32 FOREIGN MARKETS FOR AMERICAN HORSES. 



permanently organized and consist of three officers and one veterinary- 

 surgeon. 



Six boards for remounting purposes are provided for the German 

 army, the German Empire being divided in six remounting districts. 

 Every year those districts are visited by the commission allotted to 

 them. It is the duty of the local civil authorities to make arrange- 

 ments for the holding of fairs for remounting purposes. This is done 

 by means of public advertisement. To these fairs horse breeders and 

 horse dealers send their stock. The purchase of the horses is done 

 free-handed by the board. The price agreed upon is paid cash down 

 immediately after the conclusion of the bargain. 



There is no provision existing prohibiting the purchase of imported 

 horses; the price to be paid is a matter left to the purchasing board, 

 on condition that the average price is not to be exceeded. 



Amounts of 1,000 to 1,200 marks are very seldom paid for horses, 

 except by the governments of Wiirtemberg and Bavaria. In Prus- 

 sia 1,000 to 1,200 marks are paid only if horses are used for special 

 purposes — for instance, for the use of the bearers of the colors^ and 

 the kettledrums. These high prices are paid so seldom that they 

 hardly can be taken into consideration as an inducement for foreign 

 importers. 



Of the four most important purchasing boards for remounting pur- 

 poses, two are for eastern Prussia and Posen, one for Hanover, one for 

 Mecklenburg, and one for Schleswig-Holstein. These boards buy four- 

 fifths of all the horses used in the German army. The three boards 

 first mentioned purchase almost the whole number of horses needed 

 for cavalry purposes. In the provinces of eastern Prussia, western 

 Prussia, and Posen horse raising is in a very flourishing condition, 

 the animals for the most part belonging to the "Trakehnen" breed. 

 The Trakehnen horse is originally a horse native to the soil and used 

 for farming work, crossbred with Russian horses. In the course of 

 this century a new brand of Trakehnen horses has been raised by 

 crossbreeding with English full-blood stallions. This work has been 

 carried on successfully, especially for the last twenty-five years, and 

 as a consequence the Trakehnen breed has been much improved, 

 especially as far as their speed is concerned. 



Although the use of English stallions has met with considerable 

 opposition in different quarters, it is still carried on to a great extent. 

 The purchasing board of Mecklenburg, Hanover, and Schleswig- 

 Holstein buy mostly horses of a heavier breed for artillery. These 

 horses belong to the native brand of Mecklenburg, which has been 

 much improved in the course of the last few years by crossbreeding 

 with English stallions. For the use of the German army no horses 

 are directly imported from foreign countries. 



As far as the import of American horses for army purposes comes 

 into consideration, it has to be stated that there are no official objec- 



