^ yudicioiis' Crossings. S'/ 



such a system carried out, the descendants of the Godol- 

 phin Arab and Barb bred from among themselves, those 

 from the Turk also among themselves, and the Darley 

 Arabian descendants kept to themselves, I believe the 

 Darley Arabian line would live and flourish, and in a 

 few generations the two other lines would become ex- 

 tinct ; for the excellence of the first would be found so 

 apparent that the two other lines would be left. 



I have been amused from time to time by writings in 

 the papers on the mamifacture of our racehorse, if the 

 expression may be used. It being generally allowed that 

 although other countries have supplied the blood, not only 

 by the energy and perseverance of the British public, but 

 also by a wonderful amount of science in crossing, so 

 well understood in this country, the English racehorse 

 has arrived at his excellence. Some have endeavoured 

 to explain how this has been done by a judicious mix- 

 ture of Turk, Barb, and Arab. The speed and endurance 

 of the Arab being acknowledged, more size was obtained 

 hy judicious crossings with the Turk and Barb, inferior 

 blood ; and, again, whatever coarseness resulted from 

 this infusion from the Barb was dexterously kept in abey- 

 ance by another cross with the Arab. All this has ap- 

 peared to me very like the recipes for Christmas plum- 

 puddings — so much of one kind of fruit, so much of 

 another, with a spice of this, that, or the other, cemented 

 or bound together by flour or bread crumbs, which 

 might stand for the former blood of the country before 

 the Eastern importation ; but I feel convinced that these 

 ' ingenious ' crossings originated from no well-considered 



