90 THE PEECHEEON HOESE. 



and are recognized without trouble by their color, which 

 in terms of the trade is said to be " a little weak" and by 

 their skin, which is dry and harsh. The dealers appro- 

 priately express their condition by " no good points" 

 The bulls, especially, are tough, with big horns, bony limbs, 

 large joints, an ugly head, and the whole difficult to fatten, 

 which well entitles them to the full application of the 

 epithet " boorish beasts" invented to express animals of 

 inferior quality. 



It is in vain that Maine, the district which joins it, hns 

 given to Perche its race of cattle ; they have degenerated, 

 have become taller, Linker, less easy to fatten, and have pre- 

 served no trace of the fine head and the good fore-quarters 

 that are to be found in Maine. In vain has Normandy pour- 

 ed out a generous blood. The Norman type hardly 

 appears ; it is degenerated and entirely loses the agree- 

 able color, fine head, good limbs, white horns, and other 

 good points. 



For several years, the fashion of crossing with the 

 Cotentin race has become universal, and continues to make 

 rapid progress. From the second generation, nevertheless, 

 there remains almost nothing in the conformation and in 

 the quality of the stock to show the cross. It is only by 

 dint of always crossing with the Cotentin that Perche has 

 been able to make for itself her present passable stock. 



The sheep, sufficiently delicate for the table, are small, 

 and form a degenerate and nameless mixture of the breeds 

 of Maine, Caux, and Trennes, crossed for several years 

 back with the Merino. They present the same conditions 

 as the horned animals. Like them, they are difficult to 

 fatten and are not lymphatic, notwithstanding the fre- 

 quent importations of the heavier and fleshier breeds. 



Such predispositions can only come from the soil, and 

 the constant sway of the nervous over the lymphatic 

 system produces all the qualities of the Percheron horse. 

 This is why tradition has painted such a seductive picture 



