90 THE ORANGE COtTNTY 



of the importance which is attached to the sire. In England 

 horses of very great pretensions are patronized at 50 each 

 mare, descending to 10 as the minimum for sires of re- 

 spectable eminence. At the present day the number of stal- 

 lions is considerably above the average of former years, 

 which tends to a diminution of charges even of first-rate 

 horses; and as they descend in the scale of estimation the 

 reduction is more conspicuous. This is a fact which cannot 

 be regarded in any but a fortuitous aspect; being a greater 

 number, there is a greater variety, and a more copious field 

 for choice. When we examine the question as to the influ- 

 ence of the sires, compared with the dams, on the breed of 

 horses, the increase in the number of the former must be ac- 

 cepted in a most favorable position. 



That the object of promoting a breed of sound, useful, 

 powerful horses was not accomplished by deviations from the 

 customs of legitimate racing, is well known to all who have 

 devoted their attention to the passing events on the turf dur- 

 ing the last twenty years. In every instance they have had 

 an adverse tendency. There is not an example in the annals 

 of racing of a bonajide half-bred horse, that could defeat a 

 good thorough-bred one of the same age, at high weights, over 

 any distance of ground from two to four miles; and the great- 

 er the distance, and the higher the weights, more conclusive 

 have been the results in favor of blood. 



There is a circumstance which must not be omitted in 

 connection with breeding half-bred horses, as it may serve as 

 a beacon for other purposes. The most superior produce 

 always resulted from the mare which was not thorough-bred, 

 and the highest-bred horse. This principle is likewise ac- 

 knowledged by the breeders of all other kinds of stock, whether 

 cattle or sheep; and it is a subject of great importance to 

 those who breed hunters and first-class riding horses. It 

 leads to the conviction that the thorough-bred horse, from 

 the great care that has been, from time to time, bestowed in 

 the selection of the choicest subjects, has now become a more 

 highly-bred animal than the Arab, from which he was origin- 

 ally descended. This may afford another explanation to 

 causes already named why the produce from Arabian horses 

 and English thorough-bred mares are so utterly worthless. 

 The results might be more favorable through the agency of 

 Arabian mares with English horses. It was the opinion of 

 the late Earl Spencer, who, all the world is aware, devoted 

 great attention to the breeding of domestic animals, that the 

 influence which each parent exercises over its progeny is in 



