no ANIMALS USED JN WAR. 



can be more generally placed, and can stand hardships better 

 than our Heavy Breeds. Whether or not his relatively satis- 

 factory service in France was due in part to a return to the 

 country of his ancestors can only be surmised. He certainly 

 stood the climate very well. He shipped to the country on the 

 whole well, and suffered less from serious respiratory sickness 

 on landing than the Heavy Shires and Clydesdales._ At the 

 same time it must be remembered, as I have previously remark- 

 ed, that respiratory sickness is referable to infection, and in all 

 classes of animals incidence of this form of disease was very 

 greatly reduced by the rigid taking of temperatures on landing 

 and previous to drafting to units. Moreover, the heavy mortality 

 experienced amongst Shires and Clydesdales was during the 

 first winter of the War, when they were practically without 

 shelter of any kind and subjected to incessant rain — a very 

 different state of affairs to the ample and good accommodation 

 provided by such times as American shipments of Heavy 

 animals commenced. 



An idea of utility may be gathered from the records of one 

 Veterinary Hospital in France, at which out of 120 heavy 

 •draught horses cast and sold in two years, 116 were British 

 (the Officer Commanding was unable to differentiate Clydesdale 

 from Shire) and four only were American. 



In another Veterinary Hospital, a Committee of Officers, 

 Eoyal Army Veterinary Corps, drew attention to the fact that 

 a fairly large percentage of Heavy Draught American Horses 

 had Sidebones, but expressed the opinion that this defect could 

 soon be bred out by careful selection of Sires ; in like manner 

 to its exclusion in our English breeds following a more 

 particular classification of the defect as an unsoundness. 



A very interesting account of the Percheron horse and the 

 ■extent to which he has found favour in both North and South. 

 America as compared to our English breeds, may be obtained 

 from Dechambre's Traite De Zootechnie, Vol. Les Equides, 

 published by Messrs. AsseHn and Houzeau, Place de L'Ecole 

 ■de Medecine, Paris (a book really worth purchasing ; giving a 

 description of all breeds of horses, the administration of Haras, 

 and Eemounting of the French Army), and a few remarks will 

 not be out of place in these pages. Of course, it is necessary to 



