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CANADAS AID TO HORSE BREEDING. Montreal, Que., August 31. If any one doubted that the thoroughbred was not growing steadily in favor with the Canadian people, a recent decision arrived at by the Dominion Minister of Agriculture might well allay all such doubts. This minister lias decided to grant an annual bonus of 50 to every desirable thoroughbred race horse sire standing in Canada for service of cold-blooded and half-bred mares at a fee not to exceed 0 for the seasou. As this provision has been made to encourage the production of good serviceable half-bred horses suitable for cavalry remounts, it is subject to certain restrictions which, however, may be easily complied with. The horses are subject to annual inspection by the government inspector general or such person as he shall authorize to perform the sorvlce. In addition to this, each stallion thus bonused shall be registered in tho Government Live Stock records at Ottawa and he shall be of fair size and conformation, healthy and free from hereditary unsoundness. Of course, this bonus was primarily intended to lighten the burdens of the Canadian National Bureau of Breeding which for three years or more lias been sending stallions of the sort demanded by these regulations into all parts of the Dominion, these horses serving farmers mares other than thorough bred at 0 for the season. The provisions under which the lionus is to be granted, however, is not limited to sires placed by the bureau. On the contrary, any privately-owned, strictly thoroughbred stallion which shall serve a reasonable number of farmers cold-blooded mares eacli season and which shall lie registered and inspected, as already specified, shall le entitled to receive the 50 bonus at the end of each season. . In this way the cavalry remount problem will be round to be much nearer solution than ever before, and Canada will in the near future have an annual output of hunters, high-class saddle aud light harness horses which will cut no small figure in the markets of the world. Hitherto many of the Canadian farmers have been breeding all sorts of mares, large and small, to heavy Clydesdale and other ponderous draught horses, and of course the results have been far from desirable. The markets are. overstocked with angular, thin-loiued, coarse-headed, rawboned brutes which are looked upon as dear at any price. They are as slow and heavy-footed as pure draught horses and in most cases they are not heavy enough to be of any account for slow, heavy work. Besides this they are peculiarly subject to curbs, spavins and ringbones, while extremely few of them are without sidebones. The farmers are now becoming aware of the futility of trying to breed draught horses from anything but the heaviest and most massive of mares, and that they will eagerly avail themselves of the services of thoroughbred sires at such a moderate fee as 0 for the season goes without saying. In Ontario there are many broodmares by standard-bred trotting sires which will mate admirably with thoroughbred sires for the production of rarely good saddle horses and hunters up to any weight. There are also many just such mares in the great northwest provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan. Allierta and British Columbia, while the stout and sturdy eayuse bottom cross, which prevails throughout that region, will furnish a most desirable foundation for the more imposing and desirable superstructure furnished by a . top cross of purse race horse. Indeed, these northwestern provinces, when fairly sprinkled with thoroughbred sires, should produce everything from polo ponies up to light and heavy cavalry horses and even the choicest of heavyweight hunters. In eastern Ontario, and especially in Quebec and New Brunswick, there are many broodmares descended from the grand old sturdy French-Canadian stock animals which for many generations have lieeu famous for their compactness, snappy, trappy action, stout constitutions and unending endurance. Except for their drooping quarters anil a somewhat .rugged outline these French-Canadians would pass muster as high-class hackneys, as they are up-headed, higli-actioned and wonderfully quick on foat. Upon these mares, many of which are rich in the Morgan strain, the thoroughbred top cross should produce an ideal cob or runabout. The action of the Minister of Agriculture in taking this course for the benefit of Canadas horse industry has won for him the heartiest commendation from prominent men all over this Country.
