TREATMENT OF YEARLINGS. 127 



and found wanting. Clerks of courses were dead against it, as 

 cutting out the most attractive feature in their programmes, 

 and breeders were hostile to a system which greatly depreciated 

 the value of the ' early sort ' of yearlings. 



Admiral Rous, who was little likely to be influenced by the 

 clamour of either of these interested factions, was at first in 

 favour of the change ; but he subsequently made public recan- 

 tation in ' Baily's Magazine,' giving, if we remember rightly, as 

 the reason of his ' Apologia,' the remarkable training of 

 Count Lagrange's horses, whose two-year-olds could only have 

 run early in England, as, by French Jockey Club law, they are 

 not allowed to compete in France before August i ; so that it 

 is evident that the Count, who bred on an immense scale, was 

 opposed both in theory and practice to the restriction in his 

 native country. 



What we have now to deal with is the existing custom, and 

 as two-year-olds begin racing at Lincoln, i.e. in the week 

 which includes March 25, an outline of how they are prepared 

 for matriculation may be useful. 



We are not provided with statistics on the subject, but 

 yearlings which are intended to be entered for early engage- 

 ments at Lincoln, Liverpool, Northampton, &c., ought to be in 

 the trainer's hands by the end of July, for the very sufificient 

 reason that in these hands alone are the young ones hkely to 

 receive the management, feeding, and breaking which conduce 

 to early maturity ; for if bought later on, say at the great year- 

 ling sales at Doncaster, nine out of ten are fatted up to such a 

 pitch, for the double purpose of pleasing the eye and concealing 

 defects, that when first taken in hand it is impossible to say 

 which way they will go. Perhaps it would be nearer the mark 

 to say that it is quite possible to predict that they will go all to 

 pieces in the early stages of tuition, and the edifice of fat which 

 has tumbled down has to be constructed de novo with muscle, 

 if by good hap the foundations, i.e. the feet and joints, have 

 strength to support the process. Under any circumstances 

 much valuable time is lost And herein is made manifest th« 



