56 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



THE 



BREEDING AND 

 HORSES. 



BEARING OF 



Where a farmer lias the capital and local advan- 

 tages required to stock his farm -with good brood 

 mares, no ather domestic animal pays better than the 

 hoi-se, if bred by a skillful and intelligent man. 



business of growing horses for market should receive 

 more attention in tliis country; and to turn public at- 

 tention m that direction, we give on this page a truth- 

 ful engraving of a celebrated Cleveland Eay Stallion 

 —a race combinrng action, strength, and symmetry 

 of form, in an uncommon degree. For all work, we 

 doubt whetlier England contains better horses than 

 can be found m the United States; although some 



of our best families appeal- to be losing their reputa- 

 tion, if not their good quahties. It is a pretty expen- 

 sive matter to keep up a considerable stock of males 

 and females of this costly animal; and but few 

 Americans are willing to incur the risk and trouble 

 of such an establishment. In France, the govern- 

 The j ment is at the expense of keeping hundreds of the 

 best stallions in different de- 

 ^ partments, for the use of breed- 

 ^ ers, without charge. In this 

 ^ way, the best blood in the world 

 ly- is infused into the horses of the 

 J empire, and the cavah-y of the 

 ;^ French army is said to be une- 

 ^ qualed. Our government is iu- 

 ■S nocent of doing any thing what- 

 J ever to improve the horses kept 

 <p at such an enormous expense to 

 ^ the nation. If it would estab- 

 '^ lish a large stock farm, and give 



1 the funds needed to import a 

 I few of the very best breeding 

 •s animals that the Old Wo'-ld can 

 I fm-nish, these, with what might 



be obtained in this country, 

 =H would form the nucleus of an 

 o ^ art and a science that ha^^e only 

 Is to be cultivated among us to 

 ^ ^^ jield a golden harvest. As yet, 

 ~4 we have obtained no firm fouu- 

 •gj/ datiou on which to build an eu- 

 '■fo during structure. We breed by 

 ^^ guess-work, laboring ever in the 

 '^^ dark. System is needed, and 

 "g^ correct, well understood prin- 



^ d Ohio and New Tork produce 

 § 3 more horses than any other three 

 ■^ States. In 1850, the firet named 

 £ State contained 463,397; and 



2 the last named 447,014 These 

 Q figures show that Ohio and New 



1 York had four years ago 910,- 

 S 411 horses; while the number 

 s in all the other States and six 

 w territories was only 3,41.5,241. 

 g In studying the annual re- 

 ports of different County Agri- 

 cultural Societies, it has given 

 us pleasure to see the increased 

 attention paid to the improve- 

 ment of this kind of farm stock. . 

 The Tompkins Comity (N. Y.) 

 Society, m its report for 1852, 

 says: "The show of horses has 

 never been surpassed in our 

 county, including many thor- 

 ougli-bred, and equal to any I 



have ever seen on exhibition; one and two yeai-s old 

 in good numbers, and many brood mai-es and colts, 

 showing a spirit of improvement." At the annual 

 exhibition in Niagai'a county, for the same year, 11.5 

 hoi-ses were entered for premiums — a fact that speaks 

 well for the intelligence of the farmers of that rich 

 agricultural county. 

 The horse is an expen^ve animal to keep, especially 



