220 SAM DABLING'S REMINISCENCES 



country I was surprised to find such a state of 

 civilisation so suddenly as we did. Senor Hoz's 

 place is on a palatial scale. The buildings are up to 

 date, and the house is on the lines of a small castle, 

 with every possible comfort. I saw quite fifty 

 Lincoln sheep in one long stable, and opposite to 

 them were about sixty short-horned bulls, all of 

 which were good enough to grace any English show 

 yard. We then found the hackneys being broken, 

 and numbers of greyhounds in the kennels. After- 

 wards, for our special benefit, a cowboy was told 

 off to lasso a wild horse, saddle and mount him, 

 which was extremely interesting to watch. There 

 was quite a good-sized pheasantry there, and 

 one could not help but think that there was a 

 great master mind over all this, as there were 

 thousands of sheep, cattle, and horses on this 

 vast estate. 



We then saw the racing at Palermo; and the 



stands, the weighing-rooms, etc., are done on a 



Racing at ^^^7 elaborate scale. They race on a 



Palermo g^^j^^j track, which is often watered ; and 

 it is surprising to know that the horses make such 

 good time on such a dead running track. The 

 majority of the horses which ran there looked very 

 well and very well trained. Their starts are 

 excellent, and the majority of the jockeys rode 

 well. The totalisator is a great success there, and 



