The liability induced by removal of the natural covering exemplifies the folly of those practices which have lately become so very fashionable as at the present time to be almost universal. But there has always appeared to exist in the human mind a restless desire to improve the beauty of the horse. Now the tail has been docked; then the ears have been cut. A short space prior to these amendments, the skin was tampered with to produce a star, as a white spot upon the forehead was termed. At the passing hour almost every man who owns a horse must have the body clipped or singed. The length of hair is given in this climate as a necessary provision. Nature never forms anything without its use; though man in his ignorance may not always be able to comprehend her intention. Were finer coats desired, it would probably be wiser to obtain them by warming the stable, increasing the clothing, and avoiding those long stagnations during which the animal has to remain motionless before street doors. A long coat is a defense against a cold winter; and unless man provides against the consequences of our climate, it is evidently flagrantly wrong to deprive a dumb creature of the protection which nature has bestowed. Shortening the coat, if anywhere justifiable, is certainly most pardonable among hunters. Animals used for this purpose always have, or should have, plenty of attendance; these creatures also are mostly required during the autumn and early winter. Removing the coat certainly does stimulate the body. The horse assuredly is capable of greater exertion immediately after the deprivation. At the same time, however, a greater susceptibility to disease is engendered, and often the deprived animal falls a victim to man's fancy, notwithstanding all the care and attention which the hunting-stable can command. A burst and then a check, when a piercing wind blows from the northeast, invariably produces sad effects among the horses, especially at the commencement of the season. A gentleman who prizes the animal he rides should take it to "the meet" unclipped; and, perhaps, should the run be long, the quadruped may hold a better place at the death than horses adorned after the prevailing fashion.