286 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST ALMANAC. 
system of racing in England will have on those breeds 
of horses, which more or less partake of the racing 
olood. The horses bred for the turf go into training 
at two years old, and are consequently used up before 
they arrive at the age of maturity: they run short 
distances, and never heats. Thus the speed and not 
the endurance of the animal is tested. His strength, 
size, and temper must, however, under these circum¬ 
stances, be properties of much attention and care, to 
enable these babies of the stable to stride through 
their half mile with feather weights on their backs. 
They show a symmetry of strength that surprised me, 
in the expanse of shoulder, size of the fore-arm, ful¬ 
ness of loin, and length of the hind quarters. Indeed, 
I am inclined to believe that the skeleton and me¬ 
chanical powers of the horse are bred stronger on the 
modem system of racing than when such immature 
exertions were not demanded of him, and he was on¬ 
ly called upon for work commensurate with his age 
and consequent developements. The question then 
is, whether, under this course of things, his constitu¬ 
tion be impaired so as to affect his progeny, or are 
only his mechanical parts injured, affecting the ability 
solely of individual performance. I must confess that 
not long since I should not have entertained a ques¬ 
tion of the sort, but should have decided that the pre¬ 
sent system was ruinous. Now [ am not sure that 
America could beat England at four-mile-heats, if her 
young animals which I have seen staggering through 
a race for two year olds, were allowed the same 
chance to attain maturity, and were called upon for 
no earlier work than the American racer. However, 
for want of more exact data, I leave it as an open 
question for the present. 
While on the subject of horses, I must observe, 
that I perceive a great falling off in the style and 
beauty of the carriage horse; at the same time the 
nunter and the hack are as much an object of care 
and attention as ever. The four-in-hand club no 
longer exist, and indeed such a turn-out is rarely seen. 
A carriage and pair under the whip of a coachman 
(and that pair often from a job-stable) is all that is 
thought necessary for the convenience of the ladies 
while in town. Under this change you may well 
suppose the horses driven by the coachman are not 
selected with the same care, or turned out in the 
same style as when the coachman was thrust inside, 
and the owner and his. friends were on the box. 
In a former letter I remarked on the superior knee 
action of the English roadster, both in and out of the 
harness; and further observation has entirely con-, 
firmed my opinion in this particular, and it is in a 
degree accounted for by the fact that the colts are here 
wintered in yards, running up to their bellies in loose 
straw, where they cannot move even on a walk, ex¬ 
cept by a very high action of the knee. I am the 
more confirmed in this being the cause, from the fact 
that the horses imported into England from Hanover, 
expressly for the undertaker’s business, where the 
extravagance of that action is required by the fashion 
of the day, are kept and brought up in yards deeply 
covered with straw, until they are taken into use, and 
are so kept with intent to produce that especial ac¬ 
tion ; and many of them are left entire, in order that 
they may carry a more perfectly black coat. Un¬ 
doubtedly something is attributable to the pains be¬ 
stowed in breaking and bitting the animal, and in 
setting him well back on his haunches; all of which 
'is very little attended to with us. While, however, 
the English horse has the more showy and safer ac¬ 
tion, our roadsters have the greater speed ; and if we 
have not an equal sleekness and polish of coat, we 
have a better and more enduring constitution ; for 
there was nothing on the Ascot-day that would have 
in the least distressed an American horse, and the 
papers stated there were over a hundred horses died 
from excessive heat and work! 
Ponies are very much in use here from their not 
paying the same tax as a horse, and under twelve 
hands they pay no tax at all. They are driven by 
all classes, and the work they do is astonishing. Ma¬ 
ny of them are very beautiful and well broken. R. 
(a) The cat’s-meat-man is a person going about 
the streets of London, with a little dog-cart, crying, 
“ cat’s meat,” in a singular high drawling tone. The 
meat is cut up in thin slices, and is frequently from 
the carcase of a dead horse. It is bought by the 
house-keepers for their cats, which, at the cry of 
the meat-man, rush mewing to the doors in great num¬ 
bers, forming a ludicrous sight to the stranger in 
London. 
(b) “ Breeder” and “ bull.” The former is a cant 
phrase for a shilling, the latter for a crown piece. 
(c) On the race-course in England, cards are dis¬ 
tributed with the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, &c., attached to 
each name of the horse which is to run. The mo¬ 
ment the race is over a signal board is hoisted with 
the number of the winner on it, so that every person 
on the course sees it at once, and thus knows by 
looking at his card which horse has won. Foi ex¬ 
ample, suppose the figure 3 was placed in the card 
opposite the name of the Emperor; the moment he 
comes in victor, up goes the signal board with the 
number 3 on it, when the immense crowd present 
sees instantly that he was first. Racing in Eng¬ 
land is reduced to as exact a system almost as the 
movements of a clock, and when there, our enthusias¬ 
tic love of horse-flesh induced us to study it with 
great zeal, not with a view of ever practising or coun¬ 
tenancing the thing at home—for it is well known that 
in principle we are opposed to it—but to obtain all 
possible knowledge in our power on the subject of 
horses. 
(d) “ Goldfinch,” a cant phrase for a guinea. 
American Agriculturist Almanac. —A corres¬ 
pondent, writing us from St. Joseph, Michigan, says, 
“ Please send me your Almanac for 1846. That 
of 1845 saved me four acres of corn from squirrel 
depredations; the one of 1844 taught me how to 
make excellent maple sugar; now I will see what 
I can learn from that of 1846. I regret you did not 
continue the publication in the style of 1844.” 
When we published our Almanac for 1844, it was 
our intention to have continued it from year to year 
in the same style; but an imitating cotemporary, who 
would have never thought of issuing an almanac 
had we not done so, immediately on its announce¬ 
ment, magnanimously got up another at half price; 
we were consequently obliged, the succeeding years, 
in order to compete with it, to issue a cheap affair. 
However, there is this consolation, in the matter, oui 
Almanac now has a much more extensive sale than 
if at a higher price, and is therefore probably in the 
way of doing more good. 
