CERTIFICATION OF STALLIONS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 935, 30 September 1910, Page 8

CERTIFICATION OF STALLIONS.

AN INTERESTING REPORT. Aijquestion. which; has been .interesting. ■•:'.tHe agricultiirai community of . Zea-- • land lor the last " few. years is brought uri'dei? notice by the arrival of a Ciovern- • ;■■rnent';' publication> from;. Victoria, .which : . contains an/exhaustive..report..'oil J; ; the; :■ : -workin'g. of the scheme 'in : Victoria dur- ; ang '/the three . years it has been .in opera-, s^tionii:,;';.--.:.' -■'r' ? ■?- Kv-fy 1 ;.?;<ltt?l9o7, the then Minister?for';'Agridul- : | ture\(the. Eon.; Geo;. Swinburne, JI.L.A.). ?? approved of. of -.a" sys-. intern of .'contriliiii respecf;6f,i S;. stallions " standing ' for - public service, •:> direoted:.primarily. towards?insuring the' t.eoundness from :;an;.hereditary j standpoint , • of all/ stallions ill tlib Stattf, and also: that' such, stallions should c'onform to a rea- , ,'eonable. standard ; of excellence; as regards:.V breed, typo and : conformation.. The sys-' ' tem has now been carried out . through threo seasons.... "It .is'claimed: that .'in, .the. • three; years" Examinations have shown'' (a), • that unsoundness of an hereditary ..charC;- -acter . exists /tb'vii■' considerable:.extent-'in'; . the .'stallions?standihg for 1 publio service. (The figures in the table of totals show, ?? ; 15'.83 per\' cent., .of. rejects"'for .hereditary'' i; : raso'undhess);, and. (b). that .there is a 'inconsiderable proportion--; of. sipes. at pre- .- eerit in use urifi t foi'. the purpose ,by, -vir;,:;tue'of their'mongrel .characteristics.; :? v \ ??. : Biiring : .the' .year the .scheme ■ f'Tv-as'-bn;. a';.voluitary> basis, 'arid.;o_lßi ; stal-. '-.jiions-. were - examined and;7o3. certificated;.

: ' which' represented -3.-12 per cent. Fifteen y. per-.cent,' lrere im.sound, and over.'!«ight'; standard.for approvah> . Of the fifteen'- per centum sound, 0.35 'rejected- on, accoimt.oLhavihg: K a'^ f;i''ln';; 1908, certain 'modifications ;of.;" the' Bcheme,: were. 'adopted, .There, was. no vbbligation on ;.the parfc of an owner -to sulj-i and • 'therejjrnlatioiis did l i; - not Iprovidfe": anjr; disability; In respect; pf; ;/ horses iiot submitted, nor indeed of horses . rejected. The possession .'of-,;the. : Govern-!; | ,®ent ; was 'no - protection' •'-at; ficaf«'d horses.-,'A- number of /cases, c ccur- ; ..red.in whicli a rejected, horse was placed. i; hy the iudges .over certiilcateu ani- ; :'mals.:; ; To ovcrcome this anomalous :state. it\was;:nlWefaVc<indition {6f ; :the( grant bo' held by. .all stallion's three years old o'r. over competing. The. impositibh ,; '6f ; - thisj'condition, ■ made. - the coinpul-'. ?-.ißo^iifi.;iiM^t': ; pf;all:4lidrses\Ut;:jras;;der;." " sired to. show,inasmuch'.' aS..-practically. ithe^liole'J'oi^tlie^^.'ag;riciiltufal v ;MpiE!tieii .jthronghout ;receiying.., a. i;;Governm'ent; subsidy.:; ;Along.','with" -the.jinh Adduction; of'the ;compulsory,condition, to.. ;;; ;the,;teiient j" mentioned,';: it 1 was provided. jSthati aln^ 'owner ;who felt. aggrieved' at the J ,his horse'. showd:be "given -an: apjjealing. against' .the; d*' [Wjcision'of .examining officer Since the| ; xe'gulations providirig .for .' ail' appeal, "were «'-,ado'pted,. ; arid'-jn no. instance has the opportunity • to appeal been .taken advantage of. . at-. by!" ttib; .-JDepartmental • officers,-sat. which . submitted i'forj;®?-;; 'piamina.tioh.V'Of; these ,742 were" certificated; i- jand 253 (25;4l per cent.) were rejected.' For. feVun^undriess ; l7.7; were rejected,.. ; per "cent, for sidebones.;'ft*: |V.:; :Th«;iumber'; of horses',examined in. 1909. ■t totalled 751, of which 528 were; certificated; ii and.223' (29.6!|j;.'per:: centr).';'::r6i c ctfcdv.-;v-,Tliie; :i rihefeass ...in.|&».,p.ercent'age.i'of ;rejectiqiis...

higher sfein-... dard being .adopted' as ;regards lireed; ,l;ype iv.^dvdtinfrimajiditf:VTJie .rejgctioiis ■ milder •.• this.- heading i account"'forl-1.65 per ;cent.; iK-iithis^«»i ; .'!to f ceht.r-and : '8.24 : per cent, in ■ 1907 7 flnd 190S respective-Bi3y.f^-The : ..percentage) ;horses" Ks.Vwtei 15.01, and of thoso below standard P^l4;6si : -iof ithe'unsound sidebones was. the' £4tpaviny;s4/r^6g«pavinY'and. y : Ll3i ; and curl)'l.2o.. '■ ( :; . ;.; tJp' :to December 31,; .1909,266-1 .; stal-; ;'4®bfis had .been, examinedi ; 1973 having been ; i>-; (71.07? -perj.;cent.) - and .691* re-. ; th'e'se';. |v ,442. i ?;^Kls;p;per; cent.).;;were.rejected'.onthe; •i /grouiid ;of«4 ; ,L.; r ; •vi ; ;;Oiily.'9?per'.ceiit.' r ;'of; ; light';horses, have; :^' : :.bMn;Tejected, 'and;,in .the ;c^',of; ponits.' the rejections for . unsoundness have. been. ' lp'w;' : iiaihely;S.S'iperVicent'.'; 'f more ; 'ponies;;;(l6.2B ( ; .per.-cent.) and light, horses (10 per cent.) st LaveVbeeii! rejected)'as'.'.'being: below . a rea-, ( f.'-.'sbnable standardv for'-Government;;' ap- : ' nroval; than . in. the . case of : draught ? ."i'idrses;; '. aspect of. the'working of tho sohemo K'i(says; : the;;oMcer> -report) it .is , opportune: f' to again' draw.-attention to the,.necessity 'ili'of strengthening'this .side;;of,;the Scheme.; fijli haye: previously ,pointedVout.thaty; ; -veterinary officers-, engaged rn. the: work Sftof examination ;have : had ■no desire'to; un-' 5« v dertake..;fhe' function'-;^^of ; ; ' breed,-*; typo: and ''conform S'S at may 'b'e sMd;'tKat 'dnls'-'exer-.'. fci'.bised-this. function, in' respect; of' stallions' ffi preMnted to; them,'which at. would: ;have I been for, them a matter of shame to have ~ signed a certificate in ' favour .of.*; "With; a staff of-competent judges to'deal with ;. this-aspect of the matter as firmly as '. ..the veterinary, oificers have'.dealt with ;, tho unsoundness ' aspect, 5 much • • needed inferior; sires. would-,;bejj i' \brought; about in ■- tho course of'two or; i'. - /three, years. It is idle to say that : irf • • respect of type,- breed'.and. conforinationvj ;. matters . should be left in --the hands, of | breeders J themselves' to;;.determine. ' -It 'is; C?to : such : a;drifting ;policy. that, in >a > large;l i Vraneasur'e,' lriay be' attributed thei-deterioraJj p; ,tion as regards quality that is :being' coin-J ! ' plained; of. on all. hands.. If. quality ; off isVto beito.aintaih&d; the. standard {of sires; must :be up.; Bveh with -thei, f.'.vT.'n'se' of. tho;.best;.sires; 'there' is.: always; a': <';; r '6ufficiencyy if riot a l ,redundancy.{of mis-'; ■: -fits.;; Mediocre horses, as regards-duality, : ■' ' '<typo' aiid power may. be, and. are, bred in. vft;suificiently»'larg£ nuhibers,'.evenvwhen' tlie] f-; ;i "bestiisires, are; on . mediocre"-inaris;] • and to -add' to' tho trouble by using .also; : a ' iediocra. sii^Cwill\ inevitably result 1 ' in a" still ' further.; deteri6fatidn; : .;';lt; is too' I;--, { br'ee4ers' are.too. prone to; -patroniseinferior stallions, ;their;cheapness; ; ;and to-save them >from. ) 'themselves,;,it has become>.(necessaryi that, -:an..efflcient''method of -tipvernmeht cori.-; : 1 'trol should- be fearlessly? carried ■ out.'^3?