THE PERCHERON HORSE. 



In the breeding of horses, as hitherto pursued in Maine, com- 

 paratively little attention has been given to the production of 

 beasts for heavy labor; the fast trotter and the horse of "all work" 

 being the almost universal aim of those engaged in rearing and in 

 the improvement of breeds. 



Substitution of the labor of the horse for that of the ox has fol- 

 lowed, with even step, the progress of improvement in agriculture 

 in Great Britain, until now the working ox is found only to a very 

 limited extent and in a few sections, as in Devonshire where the 

 breed is better suited for labor than many others. 



All are ready to admit the benefits arising from a division of 

 labor in the employments of men. The same principle holds good 

 with regard to the employments and uses of beasts. The only 

 doubt which can be entertained regards the extent to which the 

 division should be carried, or whether that stage of progress has 

 been reached where it may be adopted with advantage. 



Believing that the time has arrived when a heavier class of 

 horses than has hitherto been sought may be reared among us 

 advantageously, it is gratifying to notice that attention and effort 

 are thus directed. 



Among the larger breeds of Europe none is held in higher esteem 

 for the possession of that combination of good qualities which 

 gives value for farm and draft purposes, than the Percheron. 



The introduction of a superior stallion of this breed by Mr. 

 Horace Woodman of Saco, (the first, so far as we know, which has 

 ever been brought into the State,) induces the republication here 

 of a brief paper found in the last report of the Missouri Board of 

 Agriculture, by Jefferson K. Clark, Esq., of St. Louis, who was 

 so pleased with the stock from personal examination and study 

 where they are best known, that he imported two stallions and two 

 mares, involving no small trouble and considerable expense : 



" There are few persons in the United States even among those interested in 

 the breeding and management of horses, who are aware of tlie value and char- 



