114 THE HORSE. 



are decidedly bad, and one which is so good as to attract the notice 

 of her owner, then let him look around and select some horse in 

 whose pedigree is to be found a similar strain, taking care that the 

 relationship is not so close as to lead to disappointment on the score 

 of the bad effects attributable to in-breeding. But there are many 

 brood mares not in the Stud-book, whose pedigrees are not ascer- 

 tainable, and in their case this rule will not apply. Here a different 

 plan must be pursued, and a horse must be chosen whose shape, 

 action, or temper coincides with the particular quality which it is 

 desired to perpetuate. I am strongly inclined to believe that it is 

 comparatively of little use to look about for sires who possess those 

 qualities in which the dam is deficient. Such a course of proceed- 

 ing has so constantly ended in disappointment, within my own 

 knowledge, that I believe I am justified in condemning it. A stal- 

 lion (whether horse or greyhound, the same is observable) is known 

 to have been very fast, or very stout, as the case may be, and hav- 

 ing obtained the one character or the other, breeders have supposed 

 that they have only to send mares deficient in either quality, and 

 they would insure its development in the produce. If the mare or 

 bitch happens to possess among her ancestry stout or fast lines of 

 blood, the produce will display the one or the other, if she is put to 

 a horse possessing them ; but, on the contrary, if the lines of the 

 dam are all fast, or all stout, no first cross with a sire possessing 

 the opposite qualities will be likely to have any effect, though no 

 doubt there are some few exceptions to this, as to all other rules. 

 The instances in support of this position are so numerous within 

 my own knowledge, that I should scarcely be able to make a be- 

 ginning, and every one draws upon his own experience, or who 

 will examine the " Stud Book" and the " Coursing Calendar" will 

 find examples without end throughout every volume of each. It 

 would be invidious to select any stallion now in this country, but 

 among those which have been well tried here in the stud, and are 

 here no longer, may be mentioned the Flying Dutchman. This 

 horse was well known to have been himself not only fast, but stout, 

 and, as a consequence, even those breeders who are aware of the 

 necessity for regarding both of these qualities were induced to 

 breed from him, expecting that the result would be to give them 

 similar stock in the next generation. The contrary, however, was 

 the case. In many cases speed was developed, but in almost every 

 instance, without an exception, that speed was not allied with stay- 

 ing power. The unlooked-for result has been attributed to his 

 sire, Bay Middleton, whose stock have been notoriously flashy ; but 

 if the pedigree of Barbelle, his dam, is carefully examined, a still 

 stronger reason may be assigned. If her lines are traced back five 

 generations, it will be seen that out of her thirty-two progenitors 

 in that remove fourteen are descended from Herod or his sire, 



