66 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



pedigree is not remembered, but " was under- 

 stood to be a blooded mare " — Engineer was 

 by Engineer, said to be an uncommonly fine 

 horse, and by Messenger. Lady Suffolk's dam, 

 was a dark bay or brown mare, by TJow Quixote, 



grey horse, and he again by Messenger. 

 Lady Suffolk was bought (when four years 

 old, and when she was yet barefooted 

 and hardly briJle-'wise, having never then 

 looked through a collar) by David Bryan, Esq, 

 of Brooklyn, her present ownier — w^ho, "though 

 laughed at by some, thought he saw something 

 about her that pleased him." She made her 

 first appearance about 14 months after he bought 

 her, on the Beacon Course. She has trotted 

 many more than fifty matches, appearing at dif- 

 ferent times at Baltimore, Philadelphia, Ne'w- 

 York and Boston; -vsinning much oftener than 

 she has lost, and making the quickest time on 

 record : doing her mile on tin-ee diflerent occa- 

 sions, under the saddle, in 2m. 26^s. On the 

 Centreville Course, she trotted one mile, in a 

 two mile match, in 2m. 30s., in harness. She 

 was beaten but once last season, and only once 

 again tliis season, and that only by a neck. At 

 Hyde Park, Philadelphia, she ti-otted matched 

 in hame.ss along-.side of Ripley, two miles in 5 

 minutes 19 seconds, distancing Hardware and 

 Apology. 



Her owner has taken no measures to test, 

 accurately, the time in which she can go her 

 mile, under the saddle ; but would gladly match 

 her for any reasonable amount, against her 

 greatest, and the quicke.st time on record — 2m. 

 261s. He thinks, and we do not doubt, that 

 Lady Suffolk is stiU, like the whole world, in a 

 state of progress, and has not yet reached her 

 highest point of capability. 



Like all ^vell-b^ed dames, she is remarkably 

 quiet and gentle ; nothing fussy, impatient, or ill- 

 tempered about her. Any old woman might 

 drive her to market, where she might remain in 

 a wagon unnoticed, except by a man who had 

 an eye for a good thing. 



It is worthy of note, to show how accident rules 

 the destiny of horses as well as men ; that her 

 sire was for a long time neglected, being put off, 

 for the most part, with ordinarj', nn.sightly mares, 

 and tlie way that he was at last reclaimed, and 

 brought into full relief, was thus : Doctor Bow- 

 ers, being often sent for, as country phj-sicians 

 are, on certain pressing emergencies, that won't 

 stay for any man's convenience, to go in a great 

 hurry, especially to his female patients, several 

 times obser%-ed that the messengers sent for him, 

 rode horses of uncommon po^ver and action ; 

 and inquuing into their history, was unifonnly 

 answered that they were by Engineer ; a horse 

 witli which he had been familiar, and that had 

 been denied the tip top mares where he .stood, 

 so that his owTier had .sold him off to distant 



(17-4) 



parts, in disgust, at his being underrated. On 

 seeing thus the marks he had left behind, the 

 Doctor had the sagacity to go or send in search 

 of him, and tracing him through Connecticut 

 and Rhode-Island, found him stowed away in 

 some odd comer in Massachusetts ; and for a 

 trifle recovered liim and brought him back again, 

 to enjoy better opportunities of transmitting his 

 superior qualities, suchasai'e embodied in Lady 

 Suffolk, and a half sister, standing now in the 

 next stall to her, at Brookljn — a flea-bitten grey 

 mare, of the same age, who, though badly spav- 

 ined, moves witli great speed and pov>er, and 

 exhibits, in like manner, the remarkable points 

 that distinguish the Mes.senger stock ; such as 

 may be, even down to the present generation, at 

 once detected by quick-sighted connoisseurs of 

 good cattle. 



65,000 have been repeatedly refused for Lady 

 Suffolk, and tlie probability is, that like other 

 distinguished performers, she may go to act in 

 Europe on a theatre, larger, and more remuner- 

 ating than is to be found in this Democracy. 



The point that impressed us most forcibly, at 

 the first glance, as most stiiking in the physique 

 of Lady Suflblk was, as before stated, her 

 wondei-ful muscular display, over the shoulder 

 and arm— thigh and leg proper — her strong loin 

 and good share of bone, — all indicating great 

 strength. 



Professor Cliue, of London, one of the most 

 esteemed wTiters on the art of breeding, and on 

 the form of animals, remarks, that " muscles 

 and tendons, which are their appendages, should 

 be large ; by which an animal is enabled to 

 travel with greater facility." " The strength of 

 an animal," he adds, "does not depend on the 

 size of the bones, but on that of the muscles; 

 many animals with large bones are weak, their 

 muscles being small." 



In our country we are well satisfied, and it is 

 probably true as to others, the improvement of 

 domestic animals, has been much retarded, by 

 the vulgar persuasion, that the largest males 

 should be selected, for the purpose of pro- 

 creation ; a most pernicious en-or ! This fallacy 

 is the source of the mortification experiehced 

 by many fanners, who select from their herd 

 or their flock, or in purchairing give the largest 

 price for overgrown bulls and rams, witliout 

 respect to form or familj-, or excellence in par- 

 ticular points ; and too often give the preference 

 to stallions blazoned in their handbills, for being 

 " full sixteen hands and upwards under the 

 standard." It was not thus that the Collingses 

 improved the short bonis, or Ellman the South- 

 downs, or that the general stock of English 

 horses, has been brought to its admitted excel- 

 lence. This has been accomplished by success- 

 ive, and hi most cases judicious crosses, having 

 frequent recourse, when building up their pre- 



