INDICATIONS OF AGE. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to formulate any rules by which the age of a horse may be accurately determined. To an expert horseman the lightness and elasticity of step of the animal under examination will afford a general clew; or better still, the contour of the lower jaw, which grows more and more angular with increasing age. It is to some struc ture of the animal little liable to change, how ever, that we must look for any very accurate gauge, and the only structure answering that re quirement is that of the teeth, which must be examined according to the following rules: The six teeth or nippers, situated in the front of the lower jaw, are the ones examined to determine the question, although the tushes are a partial indication, and are sometimes used in arriving at a decision. In this article, the two middle nippers will be referred to as the central nip pers; the ones on each side of these, as the mid dle nippers, and the ones at each end of the group as the corner nippers. At two and a half years of age, the permanent central nippers are just through the gum, the temporary middle and corner nippers still remaining; one year later the permanent middle nippers are in evidence, and between the fourth and fifth year the corner nip pers will be through. About this time changes will be noticed in the condition of the earlier teeth; for instance, the middle pair look as the central pair did at two and one-half years. and the central nippers are showing signs of wear. Between the ages of five and nine, considerably more experience is necessary for an accurate judgment than has been required before. At nine years of age the previous oval shape of the teeth becomes more triangular; at ten the central nip pers take a pronounced triangular shape. and the middle pair give evidence of a like tendency, followed at eleven years by the growth of the corner nippers in the same direction. The Lushes become rounded at the points, and the nippers are longer and project more, the central nippers being completely triangular. The signs of wear and tear, and the growth of the evi denees already described, continue with inereas ing, age, so that at twenty years the nippers are all exceedingly triangular, projecting forward to a great degree. and are very long.
The character or temperament of a horse can not be discerned short of actual experience, by any known formula or given rules; for while the experienced horseman may judge approximately by noting the shape of the face and head, and the expression of the eyes. he will, as a rule. be unable to explain the method or rules upon which his conclusions are based. T.ike men. horses are of different dispositions. and exhibit such varied characteristics as pride, dignity, intelligence, stupidity, courage, cowardice, etc. Generally stated, an horse shows cunsiderablo width the eyes, which latter are very prominent. The width between the cars is taken to indicate courage and strength of character; and roundness and elevation between the eyes, as denoting a mildness of disposition. A timid horse is usually narrow between the ears, and a stupid one, narrow between the eyes.
IhsEAsEs or Tut. llonsE. No other domestic
animal is so large a sharer with humanity in the accidents and dalwers incident to modern civi liz•d life as the horse. It is practically a co partner with man in every detail of his life and work, and vet DO other animal suffers so much from ignorance, abuse. maltreatment, and quack ery. eivilization is doing much to al leviate the condition of the less fortunate of his kind. notably the various societies for the pre vention of cruelty to animals. (See TO AximAts, Pui:vENTiox OF.) The practice of veterinary surgery has become one of the most exacting and advanced of professions, and dis eas•s long considered incurable are now amen aide to treatment. In European countries the horse is an object of governmental solicitude, as much for his value as a factor in warfare as for purely humanitarian reasons: and a careful census recoild is kept (particularly in Germany) of ti.e number. pedigree, and value of the horses each country. The Government of the United States. through its Department of alone of all the nations of the world has compiled a special Report on the Diseases of the Horse, which is published as a guide and aid in the cultivation of a proper knowledge of tho care and treatment of the animal. Below are de seri;ied some of the more prevalent diseases, which will he found more fully treated in the above-named publication.
Tut: Ti.Erit. Dentition covers the period dur ing which the young horse is cutting his teeth, usually from birth up to the age of five years. As a rule the horse has noire diflieulty in cutting the second or permanent teeth than he has with his first or milk teeth. With regard to the latter the mouths of young horses should be frequently examined in order that the milk-teeth may not remain too long and thus cause the permanent teeth to grow in erookedly. Toothaehe is rare with the average horse. and then only where a tooth is allowed to decay. Usually it is only ol served in the molar teeth, and may be discov ered by the evidenees of pain given by the horse when feeding or drinking cold water.
DisEAsFS OF THE (I) Larcpas -welling of the mucous membrane of the hard !oboe. projecting in a more or less noticeable riels immediately behind the upper incisors. (2) •-tomatitis: An inflammation ot the mucous •mlirane of the mouth. generally produced by irritating medicin•s, foods, or other substances -nth as often follows in the rase of city horses from Patine out of ash-barrels. (3) Glossitis: An inflammation of the tongue very similar to stomatitis, both in origin and in symptoms. (4) Ptyalism. or salivation, is an abnormal and ex cessive secretion of saliva, often caused by irregu lar teeth, inflammation of the month or tongue, or the use of medicines, and occasionally by the eating of second-crop clover. (51 Pharyngitis (q.v.): An inflammation of the mucous mem brane lining of the back part of the mouth, or pharynx. (6) Paralysis of the pharynx, or as it is more generally called, paralysis of the throat, is a disease first discoveled from the fact that the animal is unable to eat, and the manger is found to contain much saliva and frothy food that has been returned through the nose.