400 
A French Ilaras and Horse Fair. 
by Grovemment and the Haras. The good-natured people, on 
inquiry, always produced to me, and without hesitation, the in- 
dispensable carte d'origines which by law they are bound to 
carry ; this is a Government certificate of the horse's breeding 
and other particulars, together with a description for identifica- 
tion — most valuable for a purchaser. 
The question naturally occurs how far could be traced the 
influence of the Haras in the horses exposed at the fair ; and 
how about that crucial test of tests, the prices obtained ? 
Allowance must be made for one disturbing influence, no doubt ; 
as with us, many valuable horses never come to the fair, but are 
sold at home. For exoniple, I made friends at the club with 
Monsieur Gustave Adolphe de Katienguy, who had just privately 
sold to the Haras for its purposes three entire half-bred colts by 
Corlaix — Corlaix by Flying Cloud, a thoroughbred, and men- 
tioned as having been seen at Lamballe. As a further illustration 
I quote from the Eeport of the Compagnie Generale des Omnibus 
de Paris for 1887: "Horses for the company are bought in 
markets and fairs, but a large number are obtained by dealers 
visiting the breeders, and purchasing the animals to be delivered 
at certain dates, a process which is very convenient to the com- 
pany, and at the same time ensures certain sales for the farmers, 
and renders them in a degree independent of the markets and 
fairs. Horses, in common with other agricultural products, 
show a serious and progressiv'e depreciation in value since 1880 ; 
animals worth oil. in that year being now obtainable for 37?. 10.?." 
Every good Percheron is at once snapped up by the Americans. 
Mr. Talbot, with sixty years' experience, told me superior horses 
used to be sold at " IJ. per leg ; now, since the Haras has been 
established, and for thirty years, a leg " is an average price. 
The price of a Bidet little saddle-horse of the country, lOL, per- 
haps 12/. for a pair ; I understood these little horses are exported 
to the West Indies. Mr. Talbot told me he knew a farmer the 
possessor of a mare with a head like a coffin ; the mare was put 
to Haras horses, and during thirteen years she gave the farmer 
produce which paid his I'ent. 
Mr. Talbot further mentioned the following circumstance as 
an illustration of the system : — A farmer of his acquaintance had 
an excellent five-year-old brown mare which he positively refused 
to sell. Asked the reason, the farmer replied, "The mare 
belongs to the army \j-emonte]." He went on to say, " I admired 
the mare, and the colonel commandant said, ' If you want the 
mare for breeding you may have her for 50 francs ; sign the 
paper and keep her ; she must be shown twice a year to the 
Haras agent, and covered by an approved horse at 5 francs ' " ; 
under this system, after ten years the mare is retained as the 
