of late years, on this si1e of India. Though they are lighter and inferior in quality to the English oats, yet they appear to agree well with the horse in all situations. To horses in hard strong work oats are capital admixture with gram, keeping the bowels open, and preventing those effects which take place when a horse is fed highly entirely upon gram; probably the use of Bazree, which your correspondent speaks of, supplies the place, or rather the object gained by oats.

Oats given in the straw to horses not in work, or intended for immediate hard work, is a capital food, keeping the body light, and in a healthy thriving state; say 8 seers of oats in straw, 2 seers of gram, and 2 seers of Hay.

A

With regard to bandages, I have become sceptical. That they have their advantages in certain cases I am fully aware; but in India, where our horses are SO much at the mercy of ignorant, careless, native grooms, it would be prudent not to resort to them, unless there is a screw loose. great nicety is required in putting them on. I thought my own syces, old servants, and long used to a training stable, were up to the thing; but to a favourite horse, which stood deeply engaged for a Cup race, the bandage was one night applied so tight as to induce great inflammation in one of his legs. The cause was not known or even suspected at the time; though it showed itself, soon afterwards, by the skin sluffing off under the knee, both before and behind. The consequence was he was laid up above a week, just before his race, when he had to come out against a known clipper, and upon the result of which money had been sported all over India. Though

every racing man must be aware what disadvantage it is to any horse to stop in his work at this critical time, I by no means intend to insinuate that my horse would, under other circumstances, have won, for his opponent I truly think to be, what he proved in the race, the best horse. I only notice the circumstance to put racing men upon their guard, if inclined to use bandages. If the legs feel hot and inflamed, or begin to grow out of shape, a cooling lotion may be used to advantage, composed of 4 oz. crude sal ammoniac, 1 oz. sugar of lead, dissolved in 3 pints of vinegar and 1 pint of water.

I think, from the general tenor of your correspondent's paragraph regarding sweating, that we are of the same opinion. To give a horse a sweat every six or eight days from five to seven miles, with additional clothing making a weight of 13 stone on his back, must not only "pump out his perspirable matter, and cannot be supposed to do him much good,' but ruin anything not compounded of sheer steel.

As in physic, so in sweating, no positive rules can be laid down; though sweat the horse must, and an Arab unquestionably requires more than any other horse, yet the frequency and length must in like manner be left to the experience of the trainer. But the pumping system may be obtained under less severity to the horse, as regards the weight he has to carry, if the first sweating blanket be wrapped completely round the horse, so that a double fold passes under his belly, his breast, with the blanket used as a sweater, will exclude the external air, and will induce the horse to sweat quite sufficiently, without the cumbersome aid of too great, a weight of clothes. Distance and

pace must be regulated by the trainer after sweating; a horse's legs and feet will derive benefit from being immersed in a bucket of hot water. The object of sweating is to lighten a horse internally, and to open his pores, but to draw the sweat from him in streams must weaken a horse, and if too often repeated the horse must dwindle, and nature be exhausted. A sweat once in ten days to a lusty horse, or once a fortnight to a more delicate one, in this country, I should think sufficient. Too much clothing in the stable, or when out at walking exercise, stews and weakens a horse more or less according to his constitution. Even in the cold weather in India, a gentleman taking strong exercise, either on foot or on horseback, requires not a great coat.

If a craving lusty horse, notwithstanding his regular exercise and sweat, continues to put up more flesh than you think he ought to carry, or appears from his work to be getting stale, it might be advisable, instead of sweating him with an additional load of clothes, and at too long a distance, which might endanger his legs, to set him the night before his sweat, and when pulled up after his sweat, to give him a dose of physic, say, from five to six drams of aloes, according as you know medicine to affect him. From his sweat, he will be greedy of his water, and drink freely, and you may expect the medicine to operate briskly the next morning. For this hint I am indebted to the author of a book on training lately published, lent me by a friend: the author's name I cannot now call to mind; as a lad he was brought up

*

* Darvil, we conclude our correspondent means. His work " On the Race. horse," though recently published, is extremely popular.-ED.

in a training stable, where he continued some years; then went to college, and afterwards became Veterinary Surgeon to a Dragoon Regiment. This gentlemen says the stimulant effects of the physic in promoting the various secretions of the stomach and the different glands of the body, and also from its increasing by the aid of exercise the peristaltic motion of the bowels, causes the whole mass of those fluids to become so rapidly removed by evacuation, as to create very considerable absorption throughout the whole system. But if the horse is of a strong constitution, and invariably a good feeder, he soon recovers from the debility resulting from the operation of the medicine; his general habit of body, as well as his legs, will have been much cooled and refreshed. Indeed it will be seen, very shortly after the physic has begun to work, that the horse's legs have become clean, cool, and in shape; and, to a certain extent, both inside and out, lightened of his flesh. The change produced upon the horse's constitution from the effects of the medicine will improve him in a most extraordinary way, which will, in a very short time, be perceptible in his fresh and healthy appearance at work, and no doubt he will come to the post in good form.

Your correspondent "Nimrod in the East" remarks that "it has often struck him as extraordinary that amongst the many workmen mentioned by Nimrod in his tours, few, if any, Indians are to be found." In one of the numbers, when describing the Hambleton hunt and its riders, Nimrod observes, "There are two other of this hunt; Major Ridge and Capt. Close, who, though they spent all their younger days in India, took care not to leave behind them their passion for fox

hunting, but have verified the words of the poet who says, Colum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt. On hearing an excellent view halloo one day from the former gentleman, Mr. H. exclaimed, Could you not swear that he was got by a foxhunter? The major's father once hunted the Hambleton country."

I have to return my thanks to your correspondent O. in your January number for the notice he has taken of my inquiry regarding the treatment of Burzauttee, and I hope the subject will be followed up by those who can throw some light on the means used to cure this vile complaint. The remedies mentioned by O. have been tried by those on this side of India who have been obliged to contend against the disease, but the result has been the same mentioned by O., only temporary. Since I put forth the inquiry, I have had a horse in a very extreme case. One of his hind legs, in particular, was a mass of corruption; every remedy had failed, and he was condemned to be shot. I, however, determined to keep him to try an experiment; he was fed as usual, and a ball of blue vitriol given him daily, beginning with 20 grains, increasing the quantity every ten days, until the ball contained a dram, which, with occasional purges, was continued two months. To the sores on the legs I applied the milky juice from the common Muddar plant, the botanical name of which is Asclepias Gigantia.

In this part of the country it grows wild, in a bushy form; is three feet high, having a broad

smooth leaf, and bears a small
purple flower. The juice flows
immediately a branch is broken,
and is so very acrid, that if rubbed
on the skin, will act as a strong
blister. The root is much used in
native medicine, and is that recom-
mended by Dr. Playfair as a cure
for leprosy. For some time after
applying it to the Burzauttee sores,
which was done daily, the whole
limb swelled very much, and had
it not been a case of experiment, I
might have been alarmed and have
desisted from the trial. I, however,
persevered, and after ten days had
the satisfaction to observe the
swelling of the limb in some mea-
sure subside, though considerable
enlargement still remained, de-
creasing gradually, notwithstand-
ing the continuance of the Muddar
juice. The sore also put on a more
healthy appearance, and was much
reduced. In time it healed, hav-
ing much less scar, than I could
have expected from a sore of
such magnitude, and of so long
a standing. This experiment was
made in the racing months upon
a desperate case. The breaking
up of the rains might have accel-
erated the healing of the sore, yet
I am inclined to think the juice of
the Muddar might be found a
very useful application in similar
cases. I shall certainly try its
effects on a future occasion, and
shall keep the horse above referred
to, in order to ascertain if the
disease breaks out again next
Burzauttee season.
I am, Sir,

Your obedient servant,
O. K.

Not 100 miles from Meerut,
4th April, 1829.

VOL. I.

in matters regarding hunting, racing, and shooting since my arrival in the country about six

years ago, there is one which, though strictly belonging to neither of them, is still in my opinion materially conducive to the enjoyment of them all with ease and comfort, and also in a very great degree to that of the mere traveller along the road: and as your valuable magazine is, I doubt not, equally open to the communication of improvements in all matters conducive to the enjoyment of either of the above pursuits, I have taken up my pen to call the attention of my sporting friends, more particularly, who are desirous of following their favourite amusements with a greater degree of personal comfort and a diminution of fatigue than has hitherto been customary in this enervating climate, to the subject of this letter.

of

I allude to the invention the vehicle commonly styled a "Nibbs." The first of the kind was built by a friend of my own about three years ago as a mode of conveyance to hunting, shooting, and generally to parties and picnics of all descriptions, as well as with the idea of more easily being transported over the country roads in a journey. From its make and form it is admirably adapted for all of these purposes; but I must be allowed to state that it never was intended as a vehicle for the Esplanade or show-utility and comfort being the only ends in view in its construction. The first that ever was turned out was built with very low wheels, a square framework or carriage, and a square seat with a rail round it, higher behind than before, and open in front towards the horse. It was hung on four small C springs affixed one at each corner of the carriage, to which the seat alone was attached by a leather strap and buckle, the carriage part being firmly attach

ed to the axle; this with a large cushion or Beehana, covering the whole of the bottom part of the seat, and plenty of smaller ones, like pillows, completed the first "Nibbs," which was capable of holding with ease three persons, on one of whom devolved the task of " Jarvy."

The breadth of this from wheel to wheel was 4 feet, that of the seat about six inches less, while in length it was about seven feet, or perfectly well admitting of a person lying at full length. The workmanship, as may be supposed, was not of the most neat in the world, but it at the same time combined great strength with an excellent adaptation to the narrow and rough roads of the Deccan.

In this, three gentlemen, of whom I was one, started on a three weeks' hog-hunting tour, and during the trip travelled in it along the different marshes, with one horse, a distance of 166 miles over the country roads, taking them as they came, and some parts of them were of the worst description I have ever met with. It stood the work admirably, and was allowed by all to be a most advantageous contrivance, not only as it saved the hunters from being hacked along the road, a very great point in my opinion; but also as it required a much less number of nags to do the distance, one horse doing the same work with the greatest ease that would otherwise have required three.

After so good a commencement, and a further confirmation of its advantages in divers excursions to picnics, hunting and shooting parties, during which several improvements on the original plan suggested themselves, the "Nibbs" appeared in its present form.

The alterations on the old plan are simply these. The wheels have been raised to four feet and

half an inch in diameter, and are not "dished," being made quite straight. The small C spring at each corner has been rejected, and Stanhope springs (Europe ones if procurable, otherwise country

made ones) substituted. A well or boot for the feet has been introduced into the forepart of the seat of the "Nibbs," and a shifting board, for the support of the back in an upright position, put in. By this latter introduction, the position is altered from a reclining to an upright one, which is more comfortable for the driver, besides being better adapted for guiding the horse over the jolting and stony country roads; and as seldom more than two travel in the same vehicle, although I have more than once known of three, it is equally agreeable, at the same time that the old method of reclining is still available at pleasure by removing the back board. This, however, is seldom resorted to now, on account of the roominess of the seat and well. In addition to these improvements on the original plan, a light hood or awning with side curtains fixed on to the seat by four light posts at the corners, so that no inconvenience is felt from the sun in travelling during the day, as the top, from its height, which its extreme lightness readily admits of, allows a current of air to pass at all times through the vehicle, besides rendering ingress and egress more easy and secure in case of an accident. The shafts

too, from being straight, are now bent to admit of a better adaptation of the level of the carriage to the height of the horse. Wings have also been thrown over the wheels.

Such is the "Nibbs." The name which sounds so strangely owes its origin to a joke of a few very intimate friends, at the expense of the original contriver, about the

time of its being started, and, from long use, has become quite as well known and understood in this part of the world as "Stanhope or "Dennet "anywhere else.

To the Courser, to him who is fond of shooting and hunting, and to the soul who loves to travel more at his ease in a country where macadamized roads and mail coaches are as yet unknown, the "Nibbs" is invaluable. It combines the ease of a buggy with a better adaptation to country roads in its strength and breadth; which points in a buggy, a vehicle intended for show, would be reckoned clumsy and as displaying bad taste; besides which, the "Nibbs" is more roomy. It admits of the man who delights in coursing, if he chooses, taking his dogs to the ground along with himself, thereby preventing all chance of the dog boys mistaking his orders. The Shot can take his Detonator which he values as the apple of his eye, safe from all chance of the Hamuel or Peon, to whom he must otherwise entrust it, tumbling down on the road or letting it fall.

A still higher advantage is possessed by the "Nibbs over most other vehicles, and one which is of vital importance to the purse— its extreme cheapness; a good "Nibbs," on the improved plan, being procurable at Ahmednuggur at the charge of 325 Rs. inclusive of everything.

In its appearance, I have said, it has no claim to any distinction; perhaps by some it may be reckoned ugly; but whether it is from long habit, or the association in my mind of a "Nibbs" and a sporting excursion, I am of opinion that there is something sporting in its "tout ensemble;" but as this is a point on which there must be so many and so various opinions, I do not profess any desire to argue the matter.