236 NATURAL HISTORY SKETCHES. 



\vliere the encouragement of a good breed is a matter of 

 such vitality. A better and different breed of horses is 

 gradually creeping into the country. Importations of 

 thorough-breds from England yearly take place; more 

 attention is paid to breeding and training ; race meetings 

 are springing up in every district ; lads from most of the 

 English stables find their way over here ; the stakes are 

 well worth winning ; and now the impetus has once fairly 

 been given, we may expect to see Victoria soon rank 

 second only to England in the noble sport of horse-racing. 

 There is no want of either money or pluck among the 

 Victorian turfites ; and when men of judgment are 

 tacked by men of money things are sure to go on right. 

 I believe there are now more races in Victoria through- 

 out the year than in any other country out of England. 

 It is true there is a good deal of " leather-plating," and 

 many of the colonial cracks have more the appearance of 

 good English cocktails than " Derby winners ;" but 

 Rome was not built in a day, and if old Frank Buckle 

 could rise from his grave, he would see many an altera- 

 tion and improvement in turf matters at home which in 

 his time were never dreamt of. Melbourne Course lies 

 perhaps three miles out of town, and is as nice a country 

 race-course as a man would wish to see. There are two 

 separate clubs in Melbourne, the Melbourne Jockey- 

 Club and the Melbourne Turf-Club. Each has its 

 separate meetings. The spring Jockey-Club meeting 

 of 1858 lasted four days, during which twenty-one races 

 were run. The public money given amounted to about 



