The methods of rearing and feeding horfes, and of training them, as racers, hunters, or for draught, are given under diftinct heads; alfo directions for the conduct of grooms and coachmen, defcriptions of their harness and trappings, and inftructions for riders, with the whole art of horfemanfhip. The anatomy of the horfe is given in part under the general term anatomy; other parts under the words bones, mufcles, glands, blood-veffels, arteries, veins, nerves, brain, ftomach, &c. The engravings are copied from thofe in Mr. Richard Laurence's Enquiry into the Structure and animal Economy of the Horfe, and appear to be fuffi ciently correct, but they are coarfely executed, and are in general much too fmall to convey the neceffary information. The adopting thefe engravings has led to inconveniences and to irregularity in arranging the fubjects; for it has hence happened, that fome of the plates, fhowing the mufcles, are explained under the word anatomy, others under the words exterior of the horfe, others under the word horfe, and again under the word mufcle; under which laft word, perhaps, they fhould all have been placed.

Hiftories and defcriptions of the difeafes to which the horfe is fubje&t are alfo given, with the method of treating them, as practifed at the Veterinary College, or taken from Gibfon, Taplin, and other writers, particularly from Mr. St. Bel and Mr. John Laurence. Both the lifts, or catalogues of difeafes, and of the articles of the Materia Medica employed in curing them, are very numerous. More dif eafes are defcribed than it will probably ever fall to the lot of any furgeon to fee, and many mo. e drugs or medicines. noticed than there can be any occafion for ufing; but as they were found in former books on the fubject, it is probable the author might not think himself at liberty to omit them. Of each of the articles of the Materia Medica, as well as of thofe conftituting the food of cattle, there are clear, diftinét deferiptions, with the manner of producing and cultivating them.

Having given this ample account of the fubjects contained in the volume, which are in general treated of and explained in a clear and fatisfactory manner, it remains that we lay before our readers a few paffages, as fpecimens of the execution of the work, with fuch reflections as may occur to us on producing them.

AIR. The author is very full on the neceffity of supplying horfes with this element in the utmoft purity, and is particularly fevere in cenfuring the ftructure of many, or most of our stables, in which, inftead of feeing contrivances for

ventilating

ventilating them, uncommon pains appear to be taken to prevent all communication with the external air.

"Large, crouded ftables," he fays, "contribute greatly to communicate contagious or infectious difeafes. A great number of horfes breathing in one place contaminates the aif; and if it has not a free current, it foon becomes unwholefome, and, like the air of gaols, it contracts a malignant quality, which produces fevers in thofe horfes who stand in them, and on changing them to other ftables, they likewife communicate the infec-. tion to others. Hence it has been remarked in those epidemical difeafes amongst horfes, which have appeared in Britain, that it raged with moft violence in thofe ftables where a great number of horses were confined together in one large ftable, whilft its effects in fmall well-aired tables was more mild and lefs deAtructive.

"The Earl of Pembroke, in his Military Equitations, tells us, that the Arabians keep their horfes as much as poffible in the open air. Every day (fays he) from morning to night, all the Arabian horfes ftand faddled at the tent doors; and, as the Arabians live in tents, thefe tents ferve them likewise for ftables.'

"The method of managing horfes approaches, as near as it is poffible, to the natural or wild ftate, and cannot fail of being attended with falutary effects to the conftitution of this useful animal; and although this practice cannot be adapted or recommended in our cold and changeable climate, yet inference is very obvious, and cannot fail of fhewing the propriety and ufefulness of keeping our horfes in well aired, ventilated ftables"

The conflituent parts of the atmofpheric air are defcribed, and their qualities explained, under the refpective terms of oxygen, hydrogen, caloric, &c.

ALOES. The author cenfures the cuftom of giving aloes in large dofes; he alfo recommends ufing the Socotrine for horses, inftead of the hepatic, which may do mifchief by the roughnefs of its operation. He advifes it to be given in doses of one or two drams, and repeated every fecond or third hour until it operates. Forgetting however this caution, we fee him frequently prefcribing it in dofes of half an ounce. Mr. Colman found, he fays, that rhubarb, colocynth, and fome other expenfive purges, are of little ufe given to horfes, they are therefore omitted in the Difpenfatory of the Veterinary College.

The opinion that the American aloe does not blow until it has attained its hundredth year is, he fays, and we have long

LI

BRIT, CRIT, VOL, XXVIII. NOV. 1806.

long so underflood, a vulgar error; but, he adds, a skilful gardener can make them blow when he pleases, by fetting them in beds of tanners bark. The two aloe plants, we will obferve, which have blown, and been exhibited near London, within the last five or fix years, were said, by the owner, to be each of them about thirty years old. Had he accelerated the time of their blowing? And did they grow as lofty, and as large as they would have done, had no art been used to quicken their growth?

FARCY. The author hows a deep and intimate acquaintance with the nature of this deftructive disease, and has laid down fome excellent regulations for the management of horses tainted by its venom.

General debility is fuppofed," he fays, "to be one great caufe of farcy; alfo foul feeding, a want of proper exercife, a fchirrous ftate of the mefenteric glands, injudicious bleeding, or the unfeasonable administration of violent medicines. Farcy likewife will originate from contagion, and from inoculation with the matter of glanders. Indeed, we are led to conclude, that there exifts a striking affinity between thefe difeafes; as they will mutually degenerate, and the poifon produced by the ore will propagate the other. Thus, by the application of the matter of farcy to the delicate membrane lining the noftrils, we give birth to glanders; and the difcharge of the latter, inferted on the external parts of the body, will caufe those ulcerations de. nominated farcy-buds.

"In recent cafes of farcy, where the animal is fleshy or high in condition, it will, in general lie in our power to remove the fymptoms without the aid of the more powerful medicines. Mo. derate bleeding, a few mild purges, cooling diet, and proper exercife will be required. The inflamed abforbent fhould be fre quently and diligently fomented with flannels wrung out of the warm decoction of chamomile or common herbs, and the actual cautery may be freely applied to any buds that appear after which they will affume the ufual marks of health, and may be healed by dreffing them with common digeftive ointment.

"Should the state of the animal, however, be otherwife than this, fhould he be low in ftrength and condition, his hide bound, and his coat ftaring, it cannot but be obvious, that bleeding and medicines, having a tendency to reduce the fyftem, must be avoided. A different treatment of courfe muft be employed. In the firft place, it will be neceffary to difcover the primary fources of this deficiency in condition; which, perhaps, are imperfect maftication, worms, or bad grooming. These obstacles removed, we would recommend a generous diet, warm clothing, and regular and gentle exercife. The end in view may be farther affifted by what, in the language of the ftable, is termed

good

good dreffing: indeed, by a proper attention to this latter circumftance, great benefit may accrue. It removes obftructions in the fmaller veffels, and promotes a free and vigorous circulation on the furface of the fkin, as has been noticed under the article dreffing." rid col no.

The author's defcription of the operation of firing horfes, with the view of difcuffing any hardnefs, or fwelling, is judicious; but his account of a practice, common, he lays, among a certain clafs of horfe-dealers, of firing horfes to make them appear fpirited, contains fuch a fpecimen of depravity, as we could not have thought exifted, even among thofe depraved people, who have been ftigmatized for their brutality and cunning from a very early period. As it may contribute to a detection of their villainy, we will lay the whole article before our readers.

6

"FIRING, A certain difcipline of the whip, ufed by frau. dalent horfe dealers in order to terrify a horfe, and thereby aroufe every fpark of mettle in him. This,' fays Mr, John Lawrence, is an everlafting fource of cruelty, perpetrated by a race of brutal and infenfible mifcreants, who would be as little fcrupulous to derive gain from the torture of their own species. Horfes, whilft in fuch hands, live in a conftant ftate of apprehenfion and mifery. Almoft every hour of the day the tormentor goes into the ftable, like a Weft India negro-driver, whip in hand, and inflicts the cruelty of the lafh upon each horfe, in order to make him lively, and apt to fly even at the found of a man's foot; and this correction from habit, from a defire of reaping all its imaginary benefit, and from fuppofed caufes of offence, is often performed with the utmoft force. But the bar. barity is never fo monftrous, or rather hellish, as when inflicted upon the debilitated and crippled objects of exceffive labour. Too much of this is practised at the fales of worn-out post-hacks and machiners. I once faw a poor mare, ftone-blind, exquifitely fhaped, and fhewing all the marks of high blood, most unmercifully cut with the whip about a quarter of an hour before the fale, in order to bring her to the ufe of her stiffened limbs; it was a fruitlefs piece of cruelty; her labour was done, and the was receiving her reward from the hand of ungrateful man! Í faw the tears trickling down her cheeks, and to me it was an affecting fight. All this barbarity is totally unneceffary; for the intent of it is fo generally known, that it can deceive no. body; nay, it often has the effect of producing fudden cramps in a horfe, and always of fpoiling his trot upon a fhew. I infitt upon it, from long obfervation, that all horfes are fhewn to the beft advantage by a moderate ufe of the whip." sex

A

1

In the treatment of the fiftula, the author recommends laying the canal open through its whole length, where it is practicable; he then dreffes the internal furface with efcrotics until the difeafed parts are floughed away, when milder preparations are to be ufed until the wound is healed.

On the different kinds of grafs, and which are to be preferred, and on the choice of hay, ufeful directions are given.

FOOT. The defcription of the foot of the horfe is accom panied with engravings, which Mr. Freeman permitted. the editor to copy from his "Obfervations on the mechanifm of the horfes foot; they are however but coarsely executed.

STOMACH. It is known that the horse never vomits, but the reafon is not, we believe, generally known; we shall therefore give a part of the anatomical defcription of the fomach of the horfe, accounting for this peculiarity.

In the ftomach of the horfe there is a pretty large portion which is infenfible, in confequence of a cuticular covering, and differs, of course, from the villous portion of that vifcus. This infenfibility prevents irritation from hard food. The cefophagus is always, unlefs at the time of deglutition, drawn into longitu dinal folds. This proves a barrier to any retrograde motion of the food, and which alfo precludes the pofiibility of his vomiting, from its acting as a valve against any fubftance that might be rejected by the ftomach. Vomiting in this animal would be fatal, as from the ftructure of the fuperior portion of the pharynx, food would in this cafe be introduced into the trachea."

Though bile is fecreted in great plenty in the liver of the horfe, there is no refervoir or gall-bladder attached to it, as in man, and in moft quadrupeds; the bile is conveyed by a proper channel, or duct, from the liver immediately into the duodenum.

"It would be eafy to multiply quotations, and to give other inftances of the attention with which the editor has collected and put together the materials, forming this Dictionary, but the above will, we prefume, be fufficient. On the other hand, no material articles, as far as our recollection ferves, have been omitted; unless the words manege and training, which we do not fee, be deemed fuch. The plates are deficient in number, as well as in arrangement, and are by much too fmall to answer any ufeful purpose. We think that on one of the head of a horfe, of the size of about two inches to one and a quarter, there are above fixty figures

of