CHAPTER IX 



MR. DAY AND THE DODO 



Before citing authorities to show the sort of horse 

 which it will pay to breed in Australia, and probably 

 in England, I take the liberty of making an observa- 

 tion or two on the criticism of Mr. W. Day with 

 regard to the Arab, who says that ' for practical pur- 

 poses he might be as defunct as the dodo.' Of 

 course, by practical purposes he must mean breeding 

 for racing and by racing, sprinting. He cannot 

 mean for the brewers' drays, for the spavined 

 thousand-pounders would not do for such use as 

 that, neither would Persimmon. But if, as Mr. Day 

 admits in another place, the cross with the Arab was 

 an extremely fortunate one, and achieved a great 

 and happy result at the time — note the words, ' a 

 great and happy result ' — it seems very absurd for 

 him to say that the Arab for practical purposes 

 might be as defunct as the dodo, even with the 

 limited meaning I have mentioned. If the Arab 

 achieved in the past such a success, then in saying that 

 he might be as defunct as the dodo Mr. Day takes 

 upon himself to affirm more than it is possible for 



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