[Entered according to Act of Congress, lit the year 18(72, by D. I>. T. Moons, tn the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.) 
$he §oi|5jemait. 
THE HORSE “ BLAIR ATHOL.” 
Mr. Blenkiron, im Knglish celebrity an 
horseman in the sporting world, had a 
-ery lino stable of horses which were re¬ 
am tly sold at auction by Tatters all, the 
Snglish auctioneer. There were four days’ 
ales, amount ing in the aggregate to £100,000. 
Among the horses sold was “ Uhtir Athol,” 
l thoroughbred, which brought 80”,500 in 
fold. This horse is a splendid chestnut. 
tVe copy from an Kilgllsh paper a portrait 
>f him, which, however, does not till our 
deal of a thoroughbred, although all the 
lortraits given preserve most of the points 
ind features shown in this engraving. Tat- 
rERSALLdeclared him to be “the best horse 
n the world.” We have not. access to his 
record, and, being no sportsman, are not 
icquainted with what constitutes him “the 
best horse in the world," but give his 
portrait for the purpose of showing our 
readers how he looks. 
---*-*-*--- 
RUDIMENTS OF HORSE-BREAKING. 
Miss Midv Morgan is good authority on 
training colts, and this is the way she puts 
it:—The secret, of success in breakingyoung 
horses is to commence early, to give fre¬ 
quent, short, lessons, to repeat each lesson 
until it is comprehended, and never to at¬ 
tempt to teach two or more lessons at one 
time. Thus, for instance, never break a 
horse to the saddle and harness at the same 
time. Decide which you want to do, then 
perfect the animal in one or the other, and 
the first lesson having been acquired, tlie 
second will be attained without trouble. 
The routine of horse-breaking, as practiced 
in the British Isles, is, first make the 
horse’s mouth and give him a good carriage. 
This is effected by using a heavy, smooth 
mouthing snatlie, buckling the lower reins 
to the side-buckles of his roller, and then 
permitting the pupil to remain loose in a 
roomy box-stall, where he can move about 
and play with his bit. This will effect more 
in a shorter time than any other method. 
As soon as the colt’s mouth 
has become fine, but not until 
then, he may be mounted. As ' 
carrying a weight on his back 
is quite new to the young 
horse, care should be had not 
to permit him to travel faster 
than a walk until his action 
has become easy and free from 
nervousness. Even then, for 
many weeks he should not be 
allowed to do more than trot '>"• 
gently on level ground, and 
never be galloped unless on j ! \\ 
springy turf. Too deep a soil 
causes a horse to labor, and if 
frequently galloped on such his 
action becomes higher and less .1 
rapid than it otherwise would \\ ,, 
have been. Only in breaking ijMjll 
chargers is this system consul- - 'D 
ered good, as war horses re¬ 
quire style and dash rather — 
than speed. 
In the breaking of steeple- - 
chase horses, slow work in deep 
soil is necessary, but this must 
not be permitted until the 
young horse has been fully ^ 
formed, until he is at least 
four years old, and better still if hi' is 
five. Then put him into a team of four 
steady, willing, well-broken farm horses; 
harness him on the off side as leader, and 
use him thus for two or three hours three 
times weakly for eight or ton weeks. Let 
there be scarcely any strain on the collar, 
lest the young animal acquire the habit of 
leaning forward. To do so materially short¬ 
ens the breathing, a serious fault in a horse 
destined for long and rapid saddle work. 
Tile benefit of thus using a young horse is 
that, in extricating his feet from the dirt ho 
is compelled to use those very muscles 
which in leaping will afterwards be brought 
into most frequent action. The education 
that tits a horse for the saddle fits him also 
for harness, only that care afterwards is ne¬ 
cessary to instruct the novice in the new 
duties required of him. 
-—- 
SWEENEY IN HORSES. 
Sweeneved shoulder in horses is not a I 
disease of the shoulders originally, but is a ' 
representative of other diseased parts, 
through sympathetic action of the limbs, 
from the feet. A horse suffering severe 
pain from hone spavin, for mouths, will ex¬ 
hibit sweeney or shrunken hip, us a result 
of tin! morbid action of the diseased parts. 
All diseases of the fore feet affect the 
shoulders. Canker, contraction, founder, 
gravel, prick from a nail, are affections of 
the feet only. Some people will say that 
such a horse is chest-foundered, while the 
horse apparently perishes in the chest. 
This is caused by the horse standing with 
his fore feet stretched out forward. If a 
man were to remain with hisarms stretched 
forward, his chest would suffer in the same 
way. Contraction is not so much a disease 
as the result of bad management on the 
part of the smith in shoeing the horse. 
Albion, N. Y. J. Henderson. 
NOTES FOR HORSEMEN. 
Pin-Worms in Horses,— I have a mare 
that is troubled with what I call pin-worms. 
They are from one ami one-half to two and 
one-half inches in length. At the head, for 
a half an; inch or more, they seem to be 
filled with some dark substance, and about 
one-eighth of an inch in diameter. The re¬ 
mainder or back portion is but little larger 
than a common thread. The marc seems 
to feel good but eats very little, and will 
quite often leave oats or meal in tile 
manger and eat the coarsest of straw or 
hay. I can't got her to eat grain enough to 
fatten her, six quarts a day being as many 
as she will cat on an average. Some luivo 
recommended feeding salt and ashes. I 
have tried it but it seems to do no good. 
Any one having experience and knowing a 
remedy, will confer a favor by communicat¬ 
ing the same through '‘Rural." — Rural 
Reader, Delhi, Y. 1'. 
An injection of linseed oil will generally 
do the job for these pin-worma 
To Move a Balky Horse.—A Texan 
once told us that he knew of no simpler and 
surer way to move a balky horse, than to 
place the hand over the nose of the animal 
and shut off his wind until he wants to go, 
and then let him go. We have never tried 
it because we do not own balky horses. 
Horae’s Tongue Out,— I have a young 
mare wllioli persists in keeping her tongue 
above the bridle bit and lulling it out in 
spite of anything I can do to prevent her. 
Perhaps some of your readers can tell me 
what to do to make her keep this unruly 
member in its place.— J. 11. T., New JAs- 
hon, 0. 
This is a habit which sometimes comes of 
fevered and sore mouth, and sometimes of 
paralysis of the tongue. In the first in¬ 
stance cure the mouth by cooling and heal¬ 
ing vrashos, and keep the bits out of the 
mouth long enough for it to get well, if it 
comes of paralysis, t here is no effectual 
remedy. _____ 
The Breeders’ Trotting Stakes for 
1S74, heretofore noticed in these columns, 
has closed with 57 entries. The entries are 
of foals that were dropped in 1871, the tri¬ 
als to occur Sept. £!, 1871. 
Fistula Remedy Wanted.—W m. K 
Walden, Northampton Co., Va., asks some 
of our readers to give a remedy for fistula. 
.A. T KC O L 
mm-Mt 
SOWS EATING THEIR PIGS. 
The Department of Agriculture publish¬ 
es the following:—“It is well known that 
sows not unfrequently attack and devour 
their own young; or if prevented from this, 
will not let down their milk, so that the 
young pigs necessarily die for want of nour¬ 
ishment. When this state of things is not 
caused by a diseased condition of the 
uterus, it is said the sow can bo brought to 
terms by pouring a mixt ure of ten to twen¬ 
ty grains of spirits of camphor, with one to 
three of tincture of opium, into the ear. The 
sow will immediately lie down on the side 
of the ear to which the application was 
made, anil remain, quiet for several hours in 
til is position without interfering witli her 
pigs; and on recovery from the stupor will 
have lost her irritability in regard to them. 
The experiment lias boon tried in Germany 
hundreds of times, according to one of the 
agricultural journals, without any injurious 
effects. It is also said that the eating of 
pigs by the parent sow can be readily pre¬ 
vented by rubbing them ail over with bran¬ 
dy, and making tin: same application about 
the nose of the sow herself.” 
- +-+-*■ --— 
PIG-PEN PAPERS. 
Chester Whites in Georgia.— Francis 
Fontaine (of Georgia, wo conclude, though 
place of residence is not given,) says, in the 
Plantation:—" 1 am sure that I have found 
the Chester White hog eminently satisfac¬ 
tory, both as a breeder and a pork-maker, 
for this climate. In w> instance have I lost 
a single animal from Mm effects of * mange’ 
or other cutaneous affections; nor have the 
Hies troubled them particularly; nor lias the 
beneficent sun injured them a hair’s 
breadth. True, they have free access to 
clover and grass pastures—without which 
no breed of swine can be profitably raised in 
Georgia—and running streams furnish them 
water. J consider them. Infinitely prefera¬ 
ble to the ordinary bog of the South. Their 
short legs and short nose proclaim them an 
improved breed. Clover grows more luxuri- 
-- antly in Georgia than in Ken¬ 
tucky, and, other things being 
equal, us large animals oau be 
grown here as there. It seems 
contradictory to claim, on the 
one hand, that we have in Up- 
per-Georgia a grass country, 
par excellence, and on the 
other that we cannot rear the 
product of that advantage, 
viz., large breeds. Grant from 
the evidence given that, under 
domestication, light - colored 
animals suffer most, it seems 
plausible to think that a cross 
of the ('hester White, the most 
popular breed at the North, 
and the Berkshire or Essex, 
the most popular breeds at the 
West and South, would origi¬ 
nate a breed eminently adapt¬ 
ed to a region capable of pro¬ 
ducing the chief staples of all.” 
The Convention.—We a; 
glad to notice our conteinp 
varies are generally comment 
ing the proposed Nation 
Swine-Breeders’ Conventio 
We hope swine - breeders 
State Fairs will see thut del 
gat63 are appointed. 
VOL. XXVI. NO. 9. 
WHOLE NO. 1179. 
NEW YORK, AND ROCHESTER, N, Y, AUG. 31, 1872. 
I PRICE SIX. CENTS. 
1 $2.50 PER YEAR. 
