EACE-HOESES.] 



THE HOESE, AND 



[EACE-nOHSES. 



Erench farmer to a new source of rural 

 industry, the royal breeding stud in Nor- 

 inandy is conducted on a scale of which we 

 have no example in this country. Their stud 

 of stallions is enormous ; and during the 

 season, many of the best sort are sent all over 

 the country. 



Germany purchased largely of our best 

 blood : Holstein, Belgium, Denmark, and 

 Eussia have bought from us : but no pur- 

 chasers formerly came to the English market, 

 or evinced the talent and spirit of the Ame- 

 ricans. France will never be a vent of any 

 consequence for our racing stock, as such. 

 Her government will import our stallions, 

 and encourage the speculation in others, as 

 the means of introducing a better description 

 of horse for general use, particularly for 

 cavalry ; but she will not offer, by the gift of 

 ])ublic money, any inducement for the intro- 

 duction of race-horses into that country. 



We have no fear, however, of France rival- 

 ling us in the breed of horses, so long as we 

 have the law of primogeniture, and so long as 

 France is without it. The expenses of the 

 race-course will never be supported in France 

 .'n the same way as in England, on that very 

 account. In a country like France, where 

 property is so divided, and in a country like 

 England, where money is in such masses — the 

 race-course being a luxury as well as a pleasure, 

 becomes the employment of the nobility of the 

 land : the law of primogeniture preventing the 

 division of estates, secures, at once, the expe- 

 rience and the means of perpetuating the 

 breed of horses of the first quality, from gene- 

 ration to generation ; and this is one of the 

 causes of our superior breed of horses. 



In fact, France does not require such a breed. 

 She has, comparatively speaking, very few cus- 

 tomers for thorough-bred horses, winch would 

 rather encumber than be useful to her. 

 Beyond the army and the court, there are not 

 many Frenchmen but would be content with a 

 moderate-priced horse ; and, we believe, would 

 rather avoid tlie extra care and attention 

 which a higher-bred animal might subject them 

 to. The French, as far as our experience 

 goes, are an economical people, not likelv to 

 encourage any expense which they possibly 

 can do without ; and therefore are perfectly 

 contented with tlieir present breed. There 

 60 



are no hounds kept in the provinces, because 

 there are no primogeniture estates of twenty 

 thousand pounds a-year to support them ; 

 there are no subscription packs, for the same 

 reason that there are no private ones : property 

 is so divided and subdivided, that if it secures 

 comforts, the people are satisfied, and are too 

 wise to embark in anything which they deem 

 extravagant. There is no encouragement to 

 stimulate the breed of hunters ; and the breed 

 of blood horses will, we suspect, remain limited, 

 rather tlian be greatly extended. 



We avail ourselves of the following descrip- 

 tion of a breeding stud, which will confirm 

 the above observations, and show to what 

 extent the breed of the English race-horse 

 was, not many years back, kept up by our 

 native gentlemen sportsmen. 



Within a few miles of Thetford, in Nor- 

 folk, and almost adjoining each other, were 

 situated two of the most celebrated breedin"' 

 establishments in England — Eiddlesworth and 

 Euston ; the former, the seat of Mr. Thornhill ; 

 the latter, of his grace the Duke of Grafton. 

 The proudest feature in the social condition 

 of the land we live in, is, that the promotion 

 and support of objects of national importance 

 which everywhere else is looked upon as the 

 business and peculiar province of a govern- 

 ment, either originates in individual enter- 

 prise, or is the result of public spirit, sup- 

 ported by private wealth or influence. Two 

 princely instances of this are before us. Here 

 a national business — it is such, in fact, be- 

 cause no other country possesses the material, 

 or the knowledge of its use — which from its 

 nature is not suited to the merely professional 

 man, is conducted with all the care and skill 

 that could be brought to bear upon any under- 

 taking solely embarked in for the purpose of a 

 profitable return. 



The Eiddlesworth stud consisted of thirty 

 mares. In loose boxes were three of Mr. Thorn- 

 hill's yearlings, about to be sent to Newmarket. 

 A bay colt, by Emilius, out of Mercy, attracted 

 considerable attention on account of its size ; 

 it was a horse in all but the name. Some 

 Eussians who visited Eiddlesworth, absolutely 

 refused to believe it, till they looked into its 

 mouth. The second was a chesnut colt, by 

 Sir Patrick, out of Mangle-wurzle, with size 

 and substance for a four-year-old. The third, 



