176 LOSING IS SOMETIMES WINNING. 



guilty of so great presumption as contemplating the 

 giving instructions on breeding or instructions on any- 

 thing. I merely venture a few opinions on producing 

 the animal before we educate him. 



We will take the race-horse first, as the highest 

 class of animals bred ; in the breeding of which we 

 have not only to consult the opinion of good judges 

 and of the public, but fashion. There is perhaps no 

 animal known over whose value before trial " fashion 

 holds such sovereign sway" as it does over the racing 

 colt. In the breeding of him the owner has three 

 things to consider (he will find by-the-by that he has 

 a thousand) ; but in allusion to the first three, let 

 him determine whether he intends to breed to run, to 

 sell, or to take the chance of running and selling. 



If a man means to breed with a view to running 

 his horses, we naturally suppose he would wish to 

 run and win. I must make, however, a little digres- 

 sion here, for I see the word we has slipped under my 

 pen. Now this word we includes myself among those 

 who I state might naturally suppose a man as wishing 

 to run and WIN. Now, without knowing much, I am 

 really not such an ignoramus as this ; it would there- 

 fore be very unnatural if I and many others supposed 

 that a man would wish to run and win always. We 

 will therefore only say, we conclude if a man breeds 

 to run that he wishes to breed such horses as can win 

 when they are wanted to do so. I have made a short 

 bolt in the last few lines, but have, by doing so, got 

 into straight running. I hope my reader is not 

 hoping to see me shut up, for I am quite within my 

 length as yet. I am, however, lying a little too far out 

 of my ground, so will run up to my subject again. 



In breeding to run, the first thing is getting mares 

 of running blood, whether they could run themselves 



