56 THE ARAB THE HORSE OF THE FUTURE 



very useful for breeding purposes. But that is on 

 condition that he is judiciously used, and still more 

 that he is 'judiciously' selected. 



No farmer who breeds for use can compete in 

 price with the racing man who breeds to race, and 

 who will run the price of his nimble-footed sire up 

 to ^20,000 or ^30,000 for racing purposes, and 

 who will demand 100 guineas to 300 guineas for the 

 services of a sire, or even 500 guineas or 600 

 guineas — for it has run up as high as 600 for Flying 

 Fox. He may be worth that for gambling, but 

 what farmer can breed or buy at these prices? It 

 stands to reason that, if the farmer breed from 

 English thoroughbreds, he must put up with the 

 inferior sires, and therefore that the offspring must 

 be inferior. The offspring of such a sire would be 

 inferior even if given the best blood mares ; how 

 much more inferior, therefore, from cross-breeds and 

 cocktails ! 



It could not be expected to be — it could not 

 possibly be — otherwise than that there should be 

 deterioration. There are, I think, about 5,000 

 horses named in the Australian Stud- Book of 1897, 

 probably now many more, very many of which are 

 stallions. There has been but one Carbine. What 

 is to be done with the failures ? If a breeder 

 can get ^50 or ^60 by selling a failure for use as 

 a stallion, he cannot be expected to geld him in 

 order to get ^10 or ^15 only. Why should he? 

 But he gets entered in the Stud-Book, and he gets 



