Some men reading the history of this type and that have persuaded themselves that a few Arabs selected personally in Arabia would enable them to beat their competitors as breeders and even to win against horses that traced back one hundred or two hundred years ago to Arab and Barb ancestors. Such folly always resulted in costly disappointment. This folly and consequent disappointment will become manifest as my narrative proceeds. But before going any further I do not wish any of my readers to harbor the notion that I think an Arab would stand any chance on an ordinary race-course to outrun an English Thoroughbred, or to out-trot in harness or under saddle an Orlof or an American. I maintain no such absurdity. But I do maintain that all these types, so that they may preserve their reproductive capacities, must get from time to time fresh infusions of this blood. That is why the purely bred Arabian—and the Nejdee is the purest of all—is as valuable to-day as when the Godolphin Barb and the Darley Arabian began the regeneration of the English horse into that wonderful Thoroughbred, which is one of England’s proudest achievements and most constant sources of wealth. Historical records dating back to the fifth century show that the best quality and the greatest number of Arabian horses were to be found in Nejd. They are also to be found there to-day, and the number has not, so far as the records speak, increased. They have never been numerous, as it has never been the policy of the chiefs to breed for numbers, but for quality. It is not true, however, that a lack of forage was the restraining cause of this comparative scarcity of horses in the very section where they have been kept in their greatest perfection. As a matter of fact, the pasture land of Arabia is singularly good. The very desert, during the greater part of the year, supplies sufficient browse for camels; while the pasture grass for horses, kine, and above all for sheep on the upper hill slopes, and especially in Nejd, is first-rate. To be sure there are occasional droughts, but few grazing countries in the world are free from them. No, the scarcity in horses is not due to a lack of food, but to two other reasons entirely satisfactory to the chiefs of Nejd. Horses there are not a common possession and used by all. On the contrary, their ownership is a mark of distinction and an indication of wealth, as they are never used except for war and the chase and racing, the camel carrying the burdens and doing the heavy work of the caravans. The second reason for the scarcity is that Nejdee horses are very rarely sold to be taken out of the province. This is not the result of sentiment, but one purely of protection and the desire to preserve a monopoly in a race that is easily the very purest in the world.