468 REVIEW — THE LAW CONCERNING HORSES, 
what, however, seems so strange to persons unacquainted with the 
nature of such matters is, that any one “ disease,” “ defect,” “ vice,” 
or “ bad habit,” should at one time be reckoned as unsoundness , 
while at another it is passed over as reconcileable with soundness, 
or of no consequence. The fact is, that diseases, defects, vices, 
and bad habits, may each and all of them have existence in almost 
every conceivable form and degree ; and though the line of demar- 
cation between soundness and unsoundness is obvious enough in 
the more intense or developed forms and degrees, yet, when we 
come to incipient or convalescent disease, to slight defects, and 
doubtful vices or habits, it will puzzle us all to know where 
soundness is to end and unsoundness to begin. Mr. Oliphant has 
taken as his veterinary guide the late Mr. Youatt’s opinions as 
contained in his work “The Horse;” and though we are at a loss 
to know where he could have gone for better authority, to speak 
the honest truth, we, for our own part, on this occasion, cannot 
but feel ashamed of the best. And with this ungracious remark 
we close our notice of the opprobrious subject — soundness. 
In respect to WARRANTY, we must bear in mind that “ no par- 
ticular words are necessary to constitute” one : “ if a man says 
1 the horse is sound/ that is a warranty ; and it is not necessary 
that the seller should say ‘ I warrant.’ — The general rule laid down 
by Mr. Justice Bayley is, that whatever the vendor represents at the 
time of sale is a warranty. Therefore, if a person at the time of 
sale say, ‘ You may depend upon it the horse is perfectly quiet, 
and free from vice,’ it is a warranty.” Pp. 64-65. 
A very common way of managing such matter is, for the ven- 
dor (or auctioneer) to say, “ such a horse is perfectly sound or 
perfectly quiet, but I (or his owner) do not warrant .” Let us see 
what Mr. Oliphant says to this : — 
“ If a person at the time of his selling a horse say, 1 1 never 
warrant, but he is sound as far as I know,' it is a qualified war- 
ranty ; and an action of assumpsit may be maintained upon it by 
the purchaser, if it can be proved that the seller KNEW of the 
UNSOUNDNESS.” 
“ By the CONDITIONS OF SALE at repositories and public auc- 
tions, a specified short time is usually allowed, within which the 
purchaser must give notice of any breach of warranty : if he ne- 
glect to do this, he has no remedy, unless such condition has been 
rendered inoperative by fraud or artifice. And in a case where 
warranty was to last till noon of the following day, when the sale 
was to become complete, Mr. Justice Littledale said, * the warranty 
here was as if the vendor had said, after twenty-four hours I do 
not warrant such a stipulation is not unreasonable.’ ” P. 65. 
In regard to parol and written warranty, Mr. Oliphant observes — 
