lis Report upon tlie Spring Show of Thoroughbred Stallions 
mile on the flat, manages to stay 3 and 4 miles over a country, 
carrying a weight which, in the language of reports, would be 
termed a " crushing impost." Unless all the stop-watches were 
in error over the time taken by " Old Joe " in last year's Grand 
National, it would seem as though the cry that the modern race- 
horse cannot stay is a somewhat premature one. What more 
ought a horse to do, before he earns a character as a stayer, than 
to run the Grand Xational course (4 miles and 1000 yards) in 
9 minutes 141- seconds? It may possibly be objected that " Old 
Joe " was the only horse that did stay ; but the answer is, that 
in the days of " Emblem," " Emblematic," " Abd-el-Kader," and 
others, there were always some horses that did not stay as long 
as the winners, and, in comparison with them, were non- 
stayers. 
Now as to the mares. The future of horse-breeding must 
depend largely upon the steps taken to induce owners not to 
send them out of the country, but to keep suitable ones for stud 
purposes. If so much criticism be expended on the sires, the 
type of mare requisite to breed a good hunter, or general-utility 
horse, is surely deserving of attention. Let us see how far 
theory and practice agree. It is admitted on all hands that the 
mare must have size, as the dam's height and measurement 
influence the size of the foal. Many instances of this could be 
adduced ; but I was told not long ago that " Polardine," himself 
a little horse, invariably got big stock when put to full-sized 
mares. The dam must have bone as well, while ringbone, 
spavin, affected wind, and sundry other shortcomings are no 
more allowable in her than in the sire. Now where do we find 
these upstanding mares to-day? If we take horse shows as 
our test, they will only be found either in the stables of the 
well-to-do who have pensioned off hunters, or harness-mares, 
or else in the possession ot the better class of farmer with a pre- 
dilection for horses. It is submitted, however, that it is not in 
the interests of either of these that the Royal Agriculturaror the 
Hunters' Improvement Societies have exerted themselves. As 
the writer understands the matter, the aim has been to induce 
the ordinary farmer to breed as part and parcel of his calling 
as an agriculturist ; and it is comparatively rarely that a non- 
hunting small farmer possesses a mare that could throw a weight- 
carrying colt, unless by something next to a miracle. 
This state of things may be accounted for without much 
difficulty. About the year 185f5 foreign buyers appear to have 
conceived the idea of sending agents to England to buy likely- 
looking mares. Mr. Elkan, of Berlin, a few years later, made 
many purchases, especially in the North and East of England. 
The prices offered by the foreign agents were considerably in 
