342 
Breeding of Hunters and Roadsters. 
to the blood-horse, might have been deferred indefinitely, had 
not the scruples, which in every similar case present themselves, 
been overcome. At that time a commission was issued to select 
and collect a number of the purest mares and stallions of oriental 
descent that could be found. These formed what was called the 
Royal stud, the nucleus from which sprang the far-famed English 
blood-horse. The wisdom of this measure has never been 
questioned, neither has the way of its execution. 
The original blood-horses evidently did not all come from one 
particular stock. Damascus and Aleppo supplied some; but, 
apart from traditional history, we can still trace in the stock of 
the present day some specialities in the character of the different 
lines which indicate a distinctive origin. Blacklock and his 
progeny stand in remarkable contrast to Whalebone and his, 
exhibiting the special characteristics of their ancestors, whether 
they be traced back to Highflyer and Herod, as the representa- 
tives of the stronger outline, or to Eclipse as the representative 
of the finer Arabian cast. Yet the finer shades of difference 
which the subsequent intermixture of stock of different qualities 
has produced, exceed our powers of discrimination. 
The position of our colonies may afford us a useful illustration 
of the manner in which a register for any breed of horses may 
be started. Such colonies as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, 
the Cape, &c,, are in many respects as well adapted to tke horse 
as the mother country. It is as important for these States, as for 
ourselves, that horse-breeding should go on systematically, and 
not be left to chance. They have, therefore, strong inducements 
to form a register ; but their own peculiar uses, predilections, 
and climates, will determine the character of that register, as 
well as that of their purchases and general management. It 
seems just as easy for any of these to begin with two or more 
Clydesdale mares and stallions, certified as of pure caste, by the 
Highland Society's judges, as to begin with blood-mares and 
stallions, vouched for by the stud-book ; in both cases a new 
register begins ; and if, instead of these two classes, Yorkshiremen 
should take their Clevelands, the Norfolk farmer his trotter, the 
Suffolk man his punch, and the Irishman his hunter, it is not 
apparent why these several classes could not be kept pure, and 
crosses afterwards carried on with a knowledge of what was 
being done, and consequently a more correct anticipation of the 
result. If this could be done in the colonies, there can be no 
valid reason urged why it cannot be effected in this kingdom. 
Greater changes have been made in the breeding and manage- 
ment of horses in England during the last fifty years than in any 
similar period on record ; but these have not rested on any sound 
