HORSE TRADE WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 51 



The trade in horses from the United States to Great Britain is one 

 that should be upheld and fostered by the Department and the 

 breeders of the United States in every possible manner, especially in 

 breeding for the English market and in securing proper accommoda- 

 tion on board the steamers that ply between the United States and 

 Great Britain, and above all in being careful that no horse affected 

 with any disease, contagious or otherwise, be allowed shipment. 



I am well within the limit when I say there are 600,000 horses in 

 daily use on the streets of London, whose lives of usefulness average 

 between 3 and 7 years, according to their class of work. 



The London Tramways Company has over 4,000 head of horses, 

 three-fourths of which are from the United States and Canada. These 

 horses average 14 miles per day in their daily work, must be from 5 

 to 7 years old, 15£ to 15£ hands high, weigh from 1,200 to 1,300 pounds, 

 be compactly built, and have plenty of bone and muscle, with good 

 action. For a horse of this type the London Tramways Company has 

 a set price of £35 sterling, or, approximately, a little over $170, per 

 head. 



Every year one-seventh of the horses of the London Tramways 

 Company are taken out of their stables as unfit for service and sold 

 at an average of £11, or $53.50, per head. 



The average weekly consumption of grain by. the horses of the Lon- 

 don Tramways Company is 200 tons; they also consume a weekly 

 average of 180 tons of hay. 



I have the photographs of a typical tramway horse belonging to this 

 company, which was bred in the United States and shipped to Lon- 

 don; three pictures (Plates I and II) of the same horse in different 

 positions, in order to show side, fore and hind quarters. The London 

 Tramways Company will not purchase a Percheron-bred horse at any 

 price, and prefers dark-colored horses. 



The London Road Car Company, which runs-omnibuses through the 

 streets of London, has 4,400 horses in its stables, which average 

 3£ to 4£ years of usefulness. These horses also travel 14 miles per 

 day in their daily Work, and consume about 240 tons of grain and 190 

 tons of hay per week. This company purchased 1,000 head of horses 

 annually for the last three years, mostly from the United States and 

 Canada. The horses which this company desires should be from 5 to 

 7 years old, 15^ to 16 hands high, with a girth measurement of 76 to 

 78 inches, and measure around the leg just below the knee 8£ to 9 

 inches, with plenty of bone and muscle. Such a class of horses will 

 sell readily for $175 to $185 per head, and very often for $200. 



The London General Omnibus Company has 9,000 head of horses, 

 some of which come from the United States and Canada. These 

 horses average 16 miles per day and last the company 6 or 7 years, are 

 15£ to 16 hands high, weigh about 1,350 pounds, and measure from 78 

 to 79 inches around the girth and 9£ to 9£ inches around the leg just 



