1060 New York State Breeders' Association 



and has, for many, many years, been conducting the horse breed- 

 ing of that country in such a way that one of the largest sources 

 of income is from the exportation of stallions and mares to other 

 countries, and we are paying a largo amount of money for them 

 in this country when we should have bred them at home. There 

 everything of that kind is done under the supervision of the 

 anuy; anny officers have control and charge of all the breeding 

 interests, and the stallions are owned, in large measure, and kept 

 by the government for breeding purposes. Only stallions of cer- 

 tain grades can be allowed to be used, excepting for a man's 

 own private purposes, and not to be used outside. 



I believe we should have a law that would make it impossible 

 for a man to keep, for public service, an inferior, poorly-bred 

 stallion under any consideration. As the Commissioner has 

 suggested, it may be questionable whether it would be right to 

 immediately cut off the use of a stallion that has heretofore been 

 kept for service, without some opportunity for him to redeem 

 himself or to get some value from the horse which he already 

 owns. But we should have a law to take effect in the very near 

 future, after which no horse shall be used as a stallion unless he is 

 of a certain standard. I have been wondering whether we should 

 not also have a system of inspection. Breeding alone will not 

 do all we want to accomplish, because we know there are many 

 domestic animals of all classes, the bovine as well as the horse, 

 that are well bred as far as pedigree is concerned. But we must 

 bear in mind that a good pedigree is only valuable when it is 

 attached to a good animal ; and how we are going to regulate 

 that without having some system of inspection is a question with 

 me. I think it will ultimately come to that. In France it is 

 done; every stallion is inspected before he can receive a certifi- 

 cate; inspected for soiiikIiicss and to determine if he is free from 

 any hereditary tendency or disease, and of a type that will pass 

 the rules of inspection. So, I hope that from this time something 

 will be done to eliminate all that miserable class of stallions 

 wo see about tho country and standing for a fee that is 

 niPi'clv nominal. Still further, to bi'ing back tho standard where 

 it should be, should there not be some appropriation by which 

 horses of a high character can be kept at a small fee. That is 



