REVIEW—THE HORSE’S MOUTH. 
with perseverance in practical investigations of this kind, the in¬ 
quirer happens to combine the possession in his own person of a 
pen ready at description and a pencil as ready at representation, 
what shall we say to his pretensions as a writer and illustrator of 
a Treatise on " The Horse’s Mouth, shewing the Age by the 
Teeth”] Such a practical, persevering, specially-talented person is 
the author of the present work—Mr. Edward Mayhew. And that 
our reader may not be desired or forced to accept this as a com- . 
pliment from us to one whom we are proud to number among our 
professional friends, Mr. Mayhew shall now speak, through our 
pages, for himself, and will, in a more satisfactory manner than we 
have been able to speak for him, shew how capable he is of 
answering for himself. 
In the opening paragraph, concerning the indications of age 
afforded by the teeth, and the reliance reasonably to be placed upon 
them, Mr. Mayhew instructs us :— 
“ 1. That the teeth of the horse denoted the age of the animal 
appears to have been a very ancient belief, which the experience 
of centuries seems in no degree to have weakened. As a general 
rule, applied within certain limitations, the impression is certainly 
well founded; for perhaps no development is more regular than 
the teeth of the horse, and no natural process so little exposed 
to the distortions of artifice. We are, nevertheless, not to expect 
that the animal carries about in its mouth a certificate of birth, 
written in characters so deep or legible that they cannot be oblite¬ 
rated or misinterpreted. The indications to be discovered by an 
inspection of the mouth of the horse, however, are so generally 
true, that in these dependence may be placed; although they are 
not so arbitrary or invariable that upon them in every instance an 
absolute opinion can hastily be pronounced. He who would judge 
of the age by the teeth must therefore be content to stud}' and pre¬ 
pared to encounter difficulties. In proportion as he has done the 
one, and is fortified thereby to overcome the other, will be his suc¬ 
cess. There is no secret charm which will enable man to unravel 
Nature’s mysteries. Her ways are regular, but they are not uni¬ 
form—Ter laws are fixed, but her acts cannot be measured by a 
system of rule or compass. The qualified judge alone will read 
the teeth correctly; but in proportion as the task is difficult, will 
be the candour and caution of him who fulfils it properly. He will 
make allowance where certain marks are indistinct or absent—he 
will not feel himself degraded by a confession of inability to speak 
with certainty when the signs are complex or confused-—and, above 
