1,000 lbs. The old Irish
"racer" pig is the least profitable kind to keep, but fortunately it is,
as a pure breed, nearly extinct.

_Breeds of the Horse._--There are a great many breeds of horses. The
Shetland pony is so small, that many specimens are no larger than a
Newfoundland dog; on the other hand, Clydesdale horses sometimes attain
to almost elephantine proportions. There is a wide difference between
the bull-like Suffolk Punch and the greyhound-like _racer_. The English
and Irish racer is said to owe its origin to a cross between the old
English light-legged breed and the Arabian. The most valuable kind of
carriage horse is the joint product of the draught-horse and the racer.
The dray-horse of these countries has a large share of Flemish blood in
him. The best horses for agricultural purposes are unquestionably the
CLYDESDALE and the SUFFOLK PUNCH. The latter is perhaps to be preferred
in most instances, especially on light lands. Very light and feeble
horses are the most expensive variety on almost any kind of farm; for
whilst they consume nearly as much food as the most powerful animals,
and are therefore nearly as costly, they are incapable of effectively
performing their work. A large proportion of the farm horses used by the
small farmers of Ireland are totally unsuited for tillage purposes. On
the other hand, there is no need to employ horses equal in size to the
ponderous creatures that draw brewers' carts. Moderate sized horses,
with well rounded, compact bodies, and muscular but not too heavy limbs,
are the kind best adapted for farm purposes. In Ireland, where there are
not fewer than 600,000 horses, a considerable infusion of blood from
Clydesdales and Suffolk Punches is much required.

_Hunters and Racers._--There is a strong tendency in the human mind to
look with a regretful feeling to the past, and to compare it to the
disadvantage of the present. It is a general belief with most people
that the old time was the best time; that the seasons were more genial
formerly; that provisions were cheaper and more abundant; that men were
taller, and stouter, and healthier; that, in a word, everything was
better in the days of yore than it is now, and that degeneracy and
effeteness are the prevailing characteristics of our age. Philosophers,
statists, and political economists tell us that all this regret for the
"good old time" is mis-spent sympathy; for that we are in every respect
superior--in physique, h