there are more than forty, might be reduced most advantageously. This would be beneficial in various ways. It would be the means of accommodating a much larger stud, and by being more closely eaten and worn down, the nature of the herbage would be improved. Polled Scots are kept in these paddocks, for the purpose of consuming the long grass; but such is the nature of the land, that they do not carry out the intention effectively.

The general interest connected with the important subject of breeding horses prompted me to obtain permission to visit the stud farm at Dudding Hill, the property of Messrs. Henry and Cheslyn Hall. Favoured by a friend with an introduction to those gentlemen, I was received with the greatest courtesy, and, attended by the stud-groom, inspected that admirably-conducted and truly surprising establishment. The first impulse was astonishment at finding such a thoroughly rural tract of country within five miles of London. Agriculture also, directed on the most approved and scientific principles, forms an interesting portion of the active engagements to which the proprietors of the Dudding Hill stud devote their capital and attention. Having arrived at the appointed place, looking upon the grass lands by which I was surrounded, I could not avoid pausing for a moment to assure myself that I had not been conveyed by some talismanic agency to the pasture fields of Leicestershire an imagination all but confirmed when I heard the harriers at a short distance, merrily chasing their game.

The buildings which are appropriated to the accommodation of the stud, are as complete as judgment can devise, and may be taken as a model by those who desire to construct new ones for a similar purpose. To describe them in detail would be superfluous; but there is one which demands especial notice, being unique and better arranged than anything of the kind I have hitherto seen. It is a circular area, enclosed by lofty palings for exercising the stallions; the bottom is littered with straw, and the sides are securely defended to the height of five feet with the same material. The doors being closed, the horses are perfectly free from danger or excitement. It is also a suitable place for mares to receive the addresses of the stallions. A portion of the land has only been in the possession of the Messrs. Hall a short time; and there is a marked distinction between that and the land they have had a longer period, where the masterly hand of superior cultivation is visible. As I was informed the necessary improvements were in progress, it will at no distant period be brought to an equal state of excellence and accommodation.

The selection of the stallions has been made with great care and circumspection; indeed, it would be very difficult to find any department on the estate, connected with the stock, over which the presiding judgment has not been exercised with consummate skill, whether it be the horses, the short-horns, or the pigs. Mr. Henry Hall has a valuable stud of hunters in Northamptonshire, as I am informed, and has lately sold one for six hundred sovereigns. Mr. Cheslyn Hall enjoys his venatic pastimes in the Vale of Aylesbury; but I have not seen the hunters belonging to either of those gentlemen.

Epirus is first on the list of stallions; he is by Langar out of Olympia, by Sir Oliver, her dam Scotilla by Anvil out of Scota by Eclipse; Langar by Selim, dam by Walton, grandam Young Giantess by Diomed;

Selim by Buzzard; Sir Oliver by Sir Peter. Epirus is own brother to Elis, winner of the Derby. He ran for the St. Leger at Doncaster, for which race he was a great favourite; but unfortunately William Scott, who rode him, made an attempt soon after starting to pass the leading horses on the inside of the course, and in doing so got into a ditch which at that time defined the running ground, where they both fell; and thus the hopes of his numerous friends were unsatisfactorily disposed of. He is the sire of many winners, and his blood is unexceptionable.

The celebrated Harkaway is the next; he is by Economist, dam by Nabocklish, her dam Miss Tooley, by Teddy the Grinder, out of Lady Jane by Sir Peter; Economist by Whisker out of Floranthe, by Octavian, her dam Caprice by Anvil, out of Madcap by Eclipse; Whisker by Whalebone out of Penelope by Trumpator. As a race-horse, Harkaway's performances were of the first class; he won twenty-five races, and had he been in any other person's possession than that of his late master, Mr. Ferguson, there is no doubt he would have won many more. No good animal was ever more abused than this, especially in his youthful days. But his owner was always an excentric person, and in his will left an injunction that the horse should not be sold under a certain price, which, not being obtainable, occasioned much difficulty when he was sent to Tattersall's. This condition of the will was, however, not explained to Mr. Tattersall, and the horse was offered for sale without reserve but perceiving what he considered bye-play on the part of the person having the care of Harkaway, Mr. Tattersall, with his usual independence and strict adherance to straightforward transactions, refused to sell the horse, and he was subsequently purchased by Mr. Hall by private contract. This is certainly a magnificent animal, and as all breeders of thorough-bred stock are aware, he is the sire of many winners. As he is advancing in years, it is highly probable he will be yet more emminently successful; for it has frequently occurred that our best stud horses have become sires of the best stock at a late period of their lives. This phenomenon is more particularly observable with horses which, like Harkaway, have been severely trained.

The Libel is by Pantaloon out of Pasquinade (sister to Touchstone), by Camel, out of Banter by Master Henry; Pantaloon by Castrel, out of Idalia by Peruvian, her dam Musidora by Meteor; Castrel by Buzzard ; Peruvian by Sir Peter; Camel by Whalebone, dam by Selim. He is a horse of much power, and an unexceptionable colour. But for a little contre temps, he stood a good chance of winning the Derby; just at starting he and Alarm commenced antagonistic capers, by which the latter horse was driven across the chains, and his rider dismounted, and thus the chances of both horses were doubtless materially preju diced.

A man must be fastidious in the extreme who desires to see a more symmetrical horse than Lothario. I could not leave him, after I had seen all the others, without paying him a second visit. He is by Giovanni out of Moggy by Sultan, her dam Active by Partisan, out of Eleanor by Whiskey; Giovanni was by Filho da Puta out of a Don Juan mare, her dam Moll in the Wod, by Hambletonian. Better blood does not flow in the veins of any horse; and he possesses many other recommendations. Giovanni, his sire, was not only successful as a race-horse,

but he could carry weight. I remember his winning the Heaton Park Cup with 11st. 6lbs. on his back, beating David, Chancellor, and five others; he also won a fifty pound prize, carrying 12st., and ran a good third to Rush, carrying 12st. 12lbs., giving the winner 2st. 10lbs. Lotharia was a good performer himself, and his action is very superior. To get hunters or riding horses, I entertain the highest opinion of him; that his racing stock should not be successful I do not mean to insinuate, but there are many important reasons why he should be selected for hunting and riding mares. The first of these is the moderate price at which his services are attainable; and if Mr. Hall were to offer me my choice of sending a mare to Lothario or Epirus at the same price, my determination would be guided simply by any peculiarities which the mare might possess, and which would render one horse more eligible than the other. The next consideration is his colour--a beautiful bay, and what is equally important for the purpose under consideration, is that of his ancestors, the prevailing colour of which was similar to that of himself; out of fourteen of his family ten were bay, two brown, and two chesnut. In breeding first-class horses for the saddle, colour is a subject worthy of attention.

Kremlin is by Sultan out of Francesca by Partisan, her dam by Orville, grandam by Buzzard out of Hornpipe by Trumpator; Sultan by Selim out of Bacchante by Williamson's ditto.

The next is an Irish-bred horse, Retreiver, by Recovery out of Taglioni by Whisker, grandam by Catton; Recovery by Emilius, dam by Rubens. This horse won every race he started for, in Ireland, which equalled a baker's dozen. He also won the Goodwood Stakes, and several other races in England.

The most perfect animal of the kind it has ever been my good fortune to inspect, is a bay horse called Cleveland Shortlegs. His power is immense. His legs are enormous, and withal as clean as those of a thorough-bred one. He is of the original Cleveland descent, is got by Noble Surprise, dam by Old Golden Elephant, grandam by Summer Cock, great-grandam by Luck's All, great-great-grandam Cleveland Fancy. Old Golden Elephant was got by Noble, Noble by Joliffe ; Noble Surprise was got by Bay Chilton, Bay Chilton by Catfoss, Catfoss by Old Grand Turk. A portrait of this horse will, I understand, form one of the embellishments of the present number, and will in the usual course be accompanied by a suitable introduction. It is not, therefore, necessary for me to add more in his praise.

I saw also a great number of useful brood mares, foals, yearlings, and two-year-olds, amounting to about one-hundred-and-fifty. To particularize them all would occupy too much space, I must therefore content myself with stating that they looked in excellent condition, and do justice to the care of the stud-groom. The accommodations provided for them are excellent.

From such an admirable selection of stallions, breeders cannot fail to find those which are suitable for all kinds of mares adapted to produce horses of the most valuable class. Those who do not feel confident in their own judgment may rely upon that of the proprietors of this establishment; for it is quite evident they would not have an animal of inferior kind on the premises. The same discrimination is manifest in every department. In breeding horses, three essential subjects should

be most scrupulously observed: the choice of proper parents, providing them and their offspring with suitable food, and judicious treatment of the legs and feet. If these points were thoroughly respected in their various details, the progeny would be of a superior kind; weak, infirm animals would be exceptions. Unfortunately, however, one of the first sources from whence success can be reasonably expected is disregarded, that is, the selection of brood mares. How any reflecting mind can imagine that a superior and valuable foal will be the issue of an inferior mare is an anomaly difficult to reconcile. It is a theory dangerous to circulate; for too many persons are inclined, when they have mares which are worthless for other purposes, to consign them to the stud, upon the chance of their producing good foals. Loss and disappointments are almost invariably the result. Opinions vary whether foals partake most of the good or bad qualities of the sire or dam. Many examples may be brought forward to maintain an argument on both sides; but the safest plau, and the only one to be adopted as a rule, is to avoid breeding from inferior animals of either sex. Being in possession of a good mare, the next consideration is, which stallion is most suitable? and in this selection much discrimination is necessary. It is an established fact, that animals do not invariably partake of the nature and properties of their immediate parents; but they may take after their grandsires and grandams, and even more remote generations. This is very palpable with reference to colour. Nothing can be more likely to entail disappointment than expecting to obtain symmetry and perfections by the combination of great extremes. In the hope of breeding a weight-carrying hunter, it is useless to put a cart-mare to a thorough-bred horse. Fancy the produce, with head and body resembling the dam ; neck, shoulders, and legs like those of the sire; and a precious specimen of deformity it would be. But this is not an imaginary problem. Much as I admire Cleveland Shortlegs, I should more contemplate his being the sire of a hunter from a thorough-bred mare. It is the adaptation of every horse to the purpose for which he is best calculated that renders him of the utmost value he is capable of attaining, and success is mainly dependent on the judgment of the owner in making a suitable distinction. If it is intended to breed carriage-horses from good-shaped, powerful mares, and something of the same stamp as the horse just named, a better kind of animal cannot be desired. As we require horses for various purposes, it is very important to cultivate those which are most perfect in their respective properties, and this can only be accomplished by keeping the different classes very nearly distinct, otherwise we obtain a mongrel breed, scarcely fit for anything, certainly not fit for breeding hereafter. This remark is particularly applicable to mares which are not thorough-bred; unless their lineage is known, and the properties of their progenitors, breeding from them is quite a matter of chance. Such a mare may have the appearance of being well-bred, though her grandsire may have been a cart-horse; and she may requite her owner, whose hopes are concentrated in the prospective of breeding a hunter with the prototype of her grandsire. These and similar coincidences have led so many persons to regard the subject of breeding horses with distaste. They or their neighbours have been disappointed, while others who have devoted more attention to the subject have been successful. Thns it is often declared

that breeding is dependent upon chance; but that is a mistaken opinion. Many circumstances may occur, the causes of which at the first glance we cannot account for, but investigation will generally elucidate the mystery. Nature's mandates will be obeyed; and persons who will take the trouble to investigate her laws, will take advantage of precepts for their future guidance.

Breeders of racing stock have in many respects fewer difficulties to contend with, than those who breed for other purposes. They have the Stud Book and Racing Calendar to refer to, by which they can determine what crosses of blood have been most successful. By this they are enabled to avoid incestuous strains. On that account, mares by Touchstone would not be suitable to Harkaway, as the grandsires of each, Whalebone and Whisker, were own brothers. Epirus would be the selection, and for this we have examples. Pyrrhus the First, one of his sons, was out of Fortress by Defence; Defence by Whalebone ; Lamartine, another, out of Grace Darling, also by Defence. Upon the same principle, mares by Sir Hercules would be admirably adapted to Epirus, and most others which are descended from Whalebone or Whisker. Mares by Venison would be suitable either to Epirus or Harkaway; and as there is such a well-selected diversity of blood among the stallions at Dudding Hill, there can be no difficulty in procuring that which is most eligible.

It has been frequently noticed that the best foals have not been brought forth till one of the parents had become advanced in years; but this more often applies to stallions than mares. There is certainly an objection to breeding from very old mares, because their offspring is generally smaller than those which are foaled during the most vigorous period of their lives. Many celebrated breeders appear to have a great predilection for very young mares; but I believe both extremes should be avoided. It may be remarked that some of our best horses were first foals: Doctor Syntax, Filho da Puta, Touchstone, and Sir Hercules. Several others might be enumerated, but they do not occur to me at the present moment. Paynator was twenty years old when Doctor Syntax was foaled; Whalebone, the sire of Sir Hercules, was the same age; Haphazard was fifteen, and Camel nine years old when their respective sons came into life. These examples are in favour of patriarchal sires and somewhat juvenile matrons. The age of Doctor Syntax's dam is not known, but the others were six, five, and four years old respectively.

An attempt is very frequently made, when a mare is undersized, to endeavour to compensate for that defect by putting her to the largest horse that can be found. I believe it to be a most erroneous practice; because the offspring, taking after each of its parents, is commonly disproportioned. Unless the anatomical proportions are accurate, perfect action cannot exist; and without that, a horse cannot be gifted with either speed or indurance. If a mare be undersized, it is far more probable that success will follow in the event of her being put to a moderate-sized horse, relying on good keep to bring her offspring to the required standard, than to attempt to force nature by any means that are opposed to her principles. Whatever foals are reared on the Dudding Hill studfarm will not be deficient in their growth from want of proper food or attention.