136 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Arabian, in 1730. Since then, by careful breeding and nutrition, they 

 have increased on an average some eight or nine inches in height. 

 There is, however, a widely spread impression that at present there is a 

 marked deterioration in the staying power and in the general 'fitness 1 

 of the racer. The falling off is further shown by a fact commented on 

 by Sir Walter Gilbey — viz., "the smallness of the percentage of even 

 tolerably successful horses out of a prodigious number bred at an enor- 

 mous outlay." In support of this he quotes a sentence from the Times 

 (December 27, 1897), referring to a sale in which thirty-two yearlings 

 had been sold for 51,250 guineas: "These thirty-two yearlings" (said 

 the Times) "are represented by two winners of five races, Florio Eubat- 

 tino and La Eeine, who have contributed about 2.000L to the cotal cost; 

 and there is not, so far as can be known, a single one of the thirty 

 others with any prospect of making a race-horse." 



If, then, it is true that the English race-horse is on the down grade, 

 what steps should be taken to arrest this descent? Sir Everett Millais 

 restored a pack of basset hounds by crossing them with a bloodhound, 

 the original forefather of bassets. The resulting pups were bassets in 

 form, but not quite bassets in color; when, however, these cross-breeds 

 were mated with bassets the majority of the pups turned out to be per- 

 fect bassets both in shape and coloration. This indicates that one way to 

 rejiuenate the race-horse would be to have recourse to a new importa- 

 tion of the best Arab mares that the plains of Arabia can produce. 

 Breeders hesitate to adopt this course, because their present breed is 

 not only larger but, over very short distances, fleeter than its fore- 

 fathers. The shortening of the course in recent years is probably a 

 further sign of the degeneracy of our present racers. Were new blood 

 introduced and more three- or four-mile races instituted, we should 

 doubtless soon have a return to the champion form of bygone days. 

 Another method would be to import some of the racers of Australia 

 or New Zealand and cross them with the home product. Different sur- 

 roundings, food, etc., soon influence the constitution, and this being so, 

 it would be advisable to select those horses of pure descent which have 

 been longest subjected to these altered conditions. Thus the chance of 

 reversion occurring would be increased. 



It has been noticed more than once in the preceding pages that a 

 young animal showing reversion is strong and vigorous. It is the belief 

 of dog breeders that those members of an inbred litter which show 

 reversion are the strongest and best. Similarly, experience shows that 

 if an inbred sire and dam produce a dun-colored striped foal it almost 

 always turns out well. Eeversion is accompanied by a rejuvenescence; 

 it is as though the young animal had appeared at an earlier period in 

 the life history of the race, before the race had undergone those changes 

 in the way of deterioration which so often accompany inbreeding. 



