BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF FARM HORSES.. At a recent meeting of the Blandford Farmers' Club, the following paper on the above subject was read by Mr. H. S. SENIOR. I must apologise for my appearance in this position this evening, and wish that this subject had fallen to some more experienced person to introduce, and my only excuse is that it seems to be the wish of the Club the younger members should take their part in bringing forward subjects for discussion. The subject I have chosen is the "Breeding and Manage. ment of Farm Horses," the importance of which cannot, I think, be for a moment disputed. The large amount of capital invested in farm horses must be nearly equal to the annual rent of the land cultivated by them, and the annual cost of keeping these horses is not less than two-thirds of their actual value. Thus, if we take the total acreage under all kinds of crops, bare fallow, and grass, in Great Britain, as returned to the Board of Trade in 1876 as 37,544,081 acres, and the number of horses used solely for agricuture as 968,587 at an acreage value of £30 per horse, we have the net value as £29,057,610, which will be very nearly equal to the annual rent of the land cultivated by them, and the annual cost of keeping them will be £19,371,710. These circumstances are sufficient to demonstrate the national importance of the subject, whilst its individual consequence to agriculturists may be enforced by the fact that not only is a sum nearly equal to the annual rent required for the purchase, and two-thirds for the yearly keep, of the horse-power on a farm, but it is a constant weight that cannot to any great extent be shaken off. As therefore so many horses must be kept for agricultural purposes it will be well to understand and to adopt the best and most economical method of breeding and managing them. There is no branch of a farmer's business to which so little attention is generally paid as to the breeding of horses. It is often regarded as a matter of chance whether the produce will turn out valuable or worthless, whilst on the other hand there is nothing so true as that unhealthy parents will not produce healthy offspring. It is very possible that when one parent is sound and the other diseased the progeny may turn after the former, but then it is just as likely to turn after the latter, and therefore it is very unwise to risk the expenses of breeding on such an uncertainty. There are few subjects connected with breeding more interesting than the relative influence of the male and female parent, and few on which such different opinions prevail. The freaks of nature (as they appear to us) are certainly very curious, and people are often more struck by a remarkable exception then even by the rule, and are disposed to found their theories accordingly. The Arabs of the desert, 80 celebrated for their scrupulous attention to the purity of their breed of horses, are comparatively indifferent as to the stallion, but prize and preserve their mares with the most rigorous care. They will part with the former for equivalent remuneration, but scarcely anything will induce them to dispose of their mares if they belong to the true breed. From this well known fact it has been naturally inferred that they consider the influence of the female as pre-eminent, and the supporters of this theory adduce the fact just mentioned as a strong argument in its favour. Indeed, at first sight it would appear, when we consider the more intimate connection the sire. of the female with the offspring, kept up during a long period, that the influence of the dam must be greater than Facts, however, appear rather to support an oppo-ite doctrine, the mule being a case in point. We may therefore, from facts which could readily be adduced, be justified in concluding that, so far as regards the size, general appearance, external form and muscular development, the influence of the male is superior to that of the female. But although in obedience to this principle I believe that it is. principally by means of the male that various improved breeds will be rendered more perfect, yet I by no means wish it to beinferred that I consider the qualiti s of the female a matter of indifference; so far from this being the case, I would censure in the strongest terms that utter neglect of the qualifications of the female which is so frequently displayed, particularly with horses, regarding it as the most grievous errorappertaining to breeding. It is of equal importance to study the qualifications of the female as of the male, though their respective excellencies may not be the same. Hereditary disease and weakness of constitution are much more likely to be communicated to the offspring by the dam than by the sire, which is in keeping with the fact of the long and intimate connection kept up between the dam and the offspring, both before and after birth till weaning takes place; as the same blood nourishes both, both are likely to become affected by an unhealthy change in this fluid. Soundness of constitution is therefore an indispensable requisite in the female. The breeding of farm horses resolves itself into two branches, the principles of breeding and the practice; unless the former are correct the latter will be continually at fault, and it will be a matter of chance and uncertainty whether success or failure is the consequence. "Like begets like" is a maxim that cannot be disputed, and it is vain to expect valuable progeny unless the parent possesses the qualifications which we seek to obtain in the offspring. The principal object in breeding cart horses as in other animals is gain. The breeder is desirous of breeding animals that will yield him the largest pecuniary return. Consequently the most profitable animal to rear (if the pasturage is sufficiently nutritious and abundant) is that which is likely to suit the London market, and so realise the highest prices which the London brewers are willing, or rather are obliged, to give. Although the breeding of cart horses more frequently forms a part of the farmer's business than that of any other description of horse, it has not received that attention that its importance merits or that the necessities of agriculture will for the future obtain for it. Too frequently have the infirmities of the mare caused her to be selected for breeding and too often has the size of the stallion been his only recommendation. It would be well if instead of this the following rule was observed-viz. never breed from an old, infirm animal, out seleet for the purpose the youngest and best mares on the farm. There is not even the exouse amongst farm horses which exists amongst others for breeding from inferior mares, as the cart brood mare will not require more than two months' rest, and that during a leisure period of the year, thus being otherwise adequate to most of the ordinary requ rements of the farm. The object, however, to be kept in view ought to be to endeavour to breed the most valuable description of animal, and one that will afford the Highest pecuniary return. Due regard must of course be paid the nature and quality of the land, for it is useless to attempt on ordinary or inferior land to rear those immense dray horses which command such high prices in London There is, however, a smaller description of horse that can be bred to advantage, being more suitable to agricultural purposes and yet large enough to command a good price in London or elsewhere. Such an animal, averaging about 16 hands, short in the back and round in the barrel, with well proportioned limbs, is sure to command a good price and pay well for breeding. Such horses, however, can only be bred by devoting the best mares to the purpose and keeping the colt well through the first two winters, so that his growth shall not be stunted and his symmetry destroyed. The breeding of farm horses can be entered into with far less inconvenience than that of any other description of horse, and if due care be taken in the selection of the best and finest mares that can be the autumn they should have shelter and be thoroughly well kept, as this time and the following winter is the most critical time of their existence, and if stinted at this period they will rarely, if ever, en irely recover it; for if, as is too frequently the case, they are half starved the loss from deficiency of symmetry, size, and strength will be much more than can be compensated by any saving of food. The selection of the stallion will be a most important point. He should be large and powerful and yet compact, standing at least 16 hands and yet comparatively short in the legs, so as to deceive a bystander with regard to his height; there is no point more desirable than that the horse should appear smaller than he really is; it is at once a sure proof that the animal is symmetrically formed. The fore legs should be strong and flat below the knee, and by no means round and gummy either before or behind, for cart horses having always a stonger predisposition to swellings and humours than other horses it is most essential to guard against this evil by selecting the stallion as free as possible from such a predisposition, and for the same reason there should not be too much hair about his tained and the most desirable stallion, the breeding of no description of animal will pay better than cart colts; they can be reared with less, risk will produce a quicker return than any other kind, and do not involve the expense and risk in breaking by which so many half-bred horses are ruined. It is n cessary to consider before beginning to breed horses whether the land designed for it is fit for the purpose of breeding sound, healthy ani nals. If it is, the starting-point is right;: you have reason to hope for success; if it is not it is far wiser not to make the attempt, but to buy when required. It is thoroughly well-known that sheep bred upon wet, undrained, boggy soils have defective constitutions, diseased livers, decayed feet, and inferior wool, and are so thoroughly unsound in many instances that they die in great numbers- without remedy. Horse breeding may be attended with similar risks, which should be steadily kept in view. Horses should he bred upon a dry subsoil to make them sound in constitution, sound in wind, and sound in colour, by which I mean that whatever be the horse's colour it should be a deep, not a faint one. The surface, moreover, should be fertile, abounding in carbonate and phosphate of lime, to grow horses of full size with plenty of bone and muscle. Upon this subsoil and this surface you may expect sound, full-sized, healthy animals. A wet, spongy, clay soil produces delicate constitutions, defective wind, pale colours, and large ftat feet. If your land is not dry naturally, perhaps it can be made so by effective drainage; if it cannot do not attempt to breed—horses, every kind of disappointment is liable to follow such a course. The next step is to procure good mares to breed from. These should not be used because you have them, still less because they are unsaleable either from age or natural defect, as is frequently done, but should be bought for this special purpose and selected with great care. The best time to buy them is in the autumn at two-and-a-half years old, and commence breed-length,so as to give them the abdomen capacity and roundness,、 ing at four or five years old. They should be o moderate size, from 15 hands to 16 hands high, long, low wide, and handsome, compactly made with short backs and wide and able shaped loiu; the legs should be short and clean, bone large, and thorough good walkers with good action. They should have foals before the grass comes in May, when the work of the farm is somewhat abated, and the mares can be spared for a time; they will do much better i worked moderately and regularly up to the time of foaling i not put to distressing work. As soon as the mare is put to work after foaling, the colt, when shut up, should be fed with bran and bruised oats daily, which should be continued throughout the first winter. When the foals are weaned in 1 legs. The hocks should be broad in front and neither too the 'ail well set on, and the quarters full and muscular. The- sowing season demands a heavy expendi ure is uselessly incurred. It is a drawback upon a horse as compared with steam power, and more particularly as relates to farming operatione, that whereas a steam engine when not in work consumes no fuel, and does not waste very materially from wear and tear, a horse must be fed whether he is at work or idle, and thus throug' out the winter months, when there is but little work to do, he must be kept in eondition in order to perform properly the labours of the spring. It is therefore of imperative importance to keep such horses on a farms as are capable of performing properly a horse's work, for if weak, undersized infrm animals are kept, each of which is only capable of doing one-half or three-tourths of a day's work, not only is there the loss of this one-forth of the day in the busy periods of the year, but an additional number of horses must be kept all the year round. It is only begging the question to say that this nfirm horse does by hook or by crook continue to get through his day's work in the busy periods, for if he is able to do this then an able-bodied horse is capable of doing with no extra fatigue one-fourth more work at least. During eight months ⚫ the year-namely, from October to June-there can scarcely be a doubt that it is far more desirable in every respect to keep working horses in the stable. The effect of exposure to cold and wet throughout this period of the year is indeed tantamount to the waste of so many quarters of oats; for if the animal heat is permitted to be thus lost by exposure an additional quantity of fuel in the form of food is necessary to sapply this deprivation. It is therefore a very costly method of procuring animal heat when such heat or a good portion of it can be retained by keeping an animal in a comfortable stable. Besides, the effect of turning a horse into the open air is to cause him to have a long thick coat, and when a horse is worked with such an external covering he sweats profusely in consequence, and is faint and weak after very little exertion. It is a good plan when the horses are taken in for the winter in October to have them partially clipped, leaving the leg below the knee and hock and back; by this means they can perform more easily the hard work of wheat sowing during the autumn, and by the time the cold weather sets in, about the beginning of January, their coats will have grown up again as a protection. Too little attention is generally bestowed on the construction of farm stables. by which horses are frequently more liable to injury in their health and usefulness than might arise from the artificial treatment to which these animals must in some degree be necessarily subjected in order to command their labour economically. There are certain properties essentially common to all stables wherein the preservation of the health and usefulness of the animals is kept in view, whether for the plough horse, carriage horse, or hunter. A stable to be per1-ct for its purpose should be well lighted, perfectly dry both from above and below, have the means of preserving cleanliness at all times and have perfect ventilation and means to regulate the temperature without subjecting the animals to direct draughts. There should be no loft, as this renders a less height of wall necessary and ventilation more perfectly and easily attained. Each horse, or at least each pair of horses, should have a stall to themselves, by which means much injury is sometimes prevented from their kicking each other, and slow-feeding horses are enabled to obtain their share of food, which they are unable to do when many are feeding together. Immediately adjoining should be a house to contain straw, chaff, corn, &c., for immediate use. Feeding at different seasons is a most particular part of the subject, for very the expense of keeping the horse-power on a farm is great, and forms a very considerable proportion of the annual expenses, so much so indeed that it is worthy of the utmost consideration whether some saving cannot be effected in this large item of expenditure. It should be borne in mind, however, there are two methods of effecting, or endeavouring to effect, this saving-one, the lesseni ig the quantity or quality. of the food, the other the retaining the quantity of the food but reducing the number of horses, as two horses thoroughly well fed win be capable of performing the work of three underkept animals. If a horse is to be kept in working condition he must have a certain amount of concentrated food, and no form is more suitable than oats, with a f.ir proportion of beans; at seasons when the work is most severe a few roots daily given whole or pulped and mixed with the chaff and corn will materially assist in keeping them in health and condition. As the stomach of the horse is comparatively so small, and the u ual working day of eight hours' duration, it is much too long for them to be without food, and is often the cause, especially in the sowing seasons, when they are occasionally worked longer, of their getting colic and other inflammatory diseases, which may be to a great extent remedied by giving them a feed in a nosebag during the time the ploughman is having his luncheon. The following will, perhaps, give about the average cost:-Thirteen weeks on 14 bushels of oat 4s. 6d.; ditto ditto beans, 4s.; di to 2 ditto pulverised roots, 9d.; ditto cwt. hay chaff, 2s. 6d. ; ditto straw, 2s.-13s. 9d. Thirteen weeks on 14 bushel of oats, 4s. 6d. ; ditto ditto beans, 3.; ditto 2 ditto roots, 9d.; ditto cwt. hay chaff, 2s. 6d.; ditto straw, 28.-12. 9d. Twenty-six weeks on 1 bushel of oats, 6s. 6d.; tares, trifolium, Lucerne, clover, and run of grass at per week (say ad libitum), 8s.-14s. 6d. making 10s. 3d. per week, or £26 13s. per annum per horse. This amount varies of course with the value of oats and other provender, and is more frequently above than below the estimate I have given. The horses thus fed are kept in good condition, and are able to perform any work they are required to do. Of course there is some variation as to he time at which these changes of feeding begin or end, according to various circumstances, but the difference of expense is not material. LONGEVITY IN IRELAND.-The Irish RegistrarGeneral reports that there were 93,509 deaths registered in Ireland in the year 1877, and that in 67 instances the deceased was described as aged 100 years or upwards. Some of the local registrars inquired into the truth of these statements. In the return which has been recently issued for the last quarter of the year 1877 the Registrar of Bantry reports the death of a woman 102 years old, and says he had personal knowledge of her, and has every reason, from inquiries made to believe that the age was no exaggerated. She had full use of her faculties, and up to a few weeks before her death was able to move about. The Registrar of Portaferry, Downpatrick, records the death of a woman also 102 years old, and has good reason for believing that her age was understated." The Registrar of Coolmountain, Dunmanway, who registered the death of a man 100 years old, "has no doubt from inquiries made, that the age is given correctly. He used to smoke, but never drank to excess. He was accustomed to undergo great hardship in wet and cold, but always took the precaution as soon as he entered his house to undress and dry him el perfectly with a towel." ་ HISTORICAL SURVEY OF FRENCH AGRICULTURE. One of the officials at the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, Mons. Mauguin, recently presented to the Central Society of Agriculture in Frauce some interesting historical studies upon the administration of agriculture in that country. The Society has hastened to publish this treatise in three volumes, which not only contains the administrative but ranges over the entire history of agriculture in France. It would be unfortunate were this publication of Mons. Mauguin's to remain hidden amongst the numerous works in the possession of the Central Society such a treatise deserves, indeed, to rank amongst the most notable productions, since it records the actions of obscure personages who have deserved well of their country. Commencing this review at the earliest times of ancient Gaul, it states that agriculture was then earried on by four different classes of persons: these were the free proprietors of the soil; the military colonists; the half-freedmen, who held certain rights in their own persons which enabled them to attain to freedom; and the serfs. By none was agriculture held in honour, and the Romans who were established in Gaul even despised the labours of the field, whilst the natives themselves abandoned the cultivation of the soil to their captives. Under the influence of the Church and the monasteries which prevailed from the sixth to the tenth century, immense tracts of forest and waste lands were reclaimed, bridges were constructed, roads created, and agriculture acquired the rank to which it properly belonged. As yet, however, royalty was in too unstable a condition and too ignorant of the economic laws of labour to intervene successfully on behalf of the cultivator. Louis VI. was the earliest of the French kings who espoused the cause of the serfs and the villeins (1125). He put an end to the civil wars of that period, reestablished order, guaranteed the maintainence of the charters of freedom, and regulated the taxes by placing them under the royal jurisdiction. It is to him that we owe the creation of the Halles or markets of Paris. His immediate successors continued to follow in the same course by increasing the exemptions. The Crusades likewise produced a favourable influence upon the fortunes of the cultivators. Many of the seignorial lords, in order to provide for the expenses of these distant expeditions, sold to the serfs upon their domains charters of freedom which extended to entire villages. Saint Louis encouraged the tillage of waste lands, and leases granted by the chapters or convents to the villages, or individual cultivators for this particular purpose, were confirmed by the royal sanction. The same monarch passed certain regulations to grant to the poor their gleanings, to suppress the taxes affecting the products of the soil. He published decrees affecting communal properties, the fisheries, and the rearing of bees. By instituting the masters and guardians of the waters and forests, Philip-le-Bel became the founder of the earliest organisation of a service having for its object the defence of agricultural interests, which eventually found in Charles V. an intelligent protector. This king diminished or regulated the tolls levied upon the transit of produce and merchandise; he suppressed severely the excesses of the military classes who practised extortion upon the cultivators, created the "gardes champêtres," and exempted from certain taxes the implements of husbandry. Charles V. encouraged in like manner the scientific study of agriculture. It was he who, in 1379, caused the compilation aud publication of a work upon sheep farming in all its then known branches, by Jehan de Brie, who was called the "good shepherd." He ordered the translation, under the title of "Prouflits champestres et rurauls," of a work by the Italian Crescenzi, of Bologna. Under Charles VII. appeared "Le Grand Contumier, la Somme Rurale, les Decisions," the productions of legists employed or encouraged by the King, who gradually accustomed men's minds to a re-arrangement of the relations between owners and occupiers. The reign of Louis XII. was especially remarkable for its agricultural prosperity. Aided by his Minister, the Cardinal Georges d'Amboise, the King defended the labourers against the exactions of the nobility and the military classes; and he reduced still further the taxes upon the serfs, alleviated the charges upon agricultural labour, and rendered a marked service to the rural classes by causing an account to be drawn up and published of the customs followed in nearly fifty different localities, or provinces of the kingdom. Thus was created a veritable Magna Charta, wherein all questions, uncertain or doubtful, affecting personality, family, patrimony, or the relations between labour and exchange were collated, discussed, and defined under the royal guarantee. Francis L. was the first King of France who legislated in an intelligent manner with regard to the commerce in grain. Under the feudal system the possessors of fiefs held supreme administrative control over their domains. Each fief was separated from all those around by various prohibitions upon the disposal of produce, in comparison with which the regulations of the modern custom-house are but trivial matters. Each fief was compelled to exist upon its own produce, and for this purpose was obliged to retain the surplus harvests-whenever such occurred—so› as to make up the deficiencies of bad years. The sale of grain, wine, cattle, and other commodities was forbidden, in order that neighbouring States, too often in a state of warfare, should not be benefited. Francis I. published in 1534 a decree whereby the commerce in grain was rendered free, both for the home and foreigu market, and other edicts followed that renewed the engagements | precedented excellence. Unfortunately, towards the close undertaken by his predecessors. of his career, owing to the exigencies caused by the wars, and the extravagances of the Court this Minister was compelled to resort to the same odious methods which had previously been in existence for obtaining money. favourable impulse had nevertheless been given, and the public mind was henceforth prepared for regular and permanent organisation in the administration of agricul Under Henry III. roads were newly formed or repaired, and walnut, elm, and other forest trees were plauted along the borders of the highways. Agriculture had much cause for complaint, owing to the sufferings that were endured in the midst of the religious wars. At the death of Henry the tillage of the fields had been almost universally abandoned, and corn was at an extraordinary price, about equivalent to 350 francs per hectolitre of our present coinage. Henry IV. whilst putting an end to the religious troubles served to restore the prosperity of the country districts, in which work he was aided by Sully and Olivier de Serres. The ancient right was revived that prevented the seizure of the person of the labourer, his implements, or his cattle for debt, and other regulations were made for the protection of the cultivators. Everything affecting the tillage of the soil received the special care of the King and his Minister. The drainage of the mars' es was handed over to the Dutchman Bradley, called the Master of the Dykes, and by him was effected the cultivation of the waste and swampy lands of the Medoc. The existing highways were widened, lengthened, and improved; new roads and canals were created; and whilst Sully and his Royal master accomplished so much for the rural population, Olivier de Serres published, at the King's expense, his "Theatre d'Agriculture et Message des Champs," which had a prodigious success amongst all the agricultural classes. Under Louis XIII. agricultural education was commenced by the formation of the "Jardin Royal des Plantes." Cardinal Richelieu encouraged the foundation of the Societies of St. Vincent de Paul, more especially the Lazaristes, who were intended to instruct the country people, the Sisters of the Cross, and the Sisters of Charity, who devoted themselves to the education of the children and the care of the sick amongst the peasantry With Louis XIV. was associated Colbert, who held that a great nation like France should combine at the same time agriculture, commerce, industrial, and seafaring pursuits, a role for which she was pre-eminently well fitted. In order to lessen the burdens upon the country districts he abolished some taxes and reformed abuses in the colection of others. He encouraged the multiplication of stock, prohibited the right to seize property or person, and devoted especial attention to the improvement of communal finance, and the protection of the peasantry from the tyranny of their feudal lords. At Clermont the "Cour des grand jours" was held, before which a number of the influential persons were summoned from all parts to make reparation for their illegal violences. Purchases of horned cattle were effected in Switzerland, of sheep in Spain, Flanders, and England, and by Colbert distributed gratuitously amongst the chief sufferers by the civil wars. The breed of horses was at the same time greatly in creased and improved; and horticulture advanced unde his influence and that of Le Nôtre to a position of un ture. A Desmarets, the nephew of Colbert, when he became the Controller of Finance, directed the operations of the newly created "Bureau de Commerce," which undertook besides the affairs relating to agriculture. In 1789 the King was compelled to issue an "ordonnance" prohibiting the importation of cattle from countries infected by the cattle plague. A commission was likewise formed to investigate the causes of the diseases in cattle. Trudaine, the successor to Desmarets, gave immediate effect to the recommendations of this learned Commission, whose valuable regulations, issued on the 19th July, 1746, responded so completely to the requirements of agriculture and the public health that they have survived the shipwreck of ancient royal decrees, and remain the guiding lights at the present day. Vincent de Gournai succeeded Trudaine, bringing to the "Bureau de Commerce" the principles which form the basis of the existing economical system. Gournai declared himself in favour of freedom for all branches of industry, thereby to facilitate competition whence would result the highest perfection in the manufacture of articles, and the creation for the purchaser of the greatest amount of choice by opening up to the seller every possible market. These ideas, so novel in their nature, found, as may be supposed, most determined opponents amongst the members of the 'Bureau," the majority of whom were disposed to carry out old traditions, by the continuance of the then existing routine. Vincent de Gournai, however, found a useful ally in Turgot, whom he at once introduced to the office; he likewise received much assistance from the co-operation of Quesnai, one of the founders of economical science. Under the aegis of these enlightened men was seen to arise the Society of Agriculture of Paris, since become the central Society of the agriculture of France, and which has exercised so perceptible an influence upon the progress of French agriculture. To them is due the formation of veterinary schools, the encouragement given to the reclamation of waste lands, and the unrestricted transit and export of grain. Bringing this historical notice to more recent times, since the creation of the Ministry of Agriculture, we are indebted to the "Institut Agronomique" of Versailles for some agriculturists of the highest merit. Established in 1848, and abolished in 1852, we have seen its revival again in Paris, at the 'Conservatoire des Arts-etMétiers." It must not be forgotten that to the Minister of Agriculture much of the progress realised is due, and although warm advocates of private enterprise we are willing to admit the stimulating influence of the State |