NEWS AND NOTES.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14919, 18 March 1914, Page 7

NEWS AND NOTES.

A QUEENSLAND RANCHER

HORSE-BREEDIXG

Mr J. S. Love, a prominent Queensland pastoralist and stock raiser, who is making a tour of Now Zealand, gave seme interesting particulars with regard to horse-breeding for the Indian Army to a "Press" reporter, who saw him yesterday. Mr Love has extensive properties in the Cook district and another on the Cape River, about 100 miles from Charters Towers, where he rrns 30d0~to 5000 horses and a couple of thousand head of cattle. Mr Love is a great upholder of Queensland's prestige, and sings the praises of that State with no uncertain voice. "'Queensland is the finest State in Australia," he said, "and its possibilities are simply immense. It is a splendid country for horse-breeding, for we have heaps of room, anil you can't grow horses in small paddocks. Quite ninety yer cent, of the horses that are "bought by tho Indian Government as- Australian "walers" come fiom .North Queensland, and annually the Army takes from 1200 to 2000 horses for the British cavalry, field artillery and horse artillery, wi'iile for the native cavalry regiments another 3000 to 4000 are required. The horses for the British cavalry must be good weight carriers, the field artillery >'j*»r.ses are generally speaking of a spring-cart class, while the horse artillery need a good typo of sturdy hunter. The native cavalry horses ar t > lighter, being decent little' horses from 14.3 to 15.1 hands, and they have to be up to about 18 stone when the rider is on and fully equipped, though in the ordinary way they would have to carry only 13 stone or thereabouts. These horses for the native cavalry cost 350 rupees each, or £23 6s 8d In English money. The native cavalryman gets 30 rupees (£2) a month pay and out of this he has to feed his horse and himself and provide his uniform. When he comes into the regiment he has to ante up £20, which, however, ■ho tnikes away with him when lie leayes, so you see he is on a different footing to tho British soldier, and is morp of a yeoman. The horses for English regiments and the artillery average £45 each, but the man who sells a line to the Government has to guarantee 14 per cent, of chargers, or superior quality horses, in the draft. The Indian Government has tried to breed its own horses, but so far it has not had much success, and it is said that each horse costs it £100, and they are not much use when they have got them. On the other hand, they can breed good ponies and mules in India, but the old type of big country mate seems to be nearly extinct, which naturally hampers horse and mule breeding. "Queensland is an ideal place for horse ' breeding. There is plenty of room mid the country is cheap, and you must have these two conditions before you can go in for horse-breeding and expect to make it pay at all. I use nothing but thoroughbred sires on my stations, and have sires by such wellknown horses as Isinglass, AVolfcrag, Gallinule (sire of Pretty Polly), Forfarshire, St. Frusquin, Matchmaker, Pietermaritzburg, Orme, St. Gris, by Galopin, the sire of St. Simon, Atlas, and others. I, also go in for mulebreeding, selling the 'mules for use on the plantations in Mauritius and New Guinea. The "jacks" I import from Catalonia, in Spain, but tho best jacks, the Poitou jacks, are from the South of France. These are very difficult to procure. ,and good ones sell at £1000 to £1200 each. If only Australia could supply' mules to compete with those bred in the Argentine, the Government of India would take 1200 or so each year." Mr Love will spend another day or so in Christchureh, leaving for Australia on Thursray next.