1883.] THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE, 241 



created the enthusiasm his successor Flora Temple did. She 

 lowered the record to 2.24i in 1856, and again to 2.19f in 1859. 

 We began now to have a 2.20 class, and what an enthusiasm it 

 created ! Flora Temple became a household word — ladies wore 

 Flora Temple bonnets, boys smoked Flora Temple cigars, politi- 

 cians drank Flora Temple whisky. It is not probable that any 

 one trotter will ever again create such enthusiasm. She died only 

 five years ago, in her thirty-third year. I have seen several state- 

 ments as to her winnings, which were large. Then came Dexter, 

 lowering the record twice before retiring from the turf ; then 

 Goldsmith Maid, whose speed and fame are said to have brought 

 her owners near a quarter of a million of dollars; then Rarus, St. 

 Julien, and Maud S. 



We have followed this evolution through. We have seen the 

 sentiment starting, apparently in New England, which produced the 

 earliest trotters, then spreading to the Middle States, where it had 

 its greatest growth, and then it spread through those parts of the 

 world where there are good roads and light carriages. It has 

 been claimed that trotting was started first in Italy, Projects for 

 trotting courses were advocated in France as early as 1834, and in 

 Normandy in 1832, and there has been a slow development in 

 various countries of Europe. But the real development has 

 been here ; although now there are trotting courses in most civilized 

 countries of the world. I received last year trotting records in 

 Norwegian. 



We have traced its growth and seen what a combination of 

 causes has been at work in society aiding in the development: 

 sentiments against horse-running, and a taste for trotting taking 

 its place ; a few French West Indians wishing trotters rather than 

 pacers (possibly because better broken to the gallop) ; improve- 

 ment in wagons, and the invention of steel springs ; a fashion 

 arising of driving horses single ; hickory to make light wagons 

 of ; the needs in our modern city business requiring quick road 

 sters ; changes in the methods of war ; introduction and wide- 

 spread use of railroads for quick travel and heavy transportation ; 

 the spirit of the age, etc., etc., have all been factors in this most 

 interesting problem; factors, the separate value of which would 

 be very differently estimated by different persons viewing the sub- 

 ject from different standpoints. 



Professor Marsh has shown us how that the horse has developed 



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