THE BREEDING OF GOOD HORSES. 99 



he undertakes to prove the truth of the proverb that 

 hunger will break through stone walls, by jumping 

 over if not through one to obtain more or better food. 



Transplanted to England, the accomplished Irish 

 hunter often finds himself tested in a manner strange 

 to him ; the rate of speed is greater than he has been 

 accustomed to, for the Green Isle has not yet adopted 

 generally the extremely swift pace of hounds now so 

 much in vogue in England, and is thence, as regards 

 the hounds and the horses, in unquestionably the most 

 sportsmanlike condition. It was never intended that 

 hunting should become steeplechasing ; and the unnat- 

 ural pace to which hounds are now forced causes them 

 often to overrun the scent after they have got away ; 

 then, when at fault, the entire ruck of the field have an 

 opportunity of coming up, to be, of course, once more 

 distanced, at the repeated sacrifice of the sound prin- 

 ciples of hunting, and to the disadvantage of the true 

 breed of hunters. 



If breeders of horses would give their full attention 

 to the pursuit, there is no reason why they should not 

 be as successful in producing the best description of 

 every class of this animal, as breeders of sheep and 

 cattle are in their line. By judicious crossing, animals 

 can be secured with any peculiar characteristics that 

 may be desired ; and for the encouragement of energy 

 and exertion in this direction, we may remind our 

 readers that there is now so much competition for the 

 possession of first-class horses, that our Continental 

 neighbours constantly outbid us, having learned to 

 value them even more than we do who have been suf- 

 fering our best sires to be bought up and removed 

 from their native soil to improve the foreign stock. It 



