CHIEF CAUSE OF ROARING 173 



by means of radically sound sires placed at the dis- 

 posal of country breeders of half-bred stock at 

 nominal fees. My evidence referred exclusively to 

 blood stock. Taken in hand, as I was, first by one 

 Commissioner and then by another, it was not easy 

 to keep a straight course. However, as it happened, 

 I touched here and there on certain subjects that are 

 more exhaustively discussed in this volume, and part 

 at least of what I remarked appears appropriate. 

 I said I thought there were two kinds of roaring, 

 roaring from the lung and roaring from the larynx. 

 Also, that I did not think roaring was more frequently 

 found than formerly. I also gave it as my view that 

 the encouragement of short-distance races has a 

 tendency to affect the wind of horses. A number of 

 questions were put to me on this point, but one 

 general answer— namely, that short races are a bad 

 thing for the animal itself, and help to break him 

 down — comprehended the reply to them all. The 

 chief cause of roaring, I ventured to tell the Com- 

 mission, was, in my opinion, early foaling. With 

 regard to the selection of sires, taking stallions from 

 roaring strains of blood is to be avoided. There 

 are certain strains of blood which produce more 

 roarers than other strains, and you can trace a 

 good many sufferers from the infirmity to parti- 

 cular sires or dams — a greater proportion, that is 

 to say, come from the strains in question, while other 

 strains are comparatively free from it. Respecting 

 hereditary diseases they, in my opinion, included 

 paralysis, and I said that I would not breed from 



