PART IV. 



The Merits and Demerits of the 

 various Breeds of Animals used in War. 



Chaptbb I— GENEEAL. ^ 



Wastage of animals in war, and experience gained with 

 animals during the conduct of campaigns, very naturally and 

 appropriately leads to questions of the comparative value of 

 the different breeds and classes for military service. Military 

 efficiency is aided by enquiry and report, and production on 

 the right lines for military requirements is stimulated. 



So unusual were the transactions and expenditure in animals 

 during the late war, and so profound were the lessons in 

 endurance, utility, and suitability for particular purposes to 

 be derived, that the Army Council, on the conclusion of 

 hostilities, called for a special Eeport from the British Expedi- 

 tionary Force, France, for the information of the Ministry of 

 Agriculture, as to the merits or otherwise of the various classes 

 of horses that had been employed by that Force, and particu- 

 larly with regard to the heavy breeds of horses. The Field 

 Marshall Commanding-in-Chief, whose knowledge of animals 

 leaves little to be desired, and whose constant solicitude for 

 their care and well-being during the war was so marked, 

 expressly commanded that a report should be furnished, and 

 the present article, in so far as it relates to common interest, 

 embodies a certain amount of the information then supplied. 



Added to this, it is proposed to discuss the merits and 

 demerits of animals employed by the Army in India in its 

 Frontier warfare. 



