i^o 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Just when racing at either the trotting, run- 

 ning, or pacing gait began in America it is diffi- 

 cult to determine ; but there is a record of a 



W If bI ,. 



^:- " f ^ 



r - Jl ■ 



Average Extreme Speed 



1S20 to 1S30 2.42 



1.S30 to 1S40 2.2,S'4 



1S40 to 1S50 2.28^^ 



I.S50 to i860 2J25 



i860 to 1870 2.1834: 



1S70 to 18S0 2.14 



iSSoto 1890 a.iojij' 



iSgoto 1900 ~-°3/i 



1901 to 1907 1-58^ 



This evolution of speed is due to skill in 

 breeding and training and to improved tracks, 

 appliances, and methods. 



Just what rate of speed the trotter will ulti- 

 mately attain is a question much discussed, and 

 any attemj^t to answer is the merest speculation. 

 In \iew of the fact that the trotting breed is 

 still in its infancy, and that the average of 



Hamkletom-AN Stallion 



running race on Hempstead Heath, Long 

 Island, in 1665. There is a recorded trotting 

 performance at Harlem, New York, July 6, 

 1S06, at which time Yankee trotted a mile in 

 2.50. At Philadelphia, in August, 1810, a Bos- 

 ton horse trotted a mile in 2.48^^. Perhaps 

 these records fairly represent the speed limit 

 in America a century ago. If we take it for 

 granted that Yankee could trot a mile in 2.50 



Dan Patch i.ssH 



extreme trotting speed is still advancing, it 

 would be absurd to fi.x a limit and a time when 

 progress will suddenly cease. Of course im- 

 provement in speed becomes more difficult as 

 the rate increases, but we may yet see many 

 old records broken and many new champions 

 come into favor and fame. If in one century of 

 time more than fifty seconds were clipped from 

 the record, surely in another century may we 

 not expect a quarter or even half as much ? 



IX. The Tre.\tment of Horses 

 The services that the horse renders to man, 

 in 1S06 in contrast with the i-S^H of Lou and the pleasures he procures for him, give 

 Dillon in 1904, we have a difference of .51/4 in him a right to conscientious care, good food, 

 a centin-y. and charitable treatment. Yet how often these 



DnuxTU.M 2.05'4: 



