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I , . j , I . I 1 1 t i 1 j J J , . ! j ■ J ! * , I HORSE MAY BE DETERMINING FACTOR F. X. Sturgis Points Out Necessity of Its Production as Valuable Asset in Winning the War. New York. May 11. — "The announcement by a Gennan military *ex| crt, said Frank K. Sturgis, chairman of the Jockey Clubs Breeding Bureau, "that the failure of their recent drive was due to a lack of horses, should carry its own lesson and convince even the motit confirmed skeptic that there are conditions in this great world struggle where the horse as well as the man of blood plays the 1 dominant part. • "It is agreed by the most eminent authorities ihat cavalry has saved the day on many occasions . M the western front. Prof. Robert Wallace of the . University of Edinburgh, who is Great Britains foremost authority on horse In-ceding, in a recent letter to a friend in this country, stated that at the Marue, generally conceded to have been one of the crucial points in the war, 14,»XHl British cav- ] airy routed a tierman force of almost three times . their number. The .superiority of the English horses, many of which were clean bred, and none of them less than half bred, having been recruited from the racing and hunting stable of British sportsmen, was responsible for this splendid achievement. The 1 wonderful quulity of the English straight-bred and f half-bred horses that have worked in the field I artillery of the English Expeditionary forces in i France, has been the admiration of all who have « observed them. Many of the progeny of thorough- 1 bred sires mated with Suffolk Parrish mares have 1 made grand records. "England was unprepared in many ways when war was declared. She would have been in sad straits I for cavalry but for the material which was thus . obtained for remount purposes. More than 17.000 head 0f .ruck horses iu prime condition for hanl work were available at once. Iiecuuse of the fact that the British have long been devoted to the turf and hunting field. While Germany had built a horse fabric of remarkable quality, their native -mares, particularly those in the marsh regions of the empire, did not have the same flint-like quality -of hone that has made Irish dams in particular *o famous, and in the hour of trial they were unable , to stand the strain against animals from stock nurtured in a limestone country. That and the extra cross of warm blood accounted for the superiority of the British cavalry. To again quote Prof. J Wallace, it was demonstrated that a cross of I blood is worth an inch of bone. "The frequent and successful employment of j cavalry, especially in the rough country, iu this campaign has settled forever Uie question of necessity of army horse-breeding. 4 "England Had no nettled plan for the production 1 ; of horses of the army type until CoT. Hall Walker donated his famous Tally Stud to the nation. The successes achieved by the British i-avalry have brought a realization of the value of the gift, and it is significant that there is to be a greatly augmented program in racing tests for tbe current season in England, and that animals from the National Stud will be given a chance to demonstrate their fitness to reproduce themselves. AWAKENING HERE IN THIS COUNTRY. "While we in the United States, who believe in the horse of blood and his ability to improve all the other grades, have had long to wait for recogni tion by tbe country at large, there are signs that the question of the production of army remounts will be shortly given the consideration "it deserves. It is a healthy indication to find the matter being discussed in the public prints. It would ap|Mar that a majority of our experts favor the method of sending thoroughbred stallions into communities where horses of the proper type are to be found. This is the plan pursued by the Jockey Clubs Bureau of Breeding, and wherever tried its success has been demonstrated. This is particularly true of the lienessee Valley district, where the work has been in exceedingly skillful hands; the Genes-see Valley Breeders Association having gone about the work in a thorough and painstaking fashion. "Breeding enthusiasts outside of this state, tit which our original efforts were confined, have ap-pealed to us for horses and it is a matter of record that those sent to Pennsylvania. Maryland, Virginia and Ohio, while a few in number, have in every instance demonstrated their prepotency by improving every type with which they have come in contact. Without any subsidy or grant, save the occasional gift of some mares from friends to aid in the work, progress has been slow, but like all true missionaries we have been inspired by the fact thai good must come in the end. "The breeding season is now at its height." said Mr. Sturgis in conclusion, "and every farmer and horse breeder in the country should see to it that, his mares are given a chance to help relieve the draft made uim.ii us by the war. More than one million horses have gone abroad, and they must be replaced. The better the type, the greater the efficiency, and now is the time to on. fit by former mistakes. Horse production is equally as iin|»ortuiit as crop production. Communities "which havent sires of the proper typo should make their wants known through their state or federal repn senta-tives. The horse may yet be a determining factor in the winning of the war."
