Related article: much reason in the disfavour with which the saddle itself is looked upon by many practical and ex- perienced soldiers. In one respiect no doubt it is admirable, in having plain ^ooden panels which lie upon a folded blanket and a Purchase Ribavirin thick felt numnah. Such an arrange- ment is, for every reason, prefer- able to the old stuffed panels without the blanket. But it is very rightly urged that a great mistake was made when more than twenty years ago the old wooden saddle-tree was given up in favour of the present iron one. It is whispered, with how much truth it is impossible to say, that the iron saddle-tree was the invention of some Government official, and that it was adopted without being submitted to the examination and criticism of any practical soldiers. Its disadvan- tages are, however, very obvious. If the old wooden saddle-tree was broken or injured, it could always be mended by the regimental saddle-tree maker. If any accident happens to the iron tree, it can only be repaired (if at all) by a special expert at Woolwich ; on service it must be thrown away. The old tree could always be altered by the saddle-tree maker Purchase Ribavirin Online to suit a larger or smaller horse. I900.] THE SUCCESSFUL SIRES OF THE RACING SEASON. . 397 and this on service is a great consideration. The iron tree is immutable. The back arch of the iron tree generally spreads more or less and lowers the saddle on the horse's back. This could not happen with the wooden tree. The wooden tree was rather the lighter of the two. It does not seem to be necessary to enter into any further comparisons. Then for the stirrups. Instead of the old, rather heavy, rounded stirrup, a new and lighter pattern has been introduced, more like the ordinary hunting stirrup. Now, particularly in these days of frequent dismounted service, a soldier should have a very heavy stirrup. A light one swings about with every movement of the horse and every gust of wind, and no- thing is more discomposing to a man who wishes to mount quickly than to be painfully striving to catch a stirrup which constantly eludes his foot, and be it remem- bered that the soldier has probably a carbine in his hand, and so finds it difficult to catch hold of the stirrup to steady it. The stirrup also is too small. Men will probably in the future do most of their riding in highlows with gaiters or putties. The highlow is much larger, as a rule, and more clumsy in the foot than the old jack boot, and it is often with difficulty that it can enter the new-pattern stirrup. When once it is in, it is apt to stick — rather an awkward circumstance if a man has a fall. The bridle too has been altered, in some ways for the better. The mouth- piece of the bridoon, however, seems very thin and not likely to be of much value, either when used singly or with the bit. Our whole cavalry equipment is now, like the Army in general and everything connected with it, in a transition state. It will be interesting to see what will be finally approved and adopted when all our warriors have re- turned from Africa and have been able to give us the fruits of their experiences. C. Stein. The Successful Sires of the Racing Season. Among the Buy Ribavirin various lists of statistics connected with racing matters published by the sport- ing press, I think that none possess greater interest for the generality of sportsmen than the record of successful stallions. Not only is it entertaining to watch, as each stage of the racing season progresses, the contest for su- premacy in which the stallions are unwitting participants, but the list affords a valuable criterion of the comparative merits of the sires of the day. Breeders, it is safe to say, observe with keen attention the positions of the horses and can be relied upon not to omit the figures— should the record be sufficiently flatter- ing for the purpose — when adver- tising the covering fee of the sires or the public sale of Order Ribavirin their stock. Apart from its Buy Cheap Ribavirin utility to breeders, the table furnishes the ordinary meriiber of the sporting community with an excellent means of fol- lowing the after-careers of Turf 39« BAILY S MAGAZINE. [Deckmbck favourites and celebrities, which otherwise would be somewhat shrouded in mystery for all but the cognoscenti. Against the statistical fiend has been Generic Ribavirin advanced the argument that figures may be made to prove anything, and, without endorsing this sweeping assertion, it must be granted that the mere fact of a sire being credited with a large amount of winnings through his progeny does not necessarily point to that horse's superiority over others figuring lower on the list. Nowadays we have at least three ** ten-thousand- pounders " during the course of the season, and races with a value of anything between ^i,ooo and j^5,ooo,. if not as plentiful as gooseberries, at any rate are so frequent as to be met with at every meeting having pretensions to ** class." It is obvious that a single success in a race such as the Eclipse and the Century Stakes at Sandown Park, or the Jockey Club and the Princess of Wales's Stakes at Newmarket, will at once secure for the sire of the winner a promi- nent place on the list, irrespective of the other performances of his offspring. The present season furnishes noticeable examples of this fiaw Order Ribavirin Online in the statistical system, for Galopin, with only five win- ners of nine races, takes fourth place on the table, totalling ;^i 3,350, and Common, with but three winners of eight races, worth ;^i2,458, comes sixth, their exalted positions being due to Merry Gal's victory in the Princess of Wales's Stakes on the one hand and to Osbech's Century Stakes triumph on the other. The American Buy Ribavirin Online sire Domino also figures well up on the list with ;f 7,925, owing to the capture of the