54 England's horses, 



sad causes resulting from pursuance of tlie system must too 

 surely be endured in the hour of need and trial, should 

 such ever arrive. A mode, plain, simple, and effective, must 

 be adopted to place within public reach the only true and 

 reliable means of improvement — carefulli/ and judiciously/ 

 selected stallions. As all the native Irish mares have got a 

 sufficient infusion of good blood in their veins, to render a 

 few years persistence in this course jiroductive of even 

 greater results than those which have, from a similar system 

 adopted on the continent, at present left the English mar- 

 kets mainly dependent upon the importation of Prussian, 

 Hungarian, Russian, and other foreign animals, for the 

 supply of high-class harness and riding horses, improved 

 character of produce would result, and command higher 

 prices, affording the best premium that can bo offered a 

 community to " go and do likewise." It has been stated 

 that beef-growing in Ireland was superseding the old 

 'penchant for horse-breeding. I think I can show that any 

 falling off in the numerical supply from that country pro- 

 ceeds from a different cause or causes. No ! Paddy is no 

 beef-grower from choice. He'd sooner see his four -year-old 

 colt figure prominently in the local farmers' steeplechase, or 

 jump the " Pound Wall" at Ballin-a-sloe fair, and be greeted 

 by the wild, mad, exultant cheer of his admiring fellows 

 than carry away ten times over the brightest award that 

 successful competition places at the disposal of the cattle 

 feeder. 



I have undertaken to make an effort to show that the 

 numerical decrease in Ireland's horse supply of late years 

 did not proceed, as has been somewhere by a recent writer 

 suggested, from a partiality on behalf of the native Irish 

 for beef-growing, consequent on increased high prices in 

 that commodity. Possibly statistics or other pertinent 

 modes of investigation would offer a i^rima facie case, at 



