76 
IMPORTATION OF CATTLE. 
he will seize the colt, giving the groom the price of the skin only, 
or little more. While this is going on the slander’s* man may 
throw a noose over the neck of that gaunt-looking greyhound 
whelp, and will strangle him. Well, the groom may write how 
he had lost the colt by Free Trader out of Conservative’s dam, 
and how the career of the untried puppy had been cut short. The 
exporter begins to feel queer about the proceeds; but the Count 
is a man of honour, is aware of the law, and sends a bill of ex¬ 
change for the full amount. 
Now, suppose a German dealer to go over with twenty black 
Holstein horses for Her Majesty’s 1st Life Guards. These horses 
have no local disease, though they may have fever. They pass, 
of course, the English Custom-house inspector; but, a few days 
afterwards, the veterinary surgeon rejects several for glanders (he 
has no further power, like the continental district veterinary sur¬ 
geon), but he kindly recommends the dealer to destroy them. In¬ 
stead of doing so, he sells them in Smithfield. Those with acute 
glanders are slaughtered, but those locally affected (or chronic 
glanders), as the condition of the animals remains unimpaired, may 
be recognised by the gentleman who rejected them in various situ¬ 
ations, outside the rout, play, and opera-house, or drawing the 
hearse with free traders and protectionists to that place where they 
“ do not eat, but are eaten.” Their proprietors (we will say nothing 
about the morality of it) knowing the possibility of contagion, 
take the precaution to work these horses with the affected nostril 
outside, that it should not contaminate his partner; never mind if 
it does the horses of others, lords or commoners. Carriers, canal 
barge-owners, and colliers, have been known to keep such horses: 
in the two last situations it is least objectionable. 
At the beginning of the present century, Monsieur De l’Etang 
kept a riding-school and repository at Calcutta. Horses were very 
scarce. Two ships arrived at the mouth of the Hooghly from 
Bussorah with Arabian horses. Monsieur thought he would make 
a good speculation; down he went, and examined every horse—they 
had neither farcy nor glanders. Up he came; he had a fixed balance 
in his favour at his agents, he borrowed the money at higher 
interest than he received, he paid for the horses. From that moment 
he was a ruined man. The ships came up to Calcutta with the 
tide: the horses were landed; all of them were either farcied or 
glandered. The loss to Monsieur was two lacs of rupees (£24,000) 
by ship fever. 
Now Monsieur De l’Etang (like most foreign riding-masters) 
had a little veterinary knowledge, but, from the above transaction, 
it certainly never entered his head that a febrile stage preceded 
* The shinder and district vet. in my next. 
