WYDHAM FARMERS' CLUB.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 6, Issue 304, 9 November 1883, Page 2

WYDHAM FARMERS' CLUB.

i • ■» ■'■'■ — '— ' ' • ■' The usual monthly meeting "of the above Club 'was held on Wednesday evening last at Leahjr's Hotel, Mr Janes Milne in the chair. The Attendance was somewhat limited at the openirig, but increased considerably. _ MpW. H. Mathiesou.of Invercargill, read a paper upon ... THE HORSE— HIS HISTORY, of which the following iis'a condensation : — ', i At (the head of those animals that have been domesticated by, or rendered useful to, uian,, whether. We rega_d hWrioble form] his "froat sagacity, or the manner, in which he is connected with our profit and. pleasure, stands the horse. The native country of the horseicarinot with certainty be trafced. He ' has been, found varying materially in size,' in forrt_,'-Mid in utility, in all the. temperate,, ia most"; of the sultry, 1 and ft n.»ny qf tir*.*** northern regions' of the Old world..* In the : Bible' which contains the oldest authentic, record of past transactions, we are told "that : so.early. as 1650 years befora the birth -of- 1 Cbiisi, the bors^had been .domesticated by . . "the ' Egy'pfiahs. v - The first all'usfdn v to*th<(? •' Was when Joseph carried his father's reataihs from Egypt to .Canaan.- there ■ went up wijth him both chariot- arid' liotsemen. fOnjs tyundred and fifty 1 years ; afterwards the * hor-ef6onsfit,uted, r tJ}e- , *p-ine|p(|l str©'b*g. : hh «J . the. Egyptian army. J'haraoh'. pursued the j Israelites with six hundred chosen chariots, ( an&withjill the pharjoia":Of .Bgypt,tj Jifry r yeanl after the expulsion of the Israelites ' c

from Egypt, and 1450 years before th« ■bi^th'of-PMft^^h'orS^as so far natur* alised in '^r%ce that- the\ Olympic games •were instituted, {including chariot and horse races. We have, Sieref6_e, sufficient evidence fhat the horge was, at a:. very eariy period iubject-ed tdihe;dbibiiiiOn of man, and, uni pr\t un at ely , *|_or wortt? cf purposes — the fbusineisof w ar. " - Fjpnrf:"the records of the ,^1& Test^eVt, we ,a_%^likewise enabled to * •^certain th%Jß^^|^ferio_. of time when, in Egypt and* CmS&W- and the neighb»urittg Countries, this animal began to be domesticated. 1920 years before the birth, of •Christ when Abraham, having left Horan in obedieMetothe divine command/was driven - . dan'aan, Phpaoh off.fedhim'^heep ffipd oxen/ ■ and'alsesjand camels. Hofses would doubt- • *- i-SB'h_^e^een : «added^ad-they-ithenx^Bted ? 9«_ni or had they been subdued in Egypt. The breeding of the. horse, and his employ- - merit for pleasvre and in war, were forbidden to the Israelites. They wera commanded to banjstripgjjthose that were taken iu war. Tha sheep' yielded them thei^wjpl, and Jhg. cattle jth.»iiiumilk, r an"d^ bot&Tbf *%en|^^M^ •flesh.^>l-The;iitttcr.' lot T t_tewi .aflimirja''. iW*% land was wtaiedvandCthe.xidl-iu: iri&de__^j-t#2~ whije the rulers, the judges, and even the . kings of Israel t were-,carried^ on- ; *«su. The • horse is occasionally 1 ' mentioned iri the early - period of the Israelitish commonwealth. Ka : • definite duty,, hdwefer, is Vssi^iidrhim j ahd^f i, it is said of the then monarch, "He «_tall..nbt^ I mtltiply horses to himself." There were two reasons for this : First-iiheywere destined to be, a peculiar people, preserving in the narrow confines of their-eountry the khow- : ledgo and worship of the true God ; ther«- --; fore they were forbidden the, means of wan- „ . ■ deringCto other lands.. ~-Beco_tdly-Mhe nature «A. of their country likewise forbade the exten- . sive breeding of the .horse,; fit. consisted, in a great measure, of mountains, and was I. .bounded on the west by •_: the .sea, and on the '-'three other, sides by deserts. It was nut until -the- -time ,qf,=SQlomoa---SQO. ! y|e va after* » « . the! KraeliteV.' had" left; TSf&^iKt" tftf* ** ' horse, was, domesticated ,smong^them, and "then so rapidly did .he' increase that Solomon had, a thousand and four .hundred chariotS,' 4 and*tWelre thbusadd 4i civaii^ s * ' • andj stabling for forty thousand horses. The : greater. part of these animals, -however, were imported from Egypt. The sacred historian gives .thp price vhoth -...0f the and the (horses of that' tiihe.' It is " the "eldest : .document ef the kind on record. The horse, including probably the expense ef the journey, cost 150 shekels of silver, er a little more than Ll7. The chariot cosV 600' ' * shekels, or rather more than L6B. Of the comparative-value pf money at tha( periodjit ; ,is impoosibl^tb .pe'ak } Wt i^-was' probably .' 7 .rtjany times greater than at present. It. is a Question yet disputed •wheifcher 'the use of the i chariot or the art of ridisg__vas first culti* x vated. According to Captain Hamilton Smith, mino-t.hernn*ti,^ riders. At Nineveh,* in Asia Minor, aad India, they were both charioteers and riders ; - > } Ui. Greece, .Palestine, and -Egypt, they jr£r«„---i originally bl_aHot-e_-8* J 6_[-yv : .- ThV^itjWalnlrty 1 , * Ml howe.Ver,iß that althoughj< one: rmight -prevail -=- tj un j particular; eras ajid,. -conntri^; ,the..^ ( other would not long remain uhpractisecl. •" " Passirig bfl:tb i -h% l^_ly hrs.s-y'^f'**__fe*-_*rste^ in Eu?ope K many.-eqlo_desfof- Egyptians 4j»iK .■*.»■ grated t© Greece. T£ ej. carried vjrith them; a - - "the' love of the ho_sVaa*-ras'mauy (&HmtWr* v ~ noble animals as their ships-would contain. It would appear ( tbalj the ; flrafccolonyy-^bout ,™ thej time 'of "the . birtk of Moses/lande! in Thessaly, in the. north of "Greece. Their ap- ; -'pearance, mopntetfopn b.prsebj«sk^ -warding to the old fable, so terrified the native in- ' -habitants that they fled" iii all directions, .imalg-i-utig-th'atTthei- (country) wa_ attacked S' •**' by a set of monsters half horse and half man, ana they called, them centaurs^ Such, \? as - the.' origin of ; the^figtf_es%hicK ire jaoV-i-tre-fiuent among the remains of ancient sculp* -fure. Another and more naturalinterprstation offers itself to the mind of the ; horseman. „ The^hesialbniaßS wer'eth^pxise^_.iMQ)**»cy<B-i i cavalry. Before the other.prpyijieef of Greece ,!-^erb scarcely acquainted witlrthe name of 'tne j horse their subjugation- of him was so complete .that, in the,- language, of „an©thtr 7 poet ef fat iater days,- but 'ionnf9ri<#*to4ray* * u mkti Greece ever knew—" Thesa gallants,"* says. ShakespeaT.e fi in. Hamlet, „s ^;_ .;• - 5 . 7 ?,; , , r|i Hail witchcraft in't— they-fjrQW into "Shelr peat, ■■.**. f And to auch -vroriderous doing • brougHt their ifoifcei " •' As tbey. had been inoorpsed, and demi-nntured -'..■■ ? With the brave beast. ... . / expiMsive,n*_culpture_; tl)neepfialus^# Jtftetf * ** favorite's' war .horse, .of .'Alek_aa^3vw,jp^4 ya?o . ' oably of this breed;" U^ wpuld permit lao one [to mount'. : huja^^^s,^^terj and fy^x iAlways knel. dowhto receive him on hi« back." ', Aie-khde. ma Ki_h'- V »at' tH6*«^ttle-il)f*:i!^ *^- dasdes, in wMch thajnoble-ij^d-r^fiiid his death wound. For once he Avas disobedient to tHe-commands-of hi»tma*ter-.*T he JiastenSd'^ ; heat of ,thi.e^ fight, 'hp*-^pugl^t, vr% :- j^xandeirto*ti' place where* ne.' was secure ',*' from danger ; he knelt for him to aUght^-ftd '-' ' thenj dropped down and died. It would not,: be advisable,. . iL^ny Jtinxa wqjpdd permit,- 7^. idißoientiq-i allihe al4.relntbjeeds.!of o_or«e4- ''-- as thtey number upwards, o^. 80 ;, besides the majority of them are- not 5 - woriiiy' of note -but pefordwe advance eastwaEd,into Europe, -Will glance at a few ofthe most, useful, j'may, howeve-V-Heris i_iehtio_i*-he .jiniftrieitti'? ,*' ." hoA^s... , fin njaijy- parts . of South; Ameribjfc RJ althqugh con|iant warfare v w carried; on - againß'l ? thie__ v i there aw irihumerable herd^Sf * * * ' wild [horses ; and in the back Isettlenisnta'of ;*vat^e Southwestern of .; there is a horse resembling tbii 'wild 'horseT of ' '" the pampas ; but both awevideutly the descrosaed. the plains in South -America have . - spoken of numerous droves of wild horses. , % . Siami ai_U*m thit-they^ have*' iSer(' ¥eri : tmoS-2" ' aafedfin ono trbop. They appear to be under n_l cjemmand of a leader, the strongest .'and . . ibold-Mt of the herd,and^whbmithe*f impUcTtly" * • .obey! A seoret instinct teaches them, that fheir; safety consists in their union, and in a -principle ( Of jsubprjdinationv IThe Sp^*, «t)^rs_ S and the leopard are their principal enemies. At 8-jme signal intelligible to tfalem all,'" they either close into a dense mass and trample their ! enemy to deatlj, or placing .mares .1 • . and foals in the centre, they f o'rm'th'eniselves * *> iiito a circle and welcom^jhjm -jvith their heels In the attack, their leader'is the first to face the danger, and when "prudence de- . maho s a # retre*^t]|ey^ 9Q3»*^'£M In tie 'thinly-inhabited parts of Sontn Ameiica it is dangerous to fall in with any of th'fflej troops. The wild horses < -approach li as near as they dare j they call to the •?-" loaded horse with the greatest eager- - ■nessJ and it the rider be n6't on -the allffc,. and ihas. not considerable /strength of "aria nnd. .harpness of spur, bi_ beast will ,- divest himself of his burden, take to his heels and ifc^bue for : ever. T.ord By ran beautifully; do .'cribes chin in his Mazeppa "~ ■ - ~ ..; '• •_l '-trampling troop : I.sa*rr tbcui oome— . Ih oii«^ vnst squadron thc-y .idvaucc I •'• "**•" Isfcrow tocry— my lips wera ilumb, , , • The sti-eds -usU oa l» 'plucatufrpride, But who**? :ii-« they, the rein* who gu|«^e { . *. . y .. - A'tlioimud horse and none" to ride. I With dowi*'*.* tail, mid Hying inauiV . - Wide nostril*— n- \ cr stretchad by jiairi— , Mqutl.b!omlk-5 to. thevfeitCprSifl,^^ ' f - 1 A'- "_4 Xi^iX feet that iron never shod, And flanks unaoared by spur or rod^^ - A thousand horpp, the --wi^ti »nd tre*}, » ; i ,i i '- tiike wave's that follow o'er' tlie ew,- ■ -. " '•'*' "•-■*•'•■"• On cama the troop. jTliqy 4top- they start— they snuff 'the air, Oallop.a-j9pmentb.ere and-there^. , ,i , ,'j Approioh, retire, wheel'round and round, Theu plunging back \Tith suddtn bound ; T|w anovt, they foam, neißh,. swerve aside,, . ,r,,. -, ■ Ana biokward : toj the (forest gljdj.^ j ! ?..-; i*.! .(•. fh'i •* \ Mr ii-w, in his beautiful delineation of the British quadrupeds,- gives 'ilie* following acCojint of the horses of North America :— " Nor*th Ai«eric.|t sspejna as^wjl^ii^pte^^OSi the temperament* of tlie noraejis any similaj cpuntW in the Old Worldr The M*a»q»a ' . . .h6r*e|awffe>ived7*fto^ * i Soii-ewhat -deteriorated,.- by. a^le^Sj eargfal « *a management." Mexican howies have like-vVise „ .escaped .fittfthe "Woods' ind savannal_i,anc| "" 'aithough they have not mul^Ued,s_fliniilUi;'-- ? •pining of the Plata, thtnce'Tßey have 'dei-i Mkm\ nqrth-wMd fa* v and th^¥S.q^' '"3? : 'W 'CoTaiQH£ ,k *i^ . Indians of ' the country have learned to pursul and capture them, employing them in hunting, and transporting their'jKfiflie_Jfr'ont pljifefeito place" — the first great "change that h'as taken place for agesin-the condition of thej red man, of the North American The highest ambition of "ihe ybung Indian* of th eio tribe, is, topojw?sa|oo^

horse for the chase of the buffalo. The Osages-form. large hunting, parties, for the chase'of- horses;' in.the .country of the Red Canadian River^ -dsiiig relays of fresh horses nntil they hav* run down the wild herds. To steal the horse of anadverse ;tribe is coni sideredan; exploit almost as' heroic as the killing of an enemy, and the distances that they, will travel and the privations; they will undergo im these;* .predatory excursions are sajreely to he>;bel-ieved." : .These animals are -_,uck used.foc winter travelling in Canada, and/i"*: -the. Northern r States. One of them has ; drawn a^lightaleigh over the ice ninety milesv in 'twelve^ hours.' •'■* : Their "shoes are ' *ro;ugheri i e.dJ>y *th& insertion of two or three steel rscfswt, instead /of the common European methods., ■••The* brush .is never used upon the»iinlowint«r^foria7 thick fur has grown ov«rsr';.thom. • .'to •. proteot I*-them1 *- them from thjfc-'inote'mency -7 ot- : the season. They are* atumais Knew .refusing' the collar, yet they->«re(i accustomed to .bad • usage. Those of.the United States are- of every variety; but crossed- •by Jthe modern English race, or the Ar'-b.; (vlhe : improvement > of the horse at th^tijnae occupies, muck, of their attention. Habit, arising from some cause or whim not .known, has made-them partial to the trotting horse, and the fastest trotting horses in the world are to be fOurid in 7ihiV United States. My list of the most useful breeds would not be complete if I failed to mention a horse that has* done more to* make the English horse what it is than -allit'h* other breeds put together,' whether for beauty »r speed: 1 refer to the Arab. A few of these horses are yet to be found ,on some of the de»erta of Arabia. , They, are hunted by tbe Bedouins for flftrsiskoof-Hheir-fesh, which is considered a delicacy if the animal be joung ; and aIBO-* to increase their stock of inferior horses,*. which they often palm on the merchant a's descended from the . sacred, breed. They, ave said to be even swifts than the do__esticas/_d horße, and are usuall*" taken b^traps hid/den in tho ..sand. Altb<-r.gh idi the sevea'tri century the Arab had ne^borses of value, yet those whieh they^_fad derived from their -___^neighbor»:begsPu-jf_i'in to ;be preserved with ItririuchT cafe, and propagated so uniformly and striotly from the finest of their breed, that in the thirteenth century the Arabian horse began L to assume ,a -just and unrivalled fame/' These cirfeum-tafice? sufficiently prove that, however superior- may be the breed, it is comparatively lately -that the horso was nat*arafiseddh__rabia.. .'We/ may not, perhaps^ believe all that is told us about this wonder-' ful animal. It has been remarked that there are on the deserts ***yhich this horse traverses no mile-. tones to "bark. the distance, or watches t* ! calculate this time ; and; that the Arab is naturally given to exaggeration, and, -i-TOst-df all, when relating the prowess •f the animal, which : he loves as dearly as his children ; yet it cannot be denied that at the introduction of the Arabian into the European stables, therewas no other horse eompa* rabl«g| §14,1 Jhlferidnes. with which-«he4s tiiateajjam.* ii-i-L fp^-him*' an affection' for his master, a wish to please, a pride in exerting every energy in obedience to the commands, and, consequently, an* apparent sagacity which is seldom seen in other breeds. The mare and foal inhabit the same tent with ..the Bedoui^i and bis children. nTbe," neck of the n&-*9fiaioft__- thevjiilldw- Of -the rider, and more frequently of the children, who are rolling about upon her and her' foal ; yet mo accident ever occurs, ancl the animal acquires .. that friendship and love for man which 00- --"-" "casional ill-sreatment ; , will -not make him for a moment forget*: '•*- Sir John Malcolm, in his sketches of Persia, giveß an amusing anecdote tending to show at what .value an Arab estimates his horee. An Arab chief had a favorite breed of horses. He lost one of his best *mai&(jffij}.CQU-d not. for a- long while discover' whether she was stolen or had strayed. Some time after, a youqg man of a different Ittibejiwho had long wi-ried t!o inarry his daughter, but had always been rejected by the fattier, obtained the young lady's conlent and' eloped with her. The chief and his followers pursued, but the lover and his , mistress mounted-, .on .. one borse. made -a. * wonde^rJ^m^^cli>rid ©scaped; --Theold-chief swore 'thatlhe follow was either mounted on the devil or the favorite mare he had lost. After his return he found the. latter was the - case, that the lover was the thief of his mare as well as his daughter, and tha t he stole the one to carry of? the other. The chief .was quite gratified to find that' he had not been beaten by a mare of another breed ; and was easily reconciled to the young jnan_ ": —iff — (oiictef that Me ■ uilg&- 'recover his mare which he appeared: to think more hi*jhb* ,of, than his r -daughter. .-The earUesfe reco-d^-of 7the -horse in Great Britain is contained in the history given by JuliuiJCaeaar of his invasion • j>f thf t. lsland, Thie British army was accompanied by nnmefl-t'-'wa-**'*^^ Short scythes were fast^eneiir, to* -thl? ends of the axle-treels-rrSFeepirig down everything before them, and carrying. ( terror; and; devastation into the ratflt-' or their 'enemies. The Conqueror .gives _j most ariinjated de-jcription • of the dexterity ' witß * which 7tpi% horses were managed. *^Whpit Jskirid:* Of -Vhb'Mfe' the •Britonsthen pqsp!e|Bed^|[^*(^)uld : to -enquire ; "but 'from the cumbrous structure oj^ ttte-cttythe fury with -wiibfi 0 -tWas'Shyeri, tlie badness .of [the Joads, ! land the.alniost-non-existence'of ,' those rthafe- wer.e^^able, it must ot beliri b : 6th 'active'and powerful in* an ; - -^trao.-teijk'gr'' -degreei* -'Itl is ! absurid to suppose, as some naturalists have done, that the ponies', of \V>les or. of .Shetland are types of w-iat the" British f was in; jsarly times. He was tnen'r a^ie^er/the creature 6f the countryin which .he .lived.iiwith shprt fare and eiposed-W'-ty rigor;. of • the ' seas'ons. Ho was- probably .tbo little bardy. thing: which weT^t"s6e him ; but in the marshes of the Witham, m^-oh the borders .of. the Clyde, there would be as much proportionate development of 'frame and Of strength as we find at 4he*pre,serit ■ day^ :Caesar ,.- deemed these horses* so valuable that he carried many bfthem to 11 . Ktime ; and they were, for . considerable period afterwards, in great r«4 ueßt „si n ,.. varioUß P art ? of the! Roman, Sinpiref'ifariy; centuries passed on. without bearing anJ: refeords of the character or value oithe hbts«, About ad. 630, however, according to . Bede, the . English wCre accustomed tb *use the : saddle. Ho says thatthe « bishopis-an'd •thers.rode on horse-back who, until theja,. were wont to go on foot ;. and even thpn it was only pn urgent occasions that they'tftdfl rode.- THoy'used mares only, as a mark L of humility,, the mare generally, not being so handsome or so much valued as the horse; v It is not 1 unlikely, that, even at this early period; the beautiful' effect of -the Bnglish soil and qlimate, and care in the lmproveiment of the horse, began to.be evident." Be that' as it may the experience of every age has proved that there are few countries in which the native ; breed has been lender, d so much niore valuable by the importation of a foreig^. stock, andr every good quality of a I — . foreign'race so certainly returned, as in Eng- , land. In a document bearingdote A-o. 1000 r . j we have an interesting . account of the reb | tive valup of the horse. Jf^horss**- v:as dci • * •f-pqyed, qr lost, the comp^ris^t-iO-i //tc* be rt*> i manded was thipty aWu^e^J? Ji B_n T -e or j colt, twenty; a mule, sMH^|ji^ngs ; an ox, thirty pence ; a cow, tw^ei^^^ur pence ; j»nd, it strangly follows, a inanT one pound. Not the pound sterling ,pf., the time, however, but equal in;, silver to about three ppunds-of pul present '-mojuoy. WithWilliatn"tltd Omtiu.ror came' a marked improveraent in the British "horse. ,To. superiority lh:.icavAlry 'this^rincewas chiefly indebtedfor the victory of Hasting-! The favorite charger of William wAs a Spaniard ; his f «1lowers, both .tha. -Baronp/^J-the Mmmon* soldiers, pr-^ctiTaily'caT^e.'from a i country in which agflSulture ha/l'made,inore rapid progress than in ErigiandV %'ypry considerable Iprtion qf the kingdom was divided among thes. ri_en ; knd it qanriot. be . doubted .that* htfwever 'hrijust-'was *th« ' ris'urpat^on of the. . Kohß ans-,Bhglarid T l>eriefited in its husbandry arid particularhrut itsiorse^r by th«e change, of master. Qifs 6_rMfi|l|_icjß 7desqrv.es, to be remarked, namely,that "in^iibnc of thoeßrlieat , 1-.%PanrnWbn 1 to -he rise 6$ the Home for the plough, yntilA.ogn*ip^j:atlTOly . recent jjeriodfOXTO~Sl^£Sß'*were eiriployedin England, as in the other countries, for this purpose ;;kut,.aboriKthis period— --the lattei* part' of %§ t^ntlßceriti*i-y«-Tai cHarigebn this ■pdint waa S flp»irpie ( nc_ng,.'and a W.lsh'lawfor-. bade the farmer to plough with horses, mares 0 oowi, but «itfc,-99W.9«Hte iOa oise.»f the

mmMmmmm~~mmmmmmmm^—mm+B^mm&mmMmMmm——ma i pieces of tapestry woven in the time of Wil* . Jiam' the Conqaeror (a.d. 1066) there is tht [ figure of a man driving a horse attached to a i harrow ; this is the earliest notice that vte have of this animal in field labor. Im the !■ reigri ef Henry I. (a.d. 1121), thie first i Arabian horse, or at least the first on record, ; wasintroduced. Alexander I, King of Scotlan^, presented te the Church of St. Arii .dre#'s an Arabian horse withJcoetlyiTurkisfe arrdour. There have been some pretensions to the breed derived from or improved by tlrirhoTse, but mo certain proof of it cam be adduced. But. all this time the English horse was advancing, though slowly, to an equality with ar even superiority over those of I neighboring countries. His value began to be more highly estimated, and as a natural ,con_equence his price rapidly increased, bnt .the key to the whole matter was found by Mr ."Vym. Percivall in his -introductory lecturie at University College : " This succeS. has been brought about, it appears ,-'to me, by breeding, by which I do not •nly jriean the procuration of original stock •f a good description, but the continual progressive cultivation of that stock in the progeny by the greatest eare in rearing and feeding, and by the most careful selection. On tbese two circumstances, and particularly on the latter, a great deal more depends than on the original characters or attributes ef the parents. bj thet»e means we have progrei*j*ed from good to better, losing 6ight of no subsidiary help, until we have attained a perfection in horseflesh unknown in the whple world beside. The beautiful tales of Extern countries .and somewhat remote days nnay l_ad us to imagine that the Arabian /aorse possesses marvellous powers ; but it cannot admit of a doubt that the English trained horse is more beautiful andfar stronger and Btouter than the justly famed coursers of the desert. Iu the burning plains of the East and the frozen climate of Russia, he has invariably beaten' every antagonist on his native ground." Before sitting down, allow me to read a clipping from the ' Otago Witness' of recent , da te : — " The Norman-Per-cheron horse (says a contemporary) has at last \}een introduced into Victoria. For many years the Percheron has been a favorite breed of draught horse in America, large numbers being annually imported into the States from France. By the Americans they are considered the most generally useful allround breed of draught horse, and bear about the same relation as does the Suffolk Punch .to the heavy Shire and Clydesdale breeds. The celebrated Bora Bonneur, in her inimitable animal pictures, has familiarised many of us with the outline and general appearance of the Percheron horse, with its thick tail sweeping the ground, powerful mane, and splendidly arched crest. Their prevailing color is a beautiful dappled grey. In France they were originally used as post horses, travelling their stages with ease at ..the rate of eight miles an hour, and although, by superior feeding, arid the exercise of great care in selection through a uumber of generations, -they have of late years greatly increased-- in size, they are still very active, and, in the opinion of those who have bad experience of them in America, the bast adapted of all draught breeds for active farm Work — equally at home in the plough, the waggon, and the family 'carry all.' They are remarkable for sound feet, strong joints and legs, and powerful muscles; I very hardy, long lived, and less subject to disease than any other draught breeds." And now let me say hero that • the Clydesdale of the stamp of the old Prince of Wales, is too heavy and clumsy for the farm-work of this district, or in fact for Southland. What you farmers want is not a horse that will plod along at about 1\ miles an hour, but a lighter, cleaner legged animal that wili get •ver four miles an hour with greater ease to ! himself than that with which his more heavy .brother covers half the distance. Far be it from, me to say one word against the more heavy animal, as in the earlier days of this \ province, when there were hardly any roads, or worse than none, the heavy Clydesdale i filled the breach ; but I argue that he has served his day except perhaps in the very remote districts of Otago, where there is stiil 'a little carrying going on. But he is fast giving place to his more favored rival the iron horse. With the lighter horse, however, we require lighter farm implements, During the last quarter of a century there has been, quite a revolution in farming. The single farrow has given place to the double furrow ; the ; scythe to the reaper and binder ; the zig-zag ■4«t-«^rTr&-arc-aisc, and later still to the carriage cultivator; +ho flail to the steam threshing mill; the old rake to the horse rake.' Truly this is an age ef progress ; but during all the revolutions that have occurred in farm implements, the farm dray remains tte same heavy, clumsy article it was. 25 while all the other farm implements' have adapted themselves to the more enlightene_ and scientific system of farming now in vogue, The dray remains the same' heavy, hideously ugly implement it was in the days of our fore-fathers — a standing die- , grace to the inventive faculties of our wheelwrights, lt shows too a lack of observation and adaptation in our farmers, lf asked whtft vehicle would I substitute fpr the venerable farm^ dray, 1 should say unquestionably the American farm waggon, as it. is as flflperibr to. the dray as the double furrow is ! to the single- furrow^. Let me - give only one illustration, Suppose a farmer lives four miles from ajrailway station and he wants to send down some grain, The usual way'is 1 to send two drays with two men and three horses 9ach. Now with the waggon, I will take as much with four horses and. one man, and be as easy on the hoises as under the old system. Thus I should only take one man from the farm, aud use two horses less. If you had an active team such as I have been speaking about it could easily make fo.Ur trips a day, as coming home empty the horses could trot back. . Then the enemies of of progress say that you cannot use a waggon where you can a dray. I say that any man of ordinary intelligence with a little practice can soon work a farm waggon ; and here I may ' say that they are greatly used in America— the leading agricultural country in the ! world— and in leading in they will take nearly twice as much straw again as a j dray. I think I have said sufficient to cause farmers to take this matter into consideration and give it a fair and impartial trial. So convinced am I that these waggons will supersede the old-fashioned dray that I have ordered a large number of them direct from America, and I hope to submit them to your favorable consideration before the next harvest.