ms_, and its little
made words, which they often pride themselves in, and which yet are
useful to them on some occasion or other.

There are many advantages to a tradesman in thus having a general
knowledge of the terms of art, and the cant, as I call it, of every
business; and particularly this, that they could not be imposed upon so
easily by other tradesmen, when they came to deal with them.

If you come to deal with a tradesman or handicraft man, and talk his own
language to him, he presently supposes you understand his business; that
you know what you come about; that you have judgment in his goods, or in
his art, and cannot easily be imposed upon; accordingly, he treats you
like a man that is not to be cheated, comes close to the point, and does
not crowd you with words and rattling talk to set out his wares, and to
cover their defects; he finds you know where to look or feel for the
defect of things, and how to judge their worth. For example:--

What trade has more hard words and peculiar ways attending it, than that
of a jockey, or horse-courser, as we call them! They have all the parts
of the horse, and all the diseases attending him, necessary to be
mentioned in the market, upon every occasion of buying or bargaining. A
jockey will know you at first sight, when you do but go round a horse,
or at the first word you say about him, whether you are a dealer, as
they call themselves, or a stranger. If you begin well, if you take up
the horse's foot right, if you handle him in the proper places, if you
bid his servant open his mouth, or go about it yourself like a workman,
if you speak of his shapes or goings in the proper words--'Oh!' says the
jockey to his fellow, 'he understands a horse, he speaks the language:'
then he knows you are not to be cheated, or, at least, not so easily;
but if you go awkwardly to work, whisper to your man you bring with you
to ask every thing for you, cannot handle the horse yourself, or speak
the language of the trade, he falls upon you with his flourishes, and
with a flux of horse rhetoric imposes upon you with oaths and
asseverations, and, in a word, conquers you with the mere clamour of his
trade.

Thus, if you go to a garden to buy flowers, plants, trees, and greens,
if you know what you go about, know the names of flowers, or simples, or
greens; know the particular beauties of them, when they are fit to
remove, and when to slip and draw, and when not; what colour is
ordinary,