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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



May 



The term "blood" as applied to horses is gener- 

 ally without any good foundation. The race horse 

 of England is not any more pure blood than any 

 other kind that distinguishes him ; for the draft 

 horse and the pony are more pure. The term is 

 only used to distingnish the racers. 



In this country, the nearest approximation to a 

 distinct breed is that of the Morgan stock. That 

 breed has acquired wide-spread notoriety. Some of 

 that stock was taken from Vermont to Canada, and 

 were thence taken to England as cavalry horses, 

 and they were examined and highly praised by the 

 late Duke of "Wellington. The origin of that breed 

 cannot be ascertained in every particular. The first 

 one was owned by Justin Morgan, of West Spring- 

 field in 1782. He was sold to a man in Randolph, 

 Vt., in 1795. 



Mr. Howard related the folloM-ing narrative to 

 show that the horse owned by Justin Morgan was 

 once owned by Col. James de Lancy, a British of- 

 ficer. He said he ascertained that a horse called 

 "The True Briton" was stolen from Col. De 

 Lancy, and he went to visit at Morrisiana, an aged 

 man, who once lived with Col. De Lancy, by the 

 name of Andrew Corsey. When he visited him he 

 was ninety-five years of age and very deaf. But he 

 learned from him that Col. De Lancy's horse was 

 stolen by a man by the name of Smith, of Hartford, 

 Conn. Smith, after peace was declared, called on 

 Col. De Lancy, who received him with cordiality, 

 and invited him to take breakfast with him. While 

 he was at breakfast. Col. De Lancy went out to the 

 barn and got a rope, and commanded his slaves 

 (slavery existed then in New York) to go into the 

 house and put the rojje around the neck of Smith, 

 and hang him, and it was done. The facts thus stated 

 are reliable, and there is reason to su]:)pose that the 

 "True Briton" and the sire of the horse of Justin 

 Morgan were the same. 



The first Morgan horse was extensively used as 

 a sire in Vermont, and lived to an advanced age 

 His progeny were easily distinguished, arid those of 

 even the second and third generation retained the 

 points and properties of their progenitor. Only 

 four of his male progeny were kept as sires. Those 

 were Sherman Morgan, Woodbury or Burbank 

 Chelsea or Bulrush and Revenge. The Vermont 

 Black Hawk was the progeny of Sherman Morgan. 

 On that point there could be no doubt, Mr. H. said, 

 as he had in his possession abundant proof of it. 



In England the coaeh horses are bred in a dif- 

 ferent way from the racers and roadsters. In or- 

 der to obtain horses of a peculiar quality, it is nec- 

 essary constantly to select those for sires which pos- 

 sess most nearly the desired qualities. In closing, 

 he called at^ntion to a fine representation of a 

 young horse. Trotting Childers, painted by an Eng- 

 lish artist. His remarks occupied half an hour, 

 and were listened to with great interest 



The chairman said it would seem that the best 

 breed of horses came to us by a Yankee trick ; but 

 as the theft was atoned for, we have a right to en- 

 joy them. In Essex County the question had been 

 considered of the propriety of encouraging the rear- 

 ing of fast horses, by trotting exhibitions, and they 

 had come to the conclusion that it was not desirable. 

 There is more interest now than formerly in horses 

 for the market. They usually get $100 for them 

 at three years old. Notwithstanding the great num- 

 ber of railroads in the country, he thought there 

 never was more demand for good horses than now 

 nor more encouragment to raise them. 



Mr. Browx, of Concord, expressed his gratifica- 

 tion with the address. Such addresses as take up 

 particular topics and discuss them thoroughly were 

 much needed. There was, as he thought, great 

 need of paying close attention to the breed of stock 

 of any kind, and especially of horses. He believed 

 in the doctrine, "once impregnated always impreg- 

 nated." But horses need education as much as hu- 

 man beings, and it is true of them as of men, that, 

 "Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined." 



The gait of a horse may be fixed by early training, 

 to a great extent, so that if rightly managed it is as 

 well to have a gait of eight miles as one of four 

 per hour. But even with good teaching and good 

 masters, horses will sometimes be bad. Feeding 

 colts on refuse coarse food, which they are com- 

 pelled to pick up in the barn-yard, is very foor pol- 

 icy ; and the same is true with regard to calves. — 

 If horses and cattle are thus cheated of their rights 

 in their younger days, it is unreasonable to expect 

 much from them. He closed with an earnest ap- 

 peal for humane and kind treatment of horses in 

 the matter of driving and working them, protesting 

 against the practice which is quite common, of 

 overloading and then beating them to make them 

 draw beyond their strength. Every man who thus 

 cruelly treats his horse ought to be severely pun- 

 ished. 



Mr. A. G. Sheldon, of Wilmington, said that 

 there ought to be more mercy sliown to horses af- 

 ter their best days are past. Every market day, 

 there was time and money enough spent in trotting 

 and trading off old, worn-out horses, at Brighton 

 market, that ought to have been dead for years, to 

 buy a good dairy of cows. He said that he wished 

 to be understood in his remarks last week, to say 

 that after bulls were two years old they ought to 

 be broken to the yoke, and not that they should 

 not be kept any longer. He thought tlie dairy was 

 the most profitable farm stock. He did not think 

 the Berkshire hogs the best for pork. He liked the 

 Suffolk breed when crossed with others, but be- 

 lieved it would cost as much to raise one full-blood 

 Suffolk pig, as four of a mixed breed. 



Mr. W. J. BuCKMINSTER thought it important 

 to inculcate the idea that to make a good farmer, 



