The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, SEPT. 17, 1906.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1862, 17 September 1906, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, SEPT. 17, 1906.

I Following up the argument of Saturn day’s article, no further time need be wasted in trying to convince any intelligent breeder that something like a well-thought-out plan must be adopted on the lines suggested, and all elements of guesswork dispensed with if we want to achieve success in improving the breed and usefulness of our horses year by year. It is plain also that I some knowledge of the way in which Nature does her work must be available to every breedor; but as this phase of the subject applies equally to the breeding pi all animals it will be reserved for the .concluding articleMeantime let us employ ourselves with the more general aspect of the ques? tion as regards ihe equine species and the possibilities of making the most of the material we have at our command in this district. A cursory survey of

that material has not revonlotl to the writer very much of special value; but no doubt a more exhaustive search might altor that view and reveal moro encouraging prospocts. Howovor that may bo, there is nothing so bad that it cannot bo improved if tbo right mothod is adopted, and tho fir.u thing to do is to select tho more suitable fomales for tho purposo of propagation, not, howovor, altogether on tlioir individual merits, for it will bo rente nbored that tho loading family characteristics of tho parent which tbo an mal most resombles are those which alone constitute merit in thin respect, as will horoaftor bo explained when we come to deal with tho question of how Nature does her work. Having done tliis, and having rejected in overy instanco the animals that show any signs of hereditary weakness or disease (for such animals should in every instanco bo absolutely prevented from propagating their species), tho next care is to find a suitable mato. And here at this point is presented the most diflicult problem of tho series, for it has successfully baffled some of the best authorities on the subject, and to those who do lay somo claim to a knowledge of it the problem is not an easy one to roduco to cold print. The heterogeneity of tho existing species of which we have spoken explains why this great difficulty exists, and we can only undertake to give a goneral idea of it. Assuming, therefore, for the purposo of illustration, that the selected fomale is free from hereditary taint, and has displayed the possession of constitution and stamina, it matters little whether she also possesses slight defects in conformation such as “ pigeon toe ” or a “ goose rump ” so loDg as those defects have not been noticeable in her progenitors, and tho same remarks apply with equal truth to the male. But there is one essential point which few breeders pay much attention to, and yet we venture to say that it has as much, if not more, to do with successful or unsuccessful breeding than any other, that is the character of the head. Can ar . ire remember a successful sire that dm not possess a bold masculine head displaying intelligence and determination though not necessarily the smallest degree of ferocity, or that of a successful female head that did not betray its sex and still possessed the character of intelligence and some degree of determination, not necessarily to the same extent as the male ? If such can be found then all theories are upset, and we must still grope in the dark for a solution of the problem. But in successful breeding one must become a horse phrenologist to some extent, for in the head alone will be found the index that must guide us on our way. Select, therefore, on the one hand the effeminate, yet intelligent brain in a sound body, and for its successful mate you should choose the masculine head, also in a sound body, with intelligence and determination clearly defined but neither predominating, and you have the most favorable conditions for attaining the purpose in view; but be careful not to mistake nervous vim for what is wanted, for where that is markedly shown it only proves a want of mental balance that is as necessary in the equine as in the human species. We have already spoken of Nature’s “ leaps and bounds,” and in this process we are but asking Nature to take a leap into the future, and as it is well known that the leap cannot be a long one, too much care should not be taken to see that too long a leap should not be asked for, or the aim in view will be defeated. The longest leap known is made between the horse and the ass, and it ends in hybrid sterility at the first bound. This object lesson should not be disregarded, for it clearly leads to the conclusion that in these experiments are dependent for their ultimate success upon the shortest possible steps, whereas the longer ones must be shortened before the breeder can get what he wants. The elimination of hereditary diseases is so important that it is most regrettable the Government has not long ago legislated for the prevention of them by a system of registration ; but it is just as necessary that the prohibition should be imposed on unsound females as well as males, and if that were done, as it could easily be done in a short time by the Veterinary Department, a very great advance would at once be gained in the required direction, and an immense amount of contamination would be wiped out which would otherwise take ages to get rid of if it. could ever be minimised at all.