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their  Breeding  and  Management. 
Me.  Geo.  Lascelles. 
The  following  paper  is  justly  entitled  to  carry  weight.  My 
friend  and  neighbour,  Mr.  George  Lascelles,*  who  for  the  Royal 
Agricultural  Society  has  repeatedly  acted  as  a judge  of  horses, 
kindly  interested  himself  in  my  undertaking.  A keen  sports- 
man, an  able  man  of  business,  a practical  farmer,  a successful 
breeder  of  horses,  Mr.  Lascelles  inherits  the  sporting  traditions 
of  several  generations  of  the  House  of  Harewood  : — 
The  subject  of  breeding  useful  saleable  half-bred  horses  is  one 
which  interests  all  classes  of  the  community,  and  is  of  especial 
importance  to  the  farmer,  whose  precarious  income  may  be  con- 
siderably increased  by  annually  turning  out  one  or  two  good- 
looking  hunting  or  coaching  colts.  The  apparent  uncertainty 
of  breeding  half-bred  horses  has  deterred  many  from  entering 
on  this  business,  and  frequent  disappointment  has  driven  others 
out  of  this  branch  of  industry.  As  an  old  farmer  once  re- 
marked, “ You  see,  Sir,  what  we  want  is  a big  brown  colt, 
and  what  we  mostly  get  is  a little  chestnut  filly.”  Now, 
though  I do  not  propose  to  give  any  patent  way  for  breeding 
big  brown  colts  to  a certainty,  yet  I shall  attempt  to  show 
how,  by  keeping  the  right  sort  of  mare  and  using  the  most 
suitable  stallion,  a farmer  may  reasonably  expect  to  breed  a 
sound  saleable  horse,  with  substance  and  action,  for  which  there 
is  and  always  will  be  a steady  demand. 
In  vol.  xxiv.  of  the  Society’s  ‘ Journal,’  by  Mr.  W.  Dickenson, 
there  is  a letter  addressed  to  the  Right  Honourable  John 
Evelyn  Denison,  wrhich  treats  very  fully  of  the  business  of 
breeding  horses  of  all  breeds.  It  is  full  of  valuable  information 
on  the  subject,  and  is  well  worth  studying  by  any  one  interested 
in  the  subject.  In  the  same  volume  is  another  article  on  the 
il  Breeding  of  Hunters  and  Roadsters,”  by  Mr.  J.  Gamgee,f  senior, 
a very  valuable  and  exhaustive  treatise,  to  which  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  add  any  useful  information  as  a guide  to  the  breeder  ; 
* Hon.  George  Lascelles,  Sion  Hill,  Thirsk. 
t Hr.  Gamgee  tells  ns  that  the  object  of  cross-breeding  is  to  gain  desirable 
qualities  in  the  offspring  which  neither  parent  possessed, — the  mule  an  extreme 
example.  Great  changes,  he  observes,  writing  in  1863,  have,  as  regards  breeding, 
taken  place  in  fifty  years.  Breeders  change  their  system  as  they  do  their  clothes  ; 
non-sc ientific ; listening  to  the  suggestions  of  horse-dealers  and  considering  only  the 
capricious  demand  of  fashion.  To  get  hunters  depends  on  the  judicious  crossing 
of  breeds  and  the  blending  of  the  individual  parents.  In  the  half-bred  mare 
form  must  be  more  regarded  than  pedigree : half-bred  pedigrees  are  unreliable. 
No  care  or  skill  will  enable  the  breeder  of  hunters  to  reach  the  highest  aim  with 
more  than  a fair  proportion.  The  average  horse  must  pay  expenses.  But  the 
weight-carrying  hunter  should  be  the  type  or  model;  the  misfit  hunters  are 
valuable  for  most  purposes. — C. 
c 2 
