Remounts for the Army 501 



sun, with the care of the stockmen, and with 

 ample green fodder augmented with poonac, 

 maize, &c., horses could be bred economically 

 and advantageously, both for the estate owner 

 on the spot and the Army authorities at home 

 and elsewhere. 



Once bred, the question of transport is 

 nothing ; we are not likely to need the animals 

 for fighting in England itself, and as regards 

 elsewhere we could remove them as easily 

 and if at war with a European nation perhaps 

 far more easily from the Tropics to the seat 

 of war, as if we had them all at one centre. 

 On the contrary, with the breeding centres 

 dispersed throughout the world, in the same 

 way as our coaling stations are, the chances of 

 having total supplies cut off would be reduced 

 to a minimum. If we were cut off from 

 Jamaica (already a well-known centre for 

 horse-breeding) or any other spot in the West 

 Indies, we -might be able to go to Southern 

 India, to the Malabar Coast, Malaya, tropical 

 Australia, &c. ; wherever horses and coco-nuts 

 alike can be bred, there should the Govern- 

 ment consider the possibilities of making it 

 worth the planters' while to breed horses 

 necessary for our remounts. Ceylon, some 

 maintain, is unsuitable for cattle breeding, 

 so is Nyasaland, at "any rate, until the tsetse- 

 flies are exterminated. 



The recent outbreak of foot - and - mouth 

 disease reminds one that, should it be found 



