A EOESE SHOW, OE OONVEtfTIOK 
As House Shows are bow in vogue all over 
the land, the Rural respectfully eaters the 
arena, and offers an exhibition which includes 
representatives of various breeds and countries, 
with a brief account of their origin and charac¬ 
teristics. Though we cannot display the “style 
and speed ” of specimens of noted breeds or 
families, we show them in the “ ring, 1 ' and the 
portraits and descriptions will enable our audi¬ 
ence to judge of and compare their features and 
prominent points and qualities, so that the show 
must prove both interesting and Instructive. 
A friend at onr elbow suggests that we should 
call our assembly of noted animals of the equine 
race a Hone Convention., sarcastically ‘adding 
that it excels, in some respects, several political 
and other conventions recently held, whereat 
noted nags have been 
trotted out’* for the 
edification of auditors and the public. : Calling 
it a convention, let us enter the grave assemblage 
teen hands. The Canadian horse, where there 
is no cross of the English thorough-bred, is un¬ 
doubtedly of French Norman origin. His char¬ 
acteristics are ahead rather large, but lean, bony, 
and well tormed; very broad forehead, ears well 
apart, and carried loftily; small, clear c-ye, and 
courageous aspect; bold, upstanding, but thick 
crest; a broad, full chest, and a strong shoulder; 
a stout, strongly-framed barrel, (somewhat rtat- 
sided is very apt to be a fault in this point;) 
excellent loins; muscular thighs,- flathoned legs; 
and feet, for toughness and hardiness, not to he 
equaled. Immunity from disease of the legs and 
feet, is a marked quality In the French Cana¬ 
dian, even when ill-groomed, ill-shod, and sub¬ 
ject to every hardship. An intelligent writer, 
well versed in the peculiarities of this particu¬ 
lar race, states that ** there are numbers of horses 
in Canada which, under a mass of shaggy hair 
never trimmed, and rarely cleaned or dried! 
possess dry, sinewy legs, ou which the severest 
sen-ice never raise a wind-gall. The prevailing 
color of the Canadian is black; next, rich dark 
brown. When true-bred, they are remarkable for 
the great volume of their manes and tails, with 
the wavy texture of the hairs eorapgsii^ them • 
for the shaggy eoatlug of their back sinews 
nearly to the knee, and of their fetlocks. From 
fourteen to fourteen and a half hands la their 
usual size. Their powers of endurance are ex¬ 
cellent, for though not reckoned speedy, they 
will travel fifty miles daily for a considerable 
period.” 
Notwithstanding the repute in which Canadian 
horses are held by those best calculated to jud^e 
of their merits, it is a remarkable fact that, even 
in these days of agricultural progress, no sys¬ 
SCOTCII POST. 
THE HUNTER, OR TROTTER. 
farmer’s BROOD MARK. 
SHETLAND POST. 
ARABIAN. 
CANADIAN. 
THOROKOa-BRED. 
DRAUGHT HORSE—CLYDESDALE. 
tematic attempts have been made to improve 
this breed in a pure form. Quite a numbr-r 
of experiments by crossing have been carried 
through, and with great success. The author¬ 
ity we have heretofore quoted, gives it an his 
opinion that “no race probably io more suscep¬ 
tible of direct improvement than this: and, as 
their excellence is universally acknowledged, 
both as the small, poor farmer's working and 
draught horse, for which they arc adapted above 
all American breeds, aud as brood marcs, from 
which to raise a highly improved and u-efuland 
general working roadster, by breeding them to 
thorough-breds, it is evident that this is an end 
most devoutly to be wished.” 
THE-ARABIAN HORSE 
The central figure represents the Oriental blood 
of the desert, originating, it is thought, iu the 
mixture of the various countries to which the 
horse in its purest form has, from time immemo¬ 
rial, been indigenous. To this breed of bors-s 
are the English indebted lor the unrivalled ex¬ 
cellence of their racers, which are the offspring 
of a judicious cross of the Oriental». The couu 
tries from which an Oriental strain of blood is 
1 obtainable, are Arabia, Syria, Persia, Turkis-1 
tan, the Barbary States, Nubia, and Abysinia. | 
The form of the Arabian will not please every I 
judge of the horse, but none will deny the beauty 
of the head. Broad and square forehead, short 
and fine muzzle, jaimminent and brilliant eye, 
small ears, and the beautiful course of the veins, 
always characterize the head of the Arabian 
Horse. The shoulder, in this breed, is generally 
unexcelled. The withers are high, the shoulder- 
blade inclined .beckward, and so nicely adjusted 
that in descending a hill the edge never ruffles 
the skin. The body is considered light, and 
chest narrow, but behind the arms the barrel 
swells out, leaving sufficient room for the lungs. 
The Arabian is seldom more than fourteen hands 
two inches iu height. 
THE HUNTER AND THE THOROUOH-BRED. 
•Just below the Arabian we have, on the left, 
the Unities or Trotter, and on the right the 
Thorough bred, “ The English lUorouglnbred,— 
with which the American is Identical," —says 
Herbert, “contains a larger proportion of 
Barb than pure Arabian blood,” and to one or 
the other of these, doubtless, may be traced the 
origiu of the trotter. 
TflE CLYDESDALE HORSE. 
The Qhjti, -dale, are represented at the base of 
our engraving, by the right-hand figure. These 
horses are found most extensively iu the ncitrh- 
borbood of the Clyde river, ir Scotland, after 
which they are called, who.--.: their services in 
the one-horse carts of the district* are well ap¬ 
preciated. indeed, there is no description of j 
horse that appears better adapted for single 
horse carts, or that can get through more work 
iu the course of the day. They are for the most 
part powerful horses, standing about sixteen 
hands high, and are extrdnely,active. Their 
faults are a tendency to Hglft bodies and long 
legs; and some 6f them are hot workers. When 
free from these defects, they Are certainly a most 
valuable kind of animal for agricultural pur¬ 
poses. As regards their origin, we are told that 
an Earl of Huntingdon imported some Dutch 
mares, a breed ouce much thought of, Into the 
district of the Clyde, and being crossed with the 
native breed, <probably the ancient pack-horse,) 
thus became the founders of the now highly ap¬ 
preciated Clydesdale, The prevailing color Is 
black; but there are also many browns, and 
some grays. These horses are susceptible of 
much improvement, by careful selection in 
breeding, and avoiding the evils which we have 
pointed oat as those to which the breed are 
prone. 
FARMERS’ BROOD MARE. 
We come now to the Former*' Brood Mare,— 
the left lower figure of our picture,—and though 
wc cannot say whether royal or plebelau blood 
flow in her veins,—whether she is of high or low 
degree,—there is a yood look about her which 
| calls up memories of “lang syne,” when she 
carried us after the cows, or took the grist to 
mill We never thought of her pedigree,— she 
possessed kindness and gentleness, with a dig¬ 
nity of movement becoming her year*, and was 
not that enough to fill the heart and win the 
affection of a boy? We thought so then,—we 
think so yet,—and he who could turn out upon 
the road to starve the noble animal which had so 
carefully borne his Johnstb and Tom Mrs, in her 
palmier day, because she can no longer satisfy bis 
cupidity, has a lump of silex in his bosom. 
Nature has granted to all to be happy if we 
did but know how to use her benefits. 
AGE OF THE PYRAMIDS. 
Mahmud Bet, Astronomer to the Viceroy of 
Egypt, has published au Interesting treatise, 
with the view of proving their dates from their 
connection with Sirius, the Dog-star. The late 
Viceroy, Said Pasha, ordered him to work out 
hia problem. He found the exact measurement 
of the largest to be 231 metres at the base, and 
14i) 40 from the ground to the apex. Hence it 
follows that the sides arc at au angle of fifty-one 
degrees aud forty-five seconds. Mahmud Pasha 
fouud that the angle of the other three pyra¬ 
mids near Memphis, were ou an average inclina¬ 
tion of fifty-two degrees. The fact that the 
sides of these monuments arc placed exactly 
true to the four quarters of the globe, seemed to 
point to some connection with the stars, and 
Mahmud Bey found Sirius send his rays nearly 
vertically upon the south side, when passing 
the meridian of Ghizeb. He then found, on cal¬ 
culating back, the exact position the stars occu¬ 
pied in past ceuturies—that the rays of Siriu 3 
were exactly vertical to the south side of the 
Great Pyramid, 3,300 years B. C. Sirius was 
dedicated to the god Sothias, or Toth Anubia; 
and hence the astronomer deduces that the Pyr¬ 
amid* were built about 3,300 B. C-— a date 
nearly coinciding with Bunsen’s calculation, 
who fixes this reign of Cheops at thirty-four 
centuries before Christ.— London Builder. 
The test of enjoyment is the remembrance 
that it leaves behind. 
— —--w vuu cumiAcicnsiiL5 ui me 
Delegates from the four quarters of the Globe: 
THE SHETLAND POST. 
The central figure, at the upper portiou of 
the eugraviug, U a true representative of the 
Shetland race, unquestionably the moit remarka¬ 
ble of all European ponies. These are to be 
found in ail the northern Scottish isles, but the 
most diminutive, and at the same time the most 
perfect, are natives of the extreme northern 
isles of Veil and Unst. The average height of 
the Shetlander is nine or teu hands, and none 
are considered truly bred which exceed eleven 
hands,—three feet eight inches. Many arc found 
which do not exceed thirty or thirty-two inches, 
and are, consequently, Inferior in size to some 
of the largest Newfoundland dogs. The hard¬ 
iness ot these little fellows is remarkable, 
Henry WiluaM Herbert says, “Oat of many 
hundreds which we have seen,— sometimes in 
droves of fifty or sixty at a time, traveling 
down from their native moors aud mountains, 
the raggedest, rustiest, most comical looking 
little quadrupeds that ever eye dwelt upon, ' 
driven by a gigantic, six-foot Highlander, 
perched upon the back, perhaps, of the smallest 
of the number,— we never saw a lame Shet¬ 
lander.” In their native isles they run as wild 
as the sheep, never herded, sheltered, or fed; 
picking up a livlihood from the tender shoots of 
the heather, aud the coarse grasses growing 
among it. Even when domesticated they tare 
but little better. Oats are unknown to them, 
and a few bundles of meadow-hay, or barley 
straw, Is a perfect banquet. Their speed is not 
great, but they will cover considerable ground 
under a load of 150 to 200 pounds. With a great 
hulking Highlander on hLs back,— apparently 
better fitted to carry the pouy, than the pony to 
carry him,— he will accomplish filly miles be¬ 
tween sunrise and sunset. Tile colors of the 
Shetlanders are generally black, dark brown, 
and a sort of rust-colored sorrel. Whites aud 
grays are exceedingly rare, aud blacks are con¬ 
sidered the best of the race. 
THE SCOTCH PONY. 
The Scotch Pony is Jlrst cousin to the gentleman 
we have just described, and Is his neighbor, on 
the left of our engraving. This pony is an en¬ 
larged pattern of the Shetlander. He preserves 
the general form, the close barrel, strong loins, 
stocky air aud build, but he has a larger neck! 
higher withers, and finer hair in the mane and 
taiL His ordinary height is from eleven to thir¬ 
teen hands. The Scocth pony is the second step 
to an Eugljph boy’s education in the ait of 
horsemanship, as they often possess a fair turn 
Of speed, cun leap very cleverly, have all the 
endurance, with greater strength, greater quick¬ 
ness, and more showy action, than their smaller 
countrymen. 
