ABDALLAH. 169 



as a stallion, was not as universally successful as Abdallah — and the 

 real reason is, that there was one element in the Bellfounder blood 

 that stood in the way, and when that element was present in force, or 

 operative, there was no success. It seemed to be an element that, 

 like the galloping instinct in Messenger, had to be diluted by other 

 crosses, and thus prepared for effective use, and then its trotting force 

 came out in a degree that surpassed all others. 



Hambletonian was not a success with Bellfounder mares, and there 

 are but two instances, I believe, in which he displayed signal success 

 with daughters of Sayer's Harry Clay; but when the blood had gone 

 through the necessary preparation of a further remove from the parent 

 stock; when the Suffolk Punch element (if it was that) was rendered 

 a little more soluble in his sons by other crosses, the success comes 

 out in a degree that at present promises to surpass all others. It was 

 the same way with the blood of Messenger. It worked best when it 

 got a little way distant from the fountain-head; and after mixing 

 something else as an alloy, the reunion of the diluted channels sur- 

 passed the original and more concentrated currents. 



The acknowledged value of the blood of Messenger, and its all- 

 predominating character in every compound of which it forms a part, 

 together with its almost universal prevalence in the American trotter, 

 goes far to induce those who now think favorably of the blood of 

 Bellfounder, as an outcross in Hambletonian, to yet place a relatively 

 low estimate on its power and value, as compared with that of Mes- 

 senger in the same combination. I quote the following from an 

 •esteemed writer: 



Tlie reason why Hambletonian is higher bred, in a trotting sense, is not 

 fiimply tha't he has a larger percentage of Messenger blood than other stal- 

 lions, but because he has a larger percentage of the very choicest of Messenger 

 blood. To my mind, it has long appeared a demonstrated fact that a strain of 

 Messenger blood through AhdaUah is worth more, in a trotting combination, 

 than two (or as many more as you like) of an equal number of removes that 

 do not trace through him ; in short, that Abdallah, of all the sons and grand- 

 sons of Messenger, was by far the greatest — greater than the proud source, 

 Messenger himself — and as much superior to his competitors as his son, Ham- 

 bletonian, has since been to his. But Abdallah has other sons ! Yes, a few 

 were kept entire, but none that were quite so well bred, in trotting strains on 

 the dam's side, as Hambletonian, who has a double cross of Messenger from 

 her; and considering the outcross from Bellfounder that intervened between 

 this double cross and the kindred strain through Abdallah, the distribution 

 may be considered as nearly perfect as could be made. There are those who 

 •consider that the Bellfounder cross, in the pedigree of Hambletonian, is no 



