90 Breeding. 



Duties. The duty on every horse is io.f. 6d. ; on every 

 carriage with four wheels, 2 2s. on every carriage with 

 two wheels, 15^. ; on every man-servant, i$s. 



CHAPTER VII. 

 BREEDING. 



Most profitable kind Selection of Brood Mare Choice of Stallion Best age to 

 breed from Best time for breeding Treatment of the Mare -Management 

 of the Foal Directions for rearing The Foals of Farm Horses. 



The most profitable kind of Breeding. 



IN many cases the breeder undertakes his task for 

 the purpose of gratifying his taste for rural sports and 

 amusements, and without regard to profit ; but in most 

 instances there will be a desire to make the speculation 

 successful in a pecuniary point of view, as well as with 

 regard to honorary distinction on the turf. But when it is re- 

 membered that three-fourths of the horses bred expressly for 

 racing are worthless for that purpose, and that each colt 

 or filly costs considerably more than 100 at three years 

 old, it becomes a question how best to conduct operations 

 so as to make use of the casts-off from the racing stable 

 for other purposes. The question is solved in this way : 

 there are certain breeds of horses which are first-rate on 

 the turf, and also in the hunting field ; and if I were select- 

 ing mares for general purposes, it would be my object to 

 obtain those got by one or other of them. On the other 

 hand, there are many strains of good racing blood which 

 have never, or scarcely ever, turned out a hunter or a 

 steeplechaser, and though such blood may suit the breeder 

 for one purpose, it is not calculated to serve the man who 



