INTRODUCTION. 



THE author of tins work, a native, and for years a resident 

 of Orange County, and one whose avocation has thrown him 

 much into the society of her horsemen, and consequently en- 

 abled him to acquire very valuable information in regard to 

 the breeding of horses in that county, and the history and 

 pedigree of its celebrated animals, in presenting his book to 

 the public, hopes that, in estimating its value, the reliability, 

 novelty, and usefulness of its statements will be taken into 

 consideration by the reader. It is probable that no useful 

 animal is more affected by climate and food than the horse; 

 and while the climate of the County of Orange seems favor- 

 able to the production of the horse, and its rich pastures and 

 fine meadows afford the elements for developing the finest 

 form and most enduring constitutions, it is only by a judi- 

 cious system of breeding that to these two requisites of a 

 good horse, the third, that of speed, can be added. 



Our ideas of the system of breeding which should be 

 adopted in order to be successful, and the reasons upon 

 which they are founded, constitute our first article. It con- 

 tains no idle dogmas or worthless and fantastic theories, cal- 

 culated to lead the earnest and honest searcher for useful 

 knowledge into gross errors and mistakes, but rather a 

 collection of rules, precepts, and facts, deduced from long 

 experience in and close observation of all matters pertaining 

 to the subject. 



While it is an undeniable fact that many fast trotters have 

 been bred and raised by persons who had no knowledge of 

 these principles, yet if the pedigree of such could be cor- 

 rectly traced, it would be found that the breeders thereof 

 have almost invariably conformed unintentionally to 



