5² AGRICULTURAIL. REPOET.

tened in loose boxes, much after the manner of oxen for the shambles,

in which state they are supposed to please the eye of the London

brewers, for whose more particular use these pampered animals are

generally bred; and a colt, for instance, perhaps purchased for§200,

vealizes in the course of two years double this amount, besides work-

ing moderately during the time. Thus the horse, if he does not fall a victim to the various diseases which the redundancy of fat is calcu-

lated to induce, yields an ample profit to his feeder. These noble looking animals, with round, fat carcasses, and sleek, glossy coats, are slow in their movements, and are not the best for hard and long-con- tinued work; but their proud deportment is well adapted to gratify the ambition of the brewer to outvie his neighbor; and as they move majestically through the streets of the metropolis, they present one of the most striking sights to the eye of the stranger. That such large massive animals are really required, or are the most profitable for their peculiar work, is a matter of considerable doubt. It is a species of pride, however, which has long prevailed among the Lon- don brewers; and whilst they continue the premium in the shape of high prices, the breeding of them will remain a profitable pursuit, and the streets of that metropolis will doubtless exhibit the largest horses in the world. One great drawback attending this breed is their tendency to weak and convex feet and to ossifications of the cartilages and pasterns, the former being the effect of their great weight acting on the soft horn induced by moist pastures, and the latter to their great predisposition to throw out bone, caused, proba- bly, partly by the large amount of phosphates contained in the grain upon which they are fed. Many of these horses are rendered useless from such morbid deposits, although the latter is so common that there is scarcely a dray-horse in London but has in some degree these eside bones,“ which, in many cases, do no injury. In the improve- ment of this breed, however, it should be an object to diminish, or rather to discourage, as much as possible, these objectionable quali- ties to which it is naturally so prone. When, therefore, it is con- sidered that a heavy dray-horse, working in the shafts, with a load, perhaps, of four or five tons behind him, which, in turning a corner, devolves on him alone, and, in the act of walking, must be thrown alternately on each nock, the importance of having this joint free from disease and all tenden v to it must be apparent.

That an animal of such noge dimensions as the English dray- horse should be profitable or adapted to American use, there are many doubts. The cost of their food, and the expenses attending the wear and tear of their trappiugs and shoes, are much greater than of any other horse. It is bolleved by some that he could be employed with advantage in the crowded streets of our larger cities, where it is difficult for ordinary drays to travel faster than a common walk, even with a light load. Take the lower part of Broadway, in New York, for instance, where it ordinarily requires thirty minutes to pass from the Battery to Chambers street with a load of half a ton, drawn by a single horse. By the London dray, the ground could be travelled over in about the same length of time, with at least five times that

*