THE CLYDESDALE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19688, 15 January 1926, Page 4

THE CLYDESDALE.

HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF BREED. THE COMING OF CLANGER. THE DAWNING OF A NEW ERA. 11. In a previous article the origin ot the Clydesdale breed of horses was dealt with, and an endeavour was made to show that even if’the Clydesdale is not a native ot Scotland, it is to Scottish breeders that the present generation owes the perfection of the modern specimen. They commenced a. movement which was taken up eventually in the four corners of the globe with tho result that all over the worid to-day there are Clydesdale studs. In connection with the evolution ot the breed in the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire the studs of Loohlyoch and Brownhtll have already been mentioned and described. From these strains our Clydesdale originally came. THE LAMPITS STUD. But it is to a more modern breeder that the bulk of the credit is generally given. This is Mr J. Somerville, of Lampits harm, in tho parish of Carnwath. This Lampits breed, which was the most noted at the commencement of the nineteenth century, can easly be traced back to the Loohlyoch strain, of which it was virtually an offshoot. In 1808 Mr Somerville purchased a two-yearold filly from a Lanarkshire breeder, with which animal he founded his stud. This filly came from tho Shows Hill Farm, owned by a nephew .of the master of Loohlyoch, so that there is little doubt that tho Shotts Hill blood emanated originally from the Loohlyoch stud, which in turn came from the Flemish stallion imported from England. This Shotts Hill filly eventually became known as the Lampits “old mare.’ . was the mother of several filly foals, all of which became famous brood mares. She died in 1827 at the ripe old age of M years. But it was not as the mother ot famous females that the “old mare wo 3 to become memorable in the history of the Clydesdale breed. Her chief claim tonotico is as tho mother of Glancer, or Thompson’s Black Horse”—the father of the Clydesdale. “THOMPSON’S BLACK HORSE.” Thus is introduced tho most noted sire in Clydesdale history. Glancer was perhaps better known as “Thompson’s Black Horse,” from being tho property of Mr James Thompson, of Glasgow. Ho was bred on Lampit Farm and sold as a yearling colt to an Ayrshire farmer, who later solo him to the Glasgow' breeder. Glancer was one of the most perfect specimens of the quickly evolving tvp© that local farmers had then seen, and many and extravagant are the appreciations of him that have been recorded He was black in colour, save for two white hind legs. His body was strong and neat, set on short thick legs, the clean sharp bones of which were fringed with fine, flowing, silken hair.. He was said by all who remembered him to have been “a very complete horse in all points.” About the only fault in bis make-up, which has been recorded, was a slight fulness of the hocks, a point which many breeders dreaded greatly. For many years he served in tho vallov of the Clyde, between Glasgow and Lanark, and he loft a strong and lasting impression on all Clydesdale stock in the Upper Ward. With Glancer (535) came a new strain, and a greater and fuller realisation of the importance of pure and superior blood, and many are the pedigrees that can be traced back through generation after generation to the son of the Lampit “old mare” which was bought from Mr Somerville 113 years ago. The strain begun with Glancer has been improved and perfected, as the years have rolled by. and there are many dams and sires in Dunedin to-day, whose connection with the famous offspring of the Lampit mare can be traced with little difficulty. GLANCER. I AND H. dancer’s son, Glancer I (356), was bred by James Frame, of Broomfield, Lanarkshire, and was out of an upstanding brawn mare, a good farm worker, with a nice action, and reputed to have been “as wise as a man)” He failed to win the fame his father won, however, for ho died as a four-year-old. ’ What reputation he did gain was as a result of being the father of Glancer II (357), whose mother was Mr Frame’s Brown Bess, a strong, handsome mare with a face of mottled brown and white, a brown body, and four black legs. She took championship honours at the lust show of the Highland and Agricultural Society in 1827 at Glasgow. Glancer II was dubbed “Frame a Lame Horse” on account of an injury received as a colt, when one of his legs slipped between the planks of a wooden bridge. As an aged horse be had no noticeable limp, but Ids nickname stuck and was used to distinguish him from other? of ms master’s stud. He was a beautiful brown in colour, his distinctive markings, being a blaze on his face and a white hind foot. Like his grandsire. “Thompsons Black Horse ” he was not a very high-standing animal, but h* had strong bones, wellfeathered legs, and sound feet. Ho was possessed of a fine broad head, an ample ribbed body, and a remarkably strong constitution. He was a first-rate stock getter and no horse before or since has ever been known to get more foals. A,though many of his sons became hotod stadions the one by which he will always bo known best was Broomfield Champion (95).

BROOMFIELD CHAMPION. Broomfield Champion (95) was bred by Mr G Orr, of Shotts, out of a grey Carnwarth mare. He was his outliers first, if not only, son, as, owing to high teerting, indulged in to prepare her for the Highland Society’s shows, her powers of propagation were impaired. In appearance he was very much like Ins great grandsire, Glancer (335). He was a rich, dark brown in colour, and his forelegs and feet were black. His hind legs were a little' white about the hoof-head, but above that they also were black. On his face vfas a narrow white ratch. He had a broad head, with a healthy and full eye. One quality which he possessed to a marked degree, and which was iu great demand among breeders, was his perfect motion at all paces. He travelled through the County of Aberdeen for one season, but returned to Broomfield, where he remained Here he soon became famous as the sire of many first-grade stallions, and not a few prize mares. To Broomfield Champion (95 ;, and through him to the dancers, every breeder likes to be able to trace his stock, and so it was with him, we can safely assert that the more careful noting of pedigrees originated. Breeders all over the country by this time wore recognising the advantage of using a superior strain of blood. The period in Clydesdale history from the coming of Glancer (335) to the advent of Broomfield Champion (95) is one of the most important of all. With the careful noting of pedigrees which commenced with Broomfield Champion’s descendants, dawned a new era in horse breeding in Lanarkshire, and from that time till the present day—a stretch of 100 years—the progress made by breeders in perfecting a type has been so constant that we now have an animal as nearly perfect as careful mating and judicious seietcion by man can make it. Thus closes the most important chapter in a most interesting history. Having found how Giancer and Broomfield Champion are connected with the first Clydesdales in the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire, and knowing with what ease the pedigree of local champions can he carried back through generations to Glancer, the significance of Lanark breeding and studs in the history of the Clydesdale should be quite clear. There is no doubt that these old Highland studmasters have given us much, and it is certainly to them that the world to-day owes its possession of such a fine and useful breed as the Clydesdale horses. Up to this point it will be seen that the breeding of horses was mainly confined to Lanarkshire, so that the part this district has played in the evolution of the Clydesdale is no mean

TYPE IN BREEDING.

FIX IT AND STICK TO IT

A MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR

Forty or 50 years ago New Zealand, 5" order to build up her studs, was compelled to import almost ©very breed and class of stock. was done, and all over the Dominion breeders sot to work on In© ©stablishment ot herds and flocks which now have little difficulty in holding their own with those of the countries from which the parent stock was drawn. During the last five years tho fame of the Dominion-bred animal his been noised abroad to such an extent that we have overseas breeders eager to purchase our sires and darns. In the far-off days it was perhaps necessary to grasp eagerly at any chance of procuring pure blood, but now with Jersey. Holstein, Short Horn, Ayrshire, Red Poll, and .all classes of cheep and horse.? well established the main concern of the breeder should be tho securing of typo as well as breeding. In fact, without type the breed is almost useless. Many a studmastor, who has put tho best of his life into tho foundation of a flock or herd that has become the “apple o.' his eye’’ has experienced the crushing disappointment of seeing the. work of years destroyed by the injudicious introduction of new blood. A well-known Otago breeder told me recently that he found himself faced witn just such a menace. Having introduced a new strain into his flock (and ho paid high prices for his new animals), he found that unless he eliminated the new-comers .altogether from his own stock, the type which had taken him years to obtain, would bo mined in a few seasons. It is true that to maintain this quality of type heartbreaking culling is often necessary, but in the long run it will be found that it is the only course to adopt. In the breeding of pedigree stock there is no greater factor than the fixing of a type and a rigid adherence to that type, even if it sometimes incurs temporary loss or seeming hardship.

Typo is tho principal feature in any pure bred animal. It is imperative that both sire and dam should be “typical” of tho breed to which they belong. Every pure breed has a type of its own to which the successful breeder conforms to a certain extent. However. certain flocks and herds have thou own peculiar characteristics of typo, but it must be remembered that even here there are fundamentals which cannot bo ignored. In a district there may be two or three Romney flocks or Jersey herds totally different in type, but still all could quite correctly be termed typical of their respective breeds though each possessed distinctive features. When type is mentioned there are two connections in which it may be used. It may refer generally to tho breed of tho animal, or. again it may refer to the particular flock or herd from which the animal was taken. All the greatest breeders in agricultural history have realised the necessity of fixing a type and adhering to it unceasingly. By judicious and constant in-breeding they have been enabled to fix a typo firmly and permanently. This should be tho aim of all who have the improvement of studs at heart. When a typo has once become set it is extremely strong, and is one of tho most indisputable signs of long and careful breeding. When prospective purchasers see a> line of animals as alike as “Barney’s twins,” it is the herd or flock to which that line belongs that they go for the herd dams and sires or tho flock foundation stock which they require. Sheep, cattle, and pigs must be bred up to a certain type, which should be the breeder’s ideal, and all effort should be conserved for the maintenance of what will eventually make the strain noted among live-stock buyers. The distinctive type of a herd or flock may be found in colour, markings, size, wool, and physical appearance. but whatever it is, the keynote of breeding is the maintenance of type. Now that all the popular breeds are more or less firmly established breeders have the opportunity to study type and adhere to it in face of everything. Of course, it entails a lot of work and worry and careful mating and selection, but it is all worth while. One has only to look around at the success Otago breeders have made of this aspect of breeding to be assured of the ultimate advantage of such a course. It is only through fixity of type that New Zealand stud-owners; can expect to command the attention of the outside world in the sale of their animals. Corriedales, merinos, Romneys, Herefords, Red Polls, Friesians, and Jerseys have all been exported at various times, and the Dominion’s trade in this respect is only in infancy. There are. great possibilities in the export of pedigree stock, if New Zealand will only nurse her resources correctly, and one of the surest methods of achieving this is by the maintenance of a firmly-fixed type.

REGULATION OF CROPS. LESSONS FOR ORCHARDISTS DISASTROUS HEAVY YIELD. There are no two lessons that should have been learned more thoroughly by orchardists than that heavy crops of fruit are almost as disastrous as light yields, and that quality fruit may almost invariably be sold at a profit, while inferior produce seldom pays the cost of production. These two facts are emphasised season after season. Moderate and fairly good yields of fruit are less difficult to dispose of at a profit than are those gathered when the trees are overladen. Regardless of the existing crude methods of distribution the demand for good fruit is such that normal crops aro readily disposed of. Heavy yields, on the other hand, overload the market and cause disaster to growers,- It is not obvious to many why this should be the case.

'1 ho fact is that in seasons of normal yields tho fruit is well distributed about the trees and full opportunity is afforded it to develop into what is commonly regarded as a prime quality fruit. For this there is always a ready demand. When tho branches of the trees are densely laden with fruit, individual specimens are not afforded tho opportunity to grow to a normal size, there is not tho free admission of light all round tho fruit to colour it properly, and in addition it cannot be kept as well covered with spray materials as is necessary to ensure its protection against insect attacks. Consequently it is what may be described as the normal crop that is the most profitable. Small and inferiorsized produce, such as is harvested from overladen trees or from orchards in which cultivation and manuring have been neglected, is not desired by the trade, and tho rapidity with which it accumulates and brings about glutted conditions is evidence of its unprofitable nature. Unfortunately, too many growers regard the regulation of their crops as a wasteful procedure. They dislike to remove fruit from their trees, that may, in the event of a particularly favourable season, attain a marketable size, and they also begrudge the amount of time that would need to bo expended in thinning out or spacing the fruits. This narrow view, for it is undoubtedly indicative of a lack of foresight costs thema greal deal more than any expenditure incurred in thinning the crop, and it prejudicially affects the prospects of all others engaged in tho production of fruit.

MARKING THE LAMBS. USEFUL HINTS BY EXPERT. THE MOST SUITABLE AGE. Lamb marking includes car-marking and tailing, and the operations usually are carried out when the lambs are between throe and six weeks old. Mr E. Hinton, sheep and wool expert, Now South Wales, recently gave some useful advice on these matters, and a summary of his remarks are subjoined. There is considerable diversity of opinion among sheep-breeders as to the most suitable age for performing these operations, some claiming that at a fortnight old there is least risk to the animal through loss of blood, while others prefer a later age, even up to three months, claiming that the lamb has then grown sufficiently to withstand the check. In cold districts and severe seasons the additional "warmth and protection afforded the hindquarters is a reasonable argument for delay, but under average conditions it is generally conceded that from three to six weeks is the safest age. Where the lambing season is protracted there will naturally be considerable difference between the ages of the lambs dropped first and those dropped last, and it may bo necessary to mark the drop in two portions with an interval of a month between. The choice of the site for the operations is important. It should Ire perfectly dry and well away from dust and dirt, so as to minimise the risk of losses from lockjaw and blood-poisoning, and if the flock is not. top largo it is best .to. usp temporary

yards, made of movable hurdles or wire netting and stakes, in a fresh paddock each year. . , With large flocks this is. perhaps, impracticable, and the followng treatment oi the yards is recommended: —Remove the surface soil of the yards to a depth ot about 6in and place it in a heap, where it should be thoroughly mixed with quicklime : then saturate the fresh surface exposed with a strong solution of nonpoisonous sheep dip. The sheep should bo mustered some time before, and the lambs allowed to settle down before the operations commence. There should be no rushing about, and dogs should be used as little as possible, as deaths from hemorrhage are very common when lambs are marked in an excited and over-heated condition. Both sexes may be treated a* the samo time, and a useful check will ** tained of the numbers and sexes mjaflk if the tails of the male and female Jamba are thrown into separate heaps. ~. The knife used for docking and tailing calls for special attention. The most suitable type has the blade and handle all in one piece, but, in any case, it should be as plain and as sharp as possible, since germs may be harboured in joints or corners, and even in cracks in t e blade, or in slight irregularities in the ■cutting edge. Prior to the commencement of the operations the knife should be boiled, and it should be carried to the yards in the liquid in which it was boiled. Throughout the marking the knife should be dipped as frequently as possible in a carbolic solution or other disinfectants, and whenever it is out of the operator s hand it should be allowed to remain in the disinfectant. This point is stressed, as it is essential that every means ot preventing the germs of disease irom gaining entrance into the fresh cuts be adopted, and although many farmers who have taken no precautions have not suffered losses, there is always the grave risk of the knife becoming infected and transmitting germs to every animal operated on. The order in which the operations are best carried out is ear-marking and tailing, and in both cases the lamb is held securely with its back firmly placed against the body of the holder, and its rump upon a suitable structure (usually the rail of a fence), which should be at a convenient height for the operator. FEEDING THE HORSE. GUIDE AS TO QUALITY. The basic principle in feeding a horse Should be to feed often, and in sma quantities. The horse has a small stomach, and his digestive fluids flow continuously. lie is therefore maintained in better health if his stomach is always party filled. If his natural methods of feeding are considered, since will graze for 20 out of 24 hours when undisturbed, it can be seen that little and often is the right motto. A certain amount ofbulk in' the feed is necessary, as this will ensure the grain feed being digested. A rough-and-ready guide aa to the quantity of feed to give a horse is 2)lb of material for every 1001 bof weight. Thus a 17001 b horse will require about 421 b of feed a day. Horses, like individuals, will vary in the amount they require, and their needs should be studied. About onethird or more of the feed should be grain, the proportion varying with the amount and nature of the work to be done.

For heavy work the grain ration should be increased, and the chaff diminished; and for light work the opposite course should be pursued. An experienced horsemaster advises watering a horse before the morning meal; then giving one-fourth of the daily allowance about an hour before going to work; watering as he goes to work: watering before and after the midday meal, which should amount to another one-fourth of the total, and should have a full hour given to it; then watering before the evening at which the other half of the feed is given; and finally after feeding for a couple of hours or more he should be given a drink and bedding down for the night. In this country, except in winter, horses are turned out at nights, and will secure part of their ration from the pastures. When succulent feed, like grass, is not available, small quantities of such foods as help digestion should be included in the ration. ,