30 
Half-bred  Horses  for  Field  or  Road : 
I append  a note  of  part  of  Mr.  Parrington’s  interesting  evi- 
dence, given  before  the  Lords’  Committee,  1873. 
“ I live,”  said  Mr.  Parrington,  “ in  the  Cleveland  district. 
I have  had  thirty  years’  experience  in  farming,  breeding,  and 
riding  horses  to  hounds.  The  Cleveland  mare,  now  nearly 
extinct,  was  the  best  foundation  to  breed  from  that  I ever  knew. 
The  foreigners  have  got  them  all.  The  discovery  of  the  Cleve- 
land ironstone  has  caused  a great  demand  for  heavy  carthorses. 
Superior  horses  are  hard  to  get — the  demand,  in  fact,  outruns 
the  supply.  I was  part-owner  of  ‘ Perion,’  by  1 Whisker,’  bred 
by  Mr.  Vansittart ; 15  hands  1 in.  high,  of  rare  quality  ; got  the 
most  valuable  half-bred  horses  we  had  ; he  could  get  a very 
good  horse  out  of  a very  common  mare.  I have  known  him 
serve  250  mares  in  a season,  and  rarely  any  complaints  of  barren 
mares.  As  compared  with  horses,  beef,  mutton,  and  milk  are  in 
these  days  more  profitable  productions. 
“ We  encourage  coaching  stallions,*  because  from  them  we 
get  the  mares  ; but  not  roadster  stallions,  for  mares  by  them  are 
worthless,  the  colts  only  are  valuable.  A stallion,  however 
good,  cannot  establish  himself  in  the  country  until  people  have 
seen  his  stock.  In  my  opinion  the  best  possible  thing  we  could 
do  is  to  try  to  induce  breeders  to  keep  the  best  mares  in  the 
country.” 
Mr.  Wicksted. 
A high  authority  suggested  to  me  to  push  inquiry  into 
Shropshire.  My  able  colleague  Mr.  Bowen  Jones,  a Member 
of  the  Council  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  with  cha- 
racteristic energy  and  kindness  interested  himself  in  the  matter 
and  obtained  for  me  a letter  from  Mr.  Wicksted — a gentleman  of 
that  county,  and  the  Master  of  the  Ludlow  Fox  Hounds.|  Rela- 
ting to  an  immediately  adjoining  district,  Mr.  Bowen  Jones  also 
sent  me  from  his  own  collection  a Catalogue,  1826,  of  Mont- 
gomeryshire Hunters,  a very  suggestive  and  refreshingly  quaint 
document  full  of  tantalising  information  as  to  pedigree  and  per- 
formance. What  suggestive  curiosities  of  equine  literature  to 
my  certain  knowledge  are  stowed  away  and  lost  amongst  piles  of 
dusty  MSS.  in  our  charter-rooms  and  other  private  repositories ! 
* I understand  Mr.  Grout  of  Woodbridge  bas  now  [Feb.  1883]  thirty-three 
coaching-stallions  in  his  stable,  and  sold  as  many  within  twelve  months  to  go 
abroad. — C. 
t Delabere  Blaine  says  he  knew  near  Ludlow  a mare  that  carried  one  owner 
hunting  eleven  years,  and  afterwards  produced  1000L  worth  of  horseflesh  in 
seven  years ; the  produce  more  than  realised  the  fee-simple  of  the  land  that 
reared  them.—*  Ency.  Rural  Sports,  1810.’ — C. 
