IN-BEEEDING. 45 



constitutional viffor the horses which are the immediate descendants 

 of Imported Messenger — yet there can be no doubt of the fact that in 

 some instances, close in-breeding has reduced the size and impaired 

 the nerve force and other high qualities for whith that blood was so 

 eminent. It had in itself so much vitality, so much inherent purity 

 and excellence, that it could infuse vigor and advancement into any 

 cross with which it came in contact, and could also counteract the 

 impurities of other bloods, and resist decay longer than almost any 

 other strains ever known to the American breeder; nevertheless it is 

 apparent that instances are within our sight which clearly demonstrate 

 that even this magical blood has been too closely interbred in parts of 

 this country. 



Hambletonian was one of the best bred horses we have ever seen; 

 he was an in-bred horse — but not too closely in-bred, in view of the 

 quality of the Messenger blood. His dam was an outcross, but his 

 granddam was in-bred, and his sire was in-bred, being undoubtedly, 

 to my mind, a grandson of Messenger, with three or more crosses of the 

 blood of that horse. But the elfect of an outcross of great vigor in 

 his dam, a daughter of Imported Bellfounder, gave him a strong cast 

 of that blood, and made of him a horse of great quality, substance and 

 power, and having at the same time so much in-breeding in the blood 

 of Messenger, it gave him great force as a sire. But while he was not 

 too closely in-bred himself, it is clear that his produce from any mare 

 by Abdallah or any other equally strong in the blood of Messenger, 

 would be too closely in-bred, and the diminished size and other qual- 

 ities would show the want of an intermediate outcross. His Bellfounder 

 cross gave him a thigh 24 inches in length, and a length from hip to 

 hock of 41 inches, but th3 uniformity with which he bred back to the 

 smaller standard of 23 and 39, showed the mastery of the strong cur- 

 rents of Messenger blood. 



His best produce were those not positively strong or near in either 

 Messenger or Bellfounder blood, although none equaled those of that 

 blood when it was also crossed with other bloods, so far as to main- 

 tain its vigor and counteract the inevitable tendency toward decline. 

 The blood of Trustee, Henry, Duroc, and many unknown crosses 

 combined with that of Messenger, formed the fields in which he 

 excelled in the highest degree. It is often said he excelled in Messen- 

 ger blood, and certainly his best efforts were not outside of that blood, 

 but it was so far in combination with other even unknown bloods, that 

 it was beyond the boundary of close interbreeding. That the great 



