TELLING THE AGE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6261, 10 December 1881, Page 3

TELLING THE AGE.

A correspondont of the Australian I Sportsman tolls the following curious yam, which looks as though it could be verified by such as may be sufficiently curious to make the trial : — "The age of the horse is not alone told by the teeth. The Arabs tell by the hoofs. This is impossible with the European, owing to tke host being so often cut and rasped by our farriers. The Japanese tell by the hoof and the eve ; and some profess to tell by the cannon-bone of the near fore leg. When I was in Japan I introduced the iron shoe in place of the rushbasket, so commonly used, also the veterinary art; but this is going from my story. The age of the horse can be told by one single hair from the main or tail ; to convince you I will here relate : When in India last year I was telling this to some friends, but they could not really see how it -was to bo done. I then went into the stable in company with three young ladies and pulled a hair from the mane of each horse —three horses— and returned to the drawing-room. I tht_-n asked if any knew the ages of the different horses. Of course they all did. I then asked for a tumbler half full of cold water, and this was brought aud placed on the table. I then wanted a ring. Of course each young lady offered her own, but they all being unmarried it would not do—l wanted a pUin one. It was then proposed that they should got mamma's weddiim-ring, and this was the exact thing. I then asked for oue of the hairs, each young lady holding the hair of her own horse. I will now proceed with Miss Lily \V. I took the hair and mamma's wedding-ring, passed one end of the hair through the rin.-. and let the ring swim.' on the hair, the two ends of the riu« being placed clo=e together between the lorcfingrr and thumb of the right hand, so that it ilid not cross in any way. 1 dipped the ring into the half tumbler of water, raised it u p again, and then rested the elbow of the s:imo hand on the ta- 10. suspeuding the halfway between the rim or the tumbler and the water, and ko.-ping the hand perfc-tly steady ; the ring, in the spaeo. of a few seconds, moved gradually faster, and struck the glass on one side or the other. After holding it in this manner it struck seven, and on examining Miss Lily's burse's mouth we found it was just seven years. Miss Daisy's struck nine, an-.? Miss May's cloven, and the books proved the horses to bo the years mentioned. Then Miss Daisy wanted to know if I could toll her age, and I replied in the aiUrmativc. I then took a long hair from her liead. and went through the same formula as for the horses. Its truck ci-li teen and this caused roars of laughter, for that young lady had only a few minutes before wanted me to believe she was only seventeen, but Mrs. W. referred to the Bible and found that on that day month eighteen was correct. Miss May was proved to be twenty-one, and Miss Lily twenty-three. This convinced my fair friends that they could yet learn a secret. But I must inform you that a hair ouce used will not act a second time.