484 THE HOUSE OF AMERICA. 



the running horse alone, but applies to all the varieties of our 

 domestic animals; and whenever the point is reached at which 

 the danger of reversion has been overcome the animal is "thor- 

 oughly bred/ 7 and the term "thoroughbred" applied just as 

 properly to one kind of domestic animal as to another. 



The question here arises as to whether the American Trotting 

 Horse can be so thoroughly bred as to be entitled to be ranked as 

 a thoroughbred trotter? This question is already affirmatively 

 answered when we say the rule "applies to all the varieties of 

 our domestic animals." This is the general fact, but the trot- 

 ting horse has a qualification, already determined, that serves as 

 a fixed starting point in giving him rank. The standard as 

 originally adopted and honestly administered was the mighty 

 engine that wrought the revolution in breeding the trotter. 

 It fixed a certain qualification that had to be complied with be- 

 fore an animal could be admitted to standard rank, and that 

 qualification was in brief to either perform or produce a per- 

 former that could cover a mile in 2:30. It excluded no strains 

 of blood, but it admitted the animals only that had fully demon- 

 strated the ability to trot or to produce trotters. The standard 

 is now antiquated, and far behind the speed of the trotters, which 

 is a clear demonstration of the wisdom of its construction and 

 adoption, but to this topic I will refer at another place more at 

 length. With the standard, then, and the unmistakable evidence 

 it furnished of the possession of what we will call "trotting 

 blood," we have a more definite and satisfactory starting point 

 than can be claimed for any kind or variety of domestic animal. 

 With this demonstrated ability to trot fully established, we can 

 commence to count the generations of standard animals in a trot- 

 ting pedigree, and if we find five generations of ancestors, with 

 every animal standard bred, we can safely and intelligently say 

 the animal is "thoroughly bred" as a trotting horse. With these 

 sixty-two progenitors all legally established as standard animals, 

 who will say this is not a thoroughbred trotting horse? He is not 

 only thoroughbred, but he is more distinctly and completely 

 thoroughbred than any other domestic animal, because the fifth 

 generation of his ancestors, and the fourth and the third and the 

 second and the first have all proved that they are either trotters 

 or the producers of trotters. No other breed has ever been 

 established on so good a foundation, for they have fairly won 

 their initial honors by what they have done. But this is one 



