430 SUPPLY OP HORSES ADAPTED TO THE ENGLISH ARMY. 
has fluctuated from 20,000, 30,000, 40,000 in a year, to 
scarcely more than 2000 or 3000, and it is asked, if the 
breeders have on hand and wish to sell 12,000 or 1.5,000 
riding-horses in a year, wlien the State, as we have seen, may 
only purchase 500 or 1000, what is to become of the others? 
The coach contractor prefers for his work a Percheron 
horse at 1000 francs to a saddle-horse (Merlonese) at 6000 
francs, or a Breton horse at 500 francs to a Limousin at 
10,000. Therefore, horses designed for the cavalry cannot 
be sold for other purposes without loss to the breeder. 
The guarantee of a steady rate of purchase—say of 7000, 
8000, or 9000—for the army, is, therefore, essential to the 
supply being forthcoming; and it is suggested that the exist¬ 
ing establishments of-horses had better be weeded occasion¬ 
ally, than the rate of purchase made to vary much. Such 
w’eeding would remove inefficient and sickly horses, and be 
in that respect economical. 
It is further urged that the saddle-horse is necessarily an 
expensive animal to rear, because its dam does little work, it 
must have oats to eat, often meets with accidents, and these 
accidents depreciate its value; the successful colt must there¬ 
fore be got up in such a form that it may fetch a price which 
shall cover the losses incurred in the case of failure. The 
price, therefore, cannot be low if it is to be moderately remu¬ 
nerative. 
A plan for having depots for foals,^^ which the State is to 
purchase when young, and then entrust to farmers to be 
reared at the expense of the State, is wisely rejected in the 
report in question. 
It would seem, then, that the French Government, dis¬ 
satisfied with its attempts at breeding, is disposed to trust for 
its supply of riding-horses to the general market, when en¬ 
couraged by a regular demand and a fair price. 
Assuming, then, that the remount is to be procured in the 
general market, the question remains—what is the agency to 
be employed in making purchases? We are told that ‘‘ The 
employment of large contractors to furnish horses is a most 
vicious method, for how can any one foretell the value and 
the prospect of an abundant supply of horses? It is an 
undertaking which either ruins the contractor or makes his 
fortune; but as the purveyor always knows how to arrange 
matters so as not to lose in the transaction—for those 
charged to receive the horses will accept very middling or 
even bad animals rather than see an unfortunate speculator 
lose his fortune in the service of the State—the army is 
always more or less the sufferer \ at all events, it is prefer* 
