend for July, whence the above extracts are taken), 
the withdrawal of her statement, which runs as follows : — 
It now appears, from inquiries made on the spot by the R.S.P.C.A., that the 
leech trade is practically nil. The trade was brisk in the fifties and early sixties, 
but the great decrease in the use of leeches in these days has rendered unneces- 
sary the enormous increase in leeches, of which this excessive feeding was the 
raison d'etre. A few leeches are collected in the swamps by the peasants, but 
these leeches mostly get their nourishment from the legs of horses which wander 
by chance into the little pools where the leeches are secreted. A few horses are 
driven into the swamps for the leeches to feed on now and then, but these are 
used again and again, and though this is cruel enough, it is not the stupendous 
cruelty described in my letters. The swamps are only a few inches deep, so it is 
impossible for the horses to be “ sucked down and seen no more.” 
This withdrawal is satisfactory enough, so far as it goes ; but 
what of the “ several sources” who confirmed the original state- 
ment ? what of the “ several confirmatory letters ” ? We cannot 
do better than cite Mrs. Hadden again : — 
There are quite enough cruelties without inventing them, but unfortunately 
everybody cannot be made to understand this ; amongst others my informants 
who made categorical statements to me. 
Mrs. Hadden, though she was misled, seems to have made 
some inquiries before publishing her letter ; here, however, are 
specimens of the kind of communication we not infrequently 
receive, which may be true enough, but for which no sort of 
confirmation is adduced. 
I was told the other day by a friend, that in order to obtain the peculiarly soft 
appearance of Suede gloves, the skin of which they are made is torn from the 
animal while alive. Can this be true? If so, surely no one who has any feeling 
for animals would wear Sufede gloves ! 
Two correspondents send a paragraph from the Daily Tele- 
graph of September 12, one of them adding the sensible comment, 
“ This intimation would appear to be of little value, unless the 
name or some description of the cloth is given.” Here is the 
paragraph : — 
“An Englishwoman” writes: M.ay I beg you to intercede on behalf of num- 
berless dumb and helpless creatures, who are daily being tortured beyond descrip- 
tion at the behest of fashion ? I understand that a certain beautiful cloth is likely 
to be very extensively worn by ladies during the coining autumn and winter, and 
I therefore entreat you to let the public know what terrible suffering its manu- 
facture involves. It comes from France, and before a single yard of it can be 
made hundreds of rabbits must be plucked alive, the fur thus procured being 
woven into the texture. A particular breed of rabbits only is suitable, the poor 
animals being carefully tended during the intervals elapsing between the crops. 
The agony suffered both during and after the plucking operation can hardly be 
