November i, 1881.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
4 j 
them a fair specimen to breed from. It is possible, 
I suppose, to trace the breed of the horses and stock 
in Rajpootana, and its varieties from which they were 
formerly raised by the native Princes, and I have 
heard such names as Kuch Bhoj, and Tliulla mentioned, 
and that they were considered the finest horses in 
India for military purposes years ago ; but that great 
injury was (loan to these breeds which had not been 
repaired until this past eight or ten yeurs. It is 
quite easily conceivable to those with any knowledge 
of horse fie^h that these animals are particularly well 
framed, with good knee action, very powerful, and 
will stand any amount of hard work, as many have 
been convinced when travelling by dawk through part 
of the sandy country. I have seen a team of four 
walers actually give it up after a few miles when 
three count ry-breds, wo will call them Marwaree ponies, 
in comparison to the walers being on such short legs, 
attached to the same carriage would go on twenty 
miles without hardly a halt. I believe something 
similar to this occurred when one of these native Princes 
had the honour of a visit from one of your late 
Viceroys who was riding behind some of his own 
slashing looking walers, which had to be taken out 
to enable His Excellency to complete the journey, 
behind the horses reared and bred in Western ilajpootana. 
We see and hear of many gentlemen who yearly pay 
visits to the fairs of Pokhur and other places, and 
purchase cheap nags, which have found their way 
into some of your native cavalry regiments abeut the 
North-West Provinces, and which look more inviting 
and lit for hard work than those alongside of them 
on parade. It should, however, be known that these 
gentlemen visiting these fairs do not get the best 
breed horses, or of ages much beyond three, and in 
many cases younger horses which are sent to these fairs 
are not fair specimens of the Mirwurej horse, and 
are sent often because considered of no practical value, 
and oftener, because religious duties or village dis- 
putes are urged as an excuse to get rid of them, 
and to settle matters. This is not, however, the case 
with the horses reared and bred solely by the native 
priue b, who positively decline to sell any that have 
been reared from their own known breed and stock, 
however profitable it might be to them, and consequently 
a great number have accumulated. An accurate re- 
gister of these I could never procure, bnt that they 
are the best and most uniformly shaped class of 
country-bred any one would wish to see, except, 
if one consideis it a defect, that of the peculiar 
position of the ears, or I might say curve or twist 
at the point of the ear, and the carriage of their 
necks, which 1 think should be thought altogether 
unworthy of notice in selecting horses for cavalry 
purposes. We cannot obtain horses of certain shape, 
aud form to the perfection many would like to see 
them, so that I have c me to the conclusion that 
you were perfectly right in your remarks in stating 
this subject of breeding was receiving a temporary 
cheek just at the very time when everything should 
be done to encourage, ami nothing to disgust. Other 
wiee these horses, however excellent, will not be made 
use i>i, when the time might come that wo should 
require tin-in. Tho native Princes are not so easily 
moulded into new habits ; they have, however, trans- 
plantei'. «ith their own Marwaree breed, horses aud 
mnrcs that will, I hope, again and again be brod 
from, and the breed be more improved, as they have 
spared no expense in procuring animals. I regret to 
say that a scrimis Ins.- h is happened to these States 
b_i the death of the valuable stallion "Crown Prince," 
HBO ip« and make we nil well remember, with 
Undeniable blond, when wo saw him at Delhi during 
the iissimihlae.!-. Ti ere arc, how v. r, 'i lew oile rs of 
tli ■ r | il -tamp for breeding purposes, notably " Euro," 
"I 1 ■ parentage, but bred iu the colonies, aud''Cock. 
106 
a-Hoop," the former being by Lucifer out of Zenobia 
by Kingston, and the latter by Victorious by New- 
minster out of Mother Carey's Chicken by Declare. 
In fact, the Maharajah of Jodhpur has the most useful 
selection of horses aud mares of all breeds collected 
together by any single person in India, some of which 
would greatly surprise your horsey men had they I he 
opportunity to ride behind them in carriage, or on 
their backs out a pigsticking, or for a long tedious 
journey by road." 
SUGAR GROWING AT PORT MACK AY, 
QUEENSLAND. 
(Sydney Mail, 27th August 1881.) 
Before entering upon a description of the sugar 
mills and the processes employed in the manufacture 
of sugar, it will be well to glance at the capacity of 
the Mackay district for the growth of the sugar-cane 
aud afterwards to offer some remarks on the cli-nate. 
And in order the more effectually to do si, I shall 
have 'to present your readers with a f-w statistics, 
which I have gathered from official sources, as well 
as from gentlemen in Mackay whose experience and 
position render the facts given highly trustworthy. 
These will help to demonstrate how far Mackay is to 
be regarded at present as the greatest sugar-producing 
district in Queensland. No figures, however, will 
adequately convey the impression which only the 
face of nature is fit to produce; so much does the 
eye take in that defies calculation to give, and statist- 
ics, after all, are only approximative^ true. The 
prosperity of a district may be tolerably well-known 
from the high social condition of the town, and Mackay 
may be cited as a good example in proof. It is 
however necessary to place before the reader a few 
facts that will show this in other ways. 
A ride across the country opens the observer's 
eyes to the richness of the land, which he sees 
spreading out in broad plains aud gentle hills, backed 
by an uneven line of forest-coveved mountains in the 
distance. That the soil of the district is capible of 
profitably growing sugar-cane was proved as long ago 
as 1864, when Mr. J. Spiller began planting on the 
banks of the Pioneer. His example was soon followed 
by others, who were only waiting for signs of success. 
From that time to the present there has been a rapid 
increase in the manufacture of sugar, while elaborate 
machinery, capable of producing 14,930 tons, has be-n 
successively erected within a short distance from 
town, mostly on the banks of the river ; aud, now. 
attracted by the fame of the district, the Coloni d 
Sugar Company, with a capital of £250,000, have 
commenced work at a place called Homebush, and 
will plant cane this year. This accession of strength 
will enormously add to the sugar-p'oduoing capacity 
nf the district, and wiil doubtless induce other com- 
panies to do the same, for only a very small proportion 
of the country is uuder cultivation. 
The extent of laud under cane last year is set down 
at 6,07S acres, to which another thousand acres must 
be added up to March of this year; it is now prob- 
ably much more. Of this, 5.4S6 ton* of cane were 
crushed, yielding I>,470 tons of sugar, 287,250 gallons 
of molasses, aud 68,617 gdlons of rum. The probable 
yield of sugar during tho present year, according to 
go al judges, will be between 10,000 and 11,000 tons. 
But this inadequately represents the capacity of the 
Mackay district, for there is now within a distance 
of 25 mi'es from the town of Mackay, mostly in the 
h auls of people able and auxious to grow cane, but 
debarred from doing so by the want of :i market for 
it, over 160,000 acres beyond the acreage now under 
cultivation, equal to the production of at Least (iO.OOO 
tons of su^ar over aud above the 23,310 tuus which 
