ABOUT STUD BOOKS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2209, 23 July 1914, Page 10

ABOUT STUD BOOKS

(To the. Editor.) " Sir,—Permit mo space to, point out a '■'few facts which might ho of interest to many of your readers who are breed- * crs or 'lovers of big draught borsos .anenf your, reference-in your': issue of the 9th in'st. to the production of "The. New" Zealand Clydcsdalo N Stud Book." much"mare- appropriately: termed. ! the •"Dunodin Stud Book." '■■-~ New Zealand has had a correct record of the pedigrees of draught horses kept; for over thirty years, under the auspices of the Canterbury. A. and P. 'Association, which has a section for "Clydesdales,", one.for "Shires,"..one. for "Shff6lks,V:,and one for. any blend of the'three breeds, termed, '.'draught ; borse." Mr. J. A. Johnstone, the first president of the newly-formed association, in his inaugural address, gave-several-reasons for the necessity for. this^innovation, ;one;rcason being that the "draught- liorse"- ; stub book was so carelessly.' compiled', -and so unreliable that it'was not recognised,as a correct record., "-.';lt ..tberefo'rp. behoved 'him to condemn the old-established book/and stand up as. • sponsor for the new. ' How'ever, in a short space of time, wo findinfiicationsof Mr! Johnstone;having modified 1 : h'is- views.,of;; the unreliability of the]; old; > '.'stud-:.bogk.' , ;:'.'-,;'4t least.: . - his new ; yenture,.'iri : ; sblicitiiig'-'entries,■ announced ; that'|,"entries would' be ;re- . ceived (| at; halfrprice'if already: appear-: jug an;, the '"''-. 'Draught Horso:.: Stud Book,\" whichjhe had so recently con-; demiicd as- I 'useless. ■■'•'■ Another, .reasoiv put .'forward .by Mr. ; Johnstone''fdr"'the : establishment".! of this "Clydesdale" was'the "trade ! witlj Australia.V ' 'Again,' Mr. Johnstone changes bis opinion, -'as 'at the annual • meeting of-the Clydesdale Horse ; Society, on -the', 3rd ulto". reported, iif, tho; "Otngo ■ 'Witness" of 10th,ulto"ho.'.saysfc-"With.. : reason--. ably; gootl stamps, t-hoy need have no fear,' becauso"there were always buyers for them; 'He'knew' of, buyers recently • who': were willing to pay v £4o for a !;ood gelding, but could not get one. There was. undoubtedly a demand for : \£uod'all-round horses of all types, but the'trouble was that some breeders were, catering for the boom in Australia." Comment is superfluous.I am trying to breed for my employer tho .type of horse Approved by the/'lato ■Mr.. Lawrence Drew, and the late Mr. , David Piiddell. ' For. tho three - entire • colts we have sent to Australia witbin : Jhc -;last three, years we have, "received r *"~1450, guineas, and-1 can assure. j'lr.' Johnstone, that' this was no trouble, but a pleasure to us. "We had 16: colts foaled in 1919.. and ali but three were disposed of by November, 1913, as; follows.,:—Glenmorp, per Williams : and Kettle, 125 guineas; Glen Nipper,. perWilliams and Jiettle,, 150, .guineas; Glen-Africk," 100' guineas, per Mr. A. Millfr; ten unbroken geldings,, per Lundon and Stewart,.4so guineas;.and per Mr. M'PKee,.:Pittsworth, Queensland,'Glenever, 250 guineas. We netted '£1125 for tho • fourteen mentioned ahovei and have-two -left..-" Of these, one lame and the other I call unsound, although he is perfectly sound, according to the ...schedule ..'of unsoundness mentioned in the r Clydesdale Stud Book ', —and if that-is the ; -Eche'dulo used in, applying .letters, denoting soundness to entries.s,'. in .'.the "Cjydesdale Stud I trust it considered unkind; if 1 ferhi• siicli. as puerile hum-- . bug. '.'-''FoK.instahce,': in: Appendix A, wo find several'horses' said to bo short enough Cly.dpsdalo blood; to entitle them to a number in this "Clydesdale bookV Of that uu'mhor, take Glengyle,' who did moro to make dranghtliorse history in the North.--Island; of Now; Zealand than any other horso ever foaled. If he lias not the necessary Clydesdale blood to entitle bim to a number .in this,. "Clydesdale book," what about Lord Salisbury (66)? . His dam-iwas Thvtock, a Shire horso taken to by Mr. Galbraith, Croy•HJlmningliam Killearn, Damsel, (imp.) was also out of a daughter of the Shire liorse Tintock. Lord Salisbury to Dam-, sel produced that great horso'Grown'! Prmco (182) (Holmes).. . I am not a good enough arithmetician to discriminate why Glengyle should bo -refused a number when the above horses re- . ccivo that distinction, or how Here-I-'Am; (241, page 56), whoso dam was by Danger Signal, the Shire horse presented by Lord Rothschild to the New Zealand Government, or Whatanui Prince (472, page 110), whose dam is also by Danger Signal, gets a.number in a „ "piirc Clydesdale" stud book._ But J' tho-most extraordinary of all is Safe Signal (403, "page 94). This same horso is entered, by Mr. A. E:_ Harding, Mangawharo, an. ex-president' of. tho 'Clydesdale Society," in tho crossbred section "of the "Draught Horse": Stnd Book, page -115, vol. 6,.and is.number.! 8- ■ Now, Sir; does the mere fact of a horse being "entered in. this "Dunedin , book'-' make him a pure Clydesdale, or does'tho printing of such pedigree in Dunedin have a better effect- tlnui if -it were printed in Christchurch? Unless such is tho case, this new book is en- • itirely unnecessary. I have only pointed out a few of such entries confined to the stallions, but tho same appear among the mares. So much for the boasted correctness of the New 7ealand Clj'.desdalo Stud Book.—l am, et °" WALTER. P. ARCHIBALD. Karamu Farm, Hastings, __. July 11, 1914. . , ; ",