AGRICULTURE AND THE HORSE. 387 



equally impossible, while striving for this excellence, to 

 preserve that physical uniformity which belongs to the 

 more material and the grosser organizations. So Rosa 

 Bonheur can paint a drove of Norman horses, and Her- 

 ring a litter of pigs in a farm-yard, all of each group 

 bearing an exact resemblance to each other, and none 

 rising above the low level of masses of organized matter. 

 But not so with the English thorough-bred, nor with 

 the American trotter. They are not to be found in 

 droves, or uniform groups, or litters. Upon their con- 

 formations, a thousand influences, partly moral and 

 partly physical, operate ; and they will not obey the 

 law of physical uniformity so long as they strive for 

 individual excellence. I might carry this thought into 

 a higher sphere, sir; but I leave it for every thoughtful 

 observer, who contemplates the variety of characters by 

 which he is surrounded in his daily walk, to do this 

 for himself I confine my discussion to horses. 



If, while we are striving to breed horses of a high 

 quality and great merit, we cannot get uniformity, you 

 may ask, sir, " What can we get ? and what becomes of 

 your early statement, that you felt sure you could breed 

 the horse you wanted, according to a standard laid 

 down by yourself? " To this I answer, that I do not 

 expect to succeed in every case, and that I am willing 

 to bear my share of failures while striving for a rea- 

 sonable amount of success. In the account I have 

 given of two families of my horses, out of the many 

 which I have bred, you will find that five out of the 



