THE EFFECT OF HEAT ON ANIMALS.
THOUGH " iced beds " cooled by a " warming " pan filled with ice are now being recommended as a means to secure sleep by night in hot weather, the effect of the rise in temperature on the comfort of the animal world is not yet dis- cussed in the newspapers, the conditions under which wild and domesticated animals face sudden waves of beat are very dif- ferent. Most beasts of burden and draught animals have to do as much work when the temperature is above eighty degrees in the shade as in ordinary weather, and in some cases even more, for heat makes their masters less willing to walk
themselves. In New York sunstroke is very common among the omnibus and tram horses. In Bombay an ingenious sun- helmet has been invented to protect the back of the head and first vertebra of the neck in horses compelled to work when the sun is hot. The tram-horses, generally either " Walers " or from Central Asia, suffer both from headache and sun- stroke, and now wear a hat, through which the ears project. It is fastened under the horse's chin by strings, and gives him a curiously civilised and un-Oriental air. In London our omnibus companies "stand drinks" to their animals in exceptionally hot weather. The favourite beverage is oat- meal and water. The horses know the stages at which this will be supplied, and show the greatest eagerness to get it.
Our English harness, though excellent for cool weather, is very trying to horses in the great heat. The multiplicity of straps and the hot collar form a network of wet, hot lines across the animal's back and flanks. Soldiers sweating under the pressure of cross-belts and side belts on a summer march soon realise the feelings of the over-har- nessed horses, and take the view that the light American harness, worked with a breastplate in place of a collar, is probably far more comfortable for the animal. The violent perspiration of some horses, though it looks uncomfortable, is probably a relief to them. There is nothing worse for a horse than to be "hide-bound," and the only discomforts which the opposite symptoms entail are the danger of sores being caused by harness rubbing on the wet skin, and the risk of chills, to which horses are equally subject with human beings in hot weather. One driver of the writer's acquaintance always main- tained that one of his horses could sweat at pleasure, and did so whenever he wanted to shirk work. " He's artful, he's artful," was the invariable reply if the condition of the animal's coat were pointed out as a reason for moderating the pace. Nervous exhaustion from heat is probably more common among horses than is supposed. They suffer not only from the depression of tone caused by the temperature, but from the worry and excitement caused by flies and insects, which madden the working horse, with no time or means to rid himself of them effectually. The netwock jackets and flaps granted even to smart carriage horses in hot weather are a real benefit to them, and if cows could be provided with similar but more extensive protection it is certain that the yield of milk would be increased by the respite from constant nervous worry. That it is the flies which accompany heat, rather than the heat itself, from which animals suffer when wild, or domesticated animals when at rest, seems proved by their habits in the New Forest. There the wild ponies and cattle all leave the woods in the midday heat and congregate in what are known as "shades." But these " shades " are shadowless, being generally some quite open and elevated spot with no trees near and in the full glare of the sun. There, however, the tree-haunting flies and gnats are fewer, and if there is a breeze it can usually be felt. They prefer to face the heat to enduring the heat-insects, and more especially the crawling New Forest fly. In ordinary meadow-land cattle collect under trees towards midday, and in the afternoon, if it be possible, gather in the ponds, where they stand so deep that the lower and most sensitive parts of their bodies are com- pletely covered by water. They thus gain coolness and pro- tection from insects at the same time ; but there are not many field-ponds which are so large or accessible from the bank that cattle can,enjoy themselves in this way, which, as Gilbert White remarked, was equally good both for the beasts and for the fish which gather round to catch the flies. During the great drought two summers ago horses became almost aquatic animals where this was possible. They waded shoulder deep in the Thames, eating water-plants and seeking coolness, and emboldened by these excursions even swam the river and invaded the fields beyond. In the same year a small, deep pond in a meadow beyond Hanwell, visible from the Great Western Railway line, was used as a bath by four horses for the greater part of each day. They stood in it with the water almost level with their backs, and presented the appearance of huge river-animals of the tapir kind float- ing in the pooL It seems clear from this that they derive the same refreshment from the application of cold water to the skin which other perspiring animals do. Humane cab- drivers recognise this fact by driving their horses as nearly as possible into the shower from the rear of a watering-cart,
and there is little doubt that an occasional sluicing from a hose-pipe would probably do much for the health of the draught-horse in the dog-days. Deer both bathe and seek a draught in such weather. On one of the hottest days of last week a red-deer hind took possession of an islet in Penn Pond in Richmond Park, swimming there and back, and spending the greater part of the morning in Rubinson Crusoe fashion on the damp islet. Sheep do not suffer from the highest temperature of the English climate if shorn and left quiet with plenty of water. But any driving or travelling causes them the utmost distress at such times, and a careful shepherd prefers to make the common and daily change of pasture early in the morning or late in the evening. Dogs do not often die of sunstroke, but if made to work in great heat have violent fits and foaming at the mouth. Spaniels, if used for rabbiting in September, are very liable to these fits, and are cured by pouring cold water on the head and back of the neck. " Mad dog !" is the silly cry usually raised on these occasions, though there is not the least cause for alarm, as the flow of saliva is quite harmless. When lying about the house at their ease individual dogs seem to take different views of the effects of hot weather. Most seek some cool material to lie on,—tiles or grass for choice, rather than rugs or mats. They also lie on their sides with their legs extended, to admit the air to as much of the skin as possible, instead of lying curled up to exclude air, as in winter. Some seek a draughty passage, or lie at an open window, and nearly all revel in a bathe. Curiously enough, however much a dog enjoys a swim in hot weather, it scarcely ever goes off of its own accord away from the house to take one. The writer once owned a setter which would do this. But as a rule, though they know where the water is, and will in dry localities run away half a mile when out for a walk in order to take a dip, they do not leave the house by themselves to have a bathe. Cats never bathe, though tigers do so regularly in the Indian heats, and will sit for a long time up to their necks in water. But the cat seems to rejoice in any degree of heat, and to be willing to sit in a cucumber-frame or a greenhouse, or on a lead roof on the hottest days of the year. On the other hand they become very thirsty in such weather, and in the backs of small London houses climb up to the cisterns to drink. Mr. Hagenbeck, the owner of the Thier Park at Hamburg, has found that his Polar bears actually enjoy the hottest sun of midsummer, and lie out exposed to its rays when other animals are distressed by the heat. On the hottest day which he remembers to have felt in Hamburg he went round the gardens at midday to see if the animals needed any special treatment. Cases of human sunstroke had been dropping in at the hospitals all the morning, and he was not surprised to find both a tiger and a leopard in a fit, and almost insensible. But the polar bear had left its inner cage, and stretohed itself flat on the hot stones, where it could enjoy to the full the excessive heat of the North German midsummer.
All birds seem to enjoy the heat, provided that they can obtain water, which in this country is never wanting except on the chalk downs when the ponds dry up. There the rooks wait till dusk round the troughs from which the sheep are watered, evidently suffering acutely from thirst. But pigeons will seek out the hottest slopes and angles of the roofs ; and common roadside birds, such as the yellow-hammers and pipits, sit out in the sun all day. Most of the insect-eating birds, except the fly-catchers, retire to the trees and bushes, and both chickens and partridges purposely seek shade. The former, if no other cover is available, will lie in the shadow of a wall, creeping close up to it as the line of shade narrows towards midday. Partridges either lie under the hedges or move into the turnip-fields when, as in hot September weather, the leaves are broad enough to cover them. But our wild birds never suffer from heat like those of Australia, where the parrots and lories have been seen to drop down dead when forced to fly across the open ground in a summer .rought.
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