SECRETARY'S REPORT. 179 



their riders at the word of command ; and to stand still in the 

 scorching sunshine while their masters sleep securely in the 

 shade of their bodies, assured that they will be disturbed only 

 when danger approaches. The temper of Arabian horses is 

 admirable. They are usually quiet, but easily excited, respond- 

 ing cheerfully to the calls of the rider and participating with 

 great eagerness in the race, the pursuit, the retreat, or the 

 ostrich hunt. 



The Arab begins to ride his mare when she is two years old, 

 and subjects her at once to a very severe trial in order to 

 determine her quality. For this purpose, he springs upon her 

 back and urges her at full speed across the desert a distance 

 of many miles, without one moment's respite, and then forces 

 her, steaming and panting, into water so deep, that she must 

 swim. She is then turned loose, and, if she proceeds imme- 

 diately to eating as though nothing had happened, her charac- 

 ter is established, and she is acknowledged to be a genuine 

 specimen of the Kochlani breed. 



The color 06 these horses is generally chestnut, bay, or gray, 

 and rarely black ; but the true Arabian is never spotted, nor 

 piebald. 



In conclusion, notwithstanding their many good points, con- 

 sidering the uncertainty of every Arabian pedigree, and the fact 

 that the best Thoroughbred horses excel the Arabian in superior 

 size, stouter limbs and greater swiftness, over any country and 

 for any distance, there seems to be little reason for the employ- 

 ment of Arabian stallions for the improvement of our stock. 



The fact that the coarse horses found in Great Britain, two 

 hundred years ago, were wonderfully improved by a cross with 

 the Arabian does not by any means establish the principle that 

 this refining process will always and everywhere be advanta- 

 geous. If carried to excess, the result must be to produce a 

 breed of horses like the Arabians, which are not to be com- 

 pared in useful qualities with the present excellent breeds either 

 of Old or New England. • 



The Thorovf^hbred Horse. — English horses have long been 

 bred with the greatest care for special objects, — the racer for 

 speed ; — the hunter for speed and strength ; — the hackney for 

 speed, strength, and style ; — and the draught horse for the 

 weight and power demanded by his work. 



