232 S»;Pi'LY OF HOUSES ADAPTED TO THE ENGLISH AKMY. 
there only, to the state of the supply. Twenty-five years 
ago the case was reversed. 
The price paid by Government for the horses of the army, 
which, on an average, amounts to about £36, may not at first 
sight seem to be sufficiently remunerative to induce farmers 
to breed purposely for the army, and such, perhaps, never is 
their precise purpose. Their aim is to breed a carriage-horse 
or a hunter; but as their good intentions are not always 
realised, they sometimes fall back upon the cavalry or horse 
artillery. In breeding for farm or railway purposes, they at 
the same time produce horses for the rest of the service; and 
we think that £36 for a green four-year old of this class 
would pay the farmer, if he obtained his fair share of the 
price paid; but we fear that more dealers live between the 
breeder and the barrack than is compatible with the interest 
of either party. Therefore the supposed difference between 
the real value of the horse supplied and the £36 which he 
costs, affords a base for the arguments in favour of Govern¬ 
ment breeding establishments, and against the present system 
of remounting. 
This question, which has engaged the attention of military 
men and others from time to time, has led to the framine: of 
many well-considered schemes; but they have failed to carry 
with them the conviction that such a course would be better 
for the Government or the army than to have, as at present, 
the whole agricultural interest in the United Kingdom as an 
open market. At the same time we think it not impossible 
that some plan might be discovered by which the farmer 
would be better remunerated, and the troops as well, if not 
better, mounted. 
The horse, as well as other animals, has been much im¬ 
proved by judicious crossing; but as every race has a natural 
tendency to return to its primeval type, constant attention is 
required on the part of breeders to prevent degeneration. 
•Wonderful improvements in conformation,speed,and strength, 
• have been accomplished in some classes. We may instance 
as specimens the statue opposite Apsley House {w^en seen on 
the ground) and that in Pall INJall East. Both these, 
we have reason to believe, were taken from life. But, 
alas ! the majority of breeders pay very little attention to 
symmetry and power. Sometimes they do not appear to 
have any purpose in breeding beyond the getting of a foal of 
any sort. Some are so prejudiced that they will breed from 
a mare when old and worn out, simply because she once 
carried her owner through a very long journey, or performed 
some other unusual feat; entirely disregarding the fact that 
