IV] THE ORIGIN OF THE LIBYAN HORSE 443 



sented by only 2 less than bay in the first decade, has sunk 

 to 16 in the last ; brown has gained slightly at the expense of 

 chestnut, rising from 13 to 17. There can be little doubt in 

 view of these facts that the English racing stock is steadily 

 becoming bay. 



Table II shows that the intermediate steps between black 

 and bay are (1) a hue which cannot be described as a really 

 black or really brown, (2) true brown, (3) bay-brown, true bay 

 being finally reached. Chestnut seems to pass into bay either 

 directly or indirectly through brown. Thus dun and white 

 (the characteristic colours of the old European- Asiatic horses), 

 first disappeared, then grey went, black is almost gone, chestnut 

 is following it slowly, and brown at a still slower rate. 



I have shown in the course of our investigation that black, 

 dull black, brown, various shades of grey, and probably chest- 

 nut, are due to the intermixture of Asiatic horses with Libyan 

 in various proportions. But as the Asiatic horse of historical 

 times is thick-set, coarse, and slow in pace, and inevitably 

 injures the speed of the pure Libyan strain when crossed with 

 it (as in the case of the 'Gulf Arabs,' p. 175) every attempt 

 to improve the speed of such a mixed breed will inevitably 

 tend to eliminate every Upper Asiatic element. But as the 

 original Arabs, Barbs, and Turks which formed the basis 

 of our thoroughbred stock (p. 382) were,, with the single ex- 

 ception of the Darley Arabian, all more or less contaminated 

 with European and Asiatic blood (e.g. the Yellow Turk, the 

 White Turk, Button's Grey Barb, Grey Wilkes, etc.), the 

 unceasing efforts of breeders to obtain greater lightness and 

 speed are continually eliminating the Asiatic and European 

 element, and accordingly dun and white have long disappeared 

 from, and grey, black, chestnut and brown horses are gradually 

 ceasing to be found in, our blood stock. But as increase of 

 speed is gradually rendering the English thoroughbred a 

 purely bay stock, and as from the earliest times of which we 

 have any record the Libyan horse has been not only the 

 swiftest horse known, but also has been of a bay colour, we 

 are justified in concluding that his bay colour is as funda- 

 mental a characteristic as his speed, and that it is due not 

 to artificial selection, but to natural specialisation. 



