and undergoes so much greater an exertion. Coursing ground is not all alike; but we are writing upon general rules for coursing, be it where it will. Having said thus much on the two fair running dogs, and I trust having shewn a fair objection to the rule, it is not necessary to say much on the second case-a fair runner and a waiting dog; as every experienced courser will allow, that if it is objectionable in the first case, it is still more so in the second; and, in fact, I think it unnecessary further to fill your columns with what must appear so obvious to all. If I am wrong in my reasoning, I should be glad to be set right; and hope, with your correspondent, to see roused the opinion of some of the coursers of the Old School-putting in my claim of not being considered a very young courser, as I have seen a good deal of it for nearly forty years, and have always been partial to it. I am, Sir, yours, &c. THE NORTH WESTER. cheering his hounds, his old horse walking round. The Captain might be termed slow; and so was his horse; but he was able to go straight through a long day in any country. The latter was supposed to be worn out before he came into Captain S.'s possession. Mr. Probyn of the 7th Dragoons purchased him of Mr. P. Dike, of Wickham Market, and he was af terwards in the possession of Mr. Lumley of the same regiment. At the Captain's death, the old horse was sold, and the last ac count known of him was as leader to the Coggeshall coach. As both "the horse and his rider" were good ones, and well known to a great many sporting men, their portraits cannot but be acceptable to all true lovers of the brush the one as able to do the trick cleverly, and the other as never flinching from a hard day's work. MATHEMATICAL VIEWS AND CALCULATIONS ON THE FORM OF THE HORSE AND DOG, AS CONTRIBUTORY TO SPEED. SIR, Τ PORTRAIT OF A FOX-HUNTER, IT is now four years since I sent HIS HORSE, AND HOUNDS. THIS engraving represents Cap tain J. Saich, his old white faced black horse, and his three favorite dogs-Danger, Dauntless, and Darling. The Captain was descended from an ancient family in Essex, who for many genera tions were masters of hounds; and he himself, though possessing little means beyond his pay, followed the track of his ancestors, and for several years hunted part of Suffolk. He was fond of the sport; and it was gratifying to see him working through a strong covert to the Sporting Magazine some observations on the speed of the greyhound and hare, with mea surements of their respective stride or bound.-(See Magazine for December 1822.)-I did expect some sportsman would have been induced to give the readers of that work the result of trials on the stride and speed of the race horse. Not residing near a race course, I cannot supply such an article, however anxious for accurate details, as supplying a blank in the natural history of that noble animal. I have again this winter repeated the trials between the greyhound and hare, and have every reason to be satisfied that the former admeasurements were correct. A deep snow has given me leisure to look into Wilkinson's Essays on the Motive Powers of Animals, Mr. Wilkinson, a surgeon, was lecturer at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in 1798, when he published his Essays on the above and other philosophical subjects. He is a good mathematician and close reasoner. Mr. Wilkinson very properly censures the Essay on Eclipse, by Monsieur Sainthel, for attempting to establish that the joints of the foreparts of a horse are precisely equal to those behind; but he adapts his measurement of the parts on the fore and hind limbs. From these he first calculates the extension, supposing the joints were inflexible; and next the real extension, according to the various angles (commensurate to the length of the various bones) which each joint will perform-first of the fore limbs, and next of the hind limbs. I need not enter into the mathematical details, for which few of your readers would thank me; but the result is, that twenty-eight feet nine inches are the maximum of extent of ground an animal formed like Eclipse could cover. He adds, "that those who have observed the motion of this cele brated animal have well assured us, they have measured an extent of twenty-five feet he has actually covered." Now, I consider this calculation a very near approach to the actual extent of his stride. Our author maintains with Borellus (to whom I alluded formerly) that the horse, in speed, performs not a series of jumps:"Saltus non fit, nisi prius articuli pedum inflectan tur." (He makes no bounds or jumps, unless the pastern joints be inflected.) The fore limbs of Eclipse, independent of his hinder, could cover an extent of ground equal to sixtyseven inches; and the hind limbs, independent of the fore, nearly sixty-eight inches. Had the hind legs possessed more powers, the action of the fore legs could never have corresponded, and the motion would not have formed an equalized motion, but would be only a succession of jumps. Eclipse, in taking his stride, must have sunk down eight inches, according to the calculation. I apprehend, the above uusportsmanlike calculations may tire many of your readers; but my object is, to impress on gentlemen who delight in the race horse, that certain proportions in the limbs, or moving levers of the racer, are absolutely necessary to have the power of great stride. Mr. Wilkinson observes, that in the fore limbs, the pastern in running is parallel with the scapula, or shoulder blade, at the moment of pressure; that is, an angle of forty-five degrees: so in the hind legs, when brought under the horse's body, the hind pastern is parallel to the femur, or thigh. If the animal did not possess this obliquity in the pasterns, he would be in continual danger of falling: again, without this, the horse, instead of being supported on all the base of the foot, would occasionally be thrown on the edge; and horses thus formed are continually trip. ping. On similar mathematical principles, Mr. W. finds, from the measurement of the bones, that an elephant can pass over fourteen feet, after one motion of all his feet; if repeated once a second, he moves nine miles an hour: the hippopotamus about three miles and a half: the greenland bear would walk two and a half miles: the elk's bound would be thirtyfour feet; and if repeated as often as that of Eclipse, the rate would be fifty-five miles an hour. Now, if the Arab horse possess certain proportions in his limbs, by which the greatest reach can be effected (no matter whether the Arab can keep alongside of an English racer), to preserve those relative proportions in our racers, is yet a most essential point. The quickness of repeating the stride, and power of continuance, will depend upon the vigour of muscle, capa city of the chest, and strength of the contained lungs. The crossing of the greyhound with a bull-dog, by Lord Orford, which was to give stoutness and perseverance in the seventh descent, was, in my apprehension, a sheer flim-flam. It would require no great knowledge to decide, a priori, that the proportions of the limbs of the bull-dog, mixed with those of a fine greyhound, could only produce most discordant running qualities; and it is only to be wondered at, that the seventh descent could beat the slowest of the thorough-bred greyhounds, But the seventh descent is a pretty tolerable exspunger of bad quali ties; though in the case of the race horse's proportions of bones, not quite so certain. Let us try. The first cross with a bull-dog and a greyhound bitch is half and half; and descending with a greyhound dog, gives the second step bull,greyhound; the third step, still with a greyhound dog, gives th bull to ths greyhound; the fourth, 1-16th bull to 15-16ths greyhound; the fifth, 1-32d bull to 31-32ds greyhound; the sixth, 1-64th bull to 63-64ths greyhound; and the seventh step, gives 1-128ths bull to 127-128ths greyhound. So that, at the seventh descent, there was I-128th part of the bulldog blood only to 127-128ths of the thorough-bred greyhound. All crosses should be subject to similar calculations. I may soon again trouble you with some remarks in favour of Arab blood. BARB-ARAB. SIR, THE TURF. MY lucubrations are of that dis cursive kind, that I am some what at a loss, according to a late statesman's phrase, "to begin with the beginning;" still, as my intention is principally to notice the passing events of the Turf-with therefrom, and circumstances conthe various ramifications arising nected with the same-I think I may commence with the beaten road, and digress therefrom as my fancy may lead me. In looking over your volumes for some time back, I found one of your correspondents in 1824 transmitted you, by way of furnishing "hints to breeders of race horses,' a memorandum of the number of winners got by the principal stallions, for the seven years preceding 1822 inclusive. To make the list perfect, I have extracted from the Calendars for the last four years the same kind of matter, taking no notice of those who have bred less than twenty-five winners. They will stand thus: are numbers more calculated to get the speedy stock, which is required (and which is nearly all that is required) for the short-run races of the present day. I do not know that there is much wonder to be attached to this; for if they have such heavy Produce Stakes for no age beyond threeyear-olds, it must be evident that it is to the interest of the parties concerned to breed only from such animals as are most likely to get stock calculated for such courses as are required, generally the different miles-the variation of a few yards in each being the only real distinction: so that it is not at all surprising now-a-days for some hot, washy weed of a thing to get well laid in, and win all the heavy stakes off-hand in the Spring Meetings," and then is heard no more." Such was the case in 1824 with the Duke of Grafton's "Rebecca," who, after coming out, and winning the Riddlesworth and the Dinner Stakes-beating in the latter race Cedric, the winner of the Derby the same year-never had a chance to win another race; thus absolutely netting by those two stakes, in round figures, four thou sand four hundred and fifty guineas! while her own intrinsic value was hardly so many pence. It is idle, after this, to talk of men being disinterested enough as to endeavour to breed only such horses as may outlive "the Cynthia of the minute," and do credit to themselves and the country, through a course of years, if such sums as these can be obtained at * Besides ten winners which are doubtful, the mares having been covered by other horses besides Filho. But at the same time, it is to be observed, that the progeny (Alecto, His Grace, and Footman) having been all bred by Mr. Houldsworth, that gentleman's people, who, of course, had the best opportunity of judging, always considered Filho to have been the sire (particularly in the case of Alecto), though the fact of the mare having been covered double obliges them to say so in the nominations, and the doubt thus remains. so easy a rate without the expense, risk, and anxiety attendant upon a protracted training; in fact, what argument can be so strong? There is, I venture to imagine, one way yet open to the supporters of the turf to uphold bona fide racing; and, though it may be almost presumption in me to hint such a matter, yet I cannot help suggesting the very great benefit which must arise from the establishment of a series of Produce Stakes for four and five-year-old horses, as well as for the weaker ages. It is sufficiently well known that there have been for years past races of this kind established both at York and Doncaster for four-yearolds, with the best effect, though on a very limited scale. It may, however, be matter of satisfaction to recollect (as I named before), that one very spirited Stake has been made at Newmarket for 1830, for four-year-olds, for 500 each, over the B. C., and it is only to be lamented that it should be solus; but at the same time, as a glance at the names composing the stake will shew nearly the whole of the principal members of the turf, it will suffice to make it apparent that it requires but a beginning to meet with the countenance of all parties. There is one circumstance attending this stake which will not need to be taken as a pattern; and that is, the amount of the subscription, which is certainly too high by far to be followed in a general sense. It would, indeed, be very likely to deter parties from sub scribing, who would otherwise be ready to do so was a smaller sum made the Stake: and it will, I apprehend, in the formation of Produce Stakes for the more advanced ages, be found a desideratum to get quantity as an equivalent for quality, or, in other words, to increase the "total of the whole" value of the stake by number of entries rather than by magnitude of individual sums: for this reason, that it must be evident there will always be a great thinning of the ranks before the day of coming to the post, by the length of the previous probation required of training and running, during which many will have become defunct, and others "have been found wanting," and consequently not worth going on with. That this plan may increase expenses, and in some cases ensure loss-as it would have done with Rebecca-I am ready to admit; but at the same time it will bring matters to a level, and let good and bad be found out, besides tending to keep your three and sometimes two-year-old stallions out of the list; for, as I have before remarked, people think it better now a days to make a three-yearold into a stallion at once, after his Produce engagements are off, than keep him in training to pick up casual plates, or get him weighted in a handicap, where he chance to kick down at once all his former "fair fame," and so lose the opportunity of making him a crack and "fashionable" stallion! may If such a system of racing should (by making it worth while to do so) tend to keep some of our best runners of their respective years longer in training than has of late years been the fashion, we may in that case have time perchance to find out the qualities of our stallions as to their progeny, and teach us not to send them out of the country so soon as we have formerly been in the habit of doing, and afterwards, like children, almost cry for them back again; as in the case of Truffle, |