THE MODERN ARAB 27 



loose boxes cannot be expected to have the same fearless knowledge of 

 the world as the same animal bred and handled in a Bedouin camp. 

 The home-bred stock I believe to be precisely as teachable as the desert- 

 hivd. They certainly inherit the original kindness of temper, and are 

 less likely than horses of other blood to lose their heads in moments of 

 difficulty. 



" I may add that I consider the practical value of the Arab in England 

 and the world in general, especially in Southern Europe and the hotter 

 colonies, is for cross-breeding. Here in England I prefer the cross with 

 the Suffolk Punch, which gives handsome carriage stock 15 hands 2 inches 

 to 16 hands in height." 



The Hon. Miss Dillon says, "I consider no horse is the equal of the 

 Arab or Barb in power of endurance and long-continued work." Miss 

 Dillon is our authority for stating that many horses of this type, under 



14 hands 3 inches, are imported into France from Algeria at a cost of 

 about .12, English, and they have the reputation of being very enduring 

 and plucky. " Among my own high-bred horses I find the same indomitable 

 spirit ; they never seem to have enough, and, what is more, impart their 

 most valuable virtue to their half-bred descendants. The size is decidedly 

 very greatly increased in England by breeding from the largest specimens, 

 due consideration being given to the alliances being in every other way 

 suitable ; still, sometimes the stock of an unusually big mare will fall short 

 of her height. I have now a young horse that measured at three years 



15 hands 2| inches, and I believe he will reach 15 hands 3 inches. I 

 have never had but one case of whistling or anything like it ; that was 

 after a very severe attack of influenza. Strange to say he entirely 

 recovered and is now absolutely sound. I am sure that the Arab, large 

 or small, is the weight-carrier of creation." 



This lady speaks with a very great experience, her own stud-groom 

 being well carried in the first flight on a 14 hands 1 inch horse with not 

 less than thirteen stone above him. 



ALI BEY, who has investigated the subject with great acuteness, and 

 who has had opportunities beyond the reach of ordinary writers, describes 

 six distinct breeds of Arabs. " The first," he says, " named the ' Dgelfe,' is 

 found in Arabia Felix. They are rare at Damascus, but pretty common in 

 the neighbourhood of Anaze. They are remarkable for speed and fire, yet 

 mild as lambs ; they support hunger and thirst for a long time, are of 

 lofty stature, narrow in the chest, but deep in the girth, and with long ears. 

 A colt of this breed at two years old will cost in its own country two 

 thousand Turkish piastres. 



" The second breed, called * Seclaoni,' comes from the eastern part of the 

 Desert, resembles the ' Dgelfe ' of Anaze in appearance, but is not quite so 

 highly valued. 



"Next comes the 'Mefki,' handsome, though not so swift as the two 

 former breeds, and more resembling the Andalusian in figure. They are 

 very common about Damascus. 



"Then the 'Sabi' resembles the 'Mefki'; and the fifth breed, called 

 ' Fridi,' is very common, but it is necessary to try them well, for they 



