W ^q^ A SHORT HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN TMT1 A§ PACING HORSE. WITH TABLES OF PEDIGREES OF FAMOUS HORSES, USEFUL HINTS, SUGGESTIONS AND OPINIONS ON TRAINING AND CONDITIONING COMPILED FROM VARI- OUS SOURCES, RULES FOR TRACK LAYING, Etc., by HENEY T. COATES. WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE VETERINARY SURGEON COMES, By GEORGE FLEMING, F.R. C. V. S. THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., PHILADELPHIA, CHICAGO, TORONTO. LIBRARY of CONGRESS Two Oociec Received APR 26 1906 Copyright Entry CLASS C** XXc, No, / 3 / s Magazine for June, 1896, is an engraving entitled " The Old Age of the Trotter Edwin Forrest (twenty-four years old, record 2: 18) and Beaver Dam (sixteen years old). From a photograph made at Mr. Bonner's Tarrytown farm in August, 1895," and yet it does not seem so long ago that horsemen hailed this same Edwin Forrest, who is depicted as drawing a lawn-mower, as the coming champion of the American trotting turf. He was a rich bay gelding, 16 hands high, was foaled in Cass county, Missouri, in 1871. His sire was a horse called Ned Forrest, Jr., and his dam a granddaughter of the thoroughbred Leviathan. Taken to Kentucky when young, he trotted his first race there in 1875. In 1877 he won two races at Madison, Ind., beating Proteine, Kitty Bates, and Andy Meshon, while in a race which he lost at Lexing- ton, Ky., he attained a record of 2 m. 251 s. In 1878 he passed into the hands of Gus Glidden, and entered the Michigan Circuit in the spring, but being kept for the Grand Circuit he was not allowed to win for fear of lowering his record. At Toledo, however, the entries to the Grand Circuit being completed, he was given his head and won in straight heats, the fastest of which was 2 m. 23 s. , When the bell rang for the 2 m. 24 s. class at Cleveland, July 24, 1878, and Trampoline, Darby, Edward, Dick Moore, Alley, and Edwin Forrest answered the summons, the spectators knew that there would be a good race, but few expected that Edwin Forrest, after breaking a^d losing the first heat to Edward, would win the last three heats in the quick time of 2 m. 19£ s., 2 m. 20 J s., and 2 m. 18 J s., the last heat being won in a jog. At Buffalo he won from the same field in 2 m. 20 s., 2 m. 20J s., and 2 m. 20f s. F and at Rochester he won again in quick time. In all these races his superiority over his opponents was so evident that at Utica a con- spiracy was formed by the owners and drivers of the various horses in the race, Forrest's driver being one of them, to make him a great favorite in the betting, and then pull him so as to lose the race. This disgraceful job succeeded only too well, and the speedy Edward was the winner; and though the National Association months afterwards ferreted out and punished the originators and abettors of the fraud, it will be years before the turf recovers from the wounds it then received at the hands of its professing friends. In the fourth heat of that race he came from the rear at the last with a burst of speed that amazed all beholders, and caused Charley Green to make a dead rush for his owner and secure the refusal of him at $16,000, within five minutes. The real purchaser was Mr. Robert Bonner, of New York. Not wishing to endanger the reputation of the horse until he should become familiarized with his new driver, Green did not start him until the last day of Hartford Meeting. When, after Rarus had AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 57 trotted his first trial in the Special Speed Purse, in 2 m. 15 s., the starters proclaimed that Mr. Green had a horse that he thought could go in about 2 m. 10 s., and Edwin Forrest was brought out, few thought that the statement was more than an empty boast. Charley Green drove him, and at the second attempt nodded for the word. The horse struck out gamely, and was at the quarter in 34 s. — half a second better than Rarus had just done. Down the back-stretch he went like the wind, and passed the half in 1 m. 6? s. He slowed up from this flying pace on the turn, and came by the three-quarter pole in 1 m. 40 1 s. (third quarter in 34 s.), and came down under the wire in -2 m. 14J s. — half a second better than Rarus had done. When this was announced the excitement was intense, for 2 m. 14J s. was all Goldsmith Maid could do at Hart- ford, two years previous. Rarus was now put on his mettle, and trotted the second trial in 2 m. 13 J s. (last quarter in 32^ s.). But Green thought he could beat that, and that Forrest was the horse that could do it. On the second trial he was sent off, and he went to the quarter in 33? s., without a skip. Then it seemed as if he had not been half trying. Such trotting was never seen before. He fairly flew, and it looked as though 2 m. 10 s. would be made; but the pace was too fast, and he broke badly when about eight lengths from the half-mile pole, losing several lengths, but Green caught him skillfully, and he was soon under full headway, reaching the half- mile pole in 1 m. 5i s. (second quarter in 31 f s.). Before he reached the middle of the third quarter he again went in the air, and though he soon recovered, Green had lost hope of surpassing his first effort and did not hurry him. The three-quarter pole was passed in 1 m. 40 £ s., and he was coming down the home-stretch at a fair gait, when a friend who had run up to that place motioned to Green to go on, as there was still hope. From that point Forrest was sent along, and came under the wire, amid loud cheering, in 2 m. 16 s. After he became an inmate of Mr. Bonner's stable his progress was remarkable. Mr. Robert Bonner drove him to wagon on his three-quarter mile track near Tarrytown, N. Y., a mile in 2 m. 15 \ s., and the various members of the Tarrytown family delighted to exhibit the prowess of the new favorite. In July, 1879, a week later, Mr. A. A. Bonner drove him a mile in harness in 2 m. 13f s. On August 9, Mr. John Murphy, the favorite pupil of old Hiram Woodruff, drove him a mile in 2 m. 11 f s. Although these trials were witnessed by several reliable persons, and the time made can be depended upon as entirely accurate, not having been made in a public race, neither they nor the trial at Hartford can go upon the record. And to think of this great horse becoming a farm drudge, and leisurely dragging a lawn-mower ! ! ! " To what base uses we may return, Horatio !" 58 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE The Chicago meeting of July, 1880, was an unusually brilliant one. St. Julien, Hopeful, Darby, Charley Ford, Hannis, Monroe Chief, Bonesetter, Wedgewood, Piedmont, Will Cody, Parana, Yol- taire, Hambletonian Bashaw, Josephus, Daisydale and Etta Jones, representatives of all the prominent trotting families, were among the contestants, and a general slashing of the records ensued. But amid the vast throng assembled at the course from day to day there were very few who dreamed that a match, on the last day of meet- ing, was to introduce to the trotting world one who would shortly dispossess the mighty St. Julien of his premiership. This was a Special Purse of $1000, for which the five-year-old Trinket and the six-year-old Maud S. were entered. Trinket was a bay mare by Princeps, son of Woodford Mambrino, and her dam was Ouida, by Rysdyk's Hambletonian. As a four-year-old she had astonished the world by equalling Flora Temple's famous record, and though the next year she sadly disappointed her backers, since then, in more capable hands, she proved herself one of the greatest mares that ever stood on iron. In the Chicago match, however, although the favorite in the betting, she was flighty and acted badly, while Maud S., steady as an old campaigner, won the first two heats easily in 2 m. 19 s., 2 m. 21 £s. Then, to the astonishment of all present, Captain Stone boldly announced that in the next heat dis- tance would be waived, and as an arrow from the bow the beauti- ful chestnut shot away, and passed under the wire in the wonder- ful time of 2 m. 13 j s. Maud S. was a beautiful golden-chestnut mare, fifteen hands three inches at the withers, and one and a half inches higher at the peak of the rump. Her head and ears large and rather coarse ; her neck as fine as a thoroughbred, her shoulders muscular; she was long in the barrel, coupled well back, with strong loins, power- ful symmetrical legs, and good feet. She wore a fourteen -ounce shoe forward, with four-ounce toe weights, and light shoes behind. Her action was the very poetry of motion, and as she glided by in the third heat of her great trot at Belmont Park, the writer thought he had never before seen any piece of machinery move so steadily or so beautifully. She was foaled on the Woodburn Stud Farm on the 28th of May, 1875, and was sired by Harold, son of Rysdyk's Hambletonian. Her dam was Miss Russell, a daughter of Pilot, Jr., out of Sally Russell by Boston, the sire of Lexington and Lecompte. She was owned, until her fourth year, by Captain George N. Stone, and, being a very great pet, was named Maud S. after his daughter. When she was four years old, driven by her trainer William W. Bair, she trotted an exhibi- tion mile in 2 m. 17is , and was sold to Mr. William H. Vander- bilt for $21,000. AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 59 At Cincinnati, July 6, 1880, she defeated Josephus, Lizzie 2d, and Outlaw, in straight heats, best time 2 m. 25 s. ; her next race was that with Trinket described above. At Cleveland, July 28, she defeated Driver, Charley Ford, and Hannis, in straight heats, and at Buffalo she met the same horses, and after losing the first heat to Charley Ford in 2 m. 17 s., won the next three in 2 m. 15J s., 2 m. 16f s., 2 m. 16J s. This was her last public race. Henceforth she was to be reserved for trots against time. At Rochester she essayed to beat St. Julien's record, and the watch stopped at 2 m. llf s.; at Springfield the track was slow, and being off, 2 m. 19 s. was the best she could do. At Chicago, Sept. 16, she trotted in 2 m. 11 J s., and two days later, at the same place, she surpassed all previous performances, and closed the season of 1880 with a record of 2 m. lOf s. After this she went into winter quarters at Cincinnati. Her first appearance in public in 1881 was over the half-mile track at Columbus, June 30, to beat Ranis' 2 m. 17 J s. made there three years ago. This she did in 2 m. 13i s. At Detroit, July 4, she trotted in 2 m. 13 f s., and the week following, at Pittsburgh, she reduced her record to 2 m. 10 i s. At Chicago, July 23, she trotted in 2 m. 21 £ s., 2 m. 11£ s., 2 m. 11 s., and at Belmont Park, Philadelphia, although she failed to reduce her record, she trotted the three best consecutive heats on record, 2 m. 12 s., 2 m. 13i s., 2 m. 12f s., trotting the first half of the second mile in 1 m. 3f s. At Buffalo she again failed to reduce her record, but at Rochester she passed under the wire in the wonderful time of 2 m. 10i s., the fastest time ever trotted by any horse, mare, or gelding. At Utica she had to be content with her past laurels, and thenceforth she was reserved f >r the Hartford Meeting, where it was confidently ex- pected that she would place the high-water mark at 2 m. 8 s. or 2 m. 9 s.; but alas for human calculations, while at exercise on the day before that appointed for the exhibition, she turned her foot, spraining her ankle, and was thrown out of training for the rest of the season. For two years she remained in retirement, when suddenly Jay-Eye-See, a little black gelding by Dictator, son of Rysdyk's Hambletonian, out of a Pilot, Jr., mare, whose dam and grand dam were thoroughbred, took up the gauntlet she had thrown down and boldly attacked her supremacy. Though smali in stature, he was a " multum in parvo," and could get over the ground in a most surprising manner. His five-year-old record of 2 m. lOf s. was dangerously near to the Queen's, and when at Providence, R. I., August 1, 1881:, he cut off the fraction 60 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE and trotted in 2 m. 10 s., Maud S.'s supremacy was gone, but only for one day, for on August 2, at Cleveland, she placed the mark at 2 m. 09f s., which Jay- Eye-See was never able to wipe out. From 1887 to 1892 the little black gelding led a life of retirement, hav- ing injured his leg by stepping upon a broken bottle in the pas- ture, and the world had almost forgotten his existence, when his owner conceived the idea that the frictionless glide of the pacer would not affect his injured leg. The idea was at once put into prac- tice, and it required but two lessons to show the little gelding how much easier he could go at the new gait. On August 21, 1892, he paced a mile at Independence, la., in 2 m. 06J s , being the only horse who has a record at both gaits of 2 m. 10 s., or better. His great antagonist, Maud S., had in the meantime been sold to Mr. Bobert Bonner, and her record of 2 m. 08f s., made in 1885, was for six years the acme of trotting records. Little in stature, but a giant in deeds, Harry Wilkes was per- haps the stoutest of all the many great sons of George Wilkes. Foaled in the Centennial year, he made his opening bow at Louis- ville, September 13, 1882, winning easily in 2 m. 29! s., 2 m. 26! s., 2 m. 28! s. Two days later he won a race at the same meeting, smd a few days later, at Lexington, he reduced his record to 2 m. 231 s. He did not start in lb83, but in 1884 he won sixteen out of the nineteen races in which he started, and left off with a record of 2m. 15s. In 1885 he "bullied" the Grand Circuit, winning ten of his twelve races, but did not reduce his record. In 1886 Harry Wilkes swept the Grand Circuit from end to end, lowering his record to 2 m. 14f s. One of his best races was at Belmont Park, Philadelphia, on August 13, where he defeated the brown stallion Phallas in straight heats. Phallas had a record of 2 m. 13|s., made in the fourth heat of a hotly-contested race, and the general public deemed him invincible. But the little bay gelding was all on edge that day, and his quick, high-stepping action carried him up that heart-breaking hill in the third quarter faster than any horse I ever saw. It was more like flying than trotting, and, gamely as Phallas struggled, he could not beat the gay little bay. After going against the watch at Hartford, he marched in triumph across the continent. At San Francisco, November 27, 1886, he defeated Guy Wilkes, Antevolo, Charley Hilton and Arab for a purse of $5000, Guy Wilkes taking the third heat in 2 m. 16f s., and Harry Wilkes the other three in 2 m. 15£s., 2 m. 16! s., 2m. 15s. His year's work had been a grand one — four- teen victories and but one defeat. He wintered in California, and was sold for $20,000. On April 2, 1887, at San Francisco, he re- duced his record to 2 m. 13! s. in a match against time. He then came East, but, enervated by the mild climate of the Golden State, AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 61 he did but poorly, and though he did not finally retire from the turf until 1891, his last years were not uniformly successful. But now a new element was suddenly coming to the front, or rather the revival of an old one. From the days of James K. Polk, Hero and Pocahontas, the speed of the pacer had been rec- ognized, but the gait was not popular with the upper tendom of sporting circles, and it was not until 1880 that he was admitted to the Grand Circuit. To be sure there was some justification for the prejudice. The old style pacer had little knee or hock action, and when his stiff legs swung back and forth in his fast work, his body rolled like a storm-tossed barque in a choppy sea, and " the wiggler " was the expressive name by which he was generally known. The gait of his modern prototype is entirely different ; he carries his body so motionless that it requires a sharp eye to dis- tinguish the gaits, and as a roadster he is fully as pleasant a driver. The forerunner of the new type of pacers was Johnstone, a bay gelding by Joe Bassett, dam by Sweeting's Ned Forrest, and when at Chicago, October 3, 1884, he paced a mile in his matchless, frictionless way of going in 2 m. 06| s., Maud S.'s record was eclipsed. The despised pacer had at last fought his way into good society. This record stood for eight years, when Nancy Hanks, a trotter, went in 2 in. 05! s , at Independence, la., August 31, 1892, and a month later at Terre Haute, Ind , in 2 m. 04 s., and the enemies of the pacer threw up their hats in glee and shouted that the pacer's day was over. The shouting was short-lived, however, for on the very next day, on the same track, Mascot, a bay gelding by Deceive, son of Rysdyk's Hambletonian, won the first heat of the free-for-all race in 2 m. 04 s., and the trotter and pacer were now on equal terms. Though Saladin beat him the next year at Kirk- wood, Del , in 2 m. 05| s., Mascot won many good races in that and the two succeeding years, and is now driven on the roads near New York, the envy of every horseman who knows a good roadster when he sees him. During all these busy years Maud S. was the undisputed Queen of the Turf, but now her supremacy was threatened from an unex- pected quarter. On the far-away Pacific slope, where the Golden Gate opens wide her arms to receive the waters of the Asiatic seas, Gov. Leland Stanford, of transcontinental railway fame, bred, in 1886, a filly, by Electioneer, out of Warsaw, by Gen. Benton, who had the fastest three-year-old record, the fastest four-year-old record, and the fastest five-year-old record up to 1891, thus beating Maud S.'s record by a half second. Sunol is a bay mare of singular con- formation, standing fully sixteen hands high at the coupling and only fifteen and a half at the withers. She had a blood-like head, long neck, good shoulders, and superb legs and feet. Her records 62 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE were all mr.de on a kite-shaped track, with all the assistance that human ingenuity could devise to aid her, and though technically better, were not really as good performances as those made by Maud S.; but Mr. Bonner, jealous of the new-comer, kept the tele- graph wires between the two oceans hot until she was safely housed in his stable at Tarrytown, on the Hudson. Like many a high- priced purchase, Sunol was by no means the treasure he had anti- cipated. Her disposition was ugly and treacherous, and she never did anything worthy of her early reputation either on the track or at the stud. Maud S.'s record was made on a regulation track and to the old- fashioned high-wheel sulky, and it still remains the record for these conditions. In July, 1892, the bicycle sulky, with its pneumatic tires, made its appearance on a New England track, and the old high- wheeled traps were doomed, for it needed but a single heat to con- vince the most skeptical that the low, odd-looking affairs, which at first excited ridicule were from four to five seconds faster. This revolution in sporting vehicles was a fitting prelude to the advent of a new queen, a small brown mare of exquisite form and beauty, and, hailing from the Lexington region, where Lincoln's parents lived, was called Nancy Hanks, after the martyred President's mother. She was foaled in 1886, the same year as Sunol, and being by Happy Medium, son of Hambletonian and Princess, out of Nancy Lee by Dictator, another son of Hambletonian, was deeply inbred to the dead Hero of Chester. She commenced her racing career at Harrodsburg, Ky., July 31, 1889, and won six races off the reel, all near home, losing only one heat, and gaining a three-year-old record of 2 m. 21 £ s. The next year she won six races, all but one in her native state, and did not lose a single heat, and went into winter quarters with a four-year-old record of 2 m. 14£ s. In 1891 she defeated the beautiful Belle Hamlin at Buffalo, N. Y., Margaret S. at Pontiac, Mich., and Allerton and Margaret S. at Independence, Mo , and then, royally disdaining all contests with horses, reserved all her efforts to subjugate old Father Time, and her record as a five- year-old was 2 m. 09 s., and the next year at Terre Haute, Ind., September 28, she cut the record down to 2 m. 04 s., and, though she subsequently made several efforts to reduce it, she was unsuc- cessful and retired from the turf in 1893 a queen, indeed, but not the equal of Maud S., Goldsmith Maid, Flora Temple or even dear old Lady Suffolk. Alix, a dainty, blood-like bay mare, foaled June 7, 1888, by Patronage, a grandson of Woodford Mambrino, was the next holder of the world's record, and is still Queen of the Trotting Turf. She was a born trotter and as a two-year-old started in ten races. AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 63 and won a record of 2 m. 30 s.; as a three-year-old she had plenty of hard work and lowered her record to 2 m. 16i s. — a truly won- derful performance. But hard work was beginning to tell on the young mare, and in her four-year-old form she trotted but one race, which she won easily in 2 m. 12 J s., 2 m. 12£ s , 2 m. 13 s., but against the watch she went in 2 m. 10 s. As a live-year old she commenced the season of 1893 badly, by losing two races, the first she ever lost, and then won a memorable five-heat race at Columbus, Ohio, the deciding heat being in 2 m. 09 |s. At the great World's Fair meeting at Chicago, she obtained a five-year-old record of 2 m. 07 1 s. As a six-year-old at Terre Haute, Ind., August 17, 1894, she trotted three heats in 2 m. 06 s., 2 m. 06£s, 2 m. 05 1 s., and at the same place, September 12, 1894, she equalled Nancy Hanks' record, and at Gralesburg, 111., one week later, she cut it down to 2 m. 03f s. Since then she has been retired from the turf. For eight years Smuggler's 2 m. 15i s. had stood at the head of the column, but on July 14, 1884, Phallas trotted in 2 m. 13f s., and on September 30 of the same year Maxie Cobb reduced it to 2 m. 13is. For five years this was the high water mark, until the three-year-old Axtell cut it down in 1889 to 2 m. 12 s. The next year the Maine-bred Nelson made it 2 m. 10|s., and in 1891 he made it 2 m. 10 s., only to be surpassed by Allerton, who trotted in 2 in. 09 1 s., and Palo Alto, the California champion, who equalled Maud S.'s record by trotting in 2 m. 08|s., while the two-year-old stallion Arion, at Stockton, Cal., November 10, astonished the world by trotting in 2 m. lOf s., and was sold immediately after for the princely sum of $125,000. These records seemed unassailable; Palo Alto was dead, and the season of 1892 was drawing to its close with little prospect of the appearance of any champions to claim the dead monarch's crown. But it is the unexpected that always happens, and the fading year was destined to go out in a blaze of glory. Stamboul was a kingly-looking stallion, ten years old, by Sultan, and his dam was the beautiful Fleetwing, a daugh- ter of Rysdyk's Hambletonian. As a six-year-old he had a record of 2m. 14| s., which he reduced the following year to 2 m. 12£s., and in 1890 to 2 m. 11 s. In 1891 he did not reduce his record, but in 1892 he atoned for it by trotting at Stockton, Cal., October 22, in 2 m. 10£ s., and five days later in 2 m. 08? s. On Novem- ber 9 he went in 2m. 08s., and two weeks later in 2m. 07 is. Unfortunately, while there could be no question as to the genuine- ness of the performance, a technical rule requiring time perform- ances to be made at regular trotting meetings, at which there shall be at least one purse or stake competed for each day, was violated, 64 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE and the sapient magnates of the American Register Association declined to recognize the record. But the great public did, and Stamboul was hailed from one end of the country to the other as the champion stallion. His great rival, Kremlin, was a four-year- old, who this year had won the Transylvania Stakes at Lexington, in straight heats, in 2m. His., 2m. 13 s., 2m. 11 |s., beating a field of good horses. At Nashville, Tenn., November 5, he trotted against time in 2m. 08£s., on November 12 in 2 m. 07 f s., Novem- ber 21 in 2m. 08|s., and November 25, twice, in 2m. 09s, and at Montgomery, Ala., November 29, in 2 m. 09 s., and on De- cember 1 in the same time. The American Register Association thereupon declared him the champion, and he retired to the stud at the end of the year with the laurels of victory fresh on his brow. The season of 1894 was one of unusual brilliancy. At Gales- burg, 111., September 20, the black colt Directly, by Direct, re- duced the two-year-old record for pacers to 2 m. 07f s., and at San Jose, Cal., eight days later, the bay colt Adbell, by Advertiser, placed the yearling record for trotters at 2 m. 23 s. These, with the yearling pacing record, made by Belle Acton the year previous, and Arion's two-year-old trotting record, made three years before, are still the world's records, and it is to be hoped that the days of precocious youngsters is past, and that these records will suffice for years to come. The older horses did equally well. The black won- der, Directum, at "one fell stroke" reduced the four-year-old record, the race record and the stallion records by trotting in 2 m. 05 i s., and the dainty Alix cut down the world's trotting record to its present mark, 2 m. 03|s., and at Terre Haute, Ind., September 17, beat Ryland T., Pixley, Belle Vara and Walter E. in 2 m. 06 s., 2 m. 06^s., 2 m. 05$ s., the fastest two consecutive heats and the fastest three consecutive heats ever trotted in a race. Fantasy trotted in 2 m. 06 s. and Ralph Wilkes in 2 m. 06|s. against the watch, and Ryland T. in a race went in 2 m. 07 1 s. The chestnut mare Nightingale, in a two-mile race, reduced the world's record to 4 m. 36£s., and Sallie Simmons and Roseleaf the double-team race record to 2m. 15is. Nor were the pacers ''more backward in coming forward." Besides Directly's wonderful two-year-old record, Online cut the four-year-old record to 2 m. 04 s., and John R. Gentry and Robert J. dominated the turf with their records of 2 m. 01 i s. and 2 m. 02 J s., respectively With such an unbroken series of victories over poor old Father Time, and with such trotters as Ralph Wilkes, Fantasy, Beuzetta, Klamath, Azote, Directum, Kentucky Union, Phoebe Wilkes and Athanio, and the wonderful trio of pacers, Robert J., John R. Gen- try and Joe Patchen, waiting the signal to start, the wiseacres of the press were justified in anticipating an equally brilliant year for AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 65 1895. But alas ! for human expectations, the racing was good ; with such horses it could hardly have been otherwise ; but Father Time this year more than held his own. The sensational horse of the year was unquestionably the bay gelding Azote, by Whips, out of Josie, by Whipple's Hambletonian, the fastest trot- ter ever bred on the Pacific slope. Although born at Governor Stanford's famous Palo Alto Farm, he was little thought of in that home of precocious youngsters and unrealized expectations, and spent the early years of his life as a common hack about the farm. Fortunately a "rubber" in the stable took a great fancy to the horse, and told the veteran Orrin A. Hickok, on one of his visits of inspection, that if he was looking for a trotter, the big, over- grown buggy horse standing by was the pick of the lot. Hickok laughed derisively, but finally was persuaded to give him a chance, and was soon convinced that the " rubber" was right. In his first season, Azote won two of the five races in which he started, and was second in the other three, acquiring a record of 2 m. 14| s. In 1893 his legs failed him, and he won but one Qf his five races, and Hickok, who could not forget his early prejudices, persuaded Governor Stanford to offer him for sale. That astute horseman, Monroe Salisbury, snapped him up, and under his management he won many races in 1894, the best of them being the $5000 Transyl- vania Stakes at Lexington, Ky., in which he defeated some of the best horses of the day in straight heats in 2 m. 08| s., 2 m. 09 J s., 2m 09 |s. In 1895, in his first race, he reduced his record to 2 in. 071 s., and then in quick succession to 2 m. 06 J s. and 2 m. 05? s. He defeated Directum, Fantasy, Beuzetta, Klamath, Muta Wilkes, Ryland T. and Hulda, and did not lose a heat to any of them. And as if this was not glory enough for a despised "buggy hack." at Galesburg, 111., September 5, he trotted a mile against time in 2 m. 04f s., the first quarter, according to the official record, being in 29 |s. Beuzetta, who fairly divided with Azote the honors of the season of 1895, is a homely-looking mare, but, if " handsome is as hand- some does," she may be considered one of the handsomest mares that ever trod the turf. She was foaled May 11, 1891, and is by Onward, son of the great George Wilkes, out of Beulah, by Harold, sire of Maud S. As a two-year-old she started twice, and, although she lost both races through misbehavior, she took a record of 2 m. 26 \ s. In her three-year-old form she won all of the four races in which she started, one of which was the Kentucky Futurity, worth $31,480, in straight heats, in 2 m. 16£s., 2 m. 16Js., 2 m. 14| s. — the largest sum ever won by a trotter in a single race. In 1395 she won all her races but one, Azote being her sole con- queror, and reduced her record to 2 m. 06f s. 5 66 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE Fantasy, who also succumbed to Azote's prowess, was a tall, slim, loosely-made mare of delicate constitution, but possessing great speed. She was foaled March 7, 1890, and was by Chimes, son of Electioneer, out of a grand- daughter of Almont. She was not able to duplicate her record of 2 m. 06 s., made at Terre Haute the previous year, and proved a disappointment the whole season. In 1896 she came out strong, and took her place at the head of the procession, while Azote and Beuzetta were decidedly "off" all that year, and have since been retired to private life. Her princi- pal opponents were Kentucky Union (2 m. 07Js), Onoqua (2 m. 08| s.), Klamath (2m. 07 \ s.), William Penn (2m. 07 is.), and Lord Clinton (2 m. 08|s.) For one-half a century the two-minute horse had been the dream of the enthusiastic horseman, who still clung to the fond ideal, not- withstanding the elaborate deductions of scientific writers, who plainly proved that two minutes was clearly beyond the possibility of horse endurance. As gradually both trotting and pacing champions drew nearer and nearer the long-desired mark, the public interest in the relative merits of the trotting and pacing gaits increased. It was a close race between the two ways of going, and much speculation was indulged in as to the probable winner. The champion trotting stallion of 1893 was Directum, a black horse by Director, son of the full brother of the mighty Dexter, out of Stemwinder by Venture, son of Belmont. He had easily defeated all of the best horses of his day without once suffering defeat, and had wound up a sensational season by trotting at Cum- berland Park, Nashville, October 18, in 2 m. 05£s., in the third heat of a race. Saladin, by Sultan, dam Ella Lewis by Vermont, was the champion pacing stallion, with a record of 2 m. 05f s. He is a beautiful seal brown, and the very poetry of motion, but his career had been a checkered one, and when he was matched against Direc- tum at Point Breeze, Philadelphia, on November 27, 1893, few thought he had the ghost of a chance. The day was cold and gloomy, the dark, low-hanging clouds portended a coming storm, and winter overcoats and mufflers were more than comfortable. As it was the last race of the season, and Directum was a drawing card, the largest crowd which old Point Breeze had seen for many years shivered in the grand stand and club house balconies, and packed the intervening spaces. The pool box did a poor business, for Directum had swept everything before him, and few dreamed that Saladin would even make him extend himself. Off they started for the first heat, neck and neck together, but before the quarter pole was reached, in 3Hs., Saladin broke, and Directum obtained a lead of three lengths, which he steadily in- creased, until at the three-quarter pole, in 1 m. 371 s., it was six AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 67 lengths. Apparently all was over but the shouting, for no one believed that any horse could close up such a gap on the champion trotting stallion, a horse that never made a mistake and always had a reserve of speed to call upon. But all of a sudden the cry ran through the crowd, " Look at Saladin ! Look at Saladin ! " as the brown whirlwind came like a shot from a gun, and step by step gained on the too-confident leader. The excitement became intense, the bitter cold was forgotten, and the whole audience rose en masse to cheer the flying stallions. On they go ; in vain did Directum strain every nerve to keep the lead he had won; grad- ually, but surely, Saladin gained on him ; the six lengths' lead was cut down to two, and as they passed the ladies' stand, it was a length and a half; at the grand stand it was only half a length; ten yards from the wire the two horses were on even terms, and as they flew under the wire with Saladin's beautiful head fairly in front, the audience went frantic with excitement. Such an electric burst of speed had never been seen on the course before ; it was not racing, it was flying; Saladin had paced the last quarter with- out a break or skip in 29 k s. — better than a two-minute gait. Although Directum had lost the first heat, he was still the favorite, as it was known that he was in the pink of condition, and Saladin was not deemed prepared for such a bruising race. The result justified these predictions. Saladin struggled gamely in each of the remaining heats, but broke in each on the home-stretch, and Directum won them by a length or more. Still to have won one heat such as the first was glory enough for the pacer. But Saladin did not long continue the champion pacing stallion. There were others mightier than he in reserve, and of these mighty ones none are more popular with those who love a horse for what he is than the beautiful, big black stallion, Joe Patchen. While others have shown greater flights of speed and have lowered technical records, none have surpassed the bonny black in honesty, willingness, courage and gameness. Never in his long career has he flunked or shown the white feather, but, like old Lady Suffolk, he will do his level best as cheerfully at the end of the last heat as at the beginning of the first. His record of 2 m. 01 £ s. has been surpassed but by two pacers and no trotters. At Belmont Park, Philadelphia, September 22, 1897, the pacers John R. Gentry and Robert J., went to wagon in the remarkable time of 2 m. 09 s., which at Glens Falls, N. Y., October 8, they reduced to 2 m. 08 s. — faster than any pair of trotters went to wagon, or any pacers but themselves. Both horses are wonders in their way, but different in their make-up and characteristics. John R. Gentry is a small bay horse by a son of Red Wilkes, out of a mare by Wedgewood. He is a beautiful horse and phenomenally 68 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE fast; he has gone to the half-mile post in 59£s., and done the mile in 2 m. 0| s., being by the records second only to the greal Star Pointer. He is not as consistent a performer as Joe Patchen, and does not like a long-drawn race. Withdrawn from the turf a±ter a successful career, he and his companion, Robert J., may be seen on the roads near New York. These two old contestants for a time travelled together and took no man's dust on the road. Robert J. has a record of 2 m. 01 i s., within \ s. of Joe Patchen, and is almost as game. As a colt he was so puny and insignificant, and withal so badly sprung in the knees, that his breeder, when retiring from business, actually gave him away rather than allow him to be shown at the closing-out sale of his horses. Royally bred, being by Hartford, son of Harold, the sire of* Maud S., out of Geraldine, by Jay Gould, son of Rysdyk's Hambletonian, by the logic of the pedigree-makers, he should have been a trotter, but a pacer he was from the start, and a great one, too — the greatest perhaps, with the exception of Star Pointer, the world has ever seen. When, in 1898, John R. Gentry, who had commenced the sea- son with a record of 2 m. OJs., failed to reduce it, and Robert J., with his record of 2m. Ol^s , could do no better, the world settled down to the belief that if they could not cross the fated line, it might be years before any one could. But the fine-spun theories were to be upset and the two-minute horse not a dream, but an accomplished fact. At Readville, Mass., August 28, 1897, Star Pointer, who had commenced the season with a record of 2m. 02is., paced a mile against the watch in 1 m. 59Js., and the following year beat two minutes four times — a feat which no other horse, trotter or pacer, has ever accomplished. A member of the great Tom Hal family — the famous saddle horse family of Tennessee, which has given to the world Little Brown Jug (with his record of 2 m. llf s.), Hal Pointer (2 m. 04* s.), Hal Dillard (2m. 04f s.), Hal Broden (2m. 07 is.), Laurel (2 m. 09Js.), and Brown Hal (2 m. 12 J s.), the sire of Star Pointer — he is the only one of the great pacers who is not trotting bred. He is a big, well-shaped, wine-colored bay horse, and goes with a free, bold stride, and it is believed that his present record of 1 m. 59i s. is by no means the limit of his speed. In 1897 he started sixteen times, winning from Joe Patchen seven times and losing twice to him. He beat Frank Agan twice, and John R. Gentry and Lottie Lorraine each once. His other contests were with Father Time. He commenced the year with a record of 2 m. 02? s., which he equalled once and beat eight times. Fourteen times he beat the fastest trotting record, and at Readville, Mass., August 28, he capped the climax of his career by pacing a mile in 1 m. 59i s. In 1898 he started seven times, all against the watch, AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 69 his slowest mile being in 2 m. 02i s , and the fastest 1 m. 59£ s.„ the same as his previous record. He beat two minutes four times that year, a feat which no other horse has ever done once. " And panting Time toiled after him in vain." The close of the Nineteenth Century was marked by the advent of two great trotters who pressed poor Father Time very closely, but did not quite reach the two-minute mark. In 1900 The Abbot, a bay gelding by Chimes, clipped half a second from the world's record by trotting a mile in 2.031 at Terra Haute, Ind., while Cresceus, with a mile in 2.04 at Cleveland,reduced the trotting stal- lion record 1£ seconds. The gelding failed to equal his record in 1901, but Cresoeus came out better than ever, establishing a world's record of 2.02J, in a trial against the watch at Columbus, Ohio, on Aug. 2 ; and on the 15th of the same month at Brighton Beach, N. Y , he won the first heat in a $12,000 match race with The Abbot in 2.03i, which beat all race records. Cresceus won the sec- ond heat in 2.06?, distancing The Abbot, and then trotted a third mile against the watch in 2.05, making the fastest three consecu- tive miles ever trotted by a horse in a race. In appearance Cresceus shows little resemblance to his sire, Robert McGregor, "the Monarch of the home stretch." Though styled a chestnut in color, he narrowly escapes being a dun, while his mane and tail fade to a blonde at their fringes. His one point of beauty is his head, which is clean and bony, with soft, expressive eyes set well apart, and ears full of character. He has tremendous muscular substance, and the driving power of his hind quarters is something marvellous. There is not a weak spot in his entire make-up, and yet he has many peculiarities in his way of going that makes him once seen always remembered. He is low- headed and lumbering in his slow paces, just the opposite to his jaunty sire, but once aroused no horse has a more de- termined way of going. He is a bulldog trotter, if there ever was one, and he has speed to match his courage. At speed his head drops almost to the level of his withers, and while hi3 action is very close forward, yet the fold of his knee does not carry him near his elbows. He pounds terrifically, and thunders past like some resistless engine adjusted to the nicety of the daintiest mechanism. His early history resembles that of Andrew Jackson, though Cresceus was a yearling when his fate hung in the balance. Having been blistered on the throat for an attack of epizootic, in his efforts to relieve himself from the suffering caused by the severe application, he sawed his neck against the upper door of his stall, which had been carelessly left open, until his wind- 70 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE pipe appeared bared and bleeding, and presented such a pitiable appearance that his owner ordered him to be killed and put out of his misery. Through carelessness or inadvertence, this was delayed until the following morning, when, to the great surprise of all, the horse was found to be so much improved that it was decided to give him another chance forhis life, which he accepted, and eventually became one of the healthiest and most promising colts on the Ketcham farm. His owner, from some remembrance of his classic studies when a boy at the staid old Quaker school of Westtown, called his pet Cresceus, after Caesar's slave, who was famous for his skill in chariot races. The stallion was six years old when he made his record of 2.04 and had been in training since he was two years old. In his first four years on the turf he started in 33 races; won 19; took second money in 9, third in 4, fifth in 1 ; never having been unplaced. He won 53 of the 112 heats in which he started, 21 of which were in 2.10 or better; 40 in 2.15 or better, and 51 in 2.30 or better. In addition to these races he started seven times against the watch, four times trotting in better than 2.06. He established thirty records, and some horsemen think that he is the "noblest Roman of them all." Ed. Geers, who trained The Abbot, and has driven him in all of his races, says in his book, Experience With Trotters and Pacers: " He has an intelligent-looking head, and his general conformation is smooth ; while his legs are not unusually heavy, they are well formed, and his feet are perfect. Taken as a whole, he comes about as near being an ideal- looking race horse of the modern school as is often seen. I first commenced work with him in the fall of 1896, when he was three years old. At that time he was rough-gaited and inclined to amble and mix his gaits. I experimented with him for some time before he con- vinced me that he possessed material sufficiently good to be eligible to start in the Grand Circuit. I finally shod him with eleven-ounce shoes in front and added three-ounce toe- weights, and put a square- toed shoe on the left front foot and the right hind foot, and made the shoe on the left hind foot full at the toe and a trifle longer than the shoe on the other hind foot, and, shod in this way, he would trot square after the preliminary amble in which he would usually indulge when first started — a habit he has not yet entirely forsaken. His first start was at Detroit, July 13, 1897, in the M. and M. stake, in which he won the second heat in 2. 11 £, the fastest heat of the race, and finished in fourth place. He started a week later at the same meeting in the 2.20 class, and was unplaced. But at Cleveland, the next week, he won the 2.18 class, in straight heats, in 2.12f, 2. 11 £ and 2.14^. At Fort Wayne he won the first two heats in 2.13? and 2.13J, was third in the third heat, and dis- AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 71 tanced in the fourth. At the August meeting, at Readville, he won, in straight heats, in 2.14f , 2.13 and 2.141. He also won at Hartford, in straight heats, in 2.15, 2.1 6 J and 2.161. At Louis- ville he won the first heat in 2.13, was second in the second and third heats, and distanced in the fourth. At Lexington he won the second, third and fourth heats, in 2.13, 2.15J and 2.15f. At the September meeting, at Readville, he again won, in straight heats, in 2.15, 2.131 and 2 13£. At Portland he won the first, second and fourth heats, in 2.181, 2.131 and 2.151 — making for his first season the following record : Six times first, fourth once and un- placed three times. His first start in 1898 was at Hartford, July 4, where he won a three-heat race to wagon in 2.14 and 2.121; his record in the second heat being the world's race record to wagon. He next started at Detroit in the 2.10 class, which he won, in straight heats, in 2.12£, 2.12 and 2.08f. In the same class, at Cleveland, the next week, he met and defeated Eagle Flannigan, Pilot Boy, Don Cupid and Rilma, in straight heats, in 2.08^,2.09^ and 2. 09 J. He won the second and third heats at Columbus in 2.081 and 2.08J, and finished in second place in the race. He won the first two heats at Glens Falls in 2.121 and 2.11 J, and finished in second place. At Hartford he won the first, fourth and fifth heats, in 2.111, 2.101 and 2.09|. He won at Fort Erie, in straight heats, in 2.121, 2.14J and 2.13. At Port- land he finished in third place. At the fall meeting, at Readville, he won in straight heats, in 2.081, 2.091 and 2.08|. He closed the season at Lexington, where he Won, in straight heats, in 215£, 2 08 and 2.081; his record for the second racing season being seven times first, twice second and third once, and retiring in his five- year-old form with a race record of 2.08. He developed speed so rapidly and showed all the elements of a first-class race horse so plainly that, before the season was through I was convinced he would be invincible in the free-for-all class whenever I should deem it advisable to introduce him to that select company. He started the campaign of 1899 at Detroit, July 20, in the 2 08 class, where he won the first, third and fourth heats, in 2.07£, 2.09 and 2.10|. In the same class, at Cleveland, the next week, he met and defeated Eagle Flannigan, Kentucky Union, Mattie Patterson and John Nolan, in straight heats, in 2.08|, 2.08? and 2.08|. He won in the same class at Columbus, in straight heats, in 2.09|, 2 071 and 2.07 J. His first start in the free-for-all class was at Fort Erie, August 7, 1899, which he won, in straight heats,in 2.08, 2.09 J and 2.10£. In the free-for-all at Glens Falls he defeated Bingen, Monterey, Kentucky Union, Directum Kelly and John Nolan, winning the first, third and fourth heats, in 2 09, 2.09| and 2 08f . He won in the same class at Hartford, in straight heats, in 72 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE 2 OS}, 2 08 f and 2.07 f. He repeated this performance at Provi- dence by winning two straight heats in a free-for-all three-heat race in 2.08} and 2.06f. At New York he started against John Nolan, in a free-for-all three-heat race, and won in straight heats, in 2.<>9f and 2.06 J. He started at Providence in the free-for-all, and had Bingen as his only competitor, whom he defeated, in straight heats, in 2.09|, 2.09J and 2.06}. He closed the season's campaign at Lexington, where he defeated Bingen and Cresceus, winning the third, fourth and fifth heats in 2071, 2.08} and 2 10}— Bingen winning the first two heats in 2.07} and 2.09. His record for the season being ten races won and not meeting a single defeat. No other horse, living or dead, ever made such a record as this. In a total of thirty races, embracing all the races in which he has ever started, he was first in twenty-three, second in two, third in one, fourth in one, and unplaced in three. In the thirty races in which he started, he won seventy-six heats, all below 2.20 ; sixty-nine of these heats were better than 2.15, and thirty-eight were better than 2.10. In 1900 there was no free-for-all class in the Grand Circuit, and, believing he had the ability to trot a faster mile than any horse had ever yet done, I took him along with my racing stable and gave exhibitions at many of the large meetings. I first started him at Detroit, and he trotted a mile in 2.07. Readville next engaged his attention, and he there trotted a mile in 2.05 £. The next trial was at Providence, and here the time was 2.04|. When Hartford was reached the race record to wagon was 2. 12}, which he made on this track in 1898, and the trial record to wagon was 2-09 J, held by Lucille. I therefore determined to try and crown him as king in front of this vehicle, and he easily demol- ished all previous records by drawing a wagon a full mile in the phenomenal time of 2.05 1. I next started him against the Sickle Bearer, at New York, where he trotted to a record of 2.04; and when Terre Haute was reached in the fall, all the conditions were favorable for a fast mile, and I there drove him a mile in 2.03}, and thereby dethroned Alix as Queen of the trotting world. The fractional parts of this record-breaking mile were made as follows, viz: First quarter in 31 f seconds, second quarter in 30 J seconds, third quarter in 29 % seconds, fourth quarter in 31 } seconds, and the mile in 2.03}. It will be observed that the middle half of this mile was trotted in exactly one minute, which is much faster than any of his predecessors ever trotted this particular part of the mile, and that while several other champions have surpassed his time in the first quarter, no one has ever approached the speed he showed in the third quarter. It will also bo observed that in the five starts he made against time in harness, he improved at every trial, from 2.07 at Detroit to 2.03} at Terre Haute. The gait of The Abbot, AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 73 when at full speed, approaches perfection as nearly as we are likely to see in any horse for some time; there is just enough, but not too much, knee or hock action ; his stride is even, fast and friction- less, with no false motions or waste of power. . . . That a horse will trot a mile in harness in two minutes in the near future does not, in my judgment, admit of a doubt. Whether any of the horses I have mentioned will be the first to accomplish this much-desired result, time will soon demonstrate." Alas for Mr. Geers' prediction, The Abbot died early in 1904, and what he might have done is only conjecture. •The advent of the Twentieth Century witnessed the beginning of the career of the Champion pacer, Dan Patch, the famous son of honest old Joe Patchen, whose contests with Robert J. and John R. Gentry made the close of the Nineteenth Century luminous with the glory of the Pacer. Dan Patch, a brown horse, whose dam by Wilkesberry brought in a fresh impression of the Wilkes blood, made his first appearance in public as a four year old at Boswell, Ind., Aug. 30, 1900, where he won the 2.35 class in straight heats, obtaiuing a record of 2.22 J, which he reduced to 2.16 at Lafayette, Ind., the following week. At Crawfordsville, Ind., Sept. 12, and Brazil, Ind., he won again. In his first year on the turf he won four races easily against good fields and only lost one heat. The next year he went down the Grand Circuit with flying colors, win- ning eleven hotly contested races in straight heats, and at Brighton, Beach, N. Y., Aug. 16 and 17, after losing the first heat to Martha Marshall in 2.09,^he won in 2.04J, 2.071, 2.05|. In 1902 he defeated such good ones as Searchlight, Connor, Indiana, Riley B. and Harold H , and reduced his record in races to 2.03f, and against the watch to 1.59J. His reputation was now such that it was difficult to find competitors, and henceforth his only opponent was old Father Time, whom he handled un- mercifully, and some think unfairly, for in his efforts against him he was accompanied by pace-makers and had the advantage of wind-shields and dirt-shields. In his six years on the turf he won nineteen races, all but two in straight heats, and went against the watch thirty-nine times; beat two minutes ten times, and has a record of 1.55i; but when we compare his career with that of his sire, who will say that in all that goes to make a horse great, honesty of purpose, unflinching gameness and strength of character, the son with his champion record is better than his sire, grand old Joe Patchen. The pathetic feature of the races of 1902 was the wonderful success of the blind five year old stallion Rhythmic, who won more money than any trotter did in a season. Blind of both eyes ever 74 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE since he was a colt, and trusting entirely to his driver's guidance, game as a bulldog, and fearless of mishaps, he won the classic Merchants' and Manufacturers' $10,000 stake at Detroit, July 15, in straight heats in 2.11*, 2.11 J, 2.11f. It was the blind horse's maiden race, and any of his thirteen competitors could beat 2.15, but his grand appearance and well-known infirmity made him a general favorite, and thousands greeted his easy victory with hearty cheers. His next start was at Columbus, 0., July 30, where he scored another straight-heat victory in 2.12*, 2.12}, 2.13|. He then went to Buffalo, N. Y., where on Aug. 4, he won in straight heats, 2.09|, 2.10}, 2.13*. The following week he won the Bonner Memorial Stakes for $10,000 at Brighton Beach in 2.09}, 2.09|, 2.12. Rhythmic's next start was in the Roger Williams Stake at Nar- ragansett Park. This proved to be an eight-heat race, and was finally won by Nutbearer, Rhythmic winning the second heat in 2.08|. Six heats were trotted August 27, and five horses were heat winners. The race was then postponed until the following day, when he was distanced in the seventh heat of the race. He started at Hartford the following week, September 1, won two heats in 2.10, 2.11, but only got second place. From Hartford Rhythmic went to Syracuse, N. Y., where he started, Sept. 9, in the Woodruff Stake, and won in 2.11}, 2. 10 J and 2.12. September 16 found him at Empire City Park fighting for the 2.20 class, purse $5,000, and he got it, too, win- ning in straight heats in 2.08, 2.08}, 2.08*. And at Terre Haute, Ind., Sept. 23, he won again in 2.09, but this was his last win that year. At Cincinnati he could only obtain third place in a field of nine, both Anzella and Major Del- mar finishing before him. At Lexington, Ky., he fared still worse, coming in twelfth in the first heat, and was drawn in the second. In 1903 he was very unsuccessful, winning but two out of the thirteen races for which he started, although he reduced his record to 2.06 1. Since then he has not appeared on the turf. The sensation of 1904 was undoubtedly the beautiful Sweet Marie, and her story reads like a romance. A stable boy in Los Angeles bought for a song the well-bred mare Lady Rivers, by Carr's Mam- brino, and was allowed by his employer, who owned the famous stal- lion McKinney, to breed the mare to him. As a five-year-old, Sweet Marie beat all opponents at the matinees in her home town, but was not allowed to obtain a record. The following year she made her turf debut at Seattle, Wash., where she won six races in succession without an effort, the fastest time in any of them being 2.15*. She then went to Salem, Ore., where she won the first heat in 2.13*, but being third in the next, the judges accused her driver of pulliug her, AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 75 and ordered him out of the sulky. Upon his refusal to obey, he and the mare were indefinitely suspended. This sensational scene ended her campaign that year, and few deemed that the next would cover her with glory. A young man of good family in the East was in Los Angeles for his health, and when he saw the mare, fell in love with her, and began training her purely for his own amuse- ment. So successful was he that he brought her East and cam- paigned her the greater part of the year, when, fault being found with his driving, turned her over to the veteran driver, Alta P. Mc- Donald. She commenced the season of 1904 by winning at Detroit, July 27, in straight heats, in 2.10, 2.10i, 2.101:, and the following week at Buffalo, Aug. 5, she beat Tiverton and seven others in 2.09 J, 2.09, John Taylor capturing the first heat in 209|. Then on to New York, Aug. 10, where she beat Aristo and four others in 2.10 £, 2.10, and walking across the bridge to Brooklyn the next week, she won the $10,000 purse, and again beat Aristo and five others in 2 09, 2.08i, 2.1 H, the second heat being a dead heat with Aristo. At Readville, Aug. 25, she won the last three heats after losing the first two heats to Direct View, her best time being 2.11 £, and then at Providence, Aug. 31, she beat Tiverton (who won the first two heats), and five others in reducing her record to 2.06J. At Hart- ford she was off, and Tiverton beat her, but at Columbus, Sept. 22, and at Cincinnati, Sept. 30, she regained her laurels by winning hotly contested races from Ozanam, the fast daughter of Ax tell, and others. Crossing into Dixie, at Lexington, Oct. 6. she met Tiverton again, and after losing the first two heats to him in 2.05|, 2 04 J, won the next three and the race iu 2.05, 2.08J, 2.09. At Memphis, Tenn., Oct. 18, she beat the gray gelding, Dr. Strong, and five others in 2 04f , 2.06, and three days later she finished ahead of Fereno and three others in 2.05 i, 2.06|, and three days later still, at the same place, she wound up a remarkable weeks' work by winning the Free-for-All from Dr. Strong, Ozanam and Snyder McGregor, in 2.071, 2.05. In that year she started in sixteen races losing only one, and trotted thirty winning heats. Tiverton, her leading op- ponent, started six times and won three races, his best time being half a second better than the mare. This year, after a series of in and out races with Tiverton, Sweet Marie Went against the watch at Readville, Mass., Oct. 6, and reduced her record to 2.04J. The latest to enter the charmed two-minute circle is the chest- nut stallion Audubon Boy, by J. J. Audubon out of Flaxey by Benton Wilkes, who, at Beadville, Mass., Sept. 22, driven by his owner, James Gatcomb, paced a mile against time in 1 59 i equalling Star Pointer's record. The present Queen of the Trotting Turf is Lou Dillon, the fair 76 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE wild flower of California, a dark chestnut mare seven years old, by Sidney Dillon, dam by Milton Medium, son of Happy Medium. Millard Sanders who has been her trainer and driver since she was a yearling says of her: "She has pacing-horse speed and the strongest heart of any horse I ever saw. Lou Dillon is very feminine. She has pride, but it is a gracious pride. She is notional, but her notions are pretty; she wants to do things in her own way, but then her own way is just the right way for her. Lou in her races comes to the starting point with a hop, skip and a jump, a little dance, a little gallop — all wrong from the orthodox point of view, but all right for Lou Dillon. In another horse such conduct would be most reprehensible, and would presage badly for steadiness in the race, but in Lou's case all the frisking is a mere harmless effervescence. She is so high strung, so eager, so full of strength and go and joyous life that she simply can't hold herself — she must dance and prance. But once in the race no horse ever went truer than Lou. The word ' driv^e,' though the proper techni- cal term, conveys a false idea concerning the person who sits be- hind Lou in her races. She isn't really driven at all ; she knows nothing of the whip and little of the bit. As she matured it was easily perceived that she had great speed possibilities, but at the same time sober-sided people shook their heads over her. She was so high strung that they thought she was overstrung — too nervous, too notional, too frivolous, too wayward to ever amount to any- thing. When harness was first put on her she showed nervousness and impatience and she wanted her own way. The farm trainer, a very experienced man, but a stickler for orthodoxy, insisted on her doing things as other horses did then. Mildly but firmly she refused, and when he still persisted, they quarreled. "Lou has a sweet disposition — she never harbors a vicious thought, she is generous and gentle, yet most brave and full of fire, and so it is possible to force a quarrel with her. So, whenever she was taken out by the farm trainer there were painful scenes of dis- cord and the sober-sided people shook their heads more and more. " Three years ago I found Lou in disgrace on account of what was supposed to be invincible frivolity. I made her acquaintance and liked her at once. She has the daintiest and nicest manners of any horse I ever saw. She took to me, too, and from that day to this ; though I have driven her in all her miles, we have never had a quarrel. She needed understanding, trust and sympathy, for, as I have said, she is very feminine. There never was a safer horse, but she is most ambitious, wanting to go all the time. One advantage that Lou has over most horses arises largely from the fact that in spite of her dainty airs and grace she is so gentle and so true. We can give her the utmost freedom. She wears AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 77 no check rein or martingale. Her head is not forced away up like the heads of other horses and she goes easy to herself with the reins slack on her back." She started at Cleveland, July 4, 1903, against the record of 2 03f, which the dainty Alix had held for nine long years, and though she barely failed to dethrone her, she did so one week later, and was hailed as the new Trotting Queen. Twenty days later, still at Cleveland, she reduced this to 2.02f , and sturdy Cresceus trembled at his approaching downfall. At Brooklyn, Aug. 17, the watch only showed 2.03f , but at Readville, Aug. 24, she accomplished the trick, and the two-minute trotter had come at last. She then returned to her old quarters at Cleveland, and on Sept 12 sought by a bold stroke to overthrow Maud S's record of 2.08f to the old high-wheel sulky, and went in the wonderful time of 2.05 ; but as her sulky, though high- wheeled, was not of the old- fashioned kind, but a new-fangled one, with ball-bearing hubs and pneumatic tires, and as she was accompanied by a pace-maker with a dirt-shield in front, the National Trotting Association, on Jan. 5, 1904, decided that it was not a record, and that Maud S was still the high-wheel champion. Lou Dillon, however, did not long enjoy the honor of being the only two -minute trotter. Quite unexpected to the public at large, Major Delmar dropped into the charmed circle. The grandson ot Electioneer, unlike his female rival, was not new to the trotting game. He started as a two-year-old in 1899 in three races, but failed to win a heat, and as a three year-old he won two stakes and second money in the Horse Review Futurity. As a five-year-old, he was a very successful campaigner. Out of twelve starts, he won nine times, was second once and third twice. His first mile of note was at Albany, Aug. 1, 1903, in 2 04f. This he reduced to 2.04 at New York, Aug. 13; to 2.02 \ at Providence, Sept. 4; to 2. OH at Syracuse, Sept. 9, and on Sept. 11, at the same place, to 2.00J. At Readville, Sept. 14, he trotted a mile in 2.00f. He was then shipped to Empire City, and there sold for $40,000 to E. E. Smathers. Under the new ownership he trotted a mile there, on Sept. 25, in 2.00. He reduced this record to -1.59f at Mem- phis, on October 27, and public curiosity was aroused when it was announced that he and Lou Dillon would meet at the Lex- ington meeting, Oct. 10. It was a cold raw day, with the wind blowing at. the rate of 30 miles an hour, when the first great test of the trotting ability of the two came, not in a contest but in an effort by each against the wagon record of 2.04f. Major Delmar tried first, driven by his owner, and went in 2.03f, reducing the record just a second. The utile was a startler. It not only seemed an impossible feat, but stood out as one of the greatest 78 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE performances of any time by a trotter under the conditions. Twenty minutes later, however, Delmar's mile sank into insig- nificance. Lou Dillon came out not only to beat her own record of 2.04f, but to try to eclipse the mile of 2.031 that Major Del- mar had gone less than 30 minutes before. The mare went away from the wire not overly fast, but with every stride the clip was faster, and in one of the grandest finishes ever witnessed, she flashed under the wire in the remarkable time of 2.01f , beating Delmar's record by just two seconds. These separate contests were decisive as to the relative speed of the horses, but as she had never competed in an actual race many thought that when they were to meet, at the Memphis meeting, Oct. 20, the result might be different. But the mare soon settled the question by defeating the Major in 2.04|, 2.04f . Last year she was not so successful. She started seven times against the watch. At Detroit she made efforts to beat 2.05 to wagon, and did it the second time of asking. At Cleveland, July 30, she tried again to beat Maud S's record, but the best she could do was 2.09£. At Memphis, Oct. 18, Major Delmar turned the tables on her, and beat her to wagon in straight heats, 2.07, 2.18J. At the same meeting she made two efforts to beat 2.01f and failed, but later on made two successful efforts in 2.01 } and 2.01. This year she has done nothing. When we compare her career of two short years, dazzling though it be, with the many years service of Flora Temple, and Goldsmith Maid, who fought their way to pre-eminence in hotly contested and often long drawn-out races, drawing heavy high- wheeled sulkies over rough and uneven tracks, the true lover of the horse may well ask whether the old ways were not better. Shod with aluminum shoes, hitched with the lightest and most expensive harness to a low bicycle sulky with ball-bearing hubs and pneumatic tires, with a wind-shield to break the force of the wind, and narrow strips of canvass hung between the wheels for a dirt-shield, accompanied by pace-makers to make the way easy for him at every turn, the modern racing machine skims over tracks as smooth as ball-room floors, and favored in every pos- sible way in his effort to beat the watch, airily places the record so made against those made by the heroes of olden time. But it may well be questioned whether contests against time are beneficial after all. The true intent of horse racing is to draw out the best qualities of the horse, both mental and physical, and to indicate to breeders the best elements to perpetuate, and as the friendly rivalry and strenuous intercourse of public school and college life make the coming man, so it is the desperate struggle up the homestretch and the hard won victory, when defeat hangs over AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 79 like a cloud, that has given us the game, resolute roadster of to- day — the delight of the American gentleman. The following brief statistics will show at a glance the wonder- ful improvement in the speed of the trotting horse. In 1818 the best mile in harness (Boston Blue), 3 m. 00 s. In 1824 the best mile under saddle (the Albany Pony), 2 m. 40 s. In 1834 the best mile under saddle (Edwin Forrest), 2 m. 31£ s. In 1835 the best mile (Oneida Chief, ch. g , Kentucky Hunter), 2 m. 31 s. In 1839 the best mile under saddle (Dutchman), 2 m. 28 s. In 1845 the best mile (James K. Polk, ch. g., pedigree unknown), 2m. 27s. In 1849 the best mile under saddle (Lady Suffolk), 2 m. 26 s. In 1853 the best mile in harness (Highland Maid), 2 m. 27 s. In 1853 the best mile under saddle (Tacony), 2 m. 25£ s. In 1856 the best mile in harness (Flora Temple), 2 m. 24£ s. In 1859 the best mile in harness (Flora Temple), 2 m. 19| s. In 1859 the best mile in harness (Flora Temple), 2 m. 19i s. In 1865 the best mile (Dexter), 2 m. 18£ s. In 1866 the best mile (Dexter), 2 m. 18 s. In 1867 the best mile in harness (Dexter), 2 m. 17£ s. In 1879 the best mile in harness (St. Julien), 2 m. 12| s. In 1871 the best mile in harness (Goldsmith Maid), 2 m. 17 s. In 1872 the best mile in harness (Goldsmith Maid), 2 m. 16| s. In 1874 the best mile in harness (Goldsmith Maid), 2 m. 14 s. In 1878 the best mile in harness (Rarus), 2 m. 13£ s. In 1880 the best mile in harness (Maud S.), 2 m. 10J s. In 1881 the best mile in harness (Maud S.), 2 m. 10£ s. In 1884 the best mile in harness (Maud S.), 2 m. 09| s. In 1885 the best mile in harness (Maud S.), 2 m. 08| s. In 1891 the best mile in harness (Sunol), 2 m. 08| s. In 1892 the best mile in harness (Nancy Hanks), 2 m. 04 s. In 1894 the best mile in harness (Alix), 2 m. 03| s. In 1901 the best mile in harness (Cresceus), 2 m. 02 J s. In 1903 the best mile in harness (Lou Dillon), 1 m. 58% s. REDUCTION OF THE PACING RECORD. Drover, b. g., Fanny Ellsler, gr. m., Unknown, ch. g., Pet, rn. g., . Pet, rn. g., . Pet, rn. g., . Pocahontas, ch. m., Sleepy George, b. g., Sweetzer, gr. g., . Sleepy Tom, ch. g., Billy Corbeau, blk. g. Sleepy Tom, ch. g., Little Brown Jug, br. Johnston, b. g., . Johnston, b. g., . Direct, blk. s., Hal Pointer, b. g., Mascot, b. g., o saddle) New Jersey, Oct. 3, 1339, Albany, N. Y., Aug. 2, 1844, New Jersey, Aug. 2, 1844, . Long Island, N. Y., Aug. 2, 1851, Long Island, N. Y., Sept. 9, 1852, Long Island, N. Y., Sept., 1852, Long Island, N. Y., June 21, 1855 Rochester, N. Y., Aug. 7, 1879, Oakland, Cal., Dec. 25, 1878, Columbus, O., July 16, 1879, 1868, Chicago, 111., July 25, 1879, . Hartford, Conn., Aug. 24, 1881, Chicago, 111., Oct. 9, 1883, . Chicago, 111., Oct. 9, 1384, . Independence, la., Sept. 4, 1891, Chicago, 111., Aug. 18, 1892, Terre Haute, Ind., Sept. 19, 1892, 2.28 2.27£ 2.23 2.21 2.19i 2.18i 2.17* 2.15£ 2.15 2.14J 2.14i 2.12J 2,lli 2.10 2.06J 2.06 2.05| 2.04 80 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE Flying Jim, b. g., Robert J., b. g., . Robert J., b. g., . Robert J., b. g., . John R. Gentry, b. s., . John R. Gentry, b. s., . Star Pointer, b. s Chicago, 111., Sept. 15, 1893, . 2.04 Fort Wayne, Ind., Aug. 31, 1894, 2.031 Indianapolis, Ind., Sept. 5, 1894, . 2.03.} Terre Haute, Ind , Sept. 14, 1894, 2 01^ Glens Falls, N. Y., Sept. 10, 1896, 2.0U Portland, Me., Sept. 24, 1896, . 2.00* Readville, Mass., Aug. 28, 1897, . 1.594- Dan Patch, b. s., . . . Lexington, Ky., Oct. 7, 1905, . . 1.55% Since the establishment of trotting as a national sport there have been only eight horses that have been recognized as kiugs and queens of the trotting turf — whose names have been familiar as household words even to those who never set foot on a race-track or read the sporting columns of the newspaper, viz., Lady Suffolk, Flora Temple, Dexter, G-oldsmith Maid, Rarus, Maud S., Nancy Hanks and Cresceus, a brilliant octave, the mention of whose names spans the memories of half a century and links the recollec- tions of the veteran raconteur to the present day. There have been other brilliant performers who have reduced records and won renown, but only these eight have reigned in the public heart. Of all the brilliant coterie, no name is even now mentioned with greater respect than Lady Suffolk, and the three next greatest favorites have been her successors in the order named. Why this should be so it is not easy to say, for Rarus, Maud S., Nancy- Hanks and Cresceus were all consistent performers, and Maud S., in addition, was almost as lovable as dear old Lady Suffolk. The broadening out of the circuit and the multitude of horses on the turf may account for this fact, on the principle that it is easier to be the great man of a village than of the large city, and that the tracks around New York and Philadelphia no longer hold the prominence that they once possessed. When it is considered that by far the greater portion of the best bred colts are kept for driving purposes or the stud, and that very few even of the most promising trotters are kept long on the turf, the enormous increase in the number of fast horses America is annually producing is still more marked. But with all this the demand for fast driving horses has been so great that the supply is not equal to the demand, and the increase in prices has been even proportionately greater. The money invested in horseflesh for road purposes only may be judged by the amount spent by the late Mr. Robert Bonner, a gentle- man who never permitted any of his horses to trot for money, but kept them solely for his own driving. For Pocahontas Mr. Bonner gave $35,000 and another horse; Rarus cost him $36,000; for Dexter he paid $33,000; Edward Everett, $20,000; Startle, $20,000; Edwin Forrest, $16,000; Lady Stout, $15,000; Grafton, $15,000; Bruno, $15 000; the Auburn horse, $13,000; Wellesley Boy, $12,000; Joe Elliott, $10,000; Maud Macy, $10,000 ; Mam- brino Bertie, $10,000 ; Dick Jamison, $10,000 ; Maybird, $9500: AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 81 Lantern and Light, $9000; Music, $8000; three full sisters to Dexter, $6500; Molsey, $1000; Peerless, $5500; Lady Palmer, $5000 ; Prince Imperial, son of the famous Flora Temple, $5000 ; Flatbush Maid, $4000 ; Eric, $4000 ; John Taylor, $3500 j Lady Woodruff, $3000; Centennial, $3000; Lucy Cuyl- r, $3000; Walton, $3000; the Canada roan mare, $3000; Keen Jim, $2800; Major Morton, $2500 ; the Carpenter horse, $2200; the Boston gray team, $2000; Elsie Vernier, $2000; Ada Duroc, $2000; Ella Sherwood, $1600; Hebe, Grafton's dam, $1500; Carl Burr, $1200; Malice, $1200 ; Honest Peter, $1200 ; dam of the Morse colt, $1200 ; Uncle Sim, $1000 ; dam of Clara G., $1000 ; Princess, $1000. The list of itself amounts to $377,700. But in addition to those mentioned Mr. Bonner had a large number of fashionably bred brood mares, and several young mares and geldings of great speed that he purchased at prices ranging below $1000. That the trotting turf has been of inestimable benefit to the great breeding interests of the country cannot be denied. It has already added millions of dollars to the material wealth of the country, and if the exportation of American horses to Europe in- creases as rapidly in the next few years as it has done during the year now fast drawing to a close, the raising of horses will be among the most important of American industries. But there is almost always a dark side to every picture. Up to 1870 there had been no co-operation between the man- agement of the different trotting courses of the United States. A course might rule a driver or owner off its track for a palpable fraud, but the punishment virtually amounted to nothing, as he could immediately go to another course on the fame footing as the honestest man there. Is it any wonder that under this want of system fraud oftentimes ruled with a high hand, and when exposed laughed at those who had at heart the best interests of the turf? It became evident that some plan must be devised to check the growing flood of corruption which threatened to engulf the trotting turf, and a call was issued to the different trotting associations of the United States to send delegates to a convention to be held in New York to promote the best interests of the trotting turf. The convention met in February, 1870, and formally organized the " National Association for the Promotion of the Interests of the American Trotting Turf." Amasa Sprague, the great Rhode Island manufacturer, was elected president of the association, rules for the management of all the tracks belonging to the association were adopted, and a board of appeals constituted, to whom all disputes and doubtful question^ were to be referred. This organization still exists, and its influence fur good has been immense. Nearly all the principal tracks in the country belong to it and act together in perfect harmony. And now if any one is ruled off a track the 82 THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. punishment is by no means a light one, for expulsion from one track means expulsion from all. The future of the trotting turf is full of bright omens. The clouds of prejudice and suspicion, which so long overhung it, are drifting rapidly away, and many of our leading scholars and thinkers are beginning to see that the turf is not as bad as it has been depicted. In a recent address President Clark, of Amherst College, makes the following sensible remarks : " With suitable preparation and management, not only does a healthy horse suffer no distress from trotting a moderate distance at the top of his speed, but enjoys it as highly as his driver. The match trotter is peculiarly gifted with powers of locomotion, and his wonderful mechanism can only be appreciated when in full operation. To most persons a closely- contested trot is a beautiful and attractive spectacle, and experience proves that nothing affords a more delightful or harmless amuse- ment for the people, provided the surroundings and associations are o the proper kind. The usual accompaniments of the race- course — quarrelling, profanity, intoxication, gambling, and public betting — may and should always be everywhere forbidden and pre- vented. The morals of the community are of more consequence than the breeds of horses. There is no more occasion for immor- ality in connection with a trotting match, than in connection with an exhibition of skill and swiftness in skating." But will these bright omens be fulfilled ? Who can tell ? One thing is certain : the fate of the turf rests not with its enemies, but its friends. The outrageous Edwin Forrest case at Utica, in 1878, inflicted a far deadlier wound than bigoted opposition or rancorous diatribe could possibly have done, and if the races are to be decided in the pool-box and not upon the track, if horses are to be pulled iu order to save records, if drivers are allowed to form corrupt com- binations, and the interests of the owners are treated as naught, the turf will sink to a lower condition than it was before the National Association was formed. But if the reform movement which was then inaugurated is carried on in the spirit in which it was beguu ; if fraud, when exposed, is rigorously punished, no matter who may be the sufferer ; if the owners and breeders come to the front and the gamblers are sent to the rear, then shall the trotting turf become a blessing and not a curse, and when hereafter the foreigner visiting these shores shall ask to see the productions of American genius and enterprise, he shall behold none more truly characteristic, none more worthy of his admiration, than the Trotting Horse of America- MEMORANDUM. MEMORANDUM. MEMORANDUM. MEMORANDUM. SOME USEFUL HINTS, SUGGESTIONS AND OPINIONS ON TRAINING AND CONDITIONING. COMPILED PROM VARIOUS SOURCES. " No man is fit to handle colts or horses unless he has perfect control of his temper, for you can do much more with coaxing than you can with harsh treatment ; for, when an animal becomes afraid of his trainer, he loses confidence and will not improve in that man's hands. This applies to aged horses as well as colts." — A. J. Feek. 11 Further than halter-breaking I have never thought necessary during the first year. The fall and winter after weaning, they should have all they will eat, and on every dry day they should run out in the fields and take all the exercise they will; for plenty of food and plenty of exercise are equally necessary to accomplish the best results. "There is no process, not even the starving process, that I think more injurious to the colt than over- feeding, with little or no exer- cise. The legs cannot grow and develop without plenty of gallop- ing, and if well fed and turned out in the fields in good weather, they will run and play." — A. J. McKimmin. " The first thing in training a horse is to make a careful study of the animal, learning all his peculiarities, faults, weaknesses, habits, etc. I think one vital mistake made by men training horses is that they do not seem to think that horses are made of flesh and blood, and very nearly human in all their ways/' — John Splan. "Two-thirds of the promising and fashionably -bred colts are ruined through mismanagement, which includes over-conditioning, bad shoeing, excessive use of boots, weights and ointments, which incite and weaken, through increased growth, the hoof, one of the most fruitful sources of malformation. " — Alexander Dunbar. "It used to be a custom to send a three- month-old colt, half- halter broken, and give him one month to complete his education, 87 88 SOME USEFUL HINTS, SUGGESTIONS, ETC., and return it fit and safe for any use. This was a great mistake; the man had either to half kill the colt or return him half broken, or perhaps both. It takes a bright, intelligent boy ten or fifteen years to complete a good education, and it can hardly be called fair to expect a dumb beast to be fit to graduate at the end of a month. A colt, when thoroughly broken, should have a graceful, easy car- riage, a pleasant mouth, be obedient, and yield promptly to every requirement. He should go at his work cheerfully, and with as much apparent pleasure as his driver takes in riding after him. By such behavior he would indicate at once that he was an educated horse, and not an abused and half-killed brute. To take a green colt and return him in this condition requires considerable time — at least three months." — H. 0. Woodnutt. "The commencement of Lady Suffolk's history interested those who remembered her performances five-and-twenty years before, and revived the discussion about the forcing system and early maturity. It was admitted that David Bryant trotted the mare too much in her first season; but some still held that early ma- turity was a good thing, and predicted that it will be hereafter one of the chief aims of the breeders. I am somewhat afraid that it will; and being convinced that it will be mischievous, and end in the premature decay of many good horses, I have protested against it. The argument is this : If a colt can be made as good at three years old as another will be at five or six, there is a great saving of time and expense. Now, this is not the proper way to state the question; for a colt may be as fast at three as another is at five or six, and still be an inferior horse; and it is my opinion that the method adopted to make him at three equal to what the other will be at six is almost certain to render him an inferior animal as re- gards duration." — Hiram Woodruff. "In regard to colts, I have previously observed that the forcing system in the raising of trotters was not advisable. I am satisfied that it is not only expense laid out to no use, but for a purpose which is likely to be mischievous. Very early maturity is only to be attained accompanied with the liability, the almost certainty, of corresponding early decay; and, to achieve such excellence as that to which Dutchman attained, the trotting horse must have all his powers long after the period at which most running horses have left the turf. The reason is obvious. The trotter has to be edu- cated up to his best and strongest rate, and the education takes many years. Dutchman improved until he was ten or eleven years old, and it may be questioned whether his very best capabilities were ever brought out; for the change into new hands just when ON TRAINING AND CONDITIONING- 89 he had come to the highest pitch that we know of was not alto- gether favorable to continued advance. Therefore, when a trotting horse has attained the age of seven, and is aged, or arrived at natural maturity, he has only just reached that stage when we may begin to expect the development of his finest powers ; and that de- velopment, according to my experience, is likely to be gradual, and to continue for a long time. No doubt many horses never improve after they are seven; and in some cases the speed comes to them all at once, as the saying is. In the former, the constitution, breeding or form is probably defective. A century of work would not improve some horses. They get to their best early, and only because their best is very bad." — Hiram Woodruff. " Many trainers ought never to be allowed to get into a sulky in possession of a whip. They are so constituted that they cannot control their temper, and they often whip when there is no better reason for it than the gratification which the doing so yields their ill-nature. One single cut with the whip at the wrong time will not be forgotten by some horses during a whole season, and may cause the horse to become timid and irritable — may, in fact, ulti- mately ruin him — causing him to prove unreliable, both as regards gait and everything else considered as exceptionally valuable." — Farmers' Home Journal. "Drivers are born, not made, and it is impossible to teach a man so that he can get up behind a horse and drive him well unless he has the natural gift; and only this, with experience, makes a good driver. You want a steady, firm hand, and yet a light one. You want a firm hand, but not a rigid, unyielding one, for a certain ease is necessary to give the horse confidence. If the driver be nervous and unsteady, the horse will soon know it, and his stead- iness will be affected by it. Never take more hold on the horse than is necessary to give him confidence, and to hold him steady and safe. A good driver must be a good judge of pace and of distance, cool-headed, with presence of mind, and able to take in a situation at a glance and act upon it instantly. He must be ready to see an advantage the moment it presents itself, and seize it the moment he sees it. All this, as I have said, cannot be learned; there are certain qualities of the brain and the hand that must in a degree be natural to the man, though they may be perfected by acquirement. A driver may be good when going at a 2.40 gait, but the same man may be all at sea when going at a 2.16 gait. The difference in results that will follow a move at 2.40 gait and that which may follow a move at 2.20 gait is marvellous." — Charles Marvin. 90 SOME USEFUL HINTS, SUGGESTIONS, ETC., " In order that a fast horse should be under circumstances to do his best, he should be as much at his ease in his harness and gen- eral rig as possible. If he is not, he is placed at almost as much disadvantage as if sore or stiff, or suffering from some bodily ail- ment. You may see horses brought out of the stable to trot, with a very tight check to keep their heads up, and a tight martingale to keep it down. Such a horse is in irons; and when to this is added a dead drag at the reins, and no movement of the bit from end to end, I cannot see how he should do his best. People talk about a steady, bracing pull; but, in my opinion, that is not the right way to drive a trotter. There is a great difference between letting go of your horse's head and keeping up one dull, deadening pull all the time." — -Hiram Woodruff. " Bits are often kept in places to which the frost penetrates in very cold weather. The bits become frosted ; and, without a thought of what he is doing, the man claps a frosted steel bit into the horse's mouth. The consequence is a sore mouth, just about as certainly as if the bit had been nearly at a red heat; and then the man bothers his brains to find out what caused it. If he had put the frozen bit into his own mouth, it would have brought the inner skin of the lips away with it, and then he would have felt the mischief. In very cold weather, take your bits to the fire, and be sure that there is no frost in the steel when the bit is placed in your horse's mouth/' — Hiram Woodruff. " My experience has been that no horse can be successfully driven with anything like a severe bit. I never saw one that was even broken of the habit of pulling in that way. If you put a severe bit in the horse's mouth and pull on it it makes the horse mad and irritates him ; the further you drive him and the harder you pull him, the more he will pull against it. When I was a boy, almost every trotter I saw would pull in a disagreeable manner when being driven at top speed. At the present time I cannot think of one horse that is anything like first-class, that pulls enough to make it disagreeable for a man at any time. A great many people think that every horse should be driven with an overcheck. I can re- member when I had the same opinion myself. I am now satisfied that it is a serious mistake. There are a great many horses that will not take kindly to an overcheck, and if you insist on using it on them it will sooner or later spoil the horse's disposition to a great extent." — John Splan. "The mouth is now fine and sensitive; and it ought to be kept so, because this is the great organ of communication between a good driver and the trotter, when he is cultivated and improved ON TRAINING AND CONDITIONING. 91 into a fast horse. What you want the trotter to do when he is at speed is to be got into him through his mouth. You may encour- age him by speaking to him, or sting him into a greater effort with the whip ; but neither of these is half as good as the play upon the reins, with which you let him know what you want through his lively, sensitive mouth. You are then to keep in constant mind the necessity of not impairing the colt's mouth by rough handling of the reins. If you pull and lug at the bit, the colt, in his efforts to resist what hurts him, will very soon pull, too, for he will find out that this numbs and deadens the jaws ; but this is at the expense of ruination to the mouth. It will become hard and insensible ; and the first and the largest part of the mischief which goes towards the making of a hard puller is done/' — Hiram Woodruff. " Checks and bits have a good deal to do with balancing the horse, and the less restraint or annoyance these appliances give the horse the better. I like plain bits. If you cannot control a horse with a plain bit, you have a small chance of making a trotter of him at all. Such bits as the 'Perfection,' 'Rockwell,' etc., I con- sider pernicious contrivances. There are cases where a horse has improved with a severe bit, but they are exceptional. With what extreme measures have achieved I do not quarrel, but I do argue against using artificial and unusual appliances unnecessarily, and this applies not only to bits, checks, shoes, weights, etc., but to everything connected with training." — Charles Marvin. " The stallion (Kemble Jackson) was then sent to me to be handled j and, in order to prevent him from throwing down his head between his knees when he broke, the well-known Kemble- Jackson check, since in use all over this country, and introduced in England also, was invented. It answered well in this case, and must always be of great use in similar ones ; but I think it is often applied in cases where it is not only unnecessary, but does harm instead of good." — Hiram Woodruff. " I would learn every colt or horse to drive with and without blinds or winkers/' — A. J. Feeh. " A great deal has been written and said relative to the use of blinders. While the arguments for their discontinuance are ap- parently the stronger, I must acknowledge that, in my practice, more horses have gone better with than without them." — Joseph Cairn Simpson. " How far to work a colt, I cannot tell you any more than I can how big a lump of chalk is. Colts differ in size, stamina, disposi- 92 SOME USEFUL HINTS, SUGGESTIONS, ETC., tion and strength. Some have got to indulge in a little foolishness before they are ready to do right — play with the birds along the fence, or the shadows of the poles — while others are strict business all the time. It is safe enough to figure not to exceed four miles with any colt and not less than two and one-half. With the proper care, such as walking and turning out, colts do not need much jogging. They are ready to speed very soon after getting to the track." — Thomas J. Dunbar. " I think it is a mistake to jog horses too far. From three to five miles a day is ordinarily sufficient for most horses, except that on one day in each week it is best to jog seven or eight miles, so the horse will get a little leg weary. Some days three miles and some four and five miles; but I do not believe in slow jogging for more than one mile. After going the first mile, it is best to let them jog along good and strong, as I am satisfied that from three to five miles stiff jogging will do a horse more good than twenty miles at a slow, poky gait. I also think a great many horses are jogged so far and slow that it takes away their speed; besides, it gets monotonous to the horse, and he does not take his work as cheerfully as a horse that is jogged short and lively." — Edward F. Geers. "The object of the driver should then be to support him with as little pull as possible, but still to support him. The horse with a good mouth will always feel the driver's hand ; and, when the latter is as skillful as he ought to be for the handling of the first- rate, fast trotter, he may play upon the rein with a touch like that of a harper upon the strings, and the horse will answer every touch with the music of the feet and wheels." — Hiram Woodruff. " There is no cure for a pulling horse, however, like that of not pulling against him ; though it adds to a person's steadiness of nerve to know that he has the appliances to stop a horse, should gentleness not prevail. A horse can never be radically cured of this propensity to pull, unless the driver is determined not to gratify the morbid habit, but to ease away whenever he rushes for the bit, and teach him that his comfort and ease of going is de- pendent on his ceasing to pull. The celebrated English jockey, Chiffney, wrote a treatise on riding a race horse with a slack rein. I have never been fortunate enough to see it; but, judging from the success he met with in ' his mounts/ his practice indicated the truth of this theory." — Joseph Cairn Simpson. "It is often said that a horse cannot pull hard and last; and this is contrary to the facts I am about to mention. Trustee lasted; ON TRAINING AND CONDITIONING. 93 and he was a hard puller. Captain McGowan lasted; and he is the hardest-pulling horse in America, I suppose. Dexter pulls a pound or two, I can assure you; and he has shown his capacity to go on. The truth is, that the pulling horses last well enough, but the drivers do not last so long. It is just so with the runners. Look at English Eclipse, who 'pulled a ton/ as the saying has it, when he distanced his fields. Look at Norfolk, a desperate hard puller, but, nevertheless, a thorough stayer. I mention these in- stances in order that you may not be led away by a theory that is groundless. To say that a horse can't stay because he pulls, is not true. To say that he might stay as well if he did not pull so hard, and that he would be much more pleasant to ride or drive, is the correct thing." — Hiram Woodruff. " As the development and improvement of the fast trotter has exerted, and must continue to exert, a vast influence upon the general horse stock of the country, used for road purposes, it is necessary to consider another qualification besides those of speed and bottom. A horse may be fast on the course before a light sulky, just as a running horse may be very speedy for a mile with about a hundred pounds on his back, but not calculated for general use on the road, or to improve the common road stock as a stallion. The ability to pull weight is a quality of exceeding value ; and, when it is found in connection with speed and stoutness, we may safely say that the three prime characteristics of the harness horse are obtained. It is to be remembered that the ability of which I speak is that which can pull at a great rate ; so that putting on extra weight, up to a reasonable point, shall make no very great difference in the performance of the trotter. Almost any horse can pull a moderate weight at a slow pace on a good road; but those that can take along about four hundred pounds, and keep the pace good for two or three miles, are, and always have been, rather scarce." — Hiram Woodruff. "It will be remembered that I have spoken of three prime qualities in the trotting horse; viz., speed, bottom and the power to pull weight. I was already confident that little Flora possessed the last, as well as the other two. People are apt to think that great size is demanded for a weight-puller, but there are plenty of notable instances to show that this is a mistake. Still, though there need not be great size, and though some big horses are the very worst of weight-pullers, coming right back as soon as they are required to take along a wagon and a heavy man, strength is cer- tainly demanded. This strength in small horses is the result of a nice adaptation of parts, together with particular power in the loin 94 SOME USEFUL HINTS, SUGGESTIONS, ETC., and hind- quarters. If a little horse of that sort be particularly ex- amined, it will commonly be found that, though they are low, they are long in all the moving parts ; and their quarters are generally as big, and sometimes a deal bigger, than those of many much larger horses." — Hiram Woodruff. " Mere bulk is also useless. Everybody must have seen horses big enough to pull a ton, to look at, and able to trot very fast in a sulky, or to a skeleton wagon, but unable to act to advantage to three or four hundred pounds. The weight-pullers, as a general rule, are of medium size, with a fine, quick stroke, not over long, and they bend the knees well. They need to be spirited goers, keeping well up to their work all the time ; and, unless their tem- per and pluck are both good, they will sulk, or give up from faint- heartedness, when they feel the weight, and the speed begins to tell. But though mere bulk is useless for the purpose, a fair amount of substance is required; and it will be found in nearly every case that, though the weight-puller may not have a large frame, he possesses a large muscular development. Long striders are seldom good at weight. Being greatly extended, with a load behind to be pulled along, they are unable to recover, and shove their haunches in quick, without extra exertion, under which they soon tire. Here they more than lose in time of stroke what they gain in space, and loiter, as it were, in their action." — Hiram Woodruff. "A horse learns more in one lesson given in a race than a month's work alone will do. The fact is, you must work them in company as much as you can ; it is the only proper way. Then you can find out his strong points and his weaknesses." — Varick. " Another suggestion I would make is : If you have a horse that cannot trot better than 2.14 or 2.15, and you are in a race against horses that can trot in 2.10 or 2.12 and happen to get away well, and trotting second to a horse you know can go in 2.10, it is bad policy to try to drive your horse faster than he can go in chasing the 2.10 horse. If you do this, you will certainly get left, as there is no chance for you to win, and you are apt to make a mistake, and other horses may come on and beat you for a place. A great many horses lose races they could win if the driver had patience to sit still a little longer." — Edward F. Geers. " In the training of a horse to bring him to his highest state of condition, what he eats and drinks cuts a very important figure. There are some horses that, from one cause or another, will not eat enough to stand the severe preparation; but, as a rule, I think ON TRAINING AND CONDITIONING. 95 most horses eat too much. I think eating gets to be a habit with some of them, and a bad habit at that. If a horse is inclined to be * washy/ sweat freely and lose his flesh, that horse, I think, needs more food than one of the opposite disposition. While Rams was a delicate-looking horse, and people often asked me if he was a good feeder, he was the greatest feeder for a race-horse I ever saw. Through all his severe campaigns with me, I never saw him when he was not ready to eat, and in the hardest part of the season I fed him about fifteen pounds of oats a day. In their stomachs horses differ more from the human being than perhaps in any other part of their physical structure. A man in the course of twenty-four hours will take into his stomach more different kinds and sorts of food than a horse would in a lifetime, and for that reason I think what a horse does take has more effect on him than it otherwise would. Whatever a horse eats should be of the clean- est and best. I think, on an average, that ten pounds of oats a day, with a fair amount of hay, is enough for a horse to be trained on. I think that all horses in the training season should have plenty of grass. In winter I like carrots in small quantities, and for a change boiled oats have proved themselves a very satisfactory food to me. Some people say, ' What about bran V I am a good deal like Dr. Weldon about that; sawdust will answer the purpose just as well, and it is a good deal cheaper." — John Splan. A gentleman connected with the American Express Company in- formed me that when horses used in the company's business in New York — where they are fed on oats and hay — give out, they are sent to Buffalo to be recruited. The system of feeding there which invariably improves the horses is, morning and noon, a mod- erate feed of oats and hay; at night a hall-bushel of hay cut fine, two quarts of wheat bran and two quarts of corn meal mixed to- gether, with a small handful of salt, and the whole mess mixed with hot water and fed when cold/' — Western Rural. "It is my conviction that flesh can only be got off in the spring by slow degrees with safety. The physicking and sweating some- times recommended, and often resorted to, are mischievous, in my opinion ; and I know that anything like rapid work and hurry at the beginning, with a horse overfed during the winter, and very likely infirm in his legs, will be apt to knock him off before he has got the use of them, or the muscles and sinews have recovered much of their tone." — Hiram Woodruff. " I think many cases of horses being distressed and dried up are caused by the men putting too much clothing on them. I think, as a rule, we are apt to use too much, and it is a detriment to them. 96 SOME HINTS ON TRAINING AND CONDITIONING. " Again, a horse would seem to be all burned up inside, and yet would not sweat a drop, and would seem to be choked for the want of water. I think, as a rule, there are more horses injured for the want of water than there are in giving it to them in the proper way. A man must use judgment. I have many times given a horse a bucket half full, sometimes a full one, then throw the blankets on him and walk him smartly, say for five minutes, and the sweat would pour out of him from his head to his tail, then strip and scrape him and rub the water out nicely and he would act like another horse." — A. J. Feek. " For a stimulant to give a horse I formerly used cherry wine, whisky, brandy, etc., but all of these I discarded years ago, the after effect is so bad. It has the same effect on a horse it does on a man — first stimulating, then depressing. When any stimulation is necessary, I use a homoeopathic preparation — a few drops on the tongue — and the effect is not only immediate but permanent, and is beneficial and no bad effect afterward. This has helped me to win many a long and hard race." — A. J. Feek. RULES FOR TRACK LAYING. We have received numerous inquiries recently as to the method of laying out race tracks. The following directions will be found useful : A Third-mile Track. — The usual rule for half-mile tracks is to have the stretches and turns of equal length. If the same rule is observed in laying out a third-of-a-mile track, each stretch and turn should measure 440 feet. Therefore, two stakes should be driven where one of the stretches is to be located, 440 feet apart. The opposite stretch then should be staked out, parallel to the first, and 274 feet across at either end. A wire 237 feet in length should be made fast to a post placed equally distant from the end of either stretch, and the turns staked as directed in laying out other tracks. The wire should be accurately measured, which may be best done with a long steel tape measure. Sufficient length should be allowed so that several turns may be made around a stick at the end, and also a loop to slip over a spike to be driven in the upper end of the turning stake. One end of the wire should be taken and placed upon the stake at the end of the stretch, while an assistant with the other end proceeds toward the end of the opposite stretch. When the wire has been tightly drawn, the turning stake should be located in exact line with the stakes at the end of the stretches and firmly guyed in every direction. After the circuit has been made and the stakes driven for the turn, the novice will probably be surprised to find the wire is from six to eighteen inches too long from stretching. If this should be the case, it should be shortened, so that it will exactly reach the stake at the end of the stretch, and the turn corrected. After the track is laid out, it should always be carefully measured three feet from the stakes before construction is commenced. If this is done with a chain, it will be found necessary to have as many as three assist- ants, to make sure that the chain follows the curve at the turns. A Half-mile Track. — Draw the parallel lines 600 feet long and 452 feet 5 inches apart. Half-way between the extreme ends of the two parallel lines drive a stake, then loop a wire around the 7 97 98 RULES FOR TRACK LAYING. stake long enough to reach to either side. Then make a true curve with the wire, putting down a stake as often as a fence post is needed. When this operation is finished at both ends of the 600-foot parallel lines the track is laid out. The inside fence will rest exactly on the line drawn, but the track must measure a half- mile three feet from the fence. The turns should be thrown up an inch to the foot. The stretches may be anywhere from forty-five to sixty feet. A Mile Track. — Draw a line through an oblong centre 440 yards in length, setting a stake at each end. Then draw a line on either side of the first line, exactly parallel with and 417 feet 2 inches from it, setting stakes at either end of them. You will then have an oblong square 440 yards long and 384 feet 4 inches wide. At each end of these three lines you will now set stakes. Now fasten a cord or wire 417 feet 2 inches long to the centre stake of your parallelogram, and then describe a half-circle, driving stakes as often as you wish to set a fence post. When the circle is made at both ends of your parallelogram you will have two straight sides and two circles, which, when measured three feet from the fence, will be exactly a mile. The turns should be thrown up an inch to the foot. — Western Horseman, May 8, 1901. WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE VETERINARY SURGEON COMES. By GEORGE FLEMING, F.R.C.V.S. Those who own or have much to do with animals of various kinds, know only too well at times how seriously accidents or dis- ease may diminish the value of these, and cause much incon- venience ; and this loss and inconvenience are all the greater in proportion to the worth of these creatures, either as food producers, servants, companions, or pets. For the treatment of casualties and maladies, when they are at all of a grave kind, the services of the veterinary surgeon are necessary, if permanent impairment, pro- tracted recovery, or even death, is to be averted. With the great advance which has been made of late years in veterinary medicine and surgery, owners of animals have benefited to a corresponding extent, while the animals themselves have had their sufferings abridged and diminished very considerably. But it is obvious that accidents may occur, or diseases that run their course very rapidly may set in, which demand immediate at- tention to prevent serious or irreparable consequences; and as veterinary aid may not be immediately forthcoming, in the interests of humanity, not less than in their own, the owners of animals should not be altogether ignorant of what is necessary to be done in such emergencies. But while insisting upon their .possessing sufficient knowledge to enable them to give such assistance as may for the time being obviate danger, we are far from advising them to dispense with the skill and advice of a competent veterinary sur- geon whenever the case appears to demand his services. Of course, it is difficult to say when these services may or may not be neces- sary, as what might seem a very trivial accident or ailment may prove to be of the gravest kind. It is, therefore, advisable in accident or disease, after rendering all the help the amateur is capable of, to consult the veterinary surgeon in good time, and not delay until it is too late and his knowledge unavailing. Great numbers of valuable animals are annually lost, not only through the carelessness or ignorance of their owners or attendants, but also through unjustifiable delay in sending for the veterinary surgeon, or dispensing with his services altogether from motives of economy. More especially is this the case with regard to such creatures as the tOFC. 100 WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE sheep and pig, which are usually left to the mercy of shepherds and uneducated persons, who, however worthy they may be in other respects, yet know nothing or next to nothing of medicine or sur- gery, and are consequently far more likely to do harm than good by their interference, particularly in the matter of disease. It will therefore be understood that the following hints are not meant to enable non-veterinary people to " doctor " animals, but merely to put them in a position to act usefully in emergencies, be- fore the veterinary surgeon comes. Wounds. — Animals, and especially horses, are very often wounded, and the seriousness of the wound will depend not only upon its extent and character, but also upon the part in which it is made, and especially on the amount of bleeding that takes place. With regard to character, wounds are incised, lacerated, contused, and punctured. Incised wounds are clean cut by some sharp body, and the parts are merely cut through, not torn or bruised ; they are made by glass, knife, scythe, or any other keen-edged instrument or body, and do not often contain foreign matters, as dirt, grit, &c. If clean, and not extensive, and the bleeding slight, they may not require anything done to them until the veterinary surgeon arrives, except keeping them clean. If there is bleeding, cold water may be ap- plied, and the edges of the wound brought as near to each other as possible by means of a bandage, by pins passed through the lips of the wound at intervals of an inch or so, and twine twisted round them, or by stitches with a strong needle and thick thread. Should the bleeding be profuse, steps must be actively taken to check it until proper aid is procured. Pressure must be made by plugging the wound with tow, cotton-wool, lint, or a handkerchief, if there be space ; if the wound be in a limb, then bandaging the part tightly with a handkerchief may check the hemorrhage for the time ', if it does not, then severe pressure should be made on the course of the large vessels above the wound, by making a bandage or handkerchief into a firm roll, placing it over the vessels — which are always on the inside of the limb — and securing it there by another bandage. The animal should be kept quiet. Lacerated wounds are generally more serious than incised wounds, as the parts are torn and jagged. They are produced by hooks, nails, bites, kicks, sharp prominences, stakes in fields, &c. There is seldom so much bleeding as in incised wounds, the vessels being torn instead of cut. They are serious from their extent, the parts injured, and the after consequences. In the region of the belly they may be extremely dangerous, especially if the skin and mus- cles are so torn that the intestines protrude, or the cavity of the abdomen be opened. Remove any foreign matters from the wound VETERINARY SURGEON COMES. 101 by the fingers, washing with cold or tepid water, and treat as an incised wound, by either bandage, pins, or stitches. Tears of the abdominal muscles should be treated by stitches, if possible ; and if the bowels protrude, the veterinary surgeon should be sent for without delay. Until he arrives the intestines should be cleaned in warm water, if soiled, placed on a cloth, gently returned, and retained by a wide bandage fastened round the body. Sometimes the muscles of the belly are lacerated without the skin being torn, and the intestines make a large swelling beneath the skin. In this case also the wide bandage is most useful. Should there be bleed- ing, apply cold water or plug the wound. If the chest is opened, the body bandage is also to be resorted to, to prevent admission of air. In parts where the skin is fine and thin, as the eyelids and nostrils, the edges of the wound should be brought into apposition as soon as possible, so as to obtain adhesion quickly. Fine pins or stitches, or glue or pitch plasters, will effect this. Contused wounds are the most frequent of any among the larger animals, and they are serious from the fact that the parts wounded are also much bruised and torn, so that their vitality is more or less impaired, and sloughing is apt to ensue, abscesses to form, &c. They are produced by falls, kicks, blows, collisions, bites, &c. Very serious contused wounds are those which occur to joints, as the knees and hocks, and especially when the joints are opened. For contused wounds generally warm water fomentations are best : at any rate, until all grit and foreign matter is removed. Poultices are good supplementary agents, particularly for joints. When the contusions to limbs or joints are severe, the animal should be moved as little as possible. Some contusions and wounds are so serious when inflicted, that there is extreme depression and symptoms of collapse, manifested by cold sweats, trembling, un- steady gait, and coldness of limbs and surface of body. A quart of oatmeal gruel with two or three ounces of brandy, to a horse or ox, and a tablespoonful or so of brandy-and-water to a dog, will be beneficial under these circumstances. Rubbing the body and keep- ing it warm will assist in restoring strength. Punctured wounds are produced by sharp-pointed objects, and most important parts and organs may be penetrated without scarcely any external indication of the mischief done. If there is bleeding, plug the wound or apply pressure outside until the veterinary sur- geon comes. Very often the sole of the horse's foot is wounded by sharp flints, nails, &c. The gravity of the wound will depend upon its depth and situation. A nail penetrating the sole deeply towards the point of the frog is a serious accident. Remove the nail care- fully by pulling it straight and steadily out, have the shoe taken off, all the horn removed from around the wound, keep the foot in 102 WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE a bucket of hot water for an hour or two, then immerse it in a large warm bran poultice. If the foot can be poulticed with a high-heeled shoe fastened on it, so much the better. Punctured wounds of the feet caused by the farrier driving the nails too near or into the quick in shoeing, are not uncommon. Tapping around the foot with a hammer, or pinching it with pin- cers, will reveal the part where the injury has been inflicted. The shoe must be taken off, the horn removed all round the puncture, and the wound well opened out, to allow any matter that has formed to escape. Then immerse the foot in hot water, and afterwards poultice. Bleeding from the sole or frog, the result of wound, is easily checked by pressure with tow, lint, or a handkerchief, maintained against the wounded part by means of two pieces of hoop iron or tough wood laid across each other between the shoe and the foot. Fractures. — It is a somewhat popular notion that broken bones in animals, and especially those of the limbs, do not mend readily; and it consequently happens that horses and other creatures are im- mediately destroyed, when, in many cases, with proper care and treatment, they might recover and be as valuable as ever. When the bones of the head and jaws are fractured, unless there are grave complications indeed, there is little danger, and a skillful veterinary surgeon can in the great majority of cases make a complete cure, provided he is present in good time. Until he arrives, little can be done beyond keeping the animal quiet. If the lower jaw is broken, it may be supported against the upper one and bones of the face by a bandage, and stiff pieces of leather or pasteboard placed length- ways. Broken ribs are supported by a wide bandage round the chest. Sometimes the tail is broken in horses and cattle, and in this accident a leather or pasteboard splint, or a starch bandage (made by soaking a bandage in ordinary domestic starch, and wrapping it round the part while still moist), will suffice as a tem- porary measure. It not unfrequently happens with the horse, that in heavy falls the pelvis is fractured, so that when the animal rises it drags or strikes the toe or toes of the hind feet to such an extent that it cannot travel any distance ; the fetlocks double over, the limbs give way, and repeated falls are the consequence. To get the horse home to his stable, it is necessary to prevent this striking and doubling of the limb or limbs, by passing a rope or band round the pastern and pulling the foot forward in progression. If there is intense lameness and inability to walk, the animal should either be allowed to remain at the nearest stable, or conveyed home in a bul- lock wagon. Fractures of the limbs are serious, according to the nature of the fracture and the bone fractured. Fractures are simple, compound, VETERINARY SURGEON COMES. 103 and comminuted. A simple fracture is merely the bone broken into two portions ; it is compound when the broken bones lacerate the soft parts around them ; and comminuted when the bone is reduced to a number of pieces. A simple fracture is the least serious, and provided the broken ends can be maintained in apposition, and no important parts — as joints — are involved, recovery takes place more readily in animals, perhaps, than in man. A compound fracture is sometimes hopeless, when the soft parts torn are of importance ; and a comminuted fracture is generally a hopeless one. As a rule, no animal should be destroyed for fracture — especially if it be a valuable animal — until it has been seen by a veterinary surgeon ; as I have known horses, dogs, cows, goats, and sheep, killed from a leg being broken when a cure could have been effected. Until the veterinary surgeon comes the animal should be kept as quiet as possible, and the broken bone fixed by means of a bandage round it, above which wooden, pasteboard, stiff leather, or gutta- percha splints should be fastened. Gutta-percha makes an excel- lent splint, as when steeped in warm water it is softened, and can then be moulded to the shape of the part. To prevent movement, the greater portion of the limb should be enveloped in bandages. If the fracture is compound, the bone should be " set/' i. e., straightened, so that the broken parts meet/ then the wound should be treated with cold water, if there is bleeding, after which a linen bandage or handkerchief must be tied round it, then splints. With small animals — as the dog, sheep, goat, pig, and cat — a starch bandage, or Burgundy pitch melted and spread on a bandage, answers very well. Horses sometimes receive a kick from another horse on the inside of the thigh-bone, above the hock, where the bone is only covered by the skin, and displacement or fracture does not take place at the time — the bone being only cracked. In some cases there is lameness ; in other cases it is so slight that the horse is kept at work, and many days may elapse before disunion occurs. I have known a horse perform hard work for seventeen days after receiving the kick, before the leg became com- pletely broken. When, therefore, a horse receives an injury of this kind, every precaution should be taken, and he ought not to be allowed to lie down for three weeks or a month. If the bone has been really cracked, in the course of a few days a hard swelling will appear at the seat of contusion — the new matter thrown out to repair the fracture. In all fractures of limb-bones there is great and sudden lameness, and if manipulation be made, crepitation, or grating of the broken pieces of bone on each other, will generally be felt. Cold water continually applied to a fractured limb greatly alleviates pain. 104 WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE Dislocations. — Dislocations in animals are not infrequent, and some of them are extremely serious, while others are not so. When they occur in the joints of the limbs, there is great lameness and more or less deformity. They may occur in various situations; indeed, there are no joints which may not be dis- located, though some are much more exposed to this accident than others. The prompt reduction of a dislocation is above all things neces- sary, and it should be effected, if possible, without delay. Exten- sion — pulling the dislocated bones apart, with perhaps side pressure at the same time — is to be made, and then a bandage should be wrapped round the joint, if it belong to a limb. Cold water should then be applied, and the animal kept at rest. Sometimes dislocation of the stifle occurs in young or weakly horses — the stifle-bone (patella) slipping off to the outside of the joint, producing a peculiar kind of lameness. The hind leg is more or less thrust backwards, and the horse cannot bring it for- ward — consequently he drags it stiffly behind him. No dislocation is so easily reduced. r lhe leg is to be pulled well forward by means of a rope round the pastern, and the stifle-bone, which pro- jects outwards, is then smartly pushed forward : it makes a clicking noise when it gets in its natural place. Dislocation of the lower jaw sometimes occurs in the dog, through opening the mouth too wide when giving the animal medicine. The creature cannot close its mouth, and the lower jaw is rather protruded. To reduce this dislocation, place a round piece of wood — a thick pencil or roller, according to the size of the dog — across the mouth, and well back. Then endeavor to close the mouth in front, pushing back the lower jaw at the same time, when it will enter the joint with a jerk. It is best to do this, and, indeed, all operations on the dog's mouth, with gloves on the hands. The wood in some instances may be dispensed with, the lower jaw being pressed firmly downward and backward. Sprains. — Sprains are not, as a rule, so serious as the majority of fractures, and there is not the same urgency with regard to them, though when very severe they may be mistaken for fractures. More especially is this the case with sprain of the muscles and ligaments of the horse's back, which if very intense might be con- founded with broken back. But in the latter paralysis is more or less complete, and the hind legs are colder than the fore ones, while sensation is generally lost. Pricking the legs with a pin will prove the absence of sensation. Broken back is hopeless, while sprained back may quite recover. If the accident has occurred away from home, and the horse cannot travel, he ought to be carried in a bullock or low flat cart. Slings will probably be VETERINARY SURGEON COMES. 105 necessary when he reaches the stable, and these, with the necessary attention, must be furnished by the veterinary surgeon. Sprains of tendons or ligaments in the limbs vary in intensity and gravity, and cause more or less lameness. Pain on manipula- tion, and increased temperature, with swelling, and a characteristic mode of progression, mark the seat of injury for those accustomed to horses. Until the veterinary surgeon arrives, hot fomentations or cold water applications may be resorted to. If tendons or liga- ments at the back part of a limb are injured — indeed, in every instance in which a horse cannot put his heel to the ground — a high-heeled or patten shoe should be put on the foot. This is generally half the cure, as it relieves the part which is sprained. A word of caution is necessary, however, with regard to sprains. In all cases of lameness, unless there is exceedingly conclusive evidence to the contrary, the foot should be suspected as the seat of lameness, and especially the shoeing as a cause. Burns and Scalds. — All the domestic animals are liable to be burned or scalded : the larger from their dwellings taking fire, or their being employed in certain works; and the smaller, to scalding by hot water accidentally spilt upon them in the kitchen. The seriousness of these accidents usually depends upon the extent of surface and depth involved, and the parts implicated. As a rule, severe burns or scalds either lead to a fatal result or damage the animal so much as to render the expense and trouble of treatment inadvisable. The severity of these accidents cannot, however, be ascertained with certainty until the arrival of the veterinary sur- geon. In the meantime, the injured parts should be excluded from the air as quickly as possible, some soothing application being pre- viously applied. If at hand, in the case of burns or scalds which are not very severe, white lead paint is a good application. Baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) is generally kept in every house, and is a very good remedy ; it may be made up into a paste with water, and laid over the injured part ; or it may be merely sprinkled as a dry powder over it. The well-known " Carron oil " (equal parts or' lime water and linseed oil), solution of alum (two ounces to the pint of water), Goulard water, and other applications, have all been commended. After dressing with either of them, the parts should be covered thickly with cotton-wool or flour. When the pain is very severe, bathing with oil of turpentine allays it, and an after application of resin ointment is beneficial. Bites and Stings. — Ordinary bites may be treated as lacerated or contused wounds, the part being well cleansed. Poisonous bites, more particularly, require thorough cleansing, and the most prompt treatment, to avert serious or fatal consequences. Active suction 106 WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE by the mouth, causing a strong jet of water to play upon them, and squeezing them well, should at once be resorted to. The cir- culation in the part should be retarded wherever possible, by making pressure on the larger vessels passing from it by means of the fingers or a handkerchief and pad, as recommended for stop- ping bleeding. It may be absolutely necessary to cauterize the wounds, and to effect this there is seldom anything more convenient than a red-hot iron, in the form of a skewer, nail, or any other iron object in shape like the animal's teeth or fangs. If any caustic — as nitrate of silver, sulphate of copper, nitric acid — is at hand, then it may be employed instead ; but the destruction of the poison must be thorough. Snake-bite should be treated in a similar way, but if symptoms of depression or collapse appear, then stimulants must be quickly administered. Brandy will do; but spirits of ammonia (liquor ammonia) is best. The doses may be small, but given frequently. The injection of the liquor ammonia into the veins often affords the only chance of saving life. Animals are sometimes most seriously stung by wasps, bees, or hornets, and death not infrequently ensues. Lime-water sponged over the surface, a strong lather of carbolic acid soap in which a little additional carbolic acid has been dissolved, a solution of car- bolic acid (one ounce to the quart of water), or a solution of liquor ammonia (two ounces to the quart of water), are good applications. To diminish the general irritation give laudanum (tincture of opium), half a teaspoonful to a dog, a tablespoonful to a calf, and one or two ounces to a horse or cow. Rabid Dogs. — A few words as to rabid or mad dogs, and the measures to be adopted with regard to them. Every person who keeps a dog, and even those who do not, should know something of rabies, and how its evil consequences may be averted. In the first place, a mad dog is not afraid of water, but will drink it and swim in it, and even lap its own urine. Therefore the water test is a fallacious one. Secondly, a mad dog does not always froth at the mouth, though sometimes saliva hangs from it. Thirdly, a dog in this condition is not always furious. Fourthly, the appetite is not always lost, but it is generally so depraved that the creature swallows all kinds of substances. The earliest symptoms are — changed manner ; moroseness ; desire to retire into out-of-the-way places ; restlessness ; tendency to lick cold substances — as iron or stone — and to gnaw and swallow wood, carpets, rugs, &c. ; desire to bite and fight with other dogs ; seeking to escape from home, and returning after a time dirty, fatigued, and strange in manner; altered bark and howl ; squinting of the eyes ; readiness to snap, even at those to whom it was most attached ; insensibility to pain, as while being beaten ; worrying other creatures. In some cases VETERINARY SURGEON COMES. 107 the lower jaw drops, the mouth gapes, aDd the dog looks as if something were in its throat. These are the most marked symp- toms, and whenever they are exhibited by a dog it should be at once safely secured until the arrival of the veterinary surgeon. We have just enumerated the measures to be promptly had re- course to when a person or animal has been bitten by a dog — no matter what its condition may be. It is a great mistake to at once destroy a dog which has bitten any one, as its state of health cannot then be ascertained. The most judicious course is to have the animal securely tied up where it cannot do injury, and keep it under the observation of the veterinary surgeon for a few days ; this will decide whether rabies is present or absent. A stupid notion is entertained by some people, that if a healthy dog inflict a bite, the person or animal wounded will incur great peril should it afterwards become rabid. This notion has no foundation whatever in fact, and should be got rid of, as it frequently causes much anxiety and distress. Choking. — Choking often occurs with animals, and in some cases death rapidly ensues if relief is not afforded. In the larger animals it is generally caused by roots, apples, dry fodder — as chaff, bran, chopped hay, &c, or foreign substances. In the smaller animals — dog and cat — it is usually a bone. Sometimes it is due to grooms giving a ball, either through this being too large, too hard, or improperly placed at the back of the mouth. The symptoms differ somewhat, according to the situation and nature of the obstruction. When the latter is solid, and lodged at the upper part of the throat or the neck, the animal exhibits much distress: eyes prominent and staring; difficult breathing; saliva flowing from the mouth; strenuous attempts to swallow; bending the nose in towards the chest, then spasmodically curving the neck and extending the head; champing the jaws together; coughing violently, shrieking, and even expelling dung and urine ; stamping and pawing with the feet; when attempts are made to drink water, the fluid returns by the nostrils ; and there is profuse cold sweating. In cattle there is great and rapid distension of the stomach, which may very soon produce asphyxia ; and when the substance gets over the top of the windpipe in horses or cattle, death may result in a few minutes. When the obstruction is lodged in the neck portion of the gullet, there is less difficulty in discovering it than when it is at the back of the mouth or in the chest portion ; as, if at all large, it can be seen as well as felt in the furrow and along the windpipe. When it is lodged in the part of the gullet which passes through the chest, then the symptoms are not generally so urgent. But the animal cannot swallow, and food and water are expelled through 108 WHAT TO DO BEFORE TIIE the mouth and nostrils in cattle, though only by the nostrils in the horse. With dry, chopped, or ground food, the symptoms are similar, except that if it is lodged in the neck portion of the gullet, instead of a hard defined mass being felt the swelling will be soft and somewhat doughy. Small animals cough, attempt persistently to vomit, and stringy saliva flows from the mouth. In urgent cases of choking there may be danger in waiting for the veterinary surgeon, and it may be necessary to attempt to give relief. A rapid examination should be made at the side of the neck along the throat, in order to discover if the obstruction is situated there. If it is not, then an examination must be made of the back part of the mouth. This requires tact and care, as well as skill, unfortunately, with the larger animals, and amateurs do not always possess this. The head should be raised and the nose extended, the mouth kept widely open by some means, the tongue carefully and steadily pulled out by the left hand, while the right hand is passed back into the throat. Should it be able to reach and seize the obstructive body by one or more fingers, this ought to be drawn forward out of the mouth. Should its seizure be difficult, an assistant must make firm upward pressure on each side of the neck, towards the back of the lower jaw. If this does not succeed, and when the abdomen swells so much as to threaten suffocation, it has been recommended to fasten a gag in the mouth — a smooth round piece of wood, about two inches in diameter, tied by means of a cord at each end across the mouth around the top of the head, behind the ears or horns. In many cases nothing more is required to be done, the obstacle passing down the throat. When the animal begins to scream for breath, or stagger about, or has fallen from suffocation, then not a moment is to be lost in opening the windpipe. This, though requiring skill to do it properly, nevertheless in such a death-or-life case must be attempted by the amateur. An ordinary pen or pocket-knife must be pushed into the front of the neck, about six or eight inches below the lower jaw, and an incision three inches long made into the windpipe from above to below. Into this incision two fingers should be pushed and then separated, so as to open a wide aperture into which the air can pass. This aperture must be kept open until the arrival of the veterinary surgeon, who can then insert a proper tube, and set about the removal of the obstacle. When the obstacle is lower, and the symptoms not extremely urgent, occa* sional small quantities of water, gruel, or linseed oil should be ad- ministered, and if it can be felt in the region of the neck it may be pushed gently up and down until it is well moistened, when it VETERINARY SURGEON COMES. 109 will probably pass on into the stomach. Should this not succeed, then gentle force from above must be resorted to if there is distress, and the veterinary surgeon has not yet appeared. There is a special instrument — the probang — which should be kept in every cattle establishment; but if this is not at hand, then a long piece of rather thick new rope — one end being teased out a little and tied back to make it wider and softer — must serve as a makeshift probang. The rope at this extremity, and for some distance, must be well oiled or greased, and the animal's nose and head being raised in a line with the neck, the tongue is pulled out, the wide end of the rope p?issed steadily and gently along to the back of the mouth, into and down the gullet, where it may be seen at the left side of the neck. When the obstruction is reached, firm and con- tinuous pressure has to be exerted upon it, a few seconds at a time, until it begins to move ; then it is pushed into the stomach. When this is accomplished, the probang is carefully withdrawn, and a quantity of gruel, and perhaps a stimulant as well, given. When the obstacle is finely divided food, the probang may do harm by pressing it into a firm mass. It is then better to administer oil, gruel, or water, and trust to external manipulation. In cattle, when the abdomen is so extremely distended as to threaten suffocation, a knife should be plunged into the right side near the spine, and in front of the haunch-bone. With small animals care is necessary in handling them, in order to avoid being injured. In a form of madness in the dog — " dumb madness" — the mouth gapes as if there were a bone lodged at the back part of the throat; and people have lost their life from hydrophobia, through putting their fingers into the mouth in search of the sup- posed bone, and getting wounded. Gloves should therefore always be worn in these cases. The bone or foreign substance may be seized with the finger, forceps, or pliers, the jaws being held apart by an assistant. The cat should be wrapped in a towel before any attempt is made to examine its throat. In the case of the horse or cow, sloppy food should be given for some days after choking, especially if much force and manipulation have been required to give relief. Bleeding from the Nose, Mouth, Stomach, and Lungs. — Bleeding from the nose and lungs, though not very frequent in animals, yet when it does occur generally causes considerable alarm, and in some cases with good reason, particularly when blood comes from the lungs or stomach. Bleeding from the nose is the result of injury to the bones of the face — as from a blow — or to the lining membrane of the nose; as well as to severe coughing, sneezing, over-exertion — particularly HO WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE in harness while wearing a tight collar, and the animal is out of condition. It may also be due to disease — as in glanders, when we have ulceration ; or to leeches getting up the nose while the animal is drinking from a pond or stream. The blood comes away by drops, sometimes in a very thin stream, and usually from only one nostril; there is no foaming or cough, though the animal may occasionally sneeze. It is rare that any bad effects follow bleeding from the nose when uncomplicated with disease. If it is due to leeches, then these must be reached and picked off. Sponging the face and nose with cold water, and throwing it up the nostril, will usually check bleeding. If it persists, however, the horse's head should be tied up high to the hay rack, a beam, or the branch of a tree ; and if it continues very severe the nostril should be plugged with a sponge, handkerchief, or bundle of tow. As the horse breathes only through the nostrils — not by the mouth as well, like the ox, dog, pig, or sheep — both nostrils must not be plugged at the same time. An examination should be made by a veterinary surgeon, to ascertain the amount of injury or disease. Bleeding from the mouth is commonly due to injury or leeches, and the blood is bright red in color. Allowing the animal to rinse its mouth in cold water, or washing it out with a solution of alum in water, will check or stop the hemorrhage. Bleeding from the stomach is symptomatic of serious disorder — as of disease or poisoning — and demands the attention of the veter- inary surgeon. The blood will be discharged from both nostrils in the horse, but chiefly from the mouth in other animals. It is black in color, has a sourish smell, and is more or less in clots. Attempts at vomiting are usually observed in stomach hemorrhage. The cause should be discovered, if possible, and if poisoning is sus- pected or ascertained, the poison will be of a corrosive nature, and have caused ulceration of the interior of the stomach. In such circumstances, linseed or olive oil, starch, or flour gruel, or a quan- tity of beaten-up eggs, should be administered. If these do not combine with the poison, and so render it inert, they will, at any rate, act as a protection against the further action of the substance, and more or less soothe the ulcerated surface. If there is pain, opium — either in the form of powder or watery solution — should be given mixed with the gruel, oil, or eggs. The acetate of lead in solution is also useful. Bleeding from the lungs is distinguished from that from the nos- trils, mouth, or stomach, by the animal coughing very much, and the blood — which passes from the nostrils in the horse, mouth and nostrils in other animals — being bright red and foamy. There is usually distress in breathing. It is ordinarily brought on by severe exertion or coughing, though it may also be a result of disease — r.s VETERINARY SURGEON COMES. Ill acute congestion of the lungs or disease of the heart. The horse must be kept perfectly quiet, and cold water, acidulated with vin- egar or sulphuric acid, given in plenty to drink. The stable or loose box should be well ventilated and cool, and the body warmly clothed. If the limbs are cold, then rub them well, and bandage them. If the bleeding is due to congestion of the lungs — as it is after severe exertion, and especially when the animal is not in con- dition — then a strong dose of bran dy-and- water should be given. A dose of opium should also be administered, if it is at hand. Palpitation of the Heart. — The horse, dog, and cow are liable to attacks of palpitation of the heart, but especially the first- mentioned animal. If there is no actual disease of the heart, pal- pitation — though alarming — is not of much moment, though at the time it may inconvenience or distress the animal. The excessive convulsive beating or thumping of the heart may be due, when disease is not present, to fear, or nervousness, or over-exertion when out of condition or weakly. The beating or palpitation is so loud that it can be distinctly heard as a series of dull, thumping, inter- mittent sounds, commencing abruptly, and continuing for a variable period, the body jerking at the same time as the thump. When this palpitation begins during severe exertion, as in galloping, the animal should be stopped, and kept quiet, with the head to the wind, until the sounds have diminished and the jerking of the body has ceased Or it may be walked quietly home, receiving some ale and gruel, if convenient, and the journey happens to be a long one. As debility is generally present, and perhaps the heart may be dis- eased, the veterinary surgeon should be consulted. Acute Congestion of the Lungs. — Acute congestion of the lungs is most frequent in horses, and if not promptly removed it may quickly cause death, or lead to inflammation of the lungs — pneumonia. Various causes will produce this congestion, but per- haps the commonest is severe exertion when out of condition, or bringing in a heated and exhausted horse from a cold atmosphere to a hot and badly-ventilated stable. When it occurs during exertion, the animal looks distressed; the nostrils are widely dilated, the breathing is greatly hurried and labored, the nose thrust out, the eyes staring and red, the gait un- steady, the ears and limbs cold, the body bedewed with a clammy perspiration, and the heart's beats — felt behind the elbow — are irregular and disordered. If movement is continued the animal will soon fall. The horse should be pulled up before becoming so distressed — the wheezing, hurried, and labored breathing, slackening speed, heaviness in hand, and staggering gait, are warnings — girths slack- ened, or saddle altogether removed, or if in harness, the collar. 112 WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE and everything else which may impede respiration or fidget the horse. The head should be turned to the wind, the ears and legs well rubbed, as well as the surface of the body, if wisps or cloths can be procured, and a good dose of alcohol (whisky or brandy), one or two wine-glassfuls, and water administered; or if this cannot be procured, then warm gruel with a quantity of ginger or pepper in it must be given. Acute congestion of the lungs, when occurring in the stable, presents the same symptoms : great distress of coun- tenance, widely-dilated nostrils and very hurried breathing, cold legs and ears, &c. Remove from the hot stable to a cool place, or throw open the doors and windows ; give a stimulant as above, and repeat it in half an hour or so, if the veterinary surgeon has not arrived. Rub the legs, ears, and body well, then clothe and band- age to keep up the surface temperature. If relief is not soon af- forded, and skilled aid has not yet been available, horse rugs soaked in hot water and wrung out should be wrapped round the body, and these again covered with dry rugs. If the amateur can prac- tise phlebotomy with safety, the horse should be bled from the jugular vein to the extent of six or eight quarts. Spirits of am- monia, in doses of half an ounce in a quart of tepid water, and frequently repeated, is an excellent medicine. Mustard poultices should be applied to the sides and front of the chest, if the hot- water rugs have not been employed. Pleurisy. — Pleurisy generally commences suddenly, like con- gestion of the lungs, and the symptoms are not very unlike those observed in that condition. Only the ribs are, as it were, fixed, the sides of the chest do not move, and the breathing is mainly carried on by the muscles of the belly — inspiration being short and catching, while the air is expelled slowly and carefully. Turning the horse round suddenly — he is unwilling to be moved — will cause him to grunt ; there is usually a short, painful cough, and if press- ure be applied by the ends of the fingers between the ribs, over the inflamed part, the animal winces, grunts, and tries to evade it. There is often much uneasiness, though it is rare that he seeks to lie down. Until the arrival of the veterinary surgeon the treat- ment should be the same as for congestion of the lungs, hot-water rugs or mustard poultices to the sides of the chest being all-im- portant. Inflammation of the Feet. — Inflammation of the feet, or laminitis, is a very serious condition in the horse, and demands careful and active treatment at its very commencement or congest- ive stage, if grave consequences are to be averted. It is most fre- quently induced by long or rapid journeys on hard roads during hot weather, or in animals not in training; improper shoeing, and VETERINARY SURGEON COMES. 113 injuries; though it not unfrequently appears as a sequel of such diseases as influenza, inflammation of the lungs or bowels, feeding on certain kinds of food, standing too long in the stable, and over- feeding. It is a most painful disease, and when acute the symp- toms are most marked. The fore-feet are most frequently involved, and in addition to signs of general fever — hurried breathing, dila- ted nostrils, anxious countenance, hard quick pulse, perspiring— there is great disinclination to move, even when force is employed the animal swaying his body backwards and forwards rather thai, lift the feet off the ground. These are placed well out in front, so as to throw the weight on the heels, while the hind legs are brought more under the body. "When compelled to move, the hind limbs have to sustain nearly all the weight ; the horse appears greatly dis- tressed, and groans, and the hoofs are very hot. If both fore-feet are involved, it is all but impossible to make the horse stand on one of them ; but if only one is affected, then this is often rested and placed in front. When the hoofs of the inflamed feet are tapped with a hammer, the greatest distress is exhibited. Should the hind feet be affected — which is not so common — they are placed well beneath the body, but the front ones are brought back close to them, so as to sustain a larger share of the weight. If there is only congestion — that is, the disease has only com- menced — compelling the animal to take long-continued but gentle walking exercise on soft ground, may soon effect a recovery, and more especially if the shoes are taken off, during the intervals of rest cold water being applied to the hoofs, or the feet immersed in cold poultices. A strong dose of physic should also be given soon, if the animal is in gross condition. If it is apprehended that the congestive stage has passed and the inflammatory one is present, then exercise should not be resorted to, but the margin of the hoof should be rasped down when the shoes are removed, so as to make it level with the sole, and poultices applied. It will be all the better if the horse can be induced to lie down on a good bed of sawdust or tan. Considering the serious character of this disease, no time should be lost in sending for the veterinary surgeon. Sunstroke. — During very hot weather, animals exposed to the sun and compelled to undergo severe exertion are liable to sun- stroke or heat apoplexy. The attack may be quite sudden — the first intimation of it being the horse, or whatever animal it chances to be, falling to the ground as if shot. At other times, if it be a horse in harness, signs of giddiness and stupor are manifested ; the animal shows an indisposition to go on so freely as usual, hangs heavy in hand, does not care for the whip, and staggers If not relieved he stops, props out his limbs, drops his head, appears to be only half conscious, the breathing is hurried, panting, and noisy, 8 114 WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE the eyes staring and bloodshot, and the body perhaps covered with perspiration. Then the creature falls quite unconscious, struggles perhaps, or lies perfectly still; the breathing is stertorous, and death may ensue more or less rapidly in the midst of profound coma. Debility, bad and tight-fitting harness, keeping in hot, insuffici- ently-ventilated stables, insufficient exercise, unsuitable food, and plethora, are all predisposing causes, and should be guarded against during hot, sultry weather, if animals must be travelled, or cannot be kept cool. When attacked, remove into a cool, shady place, if possible; whether possible or not, cold water should be applied freely to the head and neck. To the head and spine it should more particularly be applied in a full stream, and an ice-bag will be found most bene- ficial if placed against the head. The limbs should be well hand- rubbed, and it may be necessary to apply turpentine or ammonia liniment to them by friction, and mustard to the head and sides of the neck when torpor is extreme. Recovery in bad cases is slow, and should the animal rally in a short time it must not be immediately worked or travelled. Fits. — Animals often fall down in what are called " fits/' and cause alarm Horses, when in harness, and even in the saddle, are liable to attacks of epilepsy, during which they may be seized with partial convulsions without falling, or they may fall and be violently convulsed while lying on the ground. In such circumstances but little can be done, except allowing the animal to have plenty of air, preventing it injuring itself while struggling, dashing cold water against the head and spine, and keeping it quiet for some time after recovery. Small animals are very liable to fits, especially dogs. During the attack they whine or yell, struggle convulsively, foam at the mouth, roll their eyes about, and gnash their teeth, &c. The cause or causes of fits are often very obscure, and the veterinary surgeon must be left to ascertain them and suggest measures for their prevention. Fainting. — Fainting, or syncope, is comparatively rare among animals. During the attack they lie perfectly still, the pulse is not much altered, the breathing is tranquil, and there are scarcely any symptoms of a departure from ordinary health, except the state of unconsciousness, from which the creature cannot be aroused. Plenty of fresh air, sponging of the face, nostrils, and mouth with cold water, pulling the tongue well forward, and, if the animal wears harness, removing all those portions which may impede the respiration or circulation, are the chief indications. The cause of fainting should be ascertained by the veterinary surgeon. VETERINARY SURGEON COMES. 115 Stomach Staggers. — The stomach derangement which gives rise to staggering and other symptoms — due to disturbance in the circulation or nervous system — usually arises from inordinate eat- ing causing paralysis of the stomach and functions of digestion — as when horses get to the corn-bin during the night ; from con- suming various articles of food to which they have not been accustomed — as unripe or indigestible vegetation ; or from the con- sumption of food containing some noxious principle. There is first sluggishness and sleepiness — drowsiness being often manifested during eating, the eyelids being more or less closed, and the eyes dull. The belly is more or less distended, the head hangs heavy, or is listlessly laid on the ground if the animal is lying, or on the manger if standing. It ceases to masticate while food is yet in the mouth, and when compelled to move, the gait is stagger- ing, and the animal stupidly bores forward against any obstacle, instead of trying to avoid it. In the ox, the rumen may be so extremely distended as to threaten suffocation. If not relieved, violent symptoms supervene. The movements become wild and disordered, and almost incessant during the paroxysms, and the animal dashes itself about, heedless of the pain and injury it may inflict upon itself, and rendering approach to it very dangerous during the delirium. A very strong purgative should be at once administered, com- bined with a stimulant — as alcohol. If copious enemas can be given before the arrival of the medical attendant, so much the better. Abundant affusion of cold water to the head, or the application of the ice-bag, must also be resorted to. In the ox, when the rumen is greatly distended, it should be punctured to allow the gas to escape. Colic. — There are two kinds of colic — spasmodic, and flatulent or tympanitic. In the first there is spasm of the small intestine, without any external manifestation, except symptoms of pain; whereas in the second, in addition to the pain, the belly is greatly distended, and this distension is due to the generation of gas from indigestion, or to the animal (if a horse) swallowing air, as in crib- biting or wind-sucking. In spasmodic colic the attack is sudden, the horse all at once exhibiting uneasiness in pawing, stamping with the hind feet, or striking with them at the belly, looking round anxiously towards the flank, crouching, switching the tail, throwing himself down, groaning, rolling over on his back, and, if the pain is very acute, appearing distressed, and perspiring. In a few minutes the spasm passes off, the horse or ox appears easy for a longer or shorter period, when there is a relapse, and similar symptoms are again exhibited. Neither the breathing nor the pulse is disturbed, except during the spasm. 116 WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE The dog yells and moans during the attack, moves uneasily from place to place, and when it passes off, lies down and curls itself up until another spasm comes on. Rubbing the belly well, applying warmth to it by means of a hot blanket or hot water, or a stimulating liniment, exercise at a slow or fast pace, the exhibition of a stimulant, as alcohol, or an anodyne, as laudanum, usually relieves the animal. It may be necessary to administer a mild castor oil or linseed oil purgative, when the spasm depends upon some irritation in the intestine, and to give enemas. In tympanitic or flatulent colic the symptoms are similar, and there is more or less distension of the belly, with, perhaps, nausea and labored breathing, as well as stupor when the distension is great. If the tympany is due to crib-biting or wind-sucking, rubbing the belly very hard, and giving exercise, will often afford relief. If it does not, or if the attack proceeds from indigestion, then a strong stimulant dose must be given, with an oil or other purga- tive — the treatment being something the same as in spasmodic colic. In attacks of colic — whether spasmodic or flatulent — if the symptoms do not disappear in the course of an hour or two, the veterinary surgeon should be sent for, as serious consequences may follow. Inflammation of the Bowels. — Inflammation of the bowels may supervene on colic, or arise immediately from some other cause. The symptoms are not unlike those of colic, except that the pain is persistent, the animal has no remissions, but it lies down more carefully, the face is more anxious and distressed-looking, the body is more or less covered with perspiration, the breathing, and pulse are hurried, ears and legs cold, eyes anxious or dull, and the belly tender on pressure. The veterinary surgeon should.be at once sent for, and until he arrives very hot water must be applied to the belly. This is best done by fastening a large horse-blanket, doubled, round the body, close to the skin, and pouring the hot water on the outside of it by means of a small vessel — as a cup. A pint or so of linseed or olive oil should be given, with flour gruel, and opium (one or two drachms of the powder), and enemas of warm water. Poisoning. — Animals are poisoned either accidentally, malici- ously, or through the injudicious administration of poisonous sub- stances by amateurs and empirics. The majority of poisons are vegetable or mineral, very few are of animal origin. The symptoms produced by many poisons closely resemble those manifested during the existence of some diseases, and it is there- Veterinary surgeon comes. 117 fore often very difficult even for a highly skilled person to decide whether an animal is suffering from the effects of poison or is labor- ing under a particular disease. In order to counteract the effects of a poison, not only must it be known that the suffering animal has been poisoned, but the nature of the poison, and consequently its antidote, must also be known. Considering that poisons act in many different ways, and affect different organs or tissues in the body, and that almost every one of them requires a different kind of antidote, it will be seen that a great amount of knowledge is required, and that in a col- lection of brief notes like the present it would be impossible to describe everything relating to toxicology. When poisoning is suspected, the veterinary surgeon should at once be sent for, and the message should convey information as to the kind of poison suspected, and the symptoms. Until he ap- pears, everything ought to be done to neutralize the injurious effects and alleviate the symptoms. Some poisons produce diarrhoea and dysentery, with great pain. To ameliorate these symptoms, and, if possible, prevent further local action, it is best to give quantities of milk, flour, or starch gruel, thick and viscid, eggs beaten up, or thick broths or soups ; while to allay the pain large doses of opium powder, or watery infusion of opium, should be administered. These articles do well for many mineral, as well as some acrid and irritant vegetable poisons. If acids are the cause of poisoning, alkalies — as the car- bonate of potash or soda — should be given in large quantities of water, in addition to milk or flour gruel ; and when it is the caustic alkalies — as soda, potash, or ammonia, then weak acids, as vinegar and water, should be administered with the above-mentioned de- mulcents. In poisoning by strychnia, which is not at all uncommon, the symptoms are very marked, there being most painful spasms of all the muscles at intervals, which bend the body backwards and stiffen the lknbs, while the animal is quite conscious. An infusion of tobacco is the best and most convenient remedy. Warm baths, and the administration of chloral, or inhalation of chloroform, are also useful. Phosphorus paste is not infrequently accidentally swallowed by animals — as dogs and cats — being used for killing rats. There is vomiting, and the vomit is dark, and has a luminous appearance in the dark, and it, as well as the breath and fseces, has the peculiar odor of phosphorus. There is great constitutional derangement and thirst. With this poison, all oily fluids, as well as broth and soup, should not be administered, but, instead, large quantities of solution of potash, magnesia, or soda. 118 WHAT TO DO BEFORE THE When there is much prostration or collapse, stimulants should be given and external warmth applied. Parturition. — The females of the domestic animals do not require the same arrangements and care as the period of parturi- tion draws near, or when that act has commenced, as does woman. As a rule, they bring forth their young without assistance, and if properly fed and sheltered need but little attention otherwise. The larger animals, and especially the cow, are liable to expel their young before the full period of pregnancy has been reached, and this so-called abortion is sometimes a serious misfortune, particularly when it occurs in a place where there are many pregnant cows ; as when the accident happens to one, it may extend to all, or nearly all When abortion takes place at a comparatively early period, the effects are not very damaging to the animal, but every precau- tion should at once be adopted to prevent its neighbors from abor- ting. With this object, they should all, if possible, be immediately moved from the shed in which the accident has occurred — no con- tact or approach being allowed between them and the patient, nor should people or utensils, or anything else, be allowed to pass be- tween the infected shed and the yet unaffected cows. The acci- dent should be treated as if it were a highly infectious disease ; disinfectants must be freely employed, the foetus and all the mem- branes and discharges must be disinfected and buried, and injec- tions of some mild disinfectant — as a weak solution of Condy's fluid, or carbolic, should be made into the vagina of the cow which has aborted. The same procedure should be adopted in the case of sheep. If many animals abort, the veterinary surgeon should be sent for to ascertain the cause, as well as to report upon the general health of those animals which are not yet involved. If there is any unusual delay in an animal bringing forth its young, there is something amiss with it; or the young creature is not in a proper position, or is defective or distorted in shape. No time should be lost in sending for the veterinary surgeon when this delay takes place. Nothing is more pernicious or dan- gerous than waiting too long, or allowing unskilled persons to inter- fere ) as the strength of the parent may be exhausted, and the life of the progeny sacrificed, by undue delay ; or irreparable damage, or even a fatal result, may follow injudicious meddling or rough interference. More particularly is this the case with the mare — an animal which must foal quickly, which is most difficult to aid when there is any obstacle, and which readily succumbs when aid is too long deferred, or when it is improperly attempted to be ren- dered. The natural presentation — in the larger animals at least — is with the fore limbs, the feet coming first, and the nose between the arms. When the water-bag has appeared and burst, and after VETERINARY SURGEON COMES. 119 some time there are no signs of the young creature, then difficulty in birth should be apprehended, and skilled assistance should be sent for. Until it arrives, the parent should be kept quiet, and gruel, or other light sustaining food, offered from time to time, to keep up her strength. If the amateur has sufficient knowledge and confidence, an examination might be made, the hand and arm being smeared with oil ; but on no account should forcible attempts to extract the young creature be resorted to. If the head or one or both fore-legs be doubled buck, then the indication is to bring them forward into the passage ; if the hind-quarters present, and the hocks only are in the passage, then the buttocks should be pushed forward, so that the legs can be extended, and the feet carried outwards. Beyond these directions we cannot go, as there is perhaps no more difficult section of the veterinary surgeon's art than that pertaining to the delivery of animals in parturition; and we have before us hundreds of instances of valuable mares, cows, sows, and bitches, which were tortured and lost through amateur efforts to extract the young. Only too often this interference ren- ders what would be an easily remedied mal-presentation by the veterinary surgeon, one altogether beyond hope. And even when birth has taken place the danger is not over. The membranes (after birth) must come away soon after the young creature, and when they are retained too long serious consequences may ensue. Their removal also requires the intervention of the veterinary surgeon, though the injection of warm water, and gentle traction at the portion which is accessible, may enable the owner of the animal to effect their displacement. The cow is specially liable, after giving birth, to what is known as " dropping after calving " (parturient apoplexy) : a serious con- dition, which, in the great majority of cases, runs a rapidly fatal course. The symptoms appear within from one to four or five days after calving, and the earliest is the diminution in the quan- tity of milk ; the animal then appears to be dull, does not eat or ruminate, becomes uneasy, and stamps with the hind feet ; soon the breathing is quickened ; staggering is observed, and she falls, and rapidly lapses into a deep coma, after throwing her head about wildly. Cows which are " deep milkers " should always be watched for this disease, and whenever the earliest symptoms appear a good dose of purgative medicine should be given, combined with a stimu- lant — as alcohol, or spirits of ammonia — and cold water applied in a full stream to the head. Medicine must be given promptly, for in a short time the power of swallowing is lost. Contagious Diseases. — Contagious diseases are generally so serious when they appear among animals, and the ravages of some of them are so great, that every one who keeps such animals 120 WHAT TO IX) BEFORE, ETC. should possess some knowledge of the earliest symptoms of these catching disorders, not necessarily that the diseases may be sub- mitted to medical treatment — for some of them are not allowed by Government to be treated, while others are incurable — but that steps may be taken to prevent their spreading. Whenever any suspicious symptoms of disease appear, therefore, the animal should be carefully isolated — at least from others of the same species — and the veterinary surgeon sent for. TABLES OF PEDIGREES OF FAMOUS HORSES. 121 1 GO a a 3 «*-< • <=» .9 to T3 ^ c & J a § i o ^ a> 1 PQ w :' 123 ■8 p- a o & I 1 o s I . o 1 * .2 of a J fi .& 1 3 .a o £ w 124 2 W S PR •H PL, pq s r I Ph i I « a 4) c3 1 a a ii & « .W a £ BE 125 3 ft CQ <1 B? si O M Ph ■S? |2 13 <~ K a M Cm a^ .2 of ft-^ ft3 03 O O M • o is . oo . &0 .S bo p^-i PhS ® 3 ,2 3 M ft &C =« Oft Pnft I 4 a- -s ^ § 4< 5 Si IB Sg -S^ £g II "»1 |J =1 ;>p >.p 5i> ftp ® as a ^ •§ «m * o I "I 1 f 111 1 Sill ft S ft ft H ft ft ft O ft OQ ft P. o s -a W .2 ® rM Ml © ^ J O -* <-t 3 00 J « § fc.^.3 bay pacing m that Wm. Ir County, Wes Iry-man, at C A will, Ohio cava 126 1 a 05 I c OS tr s- O a B . 3 1 1 1 5 V I ^ a Si 03 CO fi CO II 33 SO S 8 bflS s 3 •8 s J-. 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G 50 c % 0> rn ^ o 3 fl 'S ° 3 3S; WW Hf3 S | 6% I S3 a c5 i- °° t> 0) X .3 M ^ 05 w O pq -^ H Ph Q 03 Cm o o CO F-i s "5 a 03 d 55 bo .a e ,Q a a J2 03 03 s w O a EH %80 ■ Z aaoyan 8681 psi^oj •j ^m 'vivaria 150 A MORAL FOR HORSEMEN. It was a mournful little procession which filed out of the barn and took its way along the lane towards the pasture. First came Azariah, with the old musket. Then followed Thad, leading a horse, tall, gaunt and aged ; and in the rear, with a shovel over his shoulder, plodded old Benjamin Heminway, the owner of the farm. No one said anything, but all three of the men glanced furtively at the house, and Thad carefully steered old Prince around some outcropping ledges where his shoes would have been likely to make a noise. When they reached the pasture they halted. " I s'pose we might's well pull his shoes off," suggested Azariah. " Yes," said Thad. " Three of 'em's nearly new and the other ain't much worn. I brought the hammer along." He handed it to his brother, who took it and began to pry off the old horse's shoes. While the group was occupied with this task a voice broke in upon them. A little old lady had come quietly up the lane, and now stood nervously twisting her apron and regarding them with reproachful eyes. The men dropped the hammer and the two shoes they had removed, and stood silent and shamefaced. " Father," said the old lady, laying her hand on her husband's arm, "you know how I've felt about this all along. The more I think of it the wickeder it seems. I just can't stand it ! " "There, now, mother, don't take it so hard. It ain't pleasant, I know, but what's a body goin' to do? He's past any kind o' work, an' it costs something to keep him. Besides, the boys are all the time complainin'." " Well," broke in Thad, " we have to cut up all his fodder an' take milk to him every day, and he's forever getting into the corn- field or the garden." " Thaddy, it ain't what he is now, but what he's been that I'm thinking about," said the boy's mother. " You don't remember, as I do, how he worked here on the farm year after year, an' how 151 152 A MORAL FOR HORSEMEN. willin' and gentle he always was. You don't think of the time when your father had the mail contract, and old Prince travelled his forty miles a day, week in and week out, summer an' winter; or the day when the limb fell from the tree on the mountain road, and knocked your father senseless in the bottom of the sleigh. How long would he have lived in that cold, or where would you or any of us be, if Prince hadn't brought him home?" Thad was idly kicking a hole in the sod with the toe of his heavy boot, and Azariah shifted the musket uneasily from his shoulder to the ground. The old lady went on : " Father, old Prince has done his share to help us pay for the farm. He wouldn't owe us anything for board if he lived fifty years longer; but if he's got to be killed because you think we can't afford to keep him, I've got something to say. Here's eighteen dollars. It's my butter money, an' I've been savin' it to carpet the parlor with, but never mind. It'll pay for Prince's keep while it lasts, and there'll be more when that's gone." A crimson flush crept into the old man's sunburned face. " Stop, mother, stop ! " he said. " I'm a selfish brute, an' I'm ashamed of myself, but I ain't so mean as that ! Old Prince has earned the right to fodder and good care the rest of his life, as you say, an' he shall have it if he lives to be a hundred ! Thad, Az'- riah, you go put him into the four-acre clover lot ; an' if either of you pester me again 'bout killin' him, I'll take one o' them new tug straps an' make you dance livelier'n Prince ever did when he was a four-year-old." — Youth's Companion. VALUABLE BOOKS ON THE HORSE PUBLISHED BY THE JOHN 0. WINSTON" 00., 1006-16 Arch Stkeet, Philadelphia. The Trotting Horse of America : how to Train and Drive Him, with Keminiscences of the Trotting Turf. By Hiram Wood- ruff. Edited by Charles J. Foster. Including an Introductory Notice by George Wilkes and a Biographical Sketch by the Editor. Revised and Enlarged, with a copious Index. With a steel portrait of the author and six engravings on wood of celebrated trotters. 12mo. Cloth, extra, $1.00. "The author of this work stood at the head of his profession as a trainer and driver of the trotting horse To horsemen in particular the book will be found especially attractive and of great value. It will become a standard authority on the subject of which it treats." — N. Y. Herald. "The record of his experience and suggestions constitutes, therefore, a valuable accession to our knowledge, and will prove to be of standard authority among the most skillful. The graphic style of his descriptions, the vivid pictures he draws of the breeding and education of his favorites, and the reminiscences he recalls of in- cidents on the turf, form a work of grt^at merit Those who are desirous to form an accurate idea of the characteristics of the trotting horse, for their benefit as riders or drivers, cannot find any other work in our language so replete with use- ful information, interesting hints, and readable anecdotes. Hiram Woodruff is now dead, and it will be many a y^ar before we shall look upon his equal in his line of business." — The Nation, New York. "This is a masterly treatise by the master of his profession,— the ripened product of forty years' experience in handling, training, riding and driving the trotting horse. There is no book like it, in any language, on the subject on which it treats. It is accepted as authority by the owners of racing trotters and fast roadsters. Its publication lias been hailed by gentlemen as critically appreciative as Robert Bonner, and by trainers and drivers as distinguished as Sam Hoagland, Dan Mace and Dan Pfifer. The book is unquestionably one of great value; for, in America and England, the development of the horse has long been considered second only in importance to the development of man. This work contains the results of forty years' uninterrupted labor in bringing the trotter up to the highest speed and the greatest endurance of which he is capable. Before we read it we had seen with curious surprise very hearty commendation of it and eulogy of its author in the leading Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist journals. No wonder, for Hiram Woodruff's system is based on the law of love."— N. Y. Tribune. "Hiram Woodruff was the great trainer of his day; but, by his unsullied integ- rity and unequalled capacity, he rose above his profession. No man could ever say of him that he had his price. Indeed, it is the universal testimony of all who knew him— friends and foes— that his integrity was absolutely unassailable. In this work, which has been ably, carefully and judiciously edited by his faithful friend, Mr. Charles J. Foster, are recorded for the benefit of the public at large his life-long experiences, his sayings and doings, his authoritative views on almost everything pertaining to the horse. It is a book for which every man who owns a horse ought to subscribe. The information which it contains is worth ten times its cost." — Mr. Bonner's New York Ledger. The Horse in the Stable and the Field: his Management in Health and Disease. By J. H. Walsh, F.K.C.S. ("Stonehenge"). With an Essay on the American Trotting Horse, and Suggestions on the Breeding and Training of Trotters. By Ellwood Harvey, M.D. Illustrated with over eighty illustrations, and full-page engravings. 12mo. Cloth, extra, bevelled boards, $1.00. " It sustains its claim to be the only work which has brought together in a single volume, and in clear, concise and comprehensive language, adequate information on the various subjects of which it treats." — Harper's Magazine. "A very comprehensive treatise on that noble animal, in which the work of several hands has been well employed. The basis of the book is an English work by J. H. Walsh ('Stonehenge'), which has been carefully edited for American readers by Dr. Robert McClure, and enriched by an appendix on the American Trotter, by Dr. Ellwood Harvey, of Chester, Pa. All these gentlemen are at home on the questions they write about, and have availed themselves freely of the writ- ings of others, so that the book condenses the wisdom of a whole library within itself. It is as entertaining as most novels are, and as original and independent in its speculations on many points as Huxley or Darwin are."— Springfield (Mass.) Republican. " It will be seen at once that this is a book worth having. Certainly no one who owns a good horse, and is fit to own him, will ever regret buying it." — Hart- ford Couranl. "It holds a high rank among the works on the subject in England, and the Amer- ican edition is enriched by the instructive notes of the editor and an Essay on the American Trotting Horse, by Ellwood Harvey, M.D. The various information con- tained in this volume, with its appropriate illustrations, makes it a valuable work for the library of the farmer or horse fancier." — Neiv York Daily Tribune. " One of the best English books about the Horse, improved and expanded, to adapt it to the American public, by competent native writers; so much improved that years must pass before it can be bettered. Portraits of our leading trotters, copied from life and photographs, are finely engraved on wood, and their pedigrees are given in a new method, which shows the lines of descent at a glance. The work is complete." — The Press, Philadelphia. "This is an English work of acknowledged authority. It has been thoroughly revised and adapted to the wants of the American farmer and amateur. Dr. McClure, the American editor, is the well-known author of 'The Diseases of the American Stable, Field and Farmyard.' . . . Gives sound instruction upon all the points that every horse-owner will occasionally need to refer to. Every man who owns a horse should also own this book. It will be worth many times its cost to him every year. The publishers have issued it in a very substantial and credit- able style."— American Farmer, Baltimore. Encyclopaedia of Rural Sports. Comprising Shooting, Hunt- ing, Fishing, Boating, Yachting, Bacing, Athletics, Cricket, Base Ball, etc., and the Various Kural Games and Amusements of Great Britain and America. By J. H. Walsh ("Stonehenge"), author of "The Horse in the Stable and the Field," etc., etc. Illustrated with 150 fine engravings. Thick crown 8vo. Cloth, black and gold. Size, 6J by 8 inches. $2.00. " The work is not only a guide to all manly pursuits, but treats of them in such a complete and exhaustive manner as to meet every possible requirement."— Neiv- caslle Chronicle. " Boys and men, sportsmen, farmers, and all to whom the horse and the do? are dear, will find in the 'Bural Sports' a perfect treasury of information." — Ihe Hour, London. " A. C. M., Austin, Nev. — Please inform me which is the best book on training horses for all distances, the price of the book, where to obtain it, etc. Also, the best veterinary book, price, and where to obtain it. Answer : 4 Rural Sports of England,' by Stonehenge, will supply the first; and 'The Horse,' by Stonehenge, will answer for the last about as well as any."— Spirit of the Times, New York. 3 The Gentleman's Stable Guide: Containing a Familiar De- scription of the American Stable ; the most approved method of Feed- ing, Grooming and General Management of Horses ; together with Di- rections for the Care of Carriages, Harness, etc. By Robert Mc- Clube, M.D., V.S. Illustrated. 16mo. Cloth, extra, $1.00. "Such a treatise has been needed for years, and we think this volume will supply the want. The illustrations are very good and timely." — Pittsburgh Daily Gazette. " The book contains a familiar description of the American stable, the most ap- proved method of feeding, grooming and general management of horses ; together with directions for the care of carriages, harness, etc. The whole is founded on the careful study and experience of many years of the author's life, and forms a valuable manual for any one who has charge of the noblest of man's irrational servants. Its low price and great value should give it general circulation among horsemen." — In- diana Farmer. "Farmers and horsemen will find this an invaluable addition to their libraries. All is elucidated in such a way that no one need plead ignorance as to the duties of grooms and the requirements of the stable — the quantity and quality of food the horse requires, and how to prppare it, together with the effects which may be ex- pected." — Herald, Mansfield, Ohio. " This is a book on one of the most popular and least understood of everyday subjects. The writer is a practical horspman a veterinarian thoroughly acquainted with the whole philosophy of horseflesh. The book is as entertaining as useful, and will repay a careful reading. Horse fanciers can find much in the book really serviceable, and farmers might save themselves much vexation and loss by heeding its practicable and experienced suggestions." — Rochester Democrat. Diseases of the Horse and How to Treat Them. A concise Manual of Special Pathology, for the use of Horsemen, Farmers, Stock Raisers and Students in Agricultural Colleges. By Robeet Chawneb and J. M. Walsh. New Eevised Edition. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. " It is an unpretending treatise, free from technicalities, and well adapted for the use of farmers and stock raisers. The object of Dr. Chawner was to make a popu- lar and reliable handbook on that department of veterinary science which treats of the horse and his diseases, and in this object he has succeeded and supplied a prac- tical want. There is no extraneous matter. Information is imparted with com- mendable brevity, and in language plain and simple enough to be understood by all. The fallacies of the old school are rejected, and the treatment prescribed is that of modern practitioners." — Turf, Field and Farm, New York. "Those who have a use for it do not have to wade through a multitude of pages to find out what is to be done in a given contingency." — Cincinnati Commercial. The Practical Horse Keeper. By George Fleming, LL.D., F.R.C.V.S. A Guide to those who have to do with Horses, contain- ing chapters on Breeding, Purchasing, Stable and Stabling, Feeding, General Management, Riding, Hunting, Breaking and Training, Har- ness and Driving, Shoeing and Diseases of the Foot, Injuries, Lame- ness, Diseases of the Horse, the Ass and Mule, etc. 12mo. Cloth, 75 cents. The Horse. By AYilliam Youatt. Together with a Gen- eral History of the Horse and a Dissertation on the American Trot- ting Horse, and an essay on the Ass and the Mule. By J. S. Skinneb. With an engraving on steel and 58 illustrations on wood. Cloth, extra, $1.00. " His works are standard authorities in England and America." — Allibone's Dictionary oj Authors. Horse-Breeding Recollections. By Count George Lehn- dorff. 8vo. Cloth, $1.00. " Every one interested in horses ought to own a copy of this valuable vade mecuni." — Maryland Farmer. '• Count LehndorfF's book is not only intelligent, but intelligible." — Chicago Herald. " A richly illustrated and finely prepared work, with elaborate tables and statis- tics on breeding race-horses. It is issued in elegant form, and is recognized as authority by horsemen." — Ohio State Journal. "Count Lehndorff, the manager of the Government stud of Germany, has made a special study of the intricacies of horse-brepding The recital of his experiences and the suggestions which he furnishes will undoubtedly prove of value to all who are interested in equine matters. The book is illustrated by engravings of some of the most celebrated favorites of the race-course." — Public Record, Philadelphia. A Short History of the American Trotting and Pacing Horse. With Tables of Pedigrees of Famous Horses, Useful Hints, Sugges- tions and Opinions on Training and Conditioning, compiled from various sources, Eules for Track Laying, etc., by Henry T. Coates ; What to Do before the Veterinary Surgeon Comes, by George Flem- ing, F. P. C.V. S. The book, besides treating of Driving Horses, gives a condensed history of the best horses in this country, with mention of their best performances. It is invaluable in its suggestions to horse trainers, and is the latest book on this subject published. Illus- trated with six pictures from photographs from life. 12mo. Cloth, 75 cents. II 27 88 *0* 4 -^ ^ ^^ « *'..«*