CONTAGIOUS DISEASES OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 183 



After spending- a few days in Paris, talking with horsemen and gath- 

 ering what information I could, I determined to see the Percherou breed- 

 ing district for myself. All authorities agreed in pointing out Xogent 

 le Eotrou, situated about 100 miles southwest from Paris, in the ancient 

 province of La Perche, as the heart of the Percherou breeding country. 

 It is at and near this place that Mr. Dunham has bought hundreds of 

 horses within the past three years for the American trade, and where 

 the Messrs. Dillou and several of the other importers have made most 

 of their purchases for some time past ; and in this region is the only 

 place where any attempt is made to maintain the Percherou race in its 

 purity. 



On the day of my arrival at Nogent le Eotrou, a large number of 

 Percherou breeders had met to consult upon the propriety of establish- 

 ing a Percheron stud-book, in order to preserve the purity of the race 

 and to protect themselves from unscrupulons dealers in Paris and else- 

 where. I was much interested in the discussion which took i)lace. The 

 gentlemen present represented the principal breeders for some 20 or 30 

 miles around, and I was told that they owned at least 100 stallions that 

 had been kept for service this season. I questioned many of them. 

 Among others, the statement of Mr. Ernst Perriot, one of the most 

 noted of the breeders present, is a fair sample of what all had to say. 

 He is a very intelligent gentleman, and has sold many horses to Ameri- 

 can buyers. I should judge him to be about fifty years of age. His 

 statement was in substance as follows : 



I have been breeding horses right hero all my life, and my father and grandfather 

 were in the same business before me. We never breed or sell anj^ other than pnre 

 Pcrcherons. We have usually kept 6 or 7 stallions each year for service. They travel 

 around the country, serviug mares owned by the farmers at about 25 francs each. 

 We keep an eye on these mares, know where the best ones are, and when the foals 

 are weaned we buy many of the best ones each year and keep them until we can sell 

 them at a fair profit. I am sure there has been nothing but recognized pure Percheron 

 stallions used in our stud since the time of my grandfather, aud nothing else has been 

 used in this whole Percheron region within my knowledge. There is a tradition that 

 about the time my grandfather engaged in the business some Boullouais blood was 

 introduced iuto this country for the purpose of increasing the size of the Percherons, 

 but certainly there has been none since about fifty years ago. The true Percherons 

 will now average as largo or larger than theBouUonais. Neither Mr. Dunham, Mr. Dil- 

 lon, nor any other American importer has over bought any Norman horses here. We don't 

 have any such horses. You can see plenty of Normans in Paris; they are all suiall horses, 

 mostly bays, aud are used in the cabs and carriages. They are generally half-bloods 

 got by English thoroughbred sires, and some of them are out of Percheron dams, and 

 are usually called Anglo-Normans. 



The same statements, substantially, in regard to purity of race and 

 the name, were obtained from all the breeders interviewed, notably 

 Auguste Tacheau (province of Sarthe), Pierre Sagot (province of Enre- 

 et-Loir), and Celestin Caget (province of Orne). In fact, so far as I 

 could learu, it was almost an insult to ask one of the breeders present 

 if they bred or sold any other than Percherou horses, and they spurned 

 the term " Norman " with contempt. 



