Thwoucjkhred Stallions at Nottingham. 245 
System, excepting that the late Emperor developed a good deal 
that Louis Philippe had commenced, and the Imperial policy- 
was to make the country entirely self-supplying as regards the 
stud of stallions. To bring this about, more encouragement was 
given to racing, and more first-class stallions were purchased 
from England. It was at this time that such horses as The 
Baron, Gladiator, Ion, Lanercost, Faugh a Ballagh, The Emperor, 
and CoUingwood were secured by the French agents, and before 
the close of 1859 so many had been purchased as to have made 
the Government stud of France the greatest in the world. Once 
a year the list was published in the " Bulletin Officiel," and I 
recollect the numbers were over 400. What a wondrous 
amount of quality could be found in that list, with such horses 
in it as Weathergage, Pretty Boy, Slane, Sting, Womersley, 
Nunnykirk, Buckthorn, and, in fact, three parts of our stoutest 
and best cup horses ! It was wonderful how Frenchmen could 
have selected them with so much judgment, as in many cases after 
the horses had left our shores it was discovered that their pro- 
duce comprised the best of the day. 
The whole system appeared to work into the right gi'ooves, 
as when the horses arrived in France their locations were in- 
variably happily chosen. I remember the little horse Sauce- 
box, the St. Leger winner of 1856, being purchased, and he was 
nothing more than a pretty pony ; but, given a south-country 
station, where the mares were big, he got beautiful stock. Then 
the choice was so large that nearly every breeder in France could 
get the horse he wanted located near him, or loaned to him ; and 
the horses, so long as they were liked, were always retained in 
a district, so that they might leave a goodly number of their 
own stamp. 
A peculiar feature of the Haras system also was the ease 
with which reform was brought about without in any way 
disturbing the institution — as in 18G0, for instance, after the 
Flying Dutchman had been purchased for 4,000Z., there was 
a certain amount of fi-iction between the Government and the 
members of the French Jockey Club. It was contended by 
the racing authorities that the presence of so many first-class 
stallions at small fees was a bar to private enterprise, since no one 
could afford to give a large price for a stallion against such com- 
petition. The Government conceded nothing ; but, shortly after- 
wards, the stallions at the Chantilly depot were removed, and the 
Flying Dutchman alone was kept at the Paris establishment. 
The opportunity was taken, however, to institute premiums, 
much in the same fashion as the Royal Agricultural Society and 
the Royal Commission are giving them now ; and, before the fall 
of the Empire, there was almost a second stud of stallions 
