44 THE PERCHERON HORSE. 



steadiness and precocity ; in a word, to repeat myself for 

 the hundredth time, add a little more dash and style. 

 Correct the defects of conformation, the imperfections of 

 color, without weakening, without breaking up the harmony 

 of the admirable qualities which have made of the Per- 

 cheron the first horse of the age. 



CHAPTER Y. 



PRESERVE PURE, AND WITHOUT INTERMIXTURE, THE 



THREE TYPES OF THE PERCHERON RACE THE 



LIGHT HORSE, THE DRAFT HORSE, THE 



INTERMEDIATE HORSE. 



We have spoken, in Chapter II, Part First, of the three 

 types which the Percheron race presents the light horse, 

 the draft horse, and the intermediate or post horse. These 

 three breeds come of the soil and are the product of an- 

 cient crosses. There is reason for their existing and for 

 their marked peculiarities ; and reason requires, then, that 

 they should be preserved, and, in maintaining them always 

 in their proper functions, we obey, in that progressive 

 spirit which urges us to embellish everything. The first 

 is destined to become the post horse and horse for private 

 use, the surest and most agreeable- means of locomotion. 

 The second cannot be replaced for express carting, and for 

 the builders and contractors of Paris and other large 

 towns. To the third, the omnibuses always offer a steady 

 market. Consequently, it is important to keep them with- 

 out intermixture and to continue them uninterruptedly 

 each in its respective class. Hence in seeking to add 

 weight to a class it is necessary to avoid crossing it with 



