FARR 
I.ondon, upon the principles of his countryman M. Bour- 
gelat, which, from its novelty in England, has alfo been 
infilled upon by fome ftibfequent writers on Farriery ; 
namely, “ that the fuperior fpeed and aftion of a horfe 
imiti depend on the true geometrical conftruftion ot the 
Various parts of his body.” We cannot, however, for a 
moment, admit the fail. That a due and proper con¬ 
formation of the parts in the ftrufture of a horfe, is indif- 
penfable for the production of external beauty, every one 
will allow ; and that fuch conformation might alfo be fa¬ 
vourable to the gift of fpeed, will not altogether be de¬ 
nied. But experience continually fiiows, that horl'es 
coarfelv made, and without the fmalleft pretence to exaft 
geometrical proportion, often do and will heat others, no 
matter how much more elegantly formed, or howfoever 
comnienfurate to Bourgelat’s rules of mechanical ftruc- 
ture, both in running and leaping, and in all the paces 
w hich conflitute what is termed good aBion. Juft fo, in 
our own fpecies, we fee men coarlely made, of unfavour¬ 
able afpeft, and ill-fhapen limbs, often excel others in 
athletic exercifes, and in featsof bodily fkili and exertion, 
who are more elegantly proportioned, and who poffefs a 
more interefting exterior. Here the principle of geome¬ 
trical conftruCtion feems contradicted by» obvious faCt. 
How, then, are we to account for thefe circumftances of 
fuperiority in the fame animals, and in the fame ftate of 
training and of health ! We fay, that it depends on a fu¬ 
perior degree of Jlrengtk and J'pirit , originating from a 
greater compaCtnefs of bone, and from a fuperior flow of 
the nervous fluid, which not only gives vigourand energy 
to the mufcles, but conftitutes that invincible character 
called courage, which impels both man and horfe, of 
whatfoever make, to the achievement of great and noble 
aCtions, which all are ready to admire, but which few 
can imitate. 
Sainbel’s hypothefis of the neceflity of true geometrical 
proportion for the acquifition of fpeed, is neatly refuted 
by the editors of the Monthly Review, N. S. vol. viii. 
p. 469; who after Hating the proportions inlifted upon by 
that author, and comparing them with the ftrUfture of 
the famous horfe Eclipfe, as fet down likewile by Suinbel, 
have deduced, from his own words, “ that this univerfal 
viCh r, of unequalled fpeed, had not one true proportion of a 
good horje about him! —an awkward difcovery for the com¬ 
parative anatomift to reconcile with that which is Hated 
above.” 
‘ Experiments on the bones of horfes were made by the 
latedir Fan let Sr. John, barti of Dogmersfield Park near 
Odihunt in Hampfhire, where the Veterinary Society of 
London firft took its rife. That refpeftable baronet, 
with a view to difcover the reafon why a high bred horfe 
ftiould poffefs more real ftrength Than a cart horfe, con¬ 
trived to load the cannon bone of each horfe at their re- 
fpeCtive extremities, the centers being placed on the edge 
of a,bar of iron ; when he obferved that it required nearly 
double the weight or pnrchafe to break the former, that 
had been found fuflficieiit to divide the latter. The rca- 
fon of this, on infpefting the fraCture, was lelf-evident : 
for the bone of the bred-horte was com pa ft and folid like 
marble ; whereas that of the cart-horfe was remarkably 
porous, very hollow, and made up at the condyles inte¬ 
riorly with a crumbling coarfe fpungy fubftance. On 
fubjefting them to the balance, he found that the cannon 
bone of the blood horfe out-weighed that of the cart- 
horfe by nearly two pounds avoirdupois, ^though it was 
fo much fmaller. Here, then, appears a fatisfaftory proof, 
that the corporeal ftrength of a horfe refides in the fabric 
of the ficeleton, and not altogether in its fze, or geometri¬ 
cal proportion of the general ftrufture. And let it be 
remembered, that what is termed frcngth in a cart-horfe, 
means nothing more than the purchafe he contributes to 
the draught ; and which is effected more by his weight, 
ftriftly ipeaking, than by his Jlrength. The blood horfe 
in work, will always wear down the heavier cattle, whe¬ 
ther in hunting, or on the road, arifing from his greater 
I E R Y. 23.5 
capability of enduring fatigue. This fa ft is well known 
to coach-mafters, who feleft blood-horles for the levere 
duty of the mail-coaches. 
If then, to greater ftrength of bone, vve add fuperior 
courage, communicated through the region of the nerves 
to every fenfe which enforces fpirit and aftion, the real 
caufe why one horfe, or one man, (hall excel or outftrip 
another, unfolds itfelf to the inquifitive mind in fuch a 
manner as to carry conviftion on the face ot it; and this 
will be further confirmed, by a flight inveftigation of the 
animal phyfiology, which teaches that the nervous fyftem 
is the only medium by which activity, (pirit, and vigour, 
are communicated to the corporeal frame. See Ana¬ 
tomy, vol. i. p. 595* Hence thole who are emulous of 
whatis termed riding injlyle, —of being carried w ith ipeed 
and fafety over the ground, endeavour to pufchafe hoj'fes 
of high mettle and courage ; tor fuch as are prone to 
ftumble or fall, inherit but a final 1 fit are of thefe valuable 
ingredients. 
It is a curious faft, afcertained by comparative ana¬ 
tomy, that the nerves go out chiefly by pairs in all ani¬ 
mals hitherto diHefted, and even in the infect tribes; as 
may be feen under Entomology, vol.vi. p. 839, where 
nolefs than forty-five pair ot nerves, and two finglc ones, 
were difcovered in the difl'eftion ot a caterpillar. In the 
horfe, there are forty-feven pair of nerves ; but in man, 
only forty pair. In the horfe, ten pair iffue from the en¬ 
cephalon, and thirty-feven from the fpine, thence called 
the Jpinal nerves. Of the ten pair ifluing from the encepha¬ 
lon, the firft is the olfaBory, by fome ftill called the mamil¬ 
lary procejfes ; this pair goes to the nofe in beautiful reti¬ 
culated branches, to convey the fenfe of fmelling. The 
fecond pair of nerves is the optic, which are fent to the re¬ 
tina for the purpofes of vifion. The third pair pafs to 
the eye-lid and eye-ball ; whence it lias the name of motor 
oculi. The fourth pair is alfo direfted to the eyes; and 
as their office is to move the eyes in all paffions and affec¬ 
tions, they have acquired the name of pathetic nerves. The 
fifth pair divide into three great branches, called the oph¬ 
thalmic and maxillary fuperior and inferior-, palling into all 
parts of the head, the ball of the eye, the nofe, mouth, 
tongue, teeth, ear, &c. and to the fuperior and inferior 
maxillary bones. The nerves of thefixth pair inofculate 
with the fifth ; pafs under the dura mater, and fend out 
branches which conflitute the origin of the intercofal 
nerves. The feventh pah conftitutes the auditory nerves, 
palling to the tympan of the ear, and ramifying over all 
parts of the neck and face. The eighth pair is called par 
vagum, or the wandering nerves, becaufe they iuofculate 
and keep up a communication with the branches of many 
other nerves, and are diftributed, not only to the head, 
but alfo into many other parts of the body, particularly 
large bundles of inofculating fibres to the heart, the lungs, 
the ftomach,and all the vifeera in the lower belly, where 
they join the intercoftal and lumbar I pinu 1 nerves, and 
make a moft beautiful difplay of cordated ramifications. 
One branch of this pair palling round the great curve of 
tlie aorta, "and thence returning tip again to the cefopha- 
gus, to give branches to the larynx, tire called the recurrent 
nerves. The ninth pair paffes from the inferior part of 
the corpora pyramidalia, through its proper holes in the 
occipital bone ; and its branches are ibon loft in the muf¬ 
cles and fubftance of the tongue ; whence they are called 
the gufatory or tailing nerves. The tenth pair goes out 
between the os occipitus and firft vertebra of tile neck ; and 
after having given branches to the great ganglion of the 
intercoftal, eighth, ninth, and firft cervical, nerves, it 
unites in fending branches to the trachea, and to the heart. 
The intercoftal, after this, confiding of two branches, 
forms a new ganglion; and then, defeending along the fides 
of the vertebras of the thorax, receives branches from 
the dorfal nerves ; which branches appearing to come out 
between the ribs, hath given the name of intercofal to the 
whole nerve. 
In the annexed Farriery Plate V. the diftribution of the 
nerves 
