The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-08-23
THE KAIsER's HORSES.


 Picks Thirty From the State Stud
 Every Year as His Royal Perquisite,
 Emperor William is probably the most magniflcently horsed manareh in Christendom This Is due to the fact that as King of Prussia he has a right to select free of cost each year as his royal perauisite thirty of the finest horses-that is to say, the pick of the flock, from the state stud at Trakehnen. 1 The latter is a national institution, of worldwide fame, upon which the Gov ernment ever since the days of Freder- 1 ick the Great has lavshed enormous sums.
 Every year some of the finest horses on the English, the French and the American turf are purchased, well nigh regardless of cost, and are carried off to this huge breeding farm of the Ger man cavalry. The sallions selected have always been those in which speed and weight carrying capacity are unit ed in the highest possible degree, the result being that after nearly 200 years the Trakehnen has become one of the 1 finest breeds in the world Every year, in the month of May, the four-year- olds are distributed among the auxili- ary, or secondary, stud farms of Prus- sia, not, however, before the Emperor's master of the horse has had his pick of the finest thirty.
 1 It is this constant addition to his stables without cost to himself, that renders 1t necessary for the Kaiser to sell each spring the surplus stock of his own stables in order to make room for the newcomers. It is as well to ex- plain this, since these clearance sales | of the royal stables at Berlin have ex- | licted a good deal of criticism, some peo- lple blaming the Emperor for thus rid | ding himself of faithful equine servants entitled to a restful old age, while oth CTS have assumed that these sales indi- cated that the Kaiser was too hard on his horses and quickly wore them out. Neither of these insinuations is, there fore, just. The Kaiser has not room for more than certain number of horses in his stables, is obliged to make room for the new batch of thirty that arrive from Trakehnen each May and natural Fly gets rid of the inferior material, re- taining only the very best. In fact, there lis a perpetual process of selection and elimination going on.
 A feature of these Trakehnen horses of the Kaiser is their extraordinary do- cility. That spirit of the subordination to authority which dominates all things living in Germany operates on the colt from it's birth You can enter field at Trakehnen in which a hundred three year-old stallions are running free watched by mounted herder, and al- l though a stranger you may walk in the midst of them, pat them on the nose or flank, and they will show them selves as gentleas sheep To achieve such a. result prizes are offered to those herds whose horses show the most Iconflding disposition on the approach of man. In order to promote this qual- | ity it is made rule that each day the l colts are to be stroked by the hand, hand, their feet raised and in other ways so treated as to make them thoroughly familiar with their future masters.
 | Trakehenen is situated in the eastern most portion of Prussia and the pro- lperty is about ten miles in one direc- ton and stretches seven miles in the other. It was the father of Frederick ! the Great who first pitched upon the place and who converted the swamp, over which the moose roamed wild, in- 1 to the. finest pasture land in Germany. Of course the least favorable feature about Trakehnen is its geographical position with regard to Russia; and as a matter of fact it has three times been exposed to capture by invasion from across the eastern frontier, but on each occasion the officials in charge of the Trakehnen stud farm have been able to escape with all the animals in their charge.
 Within a drive from Trakehnen is Rominten, the favorite hunting retreat Of the Kaiser, forests well stocked with wild deer and boar, and where, 1t may be remembered, he received Count lWitte on the latter's return from Amer ioa on the conclusion of the Peace of Portsmouth.-Wa Post.