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PREMIUMS FOR ARMY REMOUNT SIRES The war has clearly shown us the vital necessity of the country looking after its homebred horse supply and thus ensuring a more adequate provision of army remounts in the years to come The issue therefore by the board of agriculture of its animal pamphlet of regulations for the show of thorough ¬ bred stallions suitable for getting halfbred burses could not have ecu made at a more opportune time than the present The show was held on March 2 and 3 in conjunction as in previous years with that of the Hunters Improvement and National Light Horse Breeding Society By the conditions entries were invited of stallions to compete for the Kings Champion Challenge Cup and for the Kings Premiums and SuperPremiums The number of Kings Premiums is fixed at fifty of the average value to the owner of each successful stallion of SlCMX added to which is an average sum of 350 accruing from fees chargeable to the owners of mares making tlio total average earnings per stal ¬ lion up to 1870 Not more than twelve Super Premiunitf of the value of 500 will in addition to the ordinary premium be given to selected stallions of exceptional merit so that owners of such horses will derive from them something like 2370 for the year Apart from ill this the board of agriculture are prepared to award on the recommendation of county committees thirty boards premiums aver nging in all 1095 per stallion Entries of stal ¬ lions for exhibition were made by January 25 or post entries by February 1 From the regulations and conditions the average number of foals per stallion got by Kings Premium horses is 42 and as there are to IK flfty such stallions this makes the average annual number of halfbred foals 2 100 In the same way with an average of 39 foals i r horse the boards1 premium stallions numbering 30 should get suy a total crop of 3370 foals the two classes combined therefore siring 3270 foals Tliis of course is but a small proportion of the number of horses required for use by the army and there is no doubt that state aid should be given to this imivortant industry on a much larger scale That however is a question which may for the time being be shelved Even if allowing for wastage the net result of the w irds present effort is thiit in rather more than five years from now there should lie from 2001 to 2500 fouryear jjld hnlfhrcds available for military purposes that Is at all events something to be going on with Vigilant Ui London Sportsman
