for the well of the dog-cart, and it was astonishing
how many light packages we managed to "stow away" in it. I will not
dilate on the pleasant drives through quiet lanes, of the delight
afforded to the children when allowed to have a ride on "Bobby," nor
of the great facility it gave us of being out of doors in winter,
when, as was very frequently the case, the state of the roads was such
as to render walking an impossibility; still, I hope I have stated
sufficient to give my readers a good idea of the great pleasure they
will derive from keeping a pony; and I will now, with the bills of the
miller and farrier before me, proceed to show the sum for which it may
be kept. Our pony cost for food, from the 4th of January to the 24th
of December in the same year, $46.66. He consumed during that period
five quarters of oats, at $8 the quarter, and five bushels of beans,
which cost $6.66. The farrier's bill for the same time amounted to
$5.91. Perhaps it will be as well to copy this account, as it will
clearly show how often it is requisite to change the shoes of a horse.
Of course a great deal must depend on the quantity of work he does;
ours was certainly not spared, though we do not deserve the character
so usually given to ladies, of being unmerciful to horses: "running
them off their legs," "thinking they can never get enough out of the
poor beasts," "driving them as if they thought they could go for
ever," are accusations brought against the ladies of a family where
horses are kept.

The following is a copy of the bill for our pony's shoes for twelve
months:--

Feb. 24. Four removes $0.33
March 22. Four shoes .75
April 20. Four removes .33
May 5. Two shoes .37 1/2
June 9. Four shoes .75
July 8. Four shoes .75
Aug. 9 Four shoes .75
Sept. 1. Four shoes .75
Oct. 11. Two shoes .37 1/2
Oct. 25. Two shoes .37 1/2
Dec. 24. Two shoes .37 1/2
$5.91

Add to this the miller's bill $46.66
$52.57

and we have the whole expense of keeping a pony for one year. "Oh!
but," some one may exclaim, "you have put down nothing for straw and
hay, and horses require a