The Horse-breeding Industry in Yorkshire. 103 



then suddenly began to come into fashion, and the breed 

 gained many new adlierents, among them some very influential 

 supporters, in different parts of the country. Studs sprang 

 up freely, which resulted in a greatly increased demand for 

 stallions and mares, and prices went up accordingly. All this 

 naturally gave a great impetus to the industry in Yorkshire, 

 as well as in Norfolk. The East Yorkshire farmers who 

 owned the old strains made a lot of money out of Hackney 

 breeding, when the Denmark, Lord Derby, and Fireaway blood 

 came into such great favour and was so eagerly sought after by 

 those founding new studs. Concurrently with the increasing 

 demand which arose at home, the foreign trade also expanded 

 greatly, and this contributed materially to the prosperity of the 

 breed, of which probably the largest share fell to Yorkshite 

 breeders. It was in the eighties, when the Americans first 

 commenced to go in strongly for the Hackney, and, in fact, 

 started a boom in the breed, that the important and lucrative 

 American export trade was developed. Italy and other Con- 

 tinental countries also began to buy Hackneys actively about 

 this period, following the example of the French, who had been 

 regularly buying up roadster and trotter siies, as well as some 

 brood mares, in Yorkshire and Norfolk ever since the forties. 

 Soon afterwards a considerable trade grew up with the Argen- 

 tine, while the most recent development in connection with 

 the Hackney export trade has been the springing up of a 

 demand for the breed in Chili and in Japan. Yorkshire 

 breeders have sold several stallions to those countries recently'. 



During the last seven years Hackney- breeding has been 

 falling off in Yorkshire, as compared with the state of the 

 industry some twenty years ago, when it was at its zenith. 

 The cause of this decline is the much reduced demand for 

 ordinary Hackneys, used for everyday harness work. Probably 

 prices for this class of animal and for second-rate breeding 

 stock are 50 per cent, lower than they formerly were, and 

 thus many farmers who used to breed them have given up 

 doing so. Hackneys of the best class, fashionably bred, and up 

 to show form, remain in good demand and make big prices, so 

 that breeders who are successful in producing these continue to 

 prosper. The Yorkshire studs still, as of yore, easily maintain 

 their remarkable supremacy in the show-ring, both as regards 

 breeding stock and harness animals, for they send out a much 

 larger proportion of prize winners at the leading shows than 

 hail from any other part of the country, and this is only 

 natural, seeing that the county compjises the principal breeding 

 centre of pedigree Hackneys. 



The divergences between the Yorkshire and Norfolk types 

 of Hackney which existed in former times have been practically 



