26 THE PEECHEEON HOESE. 



offers many guaranties to the the dealer who buys it 

 to transfer, if they suit, to the express and omnibus com- 

 panies ; or if they belong to the draft race, to the con- 

 tractors, wagoners, and builders, of Paris. At five, he is 

 bought by the horse-dealer at the annual horse fair on St. 

 Andrew's Day in the town of Chartres. There he is 

 delivered, the farmer leading his horse upon the ground. 

 The prices vary from 1,000 to 1,400 francs. The profit is 

 small, sometimes nothing, the greatest gain being his 

 work, which cannot be dispensed with. The feeble have 

 perished ; the survivors owe their lives only to their robust 

 constitutions. 



Before dedication to his final use, he has thus passed 

 through four hands ; all these have shared the risks of 

 his rearing. The most serious have been for the last 

 owner ; but he was also the wealthiest, and to him also 

 has he been the most useful 



Thus, we see, the foal costs almost nothing, and his work 

 pays for his keep. Perfectly well fed, and exercised from 

 his tenderest age, the Percheron has always been the first 

 draft-horse in the world, and he would have constantly 

 improved, if his admirable qualities themselves had not led 

 to his degeneration. 



CHAPTER VII. 



CAUSES OF THE DEGENERACY OF THE PERCHERON HORSE. 



The breeding of the Percheron horse has been so much 

 the more stimulated, in consequence of his situation, his 

 well-known qualities, and the favorable economical cir- 

 cumstances in which he is placed. 



Was not everything in his favor ? Sure and increasing 

 sales and great facility in raising ? 



