18 HORSE-BREEDING FOR FARMERS CHAP. 
qualities, that of speed, developed to the utmost. 
For small horses Arabs may be by no means con- 
temptible racers. Not long ago an Arab on the 
racecourse at Calcutta covered two miles, carrying 
g stone, in 3 mins. 45 secs. In the race for the 
Bengal Cup between the two Arabs, Crab and 
Orranmore, these two horses ran five two-mile 
heats, carrying 8 stone 7 lbs. The third heat was 
run in 3 mins. 56 secs. A century ago, stamina 
and pace were sought after—not stamina over five 
furlongs, a mile, or even two miles—but the capacity 
to race several four-mile heats in a single day. 
This quality, more valuable to man and the future 
of the half-bred horses of the world, has gradually 
been sacrificed to mere speed; and there are more 
improbable things than that the day may come 
when once more the pure Arab will again be 
brought into requisition to replenish the failing 
stock of stamina and soundness. Major-General 
Tweedie, C.S.1, however, in his great work, The 
Arabian Horse, published in 1894, after impartially 
examining the question of the adaptability of 
Oriental blood for the improvement of English - 
breeds, unreservedly puts it to one side. 
The Arab has long since reached the perfection 
required for the trade for which he is intended. His 
intelligence, docility, and courage, as well as his 
physical conformation, have been developed to the 
utmost in order to fit him for the companionship of 
the warrior of the desert. He possesses resistance, 
endurance, strength, with the greatest speed con- 
sistent with these qualities; and his structure, the 
result of ages of practical attention, can be demon- 
