BUREAU OF ANIMAL. INDUSTRY. 219 



instead of delegating this function to certified American pedigree 

 record associations, as has been the policy heretofore. 



There were on the Department's list of certified pedigree record 

 associations at the close of the fiscal year 135 books of record, of 

 which 66 were American and 69 foreign. 



BREEDING HORSES FOR THE UNITED STATES ARMY. 



The question of breeding horses for the Tnited States Army has 

 been discussed briefly in a previous portion of this report. The fol- 

 lowing discussion, presenting more in detail the difficulty of obtain- 

 ing suitable horses for army use, the great need of government 

 encouragement of breeding such horses, and a definite plan for ac- 

 complishing the desired object, is the result of the joint consideration 

 of the subject by representatives of the Department of Agriculture 

 and the War Department at the instance of the Secretary of War. 

 As before stated, the Department of Agriculture was represented by 

 Mr. George M. Rommel, Chief of the Animal Husbandry Division of 

 the Bureau of Animal Industry, and the War Department by Capt. 

 Casper H. Conrad, jr.. Third Cavalry, U. S. Army, detailed for duty 

 in the Quartermaster-General's Department in connection with the 

 purchase of remounts. The statement setting forth the reasons why 

 the War Department regards it as imperative for the Government to 

 undertake the work of encouraging the breeding of horses for the 

 army was prepared by Captain Conrad and is inserted here with the 

 consent and approval of the Quartermaster-General. The plan for 

 breeding the horses was prepared by Mr. Rommel with the assistance 

 of Captain Conrad and other officers of the army stationed in Wash- 

 ington, and has been formally approved by the \Yixr Department. 



The Necessity for Government Encouragement of Breeding Army Horses. 



The difficulty experienced by the Quartermaster's Department in 

 procuring remounts seems perfectly natural. The early settlement 

 of the United States, particularly the eastern part, went on some time 

 before the advent of steam and electric transportation, and the settle- 

 ment of the western part even now in the most remote points takes 

 place without the assistance of modern transportation. In all new 

 countries the horse has played an important part in the advancement 

 of civilization and the general scheme of settlement. Even in the 

 first part of the nineteenth century the horse was a very much more 

 important animal in Europe and the British Isles than at present. 



During the opening of a country the settlor must, owing to the 

 absence of roads and other forms of transportation, put his principal 

 reliance upon the horse; he is forced to travel trails and long dis- 

 tances, and for this purpose finds that he needs a horse suitable to 

 carry him quickly and comfortably to his destination. To accompany 

 him and carry the articles necessary for his dail}'^ life, he needs a pack 

 animal. So long as conditions remain unchanged, a desirable type 

 of saddle and pack animal will exist in cood numbers; but so soon as 

 the country becomes more settled and habitations more permanent, 

 the mountain trail gives place to the road, and later the country road 

 to the worked and metaled highway, and the type of horse rapidly 

 changes. The necessity for the saddle animal lessens; the light-draft 



