26 
REVIEWS. 
races are no less interesting ; but circumstances did not allow 
the author to witness any. 
Moskow seems to be the greatest mart for horses. At the 
establishment where the Government stallions are kept, there 
is a sort of repository for horses, where they are sold by 
auction or private contract, similar to Tattersall’s, in London ; 
with this exception, that all horses sent there for sale are 
examined by a veterinary surgeon previous to their admittance, 
and, if unsound, are rejected altogether. They charge for the 
keep, &c. per cent, on the produce of the sale. 
There is no town in Russia where there are so many fine 
horses ; not even St. Petersburgh excepted. The merchants 
in Moskow are the greatest amateurs of horses. They spare 
no expense to procure the very best, and it is a sight that 
would gratify anybody, to go in the neighbourhood of the 
exchange, about 12 o’clock, to see their carriages; though some 
of them are no more than horse dealers. The trotters are 
held here in the highest esteem ; the prices of them are very 
high, since you cannot purchase one of them under 1000 
silver rubles. Ten colts and fillies were sold at 2 years old 
for 6000 silver rubles. 
We cannot forbear giving the following extract, one that 
does little credit to the orthodox Greek religion of the Russian 
Empire. It is well known that Russia suffers enormous 
losses in cattle from that dreadful calamity, the Typhus Con- 
tagiosus, — the cattle pest. 
“In the Arolatov r sehan and Alatiirsehan circuits, the country 
people believe that the Typhus is a real being, called Morr, 
which, about midnight, visits the stables or sheds. It appears 
either in the shape of a white cow, or that of a half calf and 
half goat ; while, at other times, it takes the shape of one of 
the female inhabitants of the place where it works its perni- 
cious influence. This evil spirit it behoves them to banish ; 
and to effect this, the whole of the inhabitants meet after mass, 
when, having extinguished all the fire in the village, they 
then cut a trench, or, if not interfered with by the authorities, 
make a tunnel, just wide enough for two persons to pass 
each other, at the end of which a quantity of brushwood is 
collected, to which they set fire by rubbing two pieces of 
w ood together until combustion takes place. That effected. 
