DILIGENCE. 33 



he could command business «s a stallion. Hence, too, their indifference to 

 pedigree. 



If the success of Diligence as a stallion is any evidence of the value of 

 the breed, I can state, that he has averaged eighty mares per season for the 

 ten seasons he has made in this country, and a^he is a very sure foal getter, 

 be must have produced at least four hundred colts ; and as I have never 

 vet heard of a colt of his that would not readily bring one hundred dollars, 

 and many of them much higher prices, you can judge of the benefit which 

 Qas accrued from his services. I have yet to learn that he has produced 

 me worthless colt, nor have I heard of one that is spavined, curbed, ring- 

 boned, or has any of those defects which render utterly useless so large a 

 number of the tine-bred colts of the present day. The opinion of good 

 judges here is, that we have never had, in this part of the country at 

 least, so valuable a stock of horses for farming purposes ; and further, that 

 no horse that ever stood in this section of the country has produced the 

 same number of colts whose aggregate value has been equal to that of the 

 colts of Diligence ; for the reason that, although there may have been indi- 

 viduals among them which would command a much higher price than any 

 of those of Diligence, yet the number of blemished and indifferent colts has 

 been so great, as quite to turn the scale in his favor. 



In reply to your queries, I would say to the first, that Diligence has not 

 been crossed at all with thorough-bred mares — such a thing is almost un- 

 known here at the present day ; but those mares the nearest approaching 

 to it have produced the cleanest, neatest, and handsomest colts, though 

 hardly large enough to command the best prices. Those I know of that 

 cross are excellent performers. 



2. The style of mares with which Diligence breed? best, appears to me to 

 be the mare which you would choose to breed carriage-horses from, with 

 a good length of neck, and tail coming out on a line with the back, to cor- 

 rect the two prominent faults in form of the breed, the short neck and 

 steep rump. 



3. What is the result of the cross with different styles (as regards size 

 and shape) ? This may be answered in a general way by stating, the size 

 will depend somewhat upon the size of the mare, with due allowance for 

 casting after back stock, which will be well understood by breeders. As 

 regards shape, you may depend upon the predominance of the form of the 

 horse in nine cases out of ten ; indeed, I have only seen one of his colts 

 that I could not instantly recognize from the form. The reason will occur 

 to you from what I have said of the extreme purity of the breed : such as 

 they are they have been for centuries ; and could you find another race 

 of horses of entirely different form in the same category as regards theii 

 pedigree, my belief is, that when you should see the first colt from them, 

 you would see the model of all that were to follow. 



4. Can you breed carriage-horses sufficiently fashionable for the city mar- 

 kets ? I do not hesitate to say that it cannot be done with the first cross. 

 There is too much coarseness about them, which must be worn down by 

 judicious crossing ; and I think a stallion got by Diligence upon a large- 

 sized thorough-bred mare, would go very far towards producing the desired 

 result. Should this fail, I feel very confident that another cross from these 

 colts on the thorough-bred mare, will give you the Morgan-horxe on a 

 larger scale. I still hold to the opinion I expressed to you years ago, that 

 le action of our common horses would be improved by this cross. His 

 • •- Its have higher action than their dams, and generally keep their feet bet- 

 ter under them; in other words, they pick them up quicker, not suffering 

 tiiem to rest so long upon the ground. 



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