To the Editor of the "Norra-Cama Dairy News."
S1r,—No one can have read Di. Keylock's interesting letter, coming, as it does, on top of Mr. Sowerby's dissertation, without feeling that these two gentlemen are endeavouring very earnestly to contribute the benefit of their observations and experience to our racing community> Mr. Sowerby's article was from a biological standpoint and Dr: Keylock's from the point of view of scientific breeding. I may be excused by these two gentlemen for venturing an opinion on the subject from; a practical standpoint, by virtue of, my having visited; the pony breeding district on five different- occasions to import ponies.
One might say that nearly all our racing animals have come from the breeding plains near San Petz, which is about one quarter of the trade route of 850 miles from Manchouli, along the Kerulen river, to Urga. These ponies have always been recognized as the best racing material, due to the rich, grassy plain, the water and the lime subsoil of those parts. On each occasion when the writer went to San Petz, the increase of foreign stallions running about in the Mongol-owned mobs was very noticeable as compared with every previous visit. Last year, however, the increase was by far the more remarkable because of the numbers of Russian-owned herds that had migrated southwards and eastwards and of which the Mongols were not' slow to take advantage by purchase, with a view to the improvement of their own stock.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.