Day on Horse- Breeding. 
233 
as only a breeder and trainer of many years' experience could say." 
Exactly : but with this expectation I must admit a little feeling of 
disappointment and impatience to find page after page devoted to 
the study of the natural history and early records of the horse, and 
this couched in somewhat too scientific language. It is a little 
surprising also, inasmuch as the author condemns Captain Upton's 
book, Newmarket and Arabia, for this very reason, and say3 : " It is, 
I have no doubt, a work of much labour and erudition, though of 
little importance except to those who care to trace the horse of the 
present day back to the earliest times on record." How much 
further than Mr. Day Captain Upton has gone back I cannot say, 
for our author carries us back to " Persia and Armenia, in which 
countries the horse would first be propagated after its liberation 
from the ark." 
Much space is devoted to pointing out the effect of the Arab 
crosses in early days upon our thoroughbred stock, and Mr. Day 
sums up by saying, " The cross with the Arabian was an extremely 
fortunate one, as apparently just giving certain qualities which our 
own horses lacked at that distant period. But for all practical or 
useful purposes in this country, the Arab horse might to-day be as 
defunct as the Dodo or the huge Mastodon of North America." He 
considers the Arab as utterly useless as a cross upon our thorough- 
bred stock, and hopes the " growing disposition to reintroduce it " 
may be " nipped in the bud." 
Twenty-nine pages are devoted to proving that abortion, steri- 
lity, temper, defective sight, roaring, and splints, are hereditary 
diseases. That abortion is infectious, from sympathy or some cause, 
I believe, but have not experienced it to be hereditary either in 
horses or cattle. That temper, impaired sight, roaring, and splints 
are hereditary most people admit. It is pleasant to hear so great 
an authority say that there are not so many roarers now as formerly, 
and this he attributes to the greater care now taken of horses. At 
the same time we cannot forget that " Stonehenge " stated, " Without 
doubt roaring is far more common than it used to be, and the 
possession of enlarged joints and back sinews is the rule instead 
of the exception." 
Fifty pages are devoted to the selection of mares and stallions, 
and on the general principles of selection the author says " the most 
important point is to select so as to ensure soundness of limbs and 
health of constitution . . . I should choose a mare standing 15 hands 
and 1 or 2 inches in height, having a small head and a short neck, 
with good shoulders, back and hind quarters, with broad hips and 
deep fore ribs, with satisfactory hocks, knees and feet, and standing 
well upon her legs." 
In speaking of the uncertainty of breeding he observes : " It is 
noticeable that the stock got by some of the most successful stallions 
out of a variety of mares differs in shape, size, and breeding." With 
this remark all who have any experience of the subject will agree, 
and he might almost have gone further, and said out of the same 
mare. Mr. Day suggests that more races ought to be instituted 
for geldings, and would prefer this plan of using the Queen's Plate 
