Is there a prettier sight than a well-groomed Shetland pony, a carriage made in Lilliput, and a small driver, and a reasonable number of little passengers of assorted sizes? A goat team is a joke, a dog team is impracticable, a team of young oxen is too plodding and lacks style. The pony outfit is charming and always delights everybody. But who likes to see a grown man in a pony carriage? A small grown person may be necessary, especially if the baby is to be taken for a drive, but a full-sized adult makes a pony carriage look top heavy. The Shetland pony is a sort of "boy horse" so far as work is concerned. (Some say, too, that he gets out of as much work as possible.) There is no better helper at light jobs than the pony. Like the yak: "He will carry and fetch You may ride on his back Or lead him about with a string." Indeed he will follow his master about without a string and can carry a good load. With a light cart or wagon suited to his build and a boy to do the rest, one of these hardy little fellows will be of greatest help in doing the endless odd jobs that always fall to the boy's lot. The pony will more than earn his board if the boy earns his. [Illustration: Photograph by Helen W. Cooke. The Shetland Pony is the Ideal Pet] A thoroughbred Shetland pony should be less than forty-five inches high and weigh less than three hundred pounds. Many are raised in this country. A boy is lucky who has a chance to train a pony colt. Training should be begun early. One successful breeder says that his children do all the training of his ponies. His boy, seven years old, broke the first one they raised to drive to a little wagon. Little boys and girls under ten take entire care of the ponies in another man's herd. No doubt their father or mother oversees the work, but it is fun for the children to groom and feed and pet these wee horses. Breeding Shetland ponies is a very practical way to make a few hundred dollars a year. They eat less than full-sized horses and will keep fat on grass from frost till frost. The price of ponies is 25 per cent. higher than it was five years ago. This makes the cost of going into this business higher, but the sales begin the second year and selling prices are higher, too. Shetlands are hardy and require shelter only in bitter cold weather. Ponies of various sorts are becoming far commoner here than formerly, so the demand is increasing. I wish every boy and every girl whose heart is set on having a pony could have one. Let us all raise ponies until there are enough for every one. RABBITS, GUINEA PIGS, AND CAVIES