AVe moiitioned recently that ifc was customary in Scotland for agricultural students to visit the most famous breeding establishments for t.lie purpose of gaining practical knowledge anil information upon n subject which i« tiiuro regarded as of great importance. In the course of an extemporised address to tho agricultural students and Clydesdale breeders assembled at Mr James Gttlbrtiith's stud farm, Croy, Cunningham, Mr Martin, Auchenndeiian, touched briefly ou ■several points of great importance to breeders. Mr Martin .said that in breeding prize Clydesdales, they should not get their mares too big. If they got them short legged, thickly built and compact, with good feet and ankles, they were better not to have them big. A short legged and compact mare, if put to a full-sized horse, would throw a big strong foal, and many of the best and strongest stallions were out of mares which were comparatively small in size. Eeferring to closi!-breeding, or line-breeding, in Clydesdales, Mr Martin said that if they wanted to establish a typo and have a olass of horses that would show quality as well as substance, they must have a judicious amount of linobreeding. If they had two good ones, bred with a certain amount of fitness, and put them together they were almost certain to get another good one. He was strongly in favour of having a considerable dash of the same blood ou both sides in mating animals. But in line-breeding, or close-breed-ing, they must be very careful to see that they bred only from stocks that were thoroughly sound in every way, because if there was a weak spot about the constitution of any of the animals bred from the in-broedmg would be certain tobiing it out. Eeferring to the fact that a large proportion of the best animals in Messrs Galbraith's stud were descended from " Jess of the Earn," an old mare, got by tho famous Shire horse " Tintack," Mr Martin said that tho remarkable qualities which this horse imparted to his descendants to the second aid third generation, was one of the strongest arguments that had ever been brought forward for using a dash of fhire blood in the breeding of Clydesdalos. The horse "Tintack" travelled for one season in Stratbendiick, and their only regret uow was that they did not secure his services for a much louger period. In fuct, the best Clydesdale" that he (Mr Martin) ever bred was " Auckendenniui Damsel," and her dam was by the ■ same horse. But without going into tho whole question of blonriing Shin , and Clydnsdnln blond, he had to say that all .Shims were not like " Tintne.k." They might got some advantages from the use of ono horse, and they might get the reverse from tho use of another. Ho would never say that they had not got benefit from I ho use of Shire blood in the jwst; but that, was a different thing from mixing up in future tho pure blood they had now got —or, at least, the amount of purity they still retained, and losing the special points for which
they had been breeding. It seemed to him that if they did not keep the pure blood they had now got they would be killing tho goose that laid the golden eggs, find they would cease to have liny £.'3OOO colts to dispose of. It was only by baring something that nobody else had that they eould get the high and remunerative prices which they had in the past secured for their best stock.
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Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 2962, 9 July 1891, Page 2
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587Untitled Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 2962, 9 July 1891, Page 2
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