THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



335 



in want of serviceable horses for our own troops in Iiulia. 

 A blue-book just issued points to the Cape of Good 

 Hope as atFordiii};- the means for supplying our need. 

 But strong, active, and hardy as the Cape horse is, he 

 will never do without a cross of the English. No man, 

 perhaps, has ever had bo much experience in this way 

 as the remount-agent, Colonel Apperlcy, and certainly 

 no one could have been better bred for the appointment, 

 being, as he is, a son of the celebrated " Nimrod," the 

 author of so many able treatises on the breeding and 

 management of horses. A letter frem Colonel Apperley 

 acts as a kind of preface to an otherwise by no means 

 dry or uninteresting compilation, and it is from 

 his communication we take tlio following, as pecu- 

 liarly applicable to our purpose. Here is the Cape 

 horse as he is : — " If you ask a farmer how far he is 

 going, ho replies only eight or ton hours, which journey 

 will average nearly seven miles an hour, the only re- 

 freshment being an occasional drink of water, and a 

 roll in the sand, which is supposed to make Cape 

 horses quite fresh again. This is no over-drawn 

 character of the animal, and I mention it first as 1 con- 

 sider good bottom the great quality in horse-flesh 

 . . . . Good legs and feet, plenty of bone below 

 the knee, depth of chest, with well-placed shoulders, 

 great substance and broad hips, sound wind and eyes, 

 t with generally good action and temper, form the re- 

 maining good points possessed by the Cape horse, to an 

 extent hardly known elsewhere, to which maybe added 

 a wonderful soundness of constitution." This is no bad 

 character for the sort of servant a trooper wants ; b^utlet 

 us go a little further, and see how it has been acquired : 

 — " The Cape colonists," then, " can never sufficiently 

 express their gratitude to the late Lord Charhs Somer- 



set and the present Mr. T. B. Bayley. It is to the 

 vnlunble English blood imported by these gentlemen 

 that the Capo horses date their excellence, and the 

 farmer dates his prosperity . He now trots his pro- 

 duce to market behind eight well-bred horses, instead 

 of the old slow and cumbrous span of eighteen pair of 

 oxen." 



The Colonel, like most j^ood judges, " will not have" 

 the Arabian, and he thus concludes one of the best-con- 

 sidered letters we ever read — one in every way worthy 

 of his distinguished father: — " If the Cape gentlemen 

 will accept my humble advice, I hope they will con- 

 tinue to breed from as vmch good English blood and 

 bone as their money will procure, and cross their mares 

 that have Arab blood with the best sort of Norfolk, 

 trotting, or Cleveland stallions procurable. No other 

 cross will restore size and substance from that descrip- 

 tion of mare." 



There is something very suggestive in all this. Is 

 the Cape farmer the only one who is to date something 

 of his prosperity to the excellence of his horses ? Is a 

 superiority so marked and telling to be slighted only by 

 those who possess it ? It is not the Cape only that will 

 continue to breed from " good English blood and 

 bone." It is not there merely that Norfolks and 

 Clevelands will be prized. But we may pi'ize them a 

 little more ourselves. Let it be known that we do 

 really care as much for a good horse as for a good 

 beast, or a good pig ; and let our customers learn 

 where and to whom to go. The Mark Lane Express 

 may occasionally have been a little "horsey" in its 

 tone, but it has done good service if it has found a be- 

 coming place at our agricultural meetings for a well- 

 bred one. He should surely be at home there. 



THE NORTHEND BEET-ROOT DISTILLERY AT FULHAM. 



The subject of Agricultural Distilleries is begin- 

 ning to attract the attention of the British farmers. 

 Throughout the Contment the system has obtained an 

 extensive development, and, so far at least as the pecu- 

 niary part of the question is concerned, has been very 

 successful with the landed interest, who have conse- 

 quently reason to be satisfied with the result. Whether 

 the same system would be equally successful in this 

 country is another matter, involving questions which 

 belong peculiarly to British agriculture, and do not 

 affect that of the Continent. There are also other 

 points connected with it which the Continental 

 landholders and owners would not take into account, 

 although eventually they will feel the effects equally 

 with ourselves. Having been invited to inspect the 

 Northend Beet-root Distillery at Fulhani, recently estab- 

 lished, and which is worked on the principle adopted 

 by M. Champonnois, we embrace the opportunity of 

 stating our views both in regard to the commercial part 

 of the question, and also to the moral and social effect a 

 general extension of the system would have upoa the 

 rural population. 



The Northend Distillery is fitted up on the prin- 

 ciple adopted by M. Champonnois, the processes 

 of which differ from those commonly practised in 

 several particulars, the most important of which are- 

 first, in extracting the alcohol, not from the expressed 

 juice as recommended by Dubrunfaut, nor from the 

 mashed root as adopted by Leplay ; but from a wort 

 or extract drawn from the mashed roots in the same 

 way as wort is extracted from malt in brewing beer 

 — secondly, in using the vinasse or liquor remaining 

 in the still after the alcohol is extracted, in the macera- 

 tion of fresh roots. This is conveyed by pipes back 

 again to the vats or mash tubs, in a hot state, which 

 effects a considerable economy of fuel. A small por- 

 tion of sulphuric acid is used in the maceration of the 

 roots, which facilitates the extraction of the saccharine , 

 and the wort, after being drawn off from the mashed 

 roots into another set of vats, is fermented with yeast, 

 which converts it into wine ; after this it is ready for 

 the still, by which the spirit is extracted. 



The quantity of proof alcohol obtained depends, we 

 believe, on the season of the year, it having been as* 



