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FIELD FOR HORSE EXPERIMENTATION Gcne3eo Valley Selcctod by the Government as a Permanent Hadquartcrs. GENESEO, N. Y., October 18. Col. C. L. Scott, who has charge of the purchase, issue and sale of cavalry remounts for the federal government, has purchased seventeen head of weanlings and yearlings, seme thoroughbred and others half and three-quarters bred, from farmers in this vicinity and Avon, and they will be sent to Fort Riley to be developed in the mounted service school at that point. Col. Scott was one of those who came from Washington in September to inspect the various classes at the Livingston County Fair at Avon. He was amazed at what had been accomplished in the. way of horse production in the Genesee Valley through the co-operation of the Breeding P.nreau of the Jockey Club and the Genesee Valley Breeders Association, and the purchase of the seventeen youngsters is the result of his report to headquarters. It will be interesting to note the development of these colts, and Col. Scott will have photographic records made at their entrance and at intervals during their training. The farmers of this valley are now reaping tangible benefits from their horse breeding experiments, and half and three-ijnarter bred horses will soon be abundant in a region which is specially adapted for the work. The pastures of the Genesee were for many years devoted to beeves, and the bulk of the land that was not given over to farming was covered with Herford and Angus breeds that were sent to the Christmas markets in prime condition, witli little feed beyond the nutritious blue grass which came from sod that had never been turned by the ploughshare., The advent of the thoroughbred sires of the Jockey Club brought about the change. The farming community, long indifferent to hcrse production, are now practically a unit in the desire to breed better class horses, and under the Genesee Valley plan by which they have the use of selected mares and own the foals they find the work profitable. Sales of young hunters and saddle horses in the rough, are increasingly numerous, and with Uncle Sam a enstomer the horse breeding end of their farming ventures takes on a rosy hue. The fact, that Mrs. Herbert Wadsworth. the president of their association, is a specialist in animal husbandry, and that the department of agriculture at Washington is rendering assistance to the movement, is significant. George M. Rommel, chief of the bureau of animal husbandry, was a visitor at the Livingston County show at Avon, and while there lie selected a site for permanent headquarters where the stallions may be kept under the care of an expert during the winter months. He had the following to say: "It was my first visit to the valley and what I saw convinced me that it is the field for horse experimentation Heretofore the government has lent its moral support. We are now prepared to go farther and contribute to the maintenance of the stallions. Anybody viewing the show of mares and foals by different stallions would know that the work has been conducted on a scientific basis. "The community is fortunate in having such ah organization as the Genesee Valley Breeders Association and such an energetic president as Mrs. Wadsworth. Organization is what counts, and I wish others interested in horse production wo.uld follow the lead of this institution. Nearly every district has one. for hogs, cattle or sheep, and progress invariably comes when there is intelligent co-operation. . . "The result of the horse show and sale that followed it must have been gratifying to the farmers of the valley, and they are to be congratulated on what they are doing to breed a better type of riding horse. The fact that people are coming from far and near to buy is the answer to their efforts. I am particularly pleased with the brood mares as a class as so many of them combine substance and quality. The work that these dams do on a farm will more than pay for their keep, and at the same time they will be raising a foal which will be a direct source of profit within a short period. "To breed good horses," said Mr. Rommel In conclusion, "one must have grass, limestone and water. The best proof that the Genesee Valley possesses all of these in a superlative degree lsi the finality of the horses that come from that part of the Empire State."
