994 ' The Theory of the Four Stallions, [march, 



rely, on the breeding and prepotency of the stallion and forget 

 that the mare carries qualities that do not appear in herself, 

 but may be transmitted to her offspring. Recent investiga- 

 tions into the principles of breeding show that until the mare, 

 as well as the stallion, has acquired fixity of type — that is, has 

 become a pure breed — uniform results cannot be expected. 

 Too much reliance has been placed on the prepotency of the 

 sire by English breeders, and much more attention to the task 

 of securing pure strains of mares of intermediate type is now 

 required. The success of some of the breeding establishments 

 of foreign governments is due to a recognition of this fact. 

 In the Hungarian studs, for example, the so-called half-bred 

 mares are pure strains, with pedigrees going back for many 

 years. 



So long, then, as we are content to rely for Army horses 

 upon the offspring of two pure breeds as widely divergent 

 in character as the thoroughbred and the draught-mare 

 it seems to me that breeders must be prepared for many 

 disappointments, and it is very unlikely that this depart- 

 ment of horse-breeding will commend itself to those who 

 are at present engaged in less speculative branches of 

 live-stock farming. This is a very unfortunate state of affairs, 

 for not only is it desirable from the national standpoint that 

 horses suitable for Army remounts should be more * 

 extensively bred, but there is every prospect that if the ; 

 breeding of light-legged horses were to receive as much 

 attention as has been given to other forms of stock farming, 

 the industry would prove a profitable one in many districts. 

 It is, indeed, only necessary to turn to other classes of live 

 stock to find examples of what is wanted for the horse. We 

 have many races of cattle and sheep all carefully bred to 

 type, so that a farmer in any part of Great Britain may easily 

 secure a breed precisely suited to his locality, but when he 

 wants a horse that combines pace and substance we find that 

 the choice is practically limited to crosses between two widely 

 different pure breeds. Both may be excellent in their own 

 way, but it is not surprising that the more or less mongrel 

 intermediate strains do not give satisfaction. What would 

 the condition of the commercial cattle of the country be, if the 

 breeder had to satisfy all demands by the intermediates got 



