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HORSE BREEDING IN EAST AFRICA. i New York. September 21. That intrepid sportsman, Paul J. Rainey, who has spent much of his time in Africa during the recent years, is as much ; of an admirer of the thoroughbred as when his ! colors were being borne by the sprinter Ie Mund, for which he paid 5,000; Yankee Consul, a real good two-year-old, which won him some of the big prizes of the turf, and the crack cross-country performer T. S. Martin. Mr. Rainey, who was a frequent visitor at Belmont Park during the recent meeting of the AAest-chester Racing Association, found horses of blood and courage of the greatest value in the prosecution 1 of his hunting and photographic- campaigns after big game in the country around the Nairobi and Naivaska, where his headquarters, "Farm Americans," is situated, and he is enthusiastic over the manner in which the breeding of good horses.: especially those of the cavalry remount typo in Africa. "It is bully to come back home," said Sir. Rainey one sunny afternoon at Belmont Park, "and find such enthusiasm for racing. Such events as the Futurity and the Realization, which have a sentimental and far-reaching interest, will go a long way toward perpetuating the turf in its biggest and broadest way, but I do think such a metropolis as New York, with its army of transients who come to Gotham on business mixed with pleasure, should have a chance to see tests of speed between our best horses in September and October, when the weather for racing is ideal. Perhaps next year this will be changed. "You will be surprised to hear," continued Mr. Rainey, "that in British East Africa the governmental authorities regard the thoroughbred horse as of more importance than humans; at any rate, the trains carrying stallions, which are sent out from England to the experimental stations or to be offered at public auction at the annual sales, have precedence over passenger traffic. One reason for this despatch is the prevalence of diseases which affect horses, and the government has spent millions" in eradicating the plague, but it knows the importance of horse breeding and the part the thoroughbred plays in it. "Most of the horses sent to Africa are of the larger type, as they are crossed on the Abyssinian mare, which will not average more than 14.2 hands high," resumed Mr. Rainey. "They get some smashing horses from this cross, the progeny having the best of feet and legs, and army officers tell me they cannot be improved for cavalry purposes. Some of them are gray in color, and this, of course, is a fault, but a majority are bays or chestnuts. They, of course, havent as much quality as will be found among the same number of French horses bred for tiie army service, but they have the wear and tear qualities the war makes imperative. I saw about 4,000 head of South African remounts by thoroughbred sires and out of Basuto mares that were a magnificent collection, and they tell me that they can breed as good horses in that region as anywhere. Those that I saw were of uniformly hard color, with an occasional gray, and were from 15.2 to 10 hands. Horses that are bred in Africa can stand any climate in the world. "They have four race meetings of three days each year at Nairobi, with a few days at the smaller towns at irregular intervals. There are contests on the flat and cross-country for both thoroughbreds and half-.breds, and in addition they have races for what is called country-breds, for which clean bred as well as half-bred horses raised in the region are eligible. The farmers of the district are enthusiastic sportsmen, and most of them own horses. The scale of weights is high, and as the competitions are of the keenest character, the quality of sportsmanship is splendid. Tiie entire countryside comes up to Nairobi for the meetings, and open house is the order of the day. The farmers associations in turn give meetings in the country, and the hospitality is unsurpassed. Everybody rides in such a country, and there is a chance for some good sport after the jackal with the Elkingtou pack. "It is only natural under such conditions and with the government lending its encouragement that breeding is on the increase," said Mr. Rainey, in conclusion, "and the thought has come to me that the breeding industry of the United States would be excellently served if we would have some races for half-breds as well as thoroughbreds, particularly in the country districts, where very frequently the farmer, who, after all, is a horse breeder as a rule, could have an insight into the sport and what it really means." It is Mr. Raineys intention after he concludes his work in Africa to take up his permanent residence at his Cotton-plant -plantation of 30,000 acres in Mississippi, where he, breeds polled Angus cattle for the Chicago market and incidentally "makes" a few-hundred bales of cotton and between whiles has time to cnjoy..as good quail and diick shooting as the United States affords. Racing has a strong claim on him, too, and it is to be hoped that his colors will be seen again on the American turf.
