AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 219 



quality of its horses. It extends over an area of 50,000 acres, 

 in one tract inclosed by a ditch and forest. The domain has 

 6,000 civil and military employees, and includes a sugar fac- 

 tory and an alcohol distillery. Cereals cover about one- 

 quarter of the ground. The stables were founded in 1785. 

 In 1884 a number of stallions and mares were acquired in 

 Turkey and Moldavia. 



The chief of the agricultural ministerial section of breeding 

 stables classifies the horses, excludes animals unfit for repro- 

 duction, distributes stallions, admits brood mares and directs 

 the annual sales. The horses are never tied up in the stables, 

 but range in the paddock. The service animals of the breed- 

 ing stables, 98 saddle horses and 56 draft horses, are chosen 

 from those excluded. Mares may be boarded at the stables 

 during the covering period. They are stabled free of cost, 

 but the forage used by them is paid for by the owners at its 

 market value, which is on an average about $6.08 a month 

 per mare. The owner pays $1 to the men who take care of a 

 mare. The price of the serving is fixed each year by the 

 minister of agriculture. Thoroughbred mares foaled in 

 Hungary and belonging to Hungarians are served for half 

 the fixed price, and any who have won a race are served free 

 of charge. There is in connection with this establishment a 

 school for noncommissioned officers. Each year the pupils 

 have a six months' course, including hippology, horse raising, 

 and the care of horses in case of sickness or of ordinary acci- 

 dents. The agricultural department operates eight farms, on 

 which range 9,000 horned beasts of the Hungarian or Simen- 

 thal breed. The methods are similar to those for the raising 

 of horses. There is a chief veterinarian, assisted by two 

 military and three civil veterinarians. Each one examines 

 all the stock in his jurisdiction every day. The chief veter- 

 inarian makes once a month a general inspection of all the 

 animals. The hospital contains special places for animals 

 that should be isolated. 



The shoeing is placed under the direction of a veterinarian, 

 who has under him nine farriers, one of whom is a master 

 farrier. They use only about 1,200 horseshoes per j^ear, 

 principally for the horses of the agricultural department. 

 Those of the breeding stables are shod only exceptionally, 

 even the service horses going barefoot. Experience has 

 proved that leaving the horses unshod has a salutary effect 



