544 
OVER AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
consanguinity of blood in breeding horses, and said he 
believed they were defective in not keeping their cart horses 
and colts sufficiently well. Horses fed upon sound, good 
corn were always able to do more work by at least one half 
than when indifferently kept. As to the breeding of half- 
bred horses or carriage horses, he should like to have the 
lecturer’s opinion. He had noticed many disappointments 
to those who tried to breed this class of horse, arising, as he 
thought, from using half-breds on both sides. He thought 
the active cast mare, put to a compact thorough-bred horse, 
would be more certain in its results. It was more desirable, 
in breeding any class of animal, to have a compact, sym¬ 
metrical sire, rather than one large and bony, and the dam, 
he thought, should always be larger and more roomy than 
the sire. He should also like to ask the lecturer whether he 
considered stiff-clay farms good land for rearing colts on; he 
thought light and dry soils more likely to yield sound and 
healthy horses, apart from the greater damage done on clay 
farms by the galloping of colts in the autumn and winter 
season. He was personally much obliged to Mr. Ellis for 
his interesting and instructive paper, and begged to propose 
that the best thanks of the meeting be accorded him for the 
sacrifice of time which its preparation must have necessitated. 
Mr. Ellis replied to Mr. Rigby’s questions, and strongly 
recommended using a pure bred blood or cart horse, or 
otherwise they could not tell whether the stock would 
converge or diverge, and wet clay land was not favourable 
for horses; the foot of the colt became flat. Hilly land was 
favorable to muscular development. 
The vote of thanks being seconded by Mr. Slater, and 
cordially passed, 
Mr. Ellis , in responding, said he was exceedingly delighted 
with the reception he had met with, and any practical ex¬ 
perience he possessed he should always be glad to communi¬ 
cate to that or any other similar society. He considered it 
one of the greatest pleasures which we could enjoy to en- « 
deavour to benefit others, and that the Over, Great Budworth, 
Frodsham, and Dunham o’ith Hill agricultural societies were 
calculated to do a great deal of good. 
Mr. Button , in responding to a vote of thanks accorded to 
him as chairman, said he should have liked to have heard 
a little more about the breaking in of colts, and the barbarous 
practice of burning, which was so generally practised. 
The proceedings were then brought to a close by an 
announcement from the secretary that other lecturers were 
engaged for the series .—Nantwich and Crewe Guardian. 
