652 INSURANCE OF HORSES, CATTLE, &c. 
3. That no draught should be given unless the horse is in 
danger of dying without it. 
4. That the safest way of administering draughts is to give 
them when the horse is lying. 
5. That a draught is seldom or never absolutely necessary but 
in diseases which make the horse lie. 
6. That a bottle is a better drenching instrument than a horn. 
INSURANCE OF HORSES, CATTLE, &c. 
In the last volume of The Veterinarian (p. 499) we 
hinted at the establishment of an assurance society against the 
losses, and occasionally very severe ones, sustained by the death 
of horses, cattle, sheep, &c. It was stated that such a society 
had been instituted in France, and, so far as it could be at present 
ascertained, had been satisfactory. La Zooiatre du Midi gives a 
more recent account of its proceedings, of which the following is 
an extract;— 
La Tricephale (the name of the insurance) has far exceeded 
the expectations of its most sanguine well-wishers. In the first 
year it effected 262 insurances ; 1062 in the second year ; 2252 
in the third; and, already, 3740 in the fourth. These assurances 
amount to three millions (of francs) for horses, two millions for 
cattle, and five millions for sheep.” 
The assurance extends, generally speaking, to every kind of 
death, natural or accidental, and also to maladies and accidents 
for which it may be necessary to destroy the animal. The rate 
of assurance will necessarily vary considerably, according to cir¬ 
cumstances: the following is the lowest scale of insurance :— 
Horses. 
Per cent. 
Post and coach horses, and horses on the canals. 6 
Gendarmerie, and horses for luxury and not for commerce. 2 
Agricultural horses, and horses for commerce as well as luxury ... 3 
All other risks and professions. 4 
Cattle. 
Milch cows. 10 
Oxen employed in agricultural or other work. 4 
Sheep. 
Rams, ewes, wethers,—all sheep above a twelvemonth old. 4 
Lambs from three months to a twelvemonth. 8 
Some persons have imagined that this assurance would prevent 
the farmer from taking all proper care of his cattle and sheep, 
