VI.-GEEMANY. 



[Reported by Lieut. Col. J. B. Keir, Ninth Cavalry, Cuited States Jlilitary .\tt(iclie at Berliu.] 



The production and improvement of horses for the German 

 army have been for a long time the object of active vigilance, 

 and the results obtained have been most satisfactory. The 

 Germans have encouraged and developed the propagation of 

 military horses until they now have better-bred mounts than 

 those of any other European army. Aside from the private 

 breeding stables, they have organized government breeding 

 establishments, where are kept both stallions and mares, and 

 stallion depots, in each of which are kept from 80 to 120 

 stallions which are distributed among the stallion stations 

 during the covering season, .from January until May. 



Horses from 3 to 4 years of age are purchased for the army 

 by remount commissions. The horses are then assembled in 

 remount depots. These depots are also agricultural establish- 

 ments on large scales, are under the direction of the military, 

 and grow the necessary forage and other products for their 

 own use. Horses are sent from the depots to the regiments 

 and other organizations when between 4 and 5 years of age. 

 The only ones not sent to the depots are some older heavy 

 draft horses purchased for the artillery and the train, which 

 go immediately to their organizations ; this is permitted for 

 only a limited number of horses namely, those that are bought 

 from 4 to 6 years of age and at an average price of $301. 



There are 25 remount depots, of which 17 are in Prussia, 5 

 in Bavaria, 2 in Saxony, and 1 in Wurttemberg. They are 

 distributed over the Empire, in the principal horse-raising 

 centers. The total annual receipts of the 17 depots in Prussia 

 are about $289,500, the expenses about $772,000; the differ- 

 ence $482,500 is appropriated for in the budget. This raises 

 the average cost of a horse to an amount between $173.90 and 

 $227.74. Bavaria maintains in its remount depots about 

 1,200 horses. In Saxony the remount depots of Kulkruth and 

 Skassa contain together about 700 horses, but these two depots 



cm) 



