The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-02-26
BREED YOUR MARES.
Farmers Should Now Look About
for a Good and Suitable Sire.
The Horse Market Looks
Much Better.

A well known Turf Exchange has
the following in recent issue: The
question now arises in the mind of
the owner of mares suitable for breed
ng purposes, "ShaIl breed any mares
the coming spring." To the impair
tial observer it seems that during no
time during the past five years has
the outlook for the brood mare owner
been as bright as it is now. The in
crease in horse values is becoming
marked, and it must, in the nature of
things, continue to become more SO.
1t would seem good sense to advise
owners of good mares to breed them
next spring. Common sense, however,
must govern the breeder in his choice
as sire. The man who will breed a
half-bred draft mare to fast trotting
stallion expecting the produce will
command a good price for turf pur-
poses will be disappointed. The owner
of well-bred mare, that has good
trotting action and some speed, can
reasonably expect to raise "a foal pos
sessing speed and racing qualities if
she is mated with the best trottlng sire
to be found at a reasonable fee. If, on
the other hand, the brood mare is a
rangy, stylish, high-acting mare, find
stallion possessing the same qualifi-
cations and endeavor to raise a high
class harness horse, such as is in de-
tfland a tho fonhinnaI,la fnlly IF
our great cities. If one has draft, or
grade draft mare, mate her with the
best draft sire available and raise a
toal that will be in demand for draft
purposes. Let guess work play as lit
tie part in breeding operations as pos
sible. Breed for some set purpose,
and be satisfied with nothing but the
best available in the way of sire.
BY doing so the chances of failure will
be reduced to minimum.
1.-The stronger market for horses which
has been shown at the recent sales is
making itself felt all over the coun-
try. Breeders and dealers are very
generally making up their stock, and
buyers who have been through the
South and West report not only
higher prices, but a great scarcity of
desirable horses. One well known
buyer says that he is having greater
demand for high class horses than for
four or five years, and that he finds it
impossible to find horses of the right
sort to fill his orders at any price.
European buyers are picking up many
of our fastest trotters, and 1T begins to
look as though there would be short
age of first-class racing material next
season. One thing that will bear good
fruit for German and French breeders
is the great care which they take in Sc
lecting their breeding stock. They
want as much speed as possible, but
will not have a small, unsound or 9TH
erwise inferior animal. no matter how
much speed he may have. If Aneri-
can breeders had always been as careful
in their selection of breeding stock
there would not be as many culls on
the market as there are now. Horses
which are good in their class aud prom
Using youngsters are bringing good
prices, and as everything points to re-
newed prosperity for the Western and
Southern as well as the Eastern tracks
in 1897, money winners will be in de-
mand. The past two seasons have
seen falling off in the number of
trotting and pacing foals of at least
fifty per cent, and as in consequence
there will be for the next few years
only one-haIf, or less, of the former
crop to draw from, there will, of neces-
sity, be a smaller number of first-class
colts brought out aud their value will
surely increase accordingly.