proper order, and is scarcely necessary to forbid its use when the coat is being shed, at which time it would be positively cruel, as well as injurious to the appearance. The brush and whisp having effectually cleansed the skin, and given the hair itself a certain amount of polish, the finishing stroke is put to the dressing by means of the linen rubber, with the addition, in well managed stables, with the leather. Either or both of these in succession are suddenly passed over the surface in the direction of the hair of each part, and then the quarter-piece, or rug, as the case may be, is replaced, taking care to throw it highly in front of its proper place and then to draw it steadily backwards, so as not to disturb the proper position of a hair. The roller is smoothly put on, being first laid on the back double, and then the off side is turned over into its place, when the straps being laid hold of under the belly, it is properly tightened and the quarter-piece smoothed beneath it. This completes the dressing of the body, but there are several minor points still to be attended to. A clean sponge is squeezed out, and with it the nostrils, eyes, and arms sponged clean, and, if necessary, the mane is dampened, so as to enable the groom to comb and brush it smoothly down on its right side. The tail, also, is carefully combed out, beginning at the lower end if it is a full one, and not touching the top until the bottom is smoothly arranged. Lastly, the legs and feet are attended to, the stopping, or whatever may be in the latter, being picked out, the legs washed if stained, and then carefully rubbed dry. Many grooms, when they have white legs to keep clean, begin the dressing by washing them, and then putting on flannel bandages, they leave them on till they have done the body, when they are taken off and the legs rubbed with the leather and linen rubber, till they are quite dry, finishing with plenty of hand rubbing if they are at all inclined to fill. All this being done, the litter is put straight, and the horse is ready to have his second feed. A good deal of muscular exertion, and laid out in the right way, is necessary for the due performance of the groom's daily task. There is no royal road to make a horse's coat, when in work, really look well, and not less than an hour's hard strapping will suffice for this daily. White and light gray horses will take up even more time than this, as with all the care that can be exercised the thighs and legs will occasionally become stained by lying in the dung dropped during the night. Soap and water laid on warm, and well rubbed, will get rid of a great deal of the brown color left, and if it is not suffered to increase by successive layers, it may be removed with comparative ease. The slight tinge which remains may be got rid of by the aid of washer-woman's blue, a bag of which is to be dipped into clean water and the skin washed with this after the soap has been got rid of. A little experiment is required to ascertain the exact amount of blue, but one or two experiments will soon teach an intelligent groom.

Whenever a horse is wanted to go out, he must again be whisped over before his saddle or his harness is put on. The groom strips the whole of the clothes off, turns him round in the stall, and carefully clears all the dust away from the ears and head with the rubber; then, proceeding regularly backwards, the whole body is smoothed over, and the saddle and bridle or harness put on. Lastly, the feet are picked, and an oil brush is rubbed over the outside of the hoofs, to give them a neat appearance, when the pillar reins are buckled to the bit on each side, and the horse is left till he is wanted. Dressing after work depends upon the state in which the horse is returned to the stable, when he may be cool and clean, or in a profuse sweat still going on, or with his sweat dried in, or completely smothered with dirt, or wet from rain, but chilled rather than too hot; or lastly, when exhausted from a severe run or other hard work. When the horse returns cool and clean, the groom throws his rug lightly over his quarters, and, taking a bucket and brush, he proceeds to pick and wash out the feet, standing on the near side, with his back to the horse's head, so that he can use his left hand to hold the feet, and his right for the brush. If the legs are quite clean, there is no necessity for washing them at all; but most grooms do so as a matter of course, and if they are properly dried afterwards, there is no objection to the plan..

Hunters, and valuable horses of all kinds, are immediately protected by flannel bandages; but in ordinary stables the legs are merely partially dried with a rubber, and are left in that state till the horse is dressed over. If the work has been continued for more than four or five hours without feeding, it will be well to put on flannel bandages, and let the horse have a feed of corn; but, otherwise, it is better to finish the dressing first. The cloth being removed, a whisp of hay is taken in the hand, and first the head and neck, and then the body is dressed over, finishing off with the rubber, as previously described. The clothing is then put on, the legs thoroughly dried, the litter put straight, and the task is finished..

WHEN BROUGHT IN STILL SWEATING PROFUSELY, if the weather is warm, the horse must be led about in the shed with the saddle on, till he is nearly or quite dry; for if he is put into the stable before he is cool, he will break out again as badly as ever, and if the saddle is removed the back will become sore. A hemp halter is cooler and more handy than a head collar, and it is usually employed out of doors for all purposes connected with cleaning. In the winter this exposure to the air out of doors is not necessary, and, indeed, it would often be dangerous, the stable being generally cool enough to stop all tendency to sweat, even with a light rug on. At this season, therefore, after the legs are washed and the bandages put on-which they should whenever the horse is in a sweat-the dressing may be conducted

in the usual way, in the expectation which will seldon be disappointed, that at the end of half an hour's strapping the skin will have become quite cool, and will look all the better for the profuse cleaning which it has received by means of the watery fluid given off by it. A scraper will be necessary, which may be either of wood or iron, and with this all the superfluous moisture is at once scraped from the surface, which greatly facilitates the process of drying. Two men ought then to set to work, each taking a side and working first at the head, then gradually backwards. In this way no part is allowed to chill, and the moisture is removed as rapidly as possible.

In the use of the whisp the rubbing need not always be hard, and it should be chiefly against the direction of the hair till it is nearly dry, when the proper direction is again taken. There is a good deal of art in drying a sweating horse, and nothing but experience and practical teaching will give it. As a general rule, it takes two men nearly three quarters of an hour to thoroughly dress a horse coming in profusely sweating, supposing the weather to be only moderately warm. In very hot weather such an attempt would be quite fruitless, and the only recourse is to wait patiently till the effects of exercise are abated sufficiently to allow of the ordinary clothing being worn. Experience soon tells the groom how soon he can venture to begin, and no rule can possibly be laid down which will supply the place of this valuable power. Even when the horse is taken in, he must not at first be clothed, but he must be dressed without any thing on him; and in summer he must often be left for some time afterwards in a naked state. When there is a good open yard, shaded from the sun, the dressing should be done out of doors, and when this can be managed, it may be commenced much sooner than in the stable, unless this is a very cool one. Slight muscular action, either by walking or in some other shape, is necessary to prevent congestion of the blood in the internal organs, but it matters not whether it is effected by simply leading the horse about, or by stirring him up, as is always the case in dressing even the dullest animal. In other respects there is no difference in the plan last described.

WHEN THE SWEAT IS COMPLETELY DRIED IN, the hair is full of powdery matter, which must be thoroughly brushed out before the skin will look well or the horse be properly dressed. To do this, nothing more is required than the use of the brush previously to the whisping over, but a good deal of time must be spent in getting rid of all the foreign matters left behind on the evaporation of the watery particles of the sweat. There is an amount of grease in it, which makes the powder stick to the hair, and nothing but hard labor will get it away. For this reason many grooms adopt the plan of washing their horses all over with soap and water when they come home

in this state; and although I prefer dry rubbing, I would rather have water used than let the skin remain full of dry sweat. A common water brush is generally used, or, if the coat is thin, a sponge will be far better. No time must be lost in the operation, and unless two men can be spared, the rug must be thrown on as soon as the water is scraped off with the scraper, and the skin is just partially dried. In this state he may be left for a few minutes, attention in the mean time being paid to the thorough drying of the head and neck, which can not well be clothed advantageously. These parts soon dry, for in washing them there is no occasion to wet the mane, which may be turned over to the other side while each is being cleaned, and the ordinary coat of the head and neck holds very little water. After they are made comfortable the cloth is turned partly back over the loins, and the shoulders, ribs and bosom are dried with the whisp and rubber, after which the whole is stripped off and the hind-quarters thoroughly dried.

A HORSE SMOTHERED IN DIRT is, by careless grooms, too often left to dry with it all on, and then it is brushed out; or, if idleness reigns triumphant, a besom is taken in hand for the purpose. Where the particles of mud are few and far between, and are already dry, or nearly so, there is no objec tion to their being removed by friction alone, but if they are wet and (as they generally are) in large masses, water must be used to get rid of them; and the whole of the legs, belly, flank and tail will often require a good slushing with a brush and water before the dirt is removed-the tail being placed in the bucket itself, if it is a long one, and thoroughly cleansed in that way. A scraper is then employed to get rid of the water; the legs are superficially rubbed and then bandaged, the clothing is thrown on, and the dressing may be commenced as usual.

IN CASE THE SKIN IS WET FROM RAIN, whether the work has been fast or not, it is seldom necessary to provide against a continuance of the moisture, for the chill of the rain will generally prevent any tendency to break out in a sweat. The horse is, therefore, at once taken into the stable, and, if very wet, he is scraped, after which he is rubbed over, and his clothing put on while his legs are being attended to, by washing, bandaging, &c. The dressing is then conducted as in the case of the horse coming in sweating in cool weather.

AN EXHAUSTED HORSE demands all the resources of the groom's art, without which he will suffer in more ways than one. An extreme case seldom occurs except in hunters, who require the greatest care to bring them round after a severe run. On coming into the stable, if their powers have been taxed to the utmost, and their ears are cold and drooping, the first thing to be done is to get these warm by friction; an assistant in the

mean time preparing some gruel, while another puts some warm flannel bandages on the legs. It is wonderful what a restorative is found in the friction of the ears, after a few minutes of which a moderately tired horse will look quite a different animal, evidently enjoying the process, and dropping his head to the hands of the groom with the most perfect air of enjoyment. Where, however, there is only one groom for the whole task, the bandages should be put on first-that is to say, as soon as the clothing is thrown on. Then the gruel should be given, and as soon as this is swallowed, the ears should be warmed by friction. No attempt at dressing should be made till the gruel is taken and the ears are warm; and if they cannot be restored to their proper temperature, a warm cordial of ale and spices should at once be given. Usually, however, there is no occasion for this, and after getting the stomach attended to, the skin of the body begins to recover its natural temperature, and the extremities become warm again. In the course of an hour the dressing may generally be effected, but no time should be lost in it, and the skin must not on any account be chilled. After it is done, a feed of oats and a few split beans may be given if the appetite seems inclined to return; but sometimes, when the exhaustion is excessive, no solid food can be taken with safety till the next day, and gruel, with cordials, must be resorted to as the only kind of support the stomach will bear.