THE EASTERN CAMPAIGN. 
185 
A few days after my arrival I was named one of a com- 
mittee of three, for the purchase of horses, mules, and 
bullocks; and in the course of two months we had pur- 
chased about 1000 horses, 2000 mules, and 500 bullocks, at 
prices averaging about £15 a piece for the horses, £17 10i. 
for the mules, and £10 for the bullocks. 
The Turkish horse is a strong, hardy animal, possessing 
great endurance, and capable of carrying heavy weights. 
The average height of these horses is thirteen hands three 
inches. They are also, generally speaking, healthy. After 
an examination of a very large number of them, I found that 
spavin was more common than any other disease, next oph- 
thalmia, and lastly broken wind. 
The horse-dealers of Constantinople are extremely well 
acquainted with the tricks of their profession ; they are 
perfect adepts in performing those delicate operations on the 
teeth which we call Ci bishoping.” They are also quite up to 
the mark in bringing out a broken-winded horse in service- 
able condition, and in making a vicious animal for a time as 
gentle as a lamb. 
The mules of Asiatic Turkey are small, but very hardy. 
They will carry as much on their backs as the larger mules, 
and are far better adapted for a mountainous country. They 
were found to stand the climate of the Crimea well. 
The bullocks are very useful for the purposes of Arabas. 
They were not very large, but strong. 
One of my first objects was to set apart a piece of ground 
to picket my sick and lame horses, as there was no building 
for such a purpose. I fixed upon a spot shaded by seven 
trees, which were rendered remarkable as being Geoffry de 
Bouillon’s trees, under the shade of which he is said to have 
held his council of war in the time of the Crusades. Two of 
these trees were completely hollow; one was thirty-seven 
feet in girth, and the other forty-seven feet ten inches, and 
both of these were large enough to admit horses or mules. 
I made use of these hollows as loose boxes, and very 
much to the annoyance of the Turks, who had quietly left 
their tents and taken possession of them as their dwelling- 
place. 
Among my first patients was a very neat, bay pony, about 
thirteen hands two inches high, which had been missing on 
the mountains several days, and was brought in affected with 
lock-jaw. On examination no wound or injury could be 
discovered. The muscles of the neck and back were very 
rigid, while those of the face were less so, which enabled me 
to pass my three fingers into the mouth without much diffi- 
