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lamentable — it was possible even 20 years ago to purchase without dif- 

 ficulty, say a handsome pair of well matched carriage horses 16 hands 

 high — an excellent saddle horse or any number of well .shaped useful 

 ponies up to carrying 16 stone. Today it is practically impossible. 



In October 1889 I got the Government to introduce, and the Gro- 

 vernor's promise of full support to a bill dealing with entire horses — 

 the object being to prevent the indiscriminate crossing of mares by 

 utterly worthless " runts" or entire horses and ponies, a former Law 

 on the subject having lapsed, by effluxion of time. This Bill 

 however was allowed to be wrecked, and nothing has been done since to 

 check the rapid degeneration of the breed. Had the Bill obuiined the 

 support to which the Governor was pledged, it would have become 

 Law and it is not too much to sav that to-day a much better class of 

 horses would have been in existence. 



J. Daly, Esq. : Good, but could be greatly improved by new blood 

 being imported and at a cost to meet the mares of small se: tiers. 

 More feeding and care. 



H. G T. Drew, Esq. ; Owing to the scarcity of good young stal- 

 lions and mares the standard is poor. 



The few thoroughbred stallions in the Island, with perhaps one or 

 two exceptions, are old and in themselves defectively built. 



Breeding from old parents is in my humble opinion, the principal 

 cause of their offspiiug being so " weedy" und deficient in bone. 



0. A. T. FuRSDON, Esq. : Very good workers but lacking generally 

 in size and quality, hence only fit for local needs, if that. 



J. M. GiBB, Esq., V.S. : Horse breeding has been dying out in Ja- 

 maica lor more than 12 years, there being no demand for scarcely any 

 class. Within the past 3 or 4 years however there have been signs of 

 a likely demand. 



The present standard of horse flesh is below the mark and that pro- 

 ducible is better by judicious selection and more attention to young- 

 sters. 



B. S. GossET, Esq. ; The ticks are the great drawback to raising 

 horses, but where Zebu cattle are ra sed ticks are decreasing. The de- 

 cline in horse racing seems to have had a bad influence on the size 

 of horses, pony races are not the same thing. 



At present it does not pay to corn feed a foal unless for the turf, 



H. W. Griffith, Esq. : There are two points with regard to the 

 present standard, whicb I have noticed. 



(a.) Though there are several very fine (good size) and well bred 

 mares in the island, on making inquiries of their owners I 

 find they do not have such good foals, as in jjast days; and 

 that year by } ear their foals are smaller ; though served by 

 large stallions, in some instances mares of 16 h. h producing 

 animals, that grow to hardly 14 h. b. This in my opiniou 

 is partly due to climatic influences, and partly to waut of 

 proper feeding from time of weaning. 



(b.) Almost all the mares and some of the stallions are too fine 

 bred (light) and also inbred : wanting in substance, and the 

 former wanting in size — this I fancy has a great deal to do 



