Experts and enterprising farmers advised and followed bet- 

 ter methods in order to maintain the high standard of past decades. 

 Colonel Apperley, a great authority on horse-breeding, speaking 

 about the general neglect and indifference of most breeders says 

 that "Every shoulder should be put to the wheel to develop and 

 improve such a wonderful and only half -developed country. Horse- 

 sickness can be avoided by erecting proper sheds for the mares and 

 foals and growing fodder of some sort, roots or cereals to feed 

 them on during the prevalence of the disease which only lasts two 

 or three montlis — if the farmers do not think their horse stock worth 

 this little expense and trouble they deserve to suffer and the Aus 

 tralians will ultimately deprive them of the Indian market. ' '^ This 

 was sound advice, but in fell on deaf ears or rather ears that lis- 

 tened only to the bleating of lambs and they suffered and lost all 

 to the Australians who with their "fiddle-headed and soft-boned 

 Walers" soon ousted the deteriorated Cape horse at the Indian 

 market, or rather found their entrance there by the absence of a 

 better article; for only two decades back the Cape horse called 

 forth the highest encomium of almost every cavalry officer who had 

 to deal with him in India and elsewhere. 



The special conditions of South African travelling have called 

 forth many inventions which were the creation of necessity and 

 adaptation. The Cape cart is one of these and in various forms 

 and styles it is to-day the most common vehicle in the country. It 

 stands on a pair of fairly high wheels, is either a two or four-seater 

 and is drawn by one or more pairs of horses, as the length of the 

 journey or weight of the load demands. Another vehicle is the al- 

 ready mentioned horse-wagon or "Veer-wagen" — a light jolting 

 wagon on springs, which developed into great efficiency and popu- 

 larity during the latter part of the eighteenth century in the Cape 

 Colony and was adopted by the new states when discarded by the 

 old Colony. Almost every farmer owned one for the conveyance 

 of his rather large family in the quarterly exodus to the district 

 village for the celebration of the holy Communion. Every farmer 

 vied with his neighbor in the possession of the best team, and it 

 was a real delight to the lover of horses to see dozens of these light 

 wagons roll into the village at the end of the week with their teams 



(7) Meyriiit from Racing Calendar of 1885 in Agricultural Journal of the Cape 

 of Good Hope. Vol. III. 



64 



