Waterbury Democrat., 1901-07-09
HATS FOR HORSES.

The Washington Humane society has been advocating the bonneting of draught horses, and has been so far successful that most of the horses used by large business firms in that city are now going about with bon nets on their heads. The headgear i'll question is of straw, shaped like q farmers hat, with two holes for the ears of the horse, and brim wide enough to shade the eyes. It is tied neatly under the throat and may CT may not have damp sponge in the crown to keep the head of the animal cool
 The old fashioned farmer may be in clined to laugh at this innovation, and declare that when he has any old hats to throw away he will put them on his scarecrows; but, after all, it is cheaper to buy a 10-cent hat (actual cost than to convey the horse to the stable when it has a sunstroke, and such an occurrence is by no means un- common in any city during the hottest part of q summer day. The hat will last for a considerable time, not being likely to go out of fashion or blow into the river, and it may save seri- ous injury to a valuable animal.
 However, conditions in the city of to- day are widely different from those of an old-fashioned farm. Large cities are comparatively modern affairs. Asphalt and stone paving, ten-story, not to say twenty-story buildings, and the multifarious eXactions of modern commerce, were undreamed of not so very long ago. In old Edinburgh and London there were no ice carts, no de- livery wagons, no wagons of any kind worth mentioning When people bought anything they or their servants carried it home; refuse was left to ac- cumulate indefinitely in front of the door, there to remain until there was fire; the intricate network of busi- ness enterprise which invests the modern city was absolutely non-exist- ant. The horse has only yesterday, as the history of the world goes, been i1l- troduced to conditions foreign and try ing to him in the extreme. In his new environment he must trot all day over hard pavement, in the sun, between rows of tall buildings, or stand in the street for hours at a time with the sun beating down on him and the racket of wheels, street cars, street cries and clattering hoofs all about him. Other animals are apt to die when transplanted to this environ ment; the horse lives, but his nervous system, almost human ill its delicacy and complexion, is put under a severe strain. He can no more adapt him. self to these conditions unaided by al- leyiations devised by man than he can go unshod over the pavements as the mustang does on the prairie.
 tc From purely economic point of view it may be argued, therefore, that if the nervous strain on the horse in a city can be lessened, he will last longer and do more work. It is not necessary to dwell upon his suffer ings if no steps are taken to make him comfortable, for the subject is rather painful one. And the economic argument alone is enough. A horse is very much like q man in his inclina- tions and capabilities. If he is con- tented and free from worry he will work hard and not feel it half as much as if he is continually harrasSed by petty torments. Horsemen know how quickly the temper of horse is spoiled by teasing !; and of all the things that irritate, worry, torment and madden anything that has nerves intense heat is perhaps the most ef- fectiye. It was once said that the temperature of the internal regions would alone account for the charac- ter of their ruler if he had to live there the year around Heat in the crowd ed and noisy streets of city, beating down upon the unprotected head of horse or man, causes in limited num- Der of cases fatal prostration, and in numerous instances induces exhaus- tion, nervousness, irritability, bad temper and loss of vitality. When q horse wears hat these evils are to some extent averted. The hat is a good investment.