Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1898-01-20
THE PONIES OF ICELAND.
They Are Absolute MarveIs OF
Strength and Endurance.

They Are Absolute MarveIs OF
Strength and Endurance.
If the camel is the ship OF the desert,
the Iceland pony Is the cab, train, omni-
bus and tram car of the wonderful coun-
try to which he belongs. To begin with,
he is a misnomer He is not pony, in
the ordinary sense Of the word; he is a
horse, in bone and slnew, in strength
Ind endurance, In manners and deport-
ment-a horse in everything, in fact,
except inches; and sober, steady,
Woodworking horse, too. lie is very
'multum in parvo," Concentrated es-
Eence" of herseflesh. He can swim like
n fish, climb like goat, and jump like
deer. Only give him time and peri
cdical halts for refreshment and he will
do his so miles per day, and thrive upon
it,
Iceland ponies are bred in hundreds
IN the large grass plains in the south
ern districts of the island. Little or no
care is taken in selection, so the breed
remains unaltered and unimproved, the
averagGpony standing from 11h to 1914
hands, though here and there one will
reach nearly 10 hands. Every variety
of color is seen, but skewbalds OF many
shades are the eommonest. The chest
nuts, as rule, are the finest, and the
browns the hardest. Beautiful cream
colors, with light points, are not infre-
quent; black is very rare, and roam
also. Their PAGES are fast, considering
The size of the animal, journey of 80
miles being often done in six hours or
less, with heavy baggage. They trot,
canter, and gallop, but the pace most es-
teemed by the natives is the amble or
"skeid," in which the fore and hind
legs on q side are advanced simultan-
cously, giving q running action, very
smooth to the rider. A good PAGER" is
considered very valuable, and often
sold for q high figure.
Some OF these ponies amble so fast
that they kept ahead of another going
at hard gallop, and they maintain the
pace for days journey under weight
of II to II stone, Iceland ponies are
steady and fast In harness, though
wheels are a comparatively new depar-
ture in their country. They travel
mostly in strings, often tied head and
tail. Hay, baggage and household goods
are thus transported, and building ma
terials also, You meet a "timburlestur,
or timber beam, Of from eight to ten
ponies, one carrying planks trailing on
each side, another strips Of iron, an
2tler bundles of tools; a certain num-
Der of spare animals running loose, and
not infrRquently foal or two.
It is Us rare to see q dead Iceland
pony as q dead donkey, though their
skulls are often visible, half trodden
into the miry ways surrounding the
farms. The pony begins work at six
or seven years-hard work, that Is to
Say, lie is early apprenticed to his
trade by following his mother at her
avocations, and when he is footsore is
strapped upon her back. He works we'll
up to 20 years and over, and often re-
mains fairly sound to ripe old age.
He feeds on the fat of the land in the
summer, and in winter, if his owner is
poor, must live on his wits and his
stored condition. Farmers who are fair
ly well off keep their nimalsinduring
winter and feed them on hay; but, not
withstanding, many of the ponies have
hard time of it. ThelIcelanders, how
ever, keep their steeds as we'll as their
means allow, and treat them altogether
in brotherly fashion, and the S, P, C. A.
would seldom fnd scope for its activity,
except, possibly, in the improvement Of
biting aud gearing. Taking it all
around, the Iceland pony is certainly
not less happy-very often far happier
thanh his bigger brothers in the south;
and his endurance, placidity and do
cility make him favorlte in other lands
besides his own, while fitting him for
his home duties in a manner which could
not be surpassed and must be tested
to be fully understood.-London Globe.
-. ---5y-.,r-,
The most powerful microscope ever
invented has just been perfected by
Prof. 2. L. Gates, of Washington, D. C.
It's magnifying power is 100000 diam
efare