pleasure and where sufficient hay and other feeds are in easy reach 

 of the animals. 



The districts in the Union best adapted by nature to the profit- 

 able rearing of horses are all the districts about the Cape peninsula, 

 especially Malmesbury, Caledon, Swellendam Montague and Rob- 

 ertson; to the west and west central; the famous Bokkeveld (the 

 old Hantam of the 18th Century) and the districts of the New Han- 

 tam of the early days of the 19th century and comprising to-day 

 the districts of Colesberg, Hanover, Beaufort West, Prince Albert, 

 Hopetown and all those districts bordering on the southern bank of 

 the Orange river and east of the Colesberg district. In the east 

 and south east ; the districts of : Somerset East, Graaf-Reinet, 

 Cradock, Middleburg, Tarka Stad and certain portions of Grikwa- 

 land East. Also portions of Grikwaland West, all of the Orange 

 Free State Province, a greater portion of Natal Province, and all 

 of those districts of the Transvaal Province bordering on the banks 

 of the Vaal river. With very few exceptions these districts all lie 

 in those localities which are underlaid by the geological strata of 

 the Karroo beds which are generally rich in lime and produce very 

 good grasses; with sufficient rainfall and succulent and nutritive 

 shrubs and other plants in localities of smaller rainfail.^^ 



''Pew parts in the world are so well adapted by nature for the 

 breeding of horses" as those just mentioned "and it is surprising 

 that this industry, the most profitable branch of pastoral farming 

 is not pursued on more defined lines by the average South African 

 farmer — other countries may compete and beat us out of the field 

 with wool. Also Mohair and Ostrich feathers are articles subject 

 to the caprices of the leaders of fashion — and they are very capri- 

 cious — and consequently liable to serious fluctuation in prices. But 

 the demand for good horses is large and continuous and no country 

 in the world can rear better horses and more economically than in 

 these localities of the Union, where the dreaded disease of "roar- 

 ing ' ' is unknown and horse sickness seldom prevails and can be made 

 absolutely harmless. In a well regulated stud I question if the last 

 named disease would ever be heard of."^* 



Coming to more modern times we find that only those studs 



(17) Grey Eattray. Agricultural Journal of the Cave of Good 'Hope Vol. 



XXXIII. Also Rogers and du T ait. " Geology of Cape Colony 1910." 



(18) Grey Eattray. Agricultural Jour, of the Cape of Good Hope. Vol. 



XXXIII. 



74 



