446 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



as any one ; an active, light-footed horse, with spirit and mettle 

 disposing him to promptly respond to every call, and seem de- 

 lighted to accommodate you with any rate of speed down to 

 2.40, if you choose, with ease, grace, and elegance in every 

 movement ; one that will occasion persons meeting you to look 

 back just to enjoy the poetry. To sit behind such a horse 

 helps a man's digestion, and to produce such a one is just as 

 laudable an ambition as to make improvements in mechanics. 



" And here I am willing to record my protest against the 

 overshadowing consequence given by nearly all our live stock 

 journals and agricultural boards to the mere trotter. The horse 

 that can go his mile on a track as smooth as can be made, 

 attached to a vehicle as light as can possibly be constructed to 

 carry the weight of one man, and can come out two seconds 

 ahead, without regard to size, form, or color that such a test 

 should be regarded as a standard of merit, is, we think, an ab- 

 surdity. But it is not so much to the trotter that we object as 

 to the undue space and consideration given this class in our 

 papers, and the disproportionate awards by our agricultural 

 boards. We believe it is exceedingly doubtful whether this 

 course has resulted, or will result, in any material improvement 

 in our roadster horse. It leads to the neglect and under-value 

 of qualities other than mere speed at the trot. While the cul- 

 tivated aesthetic taste of men, women, and children is ever 

 ready to proclaim a thing of beauty a joy forever, we should 

 cultivate beauty and docility, and this can be done without sacri- 

 ficing any other desirable quality. 



" We have said something of the kind and quality of stock 

 that we think may be produced with profit, but this will de- 

 pend entirely on the treatment it receives, and to insure suc- 

 cess the first and indispensable thing to be done is to provide 

 an abundance of pasture. We recognize the red clover, mixed 

 with timothy, as the grand fertilizer and renovator of our fields, 

 and at the same time it furnishes the largest amount of pas- 

 ture ; and we hold that the management that secures the largest 

 possible amount of benefit to the stock is entirely consistent 

 with a large benefit to the soil. The stock must have an abun- 



