REPLENISHING THE STUD 51 



" almost make the poor farmer out to be a rogue," 

 I neither say nor imply such a thing, and my only 

 reply to the criticism is, if the cap fits, wear it. 

 But, in spite of my critic, I repeat that I advise 

 the man who wants a hunter to go to a dealer 

 instead of a farmer. " Glendale " boasts about 

 the good horses there are in Northumberland. 

 May I ask how many six-year-old horses there 

 are in farmers' hands, horses well bred and up to 

 weight, that know their work, and are fit to put 

 into the hands of a man to take to work at once ? 

 I know something about the horses in Northum- 

 berland, and I venture to say that of horses such 

 as I mention there are very few, if any ; the 

 country has been too well scoured for that. If 

 there are any, and " Glendale " will tell you where 

 they are, I will either come or send an agent to see 

 them, and if they are good ones they will be 

 bought. I take it a man wants a hunter, a horse that 

 can carry him across country, and come out in his 

 turn, not a four-year-old or five-year-old ; and if 

 a farmer — perhaps it is necessary again to say that 

 by "farmer" I mean a man who only has a horse or 

 two, and who does not devote a large proportion 

 of his time and capital to the making of hunters 

 (such a man I call a dealer) — has a horse older 

 than that now, when the competition is so keen, 

 and the country is so scoured for horses by " men 

 like Stokes," it is pretty safe to assume that there 

 is a good reason for his not being sold. I 

 have bought many horses of farmers as three-year- 

 olds, four-year-olds, and sometimes as yearlings, 

 and even foals, some of which have turned out 

 well, some badly, but as I was not writing to men 

 who buy horses to graze or improve, but for men 



