E44 THE ILORSE. 
of Touchstone ; while Orlando is by Touchstone, out of a mare descended 
from two lines of Selim and his brother Castrel. Now, I am myself a 
great believer in the influence of the dam over her progeny, and therefore 
I should be ready to accept this argument, were it not that, under ordi- 
nary circumstances, both Melbourne and Touchstone have been sure to 
reproduce their likenesses in their several sons and daughters. Every 
racing man who has been on the turf while the Melbournes and Touch- 
stones were in their glory, was able, in almost all instances, to say at the 
first glance, “ That is a Melbourne or a Touchstone colt or filly.” But, in 
the cases of Orlando and West Australian, the resemblance to their re- 
spective sires was not apparent; and, as I before observed, it is still less 
visible in their stock. In the language of the stud, this is called “ goin 
back” to a particular strain; and it is so constantly observable, that there 
is no necessity for dwelling further upon it. 
IMPORTANCE OF HEALTH AND SOUNDNESS IN BOTH 
SIRE AND DAM. 
OUR PRESENT BREED OF HORSES is undoubtedly less healthy than that 
of our ancestors ; and this tendency to unsoundness is not marked in any 
particular department of the animal economy, but the defect shows itself 
wherever the strain is the greatest from the nature of the work which the 
animal has to perform. Thus, the racehorse becomes a roarer, or his legs 
and feet give way. The hunter fails chiefly in his wind or his hocks, 
because he is not used much on hard ground, and therefore his fore legs 
are not severely tried, as in the case with the racer, who often has to 
extend himself over a course rendered almost as hard as a turnpike-road 
by the heat of a July or August sun. The harness-horse often becomes a 
roarer, from the heavy weights that he has to draw, especially if his wind- 
pipe is impeded by his head being confined by the bearing-rein. The 
hack, again, suffers chiefly in his legs, from our hard Macadamised roads ; 
while the cart-horse becomes unsound in his hocks or his feet, the former 
parts being strained by his severe pulls, and the latter being battered and 
bruised against the ground, from having to bear the enormous weight of 
his carcass. But it is among our well-bred horses that unsoundness is the 
most frequent; and in them, I believe, it may be traced to the constant 
breeding from sires and dams which have been thrown out of training, in 
consequence of a break-down, or “making a noise,” or from some other 
form of disease. It is quite true, that roaring is not necessarily transmitted 
from father to son; and it is also manifest that there are several causes 
which produce it, some of which are purely accidental, and are not likely 
to be handed down to the next generation. The same remarks apply to 
the eyes ; but, in the main, it may be concluded that disease is hereditary, 
and that a sound horse is far more likely to get healthy stock than an 
unsound one. In the mare, probably, health is still more essential ; but 
if the breeder regards his future success, whether he is establishing a stud 
of racehorses, or of those devoted to any kind of slower work, he will 
iarefully eschew every kind of unsoundness, and especially those which 
sre of a constitutional character. If a horse goes blind in an attack of 
influenza, or if, without any previous indications of inflammation, he 
breaks down from an accidental cause, the defect may be passed over, 
perhaps ; but, on the contrary, when the blindness comes on in the form 
of ordinary cataract, or the break-down.is only the final giving-way in 
a leg which has been long amiss, I should strongly advise an avoidance of 
