SIR, THE FLORIKEN. Without pretending to give any decided opinion on the subject of Lincoln's letter in your last number, I think that I can remove the difficulty which appears to prevent his acquiescing in the first theory given regarding the floriken, viz. that the black is the male, and the brown or grey, the female. Your correspondent is puzzled by finding floriken neither black nor grey, but a mixture of both. These are young males which have not yet attained their perfect plumage. I have seen many dissected, and the result invariably was that the black, and those of all the intermediate stages between black and grey, were males. The black grouse, black cock, or, as it is called in some parts of England, heath boult, passes through the same gradual changes of colour before it attains the glossy jet which distinguishes the old cocks. The heath here, as every one knows, is of a brownish gray, very nearly resembling the colour of the hen floriken. The young male for the first year can hardly be distinguished from her; the second season his plumage gets rapidly darker, and he is found of every intermediate shade till he becomes jet black. I cannot account for the great disproportion between the numbers of black and grey floriken in some places, neither can I explain how it is that the grey should always be the larger and heavier bird, but I am almost convinced that Lincoln's theory is the correct one, although I do not recollect an instance in birds reckoned game, of the hen being larger than the cock, yet amongst other species this is not unusualfor instance, the falcon and the eagle. A DABBLER IN NATURAL HISTORY. AN EPISTLE FROM THE NORTHERN "Tot homines tot sententiæ," Mr. Editor, is true enough if we consider, out of the numerous stud of mankind, how few, how very few are to be found unanimously agreeing, or coming to a standard agreement, as to what is the best method to be pursued for keeping horses, the noblest of animals, the companion of man, but much injured animal, in health and good working condition. All have got their own way, and as the showman says when eulogizing the beanties of the leopard, "All different and not one alike." It would be waste of time and paper to say much on getting horses into condition, every man thinking his own system the best. However, a word or two on keeping them so I hope will not be amiss. In short, my system (as we have all got systems, Mr. Editor) is feeding a horse on dry food, and sticking to it, not allowing him hard food one half the year, and the other half green grass or lucerne. It appears to me a pity to see a horse in splendid condition, after winning his races in style, often merely owing to condition-I say to see such a horse, out of training, put on green food fairly to spoil till next season is a pity. For no sooner does the next season come than he is bled and sweated to a very great extent, to get the soft washy substance of him. A great part of both bleeding and sweating would have been unnecessary, had it not been for the green food. He Iwould not be liable to the frequent injuries which are so very common in training, and to a colt the advantages would be very great; for instance, a three-yearold is trained, and runs next season the same, but previously he has been on green food till his training time. The necessary sweats and bleedings in his immature state must undermine the constitution, if not attended with bad effects immediately. the necessary sweats, and as they certainly are actually requisite to rid him of his soft state, but which had he been kept on hard wholesome food, a great, a very great portion of both sweating, bleeding, and perhaps physicking would have been totally unnecessary. Those who are the advocates of green food system assert that it is the natural food of the horse; it often prevents the bowels get ting out order, keeping them lax and cool, and is in every case wholesome and proper food. I say To a horse in his natural state I certainly think it is best; in fact, he would require nothing else, he would have sufficient strength for what nature intended him to do, and speed enough we may con clude to fly from his pursuers; but that would be all. In that state he would not be continually urged to the utmost of his strength, he would not be liable to the many diseases to which he is subject when worked beyond his strength, nor would he be accustomed to the enormous weight he is forced to carry when he is domesticated. Then it is obvious that as his food, which is only grass, is sufficient for him in his natural state, so in his unnatural state, where he is worked, something more than grass must be given-in fact, a total change of food is actually necessary, that is, if we wish him to perform what we wish with ease to himself and satisfaction to his owner. As to giving a horse green food because it is his natural food (I mean a horse for work), it would be the very reason that I would not give any, as it prevents getting his bowels out of order. I think it is often a cause of disease; and as to keeping them lax and cool, I can only say that a horse with his bowels in any very great degree lax is not in a fit state for work. They say that horses kept for any length of time on hard food are liable to inflammatory diseases. I would have it understood, therefore, that only horses in work should be so treated. I mean working-horses. I don't mean that a racer or hunter should be taken off his grain and hay because he is out of training; he might still be kept on hay, though deprived of a great deal of corn. Again, horses not meant for work, or but for very gentle work, and that but seldom, would be more subject to disease than if they were kept low, as high feeding is only fit for hard working horses, or vice versa. It is well known that the weakening effects of green grass have broken down or injured many horses, when put to any work much beyond their usual task; that not only does the flesh get flabby, and the horse liable to excessive sweating, which very soon takes away the best of him, but the sinews acquire a great degree of softness, and thus it is that horses are so frequently seen with round gummy legs that are on green food. On the other hand, see the wonderful effects of condition (all owing to hard food) in slight, weak looking horseshorses that, had they been otherwise fed, would have been destroyed after endeavouring to perform some of the feats so numerous on record. I should like to hear how long the little horse Hookey was kept from green food, whose performances are not equalled every day, and he was considered a weed, at least so it was said in the 16th No. of the O. S. M.Numerous others I could name, but I dare say, as they are well known, a repetition would be useless. I have heard of a valuable work published not long ago, "Nimrod on Condition," spoken highly of, but have not seen it yet. I fancy I am treading in his steps pretty close. So, Mr. Editor, in a few words I say buy a horse, get him in condition, hunt, race, hack, or work him fully, according to his vocation, and keep him in condition let his feed be equal to his work, but do not feed him high when out of work. Green grass is a valuable thing, and has many fine qualities certainly: it is useful for soiling (for a very short time only) a horse who is recovering from a severe illness, and has been pulled down from repeated bleeding, rowels, &c.: it often does an amazing deal of good by increasing the secretions and acting as an alterative, but should not be kept on longer than from five days to a couple of weeks. To mares in and with foal, it is a valuable thing, especially lucerne, of which an immense deal is grown near all the stations in the Deccan, Poonah especially; but too much must not be even given to them, nor continued too long. To old horses who have the luck to be with humane masters, and after a series of years of hard work, worn out and unable to masticate their hay, from defective teeth, &c., it is a valuable thing. But to horses kept for show, more than anything else, and hardly ever exercised, it is immaterial whether they get lucerne or anything else: few, if any, persons in India are without their horse or horses, and many neither know nor care how or what they are fed on. To such persons it is lucky that they have not much to do with horses; if they had, they would soon find that it would be to their interest to see their nags fed; for I have known, in stables where the master was indifferent as to how the nags were fed, every kind of abuse practised. The general reasons assigned by persons who have horses, and good horses too, when they are mismanaged is that it is the horsekeepers' business, or they have something else to do besides look after their horses. All I can say is that when a person of this sort loses a horse by disease, or any other way, through inattention of the horsekeeeper, he must not blame him, but blame himself, and I add that it often serves him right, for if it is not worth a man's while to attend even sometimes to his horse, he is better without him. Great objection has been made as to the prices (which are certainly exorbitant) of medicines, at least those brought from England. I hope therefore it will not be amiss saying a few words on the country medicines. It may be a hint to the Vets. Almost all the medicines which are brought at awful prices from England can be obtained here at comparatively trifling prices; indeed, many go from this country, have their essential oils extracted, and come out again. Castor oil which a friend of mine at Nuggur used to make, was, without exception, the finest I ever saw; there was in fact little, if any, difference between a glass of it and a glass of water in ap pearance. He used to make a great deal, at least sufficient for all his purposes and very cheap. The recipe I am sorry I have not by me, but I remember that the seeds were to be left to soak in water for either 12 or 24 hours, the brown husk was to be taken off, and then the seeds underwent a certain number of boilings, taking care that all the skum was clearly taken off. Aloes, which you can't get for less than seven to eight rupees per lb. (of the English, or rather Barbadoes description), can be got in the bazar for about 11⁄2 rupees per lb. Many persons I have heard object to them, but they must have been lying in the shops a long time, and consequently must have lost most of their strength-besides, they are not properly prepared, often being mixed up with an immense deal of filth; but were they to try the country aloe, fresh and well prepared, they would find it. SIR, very little inferior to the Barbadoes. I have given it a very fair trial on all kind of horses, and where I would give five drs. of Barbadoes, I have given six of the country. The croton tiglion, which a respectable chemist and druggist in Bombay told me was sold for 25 shillings an ounce in England, can be got here for about as many cowries; lots grow about the large range of Ghauts, as in most hilly countries on this side of India. Almost all the spices are to be got very cheap. The gums too are not expensive, and were a laboratory to be set agoing, all preparations of minerals and everything else would be obtained at less than half the English price, and many of the drugs which would be used in England cannot, by the long account they would fill out, be used in sufficient quantities-cinnamon, &c. STEEPLECHASES. As no one appears to have sent you an account of three steeple-chases run at this station last June, I send you a sketch from memory, which, though late, may perhaps be acceptable. Six subscribers entered for the first, a sweepstakes of Rs. 20 each P. P., two miles across country-owners up. The following horses came to the post-C. A. G. Challenger, G. A. H. Pultusk, W. A. H. Rottenborough, E. A. H. Whim, Br. C. G. Nameless. The owner of Cavalier being indisposed, paid forfeit. In a country like ours, the difficulty was to find a piece of ground which was not objectionable, either from being a perfect WILL O' THE WISP. plain, where a light weight or a speedy one would be apt to run away from the others, or a country so covered by jungle and intersected by impracticable ravines, that galloping would be out of the question. After much trouble two miles of tolerable ground were selected—rather too easy, for the only difficulties were three trifling fences and a nullah full of water, which must be done in and ont-flags at intervals of half a mile marked the course. At four o'clock p.m. the horses came to the scratch, and at the word "off" started well together, maintaining their places with little variation for the first mile. Here they began to tail off, and the brown galloway, which was a country-bred one, only 13h. high, brought up the rear. He evidently had no chance. Challenger, Pultusk, and Rottenborough charged the nullah almost at the same moment; the latter appeared to have the puff taken out of him, and fell back upon his rider from weakness, in attempting the opposite bank. The little chesnut got out first, closely followed by the Pole, and the race now lay between them. They were within half a mile of home, and it was expected that the grey, who was lightly weighted, would here let out and be an easy winner; but when called upon by his rider, it was found that he had done his best, and Challenger won by several lengths without being pushed. A word now on the horses, and first the winner. He is a little chestnut horse, only 13h. 3in., with a good muscular hind quarter; rather light in the carcase and loose in the couples; a beautiful head and neck, but a pair of forelegs like posts, battered and ossified from hard work. His appearance shows great blood, and the weight he carried (upwards of 12st.) inclines me to think him a real good one. Pultusk is an eggy, well-looking grey, and with a light weight on his back, under 10st., was looked on by many as a winner, especially as his jockey knows the difference between riding and being carried, but there was something wrong-he could not gallop. Rottenborough, a fine powerful white horse, was too fresh from the stables to be very fit to go with nearly 13st. upon him. The other two never had a chance. A second sweepstakes was soon after proposed of Rs. 100 each subscriber, P. P., over two miles of a new country, supposed to be better calculated for a steeplechase than that which was last elected. To this six put down their names, and the following were entered : : G. A. G. Cavalier, B. A. H. Whim, G. A. H. Pultusk, W. A. H. Rottenborough, C. H. By. Sorcerer, C. A. G. Challenger. A lottery was made up before starting, in which the Cavalier and Challenger were the favourites. Some thought the blood of Sorcerer must tell, and he was also freely backed; but he is stale, and is only the remains of a good one. The start took place from the top of a stony hill, with a small ditch at the bottom, and the course lay over heavy level ground with three deep and wide nullahs to get over. Pultusk took the lead and kept it for the greater part of the distance, closely waited on by Whim and the Cavalier. Every one looked upon him as the winner, and his rider was sailing along with a steady pull upon his horse, never dreaming of danger, when Cavalier, who had been skirting him without being observed, came out when close to the winning post, and won easy. The son of Sorcerer was nowhere, and Challenger, whose rider had mistaken the post, or taken a line of his own, very far from the straight one, came in a quarter of a mile astern. The Cavalier is a very neat little horse, and his condition was much admired, being in this respect far superior to any of the others. He was also favoured in the weight he carried, his rider not weighing 9st.; but he has all the look of one that can gallop, and was once highly thought of as a racer by a good judge of these matters. A match between the two winners, over the same ground, for Rs. 100, P. P., was now made up, each having his backers, and |