At the present day there are about 3700 omnibuses on the London streets. For each omnibus there is a stud of ten horses, except when the road on which it works is hilly, and then twelve are required. The majority of omnibus horses are Canadians, and are purchased at the London repositories when between five and eight years of age, the average price paid being £30 per horse. They are then graduated to the work, and become seasoned in two or three months. When seasoned they work from four to five hours out of every twenty-four. After working for about five years they are, generally, unfit for further omnibus use, and are sold by auction, the purchasers being, in most cases, farmers. Many horses recover their “straight legs” after a spell of farm life, and farmers have been known to send up to London as English bred horses Canadians which they purchased, some months before, as “fresh from omnibus work.” On several occasions omnibus proprietors have discovered that their new “English bred horse” is a Canadian which they had sold, deeming it unfit for further use. It may be asked how it was that the purchaser did not recognise his old horse before buying it. But omnibus proprietors in a large way of business are continually buying horses, and cannot possibly recognise every animal they have possessed; but their horse-foremen, however, discover the British farmer’s smartness. In all large studs a number is allotted to every horse as soon as it is purchased. That number is burnt on the near fore hoof, and entered, together with the colour and sex of the animal, in the horse-register book. It is also painted on a slip of zinc and placed over the stall the horse is to occupy. When the animal dies or is sold his number plate is destroyed and a fresh one allotted to his successor. Each omnibus costs from £150 to £160, and lasts for about twelve years. It is renovated every year previous to being inspected by the police, who, on passing it, affix a number plate to the back of the step. The police have two plates, which they issue on alternate years, so that a constable can see at a glance whether an omnibus is licensed. For each plate licence an omnibus proprietor has to pay £2 a year, and also an annual tax of 15_s._ to the Inland Revenue. Until about ten years ago the Inland Revenue tax was £2 2_s._, and would in all probability have remained so had not Mr. John Manley Birch--one of the oldest established proprietors--sued the Crown for a rebate on the ground that as omnibuses came under the Hackney Carriage Act he could not be compelled to pay more than the hackney carriage tax of 15_s._ Mr. Birch’s action was made a test case and was decided in his favour, one year’s rebate being allowed. When an omnibus is no longer fit for London work it is sold at auction, and becomes, eventually, a summer-house, a workmen’s shed, a cricket club’s dressing-room or refreshment bar. The London General Omnibus Company burns its old vehicles.