Observations on the breeding of horses, within the Provinces under the Bengal establishment, submitted to the consideration of the President and members of the Board of Superintendence [of the East India Company, 1814].

  • Moorcroft, William.
Date:
1862
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Observations on the breeding of horses, within the Provinces under the Bengal establishment, submitted to the consideration of the President and members of the Board of Superintendence [of the East India Company, 1814]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    46/72 (page 31)
    ( 31 ) - p narily produced Ъу such District Mares, as are commonly cai<niiaUon from Htm brought to Government Stallions, the number required would be immense. Neither of these extremes should be taken ; as it is not likely that such a body of excellent Mares as are included in the first supposition, can be procured at the start of the experiment, or that the whole would be as indifferent, as the general mass of farmers' Good, bad, 4 indifferent Mares. Ijet it be presumed more probable, that the numr ber brought forward would be in equal proportion good, bad, and indifferent. According to this composition, I consider six Mares necessary to give one unexceptionable Colt at three years old, or a general amount of 3,000 Mares, with 120 Stallions, to raise 600 Army-Horses. May appear extmv» m T7> 1 ■ 1^ TT 1 1 X1 • to an English Нолю* io an Jlinglisn Horse-breeder, this may seem an ex- breeder, but large deduo* t.inriR must be ipftdft, travagant proportion of Parent Stock ; but when thrown into classes for which large deductions must be made, it may prove not so highly over-rated, as it appears at first sight. For instance, let one-third of the whole ' number be struck off as not breeding, another be сопя- dered as throwing Fillies, and the last as giving Colts. Thus, the general number of Colts dropped would be 1,200, of which, it is presumed, one-half would, at three years old, be fit for the Service. On the whole, it is more desirable that there should be an excess than a deficiency. Let it thf'^dfîh/^d mí be considered how the above number can be provided I wiU suppose the Stud to supply 700, the old Districts 800, and that 500 be purchased, making 2,000, or more than one-half the general amount of mares. The deficiency remains to be furnished by the Districts. By its nature, a calculation in breeding is exposed to uncertainty ; but the difficulty of approaching a true result in this instance is increased, by neither the Mares of the old Districts nor those of the Upper Provinces having yet been count¬ ed and registered. It has indeed been stated that 1,000 or 1,200 Mares in the old Districts were annually put to Government Stai- *»*• lions ; and ît was understood that these were of standard height. And the late President, Mr. Graham, whoM