SECRETARY'S REPORT. 113 



durable road horses and for any light harness work, is not equalled 

 by any other, any where. In the present state of our knowledge 

 it is scarcely conceivable how an animal possessing the endow- 

 ments of Justin Morgan could have originated in any other way 

 than from such a joarentage as above indicated. On the other hand 

 it is very certain that contrast in character, as well as in breed, has 

 occasioned much of the disappointment of which breeders have had 

 occasion to complain. 



The principle here laid down is one of broad application, and 

 should never be lost sight of in attempts at improvement by cross- 

 ing. Another point worthy special attention is that all crossing 

 to insure successful results should be gentle rather than violent ; 

 that is, never couple animals possessing marked dissimilarity, but 

 endeavor to remedy faults and to effect improvement by gradual 

 approaches. Harmony of structure and a proper balancing of de- 

 sirable characteristics, "an equilibrium of good qualities," as it 

 has been happily expressed, can be secured only in this way. 



It may not be out of place here to say, that much of the talk 

 about hlood in animals, especially horses, is sheer nonsense. When 

 a "blood horse" is spoken of, it means, so far as it means anything, 

 that his pedigree can be traced to Arabian or Barbary origin, and 

 so is possessed of the peculiar type of structure and great nervous 

 energy which usually attaches to " thorough-bred" horses. When 

 a bull, or cow, or sheep is said to be of "pure blood," it means 

 simply that the animal is of some distinct variety — that it has been 

 bred from an ancestry all of which were marked by the same pecul- 

 iarities and characteristics. 



So long as the terra "blood " is used to convey the idea of definite 

 hereditary qualities it may not be objectionable. We frequently 

 use expressions which are not strictly accurate, as when we speak 

 of the sun's rising and setting, and so long as every body knows 

 that we refer to apparent position and not to any motion of the 

 sun, no false ideas are conveyed. But to suppose that the hered- 

 itary qualities of an animal attach to the blood any more than 

 to any other fluid or to any of the tissues of the body, or that the 

 blood of a high-bred horse is essentially different from that of an- 

 other, is entirely erroneous. The qualities of an animal depend 

 upon its organization and endowments, and the blood is only the 

 vehicle by which these are nourished and sustained ; — moreover 

 the blood varies in quality, composition and amount, according to 

 the food eaten, the air breathed and* the exercise taken. If one 

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