. Breeder and sportsman. Horses. December 28, 1901] ©He ^veebev emir gipotrtemtm 11 -irr|?#^!r THE FARM. PECULIAR HINDOO SUPERSTITIONS. Native Beliefs Regarding the Hair Marks on Horses and Cattle. Secretary Jackson of the California State Agricult- ural Society has received from the Department of Agriculture, Madras, Hindostan, a most interesting document in the form of a bulletin giving the curious beliefs of the natives of that country regarding tbe hair marks on cattle and horses. Secretary Jackson has furnished the Breeder and Sportsman with a copy of the same, from which we extract the f
. Breeder and sportsman. Horses. December 28, 1901] ©He ^veebev emir gipotrtemtm 11 -irr|?#^!r THE FARM. PECULIAR HINDOO SUPERSTITIONS. Native Beliefs Regarding the Hair Marks on Horses and Cattle. Secretary Jackson of the California State Agricult- ural Society has received from the Department of Agriculture, Madras, Hindostan, a most interesting document in the form of a bulletin giving the curious beliefs of the natives of that country regarding tbe hair marks on cattle and horses. Secretary Jackson has furnished the Breeder and Sportsman with a copy of the same, from which we extract the following: Throughout India, but more" especially in the Southern Presidency, among the native population, the value of a horse ;jr ox principally depends on the existence and situation of certain hainnarks on the body of the animal. These hairmarks are formed by the changes in the direction, in which the hair grows at certain places, and according to their shape are called a crown, ridge, or feather mark. The relative position of these marks is sup- posed to indicate that the animal will bring good or bad luck to the owner and his relatives. There is a saying that "a man may face a rifle fire and may escape, but he can not avoid the luck, good or evil, foretold by hairmarks. The purchaser first considers these marks, and, if they are propitious, the points of conformation, age, and soundness are of little importance. So much are the people influenced by these omens that they seldom keep an animal with unlucky marks, and would not allow their mares to be covered "by a stallion having impropitious marks. In the northern provinces owners and breeders are not so much guided by these superstitions, be- cause by them the good and bad points of a horse are better understood. In purchasing cattle, less stress is laid on these marks than in the selection of a horse. In purchasing a cow, her hairmarks are not at all considered, a cow being held sacred and auspicious tinde
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjecthorses, bookyear1882
