THE HORSE BREEDING. 563 



both parents in some degree, and in the present state of our 

 knowledge we can neither control nor foresee the amount of 

 any particular quality that the offspring will inherit from either 

 parent." " If parents are alike in any particular, though diifer- 

 ent in all other respects, their offspring will all inherit that 

 quality strongly which comes from both parents, and will trans- 

 mit it to the next generation with greater certainty than if they 

 had inherited it from only one parent." 



If the trait or quality is strengthened by a line of ancestors 

 011 each side, the chances that the offspring will inherit that 

 trait in a marked degree are increased. From this we see how 

 little hope we may have of getting good and serviceable horses 

 from the random crossing of ill-bred and defective animals. 

 Let the farmers exercise greater care in the selection of the 

 stallion for the class of mares we have commended, and the 

 breeding of horses will advance. 



The Ideal Farm Horse. As a help in the selection of 

 a horse for purchase or breeding, we will copy what has been 

 written by Commissioner Loring. He says : "When I com- 

 menced farming I made up my mind that my horses should be 

 as good as my sheep and cattle; that none of them should be 

 surpassed, and that I should find out a way to breed and rear 

 my own, instead of going into the market to purchase the fruits 

 of other people's industry. I knew very well what I wanted. 

 I did not want a running-horse, nor a saddle-horse, or a cart- 

 horse; I wanted a horse of all work a horse weighing a little 

 more than a thousand pounds, in good road condition; fifteen 

 hands and one inch high (for I had found that this height and 

 weight usually go together); with a head not too fine, wide be- 

 tween the eyes, and high above them, with a good-sized, steady, 

 erect, and lively ear; with every bony process sharp and prom- 

 inent, even the processes of the first cervical vertebra behind 

 the ears; with a calm and well-set eye, and lips which indicate 

 determination rather than delicacy; a Websterian head, with a 

 neck well muscled, well arched, strong and elastic, with active 

 motion, and a throttle loose and open ; with withers sharp and 

 thin, but solid and strong; with a shoulder set loosely on, broad 



