102 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



a box-stall or a stable, and feeding high, had a bad effect. 

 That is no doubt true. But you take a horse that is limited 

 to the service of about a dozen mares, and that horse will 

 be very likely to transmit his qualities, whatever they may 

 be, to his progeny ; but you take a horse that has to serve 

 an unlimited number of mares, perhaps five or six in a day, 

 twenty or thirty in a week, and you will not have very many 

 of his qualities transmitted: they will be bad qualities, at 

 any rate. I have known cases of that kind a great many 

 times ; and I think, Mr. Chairman, that you can scarcely put 

 your finger on a single case where a good horse has been 

 allowed to serve mares at a low price, and had to serve an 

 unlimited number, that ever produced good stock. I think 

 the fact stated by the gentleman who said that he put his 

 mare to one horse, and her properties were not transmitted, 

 and then again to the same horse, and her properties were 

 transmitted, might be accounted for in this way, — that, the 

 first time, the mare was put to the horse after he had served 

 a great many mares previously, and the next time she was 

 put to him when he had not served a mare for a week or 

 two, perhaps. You will find that a great deal depends on the 

 manner in which you use your animal. I have protested, 

 time and time again, to a person who kept a thoroughbred 

 bull, because that bull could not transmit his properties to 

 the cows that went to be served, because he was allowing 

 that bull to run three or four times to one cow, whereas he 

 would have been just as likely to get a calf with one service 

 as with three or four. One of the worst processes to which 

 you can subject an animal is to try to make too much 

 money by allowing him to serve too many animals. If you 

 want to have good stock from good ancestors, be sure and 

 find out how the ancestors have been used. 



Mr. Williams of Waltham. Mr. Bowditch of Framing- 

 ham, who is here, has paid great attention, as I understand, 

 to horse-shoeing. I think it will be very interesting to this 

 audience, and it certainly will be to me, if he will explain 

 his theory and practice. 



Mr. E. F. Bowditch of Framingham. I would say, in 

 the commencement, that I have taken a good deal of inter- 

 est in shoeing horses for the last few years. I am a pupil 

 of Mr. Russell in that respect. The doctor who has been 



