so 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[July i, 1882. 



port to the Indian Government, which waa sent up 

 sometime ago, I made the same suggestion as is made 

 by the correspondent under refer enoe. There cau be 

 no doubt tViat there is yet a great future for tbese 

 immeuge central plains and countless leagues of ap- 

 parently " wind-swept desert " as breeding grounds 

 for horses for the Indian market. In physical "charac- 

 ter they somewhat resemble the Arabian plains, famed 

 for producing some of the finest strains of horse-flesh 

 ever knowu. In climate they do not differ viistly 

 from the Persian sandy sleppes, which produce a hardy, 

 se^'vicpable class of liorses. The arid wastes i^f parts 

 of i^cinde, ('eulr:il India, the Punjaub, and Afghanistan 

 are ni>ted for strains of Caboolee hoiaes and what are 

 called couniry-lireds, which are noted for their good 

 feet, strong frames, powers of eudurance, and capacity 

 to keep in sjood condition on scanty fare. These 

 central Australian plains would produce the very class 

 of horse suitable for India, 'hey would have good 

 bone, splendid feet and clean legs, and excellent wind. 

 They would be inured to heat and accustomed to a 

 dry herbage, and, most important point of all, they 

 would be two weeks nearer India, with the certainty 

 almost of a quick, quiet passage, and would be landed 

 in the pink of condition and be at once ready for 

 service. Under the present system, horses are 

 usually sent up in sailing ships instead of in 

 steamers specially constructed for a live stock traffic. 

 Tbey are generally put aboard by means of slitigs, 

 subjecting them to the danger of ruptures and 

 hurts instead of being walked aboard on inclined or 

 sloping stages. The length of the voyage brings them 

 down in condition and makes the percentage of deaths 

 or risks of perm.anent injury unduly large. In con- 

 sequence, horses Landed in Madras or Calcutta have to 

 be fed up and exercised and groomed often for weeks 

 before finding a purchaser. Indeed, many are " cast" 

 by the Government officers simply because it is a 

 question whether they vrill live or die ; and the 

 dealers having to keep the stock till they get into 

 some sort of fair condition adds enormously to the 

 price of the animal. As a rule, a horse in India (an 

 imported horse I mean) gets, perhaps, more luxurious 

 treatment than in any other part of the world, Arabia 

 itself not excluded. He has, generally, a spacious ptall 

 or loose box to himself. A (jrasscutter is told off to 

 attend exclusively to his wants, and a syce or head 

 groom looks after the grasscuts, and sees that tbey 

 cut Bufficient fodder for the daily supply. It is a 

 common sight near a cavalry cantonment to see long 

 lines of these grasscutters come trudging along the 

 roads in the forenoon, each with his neat pile or 

 bundle of cooch grass on his head, from the roots of 

 which all dust and grit have been carefully washed 

 and beaten. Twice a day the " Waler. " or imported 

 Australian horse geti a, ieeA. o( gra/m ''cicer arietinum), 

 probably the finest horsefeed in the world. This is mixed 

 with a few pinches of salt after being soaked in water, 

 and the horse before his feed is generally led out for a 

 "roll," as it is called, which is merely a few miles' walk- 

 ing exercise. A buggy horse rarely is driven more than 

 8 to 10 miles on a stage ; a saddle horse very 

 rarely is ridden more than 12 to 15. Every planter 

 possesses quite a stud ; even an assistant generally 

 keeps from three to five saddle horses, a polo 

 pony, and often a buggy nag or two. For a stage 

 the horses are sent on over night, each in charge 

 of his grasBcutter ; and, as soon as his stage is fin- 

 ished, he is handed over to the man in waiting, 

 who carefully cools him down, covers him with a 

 cloth, and leads him home. Races are frequent in 

 the cold weather. Bookmakers are unknown, and the 

 sport is in the hands of true sportsmen and true 

 lovers of fair racing. A turf scandal is a very rare 

 occurrence in India, althougb, of course, there are 

 pccasionally black sheep to be met v'th there as else- 



where. J know of no country where horses are 

 better treated, more carefully tended, more highly 

 appreciatpd, or more valued. The demand is pract- 

 ically inexhaustible ; and, were horee-breeding to be 

 gone into on a large scale, on good commercial 

 principles, in Central and North-western Australia, 

 and suitable steamers be provided to ship the stock 

 from the north-west corner of our continent, I feel 

 sure it would prove a most remunerative undertak- 

 ing. Horses could then be sold somewhat cheaper than 

 the prices ruling at present, which would tend to d uble 

 the demand. Use would be made of vast tracts that 

 are at present allowerl to lie unproductive and ne- 

 glected. The risk of carriage and length of voyage 

 would be minimized, and another great stride wuld 

 be made in the great policy of binding the outlying 

 portions of the empire more closely together by a 

 community of interests and the ties of commercial in- 

 tercourse. Many speculations are claiming the atten- 

 tion of investors nowadays that do not present half the 

 promise that an " Indo- Australian Horse Supply Associ- 

 ation " presents. We hear of pastoral associations 

 being got up to enable small capitalists to embark in 

 wool-growing and beef-raising. I believe a company, 

 who would take up land in Central Australia, for the 

 purpose of breeding horses for the Indian market, 

 could, or would, be able to get land cheap, breed 

 suitable stock Bucoessfiilly and cheaply, secure large 

 contracts with the Indian army authorities, and find a 

 never-failing market for all the surplus stock they 

 could raise, at highly remunerative prices. I shall be 

 glad if you give some prominence and your powerful 

 support to such a scheme, as I feel assured it has only 

 to be started to become a great success. It would 

 promote settlement, utilize waste land, attract capital 

 and enterprize to the interior, and powerfully promote 

 Indo-Australian trade — a matter which must appeal 

 to every one who has the federation of the empire at 

 heart. Verb. sap. — Yours truly, James Ingli.s (late 

 Commissioner for India). --[Ceylon like India, will, 

 we suspect, ere long obtain most of her horses from 

 Australia. — Ed.] 



THE NEW YOP.K COFFEE EXCHANGE. 



Polls will be open from today until Tuesday for the 

 election of officers of the new coffee exchange. The 

 regular ticket which will be elected is as follows: — 

 President, Benjamin G. Ainold ; Vice-President, 

 John S. Wright ; and Treasurer, John F. Scott. The 

 constitution and by-laws which have just been 

 adopted have been printed for distribution among the 

 members. Among other things these provide that, 

 prior to the 21st day of January 1882, until the 

 number of outstanding certilicateB of membership shall 

 be 100 the initiation fee shall be two hundred and 

 fifty dollars. On and after the 2l8t day of January 

 1SS2, until there be 200 outstanding certificales of 

 membership, the initiation fee shall be five hundred 

 dollars ; and thereafter the initiation fee shall be 

 one thousand dollars ; that the assessment for the 

 first year shall be $50, and after that not more than 

 $10U ; that the governing committee shall elect an ar- 

 bitration committee of five members whose powers 

 are carefully defined ; that the Exchuige shall be 

 open from 9 a. m. to 4 p. m. and Imainess shall be 

 confined to those hours, any violation of which shall be 

 punished by a fine of $25; that all parties engaged 

 in handling cofl'ee for members, such as warehousemen 

 weighers and samplers, shall be licensed by the go- 

 vering committee ; that a board of supervisors shall 

 nominate to the i,'Overning committee a board of inspect- 

 ors to consist of five members, and shall supervise the 

 duties of such inspectors. The inspectors shall establish 

 standards of all coffees bought and sold in the Ex- 

 change, and enumerate in a clear mauner the grades 



