

will spontaneously produce variety. Such practice is common with 

 our cattle breeders. The Horse called Jig of Jigs, in the same year 

 with Sampson, was got by Jig out of his own (Jig's) dam, and tbe sire 

 was but tliree years old, and had not been trained at tbe time of the 

 cover. lie was afterwards a good Plate-horse, covering mares in the 

 spring of each year of his running. Jig of Jigs proved likewise a win- 

 ning racer. The Earl of Egremont, I am informed, has occasionally 

 bred in and in. 



Experience teaches us to hold, that like produces like, and, est in 

 equk patrumvirtua, the virtue of his progenitors descejids to the Horse; 

 but it would be unreasonable in this particular case, to look for an ex- 

 emption from tbose fortuitous exceptions, which ever attend general 

 rules. Let us rebearse some of the difficulties, under which we are 

 placed by these variations of nature, from her general course. The 

 produce of the truest, best-bred, and best-shaped racers, will often be in^ 

 leriorin form and qualifications, and even totally wortbless. Of two 

 full brothers, one shall be a capital runner, the other, unable to race. A 

 Horse shall be a capital racer, yet quite worthless as a stallion; another, 

 although unable to race himself, shall get the highest-formed racers j 

 the same of mares. Examples of these facts are without end. Snip 

 and Blank were poor racers, although the former is said to have been 

 thorough-shaped, yet they have proved their title to rank amongst our 

 most capital stallions. On the other hand, Gimcrack, Shark, Dam, 

 and many others, although true and successful runners, never i)aid their 

 way as stallions. 



But to fill up the measure of our perplexities in this case, a true-bred 

 and thorough-shaped Horse shall have the best mares put to him, and 

 in a course of years, shall not get a nag good enough to win a leather 

 plate ; when, all on a sudden, for it seems, there is as well a tide in the 

 affairs of Horses, as of men, the same Horse shall produce a racer, to 

 challenge for, and win the whip over Newmarket. Numerous are the 

 instances of this kind. That of the Godolphin Arabian has been already 

 recited ; that famous stallion had been a mere cast-away, and was used 

 as a teazer. The afterwards so highly celebrated Marske, was in so low 

 repute, during his early years, as a stallion, that I have been credibly 



informed, 



