STALLION LEGISLATION IN NEBRASKA.

H. R. SMITH, PROFESSOR OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA. From the fact that a large number of horses, more particularly stallions, are imported in the United States annually from France, Germany, Belgium, England and Scotland, it is to be inferred that those countries have made greater advancement in horse breeding and that we are desirous of using some of their best types as a means of improving the common stock of this country. While we are willing to admit that we have been backward in the adoption of methods that will bring about the greatest improvement in our horses, there seems now to be a disposition to inaugurate a campaign of education and legislation which it is to be hoped will result in much greater progress than has been made in the past. We have in many parts of America a soil and climate extremely favorable for the breeding of horses and it would seem like an unnecessary extravagance for us to continue to spend vast sums of money for equine stock bred and developed in foreign countries. While the importation of good blood is not to be discouraged-in fact, it is to our advantage to procure horses from across the water if we can find better types there at the same time it would seem that if a systematic effort is made to breed the best and in larger numbers than formerly, we can in a few years put our country in a class with those countries in Europe which have been furnishing us for years with high priced individuals. The European countries, to which reference has already been made, have been especially successful in the breeding of horses because popular sentiment has been favorable for the best development of the industry. This has made it possible to enact legislation that would discourage the use of inferior sires. Furthermore the people that have been engaged in this work in these several sections of Europe have shown a disposition to study the business with care and perseverence, and to cooperate with their respective governments for the enforcement of laws that have been enacted in the interests of horse breeding. It is difficult to understand why in America we have neglected to provide such laws. It would seem that in our commercial activity, in our haste to get wealth from the soil, we have been unmindful of even the immediate future.

The first legislation in the United States having in view the improvement of horses was enacted in the state of Wisconsin, April 22, 1905. This law which went into effect June 1, 1906, provided for the issuing of state licenses to all stallions in Wisconsin which upon examination were found free from "hereditary, contagious or transmissable unsoundness, or disease." This law further provided that all stallions not of pure breeding should be advertised as grades or crossbreds. Soon afterwards similar laws were passed by Minnesota, Iowa, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Utah, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota,

Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Iowa, Colorado and Nebraska were the only states which did not provide for an examination for soundness. Most of the states passed such laws as would disqualify from public service stallions of hereditary unsoundness. Kansas has been issuing licenses to unsound stallions, but their law provided that the diseases which a stallion may have should be enumerated on the certificate so that the public would have knowledge as to the degree of unsoundness. Iowa and Nebraska have recently passed laws to provide for an examination for soundness and other states not named above have during the past winter passed similar laws. From present indications it seems probable that every state in the Union will in a few years have statutes that will put a stop to the practice of using for public service stallions having hereditary unsoundness and such that will discourage the use of sires of mixed and mongrel stock which produces offispring, variable in type, conformation and quality with inferior offspring usually predominating. There are a number of so-called stud book companies in the United States which are willing to accept for entry, horses which are not of pure breeding, the only requirement being the payment of a good sized entry fee. These companies have circulated pretentious certificates and the possessor of one of these naturally feels that his horse is a pure bred unless he knows the facts concerning the breeding. A few years ago the United States Department of Agriculture made an investigation of these various record associations and prepared a list of approved stud books. While it has recently developed that the United States Department of Agriculture has no legal authority to recognize certain associations, the states have been glad to adopt the list prepared by the National government and this list is now being incorporated in the various state laws. It is hoped that the legalizing of certain standard record associations in this manner will put a stop to the organization of companies which make a practice of issuing certificates for mixed-bred horses.

The first stallion law passed in Nebraska was what is known as the West bill, which became a law April, 1909. This law provides only for the examination of pedigrees. A new law which further provides for an examination for soundness has recently been enacted but will not go into effect until July 7, 1911. The present law will therefore be operative until that time. It reads as follows:

THE 1909 STALLION LAW.

SECTION I. Any owner or keeper of any stallion kept for public service, or any owner or keeper of any stallion kept for sale, exchange or transfer, who represents such animal to be pure bred, shall cause the same to be registered in some stud book recognized by the Department of Agriculture at Washington, D. C., for the registration of pedigrees, and obtain a certificate of registration of such animal. He shall then forward the same to the Professor of Animal Husbandry of the University of Nebraska, whose duty it shall be to examine and pass upon the genuineness of such certificate filed for enrollment. In making such examination, said Professor of Animal Husbandry shall use as his standard, the stud books recognized by the Department of Agriculture at Washington, D. C., and

shall accept as pure bred, any animal registered in such stud book. And if such registration is found to be correct and genuine, he shall issue a certificate under the seal of the Department of Animal Husbandry, of the University of Nebraska, which certificate shall set forth the name, sex, age, and color of the animal, also the volume and page of the stud book in which said animal is registered. For each enrollment and rtificate he shall receive the sum of one dollar ($1) which shall accompany the certificate of registration when forwarded for enrollment.

SEC. 2. Any owner or keeper of a stallion for public service who represents or holds such animal as pure bred, shall place a copy of the certificate of the Department of Animal Husbandry, of the University of Nebraska, on the door of the stall of the stable where such animal is usually kept.

SEC. 3. Any owner or keeper of a stallion kept for public service, for which a certificate from the Department of Animal Husbandry, of the University of Nebraska has not been issued, shall have printed in al hand-bills, posters, advertising cards, or in any newspaper advertisement calling the attention of the public to said stallion or stallions, the words "grade stallion" in black faced type of the same size as that used in the name of said stallion or stallions, immediately preceding or above the name of said stallion or stallions, and must have printed hand-bills or posters, not less than five by seven inches in size, and said hand-bills or posters must have printed thereon immediately above or preceding the name of the stallion or stallions, in type not smaller than one inch in height the words "grade stallion," said hand-bills or posters to be kept posted over the main entrance to all places where said stallion or starlions are kept for public service.

SEC. 4. If the owner of any registered stallion shall sell, exchange, or transfer the same, and file said certificate, accompanying the same with a fee of fifty cents with the Professor of Animal Husbandry of the University of Nebraska, he shall upon receipt of the original certificate properly transferred, and the required fee, issue a new certificate to the new owner of the animal. All fees provided by this act shall go into the treasury of the University of Nebraska.

SEC. 5. Any person who shall fraudulently represent any horse, to be pure bred, or any person who shall post or publish or cause to be posted or published any false pedigree or certificate, or shall use any stallion for public service, or sell, exchange or transfer any stallion, representing said animal to be pure bred, without first having such animal registered and obtaining the certificate of the Department of Animal Husbandry of the University of Nebraska as herein before provided, or who shall violate any of the provisions of this act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00), or imprisoned in the county jail not exceeding thirty (30) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

Under this law there have been a large number of registrations. In the main there has been a disposition to comply with its provisions, as it is generally recognized that some legislation along this line has been urgent. On the other hand, there are a number of owners of grade stallions who have not complied with the law, and there are doubtless some persons in the state who own pure-bred stallions that have not made applications for state licenses. Following is a complete list of registrations made to date (May 4, 1911), classified according to breed: