TELLING THE AGE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 308, 28 December 1881, Page 4

TELLING THE AGE.

A correspondent of the Australian Sportsman tells tha following curious yarD, whiah looks ss though it could be verified by eueb as may he sufficiently enrions r 0 make i;he trial :— " Tbe age of the horse ia not alone told by the teeth. The Arabs tell by the hoofs. This ydv d impossible with the European, owiog to tbe hoof being so often cut and rasped by our farriers The Japanese tell by the hoof and the eye ; and tbe same profess to tell by the oannoc-bone of tbo near fore leg. Wbeo I was in Japan I introduced the iron shoe in place of the rush basket, go cotnovnly used, also the ve f erinary art; bu*; this is going from my story. The Bge of the horse can be told by one single hair from the mane or tail ; to convince you I will here relate : When in India last year I was tellirjg this to some friends, but they could not really flee how it wsb to be done. I then went into the stable in company with three young ladies and pulled a hair from each horse — three horses — and returned t-» the drawing-room. I then asked if any knew the ages of the different horses. Of course they all did. Ith n asked for a tumbler halt full of cold water, and this was brought and placed on the table. I then wanted a ring. Of conrse each young lady offered her own, but they all being unmarned it would not do— l wanted a plain one. It was then proposed that thf y should get mamma'ti wedding-ring, and this was the exact thing. I then asked for one of the hair?, each young lady holding the hair of her own borsa. I will now proceed with Miaa L'ly "W I took tbe hair and teamtna's wedding-ring, passed one end of the hair through the ring, and let the rice swing on the hai'*, the two ends of tbebiir bMng packed close together between tbe forefinger and thumb of the right hand, so that it did not cross in any way. I dipped the ring into the half tumbler of water, raised it np apaiD, and then rested the elbow of the same haDd on the table, suspending the rin? halfway between the rim of tbe tumbler and the water, and keeping the hand perfectly steady ; th© ring, in tbe epace of a few seconds, moved gradually faster, and struck the glass on one side or the otber After holding it in this manner it struck seven, and on examining Mies Lily's horse's mouth we found it was just aeven years Miss Daisy's struck nine and Miss May's eleven, and the book, proved tbe horses to be the years mentioned^ Then Miss Daisy wanted to know if I coold tell her age, and I replied in the affirmative. I then too k,a long bair from her head, and went through the same formula as for the hor«ep. It struck eighteen, and this caused rosra of laughter, for that young lady had only a few minutes before wanted me to believe she was onl> seventeen, but Mrs. W. referred to the Bible and found that on that day month eighteen was correct Misa May was proved to be twenty-one, and Miss Lily twenty-three This coirvirieed my fair friends that they could yet learn a secret. But I mnst inform you that a Bair once used will nob act a second time.