24 BREEDING OF 



animal system that is due the much greater strength 

 and endurance of some animals when compared with 

 other animals which resemble them in external appear- 

 ance. Every horse owner knows that we may take two 

 horses that are almost exactly alike in size, shape and 

 action, that one will turn out to be a very valuable an- 

 imal for work, while the other, though subjected to ex- 

 actly the same conditions as to management, will be of 

 very little practical utility. The difference is due to the 

 better nervous organization of the useful horse. We 

 may also say that the nervous system is also subject to 

 variation in a high degree, and that this is a factor 

 that cannot be discovered by any observation of the 

 form of the animal. This fact will always make the 

 breeding of fast horses more or less problematical and 

 in consequence of its uncertainty, give it a speculative 

 character. It is by taking advantage of variations in 

 form or action that the different varieties of each spe- 

 cies of the domestic animals have been selected and 

 have now become distinct breeds. 



In this short work, it will not be possible to go into 

 details of the best methods for breeding thoroughbreds, 

 neither is it necessary, as there are many books written 

 by men who have had far better facilities for observa- 

 tion than myself, and who have written very fully on 

 the subject of pedigrees and breeds of successful race- 

 horses. There are a few general hints that may be in- 

 serted for the guidance of those who have not the facil- 

 ities to obtain the more expensive treatises on breeding. 



CLinATE. This has much to do with the results of 

 breeding. It may be said that steep hills, marshes and 

 low lands are not suitable for the successful breeding 

 of horses. In countries where there are periods of pro- 



