THE CONGESTED DISTRICTS BOARD FOR IRELAND. 265 



as mangolds or new varieties of potatoes, which may not be sufficiently 

 known in the district. Considerable attention has been given to potatoes, 

 which form the staple crop in large districts, and on which many are entirely 

 dependent for food. In view of the almost invariably beneficial effects of 

 spraying, and of the ever-recurring danger of a wet season, every effort has 

 been made to encourage the practice of spraying, and about ;^4,ooo has 

 been spent in this connection. Numerous experiments are carried out to 

 test the suitability of different artificial manures or the relative merits of 

 different varieties of seeds, and recently investigations have been tried to 

 test the efficiency of certain remedies for the prevention of " smut " in oats. 

 The Board are also taking steps to encourage the planting of fruit trees and 

 the growth of forest trees by small occupiers. In the case of forest trees 

 grants are made to small occupiers on the sole condition that the plantation 

 is properly fenced. 



One of the chief needs of the congested districts was an improvement in 

 the quality of the live stock, especially of the horses. 

 Horse-breeding ^" ^^^^"^ ^° promote the horse-breedmg industry, the 

 °* Board bought a large number of stallions which are 

 stationed during the season at different places in the 

 congested districts for the purpose of serving mares belonging to the in- 

 habitants at a very small fee. These operations have been carried out on an 

 extensive scale, and about ;^48,ooo has been expended up to 31st March, 

 igoi, in this direction. The selection of stallions for the congested districts 

 has been considerably criticised, and though it is generally admitted that the 

 state of affairs in the congested districts, especially the small and weedy 

 class of mares so common there, called for different methods from those 

 prevailing in the great hunting centres, the large number of hackney sires 

 bought by the Board renewed " the Battle of the Stallions." Some 

 have objected altogether to the introduction of hackneys, and others, 

 whilst admitting that they might benefit the breed common in the West of 

 Ireland, base their objection on the danger of the h.ackney strain spreading 

 from the congested districts into the great hunter-raising districts. It is 

 satisfactory to learn from the Reports of the Board that the young stock got 

 by these stallions have been carefully watched, and that in no case has any 

 want of staying power in the half-bred hackneys been alleged. The Board's 

 chief difficulty was, and is, the tendency — -not confined to the congested dis- 

 tricts — shown by small landholders of selling the best fillies and keeping the 

 worst, generally the unsaleable ones, for breeding purposes. The ninth 

 Report of the Congested Districts Board points out — " It must always be 

 borne in mind that our work in connection with horse-breeding was com- 

 menced in a falling market, and that the tide only began to turn about a 

 year ago, a fresh demand for cobs for mounted infantry having arisen since 

 last season. Many of the best of the remounts purchased came from those 

 districts in the West of Ireland which are served only by our horses, and in 

 consequence the applications for horses to be sent to those and other 

 districts have never been so urgent as in the beginning of the present 

 year." 



It is stated that owing to the demand for horses and the large number of 

 Irish cobs that have been sent to South Africa the horse-breeding industry 

 in the West has received a great stimulus, and the people are more than ever 

 anxious to breed a foal. It is feared that the good prices have tempted 



