1090 New Yokk State Breeders' Association 



then be no sentiment attached to the maintenance of the heavy 

 draft horse and when it is shown that manv of his duties can be 

 performed more economically Ity mechanical power his day of 

 curtailment will most certainly have arrived. 



In the meantime, therefore, it seems to me possible to combine 

 the cross-breeding of the heavy draft horse with horses of a 

 lighter type, such as thoroughbreds and trotters, to the end that 

 we may obtain types of horses that will supply the present de- 

 mand, at a good profit to the breeder, for saddle horses, hunters, 

 army remounts, general utility horses and artillery horses. 



Idealizing that a proposal to cross a thoroughbred stallion on 

 a Percheron, Suffolk, Clydesdale, Shire or Belgian mare would 

 be regarded as something of a radical departure from the accepted 

 law of '' like begets like," I wrote to Mr. Henry Fairfield Osborne, 

 President of the American Museum of i^atural History, of IS[ew 

 York, seeking his opinion. I wrote as follows : 



" Dismissing the economic side of the subject, I am taking the 

 liberty of asking your views on the cross-breeding phase. The 

 experience of some men has shown them, it is said, that the cross- 

 ing of the thoroughbred (which is the cleanest of all bloods 

 descend(,'d from the oldest pure-bred race known) upon the trot- 

 ting-bred, (which is a dccendent from the thoroughbred) has not 

 always proven satisfactory, the usual result being what is com- 

 monly called a ' weed.' The idea therefore suggests itself to me 

 that if the liot-blooded thoroughbred were crossed upon its antithe- 

 sis in breeding, such as one of the phlegmatic heavy draft breeds, 

 the result would be more satisfactory as producing a horse that 

 would 1)0 a composite, or medium type between the two strongly 

 opposite types, which would be desirable for use as a docile weight 

 carrying saddle horse, cross countiy hunter, general utility horse, 

 military charger, or artillery horse, according to the individu- 

 ality (if llic sire and dam selpctc'(l and llie iiidi\'iduality of the 

 produce. If 3'ou would kindly consider this matter from the 

 view point of eugenics, I should be most happy to cpiote whatever 

 views you might have." 



In answer to the foregoing, I received the following from Pro- 

 fessor Osborne: 



" In my opinion, crossing with a thoroughbred for farming 



